Duchess Mecklen’s Elegant Revolt - Chapter 31 Part 7

“Your Grace, it’s an emergency. We’re under attack.”

“An attack?”

“Ruffians have stormed the estate and are causing havoc. The madam has been captured and is suffering great humiliation.”

A few hours earlier—

A servant, having hurriedly rushed to the palace, informed Duke Mecklen of the crisis in the family.

He stammered, trying to explain how the fight had broken out following a conversation between the lady who stepped out of the carriage and Caroline, and how he had managed to escape.

Quickly grasping the situation, Ernst immediately halted his work, summoned his knights, and hastened towards the eastern gate.

Fortuitously, they had just left the palace when they spotted a carriage speeding towards them from a distance.

A carriage adorned with the lily emblem of House Hippias.

A servant beside him shouted,

“That’s the carriage! The lady who stepped out of it secretly called the ruffians to attack the family!”

Eleanor.

“I saw it clearly while hiding! I even saw her going up to the attic, saying she was there to capture someone.”

Upon hearing this, Duke Mecklen dashed toward the carriage.

As he unsheathed his long sword, a fountain of blood spurted from the neck of the horse pulling the carriage.

At the same moment, the coachman was flung from his seat, tumbling violently onto the ground.

Covered in dust, the coachman barely managed to lift his head before Ernst pointed his sword at him.

“You just left the Mecklen estate and are returning to the palace, correct?”

“……!”

His icy voice held no trace of mercy.

The coachman’s trembling pupils darted about in desperation.

He didn’t respond, but Ernst didn’t need an answer.

Murder glinted in his eyes as he pressed the blade against the coachman’s neck, slowly cutting into the skin.

Shivering like a leaf, the coachman stammered, “P-please… spare me…!”

Click.

“Stop.”

Sensing the danger of the situation, Eleanor opened the carriage door and stepped out.

Hearing her voice, Ernst, who had been about to behead the coachman, turned around.

“He is merely a coachman. He’s done nothing wrong.”

“You knew I wouldn’t like this, and yet you still went this far?”

Though he withdrew his sword from the coachman, Ernst’s anger did not dissipate.

He looked as though he might lunge at Eleanor at any moment.

Eleanor only spoke again after confirming that the coachman had scrambled to hide behind her.

“I don’t know what you’ve been told, but this was necessary. If I didn’t act now, we wouldn’t get another chance. I apologize for my late-night visit, but no one was harmed.”

“Necessary?”

“No one was harmed? That’s absurd! You forcibly subdued us! You even threatened the madam! I saw it all!”

Following Ernst’s words, a servant of House Mecklen, who had been hiding behind him, shouted furiously.

Ernst’s eyes narrowed even further.

“Are you aware that this incident could escalate into a full-blown war between noble families? Your house was the one that provided the justification for it.”

Eleanor realized that Ernst had no intention of backing down.

Seeing no other option, she decided to reveal more information.

“Do you know Saruka?”

“Why are you bringing that name up now?”

“Because I just captured him. Caroline had been hiding him in the mansion. It would be faster to show you.”

With that, Eleanor turned toward the carriage.

Right on cue, the carriage door opened once more.

Jack Ruby.

Having been observing the situation from inside, he quickly dragged Saruka out.

Saruka, held by the collar, had his mask removed.

Ernst squinted at the sight of Saruka’s face, which was horribly scarred by burns.

“That’s Saruka?”

“Yes.”

“Do you have proof?”

Jack Ruby bristled at the question.

“It’s him. I know his features better than anyone. He always wore a mask, so few have seen his actual face, but I confirmed it the moment I caught him.”

Ernst’s skepticism made Jack Ruby feel like his achievement wasn’t being acknowledged.

Puffing out his chest, Jack Ruby pounded his own chest as if to emphasize his pride.

Ernst’s sharp gaze shifted from Saruka to Jack Ruby.

“And who are you?”

“An informant from Ferret Street.”

“Ferret? …You’ve truly fallen to the lowest depths.”

Eleanor’s composed response made Ernst let out an exasperated laugh.

Ferret was one of the most avoided places by nobles.

It was infamous for its dangerous back alleys and the illicit dealings of its information brokers—transactions considered too disgraceful for any noble to admit to.

Only nobles who had no other choice resorted to using Ferret’s services, and even then, they did so discreetly, keeping it a secret from their peers.

Yet here she was, speaking of it so openly.

“Have you truly sunk so low as to associate with such people?”

“Sunk low? I’ve done plenty of bad things, but I wouldn’t say I’m the worst of the worst.”

Jack Ruby, now out in the open, reached for a cigar and placed it between his lips.

Ernst’s expression darkened even further.

“How vulgar.”

For a noble, such behavior was unimaginable.

Smoking a cigar in the middle of a conversation?

It was an insult, but Jack Ruby merely smirked, clearly accustomed to this kind of treatment from nobles.

“Care for a puff?”

“No.”

Ernst curtly dismissed the offer.

