~Chapter 106~
The Unkept Promise
A short, slight man stood before Arlo, but his presence was overwhelming. His golden eyes gleamed menacingly as he glared at Arlo.
Eleanor stood behind him, almost hidden, while the palace servants bowed deeply, too afraid to look up.
“What is going on here?”
The man spoke with a voice full of authority and anger. He wasnāt just anyoneāhe was the ruler of the empire, Emperor William Clarence de Juvenile.
“Your Majesty?” Arlo’s eyebrows shot up in surprise at the sudden appearance of the emperor.
Since his father had been ill, Arlo had seen him less often, and the emperor rarely visited the palace. So for him to appear out of nowhere at this moment was both unexpected and confusing.
But as soon as he saw Eleanor hiding behind the emperor, his anger reignited.
“Move aside, Your Majesty! I need to rip that womanās tongue out!”
“I asked, what happened?”
Emperor William IV shouted, his voice full of rage.
Arlo paused for a moment when the emperorās loud voice filled the room, but the humiliation he felt from Eleanor stopped him from bowing his head.
“She insulted me!” Arlo shouted.
“What did she say to make you raise your hand against the daughter of a noble family? To the woman you were once engaged to?”
“Thatās…” Arlo hesitated, unsure of what to say.
Thanks to the Duke of Astria, the emperor still didnāt know about Arloās loss of reproductive function. If he started explaining the situation, Eleanor might use it to deny his version, making things worse.
Arlo clenched his jaw as he tried to make sense of the situation.
“Tell me! Why are you suddenly silent?” the emperor demanded.
It was then that the answer came from a different voice.
“I told him I could not be his mistress.”
Both the emperor and Arlo turned their golden eyes towards Eleanor.
“Are you out of your mind?” Arlo muttered under his breath, glaring at her, while the emperor furrowed his brow in disbelief.
“What? What are you talking about?”
“The Crown Prince ordered me to become his mistress, but I told him I couldnāt. It was impossible, both morally and practically.”
Eleanorās words made Emperor William IVās face twist in disbelief.
He quickly turned his gaze toward Arlo, his anger growing. The servants behind Arlo trembled, unable to hide their fear.
“How could the Crown Prince, after everything, still be so obsessed with women… To take the sister of his fiancĆ©e as his mistress? Are you out of your mind?”
Arlo tried to make an excuse, but the emperor was having none of it. His trust in Arlo had evaporated.
Furthermore, the emperorās feelings toward Arlo had been at their lowest lately. Although Arlo wasnāt directly responsible, the emperor had lost his favorite mistress because of his actions, and that left him with a deep sense of anger.
“What are you waiting for? Take this foolish son to his chambers!”
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
The servants quickly rushed to grab Arlo. He shouted, “Your Majesty! This is a misunderstanding!” but his voice was drowned out by the emperorās fury.
“Are you okay, Eleanor?”
The emperor, feeling a little guilty, looked at Eleanor.
Her pale cheek had turned bright red, swollen from the slap. Despite his weaker strength compared to Astria, the emperor had hit her with all his might.
“Iām fine, Your Majesty.”
“I apologize for him. Heās been ill lately, and thatās why heās been so touchy. Iām sure he didnāt mean it when he spoke to you like that.”
The emperor, as expected, tried to defend his son in his own way.
Eleanor wasnāt surprised. She had expected this from him. His relationship with Arlo had never been strong. The emperor had never wanted Arlo to be the Crown Prince, and even though he had reluctantly accepted him, their bond was strained.
“How could I not feel sorry for you, Eleanor? My son has ruined your beautiful face…”
Eleanor smiled softly and shook her head.
“Itās nothing, Your Majesty. You came at the right time.”
The emperor thought she was just being modest, but Eleanor was being sincere.
The emperor had come at exactly the right moment, and she had planned it that way.
As she walked with the emperor, Eleanor glanced at a new servant walking behind him. This was someone who had replaced Fabian Robinson, the former lover of Count Annabelle, after he left for studying abroad.
The new servant had been bought by Eleanor. Though he wasnāt capable of much, he had managed to gather information about the emperorās schedule and help her create an opportunity for the conversation with the emperor.
This was the real reason for Eleanorās visit, something she hadnāt told Karsian.
If I had told him, he would have worried.
Karsian was the kind of person who would have cried for her, even after seeing her injuries. If he had known about her plan, he might have stopped her from going through with it.
Or he might have suggested a more complicated, painful way to do it.
It was much better to do it without telling him.
Iām sorry I didnāt keep my promise not to get hurt, but…
The swelling on her cheek would go down in a few days, and no one would ever find out about what happened at the Crown Princeās palace. Karsian would never know she had broken her promise.
Eleanor felt relieved, ignoring the pain in her cheek as she left the Crown Princeās palace.
Everything was going according to plan. Arlo had fallen into her trap, and the emperor had felt enough guilt to offer a meeting.
With the most uncertain part of her plan taken care of, she felt there was nothing left to worry about. She was confident the conversation with the emperor would go her way.
But just as she thought everything was going well, she quickly realized her assumption was wrong.
As she left the palace, a large man stood in front of her in the garden, where the bright sunlight shone through the flowers.
Though he wasnāt close, Eleanor recognized him immediately.
It was Karsian. The same man she had gone on a date with just days ago.
He must have been waiting for her. It seemed he was concerned about her being with Arlo and had stayed close, not realizing she had nothing to worry about.
Their eyes met, and Eleanor knew right awayāhe had been waiting for her all along.
