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nTL: Lilac | PR: Faith

nWhen Astelle heard that they were getting a divorce, she wanted to die.

nBut Kaizen didn’t want her to die.

nIf Astelle dies, Kaizen will become the heartless emperor who killed his wife on the first day of their honeymoon.

nHe hoped Astelle would just go away, enduring the humiliation.

n“Because Your Majesty wanted it, I accepted the divorce and left without any regrets.”

nAstelle followed Kaizen’s wishes.

nShe gave up on him, endured the humiliation, and left forever.

nIt was ironic.

nThe moment Astelle wanted to stay with Kaizen at any cost, Kaizen abandoned her.

nAnd now that she abandoned all her feelings and became indifferent to him, he asked her to return to the capital with him.

nIsn’t that amazing?

nAstelle faltered and spoke coldly, “Your Majesty may think that you can do whatever you want, but there are some things in the world that can never be undone.”

nKaizen seems to have genuinely believed that if he comes and makes it up to Astelle, the mistakes he had made in the past will disappear.

nIt was surprising that he could be so selfish.

n“……”

nKaizen said nothing.

nAstelle looked at him, then bent her knees and bowed her head in a strict manner.

n“If you don’t have anything else to say, I’ll be on my way.”

nAstelle turned back without any regrets.

nKaizen couldn’t take his eyes off her until she disappeared from view.

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n***

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nThere were many great mansions in the capital, but the most splendid and magnificent was the residence of the Duke of Reston.

nA sharp wind shook the windows as the flames of firewood swayed in the dark. Duke Reston, sitting in his study room, looked at the reflection in the dark shadows and asked, “The Emperor?”

nThe man standing next to him came out quietly and answered:

n“It is said that he arrived at Dentsu Castle.”

n“It’s sooner than expected.”

nThe duke thought that if he leaked information stating that this place was preparing for a rebellion, the emperor would be wasting time in the country castle.

nThe duke already knew that the man he had recruited was the emperor’s spy. He acted as if he was preparing for a revolt through him, letting the emperor get the wrong information. That way Kaizen won’t come back to the capital, turning his way around to trap the Duke.

n‘Let’s see which of the two is the real trap.’

nThe Duke gave orders to the subordinate who was beside him.

n“While waiting at Dentsu Castle, if the opportunity arises, raid the emperor.”

nThe duke had no intention of starting a rebellion from the beginning, he was aiming for an assassination.

nWhen the emperor is in the capital’s imperial palace, the chance of assassination seldom arises.

nHowever, while on the journey, the guards can not protect the emperor as much as in the imperial palace.

nThere will always be gaps.

n“I, by the way, Princess……”

n“Huh?”

n“Princess is with the emperor.”

nThe Duke did not answer for a moment.

nIt took him a while to figure out who the princess he was talking about was.

n“I don’t care about Astelle.”

nAn ungrateful little girl who dared disobey her father’s orders and left.

nThe duke looked at the flames and thought of his only daughter.

nHis eyes were sunken colder than the cold of the night.

nAstelle was a useful tool. It was definitely the case six years ago.

nThe duke had the ambition to become regent by raising his daughter to be the empress from a very young age, making his grandson emperor.

nHe took the daughter of a venerable marquis family and married her to give birth to a daughter of impeccable descent.

nWhen he got a beautiful daughter from his wife and betrothed her to the Crown Prince as planned, everything was running perfectly.

nHowever, his plans were quickly guttered.

nBecause the emperor died suddenly, and Kaizen who became emperor ousted Astelle.

n‘I should have married Astelle off earlier and had a child with the obedient Kaizen back then.’

nThe duke regretted it, but it was already too late.

nThe gentle and foolish previous emperor died, and the cold and clever Kaizen took his place. Even if he regretted it, he could not turn back time.

nAstelle left the house after getting a divorce, she was kicked out and cut off contact with him.

nThe duke did not even know whether Astelle was dead or alive until Kaizen found her because of the will of Empress Dowager.

nIt turns out that Astelle had been living in the house of her maternal grandfather for six years.

n“Yeah, that old man was there.”

nIs there any other place out there for her to go?

