Your Majesty, I’m Not that Man - Chapter 8: Escape and Pursuit (3)

Only now did Cassion understand her reaction when he’d dismissed her former employees. She had sent them away from the ducal house in advance, fearing they might face repercussions.

“Did you really need to go that far… to run away from me?”

He had always tried to show Levinia his best side. He had been considerate, showered her with affection, and given her gifts that any woman would dream of receiving.

Cassion felt his heart sink with guilt, but that guilt was overshadowed by the relief that Levinia might still be alive.

When he had believed she was dead, he had bitterly regretted his greed. He had thought, Because of someone like me—tainted by cruelty and blood—she died. He had cursed himself for refusing to let her go, knowing full well she wanted nothing to do with him.

But now, if she was alive, his resolve hardened. No matter what, he would bring her back.

Even if she hated him, he would use every means and method to keep her by his side. He swore through clenched teeth: “I will hold you in my arms again, no matter what.”

The days of pandering to her and hesitating over her feelings were over. If he got her back, Cassion vowed to do things his way.

“Your Majesty!”

Though most of the wreckage of the dressmaker’s shop had been cleared, the collapse had extended to the rear of a neighboring building. A soldier, having discovered something unusual in that corner, was brought before Cassion by the Emperor’s adjutant.

“Your Majesty, this was found on top of a sack of flour,” the soldier reported. “It matches the dress the Lady wore today.”

The soldier held up a vibrant red gown, one ornate and unmistakably unique. Cassion immediately turned his gaze to one of the ladies-in-waiting standing nearby. The woman hurried forward, inspecting the dress closely before nodding emphatically.

“Yes, yes, that’s the dress! It’s exactly the same as the one the Lady was wearing! I’m certain of it! I remember it clearly because we sat in the same carriage for a long time!”

The lady-in-waiting, clinging to a thread of hope, desperately prayed that Levinia was alive. She knew all too well that if Levinia’s body was found, her own life would end under the Emperor’s furious blade.

“Are you absolutely certain?” Cassion’s adjutant asked cautiously, glancing at his liege for approval.

The lady-in-waiting nodded frantically, terrified of letting go of her precarious lifeline. “Yes, I swear on my life! I’m absolutely certain!”

Meanwhile, the hideout of the gang that had caused this destruction had already been discovered by the city guards. When Cassion and his men arrived at the scene after receiving a decisive lead, they found that one of the gang members had killed the rest and was trying to flee.

The surviving member, in a frantic state, had begun raving incoherently, claiming that the chaos was not his doing. In his desperation, he had wounded one of the guards and suffered severe injuries himself in the process.

It was a predictable ploy.

The tampering with the dressmaker’s shop and the methodical cleanup afterward resembled the operations of an emerging criminal organization.

Cassion had noticed this too, which was why he didn’t insist on interrogating the sole surviving member himself. That man was undoubtedly just a pawn, and in his current state, it was more likely Cassion would accidentally kill him during torture rather than extract useful evidence.

“Their target was Levinia.”

The spot where her dress was found was near the back of the fitting room. It was plausible that the explosion’s aftermath had sent the discarded dress flying to that area.

“Then… was Levinia not fleeing but kidnapped by them?”

The combination of the imperial knights’ suspicious reputations and the sudden absence of her lady-in-waiting might have been mere coincidence. But if Levinia hadn’t barely escaped by the skin of her teeth and was instead captured by those people, her situation was truly perilous.

How ironic, how deceitful the human heart could be. The thought that Levinia might not have run away to escape him but was instead abducted filled Cassion with fear. A part of him thought it might have been better if she had simply fled because she despised him.

Cassion had many enemies. Most of them had met their end at his hands, but it was his unhesitating willingness to create enemies that had drawn their ire in the first place.

“…The Lady was abducted by them. The magical explosion at the scene was meant to cover it up.”

Even if that weren’t the case, he needed to frame it that way. If Levinia had indeed fled, her escape would have to be concealed to preserve her position as future Empress.

“Find the Lady. She is still alive.”

Cassion’s icy command sent the imperial knights into motion. Following the commotion, the capital gates would have been locked down entirely. The perpetrators couldn’t have left the city… they must not have left the city.

“Levinia… Please, be safe.”

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Maxim was anxiously awaiting news. He had already prepared himself for the worst-case scenario: abandoning the duke’s estate and fleeing.

Hans, utterly clueless, could only steal glances at Maxim. He had tried asking what was going on, but Maxim had lashed out at him so fiercely that he didn’t dare inquire further. Yet, Hans wasn’t allowed to leave Maxim’s side either, leaving him no choice but to sit on the sofa and wait.

“What on earth is going on with him?”

Hans was aware that all the duke’s private soldiers and knights had been mobilized. They must have been given strict orders because not one of them breathed a word to Hans.

Maxim was planning to leave the capital with only Hans in tow if he received confirmation that Levinia had slipped through their fingers. They could escape to anywhere and live out their lives. He had plenty of money; as long as Hans stayed by his side, everything would be fine.

“The problem is… if I’m no longer the duke, Hans won’t stay with me.”

If it came to that, Maxim was even prepared to break Hans’s legs to keep him by his side. After all, Maxim was stronger, and if Hans remained oblivious, he would likely comply with his orders at least until they left the capital and reached the countryside.

Once they found a suitable place to rent a house… Maxim would imprison Hans there and persuade him.

“All of this is just in case! None of it will matter if they catch Levinia. That wretched girl!”

He would explain that Levinia wasn’t running from the emperor but simply found it stifling to be surrounded by her escort knights. After all, some noble ladies were prone to such reckless behavior. If he framed it that way, the emperor might let it slide.

