PLQYM | Chapter 42

‘Is this really just loyalty that he feels?’

Could it be an older brother’s intuition?

Ronen’s gaze, which had been fixed on Lucian, now shifted toward Count Astro. The Count, too, wore a grim expression as he stared at the tabloid in his hand. His eyes were glued to a small photo that was printed alongside the emperor’s portrait.

The face in the photo was blurred, but the dark hair was unmistakable.

Ronen looked at Lucian, who was lost in thought with a frustrated expression.

‘No way.’

This was a newspaper infamous for its fabricated stories, known to be read more for amusement than for actual news. Readers treated the articles as if they were fiction.

It was fortunate, perhaps, that there weren’t many who believed the stories outright. But if what was written in this article were true…

Ronen turned his gaze back to Lucian. A man with black hair, who had given an interview.

And Lucian.

Lucian and the man with black hair.

Black hair, a rarity in the Imperial Palace.

In the end, he swallowed hard.

‘No. It can’t be. There’s no way.’

Ronen Astro let out a long sigh. Behind his tightly shut eyelids, the image of his younger brother’s black hair burned vividly.

Meanwhile, Lucian Astro, the younger brother in question, was fuming in his room.

“Seriously? You went and did this?”

Leaning deep into his chair, Lucian glared daggers at the tabloid spread out before him.

“He… did this to me…”

“Idiot,” Lucian spat. A crude remark escaped his lips.

“There’s no way His Majesty would ever entangle himself with a low-life who’d give interviews to trashy gossip rags. How absurd. As if His Majesty, with such high standards, would stoop so low.”

If someone even slightly failed to meet His Majesty’s exacting tastes, they wouldn’t even get a second glance, let alone be touched.

Sure, the emperor hated boredom and had little patience for idleness.

“But still, this isn’t right. Not even if His Majesty was unbelievably bored. Why would they get involved with someone like this?”

The more Lucian thought about it, the angrier he became.

“First, I’ll find whoever gave this interview and make them talk… figure out if there’s any truth to this. Actually, does it even matter if it’s true?”

“So what if it’s all lies? I’ll throw money at it to silence it and sue them for good measure.”

Of course, he wasn’t just going to let the money go. He’d make sure to find a weakness to ensure they paid it back tenfold.

If he had been present, this would never have happened. He was confident in that.
Even if some mistakes had been made—people are human, after all—

Still. Even so. Keeping things from blowing up into this kind of scandal was the job of an aide, wasn’t it?

A tabloid article of this level? Money should’ve been more than enough to take care of it. So why hadn’t they…?

“Wait, don’t tell me…”

A chilling thought crossed his mind, making his blood run cold.

Was this an excuse to reorganize the aide department entirely?

The emperor’s constant refrain about wanting to replace everyone echoed in his head, sending a shiver down his spine.

No, that couldn’t be all. Perhaps, even more than that, there was someone intentionally stirring the pot. Someone who constantly caused trouble.

“Could it be…?”

As the thought dawned on him, Lucian swallowed hard.

No, no way. He wanted to dismiss the thought, but a certain someone’s image kept coming to mind.

The person who belonged to the family most at odds with the emperor.

Lucian instinctively leaned forward, muttering under his breath.

“Would they really go that far? It’s probably just me overthinking. Yeah. What’s done is done. I need to deal with it now.”

He tried to reject reality, but once the thought began to spin, it wouldn’t stop.

“Ah, seriously.”

Finally, Lucian stood up abruptly, frustration dripping from his voice.

“I must be crazy. I should just rest, but here I am, doing this. Why am I even doing this?”

His self-deprecating laughter was tinged with bitterness.

Despite his words, his movements were decisive. He hurriedly left his room. His destination: the Imperial Palace. He needed to confirm his suspicions as quickly as possible.

***

A scandal had broken out.

A man’s interview claiming he had been seduced and then discarded by the emperor was published in a tabloid infamous even in the capital for its outrageous stories.

As a result, the palace was walking on eggshells.

“This is preposterous! How could something like this be allowed to tarnish His Majesty’s reputation?”

Franz Clan was storming through the aide’s office, furious.

Though some of the aides wanted to yell back at him, asking if this was really their fault, they couldn’t say it aloud.

