I Wasn't Trying to Seduce with the Male Lead - Episode 59

The rigid expressions of those present almost simultaneously broke into conversation.

“What a stupid idea! That’s absurd!”

“You absolutely must not go!”

Minaz and Blaine were the most vehement in their opposition. Duchess Floyd also added her voice in a calm tone.

“That’s foolish. There’s no guarantee that the young man will be freed just because you go.”

“Right. We should first find a way to rescue Adrian.”

“We’ve already searched the capital under the assumption that the Princess might have kidnapped him after hearing about Adrian, but we haven’t found a single clue. It’s impossible to find him before the sun sets.”

In a life-or-death situation, Eleanor calmly analyzed the circumstances.

“But going there will only become a shackle to bind Lian; it has no meaning. You’ll only be throwing your life away.”

“Then if I don’t go now, can I live?”

Blaine, who had been arguing with her, flinched at Eleanor’s question.

“The Princess has already made up her mind to kill me. And realistically, there’s no way for the Count to be released from the oath.”

Even if the imprint were severed and released, the caster could still issue a death command for 24 hours. They couldn’t kill the Princess, and even if they captured and confined her, there was no way to release the oath as long as she could kill with just her will. If Lian returned and the Oath of Subjugation was activated, he might be killed by his own sword.

Everyone gathered here was only for Lian’s sake. Though they couldn’t bring themselves to say it, they all knew that her disappearance before his ruin would likely minimize the damage.

“I don’t intend to act like a martyr, but if I just hold my breath here, I’ll only receive another wrist tomorrow. If I stall, I’ll die alone, but if I go now, I might be able to save Adrian.”

No one spoke. The Duchess, who was beside her, silently clasped Eleanor’s hand tightly. It was far more comforting than any empty words of comfort like, “Wait, you’ll definitely be able to live.”

“Only by confronting this, is there a possibility of a breakthrough. I will go to the Imperial Palace.”

Minaz’s voice was strained and filled with a heavy heart as he asked, “We’re under house arrest. How do you plan to go?”

“If I go with Duke Phaedra, they probably won’t stop me.”

Since she had already sent a message to Sky to deliver the item, there would likely be a word with the palace guards. Before leaving, Eleanor requested something of the somber assembly.

“If I go there, the Princess’s guard will loosen a little. When your freedom of movement broadens, please save Count Calabria.”

“We’ll do a lot more than what you’re asking for.”

Eleanor smiled at Minaz’s prickly words.

“Please take me to the Imperial Palace.”

Sky’s face was stiff, but he nodded and rose to his feet.

As they were leaving, Eleanor suddenly saw her reflection in a mirror on the wall. The brilliant jeweled necklace Lian had given her was still shining on her neck. She wondered if it would be better to leave it behind but decided to just go. She wanted to keep at least one promise—not to take it off until the very end.

After a long ride, the carriage entered Felicity. Eleanor, who had been silent until they passed the massive eastern gate, quietly opened her mouth when the spires of the Imperial Palace came into view in the distance.

“Thank you for bringing me.”

No one would want to accompany her on such a somber journey. Sky turned his sea-colored eyes, which had been fixed on the window, towards Eleanor. He rested his chin on his hand and stared intently at her.

“You’ve been making choices completely different from what I expected.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. I thought you’d make a clean escape in a situation like this.”

He raised an eyebrow and abruptly asked, “The night you turned the capital upside down with Count Calabria, did you sleep with him?”

Nothing had happened on that specific day, but there was no need to prolong the conversation. When Eleanor nodded, Sky’s brow furrowed slightly.

“You said you don’t trust men who try to get you into bed before asking you out.”

Eleanor chuckled at his words. “I understand your frustration, but please save your scolding for a day when my life isn’t in danger, will you?”

“If I save you… will you come with me to the Grand Duchy of Phaedra then?”

Eleanor didn’t quite understand his question for a moment. As she just blinked, Sky clarified again.

“I asked if you would leave with me if I save your life.”

“How in the world are you going to save me?”

“I can find a way.”

The look in his eyes was not just a casual suggestion. Instead of being happy, Eleanor spoke with a pout. “If you have a way, are you going to let me die if I don’t agree to leave with you?”

“You really leave me no choice,” Sky said, shrugging his shoulders as if helpless. He then explained, “Let’s make it so you’re publicly declared dead here. If you escape the Empire with me, the Princess won’t bother trying to track you down.”

It seemed that Sky had agreed to bring her here so willingly because he was plotting something like this. However, Eleanor shook her head.

“I don’t want to live my life in hiding. If I’m going to run, I’d rather fight.”

She didn’t want a life of hiding in the concubines’ quarters, just waiting for Sky to come, especially with death imminent. At Eleanor’s clear answer, Sky sighed.

“Why are you trying to throw your life away? You have to live to plan for the future.”

“Because it’s not like there’s no chance of survival at all.”

