CH 86.1

All over Louvre, imperial flags flew along the wind. The Royal Guard, led by the prince himself, ambushed the hideouts that belonged to the anarchists. The police who stood waiting arrested those who fled. People covered their ears whenever they heard gunshots and applauded when criminals were arrested. The sound of the horses’ hooves swept through the alleys of Louvre.

The root cause of this attack was because the anarchists who claimed to fight for freedom were in fact working with high-ranking aristocrats to fulfill their self-interest.

The people of Louvre, who were framed for hiding the criminals, began to inform the authorities of their hideouts, and the imperial family did not miss this opportunity.

Louvre was desperately struggling to change itself.

After preparing to escape on a dark night, Frank stepped out of the imperial palace with calm, easy steps.

He dreamed of revolution. He’d been preparing for a very long time and believed that he’d done well so far. However, an absurd ideology led him to failure.

A pitiful orphan from Louvre, Canillia.

Frank was confident that she would grow up on his own terms. Canillia had plenty of reasons to despise nobles. He believed that she would be angry at the marchioness who raised her as a man, the nobles who looked down on her birthplace and ridiculed her, and the marquis who abandoned her mother.

But Canillia didn’t hate anyone.

Frank wanted to know why. She didn’t belong anywhere, yet she had no malice in her heart.

A shadow fell on his eyes as he reflected on the cause of his failure.

“A horse is waiting. Go straight to the station. Geore will accept immigrants. Rumor has it that some have already left for Geore.”

“Is this Lola’s doing?”

“We’re not sure, but she changed after knowing that her daughter was used. We haven’t heard from her since.”

“I’ll see you over there.”

Of course, if they were lucky.

Dr. Karl handed Frank the fake ID. He left quickly after that, pressing a cap down on his head and limping away into the darkness. After silently saying goodbye to him, Frank moved westward, where security was lax, believing that as long as he was alive, the revolution would continue.

It was when he was making his way through a knee-high shrubbery that he heard a click. Someone had a gun to the back of the head. To come this far without a sound…

Nervous, Frank stopped and stood up straight.

“You sure deceived a lot of people.”

The voice in the darkness was familiar.

“It’s been a long time, Your Highness.”

“Did you still want to live after what happened to your colleagues?”

A mocking laugh dispersed in the darkness. Frank responded as calmly as he could, “It was for the good of the cause. You should be pretty familiar with it, as you sacrificed countless people of the Empire to avenge your father. All because of some petty sense of vengeance.”

“Petty, you say… I see. You’re the same as me.”

At his sarcastic remark, Frank saw a glimmer of hope. When the weak emperor finally passes, Wade von Weise would ascend the throne. However, if he slipped up, the next person in line for the throne was none other than the Grand Duke. Del Casa was already a dukedom. Moreover, Frank thought that Claude’s desires were closer to theirs than Prince Wade’s.

Frank decided to provoke him.

“Your Highness, the Weise family is not qualified to inherit the throne. They treated the people like expendables and turned their backs on what was actually going on. All they did was pursue luxury and turned a blind eye from the hard truth. They enforced politics for the nobles and the gentry. I am also one of the victims, but I couldn’t do the same thing. What’s more, I heard that Lady Canillia was also from Louvre. If we hadn’t held the Emperor’s power in check, she would have lost her life along with the others while being starved and exploited.”

“Are you done talking?”

There was no waver in Claude’s answer. Frank could tell his death was imminent. Hastily, he asked, “Do you have no desires at all?”

“Of course not. I have huge ambitions as well.”

Frank’s eyes lit up at his words. He thought that he now knew what Claude needed. What Claude needed wasn’t the past, but the future. A safe and perfect future.

Excited, Frank shouted, “Then take Lady Canillia as your bride. She is a commoner. If you place a woman from Louvre as the Grand Duchess, you will definitely get more support than now-!”

Bang!

With a single gunshot, Frank collapsed to the floor, unable to finish his sentence. Blood soaked the grass. Claude wiped the blood off his gloves as he looked down at Frank, who was already turning cold with his eyes wide open.

“This is what you get for trying to use her to the end, Frank Ashe.”