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While I tried to recover from my embarrassment, he grinned at me and continued, "Why do you think my decision wasn't made impulsively?"
I weakly replied, "Because it doesn't make sense."
"Hmm.... Could my smart wife explain it to me in more details?"
Was it because of the sunlight? I could see the yellowness in the emperor's green eyes. He looked like a cat who found a mouse to play with. He seemed like a snake about to kill a mouse for dinner.
I knew without a doubt where I stood. A mouse could never win against its predator.
I replied cautiously, "You are the man who killed the former emperor with a meticulous plan."
"Hmm..."
"You would've known that after the murder, some people, for example, the dowager empress, would suspect you to be behind the whole plot. No one would ever suspect that you killed him yourself though. You knew they would look for a killer you hired, which means they will never find the killer. I myself wouldn't have believed you killed him yourself unless I saw it happen in person."
Lucretius's voice was sharp."And why wouldn't you think that I killed him impulsively and spontaneously on the spot in anger? That would be the most logical explanation."
I shook my head."It's a possibility, but then I saw the secret pathway you used. It would have been too risky to share something like that with someone, which means you had to get involved yourself to keep the whole event a secret. Of course... I'm just guessing."
He nodded for me to continue.
I felt insulted at his rude gesture, but I didn't show my displeasure. I knew I was powerless. The man in front of me was in complete control of this situation.
"You let me live after careful consideration. It was a calculated move. I think you meant to kill me at first, but you changed your plan last night. You probably counted on someone finding the emperor's body the next morning, but instead, you decided to have me alert the guard right away. By that time, you would have returned to your own room through the secret pathway. I assume only you and your father knew about this pathway. The guards would have come to your room to let you know what happened, which means you got yourself a solid alibi."
He smiled coldly."You got one thing wrong. It was the library, not my room."
"And you are the one who left the window open?"
"Yes, since you forgot to do it yourself. You should thank me for that too, but... I assume you won't. After all, you are the woman who didn't thank me for granting you such an honored position."
I turned away."I will thank you for opening the window. I admit I forgot to do it."
"I am overwhelmed by your kindness."
He replied to me in an exaggeratedly sarcastic tone.
I picked up the grouse leg from my plate again and asked, "So other than the library thing, I got the rest of it right?"
"I guess so. Oh, and the guards found a servant's outfit in the outer garden this morning. It was suspected that the assassin threw it away while escaping last night."
I gaped at him."That is very impressive."
I really was impressed and shocked. He obviously had the outfit planted after I gave my testimony yesterday.
"With it, your testimony has been verified. Now, no one will be able to doubt your helpful role in this investigation. This means no one will question why I fell in love with you and chose you to be my wife."
His voice was sweet like honey. However, I knew what he had wasn't honey; it was venom.
I didn't fall for it. How could anyone believe his words when his eyes looked so cold?
"So that is the official reason behind your decision."
He grinned tightly and replied, "You really are too smart for your own good."
I decided to be direct. There was no point in dragging this out.
"So are you going to kill me?"
His green eyes shined brightly. He looked up to stare at me. A blank face, then a sudden smile.
I shivered as he asked me, "Why do you think I will?"
"... because I know your biggest weakness."
"That is true."
He nodded in agreement. Then he suddenly stood up.
I gasped in awe. I couldn't hide my nervousness. I could never predict what he would do next.
He walked towards me and lowered himself to my eye level. His green eyes looked at me intensely.
"It would be best if you stop bringing this subject up."
"..."
"The more you talk about it, the more you reminded me that you are the only witness to the incident. And then... what you fear the most may actually happen."
"Is this... a threat?"
He patted my hair gently and whispered, "No, it's an advice."
"... I will keep that in mind."
"I'm glad you're smart." He then returned to his seat and smiled."Now, let's get back to our original conversation. Can you guess why I killed the emperor when all I had to do was wait a while longer till he died of natural cause? In time, I would have become the emperor anyway."
"You just told me not to keep talking about this topic."
"It's ok when I bring it up."
"..."
Such an egotistical man.
I thought very hard to come up with an answer.
I learned last night that the dowager empress hated him. She tried to bring up the previous scandal about his legitimacy. She was clearly very pregnant.
"I assume that the dowager empress isn't your birthmother."
"True."
"And she is pregnant."
"Exactly."
It was an obvious and common storyline. The stepmother hoped she gave birth to a son. If she could get everyone to question Lucretius's rightfulness to the throne, there was a chance her son may end up wearing the crown.
Lucretius added, "I know it's hard to believe, but the former emperor really loved Katleyanira. He loved her so much that he killed his first empress."
I remembered what the dowager empress said last night. The first empress must have been Lucretius's real mother.
Lucretius raised his head. His eyes shone with interest.
"You said something interesting last night."
"Pardon?"
"You told me I should have asked what you wanted as a reward."
"If I tell you, will you give it to me?"
"Maybe."
My lips felt dry. I couldn't help but become hopeful. I knew I couldn't trust this man, but I blurted out my wish.
"I would like to leave this castle."
"Oh?"
"I want to give up the name Bonafit as well. I just want to live a normal average life. So please help me get out of here."
He touched my chin with his fingers as he murmured, "That's unexpected. Well, I guess it makes sense. You were basically sold to us like a slave."
I looked up anxiously."Will you... let me go?"
I couldn't hide the desperation in my voice.
I wanted to leave this hell. If I could, I wanted to find a way to get back home. My true home.
However, he asked me a question that made me speechless.
"If you leave here, do you have somewhere you can go?"
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