Chapter 23
— — —
If only this pin could pierce Joaquin Perez’s heart and cut off his breath, how wonderful that would be.
"I’d even tell you you did a good job if you just died quietly, so why don't you just do it?"
I muttered to myself, spitting out the words as I sat at my desk. My eyes caught a few letters that had been neatly stacked in the corner, left unread until now.
'Should I deal with these first?'
One was a greeting from a noble family, and the other contained a report on a task I had assigned. I quickly grasped that the work was proceeding smoothly, then tucked the letter into the folder containing the relevant documents. It was a collection of papers and correspondence regarding that specific matter.
One last letter remained.
I narrowed my eyes at the familiar, pungent scent of perfume and the cobalt blue wax seal.
"Oh my, look at that."
This bastard has an uncanny ability to know when he’s being talked about.
"How disgusting."
Since there was no one else in the office, I clicked my tongue without reservation. I didn't even want to bother using my dedicated letter opener, so I tore the envelope open roughly and pulled out the contents to examine them.
—To my jewel, Idir, who shines brilliantly even today.
"……Crazy bastard."
Doesn't the devil take people like him?
'Should I ask?'
I thought of Beval for a moment, but quickly dismissed the idea. I’m afraid he might take it as a request and start bothering me even more.
—You always live such a busy life. To think you wouldn't even reply to a single letter I sent. I’m starting to feel a little lonely.
"As if."
If you want to go on about being lonely, you could at least show some effort by dealing with the women rolling around in your bed first. I skimmed over the handwriting, which was dripping with affected flair. As expected, the only important content was in the last few lines.
—I cannot bear the longing I feel for you. Let us have dinner together. I have something important to say. I will visit in two weeks.
Pray that you remain as brilliant as ever until then. To my sorrowful lady.
"Ugh."
In the end, I couldn't hold it back and retched. I hurriedly rang the bell, and Giselle rushed over to check on my condition. I emptied the bile that had surged up into the basin she held out, then rinsed my mouth clean with fresh water. Giselle quickly threw the letter from Joaquin Perez into the fireplace and burned it.
"It has been disposed of, my Lady."
"Go wash your hands. And burn those gloves, too."
They’re rotten. I can’t use them anymore.
I watched Giselle perform my orders with restrained movements, soothing my churning stomach with cold water.
"Ah. That was truly repulsive."
If God had sent the most terrible disaster to this world to punish humanity, it would surely come to us in the form of Joaquin Perez. He was belligerent, cunning, and possessed a vulgar tongue. A troublemaker who, despite being far down the line of succession, committed atrocities without hesitation and wielded power to his heart's content. A legendary libertine who couldn't keep his hands off women for even a moment. The filthiest piece of trash on the continent.
A bastard who didn't know his own place.
It would be better if he were at least stupid to match his behavior, but he was annoyingly sharp-witted, which only made him more detestable. The reason I loathed Joaquin Perez to this extent was because of the constant stream of marriage proposals.
The damn proposals.
That bastard didn't care one bit whether I became the heir to the Plene Grand Duchy or not. He only wanted to secure a path to advance into Adorif through me and to procure supplies. The reality that I had to endure him while knowing his transparent intentions was just another layer of the resentment piling up inside me.
"Joaquin Perez is coming in two weeks, Giselle. We had better prepare to welcome him."
Even if I didn't want to, he was a prince of a neighboring country. I couldn't treat him carelessly.
"Should I clear out the annex, my Lady?"
"Yes. First, move Sir Holdin to the spire, and Sir Nemanich……."
I stopped mid-sentence as a thought suddenly struck me.
'Wait a minute.'
I turned my head to stare at the map covering one wall. Dozens of small pins were stuck into it, each representing a suspect who had been at the Grand Duchy Castle on 'that day.' The red pins, in particular, signified strong suspicion. In other words, they were the people or factions that stood to gain the most from the Grand Duchess's death.
"……Giselle."
"Yes. Please speak."
"The camouflage in the forest wasn't discovered, was it?"
I shifted my gaze to the north of the map. A red pin was also stuck in the capital, where the imperial palace of the Adorif Empire was located.
"No. It was handled thoroughly."
"And you confirmed the henchman sent by Joaquin Perez?"
"Yes."
"And he retreated immediately?"
"Yes."
Since it was reported just yesterday, there was no room for doubt. Two countries that were practically sworn enemies. And the two hounds from those countries who were the first to jump out had clashed. Joaquin Perez had deliberately tried to drag Deyan into it. The reason, of course, was to eliminate the head of the enemy forces.
'But to retreat so easily after missing him right in front of his eyes? Instead of searching until the end?'
Joaquin Perez was the type of man who would have picked up Deyan's corpse if he could. I knew that, so I had deliberately tampered with the scene to ensure his survival remained uncertain. That was the only way to make Joaquin Perez move. I had expected that if Joaquin Perez had even the slightest inkling of the immortality Deyan possessed, he would continue the search. But he had retreated so easily that it felt strange—perhaps this was his plan all along.
'He intends to search secretly while pretending to come see me.'
Joaquin Perez hadn't given up on searching for Deyan. I didn't know why he was moving so covertly all of a sudden, but the subtext of his letter—stating his intention to visit unilaterally—might have been laced with Joaquin's impatience. He couldn't have expected the incredible coincidence that I would be the one to find him, so he must have intended to widen his search range starting from the nearby villages.
"It doesn't add up for him to take such a bold move and then suddenly play it safe. Joaquin Perez has something else up his sleeve."
"I will have him watched."
"Send someone, too. Go to the port where Sir Nemanich was confirmed to be and verify it yourself."
"Yes."
Giselle bowed her head.
'Joaquin Perez will try to stay at the Grand Duchy Castle until he finds Sir Nemanich, won't he?'
A good plan suddenly came to mind. Was it not said that the enemy of my enemy is my friend? The Kingdom of Cordi and the Adorif Empire were both my enemies. Even so, if I had to weigh the two countries, which side would be better to tip the scales toward?
"Giselle. If there were only two men left in the world, Joaquin Perez and Deyan Vojislav Nemanjić, who would you choose?"
"I would choose to take my own life."
Giselle chose death decisively. I chuckled softly at her reaction and stuck one more pin into the Nemanich County territory. It was a gray pin.
"I would choose the latter. I dislike Joaquin Perez just a little bit more."
I smiled broadly and pushed the gray pin in deeper.
'Joaquin Perez must have already finished his war preparations anyway.'
Considering Joaquin Perez's impatient temperament, he wouldn't be able to afford to take his time. If he had plotted a war and reached the stage just before execution, the problem I needed to worry about right now wasn't revenge.
'Let's stop the war first.'
I just needed to stop him from advancing into Adorif for now. In a very unique way.
'A way to make him shrink back for sure without giving him any excuse.'
I should use Deyan. Of course, I couldn't be sure how that man would react. Carrying a variable that was difficult to control was risky for me as well. But while he was difficult to control, it wasn't impossible.
"Giselle."
"Yes, my Lady."
"Would you go and check what Sir Nemanich is doing?"
"I will return immediately."
"Yes. Oh, and!"
Giselle, who had just turned to leave, stopped in that position. I smiled slightly at her and asked softly.
"Tell him that I will be visiting soon."
0 Comments