In This Life, I Will Be Your Dog - Chapter 82

“His Highness the Crown Prince still seems unable to come to his senses.”

“He’s acting as if he’s dying over just losing two fingers. If his whole wrist had been cut off, we would have needed to hold a funeral.”

Despite Akon’s grave report, Caelus responded with a nonchalant smirk.

“Have you secured him properly?”

“Yes. Just in case, we severed both of his wrists. We’ve also gagged him.”

“Cover his eyes as well. He might attempt some sorcery through his pupils.”

“Surely… he’s not that powerful, is he?”

Noticing his subordinate taking his joke seriously, Caelus shot him a sidelong glance before clicking his tongue in amusement.

“What about the other one?”

“Ah, Ether still hasn’t regained consciousness. He must have suffered significant blood loss that day.”

“Quite the resilient bastard. Though right now, it’s inconvenient for him to die.”

“Fortunately, thanks to Your Grace relocating him early, we’ve managed to temporarily restrain the Empress.”

As Caelus tapped his fingers lightly against the desk while staring into the air, his sharp gaze suddenly turned cold.

“Where is the Empress now?”

“She should be… in the Empress’s palace, shouldn’t she?”

“Find out exactly where she has been for the past two days and who has been coming and going from the Empress’s palace.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

At Akon’s signal, a knight standing by the door nodded sharply and quickly exited the office.

Only then did Caelus let out a sigh, leaning his head back against the chair with a languid expression.

“Your Grace, what about Her Grace the Grand Duchess?”

“She still hasn’t been able to get up.”

“Is she in a bad condition? Well, after what she experienced, it’s understandable…”

Noticing Akon’s evident concern, Caelus pressed his lips tightly together to stifle a smirk.

It wasn’t a complete lie. She truly hadn’t been able to get up—not even for her usual morning training, which she never skipped no matter what.

“More importantly, we have a serious problem. The atmosphere among the citizens is unsettling. This is the first time they’ve witnessed such a horrific incident, so the shock is overwhelming.”

“How many casualties?”

“Approximately thirty knights have died, and about twenty nobles. There are also many others who have lost limbs, so managing the aftermath will take quite some time.”

“His Majesty must have quite the headache.”

Akon warily studied Caelus, who spoke as if it were someone else’s problem, then clicked his tongue in frustration.

“This is insanity. What on earth was the Empress thinking, bringing in that kind of sorcerer and causing this catastrophe? She is truly a terrifying woman.”

“It was aimed at me. And Bellona was merely the intended sacrifice.”

A chilling memory from his past surfaced in Caelus’s mind—a day as horrific as this one, though under different circumstances.

It had been shortly after he arrived in Camirus.

At that time, the Grand Duchy was in a state of ruin, with its starving citizens scattered in all directions, barely surviving.

Still, since it was his mother’s homeland, he had desperately tried to restore its former glory.

And then, it happened while he was patrolling the territory.

He had heard a commotion and followed the noise to find a crowd gathered.

As he approached, he saw a group of men surrounding a woman, their intentions unmistakable.

The woman, unable to resist, merely trembled in fear.

Empty liquor bottles lay scattered around, and the men’s unfocused eyes indicated that they were heavily intoxicated.

Infuriated, Caelus ordered his knights to seize the men.

As he helped the terrified woman to her feet, he suddenly felt a sharp heat spreading across his abdomen.

Startled, he twisted her wrist and backed away, only to see the crying woman suddenly grinning maliciously.

His body wouldn’t move.

At the same time, an eerie incantation flowed from her lips.

In an instant, countless hands grabbed hold of him, and everything happened in a blur.

Slash.

Before he even registered the severed hand that had dropped to the ground, another scorching pain erupted in his abdomen.

When he turned his head, he saw one of his own knights—his eyes blank—driving a spear into his stomach.

The other knights merely watched with vacant stares.

Realizing something was terribly wrong, Caelus quickly drew his sword and hurled it at the chanting woman.

Ghk!

The sharp blade pierced through her abdomen.

As soon as her ceaseless chanting stopped, the men and knights holding him collapsed to the ground like broken puppets.

Only then did Caelus slump down, staring blankly at his own severed hand lying on the ground.

