episode_0113

The steward of Marquis Valatier turned his back towards the silver-haired man and politely nodded his head. Despite his upright posture, his voice was chillingly cold.

Soon, the silver-haired man raised his arm and waved his hand towards him. Without even looking at him, he kept his back turned.

Even though the master did not look back, the steward left without a single sign of hesitation, maintaining his composed demeanor. The room of Marquis Valatier was filled with a silent stillness as he was left alone.

As the steward exited the room, the silver-haired man, Yulian, slumped down on the sofa in front of the bed. He roughly grabbed the square brown bottle on the table and poured the amber liquid into a clear glass.

It had been over a month since Yulian had inherited the title of Marquis from the Emperor. During that time, none of his plans had come to fruition.

The infuriating Emperor still held his mother, Louise de la Valatier, captive. The newly acquired mansion for his mother remained empty.

Rumors of the Duke of Verberitz heading west with the youngest daughter of Beaurnga were also spreading throughout the capital. According to the scarce information from the Western intelligence network he had planted, the two individuals had promised a deep relationship with each other.

His power remained unchanged.

Despite Ernst, who officially joined him after the kidnapping incident of the Beaurnga heiress, exerting his influence in various ways, his support base still consisted of insignificant commoners.

His frustration was evident in the way he reached for the glass.

He roughly grasped the glass, and the brown whiskey spilled slightly. Yulian quickly downed the whiskey, feeling the cool liquid slide down his throat, but his heart remained tightly closed.

He realized he was somewhat naive.

Yulian poured another glass of whiskey.

He should have listened to Ernst’s warning that his mother would not be easily released.

He should have taken note of Christian’s observation that Eleanor seemed to have fallen for the Duke.

Ultimately, everything that was happening now was a result of his own actions.

“Damn it.”

Thud-

Yulian slammed the glass he held onto the table. The sound of his frustration echoed loudly in the quiet room.

In truth, what was tormenting his mind so much at the moment was not just the continued failures. Yulian had risen to this position despite being labeled as a bastard. His mother and Ellie had the patience to wait until things improved.

What was truly disturbing his resolute mind was the gaze of his mother he faced every morning.

Even though she had lost her voice, his mother was an incredibly wise woman. It was her wisdom that caught the Emperor’s attention.

His mother was such a woman. Therefore, she must have understood the current situation very well.

She must have been well aware that turning her precious son into a chain that bound him was not a good sign.

Otherwise, she would not have had such a look in her eyes every morning.

The guilt of putting her precious son in a cold cage.

The self-loathing that came from realizing she could do nothing while looking at such a son.

Thud thud-

With the image of his mother resurfacing in his mind, Yulian kicked the table in front of him with his boot. This time, the sound was loud enough to be heard by those outside the room.

However, even if the owner of the mansion made such a loud noise in his room, no one came to his room. The darkness enveloping the mansion neatly swallowed up the disturbance caused by Yulian.

Because the true master of Marquis Valatier was someone else.

The door of the room slowly began to open.

“My lord enjoys pondering alone like this.”

The door to the dark corridor opened towards the room. In front of it stood the true master of Marquis Valatier.

In front of the unexpected guest standing at the door, Yulrian was startled and quickly got up from his seat.

“Your, Your Majesty.”

“Hehe. We’ve been staying in the same house, so why are you so surprised?”

With a friendly smile at Yulrian’s flustered expression, Emperor Eduard Galatea of the Empire entered his bedroom.

His own father.

Perhaps it was because he had been drinking whiskey in succession, but with the slowly swirling effects of alcohol, Yulrian regained his composure and belatedly bowed respectfully.

“Is there a problem up to this point?”

“I couldn’t sleep, so I wandered around the mansion. I heard a loud noise, so I came up worried about my son.”

With a smile he hadn’t seen before, the Emperor approached Yulrian, who had bowed, and asked, “May I sit with you?”

“What could possibly be not allowed?”

Yulrian quickly moved aside and answered. However, before the answer came back, the Emperor was already seated in the center of the sofa. He was indeed a presumptuous man.

Finally, the attendants who followed began setting up fruits, cheese, and even a fancy whiskey bottle on the table, which had only glasses and bottles before.

