I Plotted The World Destruction With The Male Lead - Chapter 23

Just a few more steps up the staircase, and they would reach the throne.

At the base of the steps, Van knelt alongside Eleanor, both of them showing the proper respect.

“Duke Van Valzac Grandmire and Eleanor Hawk humbly greet Your Majesties, the Sun and Moon of the Empire.”

From his place at the emperor’s left, Carlyle watched them with burning eyes.

With their matching outfits and their hands clasped together, Van and Eleanor looked like a newlywed couple.

That fact alone made Carlyle seethe with betrayal and rage toward Eleanor.

“You’re late.”

After a long silence, the emperor finally spoke. He gestured for them to raise their heads.

Van, still kneeling, lifted his gaze—not toward the emperor, but toward Carlyle, his expression ice-cold.

“There was an incident involving my guide. We were delayed due to our imprinting.”

At the word guide, the court showed no reaction. But at imprinting, a collective gasp rippled through the room.

Carlyle’s face twisted into something monstrous.

“How dare you! Who did you imprint with?!”

“Grand Duke!”

If those around him hadn’t held him back, Carlyle would have lunged at Van right then and there.

The emperor, taken aback by Carlyle’s outburst, turned to look at him.

Carlyle’s bloodshot eyes were locked onto Eleanor.

Eleanor met his gaze, but there was no emotion in her eyes—only the same indifference she would show a stranger.

Carlyle felt something inside him snap, the barely-mended pieces of his heart shattering once more.

His jaw clenched painfully as he gritted his teeth.

The emperor’s gaze shifted to Van, a peculiar expression on his face.

“You’re saying you imprinted? And the guide accepted this?”

“Yes.”

As Van answered, he gently pulled Eleanor’s hand closer.

Their eyes met, and the warmth between them was unmistakable.

Emperor Dael stroked his chin thoughtfully.

“That is quite different from what the grand duke has told me. A few days ago, he accused you of assaulting him. And today… he claims you kidnapped his guide.”

According to Carlyle, Eleanor had been unable to speak out earlier because Van was holding her family hostage, and only now had she found the courage to report it.

Eleanor nearly let out a bitter laugh.

He’s making such good use of the very people he wanted dead.

Her jaw tightened in fury.

Van’s face hardened as well.

He already knew, from his conversation with Eleanor, that Carlyle had manipulated Duke Armor into murdering her family.

And now, Carlyle was using them as a shield.

“Is this true?” the emperor asked.

“It is not true,” Van answered sharply, his voice like a blade.

His gaze locked onto Carlyle, seething with violent intent.

Just seeing Carlyle looking at Eleanor made him want to rip his eyes out.

“It was Carlyle who attempted to abduct Eleanor. I had to stop him. Fearing he would try again in the capital, we decided to imprint before departing.”

“What does the grand duke have to say in response to this?”

At the emperor’s composed question, Carlyle swallowed his fury and glared at Van.

“I have not spoken any falsehoods. The witnesses I have brought serve as proof, and their credibility is vouched for by the noble lords who accompanied me.”

At those words, Eleanor turned her gaze toward the nobles standing beside Carlyle.

Most of them were high-ranking aristocrats from the western territories, though a few were nobles of the capital.

As their eyes met, their expressions held a strange mix of curiosity and calculation.

The Grand Duke of the West and the Duke of the East—two of the most powerful men in the empire—both desired the same woman.

Whoever won her would claim her as his partner.

Even though she was of common birth, they could not afford to overlook her importance now. Soon, the struggle over her would become a battlefield among the imperial family itself.

“And… Eleanor herself has no choice but to testify in Duke Grandmire’s favor. Her family is being held hostage, after all.”

Carlyle’s added remark made the emperor frown.

“Are you suggesting we ignore the guide’s own testimony?”

“It is necessary for fairness.”

“Fairness?! Are you in any position to speak of fairness? You’re the one who attempted to abduct my guide!”

At Van’s sharp rebuke, Carlyle felt a wave of nausea.

Just days ago, Van had overpowered him and thrown him into the imperial prison. Now, standing before him so smugly, he dared to say my guide?

He called her his guide…?

“Duke Grandmire, you should watch your words. Raising your voice before His Majesty is unacceptable.”

“Oh? And yet, earlier, someone was screaming at the top of his lungs in His Majesty’s presence, as if that never happened.”

Van smirked mockingly, his eyes gleaming with cold amusement.

Then, pointing directly at Carlyle, he addressed the emperor.

“Your Majesty, do not listen to this man! He attempted to kidnap my guide! Every word he speaks is a blatant lie, and the witnesses he brought should be detained for questioning!”

At that, some of the witnesses at Carlyle’s side hesitated, casting nervous glances at one another.

The nobles who vouched for them looked indignant.

“We… have spoken nothing but the truth!”

“It is Duke Grandmire who has lost all sense of fairness in his obsession with his guide!”

Emperor Dael found the situation increasingly bizarre.

Carlyle knew well enough what kind of ruler he was—so why would he make such a foolish move?

No matter what excuses Carlyle gave, the emperor had no intention of handing Van’s guide over to him.

Even if Eleanor had originally been Carlyle’s guide, it wouldn’t have mattered.

Van was his nephew, the rightful heir to the throne. His interests came first.

And besides… isn’t Carlyle’s claim strange?

To the emperor, it seemed far more likely that Carlyle had failed in his attempt to steal Van’s guide, and now he was desperately trying to salvage the situation.

The way the guide clung to Van, the way Carlyle was trying to suppress her voice—it was all too telling.

With a victorious smile, the emperor looked at Carlyle.

No matter how much he struggled, the guide would never return to him.

Van seemed utterly devoted to her, and she, too, appeared to have accepted him.

Allowing the imprinting only reinforced that.

That being the case, this needs to be settled quickly.

Though Carlyle’s desperation was understandable, the game was already lost.

To preserve some dignity for Carlyle and the western nobles, the emperor decided to smooth things over.

“I understand your concerns, Grand Duke… but Van has already entered into a contract with his guide, has he not?”

He exhaled lightly, as if dismissing the matter.

“What has happened in the past is merely a dispute between members of the imperial family regarding a guide. I will not seek further punishment for either side.”

Then, with a finalizing tone, he continued—

“So…”

At the emperor’s attempt to dismiss the matter, Carlyle took a bold step forward.

“What if the imprint was forced?” he challenged. “I make this request out of concern for the guide’s well-being.”

He strode forward, stopping just off the central aisle, and then knelt.

The chamber fell into a hushed silence.

“Your Majesty, I beg you,” Carlyle’s voice rang clear and unwavering, filling the hall. “Please rescue her family from Duke Grandmire’s hold. Let them be placed under imperial protection so that she may make a fair and unbiased choice.”

Eleanor finally realized his true intent.

Carlyle wasn’t just asking for the emperor’s mediation.

He wants my family removed from Grandmire’s territory.

Even Carlyle, for all his power, couldn’t touch them while they remained within Van’s duchy.

The emperor stroked his chin, contemplating the request.

Since Eleanor already seemed to favor Van, indulging Carlyle’s demand seemed harmless enough.

Van, however, wasn’t about to let this go unanswered.

He could not guarantee the safety of Eleanor’s family once they left his domain.

After all, hadn’t he and Eleanor already suffered a sudden attack just on their way to the capital?

“Your Majesty,” Van interjected, his voice firm. “On our journey here, we were ambushed by experimental beasts—monstrous creatures clearly tampered with by human hands! Given the circumstances, I find it impossible to believe the grand duke had no involvement. I must strongly oppose this request!”

The emperor’s expression hardened.

“An ambush?”