Helene examined the photo handed to her by Capitano. It was a picture of Anna together with the Duke.
“Duke Rukanosa was the one who hid Anna away…?”
Helene’s face turned pale, having believed him to be on her side even if he wouldn’t help directly.
It was clear he was trying to take away her important card and render her powerless.
Naturally, feelings of betrayal and anger welled up.
“Who is he serious about?”
Helene asked, rubbing her furrowed brow as if to smooth it out.
In response, Capitano nodded towards the photo in her hand.
“It’s right there.”
“What are you saying? You expect me to just accept this based on a mere photo of them together?”
“Don’t you trust me? Don’t rush, take a closer look.”
At that, Helene looked at the photo again.
The Duke walking with a pleased expression as if something exciting was happening, and Anna standing behind him, smiling with satisfaction.
Helene’s eyes fell on the clothes Anna was wearing. It was a design she herself often wore.
Seeing Helene’s eyes narrow fiercely, Capitano added:
“And that woman smelled of the perfume you used to wear.”
Is she trying to imitate me to the point of even pretending to be the Duke’s wife?
Helene frowned, closed her mouth, and let out a long sigh.
‘There’s no point in confronting the Duke about it.’
The reality was that it wasn’t the Duke who would be condemned for having an affair, but rather she herself who would become a laughingstock, seen as a Duchess inferior even to a maid.
Beyond her thoughts, she heard a low voice like a devil’s whisper.
“What would you like me to do, Princess?”
“What…”
“We can take care of it. Consider it revenge against the Duke.”
At his suggestion, Helene wore a hesitant expression.
‘If it’s revealed that the Duchess ordered a hit… I’m finished.’
The dignity and nobility of royalty she had maintained until now would also come to an end.
Having finished her deliberation, Helene lifted her chin nobly and gave her order in an elegant tone.
“Capture the maid alive.”
She intended to make her pay dearly for daring to insult her and coveting her position.
‘If she’s precious enough for him to hide away and meet in secret, wouldn’t she rather become the Duke’s weakness?’
Helene’s lips regained their composure and curved like a bow.
At that moment, Capitano approached and bowed, placing one hand behind his back as if showing respect.
“If you desire a more moderate revenge-”
With a smile, he lightly kissed the back of her hand.
“Let’s use this to our advantage. Men who cheat as easily as they eat can’t stand it when their own partner looks at another man. Especially if the wife’s partner is an attractive man.”
“What are you saying?”
He grabbed Helene’s wrist as she tried to pull away and drew her close.
“Use me. I’m yours for the time being, so you can do as you please.”
Helene made an unpleasant expression.
“You want me to have an affair in return? How could I do something so vulgar…”
“I know you value royal honor more than your life, but you know it’s useless to be noble alone. It shouldn’t matter if you make your husband a little anxious.”
Capitano pulled Helene’s arm, closing the distance between them, and whispered:
“Wouldn’t someone like me be more than enough to make him jealous?”
Helene fixed her gaze on his alluring eyes.
They seemed like the eyes of a predator gleaming in the darkness, yet also beautiful like sunlight reflecting off pure gold.
‘I wonder why he suddenly changed from calling me Duchess to Princess…’
Having lived without knowing men until now, she was unfamiliar with the flirtations of a handsome man.
“I don’t usually do this, but I’ll make a special exception for you, Princess.”
A languid voice mixed with husky breath was heard near her ear.
Helene turned her head and stepped back.
Capitano smiled gently and continued speaking.
“Actually, I’m indulging my own desires. Vulgar, isn’t it?”
* * *
Capitano – no, Makia – who had left the Duke’s mansion, straightened his coat collar to fix his appearance.
Wiping the smile from his face, he took out a handkerchief, wiped his mouth, and tossed it onto the street.
It was easier than expected to conquer someone who had lived nobly as royalty.
That’s why he had lied that the one the Duke had given his heart to was a ‘maid’.
She would think it justified to be involved with him as well.
Suddenly, he recalled the cause of his father’s death.
Several figures were entangled in that death.
“He offered an enormous reward to avenge his wife, Princess Margarita, who was killed.”
It was Count Queensguard who had requested the assassination of his father, Blake.
And the information agents abandoned by the empire’s collapse, who became the executives of an organization that followed money, betrayed his father by selling information to the military.
“Isn’t it the way of this place to sell out even comrades who shared life and death if given money?”
In the end, it was Masera who participated in the operation that killed his father.
In Makia’s memory, his father was an indifferent and cold man.
“If you’re weak, you’ll just die. Survive on your own as you’ve done until now.”
He had no other memories of being loved by his father, but one thing was certain.
“Your father didn’t abandon us. He risked his life going to an enemy country to save us instead.”
As his dead mother had said, he thought his father had fulfilled his duty as a parent by saving their lives.
‘So I should do my duty as a son too.’
Men in black suits, all with large builds and carrying guns, greeted Makia as he arrived at a large, luxurious mansion.
“Welcome.”
Makia raised his hand indifferently as he walked in.
He headed straight for the bathroom and washed his body as if to erase Helene’s scent.
Makia wiped the steamy mirror. In the reflection following his palm, his hair color was not black, but silver-white.
He muttered with a cold gaze at the mirror, his face expressionless.
“In a living hell worse than death, I want to see faces crumbling miserably.”
In his mind, dying by another’s hand was rather a blessing.
What could be more perfect than throwing oneself off the cliff of death?
The princess that Count Queensguard cherished most was already dead, so he just needed to ruin his children.
For Masera del Vicente, should he give him the pain of losing his princess, Cynthia?
‘Or should I take her away? They say his luck is unusually good.’
What if he kept her captive and treated her like a lucky charm?
Makia was lost in thought even as he left the bathroom and listened to his aide’s report.
The aide, who had been reporting with a serious face, said:
“…With this, all the existing executives have died. Now Commedia dell’arte will begin a new comedy.”
The aide bowed his head respectfully.
“Congratulations, Director.”
Makia’s lips curved loosely as he dried his wet hair with a towel.
The child who once wallowed in the mud had become an adult skilled in destruction and plunder, and now he was the director of Commedia dell’arte and the head of a gun smuggling organization.
The chain of revenge was endless.
