The corridor was long and dark, and Grand Duke Murphy walked beside Butler Spencer.
He came to the palace this time in the name of discussing matters with the Duke of Hall and Percy. In addition to discussing matters, he had another purpose.
That was to ask his men to find out the true identity of the legendary "lover" of Wade. After entering the palace, he asked his servants to wait for an opportunity to find the figure of the "lover".
In the past month, he had made no progress on this path. While feeling that his dignity was challenged, he could not help but become more curious. Moreover, he had recently heard a very strange rumor from the prison.
That is…
Emperor Vader once brought his lover to the prison late at night!
It was said that the lover was carried in. Many prisoners had seen his beautiful long silver hair and his slender legs revealed outside his robe.
Even more shocking is that Vader then takes the lover to interrogate Paladin Bright.
The prisoners who were closer to the interrogation room heard Bright's heart-wrenching screams that night. His voice was vague and his words were unclear, but it was clear that he had a close relationship with the emperor's mysterious "lover" and that he had a deep hatred for the emperor.
The truth cannot be hidden, and what's more, Wade had no intention of covering up the incident in the prison. Soon after, some nobles in the royal city knew about this incredible incident. They whispered and speculated about the identity of the "lover".
Who on earth could make Bright, who has always been a clean-minded person, lose control of his emotions and make Wade bring "him/her" to meet Bright to protest
Because of the legendary silver-white hair, they guessed that the "lover" was a woman... even, the woman Bright loved. After taking power, Wade imprisoned his former enemy, forcibly seized his lover, and brought her to his enemy for demonstration.
This taboo and incestuous scandal soon became a secret topic among the upper class of nobles for the pleasure of prying into their private lives. Although only a few people knew about it due to the pressure from Wade, they were trying to figure out the identity of the man and the relationship between the three. A marquis with a very corrupt private life even said that Wade probably slept with the legendary "lover" in front of Bright, which was why Bright, who had always been a calm and chivalrous man, lost control of his emotions.
That is why the true identity of that "lover" has made people even more curious.
Grand Duke Murphy sat in a soft chair and took a sip of amber tea. He smiled and greeted the emperor's "military advisor" Percy. To deal with a fox like Percy, he had to spend more time on it.
After they chatted for a while, a voice came from the garden. Grand Duke Murphy glanced outside and saw the blonde, blue-eyed girl led by the butler Spencer walking into the garden. The sunlight fell on her smooth braided hair, and she looked as beautiful as a flower.
"It's Miss Green." Percy followed his gaze and looked out.
Grand Duke Murphy smiled and said, "I know she came to the palace today to help the housekeeper repair a mural."
Percy's icy blue eyes smiled behind his monocle. "Really? I think Grand Duke Murphy has heard the rumor. Some nobles think that His Majesty needs a wife."
Grand Duke Murphy said, "Miss Green is indeed a rare beauty. Given her status, she is indeed a good match for Your Majesty. Miss Green has taken the trouble to restore the murals. The weather is so good today. It would be a great thing for Your Majesty to walk around the palace with Miss Green."
"Really?" Percy smiled. Grand Duke Murphy's heart suddenly jumped. He always felt that there was some profound meaning in his smile. "The nobles' thoughts are the nobles' thoughts after all. I just hope Miss Green will not be frightened in the palace today."
… Shocked? Grand Duke Murphy was startled.
What's the shock
He took a moment to react, then remembered some rumors from Percy's smile and burst into laughter. "Your Majesty, as an emperor, it is not surprising that he had several lovers before marriage. As long as they don't produce any offspring, who would care? Sir Percy, you think these noble ladies are too simple and fragile."
—Dealing with the lover of a fiancé was already a common occurrence for many noble matrons of this era.
Percy smiled slightly and didn't comment.
In the sunlight outside the window, the emperor in black met Miss Green. Miss Green lowered her head and saluted him in panic.
…
Lucian pushed open the secret door leading to the study.
The room was empty, and he ran to the bookshelf without thinking. Before coming here, he heard from the maids that Wade and Elizabeth were somewhat related, so he would take her to visit some places in the castle.
However, anyone with a discerning eye would know that this seemingly well-founded visit was precisely a "relationship promotion" by everyone in order to put Elizabeth on the throne of Wade's "fiancée."
Wade is so lucky to be able to bring a beautiful woman to visit the castle.
However, this was also a good time for him.
Lucian was flipping through the bookshelf in a hurry. Actually, he didn't need to be in such a hurry, but he didn't know when his heart started beating non-stop.
This was an extremely ominous premonition. Lucian had always believed in his premonition.
He then quickened his movements, one book after another... Finally, he found a stack of drawings in a fragile parchment book.
The moment his fingers touched the drawing, Lucian had a strange premonition.
—This is exactly what he was looking for.
Beads of sweat began to form on the tip of his nose due to nervousness and excitement. Lucian opened the stack of drawings and looked at them carefully.
He was very careful, as if he was afraid of crumpling the paper. The blueprints were filled with complicated mana circuits and seal symbols, and dense ancient characters described the process and precautions. He read through them line by line, not daring to miss a single one.
Finally, he saw a familiar signature and date in the corner of the drawing.
That was the mark that Vader was in the habit of putting on each of his "creatures".
Lucian's fingers began to tremble, and he knew it was not out of fear, but out of excitement.
