Married To The Enemy Kingdom's Illegitimate Prince-Chapter 129 — My Brothers Love Me!

Lucian stared at the red rose-shaped hairpin lying on the table in front of him.

"Your Highness, if you keep staring at it like that, you might as well burn a hole through it," Dylan teased, only to receive a sharp elbow to his side from Adrian.

"Hey!" the blonde-haired man yelped but quickly regained his composure when he felt the grand duke’s cold gaze fall on him.

"Why don’t you just give it to her?" Glain asked hesitantly.

Lucian closed his eyes, the weight of the past few days pressing heavily on his mind. The king had passed away, but the queen had forbidden the news from reaching the public. His body had been preserved in a coffin made of glass, encased in cold ice. The image lingered in Lucian’s thoughts, the stench from the chamber clinging to his senses, making him frown in discomfort.

Adding to his unease, he’d instructed his men to monitor everyone present at the ball, including Cynthia. It wasn’t that he wanted to distrust her, but her actions had been too peculiar to ignore.

A day later, a report reached him.

"The grand duchess has been meeting a man in secret inside her bedchamber. Their conversations are inaudible from a distance..."

"A man, you say," Lucian repeated the word, his expression darkening as he mulled over the implications. His stomach churned at the thought of Cynthia meeting another man behind his back. Suspicion crept into his mind, tainting his perception of her every action. Yet, he forced himself to push the thought aside.

"What do you know about him?" Lucian demanded. He needed to uncover the truth before jumping to conclusions.

"He seems to be a subordinate. Ah, and... they’ve been using teleportation magic to leave the estate. I couldn’t follow them—I have no idea where they’re going..."

That was when the idea struck him. He could use a tracker—an enchanted object with a spell that allowed the caster to trace its location from anywhere. It was a common practice on battlefields, often used to keep track of horses.

"Summon the maid who’s always by the grand duchess’ side," Lucian ordered, his finger tapping rhythmically on the desk as he clenched the hairpin tightly in his palm.

With a nod, the group of men exited the room.

A few minutes later, there was a soft knock on the already open door, followed by Anni stepping inside.

"Greetings, Your Highness. You... called for me?" Anni asked hesitantly, her voice uncertain.

"I did." Lucian rose from his chair, the hairpin still firmly in his hand.

He extended it toward her, and Anni flinched in surprise, her hands trembling as though her life were hanging by a thread.

"Tell the grand duchess I want her to wear this at supper tonight," Lucian said, his voice steady and commanding.

Anni’s wide, frightened eyes softened into a more relaxed expression.

"O-Oh!" she gasped, carefully taking the hairpin from his hand. "I will deliver your message. Thank you, Your Highness."

"He must truly love the grand duchess," Anni mumbled before lowering her head respectfully.

"You may leave," Lucian dismissed her with a wave of his hand.

Anni bowed deeply before retreating from the room, leaving Lucian alone with his thoughts.

***

After dinner, once Cynthia entered her room, one of Lucian’s men kept watch through the window. The moment he saw Cynthia and Arlot vanish from the room, he immediately informed the grand duke.

Lucian had the mage who had cast the tracking spell on the hairpin standing by his side. Upon receiving the message, he ordered the mage to take him to Cynthia’s location.

With a flicker of violet light, they teleported to a dimly lit space crowded with boxes.

Hearing faint noises nearby, Lucian approached cautiously, finding himself looking at Cynthia from the side. Before her stood the Duke Ramsel, his wrists and legs bound in chains, his body marked with bruises Lucian hadn’t seen before.

"Tell me-did you kill my parents?" Cynthia demanded, her sharp violet eyes blazing with fury.

"I told you—"

Duke Ramsel’s response was cut short by a sudden bolt of lightning. Dark blood spurted from his mouth, staining the ground beneath him.

"I did it!" he confessed, the words forcing Lucian’s eyes to widen in shock.

Cynthia, however, remained calm, her expression steady and unflinching as though she had already anticipated his answer.

"And the king and queen of Selvarys— they helped you, didn’t they? Don’t even think about lying to me," she said, stomping her heel on Duke Ramsel’s ankle, earning a pained groan from him.

"Y-Yes, they did! It was their plan from the beginning!" he cried out. "And the king was too foolish! My sister did not even try to stop him from his stupid decisions!"

"Stupid decisions? Such as?"

Duke Ramsel looked around, searching for an example but he failed to find any. The late king was an extremely strong and good king who protected his land well and his people without fail.

"The king’s sons! They have bewitched you, my dear niece! That’s why you are even willing to go against your own blood— your uncle!" Duke Ramsel managed to say, his heart pounding as he looked up at the young woman in front of him.

Her gaze carried no hint of mercy for him.

"You seem to have the mouth to still speak. My brothers love me," Cynthia kicked him on the ground, her fists clenched as they trembled in anger.

"Love?" Duke Ramsel scoffed.

"You clung to them for years because you, too, knew they might just abandon you. And if they did so, you would be left without anyone in this world. Like a fool, you even followed them to the battlefield, willingly became a knight to serve the king as a loyal servant, fighting countless battle, risking your life for those brothers, throwing away a life filled with luxury a princess deserved to have!"

Lucian silently silenced the conversation, one new revelation as shocking as the previous ones. He knew Cynthia was no ordinary woman. He had his suspicions, although he tried to bury them within his heart but now, his doubts had been proven right. She was more than a noblewoman— a knight.

"Cynthia... You’ve awakened your divine powers, haven’t you?"

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