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The Empress no longer had anything holding her back. She had known all along that the Emperor had realized the power she possessed, ever since he had been going around signing peacekeeping agreements.
And so, she had no intention of hiding her cards anymore. She was ready to lay everything bare, just to ensure that the Emperor wouldn't get anything he wanted.
“It’s all the same anyway, whether it's the Crown Prince or our Arthur, they both carry her blood. So what difference does it make if we pass Lutinas down to Arthur?”
“You’ve lost your mind. You’re completely insane.”
“Of course I have. How could I not? I'm supposed to sit back and watch her son inherit this empire?”
The Empress sneered as she laughed mockingly at the Emperor. Having been driven to the brink, she had lost all rationality.
“The maid who should have lived forever in the shadow of my family dared to deceive me—me, who was raised to be Empress, and she became Empress instead. That lowborn girl dared to do such a thing.”
“Just because the Marquess of Blandius raised you like that doesn’t mean you were betrothed to me. Why did you assume you were the Empress by default?”
“Because there was no one else! I was the only one who had the proper education, the legitimacy, everything needed to become Empress!”
Her voice burst out like a scream-raw, filled with a tangled mix of inferiority and rage that she could never fully erase.
“Why didn’t you just marry Melsia Emblem instead? If you had, maybe I wouldn’t have come to hate you this much.”
The Empress still regretted it. When she had first sensed that the Emperor held some affection for Melsia Emblem, she should not have seen her merely as a rival to keep at bay.
Never in her wildest imagination had she thought the maid she trusted, who had lived beneath her shadow, would ever dare to seduce the Emperor.
“You rejected me, saying I lacked the qualifications, the capabilities, that nothing about me suited the role of Empress. And yet, you put my own maid on the throne? How dare you?”
“You talk as though the Empress's seat was reserved just for you.”
The Emperor cut her off coldly.
“Even if my betrothed hadn’t died, I still never would have recognized you as Empress.”
He knew exactly what to say to strike her where it hurt most.
“Just like I’ve never truly acknowledged you as Empress to this day.”
The Emperor’s voice, sharp as a blade, pierced through her, and the Empress began to slowly come back to her senses, drawing in a deep breath.
“...Why did you come here, Marchian?”
“I thought it was about time to make an announcement.”
“An announcement?”
“Your dethronement.”
The Empress shook her head in disbelief at the Emperor’s words.
"That can't be."
"Why not?"
"You... you..."
"Didn’t the Empress admit it herself? That she passed off the son she had with the late Empress’s brother as the Empire’s second prince. That she conspired with demons to force Arthur onto the throne, plunging the Empire into danger. All of it.”
The Emperor shrugged as if to say, “What’s the problem?”
“Isn’t it more of a disgrace to let such an Empress remain in power?”
“Is this all because you’ve managed to get Pavan into your debt? Is that what makes you so confident?”
“As if that’s the only thing.”
The Emperor leaned down, locking eyes with the Empress as he whispered.
“How could a mere human stand against the power of demons with just that?”
“...You knew. You knew all along.”
“Of course I did. That’s why I’ve been so careful until now.”
Straightening up again, the Emperor looked down at the Empress with cold, emotionless eyes.
“But now, I’ve finally found a way to counter them. So it no longer matters what kind of desperate moves you try to make.”
He slowly glanced around the Empress’s chambers. It was once a place he had visited daily, back when the one he loved was still alive. Now, it felt unfamiliar—no trace of her remained.
At last, he felt he could return this place to its rightful owner.
Turning his back to the Empress, he said.
“You should start getting this place in order. Out of old sentiment, I’ll give you some time to prepare yourself.”
As the Emperor stepped out and closed the door behind him, a sharp scream echoed from within.
The Emperor spoke to the head maid, who stood quietly in the hallway with her head bowed.
“Go in and check on your mistress. She’s likely to lose her mind completely.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
He waited until he saw the maid rush into the Empress's chamber. Then, without looking back, he headed toward the room of the Second Prince, Arthur.
Unlike the stern detachment he showed with the Empress, a heavy, grim expression clouded his face as he approached Arthur.
“...The truth that he’s not my son—he’ll be devastated.”
From a young age, Arthur had always clung tightly to the Empress’s side. She had never allowed time alone between father and son. And whenever the Emperor tried to act like a father, she would throw a fit to keep them apart.
It wasn’t until Diana witnessed the Empress consorting with the demons that the Emperor realized Arthur was not truly his son.
From that day on, the Emperor began to avoid Arthur, and their relationship as father and son was forever severed.
Now standing in front of Arthur’s room, the Emperor remained frozen in thought, unable to even knock. His aide, sensing his unease, asked in a concerned voice.
“Your Majesty, what will you do about Prince Arthur?”
“I’ll respect his wishes. If Arthur asks to be spared, I’ll quietly leave the palace. But if he harbors the same ambition as the Empress…”
He exhaled deeply before continuing:
“I don’t know anymore. Neither does Aurelian.”
Everything else was going according to plan but when it came to one’s child, things never went according to plan.
The same was true for Arthur.
The Emperor knew he had to speak with him. The Empress had likely lost consciousness by now, and if he waited any longer, she would just hide Arthur away again.
“Arthur. I’m coming in.”
The Emperor knocked on the door, then carefully opened it and stepped inside.
“Arthur?”
But the room was engulfed in darkness, and Arthur was nowhere to be seen.
Though it was midday, the room was as dark as night. The Emperor furrowed his brow and gave an order to his aide.
“Turn on the lights.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
As the aide stepped into the room to find the switch...
“There’s no need, Your Majesty.”
“...!”
The voice came from right behind him, Arthur had approached silently, like a shadow.
And before the Emperor could utter a single word, a black hand seized him.
“You won’t remember anything anyway, Your Majesty.”
“...”
“...”
As the Emperor and his aide collapsed helplessly, a man named Bertan calmly caught their bodies.
Clicking his tongue as if in pity, Bertan said.
“It must be devastating, Prince Arthur. To find out that the man you believed to be your father was not. That the brother you trusted was never truly your brother…”
Bertan laid the unconscious Emperor and his aide gently on Arthur’s bed. Arthur stood frozen, face pale, staring blankly into space.
“If this truth comes to light, it won’t just be Her Majesty the Empress in danger, Prince Arthur’s life will be at risk as well.”
“...I wonder, does Mother still desire true victory? Or does she just want the Emperor dead at this point?”
Arthur’s hand twitched, trembling, as if he were just barely resisting the urge to strangle the Emperor right then and there.
But Bertan spoke softly to restrain him.
“Unfortunately, all His Majesty did was provoke the Empress’s sense of defeat. He knows all too well what she fears the most.”
“…”
“Even if you killed him now, the Empress would live on in eternal agony—forever imprisoned in the shadow of the deceased former Empress.”
Bertan licked his dry lips and gave a crooked, twisted smile.
“So, what will you do now? Without you, Prince Arthur, there’s no one left who can stop the Empress’s dethronement.”
Arthur shut his eyes tightly. He had come to a painful realization, he could no longer remain hidden in this small, comfortable space.
“I must protect my mother…”
“A wise choice.”
Bertan replied, then he pulled Arthur into a tight embrace, his grin stretching unnaturally wide—because at last, the banquet of chaos he had long prepared was nearly ready to be served.
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1 Comments
Ty for updating!!
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