I Ended Up Saving the Duke Who Was Meant to Die - Chapter 7.9
He had rescued Irene when she had nowhere to go and planted hope so she could live. Not only that, hadn’t he protected her from being exploited by others?
Irene has a duty to serve me. From the moment she took his hand at the fire scene that day, she was completely his. That’s how it had to be. That was the plan he had drawn.
When he felt an ability in her that others didn’t possess, Michaelo thought he had received salvation. And he believed it was right for him, who discovered it, to possess it. But Irene had no deficiencies. She needed to have shortcomings to accept someone who reached out without suspicion. So he planned to exterminate the Edenberg family. Having completed all preparations in a cruel yet certain way that others couldn’t even imagine, he immediately put it into action.
The only person he would save was one, Irene von Clementine. My Irene…
To get her out of the mansion, he secretly planted someone to leave a note. He made it look as if her mother had requested it. Rilke, without any suspicion, went into town as written in the letter and purchased the book her mother had asked for.
Watching her from behind, Michaelo revealed a smile full of joy. If she just went to the mansion as she was, she would be in his hands. He went to the mansion first and assessed the situation.
“It is God’s will, so let everyone be at peace.”
At his words, the priests bowed their heads and jumped into the flames as if bewitched. Not only that, Michaelo used those who didn’t hesitate to sacrifice themselves for him to set fires and block all entrances. Anyone who escaped was immediately killed and placed back into the burning mansion to eliminate evidence.
“Aaaaargh! Save me, save me!”
“Can’t breathe, keuheuk… Please, the door…”
The sparks rising with the acrid smoke engulfed the mansion in an instant. The Edenberg mansion, wrapped in flames, was filled with screams. Only after seeing everything burning brightly did he quietly disappear.
When Rilke, having finished her errand, arrived in front of the house, he appeared as if he were a helping hand and reached out. He looked at Rilke with the kindest eyes of all.
Rilke, with her flaming red hair like the burning fire, stared at her mansion for a while before eventually collapsing to the ground in a faint. After waking up, she appeared to have forgotten everything. She seemed to have deliberately erased what she didn’t want to remember.
“Rilke, you are mine…”
He closed his eyes tightly in lamentation. His mouth dried up with anxiety. When he thought about it, it was because of that man that she escaped from his hands and he could no longer control her.
“Duke Blake.”
Come to think of it, that man was also among those who didn’t go according to plan. He had tried to kill him several times, but whether his lifeline was long or not, he always returned without dying. The nickname “devil” would be more appropriate for him than for himself.
“I should have killed him.”
His body was strained from excessively absorbing Irene’s power. He stared at his trembling hands before clenching them into fists. He had no intention of giving up like this. Somehow, he had to escape from here and reclaim what was his. It was a mistake to trust the foolish Imperial family and join hands with them.
His mood sank further with the damp clothes clinging to his skin. Humid and moist air wrapped around his entire body. Water dripped from the ceiling, and a long stone, indistinguishable as a bed or chair, was the only space where he could rest.
Michaelo sat in the chair and stared at the prison door above the bars. This couldn’t be the end. He had worked tirelessly to get here after discovering Irene. The past, when he was persecuted for not being born with Holy Power, had faded. He had taken what he couldn’t have with power stolen from others.
No one had stood against him. Everything had flowed according to his plan. This time, too, things had to go as he wished.
Clank.
With the sound of the door opening, he raised his head. His eyes narrowed as he stared at the feet coming down the stairs.
“…Irene?”
Ah! Indeed, Irene hadn’t abandoned him. She must have been temporarily blinded to treat him that way, considering him family.
“I’ve been waiting for you. Come quickly and get me out.”
He brazenly extended his hand through the bars.
Irene would be more than capable of getting him out of here. He was willing to forgive her if she admitted her mistake. Isn’t that what family is about? Embracing even when mistakes are made…
Michaelo’s gaze moved up from the well-fitted black shoes. It wasn’t Irene. The one who came to find him was Duke Blake, whom he had been desperate to eliminate.
“You dare call my wife’s name with that filthy mouth. No, I suppose it doesn’t matter now since that’s not her name anymore.”
Severus, with his brows furrowed in displeasure, looked at Michaelo, who had risen beyond the bars. He clicked his tongue softly and slowly examined his appearance.
“So you’ve learned her real name. Did Rilke send you?”
“You still seem to be out of your mind. My wife sending me for you? Ah, if she sent me to kill you, that might be true.”
“Rilke wanted to kill me then, too, but in the end, she couldn’t. Don’t you see? She’s a child who can’t hold a knife to my throat until the end.”
“Is that because you are Rilke’s benefactor?”
Michaelo smiled faintly. The word benefactor implies many things. To her, he was family. He was also the one who saved her from despair.
“But what if you’re not her benefactor but the very one who plunged her into that despair? Aren’t you curious how Rilke would react?”
Michaelo’s face, which had been constantly smiling, hardened. Everyone involved in that incident should be dead, so he couldn’t understand why this man was acting as if he knew the inside story.
“You’re talking nonsense. I am the savior of everyone in the temple. That’s an unchanging fact for them.”
“That none other than you, Michaelo, ordered the arson and massacred the Edenberg family.”
Severus spoke with certainty. If this reached Rilke’s ears, she would immediately point a knife at him without hesitation.
“Are you trying to hurt her? You said you would protect her, but you’re no different from me, Duke.”
“Protecting someone and concealing the truth are different matters. Especially when it’s about one’s family. I was going to ask for a reason, but it seems unnecessary now.”
He turned away without regret. Michaelo felt he couldn’t let the Duke leave like this. He urgently called to him, but he didn’t look back. Before leaving the prison door, Severus said.
“No matter what you say, you won’t be able to persuade me, so give up.”