Eleanor’s words were sincere. It was certainly a crisis where she could lose her life at any moment, but it wasn’t like she had no one to rely on.

“If you want me to take you, explain why you think that.”

Sky lifted his eyes as if to say, “Go on, tell me.”

“I have an idea of where Adrian might be if he’s still alive. And if I survive, I’ll probably end up there too.”

When Eleanor explained about the restricted underground area connected to the Princess’s palace, Sky’s eyes widened.

“How do you know about something like that?”

The restricted area was one of the Princess’s useful weapons in the original story. It was comically depicted as a place for alchemy experiments or for keeping dangerous beasts that would later cause a chaotic event, but it was also used to imprison evil witches. To hide an adult man without a trace near her, that place was the only possibility.

However, she couldn’t explain it like that, so Eleanor vaguely glossed over it. “I saw it in some old records.”

Sky was lost in thought for a moment before asking, “Do you want me to tell Lian about these things?”

Eleanor shook her head. “I just hope to bear the remaining risks on my own.”

She didn’t want him to take risks, and in any case, there was no way for Lian, who would be subjugated the moment he faced the Princess, to come to the underground prison of her palace.

“Let’s go to the Imperial Palace quickly now. Please don’t let me miss this opportunity.”

She finished her sentence while looking at the setting sun outside the window. With that, the two remained silent until they arrived at the Imperial Palace.

“I’ll go from here alone.”

Eleanor asked to be let out at the stable behind Rosagrande. There was no benefit in dragging Sky into this awkward situation.

Sky didn’t hold her back further, but he held her hand and said seriously, “Stay alive.”

That’s not something I can control, she thought.

“I will definitely save you.”

His eyes were very serious and filled with a burning intensity. Eleanor nodded, feeling there was no need to give in to sorrow.

“Yes. I’ll stay alive.”

A deep concern was etched in his usually indifferent or mischievous sea-colored eyes. She was quite surprised that he was a man who could show such an expression.

Eleanor squeezed Sky’s hand once and then turned and began to walk. She had expected to enter Rosagrande directly, but her steps came to a halt once again.

“Eleanor!”

A thundering sound of hooves and a loud voice echoed. She turned and saw Blaine on a black horse, rapidly approaching.

“Viscount. Why have you come here?”

Was there some important message he needed to deliver? While she was wondering, Blaine dismounted and said bluntly, “I will go with you.”

“What? Where?”

“Lian entrusted you to me. If I let you go like this, I will never be able to face him again.”

Seeing his determined expression, Eleanor shook her head as if it were absurd.

“What are you saying! It’s dangerous, please go back!”

“I cannot. I will go in with you.”

Eleanor tried her best to send him back, but there was no time. The head maid came out from Rosagrande to greet them.

“Her Imperial Highness the Princess is waiting.”

She had expected to be immediately seized and forced to her knees, so the polite attitude was unexpected. Unable to argue in front of her, Eleanor followed the head maid inside with Blaine.

They passed through a bright hall with a high ceiling and white marble and stopped in front of a large door.

“The Princess will come out and meet you inside.”

The head maid said that and then left. The two of them warily surveyed their surroundings, but there was no one in the elegant and refined room.

“To be received in a drawing room. That’s strange.” Blaine muttered, tilting his head slightly.

He seemed to be a little less tense, but Eleanor was glaring at a bookshelf in one corner of the room.

“What are you looking at so intently?”

It was at that moment that Blaine asked blankly.

Shhh-drr-drr.

With a heavy sound, the bookshelf opened, revealing a hollow space.

“You’ve come.”

A victorious smile appeared on the Princess’s face as she looked at Eleanor. Behind her stood several knights dressed in black. They all had terrifying expressions, but there was a subtle sense of strangeness about them. Upon closer inspection, their eyes looked strangely blank.

‘He’s under the Oath of Subjugation,’ Eleanor thought.

Is Lian going to become like that too?

Eleanor watched them with a chilling sensation.

“His Majesty is greatly enraged by your actions of disobeying the Imperial family’s orders, damaging their prestige, and disrupting the public morals, which are acts of treason against the Empire.”

The Princess’s voice echoed around the large hall.

“He has issued an order that you may be executed on the spot upon discovery.”

She had been holding a grudge for so long, so there was a chance she would draw her sword immediately. Blaine stepped in front of Eleanor, who was tense.

“Are you, Viscount, also siding with a traitor?”

“If there is a crime, please give her a public trial. Even the Imperial family should not execute a noble of the Empire for a crime that is not clear.”

“Oh, there seems to be a misunderstanding.”

At Blaine’s words, the Princess tilted her head as if acting, then smiled brightly.

“Don’t worry. I have no intention of killing either of you.”

She looked benevolent. It would have been better if they could have a final showdown right then and there.

Having come all this way, there was no choice. Eleanor followed the Princess and stepped into the dark passage.

Support