I Wasn't Trying to Seduce with the Male Lead - Episode 25

Late at night, darkness bathed the world in a violet hue.

Count Zeppelin’s steps came to a halt before a towering marble hall. It was the imperial palace of the Haskator Empire, known as the Enogaios Palace because its high roof seemed to hold up the sky.

Count Zeppelin crossed the wide, gold-carpeted hall and bowed deeply. On the magnificent golden throne sat the noblest being in the world: Klaus Haskator, Emperor of the Haskator Empire.

With a stern voice, the Emperor began, “The Duke of Calabria has just left, full of complaints about you and a string of excuses.”

It seemed the Emperor had finally heard that Zeppelin had sent Baroness Eleanor to Lian Calabria.

Zeppelin bowed even deeper and apologized, “I am sorry, Your Majesty. It was all my fault.”

“A rare failure of advice from you,” the Emperor said, his voice not particularly angry. He gestured toward a nearly empty bottle of wine on a table beside him. “I have gone through great strife to maintain imperial authority.”

To rule and govern a vast empire required immense effort. The five dukedoms, individually more powerful than the kings of many countries, collectively held more sway than the imperial family. If the Emperor were to be even slightly careless, he would lose significant power to the duchies and become a mere puppet. This was why the Emperor had to spend his life focusing more on checking the dukes than on diplomacy.

“As you know, the Calabria ducal family—the most loyal to the imperial family—had been weakening in its standing as a martial house since the current Duke became its head.” Twenty years ago, the Calabria family was in decline, a fact that was now hard to believe given their current power. The reason, of course, was that the Duke of Calabria had failed to rise to the position of Imperial Knight Commander.

“So I made a plan to absorb the duchy’s power by using him,” the Emperor said.

“What kind of plan?” Zeppelin asked.

“It was a secret pact: in exchange for permission to inherit the wealth of the Floyd ducal family and recover, the Duke of Calabria would father only one heir and hand that child over to me.”

Count Zeppelin, who had expected some recovery of privileges from a ducal family that held both wealth and martial power, lost his composure at the astonishing revelation.

“Hand over an heir? The Duke agreed to that?”

“Yes. The condition was that the heir of both would inherit both the Calabria and Floyd titles, then officially become my adopted son and successor.” The Emperor calmly continued to explain the staggering secret. “I had no intention of having children, so I thought it would be fine. And for the Duke of Calabria, there was no reason to refuse the offer to have his bloodline become the most powerful emperor in the history of the empire.”

Zeppelin knew the Duke was deeply ambitious, but he had never imagined such a secret deal. The former Emperor had stubbornly refused to have children or even take an Empress.

“Your plans changed after you met the Princess,” Zeppelin said.

Eileen was the illegitimate daughter the Emperor suddenly brought back after a brief affair with a woman. After meeting that angelic baby, the Emperor’s paternal instincts awakened, and he became a completely different person.

“I don’t want Aileen to suffer the same hardships as me. I want her to live a comfortable life, pure and untainted. To do that, it’s better for her to become an Empress than an Emperor.” Of course, it would be more comfortable to enjoy the fruits of wealth and power as an Empress rather than suffer as a ruler. It was a sentiment befitting an Emperor who adored his daughter.

“So, instead of adopting Count Calabria as your son, you want to marry him to her,” Zeppelin concluded.

“I thought it worked out perfectly. For my daughter to become Empress, she needs an Emperor with strong power and an unquestionable claim. Plus, Eileen has been devoted to him since she was a little girl.” Like everyone else in the Empire, the Emperor believed that Lian and the Princess were destined to be together.

“You made a very dangerous promise,” Count Zeppelin said, his voice careful. “You can never know what’s truly in a person’s heart. You must have needed a powerful way to control Count Calabria once he had all that power in his hands.”

“I do have one. A very classic method.” The words “classic method” immediately sparked a thought in Zeppelin’s mind.

“Surely, you didn’t make a ‘Pact’?”

The Emperor merely smiled, neither confirming nor denying it. The astonishing and immense secret turned Count Zeppelin’s face pale.

“Why, are you surprised?”

“I am surprised, but at the same time, I feel relieved,” Count Zeppelin said, choosing his words carefully. “In that case, there will be no way for the Princess and Count Calabria not to get married.”

“Well, that’s true, but there’s no need to use that trump card just yet,” the Emperor said, pouring some blood-red wine into his glass. “If that were to be discovered, Rian could never live the way he does now. And he would probably hate Eileen for the rest of his life.”

Of course, if he were forced into a marriage against his will by a pact, he would. A man as proud as Lian might never accept it.

“I can’t let Aileen love a hollow shell of a person without a heart. I have to try everything I can before it comes to that.”

“Do you have a method in mind?” Zeppelin asked, already guessing the Emperor’s intentions. This was likely the reason for the upcoming assembly of the dukes.

