Chapter 71
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***LC sponsored the next five chapters. Thank you so much ❤️ (⅕)
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Outside, the riots continued. A small fire was enough to terrify the unsuspecting nobles. Of course, it would be quickly extinguished, as the fire had been carefully contained.
As a few timid individuals began to leave the banquet hall, the atmosphere quickly became chaotic.
The orchestra leader, who had been paid handsomely in advance, resumed playing as if he hadn't noticed.
The time the orchestra had been ordered to play was still a long way off, but the tumultuous playing seemed almost loyal.
Caius leisurely put his mask back on amidst the chaos.
In the meantime, someone close to him ripped off his blue emblem and draped it over their shoulder instead.
Another took off his golden epaulettes and draped their red cloak over Caius.
Out of nowhere, a woman dressed as colorfully as a bright yellow canary appeared and casually slipped her arm through Caius's. She wore a veil like Louise's and asked cheerfully,
"Shall we go, then?"
Louise froze in her tracks, surprised at the sudden appearance of Lady Charlotte Hessen, despite the urgency of the situation.
Her eyes naturally fell to Caius's arm, which Charlotte was holding so casually.
"Don't worry, we have plenty of people to help us, and the Emperor is probably busy right now."
Caius had said that, and it was no secret that the Lady of Hessen was on Caius's side, so she shouldn't be surprised, but Louise felt a twinge of bitterness.
Because she had met her first and introduced her to Caius, he must have thought her a friend of hers, which was impossible.
Even now, Charlotte was looking straight at Caius and maintaining her smile.
If it weren't for Caius, Lady Hessen would never have made the acquaintance of a Countess from a commoner's background. Louise realized that now.
On the other hand, Charlotte's regal face made Louise's heart tighten in her chest, for she was not trembling as badly as she was.
Caius linked arms with Charlotte, lifting Louise's veil and locking eyes with her.
"Let's go outside and see."
As soon as Charlotte could barely make out the words, which were barely more than a mouthful, a gloved palm opened before Louise.
"Shall we, Lady?"
The young man, dressed in an imitation of an army-blue guard uniform, was Viscount Leto, whom she had greeted at the racetrack, and he had already removed his cloak and draped it over Louise's shoulders.
The necklace that had attracted so much attention was now concealed.
Louise shook off her thoughts and took the Viscount's hand.
As she slithered through the crowded ballroom, she looked again and again for Caius, but he was nowhere to be seen.
Viscount Leto urged Louise on.
"You'll make it out alright," he said, "and if you count the privateers in their banquet clothes, there are half a dozen of us in the ballroom."
They had barely left the ballroom when the shouts of the guards rang out behind them.
"The fire has been extinguished, everyone, please calm down and remain seated!"
But the voices were soon drowned out by the cheerful strains of a waltz.
The nobles, each as lavishly dressed as a peacock, were still leaving the ballroom like an ebbing tide. Thankfully, Louise and Viscount Leto made it out of the castle safely.
But once Louise was seated in the carriage, Caius did not appear.
Finally, the Viscount stood up.
"I'll go and fetch him," he said, "and I'll tell the escorts outside to leave first if there's an emergency, but you can stay seated."
"But..................."
"Your ladyship has something to protect as well."
Louise lowered her gaze to her chest, which was covered with the Viscount’s cloak. Albrecht's Pearl was hidden there.
It was the only reason she was here.
***
As he and Lady Hessen made their way out of the ballroom, Caius saw a young man stumbling back from the entrance.
His jet-black hair, his tall stature, his white uniform almost identical to his own, and the fact that he hadn't gotten past the man in all the hustle and bustle.
"Wait."
Caius nudged Lady Hessen's arm away.
Lady Charlotte Hessen whispered, panicking.
"You must not hesitate. You must get out of here now."
"It will only take a moment."
Caius said, and strode briskly toward the man in the white uniform.