The sharp blade pierced through her abdomen.

As soon as her ceaseless chanting stopped, the men and knights holding him collapsed to the ground like broken puppets.

Only then did Caelus slump down, staring blankly at his own severed hand lying on the ground.

The sudden situation was beyond absurd, but strangely, there was no pain. In fact, the lack of any sensation was more surprising.

“You are unaffected by my sorcery… How unexpected.”

The woman muttered, blood trickling down her lips.

“Was it the Empress who sent you?”

As if she had accepted her fate, the woman smiled faintly.

“It’s a pity I won’t get to spend all that money.”

“For someone capable of controlling others’ minds, it seems you couldn’t foresee your own end.”

As he mocked her, the woman lifted the corners of her lips in a twisted grin.

“Fate is always fickle. Just as I didn’t anticipate dying here, you might one day fall to the whims of fate as well.”

“I decide my own fate.”

“I hope that wish comes true.”

Smiling brightly, the woman suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood before her head slumped forward.

As the realization of her death settled, Caelus’s tension unraveled, and his body collapsed weakly.

Moments ago, he had felt nothing, but now, an overwhelming wave of agony crashed upon him. Experiencing such excruciating pain for the first time in his life, Caelus soon lost consciousness.

Days later, he awoke in the bedroom. As he listened to Akon’s report, he glanced at his now-empty hand.

A swordsman had lost his hand.

It felt as if the world had crumbled around him.

“Just in case, we dismembered the witch’s body and burned it.”

The woman had been a puppeteer who used poison to manipulate the living.

And that night, the poison she had used was derived from a toxic herb that only grew in Camirus, long ago.

“It appears someone opened the castle gates for her.”

In a land where outsiders were strictly shunned, not only had a stranger been allowed in, but she had used a poison native to this land to attack him.

This meant there was a collaborator within the walls.

There was no need to investigate who was behind it.

After all, the Empress and Impes had already sent countless assassins after him.

What Caelus needed to uncover was the identity of the internal traitor.

And his suspicions proved true.

Several noble families in Camirus had accepted vast sums of wealth from the Empress.

For their own gain, they had opened the gates to an outsider and even provided her with poison.

They had exchanged their loyalty for riches, betraying their lord.

That day, Caelus not only lost his hand, but also his trust and his mother’s homeland.

***

“You still haven’t found them both?”

Violentia’s voice rose in fury, prompting the Marquis of Graeme to soothe her with a quiet warning.

“Your Majesty, please lower your voice.”

“Lower my voice? At this rate, every arrow will be pointed at me!”

“We are searching discreetly. Please be patient.”

“To think you can’t even handle a mere common knight properly! Look at the mess you’ve made!”

Unable to contain her anger, Violentia hurled the teacup in her hand.

The marquis let out a deep sigh as he watched the shattered glass, then stood up and firmly gripped her trembling shoulders.

“Your Majesty, you should rest. Your complexion is pale.”

“You incompetent fool! I told you to be more careful!”

Her clenched fists trembled with rage.

Her son had boasted that he would use Bellona to eliminate Caelus, yet he had returned grievously wounded instead.

And worse, in front of the Emperor, he had rambled about how she had saved him and even mentioned sorcerers.

If not for the Emperor’s weakened state of mind, she might have taken the full blame for this incident.

Grinding her teeth, Violentia finally yielded to the man’s persuasion and lay down on the bed.

“Do not worry, Your Majesty. As always, fate is on your side.”

The man, now lying beside her naturally, pulled her slender body into a tight embrace, gently stroking her silver hair.

His touch was so practiced, as if he had comforted her countless times before.

“We must kill them both. If not, we might be the ones in danger.”

“I will take care of it for you. For now, clear your mind and rest in my arms, my Viola.”

“Haah, Graeme…”

The man gazed at her with deep affection before pressing a kiss to her crimson lips.

Only then did the Empress’s expression soften in contentment.

As his calloused hands slipped beneath her sheer negligee, caressing her trembling curves, the handsome man let out a low chuckle and whispered against her ear.

“Tonight, I must bring you even greater pleasure, so that my master forgets all her worries.”

Violentia’s lips curled in satisfaction at his seductive promise.