It was a Political Marriage, But I’m Being Loved - Chapter 89

Valter had given various reasons to his subordinates for why he would remain in the prison, but deep down, the real reason was simple. He was staying here to meet Charlize.

She had no intention of meeting him, but Valter was different. He was certain that Charlize would come down to this underground cell to see him.

That was the Charlize Alstead he knew.
Their last meeting had ended in a heated argument, and he believed that her weak heart would inevitably bring her back to him.

‘Today, she’s attending the Duchess of Gianni’s gathering, isn’t she?’
Amelia, whom he knew well, was a friend of Charlize’s. While she had always disapproved of Valter, she was supportive of Charlize. He knew that something unpleasant would happen to Charlize at this gathering.

‘You didn’t come, so I had to push her. This place is so boring, Lize.’
Valter lay on the cold, damp floor, thinking of Charlize. He wanted to kill the Master of the Magic Tower and take her for himself, but his strength was nothing compared to his rival’s.

Through this ordeal, Valter had realized the truth. Despite being revered as a Sword Master, his power was insignificant when faced with the might of the Master of the Magic Tower, Achilles Illien.

He hated Achilles for it and was filled with rage, but that alone wouldn’t change anything.

Now, Valter could finally admit to himself what had been gnawing at him for so long.
He had loved Charlize Alstead for a long time. He had merely been uncomfortable with everything surrounding her.

She loved everything around her, and that was what bothered him.
She poured affection on the family that loved her, on the people who served her, and on those who cared for her. It was natural, human affection, but it always made Valter uncomfortable.

He had wished she had nothing.
He wanted her to have only him—to cling to him, to blame him, to have a heart full only of misery because of him.

To achieve this, Valter had trained himself and gathered soldiers, but he never acknowledged those feelings. If he did, he would become the most monstrous creature the Emperor would fear.

It would be better to question why someone less capable than himself sat on the throne, to aim for the Emperor’s seat himself.

‘What would your face look like if I killed your family…?’
‘I want to see it, Lize.’
Muttering to himself, Valter stared at the torchlight. The flickering embers reminded him of her, beautiful and fleeting.

Meanwhile…

Why did I do that? In that moment, it felt as though my body wasn’t my own.
A fear greater than confusion was overwhelming Susanna. She had only wanted to save Valter, but the hatred she felt for the princess was not as deep as she had believed.

She had ended up in a political marriage with someone other than Viscount Bianchi. A defeated dog doesn’t wag its tail, so how could she hate Charlize for that?

But still, Susanna hated her with all her being. It seemed like Bianchi, her own Valter, loved her just as much as he loved the princess!
‘I never planned to kill Joan!’
Joan had mocked her. She had dared call Viscount Bianchi a traitor, and then she had been so brazen in her unwavering affection for him—acting as if Susanna was some fool.

It was enough to make her angry, though that was no excuse for what she did. But Susanna’s body acted on impulse.

The image of Joan tumbling down the stairs, bleeding on the floor, made Susanna want to scream. Rebecca Roland had witnessed the scene and screamed, so someone must have rushed over to help.

“Ahh…!”
Her concern quickly turned to dryness, and only fear filled her heart now. Her fear was centered around what would happen to her next.

Since the incident happened at the Duke of Gianni’s residence, the city’s guard would prioritize this case above all others.
‘If I had known, I would have stayed at home!’

Thinking of the princess, Susanna’s hatred grew uncontrollably. She couldn’t suppress it. She had wanted to disfigure her face, to see her scream in pain, but now she realized how strange that thought was.

‘Why… I only wanted Viscount Bianchi to return safely!’
But what she actually did was infiltrate the Duke’s residence to attack the princess and ended up injuring the wrong person. She had pushed none other than her close friend, Joan, with her own hands.
‘I didn’t mean to do that.’
Feeling the tears running down her cheek, Susanna moved toward the Marquis’s residence. This distance would be nothing for her if she used the magical artifact strapped to her left arm, but for some reason, it felt difficult.
More precisely, it felt ominous, and she couldn’t bring herself to use it.
However, she couldn’t open the main gate, so Susanna used the magical artifact to pass through the Marquis’s iron gate and landed in the garden. That was when the intense emotions began to overwhelm her.

