Chapter 33
Emmett seemed to know something and interjected with a composed voice:
“I heard the current Emperor annihilated the entire Schulze family for learning His Majesty’s secret.”
“Do you know what that secret was?”
“...He didn’t disclose that much to me.”
“Ah, so even the great Duke doesn’t know that part?”
Hayden wore an expression that was hard to tell if he was disappointed or relieved as he said that. He looked upwards as if recalling the distant past.
“The current Emperor ascended seventeen years ago, when I was seven years old. Until then, I had been raised learning loyalty to the Gracia family.”
Finally, he was starting the story.
A fine one indeed.
The gods began murmuring sounds as if they knew something, but Liv focused only on Hayden’s words.
“From a very young age, I swore allegiance to the previous Emperor and Empress. More than just looking after a vassal family’s members, they treated me well, and I followed them. I never doubted that I would live my life in loyalty to the Gracia family.”
The more Liv heard him speak, the stranger she felt. Was it because of Hayden’s somber and wistful expression, so unlike his usual indifference? Or was it because...