The Price of Saving A Wicked Beast
Translator: Rae
Marquis Brundell relayed the matter concerning Bonnet to Fabian.
“I’ve been informed the Crown Princess feels deep guilt over the execution of that maid’s sister. Because of that, she seems to treat the girl rather kindly.”
At the mention that Bonnet had been permitted to go out after the day of the incident, Fabian frowned.
“That seems unlikely. The Crown Prince is a suspicious man. He would never simply let a maid from his palace making contact with the marquis’s household.”
“But it is true. The maid has already brought back several pieces of information we could use.”
“Information we could use?”
It was a phrase that could not help but catch the ear. As interest flickered across Fabian’s face, the marquis nodded and whispered close to him.
“They say she will be walking alone in the garden tonight.”
"Garden?”
“Yes. That place from before… the Glass Garden.”
As he answered, the marquis’s voice caught in his throat.
“They say the Crown Princess still insists on her innocence. The Crown Prince ordered her not to go out until matters are resolved, but she refuses to accept that.”
He added that she argued with the Crown Prince, saying that hiding when one was innocent only made it appear as though she had something to hide.
“I intend to go there tonight and k*ll the Crown Princess.”
At the marquis’s blunt declaration of murder, Fabian looked at him in shock, then slowly shook his head.
“No. That is not a good idea, Marquis.”
“Why not? It is the perfect opportunity while she is alone. If I miss this, I may never again have the chance to kill that woman with my own hands, no matter how much I long to grind her to dust.”
“Have you not considered the possibility that this is a trap laid by the Crown Prince?”
“...Pardon?”
“If Bonnet truly is bringing back reliable information, as you say, then opportunities will arise again. First, we must confirm whether that maid can truly be trusted.”
Moreover, if the marquis moves on his own, the situation will become troublesome. The House of Brundell is now kin to the Dared Grand Ducal House.
That day, despite the accident occurring before everyone’s eyes, there were not a few who believed the Crown Princess’s claims of innocence.
The northern nobles were, to Fabian, already fish caught in his net. The ones he needed to draw over were the central nobles of the capital aligned with the Crown Prince.
‘I did not devise such a plan merely to k*ll a single woman like Adelaide.’
The marquis needed to stake his life on something far greater. In other words, not killing the Crown Princess, but the Crown Prince himself.
“For now, let us confirm the truth of what that maid has told us. We will know soon enough if the Crown Princess really appears in the Glass Garden tonight.”
***
On the desolate night, the doors of the Glass Garden opened. Adelaide’s crisp footsteps echoed through the moonlit garden. At the center, where he had been waiting for her, a deep curve formed at the corner of Fabian’s lips.
As during the funeral, the sky was clear without a single cloud, and even the night was flooded with the light of a full moon. In the radiant garden, Adelaide spotted Fabian and faltered, stepping back.
"...Grand Duke? What are you doing here?”
“Ah. I was taking a walk and stopped by for a moment. This is also a place imbued with memories of my fiancé.”
At Fabian’s words, Adelaide’s complexion turned pale. Like someone seized by fear and trying to flee, she turned her back on him.
Just as Adelaide hurried to move away, her steps came to a halt. She turned back. Fabian looked at her with a face touched by surprise.
“I thought you would run the moment you saw me. You are more brazen than I expected.”
“There is one thing I must ask. That day, why did you do it?”
“That day? Which day are you referring to?”
"The day your fiancé, the marquis’ daughter, was fell in an accident, ah, I mean m*rdered.”
“That is an interesting way to put it. Was it not said that Katarina’s death was an accident?”
“Yes. Because there was no way to prove that the nanny had been bribed by you.”
The word ‘bribed’ had been placed before ‘nanny.’ Fabian raised an eyebrow, seemingly interested.
“Bribery, is it? From the way you’re saying it, it seems evidence that did not exist back then has somehow appeared now.”
“I heard it clearly. The marquis’ daughter’s nanny called you ‘Your Highness, the Grand Duke.’”
