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Riel quietly looked up at the healer who was applying medicine to her face.
“The scars won’t remain, so please don’t worry.”
The healer seemed to think she was worried because she was staring intently.
Riel asked casually, “How did you become acquainted with him?”
By ‘him,’ she meant Duke Havel.
Come to think of it, Duke Havel had assigned the healer to her side from the very beginning.
All the secretive and dangerous events happening in the Imperial Palace were conveyed through the healer.
Yet, Riel knew nothing about the healer himself.
“That is…”
The healer trailed off, looking troubled.
Riel seized the moment and tested the healer.
“Tell him.”
“...?”
“Tell him it seems like there’s a spy around us.”
“Yes? A spy, a spy?”
The healer’s eyes shook violently. His face was filled with fear.
Riel observed the changing expression of the healer.
The healer looked around cautiously, then slowly lowered his head towards her ear.
The healer’s lips whispered close to Riel’s ear, almost touching it.
“Actually, I am…”
“…”
“Duke Havel’s illegitimate child.”
“Really?”
Riel looked surprised at the completely unexpected words.
“Duke Havel is my father, and my mother was a maid in the Duke’s household.”
Riel had never heard rumors of Duke Havel having a mistress or an illegitimate child.
Perhaps Duke Havel, who hated being involved in dirty rumors, had kept the existence of his illegitimate child a secret.
If he was related to Duke Havel by blood, the possibility of him being a spy was small.
“Ha…”
She let out a hollow laugh.
Looking closely at the healer, he did resemble Duke Havel quite a bit.
'I was swayed by Iana’s words. Because of the word ‘spy’…'
It was at that moment.
Bang-.
The bedroom door swung open on both sides without any prior warning.
It was His Majesty the Emperor.
He quietly stared at Riel and the healer, who were face to face, with only a bathrobe on.
With mad, clear eyes.
“Your, Your Majesty the Emperor.”
The healer greeted the Emperor with a flustered expression.
“…”
The Emperor did not respond.
“I, I have finished treating the wound on the Madam's face, so I will take my leave now.”
The healer, thoroughly frightened, bowed and hurried out.
Bang!
As the bedroom door closed, silence filled the room.
The Emperor slowly approached Riel, wearing a twisted smile.
“I had forgotten for a moment.”
Riel rose from her seat and asked.
“What are you talking about?”
“That you were Count Dietrian’s mistress.”
“…”
Riel silently stared at the Emperor.
“What are you doing? Get out.”
The Emperor leaned back against the bed and gestured towards the door with his chin.
“I will take my leave now.”
Riel made no excuses.
Then, she bowed to the Emperor and walked towards the bedroom door, still only wearing a bathrobe.
As Riel stood in front of the door, the Emperor spat out, “Are you going to leave in that attire? And barefoot?”
Riel turned around and opened her mouth with a face devoid of emotion.
“Then, I will just change my clothes and leave.”
“…”
The Emperor’s gaze turned sharp.
Riel untied the belt of her bathrobe and slowly took it off.
Her white skin was slowly revealed, starting from her shoulders.
She began to change into a dress with slow movements.
The Emperor watched the scene with a blank face.
Riel put on the dress and shoes, then bowed to the Emperor.
“I will take my leave now.”
“To think that a slave from a traitorous family would maintain her pride until the end.”
The Emperor’s expression grew increasingly cold, but Riel paid no mind.
“I am not maintaining my pride. It is simply that I am not doing what Your Majesty dislikes—clinging and being obsequious.”
“You are skilled at lying too.”
Riel looked at the Emperor, who was clearly angry, and thought.
'To avoid falling out of favor in this situation, I must prove my usefulness.'
“Then, may I tell one more lie?”
“What?”
“About a way to know Grand Duke Ervin’s true feelings.”
The Emperor looked at Riel with suspicion before opening his mouth.
“…Try it.”
“Tell Grand Duke Ervin this: From now on, Rubena will…”
“...?”
“…change to a theocratic political system that worships His Majesty the Emperor as a god.”
A smile spread across the Emperor’s face as he understood the hidden meaning in those words.
✦ ✦ ✦
The next day, Carrion headed to his territory by carriage.
