Now This Family Belongs to My Mother Chapter 115

* * *

Ssssss! Black flames flared up from the transparent glass of water.

 

“Milady, the flames are bigger than before!” Benjamin’s normally composed voice rose in alarm.

 

The water in this glass was something Benjamin had brought. Whenever he was alone with Paterson, he would occasionally freeze as if he were under a curse. Each time, Paterson mixed medicine into Benjamin’s food or drink. Benjamin would only pretend to eat the food and then bring it to me. I would then examine them, and without fail, the food and drinks were always laced with cursed potions.

 

Today, just like every other time, I was inspecting the water Paterson had drugged. But this time, the substance reacted far more violently than usual.

 

“They used stronger medicine,” I muttered while watching the black flames die down.

 

“Did they suddenly increase the potency? Could they have realized the curse doesn’t work on me?”

 

“No, rather than that…”

 

As soon as Gale was cornered and Kobel appeared, they strengthened the medicine given to Benjamin. That meant there was a reason they needed him to fall under an even stronger curse and fail to notice their scheme. For example, hiding fake evidence near Benjamin to make it look like Hubert was preparing treason.

 

In my past life, their entire purpose for making Benjamin drink the cursed medicine was exactly that. To fabricate evidence of treason against Benjamin, the chief aide, and frame Hubert as the mastermind behind it.

 

If they truly wanted to uncover the truth, they could have. But the emperor, who wanted to destroy the Blanche family, had no intention of doing so. All he wanted was an excuse to attack Hubert.

 

Even so, Hubert could have escaped the crisis. After all, the evidence was fabricated from the start. But before the truth came to light, Hubert collapsed first.

 

In my past life, I had almost no interaction with Hubert. So I thought he must have been in poor health to begin with. But now there were no signs whatsoever. If anything, he was extremely healthy. Of course, the timing is earlier than in my past life. It was possible that Hubert’s health could deteriorate rapidly after this.

 

In any case, the reason they increased the effect of the medicine given to Benjamin is clear. They were finally planning to execute their treason frame-up.

 

I looked at Benjamin with a composed expression. “The one controlling Paterson seems to be plotting something using you.”

 

“If it’s one controlling Paterson, do you mean Count Gale?” said Benjamin with a thoughtful look on his face. “Since Count Gale has been cornered, he’s probably trying to secure an escape route.”

 

“Yeah, I think so too. That’s why, in front of Paterson, pretend the medicine is working well.”

 

“Understood. If I monitor what Paterson is doing to me, we should discover what sort of scheme they’re plotting.”

 

I already knew that what they were planning was treason. But I couldn’t tell Benjamin that directly. If he asked how I knew, I’d have no choice but to bring up my past life. Still, I could give him a hint.

 

“Gale will be transferred to the Tower of Condemned tomorrow. Since he’s desperate, they’ll move quickly. And because he’s cornered, they’ll probably come up with something extreme.”

 

“What kind of extreme scheme are you anticipating?”

 

“Could be an ambush or poisoning. Or they might even frame someone for plotting treason.”

 

Benjamin’s face hardened. His eyes, on the other hand, trembled as if caught in a storm. “Surely not…” Muttering to himself in shock, he soon collected his thoughts and returned to his usual expression. “Count Gale is certainly the kind of man who would do such a thing.” He spoke as if he’d made up his mind. “I’ll lure Paterson immediately and pretend the curse has taken hold. Then I’ll uncover their scheme.”

 

* * *

“What’s going on with him?”

 

The soldiers whispered among themselves, sneaking glances at Gale. The man who used to thrash about at the slightest touch was being dragged along quietly today. Moreover, it was the path to the Tower of Condemned, a place he loathed to the core.

 

“Did he finally give up?”

 

“Maybe he’s lost his mind.”

 

“Good thing. It would’ve been exhausting otherwise.”

 

Listening to the soldiers whisper, Gale smiled triumphantly. And then, splat! A lump of mud flew at him. It had been thrown by one of the gathered crowd who came to watch him being dragged away.

 

“Ptui!” Spitting out the mud that had gotten into his mouth, Gale glared at the person who had thrown it.

 

“What can you possibly do by glaring like that?”

 

“What can I do, you ask?” Gale began chuckling like a madman.