“First, I’m going to make Lian an offer.”

“What kind of offer?”

“I’ll give him a dangerous mission and an opportunity to avoid marrying Aileen if he accepts it.”

Zeppelin looked skeptical. Rian was not the type to abandon his principles to save his own skin. But there was a variable.

“While talking to Aileen, I realized there is still one person who can persuade Lian,” the Emperor said.

Zeppelin swallowed hard, sensing his own guess was correct. It was Duchess Christie Floyd, the wife of the Duke of Calabria, the head of the Empire’s most powerful martial house, and the head of the Floyd ducal family, which held the Empire’s greatest wealth. She was a woman among women, known for being ruthless and dedicated to her goals, but also fiercely devoted to her son. Despite his strained relationship with his father, Lian had an exceptionally close relationship with his mother.

‘A shrewd judgment,’ Zeppelin thought. The Princess’s intention may not have been this, but summoning the Duchess to the capital would be a very effective way to pressure Lian. The Duchess’s influence would be contained, and Lian’s room to maneuver would be reduced. Most importantly, his mother would never agree to a plan that would send her son into a death trap. She would persuade Lian by any means necessary.

‘The Baroness won’t survive this,’ Zeppelin thought. If the Duchess were to come to the capital and learn of Lian’s scandal, she would surely have the Baroness killed. The merciless Duchess would not overlook a stain on her perfect son. Zeppelin recalled the elegant and beautiful Baroness he had seen in the study. The advice he had given her, which he had already been regretting, felt even more regrettable now. The young Baroness was as good as dead.

“If Lian and Eileen get married and get to know each other, he will come to love her,” the Emperor insisted.

Would he? Zeppelin had his doubts, but he didn’t contradict the words overflowing with fatherly affection for his daughter.

“Then send a message to the Duchess, telling her to return to the capital and participate in this assembly,” the Emperor commanded.

“As you wish,” Zeppelin replied, then withdrew from the Imperial Palace.

“I heard she was a villainess, but she’s a truly terrifying lady,” Eleonora said, sitting in her luxurious dressing room at Felicity’s villa, talking with Graham.

This location had been chosen to avoid Sky’s eyes. Graham, pretending to help with Eleanor’s post-bath grooming, had followed her in and was acting as her confidante.

“Why would she do such a thing? The Baroness didn’t do anything to provoke her,” Graham said, skillfully drying Eleanor’s silky hair.

Bianca Star was a villainess in the original story who was obsessed with Lian and harmed the Princess. If that was true, it wouldn’t be strange for her to hold a grudge against Eleanor for being involved with Lian. But somehow, Eleanora was suspicious of Bianca Star’s murderous intent. If she had truly wanted to kill her, why would she have stopped midway? If she hadn’t stopped, Eleanor would have collapsed from the poison before anyone could arrive. Furthermore, she had desperately shaken her head, as if to tell her not to drink it. Eleanor had a gut feeling that what she saw wasn’t the whole truth. It felt as if a greater evil was lurking behind it all.

“I don’t think it was just a simple grudge,” Eleanor told Graham, recounting how Bianca Star had tried to say something but had only made strange noises. Thanks to the author’s vivid description, Graham shivered with goosebumps.

“That’s truly chilling.”

“If she just wanted to kill me, why would she act so strangely?”

“I heard she’s always trying to get attention with her odd behavior and is a compulsive liar. Maybe she just wanted to get the attention of the famous Baroness?”

It seemed absurd to try and get attention by using such a rare and powerful poison. Remembering the tormented look on Bianca Star’s face, Eleanor whispered, “Maybe someone commissioned her to do it.”

“Commissioned? A high-ranking noble like her?” Graham said, waving her hands as if the idea was ridiculous. “Even if they did, would that villainess listen to them?”

“What if they offered a condition she couldn’t refuse?”

“What kind of condition would make a noble lady go so far as to commit murder? Unless someone cast a spell on her, that is.”

That joke of a comment suddenly caught Eleanor’s attention.

“A spell?”

It felt like she had found a clue after being lost. Eleanor leaned in, as if to pounce, and pressed her.

“Yes, my aunt is a sorceress… I heard about it once…” Graham stopped herself and shook her head. “But that’s impossible. She couldn’t have been placed under a spell.”

“Why not?”

“Spells require mutual consent and are strictly forbidden by law. Who could possibly cast something like that on a Marquis’s daughter who’s constantly surrounded by guards?”

She had a point. This was probably why no one had ever considered that possibility.

“But it is a possibility, isn’t it? Just humor me,” Eleanor pressed, trying to persuade the skeptical Graham. “If this were a spell, is there one that would make her act like that?”

Graham frowned and thought about it. “There is something called a ‘Pact of Silence’…”

At Graham’s reluctant suggestion, Eleanor’s bright blue eyes sparkled.

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