Wasn’t Levinia someone the emperor cherished so dearly? Surely, he’d overlook such a minor lapse with a little irritation and nothing more.

“Foolish girl… does she not know her place and the fortune she’s throwing away?”

Compared to Albert, a commoner by birth, Cassion, with royal blood flowing through his veins, was like heaven and earth. Of course, Cassion was a murderer and a tyrant who had killed many, but still… he was the emperor. For many nobles, groveling before the emperor was an unavoidable fate—something they simply couldn’t refuse.

“If she could endure just that one thing, countless people would benefit… but she couldn’t even do that.”

Grinding his teeth, Maxim cursed her for being selfish to the core. He even thought it might have been better if she hadn’t existed in the first place.

“Your Grace!”

The sound of hurried footsteps echoed through the hall before the smoking room door burst open, and someone rushed inside. It was Albert.

“Albert? What are you— Did you bring good news?”

Maxim shot a wary glance at Hans as he questioned Albert. If it wasn’t news of Levinia being found, Maxim was prepared to silence Albert on the spot.

“Your Grace, summon a mage immediately!”

At Albert’s urgent request, Maxim gestured for Hans to wait and left the smoking room with Albert. Once they were in the hallway, their voices lowered to a hushed tone.

“A mage? For what reason?”

Albert quickly explained how he had discovered Levinia, only to see her vanish using a teleportation scroll while injured. Maxim’s expression turned tense.

“An assassin, you say? Why would an assassin…?”

“There’s no time to debate this! I don’t know how serious her injuries are, but… if the magic transported her toward the mountains, monsters could pick up the scent of her blood and attack. We must rescue her immediately!”

Despite Albert’s urgency, Maxim’s eyes darted as if calculating something. Albert quickly realized that Maxim’s thoughts were veering in a direction far removed from his own.

“Your Grace?”

“Levinia… was abducted by masked individuals, wasn’t she? Isn’t that what happened?”

“Why would you say such a thing? We must search the forest now! If we don’t hurry—”

As Albert pressed him, Maxim suddenly grabbed Albert’s shoulder with a vice-like grip, his expression dark and foreboding.

“That girl turned her back on her noble duty to serve the emperor. She’s a girl who abandoned her house and tried to drag the entire Wendell family to ruin.”

“You didn’t protect her, either! How could you allow Levinia, born as a noble daughter, to be reduced to a concubine? Does that even make sense to you?!”

Albert, now grasping Maxim’s true intent, snapped back in protest, but Maxim’s cold gaze bore into him.

“So, a noble daughter can marry a filthy bastard commoner but not become the emperor’s concubine? Convenient logic you have there.”

“That’s not what I—”

“She’s nothing but a girl who sullied the honor of the Wendell family by becoming the emperor’s mistress. Let’s say masked assailants abducted Levinia with the intent of threatening the emperor. Levinia tried to escape using their scroll but died in the process. Simple as that.”

Albert’s face turned pale at Maxim’s declaration of his intent to abandon Levinia. Maxim regarded Albert’s shock with a detached stare, as if surprised by his reaction.

“Isn’t this outcome favorable for you as well? If Levinia were alive to bear the emperor’s child, that child would inevitably become the next Duke of Wendell. But now…”

Albert stood frozen in disbelief as Maxim sneered.

“Now you stand to gain. As long as you keep your mouth shut, you’ll be the next Duke of Wendell.”

At that moment, Albert finally understood how Levinia must have felt.

A father who handed his daughter over to a government official’s son.

Maxim had discarded Levinia long ago. From the moment Levinia realized Albert was Hans’s child, she had also recognized that Maxim saw her as nothing more than a pawn to be used. That was why she had sought to abandon both the Wendell family and Maxim.

Shoving Maxim’s hand off, Albert stepped back. Maxim, frowning, seemed to realize that Albert intended to rescue Levinia on his own.

He briefly considered calling a servant to stop him but dismissed the thought. Albert was a Swordmaster—one of the most formidable warriors in the empire. Besides, Albert, having been disowned, wielded no real power. Maxim was convinced Albert wouldn’t be able to secure a mage.

“…You’ll regret today’s choice,” Albert said coldly before turning on his heel and sprinting out of the manor.

Maxim watched him leave with a mocking laugh.

“You opportunistic fool, just like your father… Why not admit it? Everything you have was stolen from her!”

Clenching his teeth at Maxim’s taunts, Albert raced on. Reaching the stable, he mounted his horse, which had been held by a servant, and turned his thoughts to the daunting task ahead—finding a mage.

Mages weren’t something one could find just anywhere. Most noble families could barely secure their services, and those capable of tracking teleportation spells were even rarer, requiring immense skill.

“Which family should I ask for help?”

Albert wracked his brain, thinking of anyone who might assist him. He had acquaintances, sure, but all of them were aware that he had been disowned. The heirs of marquess families, who had once approached him solely because of his status, would certainly refuse to help now—at least until he was reinstated.

“There’s no time! Levinia might still be bleeding out as we speak…”

Driving his horse hard, Albert sped out of the duke’s estate, his thoughts racing. Almost instinctively, he thought of the emperor—the same emperor who had covered up Albert’s trespassing into the palace, all for Levinia’s sake.

“I don’t even need to tell him the full truth! Just as the duke said… I can claim Levinia escaped and ask for his help!”

Levinia might be furious if she found out, but her survival mattered more than her anger right now. Besides, knowing Levinia’s resolve now, Albert felt confident he could actively support her escape if it came to that.

Initially aiming for the imperial palace, Albert changed course and turned his horse toward the site of the explosion. If the emperor was as devoted to Levinia as he seemed, it was likely he would still be there.

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