Chapter 24

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“A slave?”

“That’s right. He was a slave brought from a foreign land. He always tried to kill himself by biting his tongue. He was a person who never gave up.”

No matter how things were in the Empire, slaves were treated lower than cattle.

‘How could he think of gifting a slave on the Prince’s birthday?’

My brow furrowed in an instant.

In the first place, is it true that Damian prepared a slave as a gift?

Could it be that he came late to the banquet on purpose because of a heart disease?

Seeing my expression hardened, Damian started to explain things I hadn’t even asked.

“My lady, there seems to be some misunderstanding, but slaves with excellent physical abilities are rare, so they’re sold for a very high price.”

“…”

“A month ago, there was a real case where a gladiator slave was sold for 5 billion gold.”

‘I think this is my story.’

The fact that I brought Casadine from the arena must have already reached Damian’s ears.

After all, it’s uncommon to buy a slave for 5 billion gold.

Suddenly, the scene where Damian, who were arrived at the banquet hall, was having a conversation with Casadine flashed through my mind.

So, did Damian already know that he was a slave when he talked to Casadine?

What if they had known each other before I met Casadine?

Also, Casadine dared to use poison from the north.

It’s possible that the two of them had made any kind of deal without my knowledge. Because Casadine never told me where he went.

My lovely fake little brother, whose words are full of lies.

I decided to show them one of the pieces of information I held in order to purposely lure Damian out.

However, showing that information will only be my loss, so I need to check if what he said is true or not.

“Grand Duke.”

My voice quietly dispersed in the air.

“Give me that slave.”

“…Did you just ask for that slave?”

“Yes.”

Damian smiled at my answer. It was an elegant smile, but the eyes that look at me are cold as if seeing an old rotten tree.

“Do you know what you are talking about?”

“Yes, I know.”

I held out my hand to the man who looked down at me insignificantly.

“Did you know that the cause of the Grand Duke’s imprisonment was because the poison consumed by the Crown Prince came from a poisonous plant that only grows in the north?”

Hearing my words, Damian’s elegant smile cracked slightly.

“What do you mean? The poisonous plant from the north?”

“Yes. His Majesty personally informed me. It was said that the Grand Duke was imprisoned because of that poisonous plant.”

Actually, I was the one who put Damian in prison.

Because I was the only one who instilled the seeds of doubt into the Emperor. I mixed in a little lie to keep Damian from noticing it.

“We found out the ingredients of the poison, but then the Grand Duke showed up late in the banquet hall.”

“How did you know about that?”

“I’m close with the Crown Prince, so I heard from him directly.”

I shrugged my shoulders when I answer him.

“Hah. Some idiot sure would do that. Somehow, I thought it was strange that the knights were convinced that I was the culprit because I was late for the banquet.”

Damian smiled sadly.

“I’m very curious about the face of those criminals who did such a thing. It makes me want to meet and have a conversation with them in person.”

Damian seemed to really want that.

His straight eyebrows were distorted, but the sharp green eyes beneath them flashed with curiosity about the criminals.

When I saw Damian’s appearance, I realized that fortunately he had no contact with Casadine.

And there will be no such contact in the future.

Casadine, which Damian was curious about, was my family, and he’s my lovely younger brother who will protect my father and me .

“You seem to be very close with Crown Prince. That’s why you were able to find out the information.”

“Of course.”

I nodded my head and smiled softly.

Putting my hands together with a slight blush on my cheeks, I opened my lips, looking at Damian with a soft gaze.

“Actually, what I said earlier, like I lost interest in Grand Duke, it was a lie.”

“… Why are you lying like that?”

“Grand Duke doesn’t seem to trust me, so I’m just sad that I’m out of words. Did the Grand Duke think my love for you would disappear so easily?”

Damian lowered his lips at my words.

He didn’t believe me at all, but he seemed to be quite interested in me.

To be precise, it must have been that he was interested in the ‘value’ I had.

“My lady, may I know why you want the slave?”

“If you hand over the slave to me, I’ll speak to His Majesty and prove your innocence. There must be evidence so that His Majesty will believe what I say.”

Damian’s eyes narrowed even more.

And Damian’s lips, which had been closed for a while as if measuring my worth, slowly opened.

“Even though it took quite a while to find the slave, it wouldn’t be a waste to give it to My lady. But on condition…”

“… The condition?”

“I want My lady to give some of your time to me.”

Damian softly smiled at me.

I know very well that there’s cruelty hidden behind his graceful smile.

Damian just wanted to use me.

‘Alright. There’s no way he would hand over a present for the Crown Prince that he had painstakingly prepared for someone else.’

