172-176
In front of the underground prison door of the Imperial Palace.
There, I stand holding a scroll in my hand.
“What?! Your… Your Highness!”
Addressing the guard who hastily kneels upon seeing me, I ask, “I was told Viscount Sabinele is here. Where is he?”
“If… if the prisoner you seek is him, he is inside. I will escort you.”
Observing the guard lighting a torch in a hurry, I inquire, “You haven’t harmed him, have you?”
Although it doesn’t seem like Devian would treat a prisoner roughly, I voice my concern.
“Of course not! How could I dare? Not long ago, His Grace also came to see if the Viscount was comfortable. Please come this way, Your Highness.”
He leads the way, guiding me.
On another note… Devian had come to see Sabinele after all.
Still… he intended to recruit Sabinele.
But it seems his efforts were in vain as he had never seen Sabinele before and now felt curious.
“So, what did they talk about?”
“That… um…”
The guard awkwardly responds.
“Although His Grace seemed to be pressuring him to work under him, the Viscount refused.”
Sabinele refused?
If he had accepted, I would have seen him a few times in the court, but I never did.
“Why did you seem to resist? Do you happen to know?”
“Uh… well… I heard from afar that you said you didn’t need to see the Emperor.”
At those words, I nod.
“Is that so…”
As I mumble like that…
A woman appears in the darkness.
“Oh? Santini. That person…”
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The woman, who looks pensive as she gazes at me.
For some reason, when I feel like I’ve seen her before, she hurriedly covers her face.
Why? Why do I feel like I’ve seen her?
“hahahaha… surprised, Your Majesty? She is my… no, my wife whom I recently captured… I mean, married. Come, greet her. Alice.”
At the guard’s words, the woman named Alice speaks with a contemplative expression.
“Ni… nice to meet you. I… I’m Alice.”
Puzzled by the fact that the guard brought his wife to the sinister underground prison, I inquire.
“But bringing your wife to this dreadful underground prison… Moreover, this place is restricted to outsiders for security reasons, isn’t it?”
Smiling at my words, the guard speaks.
“Alice got a job here. Although she may look gentle, her fighting skills are exceptional.”
Even after scrutinizing the woman named Alice several times…
“Haven’t we met somewhere before?”
At my words, when the woman named Alice shivers slightly, the guard steps forward and speaks.
“At the recent palace banquet. She worked as a temporary maid in the royal palace. You probably saw her then.”
The guard embraces Alice and says.
“Keep watch from below. Couldn’t wait to see you?”
Seeing Alice hesitating at the guard’s words, I feel annoyed inwardly as someone comes to mind.
“Step forward.”
At my words, the guard nods with a cheerful smile.
“Would you like to proceed?”
Finally, the guard guides me again.
Pointing with his finger at the iron bars, he says.
“Viscount Sabielli is here. I’ll be here, so feel free to talk to him.”
Nodding at his words, I head towards the bars he pointed at.
The foul stench, seemingly unwashed for days, involuntarily wrinkles my face.
Perhaps sensing someone’s presence.
-Creak.
The man lying on the mat gets up, bows his head towards me in greeting.
“Have you come, Your Majesty.”
Did he know I would come?
“Did you expect me to come?”
Sabielli shakes his head.
“No. Can a humble person like me understand Your Majesty’s thoughts? I just thought about it, that’s all.”
I furrow my brows at his words.
“Strange, for what reason did you think that?”
“Well… isn’t it to reclaim the empire?”
I nod at Savinelli, who responds with a cheerful smile.
“Right, although the emperor bears the title, he has no real power.”
Savinelli nods at my words.
“That’s why I thought you came to find me. I heard you absorbed those darn emperor loyalists. Isn’t that right?”
I nod at his words.
“Indeed. Rumors spread fast, even within the prison walls.”
“Information is crucial. It’s something I learned from someone.”
I feel frustrated listening to Savinelli beating around the bush.
