Chapter 25

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Translator: Harry Potta
Chapter: 25
Chapter Title: A Lucky Day
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It was a lucky day.
Michele returned from her guard duty at the brick house with an invitation from Aileen.
Aileen had invited the knights to her home, promising to treat them to a delicious dinner.
It was a gathering for the subordinates, which meant their superior, Cesare, was excluded.
The Grand Duke's knights had sworn absolute loyalty to their master, but sometimes, a little insubordination was tempting.
Upon hearing the news from Michele, Diego devised a grand plan he called "Operation: Get a Free Dinner at the Future Grand Duchess's House, Sans His Excellency," and decided to rally his comrades for the first time in a while.

“Lady Aileen sent an invitation?”

When the invitation was presented, Senon reacted with surprising intensity.
He was so excited that he even crumpled the corner of a document he was supposed to report to Cesare.
Senon was the only nobleman among the Grand Duke's knights.
With his sharp mind, he served as Cesare's adjutant.
He was also the one who had organized the research materials discovered in Aileen's laboratory.
Currently, Senon was consulting with several lawyers regarding drug-related laws and the Grand Duke's immunity.
He had been working overtime and pulling all-nighters, determined to have everything perfectly prepared before Aileen's wedding.
But even Senon couldn't ignore the momentous news of "Operation: Get a Free Dinner at the Future Grand Duchess's House, Sans His Excellency."
He was already feeling quite wronged for having missed the banquet earlier.
Determined not to miss this opportunity, he vowed to attend no matter what.

“Definitely. I’m definitely going… I can just pull a week of all-nighters after…”

While Senon muttered grimly to himself, Diego excitedly stroked a rabbit doll.
He'd heard it was made with imported foreign cotton, and the texture was incredible.
Touching the soft, squishy doll felt strangely therapeutic.
Seeing the brawny man hugging and contentedly squishing a rabbit doll, Senon couldn't stand the ridiculous sight and chided him.

“Lady Aileen is already twenty-one. What’s with the doll?”

“I’m telling you, the lady will absolutely love it.”

Diego smoothly insulted Senon, claiming it was due to his lack of sensitivity.
He added a lament that he had brought his brilliant gift to show it off, but no one appreciated it.
Senon recalled Diego's house, filled with all sorts of dolls and cute trinkets, and clicked his tongue in disapproval.
He was about to scold him for trying to push his own tastes onto Lady Aileen.

“Emergency!”

Michele burst through the office door, shouting.

“The lady’s been kidnapped!”

At her cry, Senon dropped his papers and Diego his rabbit doll, and they bolted from the office.
Soldiers had already gathered on the first floor of the grand ducal residence, and Cesare was receiving a report from Rotan.
Although the soldiers guarding the brick house had been withdrawn, he had always kept security personnel stationed out of Aileen's sight, just in case.
But all of those personnel had been murdered.
Their replacements found the soldiers dead, their uniforms stripped off, and immediately reported the kidnapping.

“We’ve confirmed a traitor in the military high command and are currently investigating.”

After reporting the betrayal from the high-ranking official, Diego’s first instinct was to observe Cesare.
Unlike the other soldiers who were seething at the betrayal of a trusted superior, he appeared remarkably calm.
However, his seemingly composed red eyes shimmered with an unusual light.
He was merely feigning composure.
After hearing Rotan’s report, Cesare fell into a brief moment of thought.

“…So it's changed. With the situation altered, it might not be perfectly under control.”

Cesare uttered the cryptic words, then immediately gave an order.

“We’re going to the Senate President.”

The Senate President, Marquess Meneghen, came from a military background.
Back when Cesare was a prince, the Marquess had been a commander leading the army.
He had often summoned Cesare to the battlefield.
In the process, he had also stolen some of the credit for Cesare's achievements.
With the fame he had built that way, he rose to the position of Senate President and was now a central figure in the anti-imperial faction.
Senon quickly gave Rotan a look.
Rotan voiced an objection to Cesare’s command.

“Wouldn’t it be a stretch to assume Marquess Meneghen is the culprit, Your Excellency?”

He was a bastard, to be sure, but the Marquess hadn't secured his position as Senate President through sheer luck.
He was skilled at political maneuvering.
It was unlikely he would commit such a foolish act that would end not only his political career but also his life.

