FMY 30

This was a very important matter.

It was highly likely that the Duke, who had now come to believe to some extent that Raphael and Serge were in a loving relationship, would not try to pair him with the Crown Prince again. After all, he had affirmed with his own mouth that he wanted his son to live happily with the person he loved. In Serge’s opinion, his father was not the type of person to break promises or vows.

Despite believing this, there was a separate purpose for wanting to show his father the Crown Prince’s raw, true nature with his own eyes today.

‘Gabriel…’

Duke Arthur was a man who was extremely puritanical about the laws taught by religious doctrine.

It was impossible for such a man to stand idly by after witnessing that scene with his own eyes. The Duke, who cared for his wards in his own way, would probably move to thwart Gabriel’s desires right away.

In other words, the Duke himself would stand in the way of Gabriel, who wanted to become the Crown Princess.

If that happened, he could thwart the greatest desire of Gabriel’s life in the easiest way possible. No matter how much of a prized dominant omega Gabriel was, he was still the child of a family that had even lost its title. In just one more generation, he would be in the ambiguous state of a quasi-noble, no different from a commoner. The only reason he could hold his head so high in Ancerre’s high society right now was purely because of the fact that Duke Arthur was behind him.

It was a situation made possible only because he had the most powerful man in Blanche as his backer. A weak tower, easy to topple the moment its guardian changed his mind. That was the foundation Gabriel stood on.

‘So I must never miss this opportunity.’

That was why Serge was currently playing this pathetic role of a spy with his father, having snuck up to the second floor. The second floor of the Camellia Palace, where royal events were mainly held, was a place furnished with reception rooms for important dignitaries from faraway lands, a poker room and other rooms for leisure, and several bedrooms.

“Just confirm it, and then you will leave that place quietly with me again. Do you understand?”

“…I understand.”

The Duke nodded at his son’s attitude, which seemed unusually serious, though he did not know what the objective was.

And so they walked along the long corridor.

At the end of the corridor, a ribbon and a single fine shoe, which had not been brought inside, were strewn about, just as they had been in his past life.

The crack in the door was also left open by less than half a handspan.

That gap, which showed just how frantic the lovers who had rushed to their tryst must have been to hastily satisfy their desires.

Through that small gap, Serge saw the disgusting buttocks of Crown Prince François, moving ceaselessly between an omega’s legs with his clothes half-undone in disarray, just as in his past life.

And with Duke Arthur, he also confirmed the face of the person whose legs they were.

Her captivating black hair, tangled sensuously with the feathers of her hairpiece, was a mess as she cried out in pleasure.

“Madame de Beauharnais…”

Duke Arthur, in shock, muttered so quietly that only Serge could hear.

The king he served. His beloved mistress, the name of his sordid consort.

“What in the…”

As soon as they had quietly returned to the first floor, Duke Arthur muttered with a face overcome by shock.

“Does this situation even make any sense…?”

Serge listened to his father’s muttering, which did not require an answer, and handed him a strong brandy.

“Not some lowly creature or a beast… for a son to covet what is his own father’s, I mean…”

The Crown Prince was secretly carrying on an affair with his father’s consort.

“And that woman even has a child with His Majesty the King…!”

“Father, I know you’re upset, but please calm down. There are still many people around.”

When Serge calmed the Duke, saying that people nearby would hear, he huffed and downed the liquor in the glass he was holding in one gulp.

It was only natural for the Duke to be so agitated. This was not a simple matter like sleeping with the same courtesan as one’s father. The Countess de Beauharnais also had a child with the King. A young daughter, who was just about five years old.

He had carried on an affair with a woman who had even borne his own father’s child, the mother of his own half-sister.

It was a truly horrific affair that would be condemned even in the promiscuous society of Blanche.

“Calm your nerves a little, and let’s go home and talk separately. I have something to tell you regarding this matter.”

“…How on earth did you find out about that…?”

“It was by chance. They’re so careless when they get tangled up like that. If it wasn’t me, someone else would have found them out eventually. No, maybe they’ve already been found out.”

Who knew if the Crown Prince had been using his power to cover up the filth that had already been exposed.

It was while they were having such a serious conversation.

“Serge!”

Raphael approached them quickly with a serious face.

“Where on earth have you been all this time?”

Serge’s eyes widened at the slightly accusatory tone. Raphael’s face looked somewhat anxious.

“I’ve been looking for you for a while.”

“…Why? I said I’d be right b…”

Serge’s words were not finished. Because…

BOOM!

“Watch out!”

With the sound of an explosion, Raphael’s large body quickly wrapped around him.

Before he could even properly register what had just happened, an unknown shockwave crashed over them. In an instant, along with a loud explosion, things like glass and wood shattered and flew into the air.

‘What… what is this?’

Held in the arms of Raphael, who was completely shielding him as if to protect him, Serge stared blankly at the continuously exploding debris.

The windows near them were blowing out with smoke.

Strangely, that dangerous and urgent scene looked like a scene from a movie playing in slow motion. Everything, down to the briefest 0.01-second situations, was imprinted in Serge’s eyes, as if each and every frame was being turned slowly.

