Episode 172
“Why don’t you bring the House of Vane to your side, Your Highness?”
The House of Vane was a founding family of the Jacador Empire. They were a prestigious house with massive influence in politics. More importantly, they were famous for almost never failing to pick the winning side when choosing the next Emperor.
“The House of Vane… hmmm.”
Bastian groaned. For generations, the Duke of Vane had declared loyalty only to the current Emperor, stepping into the succession race only when the winner was clear. Currently, the Duke of Vane was carefully weighing Valdemar and Bastian against each other.
“There is a brilliant jewel known as the Duke’s only daughter. Why has no one claimed her yet?”
At Eliano’s question, Bastian laughed and replied.
“Haha. I suppose you don’t know much since you are a foreigner. The Lady of Vane is a barren woman who cannot conceive. How could I take such a woman as my wife? Do you want my bloodline to end?”
Eliano blinked. Ah, she had forgotten. In Jacador’s high society, it was an open secret that Lady Elizabeth of Vane was infertile. That was why no one wanted to marry her. However, Eliano remembered her clearly—in her previous life, that woman had become Marcel’s first concubine and given birth to a prince. Even Marcel had been shocked when she became pregnant.
“If you take such a woman as your wife, imagine how moved the Duke of Vane would be. He adores his daughter.”
“The Duke of Vane?”
Unlike the Duke of Rosana, the Duke of Vane was a father who truly loved his child. Eliano remembered the Duke of Vane in her past life; he was the one who constantly pushed for her deposition so his own daughter could become Empress. She also remembered Elizabeth, who used to run to Eliano and say annoying things like, “My father only does this because he treasures me so much.”
“Lady Elizabeth is the only precious daughter of the Vane family. Can you imagine the strength of a father’s love?”
It was obvious that the sly Duke of Vane had spread the rumors of infertility on purpose. He likely wanted to hide her away so he could marry her off to the prince who eventually won the throne.
In her previous life, as soon as Marcel became Crown Prince, the Duke of Vane announced that his daughter’s infertility had been cured. Even though Eliano was the Crown Princess, she had nearly been pushed aside right before Marcel took the throne.
“But knowing the Duke’s personality, he will want his daughter to be the Empress. A woman who cannot bear children as Empress? No matter how noble she is, that can never happen.”
Bastian spoke firmly, but Eliano replied with a soft smile.
“When did I ever say you should make her your primary wife? You must remain faithful to your current wife. For a woman who supposedly cannot provide an heir, wouldn’t being the second wife of the man who will become Emperor still be a glorious position?”
Bastian’s eyes flashed. Why didn’t I think of that? Because Elizabeth Vane was considered “disqualified” in the marriage market due to being barren, no one even thought of her as a bride. Everyone assumed she would live her whole life under her father’s protection.
“Marry the Lady of Vane. Then the House of Vane will be forced to be in the same boat as you, Your Highness.”
Eliano continued.
“The House of Vane is also very close to the Empress of Jacador. They will be a huge help. At the very least, she won’t do anything foolish like trying to adopt one of your half-brothers.”
“But would the Lady of Vane agree to be my second wife?”
“Promise her the position of Empress.”
Elizabeth Vane was a woman raised to be an Empress. At least, that was how her father had raised her.
“But…” Bastian’s face clouded over, likely thinking of his current wife.
“Didn’t you say she can’t have children? You will get your heir from your current primary wife. What is the problem?”
“……”
“You can surely manage your own household. If you cannot even handle that much, how do you expect to become the ruler of an Empire?”
Eliano felt no guilt for shaking up another family. She felt a little sorry for the Second Prince’s wife, but in the end, the choice was Bastian’s. Eliano was simply showing him a new path.
“If I propose to the House of Vane and get rejected, I will lose a lot of face…”
Hearing Bastian mutter, Eliano sneered inwardly. He wasn’t worried about his wife; he was worried about his own pride.
“Because of that pride, the House of Vane won’t be able to reject a proposal from a strong candidate for the throne so easily. Since you and the First Prince are equal in power, they will at least keep a foot in your camp. They might say the Lady is sick and delay their answer…”
However, Valdemar would be burning with anxiety during that time. If the cold First Prince thought the House of Vane might join his brother, even he might become impatient and make a mistake. Bastian desperately needed that mistake—a small crack he could drive a needle into!
