Rosie's Games

Chapter 181: The Duke's Impotence

"The Prince and Princess had been holed up in their room since they announced that the Count is alive. Even the Marchioness had been staying in her room. First, she insisted on seeing the Count, but we are not allowing anyone near him until he fully recovers," Denys reported as Rosalind and the Duke ate their breakfast. josei

Rosalind could feel the man's gaze towards her so, she lifted her eyes and met his red orbs.

"Which will not take that long considering that everything both in and out of his body has been healed," Denys added.

"Hmmm… continue guarding the Count and send the maids in here."

"Yes, your Grace." Denys bowed before leaving them inside the room.

...….

"Nothing?" Prince Baltazar snarled at his wife when he heard that they had no idea how the Duke was able to heal the Count. "No! Something must have happened! How could someone heal a curse? That is impossible! I refuse to believe it!"

"The people I have spoken to said that the Duke never had anyone by his side who could heal a curse. Moreover, the only ones capable of healing are those from the Blessed family in the Aster Empire. The Blessing of the light is capable of healing internal wounds so if someone from that family is with the Duke we would immediately—"

"No," the Prince said. "The Lux Family would never allow a member of their family to accompany the Duke to the battlefield." The Prince had heard the stories about the failed awakening and knew that there were only two Blessed individuals in that household. How could they allow one of them to fight in the North? "Inform them about the changes. The survival of the Count could change our plans."

In fact, the Count was both a warrior and had a good grasp of management. His estate was the closest to the Wugari and Lonyth borders. This was the reason why the crown prince had to own this estate no matter what.

The reason why the prince could not simply take over the Count's property was because of the Duke's close ties with the Count, so they chose to end the Count's life and made a deal with the Countess instead. This plan was easy and foolproof, and everyone expected it to succeed without any mishaps.

After all, the Count was in his sixties. He might not look weak, but he was getting older and should have been an easy kill. How could he survive multiple curses and an ambush?

Was this not the reason why he left the capital, even before he received news that they succeeded? He intentionally did this to make it seem like he had no idea what was going to happen. On the outside, he was still the kind prince that everyone liked. He was the exact opposite of that Tyrant Lucas.

Although he was not as popular as Lucas, people still respected him because he was to be their new king. The crown prince took a deep breath and calmed himself down. He was missing something.

The Duke already had powerful allies next to him; that man with the red eyes, those soldiers with the ability to appear and disappear, and even that feminine guy with white-gray hair. Then there was General Barnard Lytton, the Lytton Family, and the Bohan Family that were known for their assassins.

Those were the well-known subordinates of the mighty Duke. However, not one of them could heal a curse.

"This is going to be difficult," he murmured. Having someone that could heal the curse was simply going to change everything. "We need to know who it was that healed the Count."

"I heard that the Duke stayed with a woman all night," Princess Freda's words interrupted his stupor. She was sitting by the window, enjoying her sweet tea and some pastries. From where he was standing, the Princess looked like a painting— a deadly one. The woman was well known for her intelligence and cruelty. Wasn't that the reason he married her?

"A woman?" the Prince frowned. He had been so busy talking to his people that he did not hear anything about it.

"It was the woman who gave water to the Count."

Memories of the beautiful woman resurfaced in the Prince's head. "The Duke never stayed with a woman in the past. At least… I have never heard of a woman being involved with the Duke." Many women who showed interest in the Duke would just suddenly die because of various reasons.

"Are you certain you heard it right?" he confirmed.

"My maid saw the Duke carrying a woman to his chambers. Then… this morning, she heard the maids talking about that woman's clothes in tatters on the floor."

"In— In tatters?" the Prince widened his eyes. "Are you saying that the Duke and this woman might have some special relationship?"

"That was what everyone is saying. Even the maids in the hallway were whispering about it. Someone even said that when they brought water for the Duke and the woman to wash, the Duke was still naked from the waist up, and… the woman was not even acting awkward in that situation."

When Prince Baltazar frowned, the Princess added. "Think about it; we have not heard of the woman before so I am going to assume that she is from the South. In the South, people can be very traditional and would never allow a man and a woman to stay in a single room. Yet the two of them were acting as if… as if they were already married."

"Do you think they are married?"

"I do not know," the crown princess shrugged before she enjoyed her tea. "But if the Duke married someone, it is going to create waves. All this time, many thought that he was simply impotent and did not want to reveal his secrets. If he marries someone… what do you think would happen to the families of the women that he killed in the past?"

Although there was no proof that it was indeed the Duke who killed them, the coincidence was simply too much. After all, everyone who showed an interest in the Duke would end up dying. Just the thought made the Princess smile.