And Raphael’s face, reflected in that vivid sight. In a fleeting moment, Serge registered the strange desperation that flickered across his expression.

“…No…!”

Raphael’s voice, as he held him, rumbled as if heard from a distance.

Beeee…

Along with the successive massive impacts, a ringing sounded in his ears. It seemed there had been more than one explosive. It was only after the third explosion that Serge snapped out of the strange slow motion and tinnitus and regained his normal sense of time.

‘What is this…? Gunpowder?’

In the past, after confirming the Crown Prince’s true nature, he had left the palace and returned to the ducal estate, where he had holed himself up in his small study for days. So he did not know what would happen after this.

The smell of low-grade gunpowder wafted over, mixed with the smoke. It was nothing compared to modern explosives, but perhaps because it had gone off close to them, all the nearby windows had shattered dangerously.

But Serge was not hit by a single shard of glass.

Because this large body, which had blocked all the impact and debris to shield him…

“Serge, snap out of it. Is everyone alright?!”

Raphael, who had been covering the Arthur father and son to protect them, let them go and asked urgently.

At his question, the Duke, who had barely recovered from the shock of the explosion and assessed the situation, wiped the confusion from his face completely. He shot to his feet with blazing eyes and shouted, not even answering the second prince’s question.

“Guards!”

It was a tremendous roar, condensed with fury.

When the Minister of Finance and Duke, Arthur, shouted, the Royal Guard, who had been running over clumsily from a distance, quickened their pace.

“What are you doing right now?! Not protecting His Highness the Second Prince!”

He, a subject of the nation, had personally been protected by the prince. It might have been a split-second decision to protect his fiancé, Serge, but it was something that should not have happened. This role should have been fulfilled by the Royal Guard, who were supposed to be systematically standing guard inside the ballroom and positioned here and there.

“I thought they looked sloppy all day, and now they’re handling security like this…!”

The Duke’s jaw tensed.

“Duke Arthur.”

“Where on earth is His Highness the Crown Prince at a time like this…!”

Duke Arthur, who knew all too well where and what the Crown Prince, the head of the Royal Guard, was doing right now, could not hide his anger towards him, an act of lèse-majesté. The Duke held his son’s body firmly, as he was still unable to stand up straight due to dizziness, and clenched his fists.

“In the first place, if the Household Guard had been stationed instead of the Royal Guard, something like this wouldn’t have happened…! Wasn’t it His Highness the Crown Prince’s order to place the Royal Guard as the main force for today’s event…?!”

“…That is correct.”

It was a royal ball hosted with the Crown Prince at its center. The experienced ones could tell just by a sideways glance that he had greedily placed the Royal Guard, which he commanded, at the core of the ball’s security. It was probably for a moderate show of force. He likely wanted to show the people gathered today firsthand how hard he, the next king, was working for the country.

The Crown Prince, who was always overly confident in everything, had a bit of a tendency to be like that in all matters. To put it nicely, he had guts; to put it badly, he was full of bluff despite lacking ability. What was it if not a bluff to show off when preparations and conditions were not properly in place?

“Guesclin!”

Raphael, leaving the enraged Duke Arthur behind, called out to a man who was helping fallen people nearby. Sir Robert du Guesclin. A brilliant soldier and the most famous knight in Ancerre. In this day and age, when ‘knight’ was merely a title with no real substance, he was a true knight with outstanding martial prowess, like the elite knights of the Middle Ages.

“Go at once and summon the Household Guard on standby! Identify the personnel, figure out where the gunpowder exploded, and clean up this hall.”

“Yes, I understand!”

Serge, who knew he was a soldier but had not known he was part of the Household Guard, could only watch blankly as Sir Guesclin swiftly ran off at Raphael’s command.

And then, as if they had really been on standby right outside the ballroom, the Household Guard entered with disciplined movements that contrasted with the Royal Guard, and quickly began to carry out their duties. Unhesitating execution and systematic movements… Serge observed the Royal Guard, who were clumsily helping the Household Guard among them.

“The name of the Royal Guard, Blanche’s finest military force, will be shamed.”

Duke Arthur scanned the surroundings, speaking quietly enough for only Serge to hear in a voice filled with clear indignation.

The romantic and beautiful ball had instantly become the chaotic scene of a terrorist attack. Raphael, watching the Household Guard move, asked Serge once more.

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

“No… I’m fine. If anything, you’re…”

“This much is no problem at all.”

Despite having clearly been hit by a lot of debris and dust from the explosion, Raphael shook his head. On the contrary, he was busy brushing the powder from the top of Serge’s head, who had been hidden and protected in the large alpha’s arms, and checking with his own eyes to see if he was hurt anywhere.

“I’m really fine, so hurry and go.”

Only then did Raphael nod silently and take a step to properly command the Household Guard.

“For something like this to happen at the royal palace… How lax must the security have been.”

Duke Arthur spat out, gritting his molars as he watched the second prince’s retreating back.

“Who on earth are the people who did this…?”

“It’s obvious. It must be the work of the Third Estate’s liberals. The ones they call the ‘radicals.’”