Duchess Mecklen’s Elegant Revolt - Chapter 33 Part 3

Eleanor gestured to the surrounding knights instead of ordering the soldiers to apprehend Ernst.

“Let’s head down first.”

“Huh…?”

“Are we just going to stay here like this?”

At her words, the knights glanced at Duke Mecklen, hesitating.

Wouldn’t it be problematic to leave him here?

They had received clear orders regarding the duke.

The knight leading the unit approached Eleanor and whispered, “His Majesty ordered us to bring the duke back with us. Are we to leave him behind?”

“Yes. The duke will move separately with me.”

“Then at least allow some guards to remain here.”

“No, there’s no need to split our forces. Prioritize escorting the plantation workers.”

“But His Majesty—”

“I will explain everything so that you won’t be reprimanded for this. Don’t worry and go on ahead.”

“…Understood.”

Reluctantly, the knight nodded.

The soldiers swiftly reorganized their formation and surrounded Vito, the child Lennoch, and the crippled old man for protection and surveillance.

Ernst watched in silence, his hand repeatedly clenching and releasing the hilt of his sword.

Seeing his tension, Eleanor calmly approached him.

“Are you planning to stop reporting to the palace?”

“……”

Ernst’s intense gaze, which had been fixed on Vito, finally returned to her.

“You are Duke Mecklen and the commander of the Imperial Guard. If you want to abandon all of that, do as you wish. I won’t stop you.”

Her tone was gentle, almost persuasive, yet the sharpness of her words was unmistakable.

Ernst tilted his head slightly as he regarded her. “Have you not considered that I might seize you instead?”

“Seize me?”

“Yes. It would be even easier here than it was back then.”

He was referring to the night he had forcibly stopped Hippias’ carriage.

Killing Vito wasn’t enough—his confidence made it clear that he believed he could take Eleanor anytime he wanted.

But Eleanor shook her head. “Such threats no longer hold meaning.”

“Why?”

“Because I am no longer a mere director.”

The date of the imperial marriage had been officially set.

Fox was preparing to print several times its usual circulation in anticipation of the announcement.

This meant that soon, the entire empire would know of the wedding.

“From now on, I will be treated with the same courtesy as an empress.”

“……!”

Ernst had not attended the Noble Council.

More accurately, he had deliberately chosen not to.

He had skipped work to personally oversee the destruction of the plantation.

Because of that, he was completely unaware that Marquis Delph’s plans had been completely ruined and that the wedding date had been set even earlier than expected.

Eleanor made sure to emphasize that fact.

“If you try to imprison me by force, it will be tantamount to disgracing the imperial family. His Majesty will no longer tolerate any leniency.”

“…That can’t be.”

“If I don’t return to the palace, someone will report it to His Majesty.”

And the enraged Lennoch—

“Will brand the Mecklen family as traitors and eradicate them completely.”

“……!”

Ernst’s eyes widened in shock.

But Eleanor wasn’t finished.

“Did you think I sent the soldiers away without a plan? You haven’t noticed yet, but His Majesty is already waiting nearby.”

“…What?”

“Meeting you here was part of our plan from the beginning.”

Of course, the emperor wasn’t actually waiting nearby.

But Eleanor spoke with unwavering certainty, ensuring Ernst would believe her.

He quickly scanned his surroundings.

As she had said, the soldiers had left, but in the distance, Childe remained watching them closely.

From this distance, he wouldn’t be able to hear their conversation.

However, perched above him, a carrier pigeon circled in the sky, sent by someone unknown.

It was a messenger bird.

Eleanor seized the opportunity to press further.

“You’re no different from Caroline.”

“……!”

“You’re willing to do anything for your own selfish desires.”

Ernst’s expression hardened at her sudden accusation.

Being told he resembled his mother felt like an insult.

Noting the flicker of distress in his face, Eleanor continued in a calm, deliberate tone, “Do you really believe eliminating an innocent blood relative will solve your problems?”

Thinking that killing his half-brother Vito would resolve the issue was a grave miscalculation.

Even with Saruka’s capture, the Mecklen family could not escape punishment.

Lennoch was no longer the same emperor who would overlook his friend’s crimes.

At this point, even Ernst’s position was unstable.

Hearing this, Ernst let out a bitter chuckle.

“…Then tell me, how should I protect my family?”

His voice was still filled with frustration and uncertainty.

“You know everything, don’t you? You know who those people dragged from the plantation really are. Once my mother’s secret is exposed, the Mecklen family will be ruined, and our honor will plummet to the ground… Are you telling me to just stand by and watch?”

After his conversation with Caroline, he had thought long and hard.

The information she provided was useful, but not enough to secure an advantage.

He needed something more powerful—something that could put pressure on the emperor.

If he could minimize his weaknesses and rally the nobles for a counterattack, then maybe—

Eleanor let out a dry laugh. “You claim to cherish your family.”

So why was he choosing such a difficult path?

“There’s no need to antagonize His Majesty and take an even more dangerous route. You could simply acknowledge your mistakes and—”

“No.”

“……?”

“In order to reclaim you, I must protect my house completely.”

“…Ernst.”

“That’s the only way to prevent that arrogant emperor from taking you again.”

Though he spoke of protecting his house just as before, his meaning had changed slightly.

Rendered speechless, Eleanor closed her mouth.

