Chapter 29
Philios stopped squirming for a moment.
As he looked into Etias’s piercing blue eyes, he felt an unmistakable killing intent wash over him.
Etias spoke quietly.
“So that’s why you ended up in prison.”
Philios flinched.
“You dragged me into this just to get revenge after Katrin broke up with you.”
Etias had heard that Philios was imprisoned for insulting the emperor. But to blame it on Katrin?
It was obvious—he must’ve mentioned Katrin and lied in front of the emperor, then got caught and punished.
Etias smirked.
“And yet you still came to find me?”
“What—what’s wrong with that? Of course I have to punish the man who stole my woman and get my honor back!”
“You dare to touch me.”
Etias’s voice was icy with rage. Philios shrank back.
“What do you plan to do?”
Philios had always looked down on Etias like everyone else.
The powerless prince. That’s how people saw him.
But this energy—this overwhelming pressure—was something else. Philios began trembling.
“Gkk!”
Etias grabbed his collar tighter, lifting him onto his toes, choking him.
Philios wasn’t much smaller than Etias, but he couldn’t fight back at all. Where was this strength coming from?
“I don’t understand.”
That girl, Katrin… The image of her mocking him with a fake confession years ago had long faded.
“Why would someone like her ever date trash like you?”
Philios glared at him with effort, still gasping for air.
Etias stared right back.
“Was she just temporarily blind?”
Or maybe Philios had some kind of hidden charm no one could find even with a magnifying glass?
Etias tightened his grip.
“Listen well. There’s nothing between Katrin and me, Philios.”
Philios flinched at his firm voice.
“But if you bother either of us again…”
A wild, feral aura radiated from Etias—something no pampered nobleman could ever emit.
Philios had no idea why, but his whole body started to shake.
“I’ll strangle the life out of you myself.”
Etias’s shadow flickered like boiling water.
Later…
I strolled through the government building’s garden, breathing in the scent of flowers.
I wondered if Philios had already triggered the bucket trap Anes set up over the front gate. It was his release day after all—of course he’d show up at my house.
I’d already warned the servants not to let him in. Still, leaving a “gift” for him felt right.
“My lady, shall we head in? The prince… I mean, Investigator Etias is ready for your meeting.”
I nodded and stepped forward.
If you file a complaint with evidence, you can choose the investigator.
There are no strict qualifications. Any registered official can serve in that role.
Etias was no exception.
‘And Etias has many accusations hanging over his head.’
The emperor saw him as a thorn in his side and kept a close eye on him.
The emperor’s noble faction also hoped to find Etias’s weaknesses and curry favor.
Even though Etias was protected by Parliament and kept the revolutionaries hidden, sometimes he slipped up.
Like the list of revolutionaries that almost ended up in the emperor’s hands—that had originally come from Duke Elemoer.
‘Etias needs a scapegoat.’
That was what I was here to provide.
A trash bin for all the suspicions swirling around him.
‘It’s time to throw Fadelmon away.’
That disgusting man tried to take all his orphaned niece’s inheritance and even hired assassins to kill her.
In the original story, Fadelmon begged Etias for mercy after offering up my head.
And now, I even had poison test results from the tea leaves Fadelmon had supplied to the palace—a crime close to treason.
I walked up the stairs of the government building and stood before Etias’s office door.
My heart pounded as I knocked and entered.
“Prince Etias Clyde—”
My words stopped. The room was empty.
I had just been told my meeting was approved. Then I saw the inside of the office…
And slowly raised a hand to my face.
My forehead throbbed.
I was suddenly furious.
Compared to Philios’s room, this place was tiny—and it didn’t even have a window.
A windowless cubicle? Seriously?
The furniture looked like it would fall apart at any second. Cracks let in cold air, and the wooden boards were rotting.
‘Has he really been working in conditions like this?’
The novel Star of the Revolution had described how much the emperor hated him.
But this? This was pure cruelty.
Etias didn’t even have a secretary—though nobles of his rank usually did.
Philios had two, for heaven’s sake.
“Those crazy bastards.”
The swear slipped out before I realized it.
This scene tore at my heart as badly as the part where he went hungry.
Reading it in text was one thing—but seeing it with my own eyes?
It felt like watching someone beat a puppy I was supposed to be taking care of.
“…Lady.”
“Those trashy pieces of—!”
“Lady Katrin.”
I was clenching my fists and shaking when Etias’s calm, clear voice sounded from behind.
I turned. Etias stood there like a handsome deer, his brows furrowed as he looked at me.
“…”
Did he hear that?
I looked at him helplessly. Then his brow twitched slightly.
A faint smile passed through his icy blue eyes.
“You seem very angry.”
I flinched.
“At your uncle, I assume.”
He walked past me into the room. I followed, stunned.
“Ah, um…”
I opened my mouth but had no excuse.
What was I supposed to say? That my heart shattered into a thousand pieces seeing the state of his office?
‘He might glare at me and say I was mocking him.’
I shook my head and sat down on the worn-out sofa as Etias returned with documents and sat across from me.
The tiny room was dim, lit only by a cheap desk lamp, but even in the shadows, Etias looked devastatingly handsome.
That sharp nose… even without a halo, he seemed to glow.
“Fadelmon Elemoer. Younger brother of the late Duke, uncle to the accuser Katrin Elemoer… accused of hiring assassins to kill her.”
He turned the page with long, elegant fingers.
“No wife. One daughter. Involved in some shady businesses.”
I nodded calmly.
I was bothered by the empty vase nearby.
I wanted to fill it with flowers.
“According to your report, he also mixed poison into tea leaves supplied to the palace. Tampering with royal tribute qualifies as treason.”
Etias closed the file and looked at me.
A strange tension filled the small room.
Finally, he spoke.
“Before we proceed with this case, I want to ask you something first.”
Then his voice echoed clearly in my ears.
“Katrin Elemoer… what are you thinking?”
