You Can Keep The Male Lead - Chapter 88

Do I have to go to court after all?’

I stroked my face with the palm of my hand as I sat before the lawyer who had been introduced by Liam, the Crown Prince’s aide.

Damon was also behind me, a bandage wrapped around one arm. I told him it was fine, but he still accompanied me.

“Viscount Stevens.”

“Welcome, Count Spilet. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“About me?”

Viscount Ron Stevens began to look over the papers I had filled out with a mysterious smile. But, honestly, I was a bit flustered.

Unlike the divorce settlement stage, you had to list your reasons for wanting a divorce in the lawsuit.

In the process, I had to endure the spread of unnecessary noise and rumors in the social world.

“Well, I must have gotten famous.”

It was perfect gossip fodder for nobles– Erin, who forced a man who didn’t like her to marry her, and Rupert, who kept Chloe as his lover even after such a marriage.

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“I never thought you would push through with the divorce, though. They usually think about it, but there aren’t many who can put it into action.”

“I see.”

In this world, infidelity wasn’t normally considered a reason for divorce since it happened too often.

In many cases, couples were not bound by love anyway, and aristocratic divorces were resolved by just living with each other or cheating on each other because it was too troublesome to deal with title entanglements, property relations, and various scandals.

Of course, that was generally the case, but that did not mean that infidelity was desirable. There was a degree to that.

“Hmm, he brought his lover into the house. This could be the reason.”

There was a case wherein a couple ate breakfast with their respective lovers in their house, but in the case of such a one-sided affair, it was obviously rude to bring the lover into the home.

“Did the two have any children?”

“By two, do you mean…”

“Ah, between Lord Clifford and Lady Andron.”

“Not that I know of.”

As we talked, Viscount Stevens’s opinion was that this alone wasn’t enough.

“Are you saying that an affair alone isn’t enough?”

“Because faith takes precedence over love. Didn’t you make your wedding vows in front of the High Priest?”

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Instead, wasn’t it a great sin to commit adultery after making a vow in front of God?

It was unbelievable that the affair itself wasn’t a valid enough reason. It would have been better if they had an illegitimate child together because they could have used that.

“Any other reason?”

After all, the interests of the nobles, and their reasons for divorce, in general, were necessary. And their reasons were usually political or economic.

If you think about it, this didn’t even make sense. Political and economic reasons preceded faith, and faith preceded love?

No matter my opinion, this was the way of this world. I fidgeted with my fingertips, sighed, and finally confessed it again after thinking about it.

“Please keep our conversation a secret until the lawsuit begins.”

“I never divulge my clients’ affairs. Don’t worry.”

Since Liam confidently introduced this person, I decided to trust him, too. But, even if he did reveal it, it was just a matter of time before the story spread, so it couldn’t be helped.

I told him to story of what happened the day I went to get the divorce agreement signed, of being strangled by him, and of what he had done in the carriage.

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Damon, who was by my side at the time, added a testimony. “Their political stances have changed.”

“Really? The Duke of Clifford? Oh, I got too excited. Excuse me.”

Viscount Stevens was surprised that the Duke of Clifford, a well-known supporter of the Crown Prince, might support Prince Breiman.

Then, he started writing down the information in his notebook.

“By the way, does His Highness the Crown Prince know about this?”

“Maybe…”

“Then divorce won’t be a problem. It could shake the Empire.”

“That’s why I asked you to keep it confidential. Until it’s clear.”

Stevens nodded.

As I spoke to him, I remembered the last time I saw Rupert–unstable and fearful.

It wasn’t very pleasant to think about the person I was about to divorce, but after seeing him, I couldn’t help but worry.

‘Is he okay?’

I looked out the window, felt a sudden chill, and stroked my arms.

Enoch clenched his fists as he stared at the Emperor sitting in the throne room. The Emperor examined the magic mirror Enoch had submitted, and a sound escaped his tightly pursed lips.

“So this is it. Who brought this?”

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“Viscount Therien, my subordinate to the knights.”

The Emperor nodded lightly and looked into the mirror several times.

“One of them must be Breiman.”

The Emperor immediately called the commander of the Imperial Knights and ordered him to rush to the palace. He told them to capture Breiman if he’s there, and to search the place if he’s not.