“Not the Marquess. His son-in-law.”

“…!”

At Cesare's casually spoken words, understanding dawned on all the knights' faces.
Marquess Meneghen, who had been childless for a long time, finally had a daughter late in life.
He wanted to pass everything down to the daughter he cherished, but imperial law forbade women from inheriting titles.
Thus, he took a young and capable member of the lower house as his son-in-law, making him his political successor.
He had chosen his son-in-law with great care, but there was something the Marquess had overlooked.
His son-in-law, Mattio, was even greedier than the Marquess.
The Marquess's son-in-law was not satisfied with the name of Meneghen alone.
Mattio wanted to grasp not just power, but wealth as well.
To that end, he secretly smuggled in a foreign plant still unknown in the empire.
Cannabis.
Using Meneghen's power made smuggling a simple affair.
Mattio mixed the cannabis with other herbs to create a new drug and began selling it through word of mouth.
The new drug recently trending on Fiore Street was all Mattio's product.
He had twisted the trade routes through two or three layers to hide his involvement, but Cesare had immediately identified Mattio as the drug trafficker.
He'd done so without any information, at that.
Despite knowing from early on, Cesare had left Mattio alone until he had amassed a considerable fortune.
Mattio may have thought things were going smoothly, but he had walked right into a deep trap of his own accord.
Cesare only appeared before Mattio when he was completely cornered.
It was a drug scandal that could take down Marquess Meneghen as well.
By the time Mattio realized it, he was already in Cesare's grasp.
Realizing his life was over, Mattio completely lost his mind.
He hired an assassin, thinking that all his problems would disappear if Cesare was gone.
But the assassination ended in a disastrous failure.
In fact, the incident that day came to be known as the 'Bloody Banquet,' serving only to make the nobility fear Cesare even more.
His last-ditch effort having failed, Mattio finally resorted to kidnapping Aileen.
It was a malicious act born from the thought that since he was going to die anyway, he would at least get his revenge on Cesare before he did.
Marquess Meneghen was still completely unaware of this entire situation.
Of course, ignorance was no excuse.
The Marquess would pay the price for his misjudgment.

“Grand Duke Erzet!”

Marquess Meneghen shouted as he descended the stairs leading to the hall.
Due to the soldiers who had suddenly stormed in during the middle of the night, the marquess's residence was as brightly lit as if it were midday.
The eye-patched Marquess, despite limping on one leg, hurried down the stairs, swinging his cane at the insolent soldiers and roaring in anger.

“You—you—you vile fiends...! Do you have any idea where you are!”

Cesare fired his gun, his face expressionless.
The bullet struck the hook of the heavy chandelier hanging from the ceiling with perfect accuracy.
The chandelier crashed onto the marble floor.
Crash!
Shards from the chandelier littered the hall floor.
After scattering hundreds of pieces of glass over the imposing crest of House Meneghen, Cesare approached the Marquess.

“Marquess Meneghen.”

He pressed the still-hot muzzle of his gun against the Marquess's eyepatch.
The Marquess, who had been roaring just moments before, immediately fell silent.
The moment he met the madness in Cesare's red eyes, he knew something was terribly wrong.

“Wh-what is the meaning of this…”

“The villa you gifted your son-in-law, Mattio. Where is it?”

The Marquess looked bewildered by the sudden question.
But at the sound of Cesare reloading his gun, he immediately gave him the location.

“It’s about a thirty-minute drive from the capital!”

“Take us there.”

Cesare lowered the gun and gestured with his head.
Rotan hoisted Marquess Meneghen up and slung him over his shoulder.

“Allow me to escort you, Marquess.”

Trapped in Rotan's grip, the Marquess was forced to accompany them to the villa.
They covered the thirty-minute distance in ten, and the moment he got out of the car, the Marquess stumbled about, retching.
But no one paid any attention to the frail old Marquess's condition.
A faint light was leaking from the villa.
Cesare gave a light hand signal.
Snipers approached the villa.
With its many windows, finding a sniping position was not difficult.
Michele sent a signal indicating they were ready, and Cesare gave the order to fire.
Gunshots erupted.
The villa filled with the screams of men who had lost their legs.
Hearing their screams, Cesare walked toward the villa alone.
His steps were uncharacteristically urgent.