Chapter 153

Chapter 153 – Background (4)

Translator: Atlas / Editor: Regan

“Do you think the King will let that happen? Don’t be so naive,” Allamand went on. “The King wants to strengthen the royal family. He will remove anyone that stands in his way, whether it’s the Bavaria family or his own son. The only question is how it will happen.”

Annette’s hands shook, and tears filled her pink eyes. It was so unfair. She couldn’t understand why the world was so cruel, and especially to Raphael.

Her heart ached so much, she could have screamed.

Raphael was devoted to the sword. It didn’t matter whether he couldn’t sleep or whether he was ill, he never missed a single day of training. He wielded the sword with perfection. When everyone pointed their fingers at him and scorned him, he had only worked harder to prove himself.

And that was the reason his father would turn on him.

Raphael was illegitimate, so he was not allowed to excel? He was only allowed to live to the standard someone else decided for him?

Allamand clicked his tongue at her shock.

“Now do you understand why you were forced to marry that bastard? The King took away Ludwig’s fiancée to give him a grudge. He raised Raphael to make him a worthy opponent. Everything since has gone entirely according to his plan.”

Drawing a fresh cigar from his drawer, he lit it and puffed, grimacing as he rubbed his throat in pain.

“Now do you understand my hostility to Raphael?” Allamand exhaled a puff of smoke. It was the first time he had ever voiced his true thoughts to her. “He is the King’s most formidable puppet. He will get everything he can out of him before he throws him away. Maybe he’ll even hand him off to Ludwig, in time. Though that would be a little risky.”

“Father, that’s enough. I don’t want to hear anymore.

“You asked, now you must listen. You will be eliminated with him. The King married you together for a reason. Like shoving as much trash as he can into one bag before he throws it out. Understand? If you stay at his side, both of you will die.”

Her tears overflowed. She had always wanted to know the truth. She had been determined to solve this mystery in this life. But at the moment, it seemed that she had been lucky her last life, to die in ignorance.

Now she understood why the King had made Ben March his tool. Why he had been allowed to live, even after his part in Celestine’s kidnapping.

Ben March was not a weapon against her. He was a weapon against Raphael.

Ben March had been chosen because of his relationship with Raphael, and only then to establish the connection between Raphael and the crime. There were many motives they could assign to Raphael; perhaps he had done it because he wanted Ludwig’s fiancée, out of jealousy. Or perhaps he had planned to seize the Duke of Bavaria’s daughter as a gambit to usurp the throne, in the future.

But whatever motive they chose, the existence of Ben March meant that Raphael would be accused as the true mastermind behind the kidnapping of Lady Celestine Keers, Crown Princess of Deltium, and the false accusation against Annette Bavaria for the crime.

And what would happen if Raphael’s past was exposed in the scandal? What if Deltium society learned of his mother?

He would be the laughingstock of the nation.

Condemned by the nobility, he would probably even be stripped of his title. His fate would lie entirely in the hands of King Selgratis.

The conservative aristocracy had never gladly suffered Raphael’s presence. Only the King’s favor had quieted them, and Raphael’s rare talent. They would seize any opportunity to tear him apart.

Raphael, Raphael…what can I do?

Annette’s hand squeezed over her fluttering heart, trying to stay calm. Nothing had happened yet. Maybe if she tried hard enough, she could find some way to protect Raphael. She couldn’t abandon him to this.

And she had already captured Ben March, one of the King’s most damaging pawns. That thought was a tremendous relief. But it seemed Allamand did not share her desire to protect Raphael.

“Get ready for a divorce,” he said, snuffing out his cigar with his fingertips. “Don’t think about useless things.”