The Young Master I Carefully Raised Became Obsessive

Rowell crossed his arms and watched me intently, a strange smile creeping across his face.

I stood up and stepped back. "I didn’t kill the emperor. Let me go."

"What if I let you go? Do you think people will believe you?"

"What? What do you mean?"

"The judges and the people of the empire already know exactly who you are because of the interrogation. Not only are you involved in the emperor’s poisoning, but you have also committed all sorts of terrible crimes at the Duke Orchid Mansion. And on top of that, as a commoner, you managed to steal the heart of the prince. You are such a wicked woman."

I couldn’t think of anything to say.

"Oh, and one more thing. The commoners especially have a strong hatred towards you. You were so confident when you spoke as a witness in the Duke Orchid Mansion arson case, but now everyone knows it was all just an act. They see you as shameless and wicked."

Rowell waved a handkerchief in front of me. In that instant, my hand trembled, my breath caught in my throat, and my head spun. Without realizing it, my legs gave way, and I collapsed to the floor.

❋ ❋ ❋

Near the palace, there were several interrogation rooms connected to prisons. The most notorious of these, Entry Prison, was where criminals who committed serious crimes or political prisoners who plotted treason against the empire were held.

But now that Rowell had officially taken on the role of the emperor’s representative, Entry Prison had become a place for imprisoning his political opponents. The prison warden, in particular, was one of Rowell’s most loyal supporters, doing everything in his power to serve him.

Ardion stopped in front of the prison gate. The gatekeeper held up his spear to block the entrance.

"Open the door immediately."

"Your Highness, I cannot allow you entry." The gatekeeper lowered his head so deeply that his face was obscured.

"Do you want to die?"

Seeing the mana light wrapping around Ardion’s neck and arms, the gatekeeper jumped back in fear. "B-but His Highness the Crown Prince himself ordered that no one be allowed entry."

"Do you think I’m 'no one'?"

"Still…"

"Your Highness, perhaps now is not the right time." Delzion grabbed Ardion’s arm.

"If now isn’t the right time, when is?" Ardion’s green eyes flashed dangerously. The mana light continued to swirl around his arm, casting a deep glow.

Delzion gulped nervously. "If we act rashly now, the public opinion in the empire will turn against us. Right now, the newspapers are all talking about Lady Laila. They’re claiming that she poisoned the emperor and revealed that even before the Duke Orchid arson case, she was as sinful as Jonok. Everyone is cursing her."

"So how long do we have to wait? I’ve been worried this whole time, wondering about Laila’s safety, and now we can’t even get in?"

Delzion lowered his head without a word.

Ardion looked down at the ground and let out a bitter laugh. A few ants were crawling toward the prison gate.

"Even having the title of prince means less than these ants passing by. Does that make sense?"

"…"

"Even with the blessing of mana, I can’t use my power freely." Ardion clenched his fist, his hand trembling slightly. "Most of all, the fact that I couldn’t protect the one I love…"

"Still, there must be a way," Delzion said quietly.

Ardion gazed at the closed gate and then let out a small laugh. "A way... Yeah, there must be one."

He quickly turned around. "Let’s head back to the mansion."

His green eyes had turned as cold as ice. Delzion hesitated for a moment before opening the carriage door.

Ardion paused. "Find out exactly where Laila is. Also, keep an eye on the area around here and see if there are any openings."

"Your Highness, perhaps…"

"I’m not going in myself. There’s a suitable animal for the task."

Delzion nodded, and Ardion immediately got into the carriage. The carriage sped away, disappearing down the road. Delzion watched the dust swirl and the carriage vanish before climbing onto his horse.

Once at the mansion, Ardion headed straight for Derol’s room.

As he entered, Derol looked up in surprise. "What’s going on? Where is Master…?"

"Derol, there’s something you need to help with."

"Has something happened to Master?"

"Laila is in prison, accused of poisoning the emperor."

"What do you mean? Master never even saw the emperor!"

"It’s all Rowell’s doing. And it’s all because of me." Ardion sighed heavily and wiped his face.

"I’ll go to Master right away." Derol stood up and raised his head.

Ardion looked around the room. The white paper on the table had been gnawed on, turning into particles. When his gaze fell on it, Derol hurriedly pushed the paper particles into a corner.

