The Prince Seduces Me with His Body Chapter 134

At the same time as the stranger’s voice pierced her ears, a purple thread wrapped around the duke’s spear, halting its descent.

 

Clang!

 

“Keugh!”

 

A golden sword followed, mercilessly deflecting the spear. The duke felt a sharp pain as if his palm had burst, quickly dismissing the spear and stepping back.

 

“…Third Prince?” Rebecca, seeing the annoyingly familiar figure standing in front of her, muttered unconsciously.

 

At her call, Kayden glanced back at her briefly but kept his guard up against the duke.

 

The purple thread faded into the air, disappearing with only a faint shimmer. The duke’s eyes widened in disbelief, capturing the silhouette beyond the vanishing thread.

 

“You…”

 

“Watch your tongue, Duke. You don’t get to address just anyone so casually.”

 

“You…!”

 

Kayden growled, but the duke didn’t seem to hear him. His gaze was fixed solely on Diana’s calm face. Confusion, shock, and excitement swirled chaotically in his light blue eyes.

 

Regardless, Diana remained composed. Gathering her mana, she spoke calmly. Her violet eyes, now darker than usual, were utterly devoid of emotion. “

 

Regardless, Diana remained composed. Gathering her power, she spoke evenly. Her violet eyes, now darker than usual, were utterly devoid of emotion.

 

“Xavier Findlay. For charges of treason, including the attempt to murder the emperor and conducting experiments on mutated monsters, I hereby place you under arrest.”

 

* * *

Perhaps it was thanks to Rebecca’s disruptive appearance. On the day Diana and Kayden infiltrated the Findlay estate, they managed to slip out without much trouble, hiding amidst the chaos Rebecca had caused. Upon returning to the capital, they wasted no time spreading the duke’s secrets, even mobilizing the Wings.

 

Public opinion turned upside down in an instant. Monsters were considered the enemies of the spirits and responsible for ravaging the lives of countless citizens. The revelation that Duke Findlay had been deliberately experimenting on those creatures, making them even more grotesque and releasing them to study their behavior, shocked everyone.

 

“That’s unbelievable…”

 

“Tilia, please have mercy…”

 

But it didn’t end there. Duke Findlay had also created poison using mutated monsters. He had attempted to kill the first prince with that poison and was now trying to murder the emperor and frame the third prince for it. These were crimes for which immediate execution would not be unjust.

 

The third prince’s faction, led by Duke Wibur, unleashed their pent-up frustrations from Kayden’s disappearance, storming to Findlay’s mansion with torches and weapons. But Duke Findlay wasn’t there.

 

“W-What? Do you know who I am! Let go of these filthy hands right now!”

 

All they found was Joseph, too drunk to understand what was happening. After arresting and imprisoning him, Kayden and Diana were left to ponder.

 

“The first princess seemed unaware of the duke’s experiments.”

 

“Then the first princess…could be in danger. She must have been caught infiltrating his mansion.”

 

The poison that had been used to poison both Elliot and the emperor was the same poison Rebecca had consumed in the previous timeline. So, naturally, Diana had assumed that Rebecca had created the poison herself, as she was the only one aware of its properties. She believed Rebecca had secretly brewed it, consumed it herself, and used that as a pretext to have herself executed. Diana had always believed this to be the truth.

 

Right after her return to the past, her desire to help Kayden had been her primary motivation, but deep down, there was also a desire to take revenge on Rebecca for abandoning her so cruelly. Having stayed by Kayden’s side, she had confirmed multiple times that Rebecca was not someone worthy of loyalty.

 

But now, the possibility that Rebecca, too, had been deceived by Duke Findlay… The possibility that she hadn’t willingly taken the poison… This realization left Diana deeply conflicted. However, stopping the Duke took priority.

 

Diana quickly gathered her mana and sent Hillasa to the imperial palace. Before long, they located Duke Findlay and signaled. Just as expected, the duke was headed for White Flame Palace. Thus, Kayden and Diana rushed to this place. Their goal was to arrest Duke Findlay and save Rebecca, who was also a sinner, to make her pay for her crimes.