Ernst’s gaze naturally drifted to her lips as she fell silent.

For the first time, a subtle change appeared in his once-stubborn eyes.

“If…”

“……?”

A sudden question formed in his mind.

What kind of answer would she give?

“If I were to kneel before you right now—”

If he pleaded with her to come back—

“…Would you return to me?”

***

The soldiers urged the crippled old man to move forward, and he took slow, heavy steps.

However, while his legs moved steadily, his pupils darted back and forth without rest.

He was scanning his surroundings.

Memorizing the terrain.

And pinpointing Vito’s exact location.

‘I must follow Lady Caroline’s orders.’

The old man thought to himself.

No matter what, if he was taken to the palace, death was inevitable.

If his past were exposed, mere torture would not be the end of it.

A mere servant daring to kill his former master—though it had happened decades ago, there would surely be a record of it.

‘It’s all over anyway.’

Even if he was to die, there was one promise he had made to Caroline.

To repay the debt of being kept alive.

As Vito’s assigned watcher and the one responsible for brainwashing him into adoring Caroline, his role was coming to an end.

He would kill Vito and then take his own life.

“Hey, why are you moving so slowly?”

“…My leg is injured, please be understanding.”

At the soldier’s complaint, the old man gestured to his leg.

It wasn’t entirely a lie—he had been shot with an arrow and was wounded.

Though first aid had been applied to keep him from dying, the amount of blood he had lost was significant, leaving him pale.

Because of the old man’s increasingly sluggish pace, the soldiers’ movement also slowed considerably.

At that moment, the child Lennoch, who had been walking next to Vito, met the old man’s gaze.

“Hik.”

The child let out a weak whimper and quickly grabbed Vito’s hand.

Unlike the old man, neither the child nor Vito was bound with rope.

Thinking that the child was afraid of the soldiers, Vito gently patted his head. But the child’s thoughts were entirely different.

‘The soldier was right.’

Before dying, that soldier had given him a warning.

To be wary of the village chief.

At the time, he hadn’t understood, but now he was sure of it.

The crippled old man kept glancing at Vito.

Recalling how close he had come to dying just moments ago, it was clear—the old man was targeting Vito.

“……”

The child Lennoch tightened his grip on Vito’s hand, his body tensing with caution.

And no one had noticed—

That the rope tightly binding the old man’s hands had slowly begun to fray.

***

Underground torture chamber.

Eger wiped the sweat from his trembling hands and adjusted his slipping glasses.

The various torture devices scattered around the room made the atmosphere even more ominous.

He didn’t even want to imagine how they were used.

Eger had never liked places like this.

Reluctantly, he turned his gaze to the man hanging from the wall.

“……”

As expected, Saruka was bound in chains, his body covered in blood.

Eger tried to ignore the gruesome sight and gestured to the torturer standing nearby.

“Could you give us a moment alone?”

“Yes. Call me when you need me.”

With an expressionless face, the torturer bowed and stepped out.

Eger cleared his throat loudly on purpose.

“I just have a few questions.”

“……”

“What is your relationship with Caroline?”

Saruka remained silent with his eyes closed.

But the occasional twitch of his mangled skin proved he wasn’t unconscious.

If he wanted to make him talk, Eger knew he would have to use methods like the torturer’s.

But that wasn’t his style.

He sighed internally.

‘Why does His Majesty always leave these things to me?’

Whenever it involved Eleanor, Lennoch became utterly fixated.

The emperor had left early that morning to meet Eleanor, worried about her safety.

And yet, just a few hours ago, Eger had firmly reminded him how busy he was.

He was certain Lennoch had headed straight to the plantation where Childe had reported back from.

Eger swallowed down the curses rising in his throat and forced himself to continue.

“There’s no use in hiding anything. We already know everything.”

“……”

“We know exactly what you did for Caroline at the Balkan Trading Company.”

“……”

“You’re responsible for the massacre of El Gino, aren’t you?”

“……”

“Do you know Umar, the Mayor of Kuhen”

“……”

“Why are you staying silent? It’s not as if you have any loyalty to Caroline.”

Saruka remained completely unresponsive.

Eger frowned and adjusted the bridge of his glasses, carefully considering his next move.

“Or is she holding something over you?”

Did Caroline know some deep secret of his?

Otherwise, why would he endure such brutal torture without speaking a word?

Eger decided to probe further, hoping to uncover a weakness.

“Did she threaten your family?”

“……”

“Or is this about revenge?”

At the mention of revenge, Saruka’s fingers twitched slightly.

“Revenge? Is there someone you want to kill?”

“……”

“Did Caroline promise to do it for you? Is that why?”

“……”

“Ah, this is frustrating.”

Eger glanced at the chair in front of Saruka.

He wanted to sit comfortably while talking, but the seat was stained with dried blood, making it unappealing.

Sighing, he crouched instead, leveling his gaze with Saruka’s battered face.

“If you tell us everything, His Majesty might reduce your sentence. Who knows? You might even avoid execution.”

“……”

“Wouldn’t it be better to live than to die? Rather than letting Caroline use you and then discard you, wouldn’t it be wiser to expose her and survive? I don’t know what kind of deal you made with her, but maybe you could negotiate a better one—with your life as the bargaining chip.”

He was half-bluffing.

But at that moment, Saruka’s closed eyes flickered ever so slightly.

***