Chapter 3

The Emperor’s quill dropped. ‘Duke Marcus?’

‘I greet the sun of the empire, your Imperial Majesty.’

Eric rushed to the Emperor’s side, who was still surprised from the Duke’s entry.

The Duke raised his head, his green eyes glaring at the Emperor. ‘Your Majesty?’

‘Oh...Y-you may rise...’

‘Thank you, Your Majesty.’ The Duke responded as he stood upright.

The Emperor had finally calmed down. He cleared his throat. ‘Have a seat, Duke,’ He stretched his arm to his front, where two chairs were placed.

‘Do not worry about me, Your Majesty, I have merely come here for a chat.’

The Emperor frowned, obviously feeling troubled. Eric was stuff, he took out a letter and handed it over to the Emperor. The Emperor nodded.

‘Duke,’ his hands intertwined under chin after dropping the letter. ‘We received a letter from Count Owen, you canceled the engagement?’

‘Yes, your Majesty.’ The Duke’s arms were at his side, his face carrying no expression as he nodded along. ‘I just cannot accept Lady Owen as my fiancée.’

‘And why is that?’ His Majesty’s frown deepened.

‘She is not fully trained for the position.’

‘Not fully trained? She has been preparing for that position for a while now, and you’re telling me you’re not satisfied?’ The Emperor’s hands left his chin.

The Duke closed his eyes and sighed. Eric quivered. As the Duke’s eyes opened, the atmosphere became slightly cold.

A sudden cold atmosphere. The only person whose presence could cause a cold atmosphere was right before them. And whenever that happened, it wasn’t a good sign.

The Duke reaches into his coat and brought out a rolled document. ‘Viscount Beldon, please.’ He looked towards Eric’s direction.

Eric stepped forward to take the document from the Duke’s hand. As he opened it, his eyes widened in horror. ‘Your Grace, what is this?’

‘This, your Majesty, is the reason for my decision to cancel the engagement that has been pending for the last three months.’

Eric passed the document to the Emperor, whose reaction was no different from Eric’s.

There was a list of names of servants who had gone through the harsh bullying of Lady Tanisha Owen. Most had suffered injuries and losses that could not be reversed or healed. There was also a list of children who had been sent to work in the mines belonging to the Owen family due to the debts or mistakes they made with the Owen family. And somehow, they had been able to hide all this information.

‘I had wanted to show you this before,’ the Duke continued. ‘But I thought they’d stop since they secured the position of marrying into the Marcus family. They just got worse due to that position.’

The Emperor was confused. The Duke continued with his information. ‘I came to inform you that I’ve found a way to claim the mine from them and I’ll be taking possession of it in two days. Due to this I won’t be in the capital for at least 6 months.’

‘How did you do that?’ The Emperor asked, also surprised that the Duke has already found a solution.

The Duke smiled slightly. ‘I have my ways, your Majesty,’

The Emperor could only admit to himself that the Duke was very impressive.

‘If that is all, I am taking my leave, Your Majesty,’ he bowed and stepped out.

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