Chapter 57: Entangled Loyalties

In the end, Diches finally opened up.

“As I mentioned before, my mother was a woman of mixed feelings – she had affairs with multiple men while leaving my father and me behind… (ellipsis)… When I heard such stories from my mother’s elder sister, my aunt, one could go mad. My aunt, who was also my mother’s elder sister, had callously mistreated her own son – my first cousin. Ever since that ordeal, I seem to have developed an obsession with being loved by everyone…”

Lady Elina I listened intently to Diches’s tale, her gaze drifting briefly to a wall in the distance. From behind the wall, Lara peeked out and winked subtly as a signal.

“That must have been incredibly painful. You could easily develop a wandering heart, Diches. Why not come down to the dining room for a moment? I’m feeling a bit peckish.”

“Very well. However, I haven’t told you everything about me yet. Only if you accept all of this can I consider you the proper Female Lead. If you decide to quit halfway, see to it that you hand things over properly to the next one. Now, let me continue.”

“Yes, yes.”

Lara truly embodied the role of a determined Female Lead. In gratitude to Lady Elina I, she winked with her left eye before promptly heading towards the room where His Highness was confined.

Thankfully, it seemed Lady Elina I had left the door ajar when she left. The bedroom inside was dimly lit. Lara drew aside the heavy, crimson curtains that hung inside. Instead of His Highness, Pea was waiting there.

“Is that Lord Diches?”

“Ah, I’ll let you go soon.”

Lara quickly turned behind him and removed the earplugs and blindfold. Through the gap in the blindfold, his striking blue eyes bloomed broadly as they met Lara’s face.

“…Lara?”

“Are you alright?”

“How did you end up here? And isn’t it more dangerous now with the plague spreading even more than before?”

“That plague is a lie.”

His hand, drawing the blindfold down, hesitated mid-air. Although Lara felt a tinge of embarrassment under Pea’s piercing gaze, she forced a casual tone.

“Everything is just a tale concocted by Lord Diches.”

“It can’t be… Are you saying the Duke deceived us?”

“Yes. All this while we obediently stayed locked in the room, merely following his so-called safety precautions. In short, we became his property.”

“But why would he do such a thing…”

“I’ll explain the details later. For now, let’s get out of here. Lady Elina IV is currently using a magical tool she invented to spread this secret not just to the capital but all over the country. Help is arriving soon.”

Encouraged by Lara’s hopeful words, Karlahee nodded gravely and stepped down from the bed, as Lara quickly moved to stand by the door.

‘Well… I’ve seen countless fang comics about obsessive captivity, but I’ve never come across one where the protagonist manages a clean escape.’

‘If it’s a cliché, then of course he’ll eventually be caught. So why should we be on edge? …Might as well take it easy if he’s going to be caught anyway.’

Lara, her once blazing desire to escape now subdued, slowly turned the door handle. As the gap opened to about 2cm, the shadowed face of Diches peeked through—a clear sign that he had already noticed and was coming after them.

“By the way, Pea, do you know where His Highness is?”

But distracted by a brief glance backward, Lara failed to notice Diches standing at the door. In fact, she even closed the door in his face once more.

“Isn’t His Highness here?”

“Hoho, not Pea.”

“Then if His Highness is supposed to be me, who exactly are you desperately looking for? Are you on friendly terms with the enemy’s ruler?”

“Why mention the enemy here…? Do you really not know where His Highness is?”

“I’m sorry, but isn’t the very person you’re so desperate to find right here?”

Despite his relentless wordplay, Lara let out a soft sigh. As she gripped the door handle again, Diches’s shadowed face reappeared.

Yet when she turned to face Karlahee, their eyes met—and Diches was no longer in sight.

“Now’s not the time for word games, please.”

“So, isn’t he here?”

“No, the person I want isn’t Pea, but His Highness…!”

Unable to contain his frustration any longer, Karlahee stepped ahead of Lara. With extended arms, he gently closed the door, preventing her from leaving. Diches’s face vanished. Karlahee looked down at Lara with a mix of displeasure and intensity in his deep blue eyes.

“If the one you desire isn’t me, who exactly is it?”

His tone carried a hint of discontent. Lara’s cheeks flushed, and her slightly furrowed brow only made his handsome features all the more alluring, sending a jolt through her.

