The Price of Love Was Only Despair and Hell

CHAPTER 8

The Duke of Bronar spoke to Jenaden throughout the evening, but he only ate the steak with a sour look on his face. Sarubia carefully interrupted the conversation, looking at Jenaden. Whenever that happened, Jenaden glanced at her and concentrated on eating again.

Sarubia felt as if she had returned to her old self, just when she was worried that every word she said might hurt Jenaden. The memory of that time made her feel worse and worse.

After dinner, Sarubia and Jenaden were led to the largest room in the villa. Upon entering the room, Sarubia sat slightly on the bed. Jenaden, who glanced at her, raised a corner of his mouth with a sneer.

“You must be tired because you suddenly disappeared and made a fuss.”

His words made Sarubia feel bad. How would Jenaden react if she talked about what she had gone through? Rather, he might laugh at Sarubia for asking why the aristocracy intervened in the work of the common people.

Sarubia walked to a bag on one side of the room without replying to Jenaden. She had already informed the servants not to organize this bag. She opened her bag, took out a small gift box, and showed it to Jenaden.

“……?”

“It’s a gift for Your Majesty.”

When Sarubia handed him the small box, Jenaden looked curious. She winked and urged him to open it.

“Open it.”

Inside the box was a handkerchief embroidered with blue clematis flowers on white silk cloth. When Jenaden looked at Sarubia as if to ask what it was, she sighed and spoke again.

“There are other gifts in the handkerchief.”

Jenaden unfolded the handkerchief and found a key wrapped inside. He raised his hand to show the key, which sparkled as if new.

“It’s the key to the warehouse where my father’s slush funds are kept. Of course, it’s a copied key.”

Jenaden nodded quietly. How does Sarubia know about it.

“…How did you find this?”

Jenaden knew about the duke’s slush fund and guessed it was a huge amount of money. That Sarubia had managed to find the key and present it to him was beyond shocking. The Duke of Bronar would never have let anyone but himself know its location.

“I’ve been looking for it so thoroughly that it ended up in my hands.”

As if replying to his astonishment, Sarubia shrugged.

“But it must have been hard to get.”

“Because I am the daughter of the Duke of Bronar. Now your task is to make sure my father loses all of his slush funds.”

Sarubia’s eyes, fixed on the key, darkened. She did not know exactly how much money was stored in the warehouse, but she imagined it was unimaginable. If the slush fund disappeared quickly, the duke would certainly be hit hard.

“Do you have any plans for making it disappear? The Duke of Bronar doesn’t even gamble…”

“My father wants to establish himself beyond El Sania. Just in time, I heard there are plans to build a railroad in the middle of the Saruman Kingdom for trading supplies.”

Jenaden nodded quietly, surprised that Sarubia knew about it.

“How did you find out? Only a few people are aware of that.”

Sarubia smiled without answering.

“Your Majesty, please create a company to build the railroad and convince my father to invest in it until all his slush funds are gone.”

“Are you suggesting we create a fake company?”

“I’m sure he already knows about the railway construction. He’ll want the rights to operate the railway. If you hold those rights, the ripple effect will be enormous. You have to make him think it’s worth the investment.”

“…Hmm.”

Jenaden thought for a moment. Though building the railway was a state project, it was not illegal to receive investments from individuals. What percentage would one give others on investment terms?

It was obvious that the Duke of Bronar would undoubtedly invest heavily in the venture.

“But…”

“Your Majesty should not directly come forward. Let others handle it so my father will fall for it.”

Listening to Sarubia, Jenaden realized that she sincerely wanted to push her father to the brink. What had happened between them? He stared at Sarubia.

“You’re really trying to bring your father down.”

“Yes. I’ll do anything to destroy him.”

Sarubia’s blue eyes deepened, sinking into the abyss. She would do anything to escape from this boring palace and her adoptive parents.

“All right. We’ll make plans as soon as we return to the palace.”

“Yes.”

Jenaden sighed softly. Sarubia nodded and suddenly exclaimed as though something had come to mind.

“Oh, right.”

As Jenaden looked at her curiously, she waved the key in front of his eyes and smiled confidently.

