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☾ twenty ☾

The Emperor raised his voice, shooting a piercing glare at the Duke.

"How can you guarantee that when my life is on the line!? Tell me, how can you be so sure?!"

But Regis was certain.

He knew that the culprit behind the attack, his apprentice, would not act rashly and order a second attempt to frighten the Emperor.

'Because even if the Emperor were to be shaken up, it'll be all for naught as long as I remain unfazed.'

The Emperor had always been someone who was easy to handle.

"Speak!"

Especially when he saw him talking like that, clueless and unaware of anything.

Regis let out a small sigh at the sight of the simpleminded Emperor and spoke in a hollow tone.

"Since Your Majesty has become much more vigilant, they would be aware that a surprise attack would no longer work."

The Duke's voice lacked any ulterior motives, but the Emperor interpreted it as criticism for being frightened by the assassin.

'How dare he...!'

While the Emperor was furious, the Duke continued, "There's no need to take a dangerous gamble in a situation that has garnered a lot of attention."

Even though everything the Duke said was clearly correct, the Emperor did not want to admit it because the moment he did, it would feel like he lost to the Duke.

'This damn bastard, he has quite the silver tongue, having no holes in his argument.'

The Emperor's body shook in anger, but he managed to pull himself together by stroking the ring on his finger.

'No, as long as I have this...He can't disobey me.'

Despite that thought, he couldn't help but still feel anxious because it had been a while since the Duke looked so unagitated in front of this weakness.

'Yes, you never know. If only there was someone that could stand against this man....'

At that moment, he remembered the prime minister's advice:

< If you want to keep the Duke of Floyen in check, I suggest that you call for His Royal Highness the Crown Prince to return to the palace. >

The Emperor regained a sense of stability when he suddenly found a use for his son, who he had always viewed as a threat to the throne.

'That's right, I can dangle the throne in front of him, make him think I'll hand it over, and coax him into keeping that damn bastard in check.'

The Emperor spoke in a relatively milder tone, "It seems I've been inconveniencing you, Duke."

While others would have refuted immediately, Duke Floyen remained silent, as if he agreed with the Emperor's remark.

The Emperor clenched his fist, barely keeping the urge to throw something at bay.

"Duke Floyen, don't you think you should at least help me save face by staying for the remainder of the week? Please allow me to trouble you for three more days."

"I will obey yours orders, Your Majesty." Regis bowed his head and left the room.

As soon as the doors closed behind him, he heard the sound of something shattering. A subtle air of mirth quickly passed over the Duke's graceful face.

'He's so easy to read that it's starting to become boring.'

Sporting a bored look, Regis looked up and stared at the night sky.