Fall
"Betrayed by the one he trusted most."
The Royal Prison
Cesare shrugged, his demeanor casual—as though doing Etienne a special favor by explaining what the Minister couldn't see.
"How did I know the Black Eyes were trafficking palace children to foreign nations?"
"What...?"
"At first, I thought it was bait—that Duke Claudio was laying a trap for me. But why would he expose his own partner?"
Cesare laughed quietly.
His eyes traveled up and down Etienne's shabby appearance with open pity.
"Then I read the reports carefully."
"I realized you two hadn't split evenly at all."
"The Minister simply took all the blame."
"Lies!"
Etienne bared his teeth like a cornered animal.
"Do you think I don't recognize this manipulation?"
"If that's what you believe, I can't help you."
"Silence!"
"Your intentions are transparent! You're trying to drive a wedge between me and the Duke!"
Despite his confident shouts, Etienne's eyes trembled violently.
It sounded like something cracking—the once-solid bond splintering beneath pressure.
Cesare suppressed a smile.
In his heart, he felt like dancing before the Minister.
"Goodness, Minister. You know perfectly well that political alliances are inherently shallow."
"How can you be so naïve?"
"That... that can't be true."
Etienne's voice wavered.
"The Duke and I were in the same boat. If I fall, he falls too!"
"Are you certain of that?"
Cesare asked, shrugging.
"Or does he grow stronger by absorbing your collapsed authority and influence?"
Etienne was rendered speechless.
"Well, the Minister probably knows the answer better than I do."
Cesare bent down slightly, placing a small bottle of cheap vodka beneath the bars.
"I heard you enjoy vodka."
"I hope this brings you some comfort on this night of abandonment."
Having delivered his final blow, Cesare departed with light steps.
"You—!"
"Did you think I'd crumble this easily? Soon I'll be out of here, and I'll tear you limb from limb!"
The Minister hurled the small bottle Cesare had left at the stone wall.
Crash!
The bottle shattered, and the pungent scent of alcohol filled the prison.
"Ha... ha... ha..."
While he huffed and puffed, expelling his fury, Cesare's words refused to leave his mind.
His thoughts raced, furiously calculating the probability of truth.
'Only two people could have provided evidence about the Black Eyes...'
Duke Claudio.
And Etienne himself.
There's no way I would gamble with my own life.
Then there's only one culprit.
Doubt began to creep slowly into the Minister's once-steadfast mind.
Duke Claudio already has a history of using his daughter Birna to poison me—attempting to bring me down.
Moreover, just before Cesare arrived, hadn't the two of us been locked in fierce conflict—practically splitting apart?
Etienne suddenly felt anxious.
Why did I trust the Regent so blindly?
If the Regent changes his mind... I'm finished.
"Ahem. Guests have come and gone, My Lord. Do you require anything? Any orders?"
A jailer shuffled in where Cesare had departed.
He rubbed his palms together obsequiously, eyeing Etienne.
The situation remained ambiguous—Etienne had not yet been formally sentenced.
The jailer still believed in the power Etienne wielded as Minister of Palace Affairs, and accommodated him accordingly.
The generous bribes the Minister offered with each errand helped considerably.
"Medea..."
Etienne muttered.
"Yes, My Lord?"
"Summon the Princess."
"Tell Her Highness I must see her."
"Immediately!"
A small gold coin slid beneath the bars toward the guard.
"Of course, My Lord. I'll rush to the Princess's palace the moment I leave."
The guard grinned widely, nodding with each syllable.
With every nod came the sound of gold rolling between grime-covered fingers.
Three Days Later
At some point, a clean, delicate scent began to permeate the foul prison air.
Minister Etienne, half out of his mind, raised his head.
Silver hair appeared slowly in his vision, as though illuminating even the darkest corners of the prison.
He was so overjoyed he forgot his physical pain, leaping up and nearly shouting.
"Your Highness!"
She came! She actually came!
