Chapter 60 – A Step Closer To The Truth (2)
Translator: Lunarise
Editor: Larkspur
Paul had successfully infiltrated through the aqueduct. After having him change out of his wet clothes, Viola had him climb the roof and into her bedchamber.
“You were careful I’m sure?” she couldn’t help but ask.
“Yes, no one saw me.”
“What of the thing I asked you to look into?”
“The Commander of the Imperial Knights is not named Lune.”
“Ha… . Yes, I expected it to be a fake identity.” Viola shrugged.
It wasn’t even surprising at this point. He had concealed his identity and entered into a fake marriage, so she had already expected that his designation was probably a sham too. She estimated the time. Lune would be here soon…
“The name of the Commander of Imperial Knights is Kyle. He’s the crown prince’s shadow knight.”
“Kyle?” Viola murmured.
“Yes, do you know the name?” Paul queried.
“Those knights… they didn’t say their names.”
When she had first met the knights, they had all kept their mouths shut as if they had agreed upon it beforehand. Perhaps they didn’t want to leave any traces?
This must have been planned right from the start. Maybe he was suspicious of her and purposely put up a false identity? Or perhaps… Did he suspect she was a spy from her looking at the map and gathering information? Whatever the intent, she was currently the subject of surveillance and suspicion. Viola chewed her lip anxiously.
“Paul, do you remember the faces of the imperial family?”
“Some of them I remember, from driving their wagons myself.”
“What are their names?”
“One is the second son of the emperor, Grand Duke Ivan. He’s a member of the imperial family who does not hide his thirst for women. Another is a concubine’s son, who often hangs out with him.”
“Paul… .”
She was sweating without realizing it. Her back was damp with sweat.
She had been thinking about this all day. Could Lune be a member of the imperial family? If the crown prince was close enough with him to give him a woman who was to become his concubine, he was most likely a member of the imperial family. Also, what if the soldiers flying the golden flag were not the imperial knights, but the Blood Army? As she pondered over, goosebumps ran down her whole body.
What if the first person she’d ever met was of the imperial family?
That man, he…
She felt her blood boiling.
Then, she had been having s*x… with someone of that terrible imperial family and felt humiliating pleasure underneath him…
Viola was aghast. She had tried to avoid the crown prince, but if the person she had turned to for refuge was also of the imperial family, she had fallen into her destiny of inevitably becoming the imperial family’s plaything just like any other princess. She had become their prey!
“Do you remember Crown Prince Lustian’s face?”
“Yes, I clearly saw his face with a victorious smile in front of Prince Edward.”
“I’m glad. I need to know if the crown prince I saw was actually him.”
Why did Crown Prince Lustian’s name come out of her own mouth? It was probably because there was a high chance the crown prince she’d seen wasn’t the real crown prince. Viola’s whole body trembled. She couldn’t erase the feeling that she had foolishly become a doll in their play.
How cruel that everything was just a lie…
She felt humiliated at the thought that each moment he had kissed, caressed, and touched her body… had been a complete lie. The fact that she had felt pleasure under his body made her feel so miserable that she wanted to curse her own body. In the end, she hadn’t been able to escape from becoming a plaything of the imperial family.
No matter how much I tried to avoid it, I couldn’t escape the fate of a princess…
As hostage of an enemy kingdom, she had become their sex slave.
Viola’s eyes trembled violently. At that moment, as her face stiffened, Paul looked at her with worry.
“Princess, what is it… What happened? Please tell me! You suddenly asked me if I remember his face, does that mean… .”
Paul gritted his teeth. Viola shot him a gaze who was looking at her with bloodshot eyes. He was an honest knight who grieved as much as she did at Edward’s death. It was enough to make him cut open his palm in front of her slain brother’s body and make a blood oath to him… Knowing his uprightness, Viola had hidden the fact of her contractual marriage from him when she came to the empire.
“Paul, you and I… I think our purposes are the same,” she said, her tone frosty.
“That’s right. I’m the one who wants to give the same shame back to that foul beast. I, without getting any blood on your hands, Princess, want to avenge.”
“No. You know that would put our kingdom in danger.”
“…”
“I made a deal with my father. Look at this.”
From the drawer, Viola pulled out the dagger given to her by the King of Koronis. Paul’s eyes widened at its sight. It was not unreasonable for him to be surprised. A token that even Edward hadn’t been able to have, was in her hand. It was evidence, should the King of Koronis die in an emergency, Viola was the highest in the ranks.
“Ho-how can this dagger be in your hand…? Did you really mean to say His Majesty gave this to you?”
“Yes. He did. I will be expelled from the castle at the end of this six-month training period. Of course, I don’t know if he will keep his promise with me, but I will surely leave this place and return to my kingdom to become king.”
“Your Highness….”
Paul’s eyes glistened. He knelt in front of Viola and kissed her feet. Viola, startled, grabbed his shoulder. His actions were very dangerous. Just as two kings of one kingdom cannot exist, a knight who already served the king should not express his loyalty to anyone other than the king.
Even though Viola tried to push his shoulder away, he stubbornly stayed there, bowing his head.
“The king I will now serve is you, Princess. I made a promise to Prince Edward. Until the end of this life, no, even if I have to dedicate my soul to the devil I swear to protect and follow you, Your Highness… I swear it again.”
“— Thank you so much. It’s reassuring.”
She knew enough that he was truly loyal. If he was by her side, it wouldn’t be difficult for her to take a step towards her goal. Viola bit her lip and rubbed her neck.
A relationship built on lies…
If that was the case, Viola had her own ideas.
I’ll act thoroughly fooled… I will live the life you all want. Who has the last laugh? We’ll see in the end…
“Make sure to check who comes into my bedchamber tonight.”
“—Did you just say… bedchamber?” Paul’s face stiffened like Viola’s.
Viola bit her lip hard enough to bleed. “I am contractually married to an aristocrat, not the crown prince. He is the one who will come to my chambers tonight.”
“—What?!”
Paul’s tone had sharpened, his face white. He seemed quite shocked by the fact that despite having already been promised into an arranged marriage with someone, she was in a contracted marriage with a foreign nobleman.
“We will be busy soon. I won’t hesitate anymore either. You should also be on your guard.” Viola explained no further and doled out instructions.
Paul nodded and went into the closet that Viola pointed him towards. She covered him with a frilly dress and pointed to the place where a small hole had already been made. She had made it so that the hole was only revealed when a small jewel was removed from the inside, so there was no way at all to notice it from the outside. She then closed the closet tightly. Then she once again spoke to him…
“He’s a swordsman of the master level. You have to be sure to hide your presence completely. He has very keen senses.”