Chapter 64: A Wounded Xavier

Xavier’s steps felt heavy as he made his way to the tent where Jude was being held in isolation.

“Your Grace, are you alright?”

“Yes.”

Though he said so, Xavier’s face betrayed his inner turmoil.

Rexton, walking alongside him, reported on the events that had transpired and led Xavier to the tent where Jude was confined. Originally, she had been detained in her own tent, but for the sake of evidence preservation, her custody had been moved to another tent under the knights’ watchful eyes.

Along the way, they encountered Melvin.

“Xavier.”

“Melvin.”

Although they bickered and exchanged sharp words whenever they met, the two were inseparable friends. Even Melvin, who usually greeted him with a sly grin and lighthearted jokes, wore a serious expression this time.

“I heard. The Crown Prince was here, wasn’t he?”

“Yes. And it seems you’ve been hiding yourself well?”

“If the Crown Prince knew I was here, he’d start suspecting something.”

“Well done.”

“Are you going to see her now?”

“……”

Xavier met Melvin’s worried gaze for a moment before walking past him without a word. Watching Xavier’s retreating figure, Melvin called out with a casual remark.

“If it gets too hard, come to me. This broad chest of mine is always open for you.”

“I’ll have to decline.” 

Xavier retorted without looking back, continuing on his way.

Eventually, Xavier and Rexton arrived at their destination. Pulling aside the tent flap, they entered to find Jude lying on the ground, tightly bound.

Rexton explained that her limbs had been restrained because, as a general candidate of the Auguste military, her skills made her a high escape risk.

Jude, who had been lying motionless, noticed Xavier and tried to rise but couldn’t. She could only look up at him from where she lay.

“Master! You’re alive!”

Tears welled up in her violet eyes and rolled down her cheeks.

Xavier couldn’t tell if those tears were from relief or joy. He looked down at her with a conflicted expression, closing his eyes briefly before opening them again.

“I heard you were identified as a suspect. Jude, explain yourself.”

“Master, I’m innocent. Is it a crime to help carry kitchen supplies? I know nothing about the herbs in that seasoning jar.”

Jude had to survive, even if it meant apologizing to her master. After all, she had been nothing more than a pawn in Margaret’s scheme. Margaret had only promised her a pleasant dream, never mentioning the possibility of death.

“If you confess your wrongdoing now, I may show leniency, Jude.”

Xavier had already connected today’s sudden visit from the Crown Prince to his own poisoning incident.

If Yuria hadn’t brought the Valian herb, Xavier would have died, and his transformation into a beast would have been exposed to the world. It would have been a disgraceful death as a citizen of the Empire.

But Jude vehemently insisted on her innocence.

“Search my tent if you must. If I had intended to harm you, wouldn’t you find something made from henbane or whatever it’s called?”

Of course, there was nothing to find. All she had received was the seasoning jar Margaret had given her. Jude had only delivered the henbane; Margaret had been the one to prepare the concoction. Furthermore, Jude had destroyed the small communication artifact Margaret had given her, grinding it to dust beneath her foot.

At this moment, Jude felt she had nothing to hide.

But then, a small bundle was thrown in front of her. As the pouch opened, the pungent aroma of herbs wafted out.

“This was found in your tent, Jude.”

“In my tent?”

Jude looked up at Xavier with a bewildered expression, and Rexton answered her.

“My men and I searched your tent and found this in the pocket of your coat. A healer confirmed it’s henbane.”

Jude’s violet eyes shook wildly.

“Th-that’s impossible. I only received the seasoning jar…!”

Ah, that damned Margaret. She must have slipped it into my pocket when she handed me the jar.

That wretched woman. Jude, unable to continue her protests, looked up at Xavier with a pitiful expression. Xavier crouched down in front of her, meeting her eyes.

“Who’s behind this?”

“W-well…”

“Was it the Crown Prince?”

At Xavier’s pointed question, Jude’s throat bobbed nervously.

‘The Duke will surely love this. A general who betrayed him to serve the Crown Prince.’

Jude avoided Xavier’s gaze.

“I-I acted alone.”

“What? You’re saying you tried to kill me? And you expect me to believe that, Jude?”

The murderous aura that swept through the tent made the very poles holding it up tremble as if they might collapse. Terrified, Jude stammered her response.

“It’s true! But it wasn’t you, Master, that I….”

“It wasn’t me?”

Jude, meeting Xavier’s piercing teal eyes, hesitated before finally blurting out her shocking confession.

“It was that woman, Lady Yuria, whom I hated.”

“What?”

“Master, have you forgotten that I’m a woman too? I… I…”

‘Love you.’

Her head bowed as her trembling voice confessed her love. It was a confession that couldn’t have been more ill-timed or inappropriate.

A chilling silence filled the tent.