At Adelaide’s reply, Fabian began to snicker as though he had heard something truly amusing. Soon his laughter grew louder, echoing savagely throughout the Glass Garden.
He clapped his hands and shook his head.
“Excessive loyalty can be a problem at times. The old woman spoke carelessly, without any sense.”
“How could you do something like that? I thought, at the very least, you were not such a savage person.”
She had thought that rivalry and power struggles with Killian were inevitable. But what happened to Katarina was an entirely different matter.
“She was your fiancé. The woman you were about to marry. How can you be so indifferent…”
“A fiancée, a future wife. And how special do you suppose that makes her?”
Fabian gave a faint chuckle and shrugged.
“Truth be told, if I could have, I would have liked to k*ll that woman with my own hands.”
Fabian tapped his temple lightly.
“She was okay. Her family was passable enough. But her head, so utterly empty. Her father was the same.”
No matter how thoughtless one might be, to parade through the imperial palace wearing Serrem jewels, and then continue to behave so recklessly even after the incident. The more he thought about it, the more ridiculous it seemed.
“You ask why I killed her? The answer is simple. Her foolish actions nearly ruined my entire plan.”
It had been a scheme carried out in secrecy over many years.
The original plan was to abduct Adelaide using House of Dared’s forces after the wedding.
D*ath was too easy. He had intended to leave just enough traces for Killian to chase without ever catching her, watching him slowly descend into madness.
However, Killian went to the western border and returned with the Emperor’s antidote, forcing Fabian to use House of Dared’s forces, his trump card, merely to k*ll a single imperial physician.
The original plan collapsed, and though he devised another, a succession of incidents steadily closed off every possible path of retreat.
‘If that foolish marquis had only managed his child properly, none of this tragedy would have happened.’
From the start, it was the marquis’s thoughtless act of secretly dealing with Serrem to create jeweled ornaments that caused all this tragedy. If the alliance between Serrem and the North were exposed, and it became known that the Dared Grand Ducal House had deliberately stirred wars along the western border to draw imperial forces there, the balance between Killian and himself would collapse in an instant.
"So are you going to k*ll me now?”
Her tension was so vivid it seemed tangible. Seeing her put on a brave front despite her fear, Fabian laughed once more.
“Of course not. How could that be, Your Highness the Crown Princess.”
Before she realized it, Fabian’s insolent tone had returned to its usual form.
“K*lling you is not my role. That belongs to Marquis Brundell.”
It was regrettable. If he could, he would have preferred to drive Killian mad to d*ath as originally planned. However, Fabian’s own circumstances were far from ideal.
“Killing you here would be far too easy. Do you know this? In politics, justification is always paramount. If you, who proclaim your innocence, die by my hand, the northern nobles would welcome it, but the nobles aligned with the Crown Prince would never be able to conciliate with my side.”
Therefore, he had to remain an unblemished Grand Duke. Barbaric acts that stained one’s hands with blood did not suit the pale hands of a man destined to rule the Empire.
Smiling softly, Fabian plucked a single rose blooming in the garden.
“It was Katarina’s favorite flower. I should present one to the marquis on my way back. Before it became yours, Your Highness, this garden also belonged to my mother, so I trust you will allow this much.”
He buried his nose in the plucked flower and drew in a deep breath. The rich scent of roses flooded deep into his lungs.
“The marquis’s reason has been greatly clouded by his daughter’s d*ath. I am barely restraining him from k*lling you outright.”
Mocking the frozen Adelaide, Fabian brushed past her.
“I will take my leave first. Please enjoy the beauty of the garden a little longer before returning, Your Highness. The marquis will soon come for you and Killian, so do savor life to the fullest until then.”
***
Hello, thank you for reading! If you wish to support me and get extra chapter, please visit my kofi page: https://ko-fi.com/raewintersss or check out advance chapters at my Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/cw/raewinters you can also donate directly to my Paypal Account: paypal.me/SeniaListya
Your supports are greatly appreciated!
Write a comment