Damian will soon be released from prison whether I help him or not.

Asking for my time would be a good excuse to dig up information about the Crown Prince from me.

Then I can take advantage of that opportunity.

I smiled brightly at Damian.

I acted so touched by his words that it brought tears to my eyes every time.

I hope this looks stupid in front of him!

“Oh my gosh… Is this a date request? This isn’t a dream, right? Grand Duke, so when could I see you? We can make an appointment right now.”

“Once I get out of here, we can set a good time to meet.”

As he continued and nod his head, Damian smiled contentedly.

“Then, I will send the present separately.”

“Yes!”

“I sincerely hope that I’ll be able to spend time with My lady soon. Please, wait for me.”

I said to the hypocrite Damian, curving my lips.

“Of course. Don’t worry too much, I’ll tell His Majesty about you very well. I look forward to the day when I could see Grand Duke again. ”

*****

Only after accomplishing the purpose, I left the place where Damian was.

In the middle of the stairs of the tower, maybe the way down to the 4th floor?

Casadine, who was leading the way with a torch in his hand, suddenly stopped.

“Sister.”

“Yes?”

“Is everything you said to that person all true?”

“What do you mean?”

“… Saying it was love at first sight.”

All I could see was Casadine’s back, so I had no idea what kind of expression he was making or what he was thinking.

“How would you get into the mansion after this? Are you going back to the mansion dressed as an imperial knight?”

So I chose to divert the conversation by asking Casadine, as he always did with me. Even if I faced Casadine, I would still say the same thing.

“… Yes? I can get out of the Imperial palace on my own.”

Casadine’s voice sounded like a cool wind blowing from a deep cave.

I could tell that my younger brother wasn’t in a good mood from his voice, which was especially colder than usual.

“You should return to the mansion first.”

“Why? Are we not going back to the mansion together?”

“Yes.”

Casadine, who replied quietly, moved his legs that had stopped earlier.

I sensed that he was refusing to talk to me, so I followed Casadine by not speaking to him again.

When we came out of the tower, the sun had set and it was getting dark.

“It’s dangerous, so I’ll take you to the carriage.”

Even though it seems that Casadine looks angry, this younger brother was unnecessarily kind.

I said with a bitter smile towards Casadine.

“It’s alright.”

“….”

“Please be careful. I will wait until then.”

I tapped Casadine’s shoulder a few times.

“… Yes.”

Casadine uttered one word and turned his back on me.

I waved my hand until Casadine’s back disappeared from my sight, I walked out of the Imperial Palace, remembering the direction the Crown Prince was led me in.

Return safely to the Count’s residence, I immediately called for Sasha.

“What happened about the things I asked you to find out the other day?”

“About Grand Duke Damian you told me before? Ah! Are you talking about the Hailan Kingdom? Wait a minute, my lady. I’m sure I left it here.”

The quick-witted Sasha rummaged through her pocket and pulled out an old, neatly folded piece of paper.

When Sasha unfolded that old paper, a drawing that looked like a schematic was revealed.

I asked, looking at the paper and Sasha’s face alternately.

“What’s all this?”

“Actually, My lady … I couldn’t find any information about the Kingdom of Hailan. So I went to the back alley and got the information.”

“… Sasha, it would be dangerous to go to the back alleys alone.”

“Thank you for your concern, my lady. But it’s alright. I knew something like this would happen someday, and I knew it in advance.”

No, what kind of maid is so fearless.

“My lady gave me a lot of jewelry, so I thought about what would be the most efficient way to use the jewelry.”

“Sasha.”

Sasha’s freckled cheeks were full of reminders. Each time Sasha spoke, her short brown hair shook with it. Sasha said, pointing to the drawing on the paper.

“The informant said that if you go to the place written on this paper, you can find out everything about the Kingdom of Hailan.”

Is the information on the back alley can be trusted?

“There’s no way it’s a fake information. If it’s a lie, I even threatened them to return the jewelry they received. ”

Sasha clenched her fists.

Seeing Sasha like that, I said softly.

“Then let’s go to this place together tomorrow morning.”

“Yes!”

Sasha didn’t hide her joy as she was happy to accompany me. After exchanging a few more words with Sasha, I changed into comfortable clothes and took out a book from the bookshelf and read it.

I read the book without realizing the time has passed, then I closed the book only after reading it all the way to the end.

The full moon was shining brightly, but there was no sound of the door opening next room.

Maybe he got caught by the Imperial Knights on the way out.

The Casadine I know would be able to get out of such a situation.

As I was worrying about one thing or another, I heard someone knock on my door.

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