He could have stayed at his townhouse in the capital because audiences with the Emperor were piling up, but there was urgent business to attend to.
He recalled the conversation he had with Iana.
“Spread rumors through Madam Marie’s dress shop.”
“What kind of rumors?”
“Rumors that Riel will soon become the Empress.”
Carrion muttered, looking out the carriage window.
“It’s absurd.”
No matter how deep the Emperor’s favor, Riel was from a traitorous family.
There was no way the Imperial Family would allow someone from a traitorous family who had tried to poison the Crown Prince to become the Empress.
Then, a word Riel had said in the carriage flashed through his mind.
“I might have become the Empress. If our family hadn’t fallen.”
'But if it’s Riel, who is skilled in schemes, it might be possible.'
Riel was a woman who would get what she wanted, even if it meant risking her life.
That was why she had become the Emperor’s favored mistress despite being from a traitorous family.
“If Riel becomes the Empress, then I…”
Carrion imagined his situation if Riel became the Empress.
She would try to erase his existence to erase the fact that she had been Count Dietrian’s mistress.
Iana and Riel.
Carrion had to choose one of them for his own safety.
Clatter-.
Before he knew it, the carriage arrived in front of Madam Marie’s dress shop.
Carrion stepped inside.
Madam Marie was chatting with the maids of noble families who had come on errands.
“Count, have you arrived? It’s been a while.”
As Madam Marie greeted him, the maids scurried out behind her.
Carrion slowly ran his eyes over the dresses hanging there as he asked.
“Have you been well?”
“Thanks to your consideration, Count, I have been well.”
Carrion stopped in his tracks.
“Then you should repay the favor. You’ve been well thanks to me, after all.”
“Yes?”
Madam Marie stared blankly at him, not understanding what he meant.
“You’ve been well because I didn’t hold you responsible for spreading strange rumors about my divorce here.”
“That’s not…”
Carrion cut off Madam Marie’s words.
“I need you to spread a rumor.”
“What kind of rumor are you talking about?”
Carrion gestured with his finger as if telling her to come closer.
Madam Marie approached with a tense face.
“That the mistress from a traitorous family will soon become the Empress.”
✦ ✦ ✦
That afternoon, Charles, who had toured the outer city of the capital, headed to the Imperial Palace at the Emperor’s summons.
He thought as he rode his horse.
'Is my brother calling me to go hunting again?'
It wouldn’t be strange if he did.
Charles had pretended to yield in order to protect Iana and Ervin, but on the other hand, he was watching the Emperor.
To figure out what kind of person the Emperor really was.
Arriving at the Imperial Palace, Charles made his way to the Emperor’s office.
The secretary greeted Charles upon seeing him, then spoke to the door.
“Your Majesty, Grand Duke Ervin has arrived.”
“Let him in.”
At the Emperor’s words, the secretary opened the door.
The Emperor was sitting at his desk, shuffling through documents.
He wasn’t planning to go hunting, as he was dressed in casual clothes.
Charles bowed briefly and asked.
“Your Majesty, is there something you need?”
“Charles, I need you to help me.”
The Emperor said with an excited face.
“If it is something Your Majesty desires, I will lend my meager strength.”
The Emperor opened a book on the desk and pointed to a spot.
The Kingdom of Ruben.
An ancient kingdom that was the predecessor of the Rubena Empire.
Charles asked, not knowing what was going on.
“Why the Kingdom of Ruben…?”
“I want to make the Rubena Empire even more powerful than it is now. So I’m thinking of changing the political system like the Kingdom of Ruben.”
The moment he heard those words, Charles was horrified.
The Kingdom of Ruben was a theocratic state ruled by a king who was revered as a god.
'Could it be that my brother is going to become a god?'
It was a fleeting moment, but Charles was able to find the answer to his long-standing question.
The Emperor had not changed. He was just an avaricious human with a cruel temperament.
“Charles, what will you do?”
The Emperor urged him to answer, watching his expression.
'My brother is testing me.'
Charles suppressed the rising anger and answered calmly.
“If it is something Your Majesty desires…”
“…”
“I will do my best to help.”
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