Villainous Husband, the One You’re Obsessed With Is Over There - Chapter 201

Chapter 101.1

The faces of the Duke and Duchess of Nerma turned pale.

It was ridiculous. What reason could the nobles of Actilus have for colluding with the kingdom of Unro?

There was no value in colluding with the Unro Kingdom.

In the first place, wasn’t the notion of a ‘colluding nation’ arbitrarily decided upon by just randomly throwing a dagger at the world’s map? He declared and acted to frame the accusation to their faces. Now, rather than the resignation that he was wrong, embarrassment came over them.

“Your, Your Majesty. We have never done such a thing. It has never happened.”

“Ho, really? Besides that, there’s no reason to flee, is there?”

The Emperor asked, smiling beautifully.

“Is there any other reason?”

No words came out as if a stone had been stuck in their throats. The accusation was so baseless that they didn’t know where to start refuting it, leaving their minds blank.

“Seeing as you have no rebuttal, it seems my words are correct, right?”

While the Emperor was still smiling breathtakingly as he asked the question like a cat stepping on the tail of a hunted mouse and pawing at it, the Duke and Duchess of Nerma continued to insist. The Duchess of Nerma, who held the reins of Actilus’s social circle with her eloquence, now fumbled for words, murmuring that there was no reason for her to do so, leaving her usual silver tongue behind.

Upon hearing this, the Emperor tilted his head.

“Really? How strange… I distinctly heard otherwise.”

He heard otherwise?

This was another bewildering story she had never heard before.

The Emperor, looking down at the Duke and Duchess of Nerma, who were unable to speak due to dry lips, snapped his fingers.

“Bring them in.”

“Yes!”

The sound of footsteps in unison was heard following the order.

Then, a very faint whimper was heard.

The sobbing sound gradually drew closer. Just hearing the sound conveyed the attempt to suppress tears would make anyone feel pity. Then, the Emperor grabbed the arm of the weeping woman and pulled her towards him. It was only then that the Duke and Duchess of Nerma realized who he had summoned.

‘Eleanor Gongfyr…’

Eleanor, the daughter of Viscount Gongfyr and one of the young maids in the Empress’s palace.

“Come, Eleanor.”

Despite the fact that the Emperor called her name in a very tender voice as if soothing her, the tendons in the back of his hand bulged as he mercilessly gripped her forearm.

“What did your father say to me?”

Eleanor couldn’t bring herself to meet the gaze of the Duchess of Nerma as she spoke with a twisted expression.

“Heuuk… The Duke of Nerma, for his family… colluding with foreign countries, leaking Actilus’s secrets, importing poison… harming Her Majesty the Empress, shaking t-the stability of the country…”

“And?”

“B-but, they didn’t want to get caught themselves, so… the poison… would be managed by the Gongfyr family, so that they can, they can divert suspicion… huheuu…”

As Eleanor, struggling with pressure, finally burst into tears that she had been holding back, Raniero released her arm and nodded his head.

“That’s what I heard?”

The Duchess of Nerma stared blankly at Eleanor.

Betrayal.

Without the Duchy of Nerma, the Viscount of Gongfyr’s family would be nothing.

The fact that his daughter would become the Empress had already been ruled out, but who was it that put her in the position of the Empress’s handmaiden to at least receive the Emperor’s favor? Who was it that stopped her from being hastily pushed into the Emperor’s bed while planning to poison Angelica?

Such kindness returned as betrayal.

The Duke of Nerma exclaimed.

“It, it’s a misunderstanding, Your Majesty! The poison was brought in by the Viscount Gongfyr’s family, just as I told you…”

“Yes, Viscount Gongfyr had already predicted that you would say so. So, are you sure about your innocence?”

“Collusion? Bringing in poison? No. Absolutely not. Collusion? How could we, as subjects of the Empire Actilus, take pride… We’ve never even entertained such thoughts.”

Duke Nerma pleaded his innocence with a desperate voice. However, the Emperor remained unconvinced.

“What to do… I believe the words of Viscount Gongfyr.”

“Your, Your Majesty…”

He spoke with a face as merciful as that of a benevolent ruler.

“I believed without any doubt that Count Fallon was the mastermind behind this. Why should I not believe the words of Viscount Gongfyr?”

For a while, only Eleanor’s sobbing could be heard. The Duke and Duchess of Nerma couldn’t say anything further as they could sense the end approaching.

The Emperor smiled as he pressed his shoes against Duchess Nerma’s forehead.

“So, in conclusion, you don’t admit to the charges. Fine.”

The tip of the toe soon made its way to Duke Nerma’s temple. Raniero kicked the Duke’s head as if it were a ball and motioned to the waiting knights.

“Take them away.”

As the knights roughly lifted the Duke and Duchess of Nerma, Raniero’s eyes gleamed.

“Be sure to get a confession.”

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