Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 144: A Secret No One Knows
In the great hall of the lord’s castle, White sat on the seat Viscount Munster had prepared for him, while the others stood to either side, waiting for the knights to bring in the criminals.
Before long, six nobles—including Count Dave—were escorted forward and forced to kneel before White.
White rested his right hand on the armrest, propped his chin on it, crossed one leg over the other, and lifted his eyelids slightly to glance down at the prisoners.
Their hands and feet were shackled with heavy chains. Their clothes were disheveled, their hair a tangled mess from long neglect, and their eyes were filled with fear.
The taste of rotting in a dungeon must have been unbearable, White thought to himself.
He then fixed his gaze on Count Dave at the front.
“Clicking his tongue, he sneered.
“Count Dave, I suppose you never imagined you’d end up like this, did you?”
The portly count’s face twisted in panic. He quickly kowtowed, begging for mercy, knocking his forehead so hard it turned red.
“Your Majesty! We truly realize our mistake now. Please, out of your boundless mercy, spare us just this once!”
“We will be absolutely loyal to Your Majesty!”
The other five nobles also hurried to knock their heads on the ground, scrambling to declare their loyalty.
“Why should I spare you? The nobles of the north who supported my royal brother have already received their due punishment—naturally, you will not escape either.”
“Your Majesty! It was all Duke Eddie’s fault!”
Cowardly and terrified, Count Dave desperately tried to shift the blame.
“He goaded me into sending troops to support the Crown Prince. I was merely blinded by a moment’s foolishness. Now I have seen the error of my ways and am determined to reform. I beg Your Majesty to show mercy!”
Duke Eddie—lord of Dongsheng Fortress.
White remembered the man; they had met a few times.
“Blinded by folly? Hmph!”
White gave a cold snort and said slowly:
“When you sent your troops, hadn’t you already calculated it out? You thought that even if I defeated my royal brother, I’d have to spend a great deal of time settling the north. To stabilize the realm, I would be forced to accept your submission. But you didn’t expect that I’d deal with the north so swiftly—and come straight here to deal with you.”
“I… th-this…”
Count Dave faltered, then vehemently denied it.
“I absolutely had no such thought!”
“Whether you did or not, the fact remains: you dispatched troops to ambush Jinwei City. That cannot be excused. So, accept my judgment.”
White rose from his seat, sweeping his arm to deliver the sentence.
“All six of these men are to be executed by beheading—tomorrow at noon. Take them away.”
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
At once, six knights moved to escort the prisoners back to the dungeon.
“No! I don’t want to die! Your Majesty, spare me—I can still be of use!”
Count Dave even tried to lunge forward to clutch White’s leg in desperation, but the knights restrained him firmly. He could only struggle helplessly before being dragged away.
“Your Majesty! Don’t kill me!”
“Ugh—No! I can’t die yet! Damn it all!”
“Mommy, I need to pee…”
The other five nobles broke down completely when they heard their death sentence.
Some begged endlessly for mercy, some tried to break free of their shackles and run, while others stood frozen, stunned out of their wits.
When the trial ended, Viscount Munster stepped forward and placed his hand over his chest in salute.
“Your Majesty, tonight we have prepared a grand welcome banquet for you, along with more than a dozen carefully selected beauties for your pleasure. Might this interest you?”
White raised his brows with interest.
“Oh? Then I’ll look forward to tonight’s banquet. I hope you won’t let me down, Viscount Munster.”
“I would never dare disappoint Your Majesty.”
Hearing this, Viscount Munster finally let out a breath of relief.
It was precisely because he had heard of White’s fondness for women that he had deliberately gathered beauties and arranged all sorts of methods to have them serve the new king.
As long as White was pleased, then the crisis hanging over Linshui City would pass.
That very night, White attended the grand banquet.
Afterward, he spent the night in a spacious bedroom with the women Viscount Munster had sent, enjoying himself to the fullest.
By noon the next day, Count Dave and the others were publicly executed—the blade of the guillotine came down swiftly, and their heads rolled to the ground.
After the executions, the severed heads were put on display for several days.
White did not bother to watch the proceedings. He remained in his chambers, continuing his indulgent pleasures, the room echoing now and then with ceaseless moans.
Apart from delivering meals, the servants did not dare disturb him at all.
………….
Dongsheng Fortress – Lord’s Castle
Duke Eddie sat restlessly on his custom-made chair, his short, thick fingers drumming on the armrest, sweat beading on his forehead.
He was anxious, regretful, and terrified.
The battle for the throne was already over, and siding with the Crown Prince had clearly been the wrong choice.
He had thought White would accept his submission—but no. White had already dispatched troops eastward. Could it be that the northern nobles had already been dealt with?
“Damn that Crown Prince, why did you lose so quickly?”
Rather than blame his own poor judgment, Duke Eddie poured all the blame onto the Crown Prince for being incompetent.
What now? Resist the king? That would require strength he simply didn’t have.
Rumor had it that Count Dave of Linshui City had been betrayed by his own nobles, imprisoned, and would surely meet a terrible end.
To avoid the same fate, Duke Eddie had already tightened the defenses of his castle, hiding inside and refusing to go out.
Still uneasy, he also secretly dispatched men to monitor the other nobles, wary of them staging a sudden collective betrayal.
Even so, the closer White drew to Dongsheng Fortress, the more restless those nobles would become. Who knew how much longer the current fragile balance could last?
No—he had to think of a way out of this mess, and fast.
Clutching his head in frustration, Duke Eddie cursed his own dull wits.
“What should I do? The king is almost here…”
Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck him. He recalled something from long ago.
The king is coming? Two decades earlier, the late king himself had once visited Dongsheng Fortress.
Back then, Duke Eddie had arranged for a maid to warm the king’s bed.
After the king departed, the maid turned out to be pregnant.
That was royal blood. Duke Eddie immediately hid her away until she gave birth.
Once the child was born, the maid was quietly killed.
But harboring the illegitimate son of a king was a grave crime, and Duke Eddie did not want such a dangerous burden on his hands.
As luck would have it, Marquis Eisen of Bianshu Town had been fretting over having no heir and was looking to adopt.
Duke Eddie seized the opportunity, maneuvered the child into Eisen’s care, and the marquis adopted him.
Yes—that child was none other than Owen Eisen.
Eddie had originally planned to use this as a trap for Marquis Eisen and expose it later when convenient.
Now, however, this long-buried secret could serve as his lifeline. Duke Eddie resolved to reveal it to White in exchange for his trust.
With no other options left, he could only pin his hopes on this.
Impatiently, he bellowed:
“Someone! Bring me pen and paper—I must write a letter at once!”