TSMMT Ch 116

Sweet Trap

She dashed out the moment he arrived at the estate.

[Alexa] "Brother!"

[Emil] "Oh, Alexa!"

He watched his younger sister rush toward him with tear-brimming eyes. Satisfied, he noted how faithfully the coachman and knights assigned by her had served him during the journey.

Clinging to his chest, Alexa let her tears fall.

[Alexa] "Brother, I missed you so much!"

Overcome with a sudden wave of emotion, Emil nodded. When he had first boarded the carriage, he had intended to grab her by the hair and demand why she fled.

Alexa had vanished roughly a year after Dianna's escape. Had he possessed even one sister left to sell off to a Lodbrog noble, his life wouldn't have degraded into such a miserable wreck, a tragedy he had lamented ceaselessly.

Yet, watching his sister weep in his presence, he decided to show a rare moment of leniency.

[Emil] "I missed you as well. Where on earth have you been? Why did you run away...?"

Sobbing softly, she shook her head.

[Alexa] "Brother, I didn't run away."

[Emil] "What?"

[Alexa] "In truth, Grandpa kidnapped me."

[Emil] "What?!"

[Alexa] "Sister must have instigated Grandpa while she was fleeing. Who in their right mind would willingly enter a lowly merchant's household?"

Of course! That makes perfect sense!

Now that he thought about it, Alexa had vanished abruptly. Their father had dispatched search parties in a rage back then, but Lodbrog's invasion disrupted any thorough investigation.

It was Dianna's doing all along!

Who would abandon noble stature to live under a merchant's roof? Clever Alexa! She had remembered her brother and sought him out after all.

[Alexa] "Brother, stay in this mansion for now. Since I rented it secretly, you mustn't wander around recklessly."

[Emil] "All right, I understand."

[Alexa] "The clothes here are humble, but please bear with them, alright?"

Pleased by her tentative, coaxing demeanor, Emil willingly overlooked her past disappearance.

Having a woman managing the household made all the difference. Guided by the servants Alexa hired, Emil bathed thoroughly and changed into fresh garments.

The moment he finished resting, her sweet voice called out.

[Alexa] "Brother, let's have dinner."

Conveniently, his stomach was growling.

[Emil] "Alexa, you are ready for marriage."

To cater so attentively to a man's needs!

He entered the dining room she indicated. Swallowing hard, he eyed the glistening, savory meat before him.

He had grown thoroughly sick of Lodbrog's appalling cuisine. The Panborough-style dishes provided immense satisfaction—succulent, savory shrimp, velvet-smooth eggs whisked into milk, and meat so tender it practically melted on his tongue.

As he devoured the feast ravenously, she spoke with apologetic concern.

[Alexa] "Of course, this is far inferior to what you used to eat, but thank you for enjoying it."

Clearing his throat loudly, he brushed it off.

[Emil] "Well, there is always next time."

Judging by her tone, she clearly believed he still lived as Duke Brienne.

[Emil] "Come to think of it, why are you in Lodbrog?"

[Alexa] "They say the king invited the Panborough nobility for Sister's sake. I received an invitation as well. You received one too, didn't you, Brother?"

His face contorted. Naturally, he had never received an invitation. Furthermore, Mirva, that useless woman, had failed to bring Dianna back.

[Emil] "I was never invited."

[Alexa] "Nonsense! An invitation must have crossed paths with you on the way!"

[Emil] "Would she ever invite me? Think about it!"

Foolish girl!

Alexa remained the same brainless youngest sibling. Dianna would undoubtedly seek vengeance against him. She surely harbored malice, especially regarding the incident with Mirva.

Cupping a hand over her mouth, Alexa assumed a naive, bewildered expression.

[Alexa] "Oh dear... I feel somewhat uneasy about her as well. She is a Panborough native, yet becoming the wife of a Lodbrog slave feels distasteful."

She let out a soft sigh. On that point, he agreed entirely.

