I Wasn't Trying to Seduce with the Male Lead - Episode 56

A duchess’s resolute words were all the more desperate because of her firm resolve.

Eleanor didn’t dare say anything and bit her lip.

Even if the duchess handed her over to death, Eleanor couldn’t blame a mother’s decision to protect her child.

“But… even if he follows the Emperor’s words, he will never be free.”

Eleanor couldn’t bring herself to agree out loud, but she felt the same way.

How cruel it was to be tied to someone who could take away your will at any moment.

The duchess shook her head and murmured.

“If the last choice my son made before becoming a will-less puppet was to love you…”

Her violet eyes, which had been staring into the void, slowly turned to look at Eleanor.

“Isn’t it a mother’s job to protect the one remaining piece of her son’s will from being broken?”

It was dark.

Perhaps it was because he had already anticipated the report Zepplin would make.

“She’s nowhere to be found.”

For two days and nights, hundreds of knights, private soldiers, and hounds were mobilized to search La Floyde thoroughly.

Not even a shadow of Eleanor Marice could be found anywhere.

Of course, the period was short, so reports would easily come in that she was huddled in a hidden drawer of a clock tower somewhere without food or water.

Looking back, the pursuit was too blindly reckless.

It was all because he had been caught in the provocative rhetoric of the Duchess of Floyd.

“You said the Duchess of Floyd also went to the Line of Abrote?”

“Yes.”

It was impossible to guess the duchess’s true intentions for luring the Emperor here and then abducting Eleanor.

What was certain was that she was not cooperative in catching Eleanor.

“I think it would be better for you to return for now.”

Zepplin offered his opinion very carefully.

The Emperor probably wanted to march on the Line of Abrote immediately and make Eleanor kneel before him, but that was something he had to be stopped from doing.

The price of violating the empire’s taboo and charging into a ducal territory just to catch one woman, making enemies of two dukes, was too high.

No, perhaps an even greater consequence would follow.

‘What kind of magic does that woman possess?’

The heads of the Abrote, Rouen, and Floyd families had gathered in one ducal territory.

In addition, the Sky Phaedra was also quite deeply involved, although his intentions were unreadable.

No less than four dukes were defying the Emperor’s will to be around her.

“Dukes who have received the grace of the Empire dare to conspire behind my back…”

The Emperor’s voice was overflowing with rage.

He gritted his teeth and was lost in thought for a long time.

Zepplin waited silently, without changing his posture, until the Emperor spoke again.

“I will return to the Imperial Palace.”

The Emperor broke the long silence and stood up.

“Make sure the dukes gathered at the Line of Abrote don’t leave the area on any pretext.”

“Understood.”

“And completely cut off all contact with Lian. No spells, no hawks, no pigeons, no flames should reach him. Gather as many sorcerers as needed immediately and set up a barrier around Lian to block the warp stones.”

Zepplin bowed his head and replied to the Emperor’s command.

“When I arrive at the Imperial Palace, I’ll go to Rosagrande immediately.”

At the name of the princess’s palace, Zepplin unknowingly swallowed hard.

“I’ll tell her everything.”

Finally, those words came from the Emperor.

The central castle of the Line of Abrote.

The massive, square-shaped fortress showed a restrained beauty.

In a room in the right tower, the owner of the castle, Minaz, was looking outside.

“I thought something would happen. It’s too quiet, which makes me even more anxious.”

It was the second day after the night of the banquet.

As she said, the ducal territory was as peaceful as could be.

They had locked the castle gates and were preparing for any contingency, but there had been no visitors other than Skye, who had dropped off Biancasta and left.

Claude, who was sitting at a large table in the center of the room, spoke bluntly.

“Isn’t it a good thing that it’s quiet?”

“This is more like the calm before the storm. Did we make the wrong choice?”

“You should worry about that when the person concerned isn’t here.”

As soon as Claude finished speaking, Eleanor, who was sitting across from him, said,

“No taking back what’s been said.”

The two had promised not to hand over the Duchess of Floyd and Eleanor, even if the Emperor demanded it, in exchange for hearing the truth about Lian.