After all, even though they were all aides, they weren’t on the same level. As the second son of a powerful marquis family, Franz was untouchable for most of them.

Except for one person.

Lucian Astro.

Or, well, one other person besides him.

“Why are you blaming us, Sir Franz?”

A calm male voice cut through the tense atmosphere, and the aides collectively sighed in relief.

Oh, right. There was someone else.

The ever-oblivious Nils Bowman.

“Nils…”

“Why is this our fault, anyway? Isn’t it clearly your fault, Sir Franz?”

“What did you just say?”

Nils Bowman, with a look of genuine confusion, spoke matter-of-factly to Franz, whose face turned red with anger.

‘Oh, this is gonna be good.’
‘Nothing beats a front-row seat to a fight.’
‘For once, Nils Bowman isn’t holding back. He’s the only one who would dare, status be damned.’
‘Well, except Lucian Astro, of course.’

While Franz looked ready to explode, Nils remained unfazed.

“Weren’t you the one in charge while Sir Lucian was away? That means this mess is your responsibility. Cleaning it up is your job, too.”

“You little—!”

While the other aides were too scared to even breathe, Nils said everything on his mind. Franz, at his wit’s end, even raised his fist.

“Is this really the time to be arguing? Not a single issue has been resolved, yet you still have the energy to fight?”

“……!”

A familiar voice sliced through the brewing chaos, and the tension in the room lifted.

“Sir Lucian!”
“You’ve returned!”
“Sir Lucian!”

The aides, who had been watching the fight nervously, swarmed toward Lucian.

“Sir Lucian! You’re here!”

“Nils.”

Lucian nodded, acknowledging Nils before addressing the room.

“I’ve reviewed the situation. First, don’t respond to the tabloid at all. Starting tomorrow, we’ll begin an internal audit. Once that starts, whoever orchestrated this won’t have the bandwidth to focus on anything else.”

“Ah, understood.”

Nils, already prepared, whipped out his notebook to jot down Lucian’s instructions.

“If we uncover any irregularities in the funds, we’ll find out who’s behind this.”

Lucian’s sharp gaze swept over the aides and landed on Franz, who flinched under his icy stare.

“Thank you for your hard work, Sir Franz. From now on, I’ll handle this. Please return to your regular duties.”

Franz clenched his teeth, his glare full of barely contained rage, but Lucian didn’t bat an eye. Instead, he turned and asked,

“Is His Majesty inside?”

“Yes, he’s been with Cliff, the head attendant, since this morning,” someone answered.

Lucian nodded and issued a few final instructions before leaving.

“Everyone, get moving. I’ll discuss this matter directly with His Majesty.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Remember, His Majesty doesn’t have scandals. This is someone’s ploy to tarnish his legacy, and we’ll resolve it.”

Without waiting for a reply, Lucian turned and walked off. Behind him, the aides let out collective sighs of relief.

To reach the Emperor’s Chambers, Lucian had to pass Franz, whose expression grew darker with every step.

As Lucian brushed past him, Franz muttered through clenched teeth,

“Showing up after the damage is done, acting like you’re some kind of savior…”

Lucian ignored him.

“Hey, Lucian!”

Franz, unable to contain his anger, grabbed Lucian’s shoulder. The abrupt pull made him stagger slightly, but Lucian quickly steadied himself.

“What have you even done to claim you’re taking over? At least accomplish something first before acting high and mighty.”

Lucian’s eyes, calm and sharp, met Franz’s as if acknowledging him for the first time.

“Did you even do anything to stop this mess? If His Majesty entrusted you with this task, it was because he expected results. Yet.”

Lucian sneered openly, his gaze raking over Franz.

“You’ve clearly achieved nothing.”

“Wh-what?”

“You do realize that the voices in this office shouldn’t be heard outside, don’t you? Instead of yelling and throwing fits, perhaps you should’ve spent that energy resolving the issue. The Marquis family name is wasted on you.”

Lucian brushed off Franz’s hand.

“If you have more to say, save it. Right now, fixing this scandal takes priority.”

With that, Lucian nodded curtly and walked away, leaving Franz seething in his wake.

‘Just you wait, Lucian.’

Franz clenched his fists, his jaw tight with anger, glaring at the spot where Lucian had disappeared. Amid the now-bustling aide’s office, he alone stood frozen, simmering with frustration.