CHAPTER 91……………………………………….
Aslan was resting in the bedroom of the annex.
When I touched his forehead, I found that, just as Ayla had said, he was burning up with fever.
After cooling his face with a wet towel, I soaked it again in lukewarm water and placed it back on his forehead.
Then I turned to the servants standing behind me.
“…How are the investigators doing?”
“According to the telegram, they’re gathering information smoothly. They should be back well before the trial.”
Good. At least things are going well on that side.
I sighed and gently stroked Aslan’s cheek.
“Aslan, even though Mother’s here, you’re still not waking up.”
Normally, he would have woken up the moment he heard my footsteps or voice and waited for me eagerly.
It hurt to see him like this — he’d never been this sick before.
There was no way someone with Aslan’s physical ability could have failed to shake off someone like Archibald.
It was definitely because I had forced him to use too much of his power through the earring that he hadn’t been able to escape properly.
After one last stroke of his hair, I stood up.
“I’ll be back — I’m going to the dungeon for a bit.”
It was true that I’d made Aslan use his power.
But the one who had caused this situation was Archibald.
It was time he paid the price.
The underground prison was located within the main estate.
Archibald was locked up in the deepest solitary cell.
As I walked over the damp, moss-covered stone floor, I heard the sound of ragged breathing.
“Archibald Bright.”
I called his name without hesitation.
Archibald looked at me and forced a smile, looking even more disheveled than I’d imagined.
“Minerva…”
Bruised and bleeding all over, he dragged his battered body to the bars and grabbed hold of them.
“Minerva, it’s all a misunderstanding.”
“…”
“…You don’t believe me, do you?”
When I didn’t respond, he let out a short, bitter laugh.
Seeing him spewing nonsense, it was clear he still hadn’t come to his senses.
I grabbed his collar through the bars and yanked him forward with all my strength.
“Argh!”
His forehead slammed against the iron bars, splitting open — but it wasn’t nearly enough to satisfy me.
Barely holding back the urge to kill him right then and there, I glared at him.
“How dare you touch my daughter.”
“Ah, right. You have a daughter.”
Archibald chuckled, the sound disgusting to hear.
“She looks about the same age as Cassius. So you were already pregnant five years ago, huh? Gave birth right here too. I had no idea — you really hid it well. Gabriel should know about this. Tell me, is the Grand Duke really the father?”
“What good does it do for a man who’ll never see the light of day again to know that?”
Archibald smirked.
He truly believed he wouldn’t die — that much was written all over his face.
Well, otherwise, how could he still have the nerve to talk like that?
I pressed my finger repeatedly against his forehead, forcing a little reality into him.
“Wake up. From now on, you’ll either rot in prison for the rest of your life or die here. There’s no third option.”
“Just because I tried to kidnap your daughter? You’re not even a princess anymore. I doubt anyone would think that’s worth dying for.”
The blatant provocation sent fury boiling up from the pit of my stomach.
But I couldn’t afford to lose control.
I grabbed his hair, eliminating one of the reasons he could still look so relaxed.
“We’re digging into your background. And we’re already collecting proof that you know how to handle explosives.”
“…You knew about that?”
Only Gabriel was supposed to know that Archibald could handle explosives.
So the fact that I, cut off from information for five years, knew it too — that clearly shocked him.
I sneered and continued.
“I also know it was you who prepared the poison for Mars’s teacup five years ago. I’m going to tie all of that together and use it to get reinstated. And when that happens, the crime of laying a hand on my daughter will become even heavier.”
Archibald, who had been listening quietly, finally spoke.
“Gabriel won’t let that happen.”
“Gabriel?”
I couldn’t help but laugh in disbelief.
“Why would Gabriel help you? You’ve been thrown away. You’ve been by her side longer than I have — and you still don’t get that?”
“…”
For the first time, the smile vanished from Archibald’s face.
Even though the Crown Princess Gabriel kept him close, the future emperor Mars despised him.
Because of that, the Bright family had all but disowned him — just in case he ended up angering Mars beyond repair.
If Gabriel decided Archibald was no longer useful, he’d be finished instantly.
And that was his greatest fear.
“Gabriel would never abandon me. She’s always relied on me. The fact that she gives me dangerous jobs — that’s proof she trusts me!”
The mask he’d always worn — that smirking, easygoing face — shattered completely.
Finally showing his true colors.
I smiled coldly and dug deeper.
“No. She gives you those filthy jobs because you’re expendable. You’re easy to use and easy to throw away. You’re the biggest fool alive.”
“Minerva!”
His roar echoed through the dungeon.
But the effort, combined with his injured state, left him gasping so hard I thought he might burst a vein and die right there.
After a long while, he managed to lift his head again.
“Minerva, let me ask you one thing.”
“What is it?”
I already knew what he was going to say.
And sure enough, his question was exactly what I expected.
“Why did you grow apart from Gabriel? She was devastated about it.”
Even after everything — even after I’d told him Gabriel would abandon him — he was still worried about her.
‘Well, if that’s how he wants to live, that’s his choice.’
When I didn’t answer right away, he gripped the bars again, his eyes burning as if urging me to speak.
I couldn’t help sighing.
Did he really not know?
It was so absurd it almost made me sick — but knowing him, he probably truly didn’t.
As Archibald once said, Minerva and Gabriel had been quite close.
But at some point, Minerva began avoiding her, even blocking her entrance into the palace.
Because of that, both Mars, who liked Gabriel, and Archibald had resented me deeply.
Outwardly, I’d said it was to focus on my studies — but I’d never revealed the real reason.
Still, I had hoped that, as an adult, Archibald might have reflected on things even a little.
So I began to speak.
“Do you remember the black cat Gabriel used to carry around?”
“…Yeah, I do.”
One day, Gabriel had brought in a cat she said she’d found — she dressed it up and took it everywhere.
Black cats were considered omens of bad luck in the Empire.
So it had always seemed strange that superstitious Gabriel kept one so close.
But soon enough, I learned the real reason.
“Gabriel used to torment that cat. She laughed while doing it, like she was having the time of her life.”
That child — she enjoyed hurting the cat.
She’d been curious whether the saying about black cats bringing calamity when angered was true — and how severe that calamity might be.
So she’d plucked its fur.
To stop it from scratching or biting, she’d pulled out its teeth and claws.
She even forced it to breed, then took its kittens away and killed them.
Brutally.
The memory was still vivid in my mind.
Even when I told her to stop, Gabriel hadn’t listened.
I could still see that cat’s face — the way it cried in pain.
“How could I ever stay friends with someone like that?”