Bastian’s face brightened. Even if he was rejected, it wasn’t a waste of time. For the sake of the throne, he could endure a little embarrassment.
“Why are you giving me such a valuable plan? What do you want from me, Duchess?”
Bastian was a man who understood ‘give and take.’ He knew this wasn’t free advice. Eliano’s lips parted.
“I want to comfort my sister’s soul. I want Bella to rest in peace.”
Thinking they were truly close sisters, Bastian replied.
“Fine. I will make sure the compensation is generous. I can’t give away land, but I will throw in high-quality iron ore that only comes from Jacador.”
“And one more thing.”
Bastian prepared to say no if she asked for too much, but her next words were unexpected.
“Make the irresponsible groom, who abandoned my sister and declared they never even spent their first night together, pay the price.”
“Make Marcel pay? How?”
“With his death.”
There was poison in Eliano’s eyes as she spoke of Marcel Jacador’s death.
“That is easy enough.”
Bastian agreed readily. After all, in Jacador, every prince who failed to become Emperor usually had to die anyway.
Through a listening device installed in the drawing room, their conversation flowed directly into the ears of another man.
Flint, who was supposedly “absent,” was eavesdropping in the room next door. The device was a type of bugging tool from the Magic Tower. Eliano had secretly installed it while repairing the mansion, and Flint never thought he would be the one using it.
He knew Eliano planned things more freely when he was away. So, he had intentionally ordered Lina to tell her he was gone.
Flint already knew from Mason that she had visited the Asta Guild before the meeting. He knew she had met Valdemar there. Mason didn’t know the details of their talk, but for Flint, that was enough.
Just hearing her talk to Bastian now allowed him to guess the rest. The Valdemar he knew was not the type to deal with a foreign Duchess unless it involved the throne.
He had finally learned what she truly wanted: the death of the Seventh Prince of Jacador, Marcel. She must have asked Valdemar for the same thing.
Why did she want his death so obsessively? Was it to erase her past with an old lover? No, it was too much. It didn’t fit Eliano’s personality.
Returning slowly to his office, Flint opened a drawer. Inside were mysterious notes and letters.
「Eliano Rosana is my woman. She is not a woman for a lowly hostage like you to have.」
「Lia will divorce you and run away with me.」
「She is a woman who should be mine, not the Duchess of Howard. We have already spent many nights together and lived a long time together.」
The letters had been arriving since the early days of their marriage, with no sender listed. They were boldly placed right on Flint’s desk. Naturally, Flint had ignored the nonsense.
Once Eliano cleaned out the house and fired the spies, the letters stopped, and he had forgotten them. They were that petty. Flint was not a man to be shaken by the weak attempts of a loser to drive a wedge between them.
But recently, another one had arrived. It was sent to him as a petition while he was touring the lands destroyed by monsters. The handwriting was the same, so Flint knew it was the same man immediately.
「I guess you don’t believe me, but Lia has a cute mole on her right breast. And there is a petal-like mark on her inner thigh. Do you still intend to deny it?」
The content was beyond the level of being ignored as a madman’s letter. It listed physical characteristics of Eliano that no one could know unless they had spent the night with her.
Furthermore, what was sent with it… was the dagger Eliano always carried for self-defense.
「Do you believe me now? We met recently. Lia decided to run away with me. She said she couldn’t live with a terrible man like you.」
Shockingly, the sender had left a signature this time. Flint had seen that signature during the meeting with the delegation.
It was the signature of Marcel Jacador.
There was no need to check if it was real. Flint had not forgotten the way Marcel looked at his wife with greed, or how he loitered around her.
Flint picked up a candle and began to burn all the letters. Now that he knew who sent them, there was no need to keep them.
He knew without thinking that the part about her running away was a lie. If she had really decided to run away with that bastard, she wouldn’t be asking for Marcel Jacador’s death.
He did not lose his calm. But in the reflection of the candle flame, his face was twisted into a terrifying expression.
