#16. The Lark in the Cage (2)

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“Then, I’ll take my leave, Your Grace.”

The Duke of Balatier’s chief butler bowed politely toward the silver-haired man, who had turned his back on him. Yet for all his impeccable manners, his voice was utterly cold.

At last, the silver-haired man raised an arm and waved him away. He did so without turning around or even looking at him, as though he couldn’t bear to exchange so much as a word.

Even though his master wasn’t looking, the chief butler left the room with his back bent, never once letting his composure slip. Soon, the Duke of Balatier’s bedroom was left in complete silence.

As soon as the butler left, the silver-haired man, Julian, dropped onto the sofa in front of the bed. He grabbed the square brown liquor bottle on the table and poured the dark blue liquid into a clear glass until it was full.

It had already been more than a month since Julian had been granted the title of duke by the emperor. In all that time, not a single one of his plans had gone the way he wanted.

That goddamn emperor still refused to let his mother out of his grasp. His mother, Louise de la Balatier, still lived—or rather, remained imprisoned—in the Duke of Balatier’s estate. And the mansion he’d found for her sat empty.

News that Grand Duke Verbritz had headed west with the youngest daughter of House Beaern had spread all over the capital, too. According to information he’d painstakingly gathered from his contacts in the West, rumors even said the two had promised to be together.

His own faction remained unchanged...