The Price of Saving A Wicked Beast
Translator: Rae
“I apologize. I should have prepared more meticulously, but I failed…”
Fabian turned away from the marquis, who was bowing repeatedly in distress. He could not bring himself to say that it was all right.
This was not good. Though he could not say why, the vague sense that something critical had gone wrong in the plan made his temper flare.
“No. As you said, Marquis, no one could survive a fall from such a cliff.”
It was needless worry. Even the carriage that fell with them had been shattered to pieces. That was why the bodies could not be found.
Even so, Fabian could not fully understand Marquis Brundell’s actions.
Why had the marquis, who had openly declared he would offer Adelaide’s corpse at Katarina’s grave, suddenly changed his mind and pushed the carriage off the cliff instead?
Fabian studied Marquis Brundell suspiciously, then shook his head.
No. That was excessive suspicion. Had the marquis not said it himself? That he wished to avenge Katarina’s death in the same manner. It was reasonable enough. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. Repaying one’s enemy with pain of equal weight was an old northern way of thinking.
In that sense, he was no different. How many times had he let pass the chance to kill Adelaide, wanting Killian to suffer the pain of helplessly losing everything instead?
‘Besides, there are advantages to how things turned out.’
He had taken care to ensure that both he and Marquis Brundel would deflect the allegations. Believing the two men had been meeting in the imperial palace at the time, people soon accepted Killian and Adelaide’s deaths as a mere accident.
It was true that the marquis’s impulsive actions had disrupted the plan, yet there were clearly ways in which things had become easier because of it.
For Fabian, who cared deeply about how others perceived him, eliminating Killian while maintaining moral integrity was undoubtedly a favorable outcome.
Cutting off the chain of thoughts, Fabian offered the marquis a slight smile.
“Alright then. Are you returning to the North now?”
“Yes. After paying my respects to the Your Grace and offering flowers at Katarina’s grave, I plan to return to my estate.”
“But, Marquis.”
“Pardon?”
“You do not seem particularly pleased.”
The words slipped out of Fabian without him realizing it. It had been bothering him all along. At Fabian’s remark, the marquis touched the corner of his mouth.
“Is that so? That is how I appear to you, Your Grace?”
“Oh, I meant nothing by it. You simply seemed burdened despite having achieved your revenge.”
The Marquis gave a bitter smile.
“So long as a d*ad daughter does not return, there is no father in this world who could rejoice over mere revenge.”
At the marquis’s words, Fabian lowered his eyes.
“I spoke out of turn. My apologies, Marquis.”
“No, Your Grace. Then I shall take my leave and prepare to return to the North.”
As he said this and turned away,
"Wait.”
Fabian called after him. He studied the marquis closely, then smiled gently.
“I know this is an imposing request, but would you consider staying in the capital a little longer, Marquis?”
“…Pardon? What do you mean?”
“The Emperor will soon announce his official successor. If you remain by my side, it would greatly aid in securing control of the nobility.”
“I cannot imagine how much help someone like me would be… but if that is your will, Grand Duke, I can only comply.”
The marquis said this with a faint smile. At his unwavering loyalty, Fabian nodded with a smile of his own, though his eyes still held a glimmer of doubt.
The marquis took his leave and exited Fabian’s residence. The faint smile that had lingered on his lips had already vanished.
Once aboard his carriage, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath to steady his emotions. The urgency of the past few weeks felt unreal, like a dream, leaving him with the illusion that he was still wandering within one. He slowly opened his eyes. Unfortunately, a reality more cruel than any nightmare could never be a dream.
“Such a quick-witted fox.”
The marquis muttered to himself and clenched his fist. The leather glove he wore creaked with friction. Turning his gaze out the window, he stared at a place far, far away.
***
“Come out.”
After Fabian Nachtmann left the Glass Garden, Adelaide spoke in a low but certain voice. From the darkness, the marquis slowly revealed himself before her.
“Well, Marquis. How does it feel to face the truth?”
Adelaide asked, staring straight at Marquis Brundel. In his hand, the dagger he had drawn to kill Fabian gleamed sharply. His trembling hand loosened, and the marquis dropped the dagger, collapsing to the ground.