He grabbed the bars and cried out passionately.
"Oh my, Minister."
Medea approached slowly.
Her calm green eyes scanned the Minister's figure from head to toe.
"What happened to you?"
"Where did that spirit and fine appearance go?"
She tilted her head.
Medea clicked her tongue as though genuinely sympathetic.
She hadn't meant to wound the other person's feelings.
But Minister Etienne had truly fallen from the tower's peak, rotting in prison—looking like crushed and filthy dough.
His suspicion and anxiety about Duke Claudio grew with each passing hour, as he received no response to the desperate communications he'd sent.
"Fools think silence equals safety,"
Medea murmured.
"It appears that was advice you gave yourself."
"Your Highness, this is a frame-up!"
Despite the Princess's subtle mockery, Etienne simply groveled.
His change of attitude was striking.
"I have never violated military law, nor do I have any intention to!"
"How could I—a loyalist managing Valdina's state affairs—do such a thing?"
"That sneaky Black Eyes merchant planned this to target me!"
"Well..."
Medea shook her head.
"Of course, I believe your sincere explanation. But the situation has escalated far beyond that."
"Somehow, your story spread beyond the palace walls—"
"throughout the entire capital."
"Now even common people are crying out for your execution—"
"to avenge the stolen children."
Etienne had been imprisoned without knowledge of the outside world.
His servants and the Duke were too busy filling chests with gold coins to leisurely spread news to the Minister.
"So I'm not certain they'll believe your excuses."
She sighed delicately.
"It's quite troublesome."
Etienne's face grew pale.
The people already hate me beyond measure.
I was so powerful, I became notorious for kidnapping commoners.
They'll try to chew and swallow my corpse.
Etienne fell to his knees, stretching both hands through the bars toward Medea.
"Your Highness, please! Help me!"
"Get me out of here, and you won't regret it!"
Originally, he would have contacted Duke Claudio somehow.
But something felt deeply unsettling about that option now.
The seeds of doubt Cesare planted grew rapidly in just three days.
The Minister wanted to avoid being stabbed in the back by Duke Claudio—even if it meant being criticized later for making a strategic error.
Prime Minister Cesare was determined to punish him.
Duke Claudio could no longer be trusted.
Only the Princess remained.
Medea snorted delicately.
"With my bare mouth, Minister?"
"Don't be naïve."
The Minister flinched.
His own words—returned like a blade.
"No! No, Your Highness!"
He stammered frantically, shaking his head.
"I have money!"
"A fortune! My slush fund!"
Her eyes flickered with interest.
"A slush fund?"
"Yes!"
Etienne nodded frantically, his weasel-like eyes sparkling.
"More gold than you can possibly imagine! All yours!"
The Princess showed genuine interest.
The Minister rejoiced inwardly. After all, who doesn't love money!
He shuffled toward the bars on his knees.
With all his might, he twisted against the handcuffs until finally he had enough room to move his fingers.
Etienne withdrew a neatly folded piece of paper from his filthy pocket.
'The Princess has lived in the palace her entire life.'
'Deceiving an innocent girl with no worldly experience will be child's play.'
Despite his true feelings, he held out the paper with a somewhat sincere demeanor.
It was a deposit slip used by the merchant guild.
"This is the key to my secret vault."
"My slush fund."
"Since birth, this body has endured countless hardships—"
"and saved quite a few pennies along the way."
"It's all yours—"
"if only you'll get me out of this damned place."
The secret vault of the Minister of Palace Affairs.
The slush fund of a man who had quickly become one of the capital's most despised figures must be so enormous that anyone would roll their eyes and rush forward.
Neril, listening beside Medea, widened her eyes—glancing between him and the Princess alternately.
The Final Gambit ## The Minister's Surrender
Betrayed by his ally. Abandoned by his duke. He offers everything to the one who destroyed him.
And she accepts—knowing the web is complete.
[ To Be Continued ]
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