In This Life, I Will Be Your Dog - Chapter 97

As if he had no fear of being overheard, Caelus spoke on, clearly determined. “Isn’t this the perfect opportunity? His Majesty’s mind is already unstable—if I eliminate the two of them now and take the throne, everything will fall into place.”

“Your Grace, please, lower your voice.”

Caelus looked silently at the old man, who appeared sincerely distressed, then let out a faint laugh and stepped closer.

Then, as if to ease his worries, he murmured softly, “That’s why I’m asking—won’t you help me, Chamberlain? If I ascend the throne, I’ll grant you whatever you desire.”

“Your Grace, I understand your frustration more than anyone. But if you eliminate them without just cause and word gets out, not only the nobles but the entire empire will condemn you as immoral. In that case, even His Majesty’s safety—”

“Immoral, you say…”

The chamberlain’s lips twitched, unable to continue. He couldn’t possibly have missed the sudden chill in Caelus’ demeanor.

A large shadow loomed over the elderly man’s small frame. A thick, calloused hand gripped his shoulder tightly.

After a brief moment of uncomfortable silence, an icy voice dropped over the chamberlain’s head.

“Then how about killing the one I’ve regarded as a father? Would that be immoral too?”

“……!”

“No, here’s what I really want to know. With what justification did you harm His Majesty? What reason and reward did that woman offer that made you betray your lord, whom you had served like a friend for so long?”

The frail man’s shoulders tensed, fragile enough to crumble with just a bit more pressure. Yet, as if he had long expected this moment, the old man’s face remained calm.

As Caelus gripped tighter, the chamberlain narrowed his brows slightly, then let out a hollow laugh.

With a bitter expression, he looked at Caelus—the man he once cherished like a son—with a detached gaze.

“So you’ve heard it from Her Grace.”

“Answer me.”

At the cold command, the old man paused briefly, then gently tapped the back of Caelus’ hand still gripping his shoulder, as if to comfort him.

As the tension in Caelus’ veined hand gradually eased, the chamberlain removed it.

Then, as if seeking punishment, he lowered himself and bowed deeply.

“Whatever I say would only sound like excuses. I am nothing but a sinner. Please show no mercy and strike me down.”

Even this felt true to his character.

A man who never defended or made excuses for himself.

Even seeing him betray his father with his own eyes, Caelus couldn’t believe it.

More than feeling betrayed, he resented the man for not offering even a word of explanation. Somehow, the old man’s hunched back looked unbearably pitiful, and it made Caelus’ irritation surge.

“Why!”

After a roar that echoed across the imperial garden, a sorrowful voice followed.

“Why did you do it? What was so tempting that you would betray my father and become Violentia’s dog? I’m asking you!”

“…Kill me.”

His voice, though feigned calm, was trembling, and the ground beneath his bowed head slowly grew damp.

Were they tears of regret? Or crocodile tears?

It wasn’t entirely unexpected.

It made no sense that the emperor’s closest aide, the chamberlaiin, didn’t know his master’s condition.

Even so, Caelus had hoped otherwise. Maybe he had wanted to overlook the man’s sins.

Maybe he had waited, hoping the old man would repent and come to his senses before it was too late.

But now that he had admitted it, facing the truth left Caelus’ mind blank.

Even his once-bright golden eyes had dulled with moisture. The betrayal of the man he trusted most made his heart feel torn open.

Struggling to steady his storm of emotions, he suddenly thought of Bellona.

‘You must’ve felt this too. Maybe even worse than I do now.’

He already had an idea why she was especially cruel to Mona and Ether. Her treatment of Eshil and Net, who were also subordinates, was completely different.

She was a woman so compassionate she even forgave the knights who had attacked her and brought them to the Grand Duchy—yet she was ruthless only to those two.

Betrayal.

And Ether, of all people, was once her deputy commander. Being betrayed by the person she trusted most—who had guarded her back—was enough to make anyone lose their mind.

He didn’t know the exact horrors she had endured following Ether’s betrayal, but one thing was certain.

Ether and Mona had also been the Empress’s dogs.

Unlike them, the effort she was now putting into dealing with the Empress and Impes made it clear she had died with unimaginable resentment.

A hollow laugh escaped him.

