I Plotted The World Destruction With The Male Lead - Chapter 24

As the emperor looked on in shock, one of the knights kneeling behind Eleanor and Van stepped forward. He presented a glass bottle filled with a suspicious liquid.

Inside the bottle, the liquid wriggled as if trying to escape its confinement. Though most of it had been burned away, a portion had been collected as evidence.

A chamberlain took the bottle from the knight’s hands and presented it to the emperor. Dael examined it with curiosity but refrained from touching it.

“……This substance appears liquid now, but it transformed into tens of thousands of birds and attacked the carriage and my knights.”

The broken carriage of the Grand Duke of Grandmire and the wounds on the knights served as evidence. The scratches on their armor were further proof.

Carlyle gazed at it with cold, sunken eyes. He had expected Van to bring up the ambush.

“Haven’t monster attacks always been a recurring issue? Calling that sludge evidence is rather……”

One of the western nobles cautiously spoke up, gauging the atmosphere, but the emperor’s expression had already darkened.

A group of nobles gathering to protest was something Dael could tolerate. But a mutated monster? That was not a matter he could overlook.

“Count, be silent. ……Are you saying that someone dared to use a monster to assassinate a duke?”

The fury in the emperor’s voice silenced the entire court. The Western nobles realized the situation was taking a dangerous turn and anxiously watched the emperor’s reaction.

Carlyle glanced at Eleanor, recalling his own situation six years ago, when he lacked the power to properly defend himself. Back then, the Western nobles had supported him, but they still feared the emperor.

Dael’s special ability was a curse. Once he had awakened his power, no royal dared to stand against him.

“Grand Duke, tell me. Were you uninvolved in this attack?”

“I rode straight to the capital to report the duke’s crimes. Given how urgent it was just to arrive here, how could I have prepared something like that? My guide would have been in danger as well.”

At the mention of “his guide,” Van’s eyebrows twitched, and Dael’s expression soured.

A moment ago, he had been pleased to learn that Van had imprinted with a guide. But hearing that Van had been attacked? That was a direct challenge to his authority.

After all, Van was under his protection.

“……You mean the Grand Duke of Grandmire’s guide. Van has already imprinted on them, has he not?”

Dael’s voice turned sharp, his demeanor shifting. Carlyle immediately realized things had gone wrong.

He should have taken advantage of Dael’s good mood upon hearing that Van had brought his guide. Had he humbled himself and clung to the emperor, Dael might have granted him a favor, despite Van’s objections.

Perhaps he could have brought Eleanor’s family to the capital, giving her the opportunity to speak again.

But now, Dael’s mood had soured upon learning that his nephew had been ambushed. Just hours ago, he had been willing to “show leniency” toward Carlyle’s situation.

Carlyle felt a surge of anger at having to go through this ordeal again. He had already escaped such humiliating circumstances long ago.

Hadn’t he killed the most powerful royal, Dael, a year and eight months ago?

And yet, here he was, back in the past!

“Your Majesty.”

“It is already irreversible. Van has imprinted on that guide—imagine what would happen if they ended up with another member of the royal family.”

Dael’s sharp gaze swept over the nobles gathered in the court, as if silently marking those who failed to support Van.

“The Grand Duke of Grandmire is the first in line to the imperial throne. Do not forget that,” he added in a calm yet firm voice, as if the thought had just occurred to him.

Carlyle resisted the urge to use his power. Now was not the time. Dael’s ‘curse’ was a dangerous ability—powerful enough to kill everyone present in the hall if he wished.

“…I may have acted too hastily, Your Majesty,” Carlyle conceded.

Eleanor swallowed her shock as she witnessed his submission. Six years ago. That was when it had happened. The emperor’s death had occurred long after she had guided Carlyle.

‘So even you had a time when you had no choice but to bow.’

To Eleanor, Carlyle had always been an unreachable mountain. Even Duke Armor, who had once terrified her, dared not treat Carlyle lightly. His noble lineage made her keenly aware of the gap between them.

She had been raised to fear the nobility from a young age.

Margaret had always said that no good could come from getting too close to them. That nobles would eventually take everything from commoners—their land, their crops, their lives—believing it was theirs by right. She had often told stories of village girls who were showered with a noble’s favor, only to be discarded and left to rot in the slums.

So when Eleanor saw how Carlyle hid his emotions and turned away at decisive moments, she realized—he had his own reasons.

His noble blood made her unworthy of him. He had always hungered for something greater.

“But she is merely a C-rank guide.”

The court froze.

Eleanor forgot to breathe as she turned to Carlyle. His eyes gleamed with cruel intent.

“How could a mere C-rank possibly handle the power of the Grand Duke of Grandmire? If the imprint were to be broken…”

She didn’t hear the rest.

She felt an overwhelming urge to bite her tongue as she saw Dael’s face turn pale while he turned to look at her.

‘Damn this ranking system.’

Because of her rank, Carlyle had never truly let her in.

And now, the emperor seemed to share the same sentiment, his gaze shifting between Van and Eleanor with suspicion.

He had come to a conclusion—Van had been foolishly bewitched by his guide.

“Bring the testing device!”

The emperor’s voice rang through the hall, his tone making it clear—he would confirm the truth for himself.

*

A large black crystal orb was brought into the banquet hall. It was the property of the imperial family and maintained by the palace magicians—one of the largest guide measurement devices in existence.

It was so massive that it took six attendants to carry, delaying its arrival.

While waiting, the emperor sat deep in troubled thought, his face fluctuating between red and pale. Had Empress Luria not spoken up to remind him that Eleanor and Van were still kneeling, he might have forgotten to tell them to rise.

Eleanor, standing belatedly alongside Van, avoided looking at Carlyle. She had never expected her rank to hinder her again.

‘Even if my rank is low, my compatibility rate should be high.’

She had already sensed that her compatibility was far greater than in her previous life. And at this moment, no one yet knew about Charlotte.

‘No… if Carlyle intends to sacrifice Charlotte, he might try to claim me instead.’

If the emperor discovered Charlotte’s existence, he would undoubtedly push for Van and Charlotte to be paired. The gap between an A-rank and a C-rank was simply too vast.

That realization sent a chill down Eleanor’s spine.

Sensing her unease, Van gently took her hand.

“It’s okay. Nothing will happen,” he murmured.

His warm touch and quiet reassurance made Eleanor want to lean into his chest for comfort.

Meanwhile, Dael found their closeness irritating.

Luria, noticing her husband’s growing annoyance, tapped his arm lightly. When the emperor looked at her, she spoke calmly.

“The matching rate has yet to be tested, Your Majesty.”

“Even before testing… what use is a C-rank?” Dael scoffed.

Luria’s eyes turned cold at his dismissive words.

Realizing his mistake, Dael hastily tried to amend his statement.

“I wasn’t referring to you, Empress. Your case is different.”

“I, too, was once deemed unworthy due to my low rank,” Luria said coolly. “But guides are scarce in this era.”

The empire had not always suffered a shortage of guides.

In the past, guides had outnumbered the imperial family, and it was rare for royals to lack guidance.

But the royal family had treated guides poorly. Common-born guides were branded like property, enslaved, and abused. Over time, guides came to be viewed as little more than commodities, bought and sold without dignity.

This mistreatment led to a widespread aversion to guiding. Fewer guides were willing to bond, resulting in fewer children born from guide pairings. The few royal family members who did bond with guides produced offspring who were only considered royals—not guides.

Year after year, the number of new guides plummeted.

By the time the emperor realized the severity of the crisis, it was already too late.