The silver-masked man, Leopold, stared out over the balcony, his face pale and dazed. So mesmerized was he that he didn't even realize Caius was approaching.
"..................Prince?"
His voice was not very loud, but Leopold turned around, stunned.
A cruel grin tugged at the corners of Caius's mouth, and he reached out and grabbed Leopold's wrist.
"You, you, what are you doing!"
Leopold shouted, but the guards who had inquired about his safety earlier had gone to find the man in the white uniform at his command.
Caius twisted Leopold's wrist in a single motion and rolled up his sleeve.
"Ah!"
Leopold struggled, his great height wasted in the struggle, and his mouth stretched in satisfaction as Caius released his cousin's pale wrist.
"You insolent..................!"
Leopold snapped, looking at his reddened wrist, and Caius smiled wickedly and tilted his head.
"We meet at last, Leopold."
The color drained from Leopold's pale face.
"Ah, you're..................."
Caius clapped his hand over Leopold's shoulder.
The slow motion was as natural as a brother to a brother, and in that moment, Leopold had the sudden urge to turn Caius’s wrist over and check the markings.
As Caius turned away, Leopold, who had stiffened, began to shout frantically.
"Guards, guards!"
As the crowd gathered, Charlotte stepped forward and whispered.
“Push me, hurry.”
She didn't wait for a moment for Caius to hesitate; she tumbled toward Leopold, screaming as if she'd been pushed by something.
"Ah!"
Panicked, Leopold leaned down to check on Charlotte.
"Hey, here! A lady has fallen!"
Someone nearby shouted, distracting him.
When Leopold turned his head again, Caius was gone. Nor was the veiled, sweet-smelling woman.
***
Two hours earlier, the imperial palace.
The hastily dispatched imperial army had finally returned with results. They had captured the man who claimed to be the Count of Nasau in the upper Galicia that the Margrave of Jesenice had spoken of.
The imperial court had been plagued by rumors of the manipulative behavior of the prince. The emperor decided that it was right, and decided to skip the banquet and question the man.
It was not unusual for an old, widowed emperor to skip a banquet to attend to his duties, since the prince who had reached the age of adulthood was entitled to the title of imperial master.
The emperor, accompanied by the captain of the guard, personally traveled down to the dungeon to see the man. It was not the Count of Nasau, as the Margrave of Jesenice had claimed.
"..................What is your name?"
The man lied to Emperor Karl, both fearfully and falsely.
"My name is Guillaume Graitz Nasau."
"No, you!"
The Emperor bellowed from outside the cage.
“Nassau was once my subject! And yet you lie to me as if I don’t know his face! What are you doing, not answering properly!"
The captain of the guards winked, and the cell door opened. One of the guards picked up a whip from the wall and stepped inside.
The man who claimed as Count Nasau began to plead more furiously.
But there was no mercy in the guards' hands.
Soon the man was covered in blood and groaning, but he still managed to call himself Nasau.
"Why are you doing this.................. I wouldn't be surprised if Your Majesty forgot what I look like.”
"He still hasn't come to his senses!"
The whipping began again.
The man was wrong in more ways than one. In the first place, Nasau's face was not the kind that could be easily forgotten.
Guillaume, Count of Nasau, had a handsome face that would have made a nymph drool.
So when the Emperor first heard of the Empress's deviation, he even tried to laugh it off.
But how could he forget his face?
Moreover, judging by his demeanor, the man in prison was not a nobleman. Impersonating a nobleman was a serious crime, so he must be trying to get away with it somehow.
Aside from the fact that the emperor remembered the face, there was no evidence that the man was not Nasau, as the Margrave of Jesenice said. Rather, there was only the signet ring to prove that he was.
So the Emperor decided to fool the man with a tempting carrot.
***
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Write a comment
Virginie (Monday, 18 November 2024 08:02)
Thank you so much , you are the best, LC and Dora :)
Virginie (Monday, 18 November 2024 08:03)
Shout out for both of you :) !!!