‘Perhaps it would’ve been better to die by your hand.’

Only now could he accept the truth he had never been able to acknowledge even after coming back to life.

If he hadn’t died by her hand, his belief that he would’ve regained his place had only been arrogance.

He hadn’t known who the traitors were or what kind of situation his father had been in, yet he’d believed that as long as he built up justification, he could reclaim his position. Now, he realized how foolish that had been.

If he hadn’t died by her hand, he might have suffered greater disgrace and humiliation before drawing his last breath.

Perhaps, there wouldn’t have even been the miracle of returning to life.

Lost in thought, the golden eyes soon regained their composure.

‘You must have had a clear reason for coming back with me.’

His gaze, now chilled and composed, fixed on the traitor. As he wondered what Bellona would’ve done, he finally spoke.

“Bamil.”

“…Yes, Your Grace.”

At the coldness in his voice, the chamberlain, as if anticipating his fate, stretched his neck and pressed his forehead to the ground.

Seeing the man make it easy to sever his head, Caelus let out a faint scoff.

“You have no shame. A traitor who dared betray his lord, yet hopes to die so easily.”

“Please behead me and display my head as a warning.”

“That was my intention. And your children, and their children too—I’ll have their heads cut off and displayed.”

Watching the man tremble, clutching at the soil with both hands, Caelus delivered his sentence in a detached voice.

“To the criminal Bamil, I command you: Protect His Majesty.”

“……!”

The chamberlain, frozen in place, slowly raised his head.

“This is not forgiveness, nor is it a second chance. It’s merely a stay of execution. Still, you are to guard His Majesty with your life, repenting to the end for betraying the one who trusted you all his life.”

“Y-Your Grace…”

“I’m not entrusting you like before, so don’t be at ease. I have a separate shackle prepared for you.”

At Caelus’ sudden gesture, a knight—previously unnoticed—appeared and knelt.

“Go immediately to the Hirte Viscount’s household and bring the youngest child. Say they’ll be staying at the palace for a while and head straight to the Grand Duchy with the child.”

The knight swiftly departed.

Kneeling before the pale-faced man, Caelus, wearing his most merciless expression, issued his command to the chamberlain.

“I’ll give you the antidote. Use whatever means necessary to swap the Empress’s medicine and restore His Majesty. But if anything happens to His Majesty before I return… I’ll tear that child apart and feed the pieces to the beasts.”

***

After wrapping up the situation and composing himself for a moment at Minelia Palace, Caelus returned to the Crown Prince’s palace only at sundown.

But as he stood before the door to Bellona’s room, emotions began to surge once again.

A heart once shaken refused to settle, constantly stirring up useless sentiments.

One moment, everything felt desolate and meaningless; the next, rage and fury would boil over.

He roughly swept his dry face with his hand and took a deep breath. He couldn’t let her see him like this.

To snap himself out of it, he slapped both cheeks hard and fixed his disheveled hair.

Now perfectly composed, Caelus carefully opened the door and entered the room.

“Bellona?”

He had assumed she’d be asleep, but she was standing, gazing out the window.

She must have known he was there, yet she didn’t even turn around. He quickly approached.

“Bellona, why are you—”

But the moment she turned around, Caelus couldn’t finish his sentence.

Something must’ve happened while he was away. Her emerald eyes, which had always shone brightly, now looked sunken like the lightless depths of the sea.

“Bellona. What happe—”

“Please return to the Grand Duchy ahead of me.”

“What?”

The chill in her voice made his skin prickle. He hadn’t even heard such a tone during their final duel in the past.

A sense of foreboding gripped him as she urged him again. “Go ahead and find the Emperor’s antidote. I’ll remain and protect His Majesty in the meantime.”

“…Why the sudden decision?”

“We can’t all leave His Majesty behind. So, Your Grace has nothing to worry—”

“What are you hiding from me now?”

His voice, now icy, cut her off.

Faced with his sharp question, Bellona forced her expression into calm.

“I’m not hiding anything.”

“So you really take me for a fool. Do you even realize what your face looks like right now?”

“……”

“You look ready to storm into enemy territory alone and behead the enemy commander. You look like someone resolved to die.”

Startled, her hand instinctively went to cover her flat belly.