“Is that so? What does that have to do with how you knew I was coming here?”
“It matters. By absorbing the emperor loyalists, when the opportunity arises, I plan to overthrow the Grand Duke. For that, I need talent. Isn’t that why you’re here?”
Seeing Savinelli accurately predict my thoughts, I feel slightly uneasy.
Different from Devian, yet somewhat similar.
If Devian feels like someone who deliberates over various factors and forces choices on others through his dilemmas…
Savinelli, on the other hand, gives off an impression of knowing everything at once.
Are these… geniuses?
Feeling inherently different from them, I, as an emperor, sense a slight lack of confidence and respond.
“I see… you’re right. So, will you stand by my side then?”
Savinelli brightens up at my words and says, “My loyalty comes at a price. What can you offer me in return?”
“I possess nothing besides the name of an emperor. What do you desire from someone like me?”
Savinelli gazes thoughtfully at me with eyes full of reassurance.
“I, too, possess nothing. The title of Marquis of Lachio… that’s all I have.”
“So, what should I give you then?”
“Do not doubt my words and loyalty. That’s all I ask for.”
Do not doubt his loyalty…
Savinelli, a faithful servant who tried to revive Nikea by any means until the surrender after Johannes’s death and Nikea’s fall.
Will he truly follow me as he did Johannes?
“I have a feeling of what you’re thinking. His Highness Johannes believed in me with nothing to offer and helped me find rightful lands.”
Savinelli seems saddened as if reminiscing about the past.
I also learned about Savinelli while investigating him.
As the firstborn of the Marquis of Lachio, the rightful heir designated by law, he wanted to inherit the title from the late Marquis, who remarried and sought to pass it on to his youngest. However, it was challenging for Savinelli to inherit it, so he had to escape the plots of the stepmother and the late Marquis and relied on Johannes of Nikea, avoiding death.
Eventually, he caught Johannes’s eye and became the Marquis of Lachio.
“But I haven’t done much for my liege. There were many more capable people than me, yet he always listened to me first.”
I nod at his words.
“Johannes always praised you and valued you, didn’t he?”
Savinelli nods at my words.
“Yes, that’s correct. I will accept Your Majesty’s heart as it is. So please do not doubt me. Everything I do is for Your Majesty and the empire.”
I nod at those words.
“Understood, I will trust you just as Jonas trusted you.”
“Yes, I receive Your Majesty’s command.”
Watching Sabinele accept my offer of employment without any resistance, I feel puzzled.
“I heard that the Grand Duke initially offered you a position. But what is the reason for you, who had nothing, to follow me?”
Sabinele gently closes her eyes in response to my question.
“I believe it’s a matter of personal revenge.”
Revenge… A desire for revenge…
As the thought crosses my mind, ‘Does she want to take Devian’s life?’ I quickly warn her.
“Let me make it clear in advance that I have no intention of killing him. I only wish to see him fail.”
Sabinele responds with a smile to my words.
“That is also acceptable. I simply wish to see that arrogant man fall. I have no desire to take his life. After all, you are the only prince to Your Majesty, are you not? I have no intention of killing him for the empire.”
I nod in agreement to her words.
“I trust you. Guard, release Sabinele.”
At my command, the guard, who was standing at a distance, approaches with a perplexed expression.
“Your… Majesty… Unfortunately, without the approval of the Ministry of Justice, releasing her is not possible…”
I hand him a scroll I hold in my hand.
“I have used my pardoning power, and this is an order from the Ministry of Justice.”
Normally, it takes some time to use the pardoning power, but when I ordered the Ministry of Justice to do so, they seemed to have prepared the order as if they were expecting it.
Perhaps… Devian had not prepared the procedure in advance.
After skimming through the scroll I handed him, the guard says, “Yes. I will release Viscount Sabinele immediately.”
– Rattle, rattle.
The guard holding a bunch of keys in his sleeve unlocks the prison door with a key.