 

The atmosphere around him instantly turned cold at his bizarre behavior. Then in that moment, Gale opened his mouth wide and shouted, “Let me see His Majesty! My father is plotting something! Something that enrages the heavens and shakes the earth!”

 

* * *

The emperor of the Octavia Empire, Ignasio Leopold, had been a prodigy from childhood. He learned quickly, was tall, and was chosen by the unicorn as soon as he became an adult. But his father, the late emperor, had never been satisfied.

 

“Can being only slightly faster than others really be called talent? Hubert Blanche accomplished all of this at a much younger age than you!”

 

“To be only chosen by a divine beast after becoming an adult! Hubert Blanche communicated with the divine beast the moment he learned to speak!”

 

“With such inadequacy, how can you ever fully subjugate the Blanche family beneath the Leopold imperial family?”

 

“Even if this father couldn’t do it, you absolutely must!”

 

The Blanche family didn’t rival the imperial family merely because they controlled a divine beast. It was because of their exceptional patriarch, Hubert Blanche. Unlike his ancestors who bowed their heads to the imperial family, Hubert proudly displayed the dignity of a divine beast’s master.

 

The late emperor attacked Hubert repeatedly, but each attempt ended only in humiliation and failure. He even sent assassins into Blanche’s territory to kill Hubert. But they were discovered before they could act.

 

Hubert did not make an issue of it. Instead, he proposed one condition.

 

“From this day forward, no one connected to the imperial family may enter any place bearing the name Blanche without Blanche’s permission.”

 

In other words, the imperial family was to relinquish authority over Blanche territory. If this condition were accepted, Hubert would effectively become a lord ruling Blanche’s lands himself.

 

The late emperor had no choice but to accept. Otherwise, he would have to prepare for an all-out war with Blanche. Since he lacked the confidence for that, he bowed his head to Hubert. His attempt to kill Hubert had only strengthened Hubert’s influence instead. Unable to endure the humiliation, the late emperor eventually collapsed.

 

“Ignasio! You must avenge my resentment! You must force the Blanche family to kneel! If you fail, even in death, you are no son of mine!”

 

Even the late emperor’s dying words had been about destroying Blanche.

 

Because of that, Ignasio grew up harboring an inferiority complex toward Hubert and never escaped it, even after becoming emperor. Making Blanche kneel became his purpose in life. That’s why to him, the words spoken by Hubert’s eldest son sounded like the sweetest temptation.

 

The moment Ignasio heard ‘My father is plotting something!’, he secretly summoned Gale to the imperial palace. Naturally, he also silenced everyone who had heard Gale’s outburst.

 

“Your Majesty, I am deeply grateful that you would lend an ear to someone as lowly as me.” Gale prostrated himself before the emperor.

 

Even with a member of the Blanche bloodline kneeling before him, Ignasio felt no satisfaction. A sly and foolish-looking face, clothes torn like those of a beggar, filthy bare feet blackened with grime. He simply couldn’t believe this wretched man was a Blanche. Still, didn’t he claim to know Hubert Blanche’s weakness?

 

“Who would dare call one of my subjects lowly? Especially nobles with loyal hearts. Therefore, Count Gale, raise your head,” said Ignasio.

 

As if he had been waiting for those words, Gale immediately lifted himself up. “Your Majesty, I am endlessly grateful that you recognize my loyalty. Though my father always disapproved of my feelings toward Your Majesty.”

 

Ignasio knew Gale’s words were empty flattery. Still, he pretended to accept them. “Grand Duke Blanche doesn’t like me. Since you showed loyalty toward me, he must have disliked you as well.”

 

At that, Gale eagerly spoke. “However I, Gale Blanche, was willing to be disowned by my father if it meant revealing his schemes to Your Majesty. When my father discovered this, he conspired with Epirosa to trap me.” He spoke as if he were deeply wronged.

 

Ignasio’s eyes glinted coldly. “What is your father plotting, that you shouted so desperately while on your way to the Tower of Condemned?”

 

With a solemn determination, Gale spoke as if the time had finally come. “My father… is preparing for treason.”

 

“Trea…son?” Ignasio’s usually composed eyes widened in shock. “Do you have any proof?”

 

“Yes, I do.” Gale replied with unwavering confidence. “My niece, Epirosa Blanche, holds the evidence of the treason.”