“General Jude, is that something you should be saying right now? You nearly killed His Grace and the Madam!”

Unable to hold back, Rexton shouted at Jude, grabbing her by the collar and pulling her up.

“Explain yourself. Have you lost your mind?”

Jude’s head, bound tightly, shook back and forth under Rexton’s grip.

“Have you gone mad?!”

Under the relentless questioning, Jude suddenly snapped, shouting back at Rexton.

“Ten years! Ten years! I’ve seen His Grace as a man for ten years!”

Stunned, Rexton released his grip and stepped back.

Jude, her eyes filled with desperate rage, now turned her gaze to Xavier. His face, which had been silently watching her, grew colder.

“You’ve seen me that way all this time?”

“Yes! And yet you married her! I can’t forgive her. I hate her. I wish that woman would just die!”

Slap!

Xavier’s hand struck Jude’s cheek.

Her head snapped to the side from the force of the blow. Slowly, she raised her head, her lips bleeding, and let out a hollow laugh. But even then, she glared at Xavier through her disheveled hair.

“Jude, get a hold of yourself.”

Xavier’s voice was calm.

“You’re like a little sister to me. It’s my fault for not noticing your feelings. My fault.”

“Master…”

“I didn’t realize…”

Jude’s expression softened slightly, apparently finding a glimmer of hope in Xavier’s words. But as her face eased, Xavier’s expression grew colder.

“Don’t misunderstand. I will no longer treat you as family.”

“Master! No!”

“I trusted you. I cherished you.”

Xavier stood, clenching his fists to suppress his emotions.

“And yet you betrayed me. How could you?”

“I did it all for you, Master!”

“Not for me—only for yourself.”

Xavier’s icy gaze bore down on her, tinged with sorrow. His reddened eyes seemed to glisten with unshed tears.

“I shouldn’t have brought you back that winter.”

“Ah…”

At his final words, Jude crumbled.

“There’s evidence, and you’ve confessed. You’ll be dealt with according to ducal law.”

Though Xavier suspected the Crown Prince’s involvement, there was no concrete proof. However, it was undeniable that Jude had attempted to harm the Duchess.

Tears streamed like a waterfall from Jude’s eyes. Finally grasping the gravity of the situation, she crawled on her knees to Xavier, begging.

“Master, I was wrong. Please…”

“Apologize to the Duchess. I no longer know you. Rexton, imprison her temporarily and transfer her to Berg. She’ll later be moved to the central prison near the capital.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

“Master!”

Without sparing her another glance, Xavier turned and left the tent.

“Master!”

Jude’s desperate cries echoed behind him, but Xavier didn’t look back. Once outside, he closed his eyes tightly. Memories from the past flooded his mind as vividly as if they had happened yesterday.

The first time she learned martial arts.

‘Master! Did you see my kick?’

‘Yes, it was splendid.’

Her second campaign on the battlefield.

‘Master, I made great contributions in this war! Did you see?’

‘Yes, well done. You’re one of the few I can trust implicitly, Jude.’

‘Master, you’re here!’

‘Master! Thank you for your hard work.’

‘Master!’

Warm memories from the past now felt like painful scars. If he had known she would end up like this, he would never have kept her by his side.

Jude had always been a simple, impulsive child, prone to jealousy and selfishness. But Xavier had never thought she would disregard human life so easily. Even with her jealousy, she had never seemed capable of such malice.

Someone must have exploited her weakness and incited her to act.

‘The Crown Prince did this.’

Arthur despised beastmen, blaming them for the death of the late Empress, his mother. From his youth, he had harbored ambitions of eradicating them completely.

‘They dared to kill the Empress of the Empire. They are our enemies. Why do you refuse to invade?’

‘It’s regrettable what happened to Her Majesty, but not all beastmen are to blame.’

‘My mother was attacked by bandits on a trip to Pins. They were all beastmen!’

‘We cannot indiscriminately slaughter innocent people.’

The arguments had gone on endlessly.

The destruction of the Beast Kingdom.

That was the Crown Prince’s dream.

But Xavier could never align himself with such a goal. He couldn’t indiscriminately kill others who bore the same pain he did.

The Crown Prince’s hatred for beastmen had eventually turned toward Xavier himself.

And this was the result.

Jude confessed that she committed such an act because she hated Yuria.

The fact that the Crown Prince exploited Jude’s emotions meant that the target of the henbane wasn’t limited to Xavier alone but included Yuria as well.

If he truly wanted the Saintess, eliminating Xavier would have been the simpler solution. It would have been the quickest route to both quelling his hatred and obtaining the Saintess.

But why had he gone to such lengths to target both himself and Saintess Yuria simultaneously?

‘Wasn’t it the Saintess he wanted? What exactly is he scheming?’