Now This Family Belongs to My Mother Chapter 90

“I’ll go see Father.”

 

“What? Are you really planning to send the imperial doctor?” The subordinate asked in shock.

 

Ludwig spoke as he passed by him. “That’s given. There’s one more thing I need to tell him as well.” He quickly walked out of the crown prince’s palace.

 

* * *

It was at the Divine Beast Garden. The emperor, who had managed to calm the unicorn and bring it here, finally let out a breath. Unaware of its master’s frustration, the unicorn nuzzled its head against the emperor, acting playful.

 

The emperor scolded it sternly. “What on earth have you done, Unicorn! What was all that commotion!”

 

“Neigh…”

 

The unicorn lowered its head, looking dejected. It was a stark contrast to the terrifying figure that had scared everyone earlier.

 

The emperor clutched his head in exasperation. “I rushed over because I heard Unicorn was causing chaos in front of the garden, but there was no sign of you there. Turns out, it was wreaking havoc in the outer palace instead.”

 

The emperor harshly reprimanded the servant who had brought him the wrong information. The servant, looking flustered, explained that another servant, one he had never seen before, had told him about it. The emperor ordered him to find the whereabouts of that servant.

 

“Your Majesty!” At that moment, a guard guarding the Divine Beast Garden came running.

 

“Did you find any traces?”

 

“Yes! One of the guards guarding the Divine Beast Garden has gone missing. And nearby, we found a servant collapsed on the ground, holding this in his hand.”

 

The guard held out a bloodstained cloth. The unicorn stomped its front hooves, clearly agitated.

 

The emperor’s expression turned cold. “When my boil was lanced, a cloth like this was used. Then this must be my blood.”

 

Finally, the pieces of the puzzle fell into place. Someone had taken the bloodstained cloth and used it to provoke the unicorn. It was as if to make it seem like the emperor himself had been injured. The startled unicorn, concerned for its master’s safety, had gone on a rampage. And because the emperor had left his seat after hearing the false information, there was no one to calm the agitated unicorn. Hubert, the master of the phoenix, might have been able to intervene, but the chaos around them made it nearly impossible.

 

No matter how he thought about it, this was all part of someone’s orchestrated scheme. But who in the world would do such a thing, and for what purpose?

 

“Father.”

 

Lost in thought, the emperor heard Ludwig’s voice.

 

“Ludwig, what brings you here?” The emperor asked his son.

 

Ludwig gestured to the guard to leave and then opened his mouth. “I came to ask if Father is doing well.”

 

“I am fine. Even the unicorn has calmed down.”

 

“But isn’t this incident causing you great concern?” Ludwig asked with a worried expression. “Because of this, the lady of the Blanche family was injured. The Blanche family might hold the imperial family accountable.”

 

What’s gotten into my son to make him speak so thoughtfully? The emperor looked at Ludwig with a newfound gaze.

 

“That’s why, Father, we must act first and find the one responsible for this incident.”

 

“You also think there’s someone behind this incident?”

 

“Yes. This is not something that could happen by mere coincidence.” Ludwig lowered his head. “Father, please entrust me with the investigation of this matter.”

 

“You want to conduct the investigation yourself?”

 

“Yes. This is a grave matter involving even a divine beast. It is an act of outright defiance against the imperial family.” Ludwig’s crimson eyes gleamed sharply as he bowed his head. “Allow me, as the crown prince, to personally capture the culprit.”

 

* * *

“I apologize. I still don’t know why she hasn’t woken up yet.” The imperial doctor sent by the emperor left Epirosa’s room with a troubled expression.

 

Hubert clutched his head in frustration. It had already been a week. Epirosa showed no signs of improvement. Benjamin looked at Hubert and Epirosa with a sorrowful gaze.

 

“Benjamin, even if you have to bring every doctor in the entire empire, you must wake Epirosa,” Hubert spoke in a voice that sounded like a groan. One could only imagine the depth of his pain.

 

“Your Excellency, please don’t worry. No matter what it takes, I will make sure the young lady…”

 

It was then. A faint, fragile groan came from Epirosa. Her small lips moved slightly.

 

“Epirosa!” Hubert urgently leaned closer to Epirosa.