“The slush fund warehouse is here, Your Majesty.”

“What…?”

“Shh.”

Sarubia put her index finger to her lips.

“Let’s go see it later. Together.”

A joyful smile spread across Sarubia’s face. Jenaden looked at her with a puzzled expression.

***

As the hour passed midnight and crept toward dawn, Jenaden and Sarubia carefully walked out of the room. Sarubia led the way with a lamp in hand. In the lonely hallway, only the sound of their footsteps echoed.

Sarubia slowly descended toward an underground food storage warehouse. Jenaden looked around to ensure no one was following them. Sarubia’s voice broke the silence.

“There’s a small door near the cellar. If you open it, there’s a deeper dungeon.”

“An underground prison?”

It was common for a lord’s mansion to have a dungeon, but a basement in a villa built for relaxation? It felt wrong. Jenaden shook his head. Jenaden opened his eyes in surprise when he found a small door next to the underground warehouse.

He hadn’t expected the door to be there.

As Sarubia opened the old iron door, a staircase descending deeper underground appeared. There was only darkness in the place where there was not a single light , but Sarubia continued cautiously with her lamp.

“You know my father was honored as a hero in the war alongside His Majesty, right?”

Jenaden briefly nodded. Sarubia glanced back at him, then focused on descending again.

“Maybe that’s when this dungeon was built.”

Sarubia’s voice trembled at the thought of what the Duke of Bronar might have done here. The mere thought chilled her fingertips.

At the bottom of the stairs, they found a long hallway lined with barred cells. A locked door stood in the middle, and on either side of the door there was another way down. It was clear that it was probably paths leading to deeper prison levels.

Sarubia stood in front of the locked door.

Taking a deep breath, she unlocked it with the key.

“It’s here.”

Sarubia carefully opened the door. Her lips felt dry with tension. Contrary to her expectation of gold and jewels, there was only a large wooden box inside.

Jenaden, noticing her doubt, smirked.

“You wanted a room full of jewels and gold?”

“I thought it would be like that if you called it a slush fund.”

Sarubia approached the box and slowly opened its lid. Inside were piles of white diamonds.

“Diamonds?”

Jenaden picked up a diamond and examined it.

“It’s the finest quality, from the Erzen region. Diamonds from there are usually small… but this many?”

How much had the Duke of Bronar stolen? Perhaps since Emperor Xuanzheng’s reign, he had secretly embezzled funds.

“I’ve heard just a few diamonds can buy a house.”

“He’s insane.”

What was the Duke of Bronar planning to do with so many jewels?

Sarubia bit her lip, worried. Such wealth could easily fund railway construction and ruin her plans.

“The Empress need not worry. I’ll make him cough up every last bit of it.”

Many had suffered for the Duke of Bronar’s ambitions. Jenaden clenched his jaw. He wouldn’t tolerate it any longer.

They returned the diamonds to the box and closed the lid. Sarubia whispered quietly.

“We can’t take it away, can we?”

“In this place filled with the duke’s men? We’d be dead.”

Sarubia smirked. The Duke of Bronar would kill them without hesitation.

Sarubia turned to leave. Suddenly, she felt nauseous. Her heart raced as she longed to escape.

As Jenaden followed, she locked the door.

“Let’s go back up.”

Just as she beckoned to Jenaden, the creak of a door opening echoed from the dungeon entrance. Sarubia looked at Jenaden in astonishment. It had to be the Duke of Bronar.

Jenaden nodded, quickly extinguishing the lamp. In the dark, he grabbed Sarubia’s hand and pulled her into a side passage near the door.

The sound of footsteps echoed ominously.

Jenaden pushed Sarubia toward the wall, shielding her with his body.

Sarubia looked up at him with wide eyes. Even in the darkness, his sky-blue eyes stood out.

Her heart thudded painfully. She wanted to ask Jenaden to maintain some distance.

“I can’t breathe…”

Before she could finish, Jenaden’s large hand covered her lips. His other hand gently encircled her waist.

Their proximity was overwhelming. Sarubia squeezed her eyes shut, unwilling to see Jenaden’s face so close.