"I did this out of boredom. Master hasn’t been here, so…"

Ardion knelt down and began gathering the paper particles with his hand. But Derol pushed Ardion’s hand away with both hands.

"I’ll clean it up."

"Forget it. Tell a servant to do it. You have more urgent things to attend to."

"So, what should I do?"

"First, find out where Laila is. See if she needs anything and what condition she’s in."

"What will you do?"

"I’ll meet with Rowell. If there’s something he wants, I’ll give it to him first."

"Most likely, he’ll want your life."

"Even so, if it means saving Laila, if it means she can come back here safely, I’d gladly give my life."

"But Master wouldn’t want that."

"What?"

"It seems Master thinks highly of you in her own way."

"Laila does?"

"Don’t you know? The person Master thinks the most of after me is you."

Ardion wasn’t sure whether to laugh or not. It was overwhelming and joyful to know that, among all humans, he was the one most thought of.

But the fact that she thought of him second, after Derol, bothered him.

"Damn it." Ardion jumped up. “I’ve been jealous of you for a long time. It feels disgusting.”

Derol tilted his head. “What are you talking about?”

“No, it’s not right to feel this way due to a rat.” Ardion ran his hand through his hair.

At that moment, there was a knock on the door. The door opened, and the butler said, “Your Highness, Duchess Heverun has come to see you.”

“Duchess Heverun?”

“Yes, she’s in the reception room right now.”

“Tell her to wait a moment.”

The butler nodded and left the room.

Ardion looked back at Derol. “If Delzion finds the prison, we’ll have to go right away. In the meantime, have some water and food.”

“Don’t worry about me. Go ahead.”

“Worry?”

“Aren’t you saying that because you’re worried about me?”

“Why would you think that?”

“Then why did you tell me to have some water and food?”

“That’s because you…”

Derol stared at Ardion with his black eyes wide open. He met Derol’s eyes for a moment. Derol’s black fur was shiny, showing how well-fed he was, and he was staring at Ardion with a puzzled look. Derol’s appearance was strangely not unpleasant.

In the past, he was a creature that would stick close to Layla and only annoy Ardion.

Be nice to Derol too.

He remembered what Laila had said before they got married. However, he didn’t really follow through on it.

If I had known this would happen, I would have thought more about what Laila said and listened to her…

Ardion suddenly felt regret. As he clenched his fist, Derol raised his head and looked at him.

He shook his head and said, “Okay. Take a rest.”

He left the room with a complicated feeling.

❋ ❋ ❋

Duchess Heverun got up as soon as she saw Ardion. “Your Highness, is it all true?”

Ardion frowned. Even though he had to go see Rowell right away, he still had to entertain the guest.

At that moment, the butler brought out tea. Ardion had no choice but to sit down across from Duchess Heverun. His expression did not relax at all as he rested his forehead on the armrest of the chair.

“It’s true.” Ardion felt bad even as he said it. Perhaps because of his bad mood, mana light floated around his arm.

Duchess Heverun stepped back slightly with a surprised face. Ardion glanced at his arm and then quickly lowered it. The mana light instantly disappeared.

Duchess Heverun blinked and then shook her head. “I can’t believe it. How could this happen…”

“It’s all Rowell’s doing. He took Laila’s mana, so he must have used her mana to poison him.”

“Then who is the real culprit?”

“It must be Rowell.”

“Rowell?” Duchess Heverun widened her eyes in shock. “Why, why would His Highness the Crown Prince… Wasn’t His Highness someone who followed His Majesty’s every word?”

Ardion’s stiff lips parted. “He was just pretending. Rowell knows very well what kind of crown prince people want.”

“…”

“It was the same when I was young. In front of others, he treated me like a younger sibling, but when no one was around, he looked at me like trash.”

“How…? Did Rowell really do that?”

Ardion nodded. The duchess put her hand on her forehead. She had been shocked by what Laila had said last time, but Ardion’s words were even more unexpected.

“Come to think of it, I heard from the princess that you were also at the Duke Orchid mansion…”

TN: We're finally here at the climax. I can't wait to se Rowell's end, really ~ what do you guys think? Comment down!