episode_0166

“What about our kids…?”

The Emperor, Empress, and Camilla almost fainted on the spot when they saw the threatening letter that arrived at the palace.

“Raul is also doing his best to search right now…”

Kyle, who had come to deliver the news, also looked clearly flustered.

“I’ve never been good at that kind of thing. Even though he’s my husband…”

“Yeah. He was good at finding demons, but he was terrible at finding people.”

Of course, even if other people had joined, the only clue was a single threatening note.

The content of the threatening letter was so absurd that it wasn’t even worth considering.

A threatening letter with contents that even a madman would not send, demanding half of the empire in exchange for holding the Crown Prince and Raoul’s daughter hostage.

I wouldn’t have believed it if it hadn’t come with the hair tie that Raoul’s daughter Sharia always wears.

“Anyway, since there are no clues, we are probably no different from Raul…”

Even the empress was at a loss as to what to do.

“I wonder how much my daughter is suffering… She’s definitely crying…”

“I guarantee you that your daughter will never cry over something like that.”

“… Do you really want to die?”

The Empress sighed as she saw the two people strangling each other despite the seriousness of the situation.

It was a natural reaction to have my beloved son kidnapped. I just treated him a little harshly so that he wouldn’t be a spoiled brat, and so that he could be raised as a proper successor.

It’s not that I never loved you.

If I never see my son again, I will blame the empire that brought about this reality, and I will…

“Something troubled happened.”

The being that appeared so casually in the palace’s private room, where only three people should be present, had a sweet and beautiful voice like the snake that was said to have tempted the first humans.

“I heard the whole story. The kidnapping of His Highness the Crown Prince and his fiancée. This is no ordinary case.”

The being that appeared with one eye closed and a faint smile on his face had the same sky blue hair as Camilla and the same eyes as Raoul.

“Before she was the crown prince’s fiancée, she was your younger sister.”

“Oh, right. Well, let’s move on from such trivial matters… Isn’t this the time to talk about how to resolve the situation?”

Charles Argos. He was the son of Raoul and Camilla, who inherited his uncle’s name. It was said that he was superior to his uncle in matters of intelligence, but he was a boy with great disqualifications in his natural tastes and personality.

“All we have is this blackmail letter, what are you going to find out, Confucius? We’re in no mood for joking right now…”

“I know a great deal, Your Majesty.”

“Then, how about revealing what you know, Confucius?”

“Is there a fool in the world who would give up what he has for free?”

He was a so-called madman who was not afraid even when facing the emperor despite his young age.

Although he was a perfect boy in every way, from his looks to his hair and even his dagger, he was not without weaknesses.

“First, let me go a little closer and explain the details.”

He had only just walked across the private hallway, but Charles was breathing heavily as if he had been running all day.

“Gasp… Huh…”

“My brother wasn’t that weak…”

To borrow an expression from Sharia, he had less physical strength than a newborn deer or rabbit.

He had poor physical strength and would get tired even with just a little exercise. Unlike his parents and younger sister, who had plenty of physical strength, he was extremely weak.

Because of this, he suffered from all sorts of illnesses since he was a baby, and Camilla could not bear to scold her son harshly.

And that kind of moderate laissez-faire has led to the current results.

“Haa… Confucius. Now is the time to play around…”

“This is not a joke, Your Highness.”

“… Then tell me.”

“All I can promise you is the safety of His Highness the Crown Prince and my sister. I can promise you nothing else.”

What Charles, who was breathing heavily, showed was a smile that was so evil and beautiful that it looked like a devil’s smile.

It was almost as if the illusion of smiling so hard that her mouth was about to split, but her actual smile was so gentle and gentle that it looked neat.

“What do you want, Confucius?”

“No matter ‘how’ or ‘how’ I solve it, as long as I am not punished for it, ‘even if it is ‘how I figured something out’, ‘what sacrifices are involved’ or ‘whom I hire’.”

“Okay, as long as you guarantee the safety of the Crown Prince and Sharia. But what if you fail to keep that promise?”

“I will give you my title.”

“Okay, then go and solve the problem your way, Confucius.”

The Empress was not a person who talked empty words, and Charles was not the kind of person to joke with his life.