Although cooperation wasn’t explicitly requested, Minaz was as eager as if it were her own business.

“Are you just going to stay put like this? I think it would be better to move first.”

The duchess, urged by Minaz, glanced at Eleanor instead of answering directly.

“We’ll have news soon, so let’s wait a little longer.”

Minaz pouted but acquiesced to Eleanor’s words.

‘A duke of the Empire is listening to me.’

In an empire with a strong class system, where Eleanor had lived by thoroughly pleasing high-ranking nobles and selling stories to them, this situation was very new.

Was this change in status because she was entangled with Lian?

Instead of feeling happy, she felt a sense of burden.

Fortunately, Eleanor’s judgment was correct.

“Viscount Canterbury has requested permission to enter the Line of Abrote.”

In the evening, Blaine visited the ducal territory.

After entering, he delivered the new news from outside to the dukes.

“Lian has successfully defeated Hakmersia and is currently returning to the capital.”

Eleanor let out a sigh of relief as soon as she heard it.

She had been so preoccupied with the Oath of Subjugation that she hadn’t been able to say everything she wanted to say to Lian when they met.

She was relieved to hear that the dangerous expedition had ended successfully.

“Where is he now?”

“He’s moving at a fast pace and is already at the southern border.”

The speed was astonishing, but considering the size of the empire, it would still take over a week to arrive at the capital.

“Are we going to move now?”

Minaz asked, resting her chin on an arm propped on the table.

Now that they knew Lian’s situation, what they had to do was clear.

“First, we need to make contact with Lian and make sure he doesn’t return to the capital.”

The duchess, who had been silent all this time, spoke up.

Just as Eleanor nodded in agreement,

“I’m afraid that will be difficult.”

Unexpectedly, Blaine shook his head.

Minaz asked.

“Why is it difficult?”

“A command from His Majesty the Emperor came down this morning. He said that because of unruly groups running rampant throughout the Empire, the Imperial Guard would escort the dukes for their safety.”

“Escort?”

“Yes. The order was for the dukes of the Empire to stay in a residence protected by the Imperial Guard until all the rebels were caught.”

At those words, Minaz jumped up and walked toward the window.

“Does that mean those lights are the Imperial Guard?”

“Yes.”

Minaz, Claude, and the Duchess of Floyd all let out a hollow laugh at the same time.

It was called an escort, but it was essentially a house arrest.

“Surely he didn’t announce that the leader of a massive rebellion, one so great that dukes have to hide, is this pretty lady right here?”

Blaine shook his head at Minaz’s sarcastic remark.

“No.”

“Then did he brand her as the rebel leader’s mistress?”

“Not that either. There’s no warrant out for Baroness Eleanor.”

“What? Really?”

When Minaz asked in surprise, Eleanor shrugged her shoulders and answered.

“He probably knows I’m in here, so he didn’t feel the need to issue a warrant. If he openly named me, the reason he came up with would become a laughingstock.”

Everyone in the room seemed to think Eleanor’s words made sense and nodded.

Claude frowned and muttered.

“What do they want to do by trapping us in here?”

“They’re probably planning to activate the oath as soon as Lian returns.”

Minaz’s sharp words sent a chilling silence through the room.

“We had a hard time getting it, but the Imperial Family can get a warp stone more easily. They might have even activated it before they came.”

The duchess, like a true matriarch, pointed this out in a calm tone.

Claude refuted her.

“The Oath of Subjugation cannot be undone once it’s activated. Wouldn’t they tell him about the oath and try to persuade him before activating it right away?”

“Even if Rian knows, he won’t compromise, so the result will be the same.”

“Even if they activate the Oath of Subjugation, they’d be too anxious to just wait after controlling Count Calabria and making him return to the capital in just 30 minutes.”

Eleanor, who had been listening to the conversation between Claude and the Duchess of Floyd, spoke up.

“I think so too. If that was their plan, there would be no reason to put us under house arrest in this ducal territory in the first place.”

“That’s a good point.”

Support