“I haven’t had a proper drink with my diligent son, so my heart hasn’t been at ease lately.”

With the diligent hands of the attendants, a proper drinking table was set up on the table, and round ice was already filled in the glass that had been drinking alone.

The Emperor poured whiskey into the glass about halfway, unlike anyone else, and offered it to Yulrian. Yulrian politely accepted the glass from the Emperor and answered.

“Isn’t there a son who should be tilting the glass like this?”

Although he had regained his composure, perhaps because he had already filled and drunk the whiskey, the voice that came out of his mouth was filled with disrespect even to himself.

However, the Emperor in front of him didn’t seem to care about Yulrian’s words.

“Well, Felix is wrapped around his mother’s skirt, so he doesn’t seem to have such thoughts. No matter how much I think about it, he shouldn’t have been born a man.”

Nevertheless, perhaps because of the blood relationship, the Emperor laughed and brought the glass to his lips.

“On the other hand, my sister Dominique is much more manly.”

Laughing heartily, the Emperor drank the whiskey.

Yulrian covered his face with the glass he received from the Emperor and frowned at his laughter.

It was strange.

The Emperor he knew was not like this. Whether it was family or blood, the man was only concerned with his power.

As the two men placed their whiskey glasses back on the table, the Emperor’s golden eyes flashed and enveloped Yulrian.

“I’ve heard that our son has been quite dissatisfied lately.”

In the cold, emotionless voice that was different from before, Yulrian felt a chill run down his spine.

“W-what do you mean?”

“Hehe. Even our son knows. Even if this father is holed up in the mansion, I still have quite a few eyes to see.”

The Emperor poured a full glass of whiskey into the empty glass with only ice left, and continued speaking.

“The newly acquired mansion in the suburbs is still empty. And the Beaurnga’s mistress you confidently mentioned has fled back to her hometown with that commoner.”

With a thick, brown liquid swirling on the surface, the Emperor flashed his eyes and offered the glass to Yulrian.

“So, Yulrian Vallati, the Duke. What do you plan to do now?”

At the quiet question, Yulrian steadied his trembling heart and faced the Emperor.

“I apologize, Your Majesty. What to do, I-”

“Are you planning to back down like this, Yulrian?”

The Emperor’s golden eyes glared at him.

Despite the heavy, oppressive voice, Yulrian continued to stare at the Emperor until the end.

After staring at him for a while, the Emperor finally turned his gaze away and began pouring whiskey into his empty glass.

“Well. It’s good that the spark in your eyes is still alive. Felix, that guy, loses his taste as soon as he shows a little temper.”

He laughed and started pouring whiskey into his glass.

“그래.눈빛은 살아있어서 좋구먼. 펠릭스 그놈은 조금만 성질을 부리면 금세 깨갱하여 맛이 없었는데 말이지.”

Half-filling a glass with whiskey and then pouring it down his throat, the emperor called for the courtier who had been waiting behind him. Responding to the emperor’s gesture, the courtier politely bowed and placed the stack of documents he was holding on the table.

“Resolve this matter cleanly and come back to me. If you can solve it to my satisfaction, I may show some leniency towards your mother,” the emperor said.

The emperor and Yulian took turns looking at the neatly arranged envelope and spoke.

“Besides, it’s about the Baroness of Bearn. You might be able to help turn her heart around,” the emperor added.

With that, the emperor flashed a sly smile. Yulian thought that smile was like the devil’s temptation.

Despite knowing this, Yulian’s shoulders, which had been tense, slowly began to relax as his red eyes focused on the documents on the table.

The rising intoxication, the affection for his mother, and the jealousy that stubbornly gripped his heart towards the Grand Duke slowly moved his hand that had been still.

However, his hand did not reach the envelope.

Before Yulian’s hand could touch it, the emperor gently pulled the envelope towards himself.

“Just remember, Baron Valatier,” the emperor leaned forward, facing Yulian’s flushed face.

Perhaps it was because of the changed title.

Yulian’s hand, hanging in the air, was trembling slightly.

“You must be prepared. After the Baron examines this envelope, you will walk a different path from the life you’ve known.”