“Mother.”

Confucius turned his head towards Camilla and smiled with an innocent smile that was different from before.

“How have you been?”

“… Yeah. How have you been?”

“It’s okay, except that Grandma is too concerned. Grandpa is also concerned in one way or another.”

“Don’t push yourself too hard. Also, are you eating well? You’re a picky eater and skip meals often. Also, aren’t you harassing the nobles around you like last time? Also, aren’t you saying weird things to the girls like last time and starting a fight? Also…”

The emperor was astonished, never dreaming that Camilla would nag him like this.

How can you lecture yourself while raising such a troublemaker son? There is a limit to outrageous behavior.

“Sigh… Then I guess I’ll go now.”

Charles, who came out of the private room, looked at his subordinates around him with a smile on his face.

“Your Majesty… Are you sure it’s okay…? I guess things have gotten too big…”

“That fool has crossed the line. If you’re a clown, you should have played within the script I gave you.”

The boy, leaning on his father’s cane, walked with difficulty and showed his discomfort openly.

“I deliberately weakened the imperial guard so that I could send an assassin, and now this is how things will turn out.”

It was Charles who deliberately weakened the security of the outer walls of the palace.

“That Confucius… Why did you help that guy on purpose…? It could have been dangerous…”

“It’s a mess that I can’t do anything about, but… I’d rather let it play on my hands. It’s better for my hands to get a little dirty than for the precious carpet to get dirty.”

Charles, who judged the Third Prince to be a threat, pretended to collude with him in order to control him.

“… A monkey who doesn’t even know his place needs to be taught the subject.”

“What are you going to do…?”

“First, I’ll talk to your grandmother and grandfather.”

“I don’t know about Heron, but Ratri has been out of active duty for a long time. Would you be able to help me…?”

That was something he could say because he didn’t know how much Ratrager adored his grandchildren.

It was she who brought all kinds of medicine and doctors to cure the sick Charles’ body, and it was also she who made all kinds of dolls for Sharia.

Charles had once said, “I’m hungry,” at her mansion, a remark he regretted to this day.

No matter how I thought about it, it was too much to try to feed a frail boy a roasted boar leg, a whole pizza, a pot of beef stew, sautéed chicken liver, sausages, a whole roast goose, and octopus pilaf.

“… I’m confident in my ability to act coy in front of my grandmother. But if Sharia had been kidnapped before that, she’d be the first to draw her sword. ”

“If you just tell His Majesty the Emperor honestly, everything will be resolved…”

“Well, that’s also true…”

Charles smiled that devilish smile again.

“That’s not fun, is it?”

At that time, Crown Prince Leonhard and Raoul’s daughter Charles were looking at each other from their prison cells.

“… hand.”

“That’s something you’d only say to a puppy. Just say it properly, like asking if your hand is okay.”

“Are your hands okay?”

“It’s not something you should worry about. I’ve even been hit in the palm of my hand with a stick once.”

“…”

Sharia slowly approached Leonhard.

“Your name. It’s the same as the ghost uncle who taught you how to use a bow.”

“It’s creepy to have the same name as a ghost. I guess there must be more than one or two dead people with the same name as me.”

“You look just like that old man.”

“… Was that person also a member of the royal family?”

“A reckless, mean-spirited, and stupid old man like you. He’s still watching me from behind.”

“That’s scary! If a ghost is watching, that’s scary! Having a ghost attached to you is several times more dangerous than those kidnappers!”

“Ah, that old man is staring at you right now.”

“That’s scary!”

Crown Prince Leonhard was surprisingly a boy who was afraid of ghosts, despite his reputation as an adult.

“But they’re both kind on the inside.”

“… Really?”

“And I have a feeling that both of them are easy prey to scams.”

“I think you should really go somewhere and not open your mouth…”

“I don’t hate you.”

Sharia boldly spoke her mind.

“My dad said, if you find a boy you don’t like, bring him to me.”

“Hey I…”

The crown prince, who wanted to break off the engagement no matter what, seemed confused.

“I will admit that if a child fights with me and wins, he will win.”

“Can you win!!!!!!!”

But soon, my will to break off the engagement became stronger.