Cerulean Waves | Duke Ergi

Chapter 18

"What a tenacious son of a..." He muttered a curse under his breath after reading a letter sent by his friend. Was he losing his mind?

Before he could continue badmouthing the sender of the letter, a female voice interrupted him. Turning around, he saw Rashta looking at him confused. She must have just entered the room.

"Duke Ergi? Did you receive some bad news? You were cursing–"

"It was nothing. I'm just afraid that my friend has lost all of his senses." He gave her a charming smile.

"What?–"

"Just pretend you didn't hear that."

What a perfect timing. With just a few words exchanged here and there, he'll be able to adjust the plan according to his lovesick friend's request. "What brings you here today?"

And just from that single question, the Emperor's mistress began telling him all of her problems. It was almost hysterical, really. Seeing her blindly trust him and be completely ignorant of the possibility that he may not have her best interests at heart.

"A few days ago, I promised myself that I will keep myself and my baby safe on my own." Rashta said while fiddling with her fingers.

Ergi leaned forward in his seat to let her know that he is listening. "That's a good decision."

"The problem is, as soon as I promised myself that, I discovered that I was ingesting abortion drugs." She said, full of worry. "Do you have any idea on what I can do?"

"There are two ways."

Immediately, her eyes perked up with curiosity. He only gave her a meaningful smile.

"Two?"

"The first way is you can ask the Emperor for help. Just keep telling that you're scared and he will definitely do everything that he can in order to protect you and the baby." He watched as she looked down with a troubled face. It seems that she isn't so keen with that idea, which went to his favor.

She looked up to face him. "What's the other one?"

Her question made him smile wider. "Get rid of anyone who might attack before they strike you."

"But..." She pouted unhappily. "My enemy is of a higher social standing, has more power, and has a lot of money. Will I really be able to get rid of her?"

'Ha... how funny. She didn't even try to hide who she was referring to.' He maintained a kind smile toward the oblivious girl who is unaware of his real intentions. Who knew it was that easy to make a powerful empire crumble to pieces, from just saying a few words?

And it was all thanks to this ivory haired mistress.

"Are you talking about the Empress?"

Rashta took a deep breath before saying. "At first, I wanted to become close to her. Everyone praises her, so I thought that she would love and care for me too."

"But now..." Then, her face turned into a bitter scowl. "I hate her."

"She scares me."

A small scoff threatened to leave his lips as he listened to her concerns. How ridiculous could you be to expect the Empress to care for you when you are sleeping with her husband?

Nonetheless, he still maintained his usual playful expression.

"There's only one way to stop the Empress from attacking you." Ergi confessed, leaning back on his chair with a nonchalant tone.

A small smirk formed on his lips as he continued. "You need to become the Empress."

And as soon as he saw the glimmer of hope in her eyes, he was able to confirm that everything will be going smoothly. Despite fear overriding it, he knew that just a little more push will lead her to the path that will turn the scheme into a success.