He finally found the blueprint to remove the anklet!
There was no place on his body to hide the blueprint. Lucian thought about it, rolled it up, and put it in his hand. Just when he was about to restore everything, return to the room, hide the blueprint, and find an opportunity to study it carefully...
Suddenly, there was the sound of a door opening outside!
Following the sound of the door opening, there were two sets of footsteps, one set of footsteps was gentle, the other set of footsteps was cold.
They were talking about something, but at that moment, Lucian felt as if he had fallen into an icy cave.
Those are the footsteps of Vader!
Wade came to the study at the moment when he found the blueprint!
Lucian hadn't had time to clean up the mess. The books he had pulled out were now piled up in a mess on the carpet. The couple outside the door obviously didn't just sit outside as he had prayed. Instead, their footsteps were getting closer and closer to the inner room...
As Lucian put the last book back on its place on the shelf, he heard the doorknob being turned.
The fireplace was opposite the door. He had no time to cross the study, get into the fireplace, unlock it and leave.
…
Wade stepped into the inner room.
The room was completely silent, with only the sound of the wind blowing the curtains. Wade frowned as he looked at the bookshelf on the side.
A very subtle feeling came over him. But when he looked again, the bookshelf was intact. Every book was placed in its original place.
Elizabeth Green followed behind him. This beautiful noble girl was obviously a little nervous at the moment. Wade knew her father and brother's intentions, but he was too lazy to embarrass her.
—He had no interest in such a fragile and pale creature.
"Thank you very much for bringing me here." Elizabeth tried her best to speak smoothly. "My father said that you have a parchment scroll about the history of elves' art in the Chaos Era. I have always been interested in the art of the elves..."
Wade said nothing, didn't even look at her. He walked to the section where the art history books were placed and found the book.
The moment he passed by the desk and took out the book, the white-haired succubus curled up in the hole under the desk held her breath.
After Wade found the book and the pair of legs in long boots disappeared from his sight again, Lucian's pounding heart finally calmed down a little.
He couldn't leave the study just now.
Wade came too quickly and too unexpectedly. He only had time to restore the books he had taken out one by one according to the order in his memory, and then he had missed the opportunity to leave the study.
For this reason, he could only bend down and hide in the hole of Wade's desk the moment the two men pushed the door open.
The emperor's desk was extremely luxurious, and the space under the desk was also very large. The hole in the desk was much deeper and wider than that of an ordinary desk. Lucian was able to hide himself inside. The height of the hole was limited, so he curled up, his long silver-white hair falling messily on his body and the ground. He pressed himself against the inner wall of the desk to shrink himself to the smallest size, and his long legs were also bent dryly.
His heart was beating wildly, and he was short of oxygen due to the rapid movement just now. But he didn't dare to breathe, and could only cover his nose and mouth with his hands, fearing that the sensitive Wade would hear his breathing.
He heard Wade hand the book to Elizabeth, and the two exchanged a few polite words. Lucian breathed heavily, clenched the blueprint in his hand, and was filled with tension and fear of being discovered.
He simply couldn't imagine what would happen if Wade found him curled up in the hole in the table.
Vader will discover his return, and will find that he has fooled him all these days...
Calm down. Lucian told himself to stay calm.
Outside the table, Elizabeth and Wade were still talking. She seemed happy to have received the book, and besides that, she was also making some witty remarks in her words, as if she was cautiously testing something with Wade.
Elizabeth was, after all, an aristocratic lady who was naive to the ways of the world. The temptation she thought was well hidden in her words was too clear, and both Wade, who was talking to her, and Lucian, who was hiding in the table, could hear her intention.
"Ms. Green." Lucian heard Wade say coldly, "If you have anything to ask, you might as well get straight to the point."
Lucian curled up so hard that his joints ached. He tried to adjust his posture quietly, and then...
He heard his name from Elizabeth's mouth.
At that moment, Lucian almost choked to death.
He resisted the urge to cough, but soon he no longer had the urge to do so.
because…
The sound of a chair being pulled away was heard, and Lucian once again pushed hard into the hole in the table, almost pressing himself against the wall.
Vader sat in the chair.
Vader was still wearing his black boots today. The boots were very close to Lucian—along with his long legs that were stretched into the hole in the table as he sat down. Lucian was forced into a very cramped situation.
At any time, as long as Vader stretches his legs slightly...
He can touch him.
"Miss Green." He heard Wade's voice, which seemed polite but also contained a hint of sarcasm. "Who are you to ask me about the whereabouts of Lucian Cecil?"
"... a friend." He heard Elizabeth's mosquito-like voice after a long time, "I used to think of him... as a friend! After his story was revealed, I was very, very reluctant..."
"Friends?" Wade interrupted her, his voice more sarcastic, "Friends..."
"—I was his friend, too," he said.
Lucian tried to shrink his body. He was not listening to the conversation between the two people at all. The only thing he knew was that he absolutely did not want to be discovered at this time.
- Whether it was Elizabeth's discovery that the Lucian who was "killed" by Wade and she was looking for was now mysteriously under Wade's desk, or Wade's discovery of the anklet's blueprint hidden in his hand.
Unfortunately, it didn't go as planned. When he bent his knees, trying to change his position so as not to collide with Vader's feet...
"bump."
His anklets hit the inside of the desk.
And there was a crisp sound.