Chapter 227. Crisis, Part VII

Translator: Khan Editor: Aelryinth

It was not necessary to say. They might be rushing to keep Iris’s mouth shut, but it wasn’t bad in his situation, either.

He could not say that the fake princess who would soon die was a fake, to protect the Kiellini family. So now it was sad and heartbreaking, but he had to pass over the Duke’s title to Iris, even though he would make her his illegitimate child.

“I’ll be ready.”

At the Duke’s brief answer, Valerian nodded and stepped out. He headed to the main house with the Marquis of Rhodius and Sir Caden, who were waiting outside the Duke’s library.

“That’s what happened. I’m so glad that the princess is safe.”

Spencer heard everything from Valerian, and breathed a sigh of relief.

“I’m sorry. I kept an eye on him like that, but when could he have done it?” Sir Caden apologized for his mistake, but questioned it as if he had no idea.

“His Highness thinks that the Duke’s man was in contact with Francis.”

Sir Caden was surprised at Valerian’s words. “The butler who had long served him was put under the magic of silence and we let him go, to isolate the Duke. Was that wrong?”

“It could be. We didn’t expect the poison to exist, so we let him go. We never thought the butler could do anything else.”

“So, will you kill the Duke after he’s been to Vicern?”

“Yes. We’ll start as soon as we get back from Vicern. For the time being, prepare food with strong spices in the kitchen. This evening and tomorrow morning, and when we come and go to Vicern, we’ll be eating with the Duke. I’m trying to keep him from noticing. From today on, I will have a taste for strong-scented food and tea.”

It might be better to stab him with a knife or hang him on a tree since the Duke was familiar with poison or tea. However, he was worried about leaving any traces on the body if the Duke resisted. He thought it would be better to avoid detection as much as possible with strong-scented foods and use a poison that could kill him at once, even if he ate only a little.

Any way was good, as long as the results were clear. The next morning after visiting Vicern, the Duke would be found dead.

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Ivana thought she would visit her father tomorrow and let him know what had happened to her illegitimate daughter. Originally, she intended to go to the Imperial Castle and report directly to the Emperor, but she had to change her mind, since the girl was the illegitimate child of the Anais family.

She was a person of low birth full of dirty blood, but half of it was noble blood. As soon as the girl was identified as a bastard of Marquis Anais, what she had done to her mother and daughter would be revealed. It was sure Maribel would bite her head off.

Ivana struggled to come up with a way to prove that Julietta was a fake, while not revealing that she was the illegitimate child of Marquis Anais. But she couldn’t find any particular way, and she thought she’d tell her father.

“Madam, Madam!” Poche came running in, who she had sent on an errand to get more people to keep an eye on Maribel and the princess.

“Why are you acting giddy?”

Poche didn’t care about Ivana’s scolding at all. “There is a fuss in the capital!”

“A fuss?”

It might be revealed if the princess was a fake, so her ears were tempted and Ivana raised herself from the couch. Poche ran over and told her what she had got.

“The epidemic that spread in the capital and Bertino was actually poison, not an epidemic.”

It had been five days since Prince Killian discovered the antidote for the epidemic and began distributing it at the treatment center.

“What? Poison?” Who the hell did that?!”

Ivana was surprised, and Poche told her the most important thing. “But the poison is the one from the Kiellini family. Prince Francis has posted notices on every street, so all the streets were messed up by it.”

Ivana asked back at Poche’s words. “A poison of the Kiellini family?”

“Yes, ma’am. Oh, my God, what’s this?”

Ivanna who had been unresponsive to Poche’s words for a while suddenly began to laugh frantically. ‘What a surprise. I can blow my nose without even touching it.’ Even if she didn’t meddle in, the whole Kiellini family would disappear without a trace.

“Poche, I will go to the Imperial Castle. Hurry up and get ready.”

She couldn’t miss this good sight. Even if it would take time to bring him back because he was in Tilia, the girl in the Kiellini mansion would be dragged right away.

Ivanna quickly began preparing to go out, in case she missed the scene.

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“Francis?”

Killian raised his head in a flash when Adam came in with a stiff face and reported. He had been busy signing several documents that needed immediate approval.

“Where is Julietta now?”

“I received a report that she went to the dress shop after stopping by at the Eloz Street’s clinic in the morning.”

It was too fast. Francis didn’t report to the Emperor and simply put up notices on every street. It was evident that the act was done to give them no time to prepare. He nervously tapped his finger on the desk, trying to organize his thoughts.

It had been five days since Valerian went down to Tilia. Yesterday he received a magic message in Vicern that he had received a certificate guaranteeing that the Duke’s illegitimate child was a biological daughter.

Even if Duke Kiellini and his party who had departed from Vicern yesterday were in as quick as possible, they would not arrive in Tilia until late tonight. It could have been delayed further because the Duke’s daughter moved with them. As soon as they arrived in Tilia, he ordered Valerian to kill the Duke, and the Duke’s body would be found by tomorrow, as originally planned.

After the Duke’s suicide was reported, he intended to reveal that the “Blue Blood Disease” was actually a poison, not an infectious disease. But he lost the initiative by a difference of two days.

Killian rose in a hurry with a stiff, rigid look. “Julie, we need to safeguard Julietta.”

Adam and Oswald followed behind Killian, who went out in a hurry. Killian, with a terrible look on his face, asked as they strode down the hall of Asta Palace, “Where is Francis now?”

“As I know, he was called to see the Emperor.”

“A meeting would be convened after receiving a report from Francis. We need to harbor Julietta before then.”

It was a time fight. The fact that his father called Francis before him meant that he would buy him time. In the meantime, he had to find a way.

‘What should I do?’ As he crossed the long corridor, Killian thought hard.

First of all, the Duke of Kiellini had to be hurriedly removed. He couldn’t let someone approach him and say useless words. However, if the body was found tomorrow, it would be highly suspicious. He couldn’t kill the Duke any later. If so, he had to advance the date.

“Adam, leave for Tilia right now. As soon as you get there, kill the Duke of Kiellini. We need to advance the time of death as soon as possible.”

“The time of death is also the answer.” Adam nodded with a resolutely determined face, agreeing.

“The Duke committed suicide yesterday after receiving his illegitimate child`s certificate. The Duke found out that the epidemic in the capital was a symptom from the poison of the family; he was in a hurry to prove that the illegitimate child was his own child and then committed suicide to clean up his sin. Remember, the Duke died yesterday. You must fill this gap in time. Hurry up.”

Killian stopped walking, grabbed Adam by the shoulder and looked at him. “Please, Adam. My dear friend!”

Adam knew Killian’s desperate heart in every word, and patted him on the shoulder without a word. “Prepare a horse!” he ordered his servant.

Killian was looking at Adam as he turned outside right away, and ordered Oswald, “The Marquis, hurry up to the Emperor now. Perhaps the grand chamberlain will not let you in because the Emperor is in a private meeting with the first Prince. You pretend to be in a hurry and ask if it is a big deal in front of him. After the meeting, report to His Majesty that the Duke of Kiellini died yesterday.”