Chapter 5
The Fake Fiancé
“What? She had a fiancé?”
Count Taryn crushed the letter a servant had just handed him.
He had just returned from the capital after meeting with Marquis Hannes and several investors, only to find his mansion completely empty.
A strange feeling had made him check his daughter’s bedroom first—and there it was. Impossible.
Clothes and belongings were gone, drawers and wardrobes half-empty. Even his wife’s room was cleared out.
Stunned, the Count just stood there.
Even worse, the servants were whispering as if they already knew. To elope with a fiancé?
There could be no greater disgrace. Before rumors spread, he would have to silence the servants. More than that, he had to find Larienne and that cursed fiancé of hers.
But where had they gone? The southern provinces? That region was vast—too wide to guess. Surely not to his wife’s family estate.
Impossible. They had been cast out long ago.
He shook his head violently, hand pressed to his forehead, forcing his trembling body to calm down.
Even his wife… ran away with Larienne.
Truly, he could trust no one.
He had to send men to track them down.
Larienne was essential. Without her, he couldn’t squeeze any more investment money out of Marquis Hannes.
She had pretended not to care about marriage talks, but clearly she had been plotting all along.
“Damn it!”
The Count flew into a rage, smashing whatever was within reach in Larienne’s room.
The servants didn’t dare come close. The mansion filled with a chilling silence.
First, he had to confirm whether Larienne really went south or was still nearby. If she had left, the only way was by wagon through the train station.
The servants said she had left in a freight wagon. That meant he had to start with the coachman and trace her steps.
She was his only lifeline. The promised day to bring her before Marquis Hannes was fast approaching.
And as for this so-called fiancé—who was he? If the man turned out to be a commoner, the Count would dispose of him quietly.
He couldn’t allow anyone to block his path or the rise of his family.
Once he had made up his mind, he left Larienne’s empty room in silence.
If necessary, he would send a discreet request to the guild to take care of it—before scandal spread. A noble lady running away for a man? Unthinkable.
***
“Wine from the Bourneux region is the best, they say.”
Cedric swirled the blood-red wine in his glass, savoring it before swallowing.
“No matter how much I like a woman, I never see her more than three times. You know that. Now get lost.”
The woman in his arms blinked in shock.
She didn’t know why he had suddenly changed, but she knew better than to push her luck.
Trembling, she quickly gathered her clothes and left without a word.
Cedric stared blankly at the door after she was gone, then scowled.
Another failed poisoning. His face went pale as he gave a bitter laugh.
The Crown Prince clings to life as stubbornly as I do. Is there really no other way?
He had worked tirelessly to expand the Papacy’s influence within the Empire.
Yet the biggest obstacle was Crown Prince Myers—a man who distrusted the church more than anyone.
The Emperor was nothing but a puppet, while the Crown Prince held real power.
As long as Myers stood against the church, their plans would falter. Cedric had to eliminate him. But every attempt at assassination had failed.
Like a rat, he always slips the trap. I need a way to make him come to me. To bring him to his knees, begging.
Cedric’s lips curled into a confident smile.
“Find out the Imperial Family’s secrets. There must be something hidden. You still haven’t uncovered anything?”
At his hushed command, Sir Roderick, his subordinate, stepped out from the shadows.
“Not yet, my lord. We’ve found nothing unusual.”
“You’re following every step of the Crown Prince, aren’t you? There must be some weakness. Perhaps a woman he loves.”
Cedric’s eyes gleamed darkly.
“A woman… we found nothing of the sort. Outside official events, he barely moves. The only people around him are his aides and attendants. He’s keeping an extremely low profile. He hasn’t even announced a formal engagement yet. He seems to be guarding himself carefully.”
Cedric’s eyes narrowed.
“Hmm… even so, there must be a hole in his movements. There always is. Keep looking. And don’t let anyone into my chamber. I’m tired.”
With a dismissive wave, he stretched out on the bed. Everything suddenly felt tiresome.
How far he had come already… He couldn’t fall now.
Memories of his ruthless climb flashed through his mind: assassinations, black magicians he had hired, dirty deeds done in the Pope’s name—things the Pope himself couldn’t touch. Cedric had done it all, earned the Pope’s favor. Surely the Pope couldn’t discard him now.
And yet, unease coiled inside him. His illegitimate birth—an open wound, a secret he could never declare.
He had to be recognized. To build a Holy Nation under the Pope’s rule, the Crown Prince must die.
He bit his lip and drowned his thoughts in more wine. His head pounded.
***
The inn room was small—barely enough for two to sleep on a single bed. A few chairs, a nightstand, and a tiny table.
Nothing compared to the mansion they had left behind.
And yet, Larienne felt peace. Without her father’s presence, even this cramped space felt calm.
She had left the bakery without buying anything—her heart still shaken after seeing Sir Verner.
Instead, she had hurriedly bought food from another shop and returned, still trembling.
She had known she would meet him eventually, but so soon? And she had acted so foolishly. What if he had noticed? His kind eyes haunted her.
He had been the direct cause of her death. She had to keep her distance and watch him from afar, even investigate his movements.
But deep down… she also wanted to save him. If she hadn’t intervened before, he too might have died.
That thought quickened her heart.
“Even if you weren’t hungry, Lari, you shouldn’t have troubled yourself.”
The Hennessy Countess—her mother—looked up from unpacking and spoke gently as Larienne set the food down.
“Please eat well, Mother. We need strength. From now on, only good things will happen. I plan to get a job at a trading company nearby. We need money. Being nobles means nothing anymore—I’ve realized that. What about you, Mother? What will you do about Father?”
The Countess closed her eyes, then opened them with quiet resolve.
“I plan to divorce him. I want my life back. I want to return to my parents as well.”
Larienne sighed in relief.
“Yes, Mother. That’s the right choice. Divorce isn’t such a big deal anymore. Many people do it. But… Father won’t let go so easily.”
“That is true. If needed, I will rely on my family’s strength. But I worry about you. If I divorce, your marriage prospects will become difficult. That troubles me most of all—”
“Mother.” Larienne cut her off firmly.
“I don’t want to marry. Truly, I don’t. Let’s just live happily, the two of us.”
Her resolute tone made the Countess pause. For days now, her daughter had seemed… different.
Unlike other young noble ladies her age, she had no excitement for marriage at all.
What had changed her so completely?
The Countess studied Larienne, who only returned her gaze calmly, her expression steady, without any trace of longing for marriage.