“I told him not to step out of the Prince’s palace, but I haven’t heard of any reports that he did.”

“Perhaps the people in the palace were also brainwashed, or they used black magic to trick them.”

As the Emperor clicked his tongue, Enoch answered him, taking out evidence of Breiman’s involvement in black magic one by one.

In the meantime, Enoch looked conflicted. Then, seeing the expression on his son’s face, the Emperor said, “Judging from the mirror, it seems that Rupert has already been exposed to contamination for a considerable time.”

“Perhaps.”

“Are you going to abandon Rupert like this?”

“…”

At the Emperor’s question, Enoch flinched and lowered his head. Then the Emperor softened his voice and said, “I’m not interrogating you. Rupert is a vassal you will choose when you become Emperor, so you can act according to your judgment.”

“Your Majesty, I…”

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Then, the commander and his subordinates who had been to the Prince’s palace arrived.

“Your Majesty! We have been to Prince Breiman’s palace.”

In the hands of the knight commander, there were a lot of amulets and a doll made of cloth. He placed them on the floor.

“What is that?”

“We found this in his palace.”

The Emperor and Enoch approached the object on the floor and examined it.

“When I asked the courtiers from the Prince’s palace, they were completely unaware that Prince Breiman had left. Some said they saw him just this morning.”

“It’s an illusion.”

Enoch picked up the rag doll. When he dug up inside it, he also found an amulet.

The Emperor’s face darkened. “To think that the Empire’s Prince dabbles in black magic…”

The Emperor muttered pitifully but frowned once in a while as if it were strange.

Prince Briman had been a bit suspicious since his birth.

The Emperor had only been with Empress Meribel and had never had a concubine.

One day, shortly after welcoming the Empress, he woke up drunk on the road to find another woman in his arms. And ten months later, the woman returned holding a baby in her arms, saying it was the Emperor’s.

He had the same black hair and green eyes as the Emperor, and the Emperor had something on his mind, so he eventually welcomed him as a son.

But while he took in the child as the Empress’s adopted child, he didn’t take the woman as his concubine.

At first, the baby showed no magical powers at all. However, from when Enoch was born and showed outstanding talent, he began to show magical abilities little by little.

“So, that was black magic?”

The Empire was turned upside down when two members of the Imperial family exhibited magical abilities that only appeared in one generation.

From then on, the aristocracy, which had been divided only behind the scenes, split, and public opinion was divided.

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Meanwhile, an attendant rushed from outside.

“Your Majesty!”

“What’s going on?”

“An urgent message came from the temple. They said the Demon King has ascended!”

The Emperor and Enoch’s eyes met.

“An emergency meeting, no, no.”

If it’s true that the Demon King has ascended, it wasn’t right for him to send troops to wage war.

“Call for the High Priest first.”

After the attendant ran out again, the Emperor turned to Enoch. “So, have you made up your mind?”

Enoch, who had been silent, slowly closed and then opened his emerald eyes.

“Yes, I have.”

A few hours later, the High Priest arrived before the Emperor.

According to the law, the High Priest and the Emperor were of the same rank, but in reality, they were still under the Emperor.

After all, it was the Emperor’s authority to appoint a high priest among the priests in the first place. However, it was also true that the Emperor could not command the High Priest he appointed as if he were a subject.

“Your Majesty, you called for me.”

“Is it true that the Demon King has ascended?” The Emperor cut to the chase.

“Yes, Priestess Christina has received a prophecy.”

“A prophecy, huh.”

“Yes, but when she delivered the prophecy, she ran out of energy and soon collapsed.”

The Emperor nodded, his expression grave.

“Priestess Christina is now older too. So High Priest, do you know anything about the War of the Demon King?”

“I’ve seen it in a book.”

“A book… Well, who in our generation has experienced that? But you seem unconcerned about that.”

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The High Priest smiled faintly and said, “There are only two instances of the Demon King’s ascension recorded in history. Once in the distant past, before the Empire was even established, and then when the Empire was born.”

“The birth of the Empire itself was because of the Demon King. They gathered the scattered forces to deal with him…”

“The first Emperor, Rikephoros, appeared and defeated him.”