nIn fact, when Kaizen asked about Astelle’s whereabouts, that was the first place that came to the duke’s mind, but he didn’t want to help Kaizen, so he said he didn’t know.

n‘If you need her, you should find her yourself .’

nThe duke heard that one of the daughters of the Croychen family fought with Astelle and was put in prison.

nIt was worth seeing Marquis Croychen punished for his work.

nHe is trying to push his second daughter into the empress’s seat, but Kaizen doesn’t seem to be very interested in the daughters of Croychen.

nWell, although Kaizen used to be kind to women.

nThe fact that he is on Astelle’s side this time was probably to please her because of Empress Dowager’s will.

nCroychen’s daughter didn’t even know that and made a fuss.

nWhen the Duke thought of Astelle, his head throbbed.

nIt was because Fritz, his eldest son and Astelle’s older brother, regretted letting Astelle leave.

nHe cries every day and regrets not having taken care of his younger sister, and now he turned his arrow to his father, the duke.

nStill, the past six years have been pretty good, but when Astelle reappeared, their family became the worst of the rich these days.

nFritz criticized the Duke by talking about Astelle whenever he had time.

n‘It’s no use giving birth to a child and raising them.’

nAlthough he did not express it, the Duke regretted the incident as much as his son. He didn’t mean to abandon Astell like that

nGirls are always useful.

nAstelle was a princess who inherited the most precious blood in this country.

n‘I should have sold her to a worthy aristocrat, because even if she was divorced, there would have been some who wanted her bloodline.’

nIn the past, it would have been better to put Astelle in a convent rather than to disgrace Reston’s name by kicking her out.

nHowever, Astelle broke all ties with her father, the Duke, and left.

nEven if he asks her to come back to the mansion now, she would not accept him, let alone remarry.

n‘I have something to convince her.’

nThe will was not the only thing left from the Dowager Empress

nUnbeknownst to the emperor, she also left some belongings to Astelle.

nSince she couldn’t give it to her directly, she secretly sent it to the Duke and asked him to deliver it when he found Astelle later.

nMost of the items were pictures and books, but there were also some jewels.

nThe Duke once wanted to sell the items as soon as Empress Dowager died but decided to save them for later.

nAstelle would want to have them.

nThe Duke might be able to use it to bait her.

n‘Still, she wouldn’t accept remarrying another man just for a keepsake. Because that stupid bitch likes Kaizen.’

nThe Duke stroked his throbbing temple with his hand and said to his subordinate, “Astelle has already cut ties with me, so don’t worry about her. In case of emergency, I don’t mind killing her as well as the Emperor.”

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n***

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nAstelle spent several days in the annex being gloomy.

n“Honey, eat something.”

nAstelle, Theor, and the marquis sat around a table for breakfast.

nA sumptuous breakfast was prepared, including eggs benedict and sweet crepes, pancakes topped with whipped cream, and creamy soup with marjoram.

nAstelle shook her head at her grandfather’s words.

n“I’m sorry, I have no appetite.”

nSitting next to her, Theor was eating his own crepes little by little.

nAstelle, on the other hand, hasn’t eaten anything.

nAfter eating the crepes, Theor asked her worriedly, “Aunt Astelle, aren’t you hungry?”

n“I am not. Come on Theor, you should eat more.”

nAstelle puts more pancakes on Theor’s plate.

nThe Marquis who sat across from him, looked at the little figure with concern.

nSince the day of the ball, Astelle had been troubled because her request to return Theor was rejected by Kaizen.

nAstelle was worried about what to do now. She did not want to take Theor to the capital. That was too risky.

nEven if she keeps Theor in a room all day, she never knows what might happen.

n‘Considering what Kaizen said, even if I go to the capital, I may not be able to send Theor off easily.’

nKaizen said he wanted Astelle to stay with him.

nIf he forces her, there will be no way she could escape.

nSo it was better not to take Theor to the capital if possible.

nEven if caught, it would be better for Astelle to be caught alone.

n‘But Kaizen wasn’t even allowing me to send Theor back……’

nThe day after Astelle’s failure, her grandfather directly requested an audience with the emperor.

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