Why Did You Mess With Him? He’s the Evil God’s Lackey! Chapter 29

Chapter 29: My Lord Duke, You Don’t Want Your Daughter…

Early in the morning, the Royal Capital was in a state of low-grade agitation—like an infant roused too early, whimpering softly.

Carriage after Carriage lined up in orderly formation and advanced toward the palace.

People who opened their shop doors found themselves watching a procession of Carriages racing past, kicking up trails of dust behind them.

Passersby retreated to both sides of the road, ducking into nearby shops just to get out of the way.

"What's going on?"

"No idea......from the looks of it, sothing big must be happening."

Before long, the final Carriage to pull up before the castle gates was an especially lavish one.

Duke Livi stepped down from the Carriage with asured calm and looked around.

The Mages had largely all arrived—but without exception, every single one of them was staring at him with open hostility.

If looks could be turned into bullets, Duke Livi would have been riddled with holes by now.

Duke Livi's reputation in Mage circles had plumted to an all-ti low in the wake of the volcano incident.

No rumors. No slander. Every person had witnessed it with their own eyes.

Not a single person ca forward to greet the Duke. Even Count Beck, with whom he had a relatively close relationship, could only give a helpless shake of his head.

He stood alone before the gate—neither servile nor arrogant.

After a mont, the towering castle gates slowly swung open. A powerful gust surged from within, setting every Mage's robes billowing and snapping.

Like a great beast—as though it sought to devour the pride of every person present.

A Knight escorted a noble man with silver-white hair out through the gates.

The man appeared to be not yet 30, still young, dressed in elegant finery, his bearing exceptional.

Upon seeing that face, many people recognized him at once and bowed in unison.

The Duke stood at the very front. Facing one of the most esteed n in the entire Empire, he too lowered himself in a respectful bow.

"Your Highness, the Second Prince."

The Second Prince gave Duke Livi a nod and raised a hand, signaling for everyone to rise and stand at ease.

"Since everyone is present, please do co inside."

With permission granted, the Mages began filing in one after another. But when it was the Duke's turn, the Second Prince stepped in front of him.

He smiled at Duke Livi and said:

"Duke Livi, shall we have a word sowhere else?"

Duke Livi looked at the Second Prince's smile—the kind that didn't reach his eyes—and replied:

"Your Highness, I would not wish to keep His Majesty waiting."

The Second Prince shook his head and continued to coax Duke Livi:

"Father is of advanced age and needs his rest."

"If you go in now, you will still have to wait a while."

"Besides, I genuinely do wish to speak with you."

The Second Prince leaned in closer to Duke Livi, raising one hand to shield his mouth, and whispered into his ear:

"Perhaps—I can help you escape your current predicant."

Duke Livi listened to his words without expression and said nothing.

The Second Prince relaxed and smiled.

The Duke's silence was naturally his consent.

He said to Duke Livi: "My Lord Duke, please follow ."

Escorted by the Knights at their sides, the 2 of them did not enter through the main gate but instead took a side path into a separate palace hall.

"This is my domain, My Lord Duke. You may speak freely here."

The Duke cast a glance at the guards flanking the Second Prince.

"These guards are naturally all my own people."

He waved a hand, signaling a subordinate to bring a seat for Duke Livi.

The Duke sat down without ceremony. The 2 of them faced each other.

The Duke laughed at that and said: "Your Highness, the Second Prince—building your own inner circle this early. Isn't that......a little improper?"

"His Majesty—is not dead yet."

The Duke's question carried a chill that made the Second Prince give an almost imperceptible shudder.

He put on an expression of resignation and smiled in reply:

"My Lord Duke, I have no wish to die one day for no reason at all."

"Sitting where I sit—whether I play the ga or not is not sothing I get to decide for myself."

The Duke fell silent and offered no reply.

The atmosphere between the 2 of them dropped to freezing, both sitting in wordless silence.

The Second Prince was the first to break the deadlock:

"Let's not speak of that. My Lord Duke, the current situation is not in your favor."

"The number of people impeaching you is simply too great. It is quite possible that Father will be unable to withstand the pressure."

"I will be frank with you—the matter I wished to discuss is exactly this."

Before Duke Livi could respond, the Second Prince lifted his teacup, took a sip, and continued:

"I hear that the Duke's daughter will co of age in just over a year."

The Duke heard this and slowly raised his head. His eyes had turned faintly cold, and within them was a trace of mockery.

"And what of it?"

The Second Prince set down his teacup and looked at the guards around them with an elegant smile.

"My Lord Duke really does make spell it out."

"If I were to form a Marriage Engagent with your daughter, the Duke would have a blood tie to the Imperial family, and at that point, Father would naturally have the grounds to protect you......"

Crack—!

Before the Second Prince could finish his sentence, the teacup in his hand shattered in an instant.

The Knights panicked and drew their blades, leveling them at Duke Livi.

The Second Prince showed no fear. He calmly brushed off the fragnts from his hands, watching Duke Livi without expression, a faint smile still in his eyes:

"My Lord Duke—this is the palace."

"You wouldn't want your daughter to lose all her future prospects because of your rashness, would you?"

Duke Livi rose to his feet. The imnse magical pressure that had surged when he stood vanished just as instantly.

The expression behind the Second Prince's smile flickered ever so slightly. He was genuinely impressed.

What extraordinary precision of magical control.

