Chapter 252
“Did you perhaps hide my son away somewhere far off in the wilderness?”
“……”
“Or did he get kidnapped again on the way here by someone else?”
The Archduke asked, his gaze fixed somewhere beyond the window.
As he absentmindedly brushed a finger over his chapped lips, the Archduke slowly turned his eyes to Richard.
His counterpart still said nothing.
With a scoff, as if the situation was laughable, the Archduke soon erased all trace of amusement from his face.
Then his voice thundered like a bolt of lightning.
“I’m asking you if my son is actually coming here or not!”
The Archduke’s furious roar rang out powerfully.
Richard lowered his gaze to the table and reached for his cold teacup.
He lightly tapped the lukewarm handle a few times before withdrawing his hand, as if he’d lost interest.
Lacing his fingers together, Richard replied in a strained voice.
“I believe I already told you—your son is not inside the imperial palace. It’s only natural that transport would take some time.”
“Do I look like some gullible fool who’d pay a ransom without even confirming the hostage’s face first? If not, then you should’ve had everything prepared to bring him in immediately!”
“My apologies. You must understand, I’m also in a delicate position. Rumors that I’ve locked up a relative would be quite troublesome.”
Richard responded smoothly, a flawless smile still playing on his lips.
“There is always a waiting period before anything of true value is attained. Please, calm your heart and wait just a little longer.”
The Archduke shot Richard a cold, displeased glare.
Richard glanced briefly at the wall clock behind him and then stood up from his seat with unhurried elegance.
He spoke gently.
“It seems you could use a bit of time to cool your head. I’ll excuse myself for now.”
The Archduke didn’t stop him.
Leaving behind his clearly infuriated uncle, Richard stepped out of the room.
The knights waiting outside stood at attention the moment they saw him, but he passed by without so much as a glance.
The farther he got from the Archduke, the quicker Richard’s pace became.
After passing through several secret corridors, he finally arrived at his destination and forcefully pushed the door open.
The moment he crossed the threshold, a man who had been waiting inside sprang to his feet.
Clearly, he had also been anxiously awaiting someone’s arrival—his face instantly filled with disappointment.
And right after that—fear.
“Y-Your Highness the Crown Prince!”
“What’s going on here?”
Richard snapped, jutting his chin toward the clock on the wall.
“Shouldn’t that bastard Walter have arrived long ago? Look at the time!”
“M-My deepest apologies, Your Highness. We haven’t received any word from outside…”
“So you’re telling me you still have no idea why he’s this late?”
Richard’s eyes darkened with menace.
All color drained from the man’s face.
He knew very well how Richard handled subordinates who failed to execute orders.
After all, he had only taken this post because his predecessor had been… removed.
The man brought his sweat-drenched hands together and stammered,
“S-So, I actually just sent someone out to investigate—just moments ago.”
Why are his subordinates always so utterly useless?
How could they mess up something as simple as transporting a restrained hostage?
While the man stewed in frustration, the servant who had just been dispatched burst into the room without even knocking.
“S-Sir! We have a situation. A major one—!”
Only then realizing Richard’s presence, the servant froze, his face going pale as if he might faint.
Richard slowly turned his head toward the door.
It wasn’t just the servant who had the misfortune of facing the Crown Prince’s fury.
Beside the servant stood a man who looked more like a beggar than anything else.
Narrowing his eyes, Richard examined the man the servant had brought in. It didn’t take him long to realize the man was a knight from the Imperial Order.
Torn, stained with dirt and blood, and clearly in bad shape, his uniform was nonetheless unmistakably the standard-issue gear for Imperial knights.
Sure enough, the disoriented knight managed to straighten up and salute Richard the moment he came to his senses.
“I-It’s an honor to report, Your Highness the Crown Prince! I am Max of the proud Second Division…”
“Let’s skip the introductions and hear the situation first.”
Richard raised his right hand to cut Max off.
Just a glance at the knight’s battered state made it clear that something serious had happened.
There was no time to listen to the personal history of some low-ranking knight.
Especially one who might soon vanish from this palace without a trace.
Perhaps sensing the grim fate awaiting him, Max swallowed hard before speaking.
“There… there was a betrayal.”
“Betrayal?”
“A few hours ago, while waiting for Your Highness’s summons, Dame Iona suddenly appeared. I was confused—she was supposed to be in the East, after all. When I asked about it, she said she had returned to the capital and was here on Your Highness’s orders to take custody of the hostage for transport.”
Richard couldn’t open his mouth.
If he did, he felt he might lose control and spill all his emotions out into the open.
“So I handed over the hostage, and we began making our way to the palace… but before long, she revealed her true colors. When I let my guard down for a moment, she threw me out of the carriage. The others escorting us—her men—were also taken out the same way. According to the last remaining coachman, she stopped the carriage mid-route and fled on horseback with the hostage. On the way back, I found the supply cart abandoned on the roadside.”
As he finished his report, Max glanced nervously at Richard’s stiff expression.
Richard struggled to maintain his composure as he asked,
“Of course, you ordered a pursuit and then came to report to me, yes?”
“O-Of course! It’s only a matter of time before we catch them!”
Max blurted with exaggerated confidence, trying to mask his fear.
But his rigid, trembling shoulders betrayed just how strained he truly was.
The longer Richard remained silent, the more Max’s confidence crumbled.
After a long, suffocating pause, Richard murmured under his breath,
“They were working together from the start.”
There was no other way to explain the impeccable timing.
From the very beginning, the Archduke and Iona had been in deep collusion.
Richard had hoped the Archduke would one day deny their blood ties—to her mother and to Iona herself. But such a wish had always been in vain.
Before Richard could even begin to prepare for betrayal, they had already sided against him.
This entire scheme… had been orchestrated by the Archduke—perhaps even led by Iona—for one purpose: to drive him into a corner.
He had been too blinded by his desire to reclaim the woman he loved to acknowledge the possibility.
A bitter laugh slipped from Richard’s lips.
“Did she leave any message for me?”
“P-Pardon?”
“I assume it’s about time I was called a fool, or an idiot. Something mocking, yes?”
It was said with self-derision, but Max’s face suddenly turned pale.
Richard, sensing something strange, narrowed his eyes and stared hard at him.
After a moment’s hesitation, Max clenched both fists and blurted out:
“If—if Your Highness swears not to kill me, I’ll report it!”
“You dare try to barter your pitiful life for information that should have been handed over without question?”
“I-I only hesitated because the message was so… blasphemous, Your Highness!”
Max squeezed his eyes shut as he stammered, nearly in tears.
Richard glared at him coldly and said,
“Very well. I promise. Now speak.”
Even with that promise, Max didn’t look reassured.
He remained frozen for a long while, until Richard’s patience finally snapped and his hand reached for his sword. Only then did Max finally open his mouth.
“S-She said that she and her husband dream of toppling this rotten empire… that they have a rebellious dream.”
“……”
“She said the Archduke’s son would be returned home safely. And she told me to deliver this to Your Highness personally—if you refuse to acknowledge her change of heart, then this won’t be the last time something like this happens. T-That’s what she said.”
That was the moment Richard’s mask—his carefully composed facade—shattered completely.
---The End Of The Chapter---
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