Chapter 74

The final day of the tournament passed in the blink of an eye.

Young Duke Byon claimed first place in the hunting tournament, and the undying rose became his trophy.

When he held up the undying rose, the women who had come out to watch the award ceremony cried out in admiration and praised him.

After the tedious award ceremony ended, Vieta returned to the castle and headed for the meeting room.

Tomorrow was the day Michelle and the Young Duke would leave for the duchy.

Blanc and Fulcare had tried to keep Michelle in Santpol, but since Michelle herself had expressed her intention to return to the duchy last night, tonight was their final chance to confirm and revise their respective plans.

The meeting itself was straightforward.

The plan was to capture the empress near the Santpol border, rescue Michelle’s younger brother Melvin, and take control of the imperial palace.

The main thing they had to keep in mind was that they needed to finish everything within a single night.

“The most important thing is that we must not give the other lords a chance to interfere. After capturing the Duke and the Young Duke, we must reveal that Empress Verphin has fled so the lords cannot raise troops under the pretext of their loyalty to the Duke. The lords of the duchy would never accept someone who had tried to murder a member of the imperial family. If we fail to capture Verphin, or if we are too slow to take control of the imperial palace and those who support the Duke or the Young Duke intervene, it will turn into a war.”...