“I cannot believe it. How… how could the Grand Duke do such a thing to me, to my daughter?”
It had happened a few days earlier, when Bonnet came to see him. Bonnet, who had sworn to help him exact his revenge, suddenly began to say strange things.
“Tonight, Her Highness the Crown Princess will go for a solitary walk in the Glass Garden.”
“I see. So tonight, I can finally take that woman’s life. You’ve done well, Bonnet.”
“No, my Lord. That is not it. Her Highness the Crown Princess wishes to meet you.”
Bonnet knelt and looked up at him. The sudden change in her attitude left Marquis Brundel unable to conceal his confusion.
“What do you mean by that, all of a sudden?”
“I apologize for not telling you sooner. But I believed that without proof, you would not trust my words even if I spoke the truth.”
Bonnet opened her mouth with great gravity.
“My Lord. The one who harmed the young lady was not Her Highness the Crown Princess, but the nanny. And the one who ordered her to do so was the young Grand Duke, Fabian Nachtmann.”
“Are you mocking me now? You dare spout such nonsense to me at this point?”
“I understand that you cannot easily believe me. That is why, my lord, you should go to the garden tonight and meet Her Highness the Crown Princess. Then you will learn the truth.”
He did not like it. Anger surged up within him. Yet sincerity shone through Bonnet’s unwavering eyes and voice. After a long and fierce struggle of thought, the marquis accepted her proposal. If he could meet the Crown Princess in the Glass Garden that night, it was not a losing bargain for him in any case.
“If I decide that she is lying, I will k*ll her on the spot. If that is acceptable, then I will accept the Crown Princess’s request.”
“Yes. She said that if you are not convinced, you may do as you wish then. However, there is one thing you must do.”
“That’s absurd. Why should I agree to that?”
“It is not a negative condition for you, my Lord. Her Highness’s condition is that you gave the information to the young Grand Duke that the Crown Princess will be walking alone in the Glass Garden tonight.”
Gave the information to the young Grand Duke. Even then, if the situation did not convince him, she was willing to d*e by the marquis’s hand.
The more he heard it, the more it didn't make sense.
He wondered if the Crown Princess had laid a trap, but in the end, the marquis accepted the proposal.
The one who led him there was Rose Romeo, who was said to have already vanished. Upon reaching the Glass Garden, she told the marquis to hide himself in the darkness for a while.
A short while later, Adelaide entered the garden. Not long after, Fabian appeared as well.
In the quiet Glass Garden, their conversation carried clearly to the marquis’s ears. Each word Fabian spoke struck him with a shock that made his heart feel as though it might stop.
Not only had he deceived him, but he also spoke shamelessly, spewing insults about Katarina.
He had always believed that the former emperor, plagued by madness, and Fabian were different people. He thought Fabian, more humble and capable than the arrogant Crown Prince, was better suited to the throne. Because of that belief, the marquis had gladly accepted the engagement proposed by the Grand Duke.
But the Fabian Nachtmann standing there was not the Grand Duke he had believed he knew so well.
That the man he had trusted and followed for so long was actually that kind of person.
It felt as though his head had been struck by a hammer. How he must have been mocked, unable to recognize the enemy who had killed his daughter even when he stood right before him.
There had been no lie in what he had said to Fabian. For his daughter’s revenge, he could join hands even with the devil. And so, after the meeting in the Glass Garden, Marquis Brundell boarded the same ship as the Crown Prince’s faction.
Suddenly, Fabian’s earlier words came back to his mind.
Had he said that the marquis still looked burdened despite achieving revenge? Of course he did. His revenge for Katarina had not even begun.
Despite all his caution, his true feelings must have slipped out unconsciously. The moment he heard those words, the marquis barely restrained himself from drawing his sword and plunging it into Fabian’s stomach.
That was because he was a northener.
An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.
Northerner’s vengeance is as cold and sharp as eternal snow that never melts.
The Grand Duke who had deceived him must never be allowed an easy death. He had to learn, without fail, what it felt like to be betrayed by a hound he himself had raised, and to have his throat caught in its jaws.
***
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