[Alexa] "Still, that slave... he seems helpless around Sister."

[Emil] "What?"

[Alexa] "He caters to her every whim. Just look at how he invited people under the pretext of her illness. I caught a brief glimpse of her, and she looked magnificent."

Alexa clasped her hands, her eyes sparkling like the foolish child of her youth. Emil clicked his tongue in contempt.

[Emil] "Does witnessing such a sight not bother you? That creature is an enemy—"

[Alexa] "Of course you are right, Brother. But Lodbrog absorbed Panborough, and Sister is the queen here."

She hesitated tentatively. Whenever she sought a favor, his younger sister assumed that exact timid, watchful expression. Her unchanged nature struck him as quite charming.

[Emil] "So what are you trying to say, Alexa?"

Clasping her hands, she spoke eagerly.

[Alexa] "We are the queen's kin. Couldn't you step forward, Brother?"

[Emil] "What?"

[Alexa] "I mean... couldn't House Brienne be restored?"

His eyes gleamed intensely.

Restoration? Could the practically extinct House Brienne be revived?

[Emil] "But that slave bastard toward us..."

[Alexa] "Brother, that slave is completely besotted with Sister. I guarantee it."

Exasperation laced her tone.

[Alexa] "Besides, Father was the one who enslaved him, not you. And didn't Sister treat him kindly back then? If he harbored pure hatred for House Brienne, Sister, you, and I would all be dead by now."

She spoke the truth. Had Guiscard desired it, the entire Brienne ducal family would have been executed long ago.

[Alexa] "Why else would he have done that to you? It was... a tragic, heinous act, but it signals that he considers House Brienne's sins paid in full."

Reflecting on her logic, Emil recognized her point. Guiscard had taken no further action after castrating him. It was safe to assume he viewed his vengeance as complete with that single act.

Indeed, Emil belonged to a house that had produced the queen herself!

[Emil] "But would your sister favor me? I..."

Her eyes gleamed brighter.

[Alexa] "I saw her myself. She acts clever, but she is quite naive, isn't she?"

[Emil] "..."

[Alexa] "Even now as a foreign queen, she hasn't built a single faction of her own."

Thumping his chest in frustration, Emil felt his lingering doubts regarding Dianna gradually dissolve.

[Emil] "Ah, that foolish girl!"

Observing his shift in mood, Alexa smirked and chattered on endlessly.

[Alexa] "Father was cruel back then, but that was his method of discipline. Who told her to disobey him anyway? Besides, Father committed those acts, not you."

She let out a soft sigh. Emil nodded continuously. Every single word was an undeniable truth! Now that she was older, the girl had grown surprisingly sharp.

[Alexa] "She hasn't invited you yet, but seeing you in person will change her mind. Even if she harbors resentment, she currently has no allies. If you offer your support, she won't be able to refuse your hand."

[Emil] "Precisely."

[Alexa] "She is foolish, but she isn't dumb enough to ruin things out of emotion. If you assist her, she will forgive you. I will persuade her; she was always weak to my tears."

Emil calculated the possibilities in his head. Ambition brimmed in his eyes.

So this is why she summoned me.

She needed her brother's political prowess! She desperately wished for the grand 'Duke Brienne' to take action! In the past, he would have cursed a sister who dared to manipulate him, but circumstances had changed.

[Alexa] "We share the same bloodline. In a place like this, family is our only trustworthy ally!"

[Emil] "..."

[Alexa] "You are guiltless, Brother."

The foolishness of perpetrators lies in minimizing and rationalizing their own sins. Emil was no exception. Having ridden the coattails of his father's violence, he believed the fault rested solely with his father.

Regarding his instigation of Mirva, surely that foolish woman hadn't been stupid enough to blab his name. She had sworn to conceal his identity back then, so Dianna remained entirely ignorant.

Even if she proved unforgiving, where else could an isolated foreign queen turn for support? She had no choice but to take his hand.

We are kin, siblings who shared the same world.