 

“I was wondering where you were, Duke, since you weren’t at your estate. So, you’re here.”

 

“…So you were the dark-attribute elementalist?”

 

“The nobles under your command, including Joseph Findlay, have already been arrested.”

 

“How unfortunate. Had I known earlier—”

 

“It wouldn’t have changed anything.” Diana cut off Duke Findlay’s rambling with her cold voice. No more words were necessary.

 

Kayden lowered his stance, preparing to approach Duke Findlay, while Diana took out the restraining device given to her by the fourth concubine. Seeing it, Duke Findlay shrugged and laughed. But the soundless laughter was unsettling, bordering on madness. Then, without warning, he stopped laughing and spoke with an emotionless face.

 

“As long as you can’t abandon that weakness, you’ll never catch me.”

 

Crash! As soon as Duke Findlay finished speaking, the ground beneath Rebecca crumbled. Simultaneously, he leaped through the broken wall, escaping outside.

 

Rebecca’s body plummeted downward. Beneath her, white flames roared. Instinctively, Diana reached out and grabbed Rebecca’s arm as she fell.

 

“Ugh…! Kayden, the duke!” With great effort, Diana held onto Rebecca’s arm and shouted.

 

Kayden was about to give chase when a faint cry reached them from beyond the wide-open door.

 

“Is anyone there?!”

 

The voice sounded strangely familiar.

 

Rebecca, who had been dazed all this time, grimaced without realizing it and muttered under her breath. “Lubi…”

 

“…Damn it. Useless as ever.”

 

Ludwig was an ordinary person who couldn’t handle magic at all. Moreover, there were still many servants in White Flame Palace. In the end, Kayden cursed softly, turned, and charged through the flames.

 

* * *

At dawn, Duke Wibur and the nobles under Kayden’s command publicly exposed Duke Findlay’s crimes. Once again, Valhanas was in an uproar.

 

“Traitor!”

 

“Murderer! He’s a murderer!”

 

The number of people who had lost loved ones to the mutated monsters was too high to count. They all united in a singular effort to capture the fleeing Duke Findlay, and soon, news came that he had returned to his estate and locked the gates.

 

While Kayden and the nobles were devising a plan to apprehend Duke Findlay, Rebecca was confined in another room of the tower where Carlotta was being held. Originally, Rebecca, once the lord of Duke Findlay, should have been sent to the underground prison. However, due to the testimonies of Kayden and Diana, who believed she might not have ordered the duke to murder the emperor or conduct experiments, she was confined here instead.

 

“Hah…”

 

Rebecca had been suffering from a severe fever since the moment she was imprisoned. She had never been this sick before in her life.

 

“Damn it…”

 

Amidst it all, the occasional buzzing voices in her ears and the hazy visions beyond her blurred sight only added to her confusion.

 

Again….

 

It was another dream, similar to the ones she’d been having lately. Rebecca stared blankly at the scene unfolding in her mind. In that dream, ‘Rebecca’ had slightly longer hair than she did now. Her white bob swayed as it brushed against her shoulders.

 

The ‘Rebecca’ in the dream grimaced and struggled to sit up in bed. Duke Findlay, who stood beside the bed, calmly handed her a glass of water.

 

“You’re awake, Your Majesty.”

 

Rebecca squinted at Duke Findlay for a moment before taking the cup. After moistening her throat with water he handed her, she murmured softly.

 

“…Was it poison?”

 

“Yes. That’s what the doctor believes.”

 

“Who would dare…”

 

Rebecca gritted her teeth, her face filled with rage as if she were about to tear apart the person who had poisoned her. But Duke Findlay’s next words wiped the anger from her face.

 

“We found the same poison in Diana Sudsfield’s chamber during our investigation. So, we have already imprisoned Lady Sudsfield.”

 

“…What?”

 

What replaced her anger was shock—and betrayal.