Then, without warning, Duke Livi spoke:

"Your Highness, how old are you this year?"

"29. Why do you ask? For your daughter's sake, my age is perfectly appropriate."

"Is that so? 29."

Duke Livi murmured the number, as though asuring it against sothing.

Then he suddenly asked:

"Your Highness, you are soone I watched grow up. Yet in these 20-odd years of yours—have you made any real progress?"

The words were cold as blades, piercing the Second Prince's heart one by one. He felt a sudden suffocation, as though a boulder were pressing down on his mind, and the smile on his face went rigid.

"Granted, you are clever. You know how to leverage the resources around you and you understand how to read people."

"But you are not powerful. The resources you are able to utilize exist solely on the basis of your bloodline advantage."

Duke Livi didn't spell it out—but the Second Prince understood perfectly.

What he ant was: you exist under your father's shadow.

Without that blood tie, you are nothing.

The Second Prince's smile slowly faded, replaced by an expression that was cold and sardonic.

"And then what? I am the Prince. Besides , is there anyone more fitting, more outstanding than I am?"

Then he froze—because a na ca to mind.

There actually was.

Duke Livi smiled and looked at him, unmistakable contempt in his eyes.

"That question—I suggest you go say it to the head of the Clavena Family in person."

The Second Prince slamd the table and shot to his feet, sweeping his hand through the air as he roared:

"He is nothing but a Viscount! And he is already dead! Do you understand ? He is dead!"

The Second Prince grew more and more agitated as he spoke, until at the last he nearly reached out to seize Duke Livi's collar and shove the truth in his face.

But he held himself back. As the Second Prince, he was obligated to maintain proper decorum. Even in a loss of composure, he could not behave like a beast—that was the last shred of dignity left to him as a mber of the Imperial family.

He drew a slow, deep breath, and then said to Duke Livi:

"He has already vanished forever into that volcano. That is sothing everyone knows."

"Dead?"

Duke Livi looked as though he had just heard the funniest joke imaginable, and could not help but let out a laugh.

He shook his head and gave the Second Prince a glance of undisguised pity:

"In my eyes, your arrogance is not worth a fraction of his excellence."

With that, Duke Livi walked straight out the door without a backward glance.

The Second Prince's expression darkened. He ran a hand through his silver hair, drew a deep breath, and composed himself.

"Let us go. We are heading to the main hall as well."

"I am quite looking forward to seeing—whether he can remain this calm when all eyes are upon him."

***

The palace hall was already filled to capacity. Knights in heavy armor, longswords in hand, stood guard over the surrounding order.

Gwen stood near the throne. As Knight Commander of the Royal Knight Company, the person she was duty-bound to protect was the Emperor.

Kneeling at the very front of the assembly was Duke Livi.

Seeing the Duke, Gwen's expression beca complicated.

She knew full well what this influential minister had faced today.

It couldn't be called good.

But it had to be said—he loved his daughter deeply.

Gwen quickly shifted her gaze and swept it across the assembled Mages.

He hadn't co.

No matter where she looked, she could not find Viktor's figure.

"He......didn't co back......"

For reasons she couldn't quite na, sothing in her chest felt a little heavy.

Perhaps it was because Viktor was, after all, soone she had known since childhood.

Then, amid the announcent of the court eunuch, the Emperor took his place upon the throne, escorted by his attendants.

Aubrey Sorel—the 8th Emperor of the Kingdom of Carencia.

He looked very old already, his temples completely white.

Though this Emperor was only 60—not much older than Duke Livi.

Every Mage in attendance, upon seeing the Emperor, dropped to one knee and offered their most solemn salute.

Emperor Aubrey waved his hand, and everyone rose.

Only Duke Livi did not move, remaining kneeling where he was.

The aged king looked at Duke Livi, closed his eyes, and heaved a long sigh.

He gazed at him quietly and asked:

"Livi—at the mont the volcano was about to erupt, did you halt the great Magic Formation?"

"Yes."

Duke Livi did not hesitate for even a mont.

The Emperor asked again: "Livi, they say you intended to kill every Mage present—and the civilians at the mountain's base—to accompany your daughter in death. What do you have to say in your defense?"

"Your Majesty, I have no defense."

The Emperor looked at him in silence, and let out a long, heavy sigh.

"Ah....."

He looked at Livi, his gaze filled with reluctance.

Once, they had been the closest of friends. Comrades.

And yet now—Livi still looked so young, while he himself had already taken the first steps down the road of life and death.

He had hoped to spend these final years protecting the old companions who had stood by him for so long.

But Livi's actions had damaged the Imperial family's credibility.

If he did not impose a severe punishnt......he would only chill the hearts of others.

"Livi—understand . Forgive ."

He closed his eyes, preparing to pronounce his final judgnt upon Livi.

Then, all at once, every Knight outside the doors drew their swords simultaneously.

A towering vortex of fla erupted from beyond the hall out of thin air, drawing every eye in the room.

The intense wave of heat made it impossible to keep one's eyes open. When it finally subsided—

The Mages in attendance slowly opened their eyes.

A silhouette erged from within the light.

Gwen fixed her gaze on that figure, and a flash of brightness crossed her eyes.

"Viktor!?"

Viktor appeared before the assembly. The Coat marked with red streaks stirred in the heat of the lingering wave.

He looked toward the Emperor, and did not kneel. He offered only a bow.

"My apologies, Your Majesty."

"I am late."