“Viscount Bianchi…”
This was not the time for such thoughts. Susanna turned her head and looked far into the distance, towards the Imperial Palace. Just knowing that Viscount Bianchi was locked up and enduring hardship somewhere beneath the extravagant building filled her with loathing for the royal family.
‘But I don’t know where he’s locked up. If only I knew where it was, I could free him!’
The wicked traitorous princess was sure to know where he was, and though she wanted to capture and torture her for the information, the princess was surrounded by too many people. She might end up just stirring up trouble, like today, without getting anywhere.
‘Torture… yes! If I capture someone who manages the prison and torture them, I can learn where Viscount Bianchi is!’
Why hadn’t she thought of this earlier? A sense of perverse joy gleamed in Susanna’s eyes. Her small silhouette disappeared from the Marquis’s Garden, heading toward the Imperial Palace.

Meanwhile…

Failure was an inevitable outcome.
The bracelet he offered fed on negative emotions such as frustration, despair, and hatred. To ensure the piece of him could easily devour the wearer’s soul, he had to provide help to someone destined for failure.
Susanna Leroy was the perfect sacrifice in this regard.
Her usefulness as a vessel might be weak, but it was clear that all her attempts would end in failure. She was so obsessed with a man who had no interest in her that she was throwing everything away. She didn’t even realize how dangerous her actions were.
‘Thinking that as long as no one notices her failing plan, she would be fine… How foolish she is!’
She had just picked up a magical artifact, but her greed had grown uncontrollably, reaching for things far beyond her grasp. No matter how much Viscount Bianchi might have given her leeway, even Iarolos could see her inevitable end.
Even if Susanna Leroy tried to save him, Valter Bianchi would never be grateful. Even if she died in front of him, there was little chance that Valter would even attempt to save her.
‘But in order for the bracelet to devour her soul more easily, she must fail.’
The bracelet he gave would not come off until it had consumed the wearer’s soul entirely. To remove the bracelet, one would have to sever the arm, but of course, she didn’t know that.
“If she keeps running toward the end like this, the seed will bloom faster than I’ve planned…”
The soul of one who had grown without knowing despair was much more susceptible to falling into hopelessness. Iarolos could already see Susanna’s soul being devoured before his eyes.
Her intense hatred for the princess was likely a result of the same process. The bracelet, infused with a piece of him, easily led the wearer toward hatred and even murder.
Iarolos knew he had to assist Susanna so that she wouldn’t get caught before the timing was right. If things happened earlier than the wedding date of the princess and the Master of the Magic Tower, it would be unfortunate.

“If this goes on, she’ll get caught by the Imperial Guards and accomplish nothing.”
Susanna Leroy had to meet Valter Bianchi. She needed to show him how glorious it was to become a vessel for him, to bloom before his eyes.
Iarolos followed her closely. By now, Susanna had already set foot in the front yard of the Imperial Palace.

Back at the Gathering…

The gathering ended without any further incident. Given how big the situation had become, they had a light lunch and then dispersed.

The guests were shocked by the news of Lady Weaver’s mishap.
The Duke and Duchess of Gianni did not specifically name the culprit, but somehow the rumor that ‘Susanna Leroy pushed Joan Weaver down the stairs’ spread widely.
Joan’s friends, hearing the news, must have rushed to the Duke’s residence. They must have heard from Joan herself about Susanna’s involvement.
Rebecca, who had witnessed the incident, had already left with a man who was also attending the gathering. She seemed greatly shaken by the sight of Joan dying.
Charlize also said her goodbyes to the Duchess of Gianni and got into her carriage. The Duchess seemed disappointed, not having had the chance to speak with her for a little longer.

“I’ll visit you at the Imperial Palace later. We can talk more then.”
Charlize was about to marry and leave for the Magic Tower. It was unfortunate that something had happened today, forcing them to part so soon.
“The Empress’s tea party is coming up.”
“How could I say anything at a place like that?”
There were still other nobles around, so she couldn’t speak freely. She was also wary of the Master of the Magic Tower, who was sticking close to Charlize.

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