Rumors spread in the Capital that if the Crown Prince died, Ancia would become a princess and her new husband would become the Emperor.

The children of nobility were impatient and attempted to sway Ancia.

Ironically, at the same time, they believed that the Crown Prince's curse would be lifted.

Despite the fierce competition, Frank was confident.

"It's not that hard to win the heart of a girl who longs for affection. It's a relief that she's pretty. I can finally say goodbye to that ugly Westin girl!"

Frank was supposed to marry the daughter of Marquis Westin.

The Duke of Cassil chose this marriage for him after much consideration.

Frank was dissatisfied with her appearance but they were one of the wealthiest families in the Empire and also had an immense influence.

It was impossible to break the marriage because the wedding date had already been set.

Richard looked at his clueless half-brother as he held back his irritation.

But it was an advantage for Richard.

Frank was addicted to gambling, alcohol, and drugs. It was Richard's duty to restrain him. He took advantage of that and let Frank get drunk before he took him to the ball.

The Emperor and Duke Cassil were not present at that time. The Duke of Cassil called Tenstheon out to protest him visiting the Crown Prince's palace.

"How dare you disobey me?! I doubt you even got a proper education since your a fallen count's daughter."

And as Richard expected, Frank caused trouble.

His personality was already very bad, but when he got drunk, he'd become a total scoundrel.

After Frank revealed his true nature in front of everyone, Richard would save Ancia and win her favor.

Everything was going according to his plans.

"That's enough."

Richard was about to intervene but someone unexpectedly intervened before him. Tenstheon appeared.

And the Emperor knocked Frank out with just a few words.

Richard was shocked for a while, but he felt that this wasn't a bad development either.

Although he missed the opportunity to gain Ancia's favor, he was able to eliminate Frank from the list of candidates.

Although he made a controversial remark, he might only be expelled from the family.

But the Duke of Cassil suddenly appeared.

"Your Majesty, stop!"

Besides Frank, there was one more fool in the Cassil family.

It was Arnold Cassil.

He ridiculed the Crown Prince, Imperial family and defended his son's treasonous remarks.

But even that was not enough for him and he yelled at the Emperor.

The Duke of Cassil cared a lot about Frank, but this was just plain stupid.

Tenstheon didn't miss this opportunity.

"You must apologize to him, no matter what you say!"

Richard realized that he had no eye for people.

So far he thought Frank Cassil was the dumbest human being in the Empire.

But Arnold was even dumber than him.

"Your excellency, this is no time to worry about that. You have been accused of treason."

"Treason? What treason?"

The Duke of Cassil was completely unaware of the seriousness of the situation.

"But the Emperor..."

"What about the Emperor?! So what if he's angry?! My Frank didn't say anything wrong. That monster is cursed and won't live very long."

Tenstheon was a very cautious person.

Frank and the Duke were put into prison, but it wasn't simply because they harassed the Crown Princess.

Of course, their words were controversial, but they couldn't be charged with treason with that alone.

The punishment was far too excessive compared to the degree of their offence. There was no way the Emperor didn't know about this.

Still, Tenstheon said they plotted treason. Richard was able to guess Tenstheon's intention.

"The Emperor had declared war on us. We have to come up with a solution."

The Emperor was trying to bring out the Duke's past sins.

They planted spies in the palace, criticized the Emperor, Crown Prince, Crown Princess and spread rumors about the Crown Prince among the public to make a mockery out of him.

Furthermore, Arnold Cassil had plotted to assassinate Tenstheon in the past.

When Blake was cursed, the Duke of Cassil's ambitions grew. He wished to kill Tenstheon and become the Emperor.

But Tenstheon quickly noticed the situation and Arnold was forced to give up his plans.

Besides that, there were many other things they did that hadn't been revealed.

Even though Richard warned him, the Duke remained calm.

"They don't have any evidence anyway. Weren't you responsible for getting rid of it?"

Arnold Cassil entrusted Richard with cleaning up everything.

"No, but there's a very important witness left, isn't there?"

Tenstheon locked Duke Cassil in the West Prison of the Imperial palace while Frank Cassil was sent to the underground East Prison of the Imperial palace.

Frank was locked up in the place that was usually reserved to punish prisoners. There were many tools to torture them and the facilities were poor.

Richard tried to get in and meet Frank, but he failed to bribe the knight guarding the prison.

Frank would definitely go crazy from being locked up in such a place and spill everything. When the Duke of Cassil understood Richard's meaning, he became furious.

"Frank won't betray us!"

"Perhaps he's already betrayed us. He doesn't have any qualms when it comes to betraying people for his own gain. Just put all the blame on him."

The Duke of Cassil slapped Richard.

"You wicked bastard! What are you saying?! You've always had your eye on Frank's place, haven't you?"

"It's not like that. I only suggested it to protect you."

Richard meant it. He had planned to get rid of Frank anyway since the Duke was more important.

Richard hated the Duke and his family, but he needed their power. He wanted everything the Duke of Cassil had.

"Frank is poised to become the future Emperor! He's very precious! Just you wait and see! The nobles are bound to take my side anyway. Even if Tenstheon's influence is strong, he doesn't have any heirs. By now, the appeals demanding justice for me should've already piled up! Marquis Westin would also not stand by and watch his son-in-law be harmed."

He disgraced his daughter, but he believed Marquis Westin would help him?

"Just get out of here! What a disgrace! I will never forgive Tenstheon! He will pay for this!"

"Your Excellency, calm down. You have to put the blame on Frank for your own good."

Richard persuaded him once again.

Arnold hit him again.

"You ungrateful bastard! When you saw Frank in trouble, you should've helped him! Have you forgotten why I took you in? It was to help Frank! You were fed and brought up thanks to Frank, so you must repay him!"

"..."

"Get me and Frank out of here today. Otherwise I'll expel you from the family!"

Richard left the prison without replying.

***

Did he really think I'd follow his demands? What was the use when the Cassils were about to be wiped out?

Richard returned home in anger. Tenstheon was now holding the Cassils hostage. With the fall of the Duke's family, Richard wouldn't be able to become the Emperor and the Cassils would lose their standing.

'So let's just kill Tenstheon.'