 

Epirosa, her face flushed red, groaned softly and mumbled something. Tears began to stream down her pale cheeks. Hubert’s face hardened.

 

“Your Excellency, what is the young lady saying?” Benjamin asked nervously.

 

Hubert slowly turned his head and spoke to Benjamin. “I think I’ve found a way to wake Epirosa.”

 

* * *

Mary, a maid of the Blanche family, cautiously entered Gale’s room. In his parlor, Gale and Stella were seated.

 

Gale approached Mary with hurried steps. “Is she dead?”

 

“N-Not yet…”

 

“You’re telling me that persistent Epirosa is still alive?” Gale, irritated, dismissed Mary. “If she’s going to wake up, she should wake up quickly, and if she’s going to die, she should just die already!”

 

“Grandfather is putting in so much effort, after all,” Stella said with a deep sigh. “These days, doctors are constantly coming and going in carriages to the mansion. Even Benjamin keeps going out to find skilled doctors.”

 

“If they’re trying that hard and she still doesn’t wake up, doesn’t that mean there’s no hope?”

 

“That’s something we can’t know for sure.”

 

“What do you mean, ‘can’t know’?”

 

“If Epirosa dies, our plan will succeed. After all, this whole thing was set in motion to get rid of that thorn in our side. But if she happens to wake up…” Stella looked at Gale with a meaningful expression. “She will attack Father mercilessly. Grandfather will side with Epirosa too.”

 

Gale’s face hardened. Not long ago, Hubert had scolded Gale and Stella and kicked them out of Epirosa’s room. Even now, unless he was working or sleeping, he stayed by Epirosa’s side constantly. It was clear that Hubert’s heart had leaned toward Epirosa.

 

“Damn it! As if it weren’t bad enough that the crown prince is running around saying he’ll investigate this matter!”

 

“You don’t need to worry about the crown prince. You know his usual conduct, right? He’ll just pretend to work on it and then drop it. The real problem is Epirosa…” Stella glanced at Gale. “It would be nice if someone could take care of Epirosa.” As she whispered in a subtle tone, a glint flashed in Gale’s eyes.

 

“You’re right! Someone just needs to kill Epirosa!”

 

Seeing her father move as she intended, Stella secretly smiled.

 

Gale stood up with a sinister look on his face. “She’s practically at death’s door anyway. It wouldn’t be strange if she died tonight!”

 

“But is there anyone trustworthy enough to handle this? If something goes wrong…”

 

“Don’t worry. I’ll take care of this myself.” Gale’s lips curled into a smirk. “It’s an important task to send off my niece, so I can’t leave it to someone else.”

 

* * *

It was late at night. Britlyn stood in front of Epirosa’s room, gazing at her bed. Epirosa had yet to wake up, but Britlyn’s heart was no longer as heavy as before. His Excellency went to such lengths for the young lady, so she will surely wake up.

 

At that moment, the door behind Britlyn quietly opened. Sensitive like her late mother, Britlyn immediately turned around.

 

“Ugh!” A rough hand struck her vital point, and she collapsed.

 

Gale, who appeared behind her, stepped into the room with a cold smile. Epirosa lay alone on the bed.

 

“Staying like this for so long must be tormenting for you too.”

 

Gale approached Epirosa with a sinister stride. But as he looked down at her in the darkness, something about her seemed strange. Why does she look so peaceful? Though he frowned, he dismissed it as unimportant. It’ll be all over anyway.

 

Gale picked up the pillow lying next to her and placed it over Epirosa’s face. Then, he pressed down firmly to suffocate her. Or at least, he tried to. If not for the fierce kick to his ankle.

 

“Urgh!” Gale let out a short scream and collapsed. “W-Who the hell… Keugh!”

 

Someone pressed down hard on Gale’s neck as he lay on the ground. He struggled, gasping for air. But he couldn’t escape the long, soft grip holding him down.

 

Who, who the hell is this?! Through his panicked, darting eyes, a familiar silhouette came into view. Gale’s pupils widened in shock. N-No way… This can’t be! How could she be here…!

 

As the horrified Gale stared, a face filled with murderous intent drew closer.

 

“Touch my daughter again, and I’ll kill you.”