“I will question your collusion with Ferret’s informant later. However, there is no doubt that House Hippias is at fault for launching an assault on my family without prior notice. The mercenaries who aided you will be punished according to noble law, and I will take Saruka with me.”

“……!”

“Take him away.”

At the Duke’s command, the knights responded loudly.

As they moved toward Jack Ruby, Eleanor, taken aback, tried to intervene, but Ernst grabbed her arm, preventing her from moving.

“I will not formally challenge House Hippias to a duel. However, you will have to pay the price for your actions.”

“Do you realize what role Saruka played in the Balkan Trading Company?”

“I do.”

Eleanor’s lips trembled slightly.

Caroline’s last desperate cry rang in her mind—Did you think Ernst would let you go?

“Then you intend to let Saruka’s crimes go unpunished?”

“……”

Silence was his answer.

“You just keep getting worse.”

“I don’t care.”

“His Majesty will not let this matter slide. Saruka still has unresolved crimes tied to Caroline.”

“You will not return to the palace tonight.”

“……!”

Eleanor’s eyes widened in shock as Ernst replied indifferently, his gaze locked onto hers.

“It might not be a bad idea to keep you confined for a while.”

“You—”

“Perhaps this is an easy way to take you from the Emperor.”

Ernst was not a man who joked.

That meant he was completely serious.

Sensing the danger, Eleanor struggled to break free.

At the same time, one of the knights approaching Jack Ruby let out a cry and collapsed.

“Employer, it looks like tonight’s pay will need to be doubled.”

Turning around, Eleanor saw Jack Ruby brandishing his falcata.

“If I have to take down all these knights and rescue you, it’s going to cost quite a bit.”

For a back-alley merchant, his words were arrogant.

The stunned knights quickly surrounded Jack Ruby.

It was one against many.

Yet Jack Ruby was unfazed.

He threw the needle he had taken from Saruka at the knights.

“Argh!”

“You coward!”

“Heh, in a fight, there’s no such thing as cowardice. Winning is all that matters.”

Smirking slyly, Jack Ruby swung his falcata without hesitation.

Defeating Saruka had not been mere luck—Jack Ruby was surprisingly holding his ground.

With each swing of his blade, the so-called elite knights fell one by one.

Eventually, Ernst, having seen enough, released Eleanor and stepped toward Jack Ruby.

“Step aside.”

“D-Duke.”

The knights hesitated and backed away.

Jack Ruby flinched as well.

The air around Ernst shifted instantly.

A flash of light streaked through the darkness.

“……!”

Jack Ruby barely had time to react before he instinctively ducked.

Ernst’s sword sliced through the air just above his head, narrowly missing him.

Shaken, Jack Ruby quickly dodged the next attack.

‘So this is why they call him the Empire’s Sword.’

He couldn’t even see the trajectory of the attack.

Had he been just a little slower, his head would have been severed.

A chill ran down his spine.

‘Am I going to die here?’

The overwhelming difference in skill was evident.

Even attempting to counterattack would expose openings.

Had he gotten too arrogant after easily defeating Saruka?

For a brief moment, Jack Ruby regretted his past overconfidence.

Maybe he had been too careless with his words…

“Ugh!”

Clang—!

He barely blocked the incoming strike, but his wrist throbbed painfully.

The weight behind Ernst’s sword was immense.

The ringing clash of steel echoed between them.

Just as Jack Ruby marveled at his own ability to withstand the first strike, the second attack followed immediately.

He knew that staying in close combat would only lead to his defeat, so he attempted to create distance.

But Ernst wouldn’t allow it.

Relentlessly, he pursued Jack Ruby, his blade aiming straight for his throat.

***

Late at night, the only sound in the Marquis of Delph’s garden was the occasional chirping of insects.

The air was tense, heavy with an eerie silence.

A dark figure moved cautiously, using the shadows of the trees as cover.

It was Lambert, a journalist from Fox.

‘Never underestimate a seasoned journalist.’

Even he was impressed with how stealthily he had infiltrated the estate.

He was secretly pleased with himself but refrained from chuckling aloud.

His sharp eyes gleamed as he observed the exterior of an old annex belonging to House Delph.

‘No one seems to live here.’

That was unexpected.

Normally, wealthy noble families had no empty residences.

Any extra buildings were typically used as servants’ quarters or guest accommodations.

‘Definitely suspicious.’

Rustle.

“……!”

Lambert instinctively lowered his body further.

He had just heard footsteps.

Before he could even see the source, he pressed himself against the grass, his cheek nearly touching the ground.

“The Emperor is going to convene the noble council.”

‘That voice… Marquis Delph!’

“It’s to select the Empress. The chosen candidate is the former Princess of Hartmann, now the Director of the Bureau, Eleanor von Hippias.”

Lambert almost gasped aloud.

What did he just hear?

“Tomorrow, Fox will publish the official marriage announcement.”

‘How does he know that?!’

Lambert’s expression twisted in disbelief.