If everything unfolded smoothly, House Brienne would rise once more. Instead of living as a laughingstock in a rotting mansion, he could thrive gloriously as the queen's maternal relative.

Curse that damn father.

Had his father not enslaved Guiscard or abused Dianna, matters would be infinitely simpler. The father he had once praised and longed for became a damned obstacle the moment he hindered Emil's ambitions.

[Emil] "How can I see her?"

[Alexa] "That is simple! As long as you agree, Brother, it is remarkably easy."

Alexa beamed brightly, and Emil returned her smile.

His incompetent sisters desperately craved his aid.

Very well, your brother shall protect you fools.

A sinister smirk curled on his lips.

---

[Emil] "Damn it."

He donned a servant's attire. Lacking an official invitation, he followed behind Alexa disguised as her attendant.

[Alexa] "Reconciling with her comes first."

[Emil] "Curse it all!"

Alexa had gone ahead into the royal palace, citing that walking together might attract unwanted attention since Panborough nobles were residing there. Lacking an invitation, Emil faced grave danger should any trouble arise.

Ann, see how I consider your well-being.

Emil feigned concern that Dianna might suffer reputational damage, though in reality, he merely wished to hide his embarrassing disguise from public view.

Carrying a heavy bundle like a merchant guild's servant, he endured the humiliating necessity of addressing real attendants with polite honorifics.

Returning to Panborough was out of the question. After spending a few days indulging in Alexa's hospitality, fond memories of his time as Young Lord Brienne resurfaced. Drowning in alcohol inside that decaying mansion was a bleak existence he refused to resume.

She said it was here.

Muttering under his breath at the attendant's curt directions, Emil stepped into the chamber. Hearing his knock, a voice granted entry.

At last, he was granting the queen an audience. Inside this humble chamber sat his foolish younger sister. Yet, maids stood in formal alignment, while stern-faced knights kept watchful eyes over the room.

It was a position not easily attained. Yet, Emil felt the servants' deference as though it were directed at him.

They are thoroughly disciplined.

The mere thought of that loyalty shifting to him in the future sent a thrill through his chest. Striding forward with arrogant leisure, he spoke.

[Emil] "I greet Her Majesty the Queen."

Raising his head, he looked at the queen seated in the chamber and Alexa standing beside her.

[Alexa] "Your Majesty, this is the gift I mentioned."

Haha, is the gift me?

Emil smirked like the boy of his youth, hoping Dianna, who surely held memories of that day, recalled their past fondly.

Seated motionless in her chair, Dianna stared at Emil before instructing a knight to inspect the bundle in his hands.

[Emil] "Ann! It's me!"

[Knight] "Madman! Protect Her Majesty!"

As he stepped forward, a knight shielded Dianna with his body.

[Emil] "Wait, I am her brother—"

[Knight] "Protect Her Majesty!"

Another knight drew his blade. Alexa screamed as she stared at Emil.

What was happening? The knight glared at him as if confronting an assassin.

[Dianna] "What is going on?"

[Knight] "A gruesome object was found in his bundle!"

Emil looked up in confusion. What absurd nonsense?

Nothing was wrong with the gift box. Yet, beneath the cloth wrapping the box lay blood-soaked garments and a stained sword.

His face drained of all color. What is that?!

[Emil] "N-No! It's not what you think!"

He tried to lunge forward to plead his innocence, but a knight slammed him to the floor. Right at that moment, a dagger clattered onto the stone ground from his belt.

What? Where did this dagger come from?!

[Knight] "A deadly weapon was found on this person!"

[Emil] "D-Dianna! Dianna! Alexa!"

[Alexa] "T-That man! How does he know our names?!"

Alexa shrieked in horror. Seeing her feign ignorance, Emil's expression shattered. He wasn't entirely brainless; he instantly grasped what had just transpired.

He was ruined. He had walked straight into a trap. She had aligned herself with Dianna, luring him into execution.

A cold smile spread across Alexa's face.

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