Shaking off the imaginary roses blooming in the air, Lara spoke again.

“His Highness.”

“…”

He closed his eyes deliberately, as if enduring a trial. Passing by Karlahee, Lara opened the door once more. Just before she could spot Diches standing there, Lara shut her eyes in exasperation and sighed.

“Phew, please tell me where His Highness is. You know where he is, don’t you?”

“Then if His Highness is me, who on earth are you so desperately chasing after?”

“Yes, I understand. It’s not Pea I’m after but His Highness. There’s no time for wordplay.”

“So I am His Highness—then who else could possibly be His Highness besides me?”

Karlahee, having tightly closed his eyes, couldn’t see Diches standing by the door. The two of them stepped out into the corridor, with Diches following silently like a grim night watchman.

“We must find His Highness and escape before the Duke arrives. Hurry!”

Lara’s eyes snapped open. Before she could even glance back, Pea came right up beside her.

“It seems we need a long talk. So, who is this other His Highness you mentioned? What does he look like?”

“Actually, I’ve never seen him in person. I only heard that he resembles the ideal Male Lead from a romance novel.”

“Hmm, I’m often told I have that look too.”

Lara halted as she found her path blocked by a broad chest. Lifting her gaze, she saw the handsome face of the man before her.

Face-to-face, both felt an awkward shyness wash over them. Standing so close that they could hear each other’s breath, Lara’s cheek gradually warmed.

“So now you intend for us to flirt right here, is that it?”

“I mean, flirt? How dare you call it flirting!!”

At the sudden interjection from Diches right beside them, Lara was taken aback—not so much by his appearance but by his choice of words, which triggered a vehement reaction.

“I just don’t understand why none of you accept being entirely mine. Do you really want to secretly date just the two of you? Both of you are mine. You’ve been mine long before all this…”

“That’s right! You’re the Duke’s, so stop it already! I mean it, seriously!”

“Can I trust you?”

“Yes! I’m even ready to sign a document forfeiting my body—please, just stop!”

With her flushed face and tapping feet, Lara watched as Diches hastily began drafting the document. It was precisely at that moment that she was about to object.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t allow that.”

Regaining his composure, Karlahee stepped between them and firmly grabbed Lara’s thumb. The forceful act of prying it from her grasp made her cheeks blush even deeper—though she wouldn’t have minded if her thumb were bent out of shape.

But taken aback by his own aggressive action, Karlahee let go of her thumb in surprise.

“I apologize if I startled you… I just got carried away thinking I had to stop it somehow.”

“No, it’s alright.”

“Thank you for understanding. So, Duke, is it true that you spread false rumors to control me and the entire empire?”

His face, armed with unyielding charisma, showed nothing but ruthless cruelty. Lowering himself against the wall, Diches’ posture was subservient.

“Answer me. Are you really prepared to let me use these brutal methods of torture?”

“Forgive me, Your Highness, but do you really think I’ll open my mouth so easily? If you truly understood what I meticulously planned all this for…”

“500 pieces of gum scattered across the palace floor, staying in the palace until 10 p.m. every night to use 100 sheets of paper, drawing an imaginary picture on two pages for Science Day, creating a unification poster, writing over 200 pages of essays on unification, and not to mention 30 pieces of historical reading reflections in a week.”

“I’m sorry. I did it.”

Diches confessed heavily. His voice, even as it carried a tinge of solemnity, began to crack as if struggling to break free from the grip of his own cruel methods.

“Why did you do such a thing? Is it because you coveted the Emperor’s throne? In the worst case, it could even be considered treason.”

“I’m not interested in power. From the start, it was the human named Emperor that I desired. Imagine the satisfaction of having all people in this world, including an untouchable Emperor, in my grasp.”

For a moment, his dark eyes flashed with a greedy glint.

“His Highness, not even in death will you be able to escape me.”

“…Phew.”

“And Lara, you who breathe a sigh of relief thinking you’re safe from behind, the same applies to you. None of you can ever escape my grasp.”

Diches declared with unabashed passion as his burning desire for ownership surged forth. If only this thirst could be quenched, there was no limit to what he might do—after all, he had a corner of faith in something.

“So, then, will you admit your guilt?”

“What isn’t there to admit?”

And as if sealing his fate, Diches would come to regret those very words the very next day.