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At that moment, a chilling silence filled the Emperor's bedroom.
Lady Riel, the Empress, and the two healers were all staring at the Emperor, who sat without a word.
The re-examined Tinus tea leaves remained unchanged even after three hours.
'What should I do?'
Lady Riel was racking her brain for a way out.
"Captain of the Guard! Captain of the Guard!"
The Emperor suddenly shouted in a sharp voice.
Bang-.
The tall Captain of the Guard, with his sword at his side, entered and bowed sharply.
"Yes, Your Majesty. You summoned me?"
The Emperor slowly reached out his hand and said,
"Bring me a sword."
"......!"
Everyone in the room stared at the Emperor in shock.
The Captain of the Guard drew his sword from its scabbard, held it respectfully with both hands, and approached the Emperor.
The Emperor rose from his seat and grasped the hilt of the sword. He then slowly circled Lady Riel, the Empress, and the two healers, saying,
"It's not just a mistake, one of you is lying."
The Emperor pointed the sword at Lady Riel's healer's neck.
"Did you speak falsely?"
Lady Riel quickly gave a signal with her eyes, and Lady Riel's healer answered with a frightened expression.
"N-no, I didn't."
The Emperor then approached the healer brought by the Empress and pointed the sword at his neck.
"Then did you speak falsely?"
"I-I didn't either."
The Empress stepped forward and said,
"Didn't Your Majesty see it yourself? The Tinus tea leaves haven't changed."
At the Empress's words, the Emperor walked towards Lady Riel with the sword in his hand and said,
"Is this your doing again, you vixen?"
"......"
"Going to the orphanage without a word, supposedly being pregnant there, and the person who harmed you having a backer, everything surrounding you today is strangely dramatic."
'Duke Havel hasn't made any moves so far, so he must not have found a way......'
Lady Riel thought as she stared at the Emperor.
She had to buy time until she could find a way out.
The Emperor pointed the sword at Lady Riel's neck.
"Lady Riel, speak."
Lady Riel grabbed the blade of the sword with her hand and said,
"Your Majesty, did you only find me strange today? What about Her Majesty the Empress?"
"The Empress?"
The Emperor turned his gaze towards the Empress.
"Didn't Your Majesty the Empress also seem different than usual?"
"Lady Riel."
The Empress retorted loudly. But Lady Riel continued without paying attention.
"Her Majesty the Empress has never been interested in the pregnancies of other consorts. So why did she appear with her personal healer only for my pregnancy?"
"What?"
The Emperor's eyes wavered slightly as he looked at the Empress at Lady Riel's words.
The Empress asked in a cold voice.
"Are you saying that I, the Empress, am lying?"
"That's how it looks to me, Your Majesty the Empress."
"Why would I?"
As the Empress's emotions wavered, Lady Riel did not miss the opportunity.
"Her Majesty the Empress, with her keen eyes, must have seen it. That I am not just a woman who passes by His Majesty the Emperor like the other consorts."
"......"
"And since I am carrying His Majesty the Emperor's child, isn't this what you are doing to get rid of me by any means? Your Majesty the Empress, you are truly a detestable person!"
Lady Riel strongly pushed and emotionally shook the Empress.
It was at that moment.
Slap!
The Empress slapped Lady Riel's cheek hard. Lady Riel deliberately slumped weakly to the floor.
"Empress, what are you doing?"
The Emperor threw the sword to the floor and stood in front of Lady Riel.
"......"
The Empress's eyes, looking at the Emperor, were filled with resentment and sorrow.
With the wounded face of a woman who had her man stolen.
Looking at the Empress's appearance, Lady Riel felt a sense of superiority.
'She pretended to be noble, but the Empress is just another woman.'
To turn the atmosphere around, Lady Riel wrapped her hands around her belly like a mother with strong maternal instincts.
"I will protect my child no matter what. Even if it costs me my life."
At that moment, Lady Riel's personal healer knelt on the floor.
"I-I, as a healer, will also stake my honor and life. Your Majesty the Emperor."
"Ha......!"
The Emperor sighed.
Creak-.
At that moment, the bedroom door opened and Charles entered.
"How dare you enter without my permission!"
The Emperor reacted sharply, and Charles bowed deeply and said,
"Your Majesty, I speak as a member of the Imperial Family. This matter does not seem like something that can be quietly overlooked."
"So?"
The Emperor reacted sharply.
Charles continued in a serious voice.
"You must summon the Imperial Elders and clearly reveal the truth of this matter."
'If things get bigger, the verification will become more thorough. Then it will be disadvantageous to me......'
Lady Riel looked at Charles with resentful eyes.
At Charles's words, the Empress spoke first.
"Your Majesty, please do so."
"Empress."
"I will also stake my honor as the Empress of the Rubena Empire on this matter."
Contrary to Lady Riel's expectations, the Empress strongly confronted her.
The Emperor hesitated for a moment, then gave an order as if he had made up his mind.
"Summon the Imperial Elders immediately tomorrow."
✦ ✦ ✦
A while later, inside the drawing room of the Empress Palace.
Iana, Charles, and the Empress, who had come from the Imperial Palace, sat around the table.
The Empress's hand, holding the teacup, trembled.
Charles asked with a worried expression.
"Your Highness, are you alright?"
"Don't worry. I'm fine."
The Empress said she was fine, but her face was darker than ever.
Iana stared silently at the Empress.
The Empress was a person of fine character.
A person who pursued peace rather than conflict and sealed off disputes with her own sacrifice.
For such a person, simply being at odds with others was a difficult task.
Iana knew that feeling better than anyone.
"Your Highness, would you excuse us for a moment?"
Charles was about to ask why with his eyes, but stopped and stood up.
"Then, I'll be outside for a while."
Charles quietly left the drawing room.
Only Iana and the Empress remained in the drawing room.
The Empress put down the teacup with a trembling hand and opened her mouth in a seemingly calm voice.
"Why, do you have something to say to me separately?"
Iana looked back on her memories of her past life and spoke heavily.
"I blamed myself. Even though I knew it was Lady Riel and Carrion's fault, I did."
"......"
The Empress looked at Iana without a word.
"Looking back, I regret that the most. The time I spent not properly hating and resenting, but turning the arrow towards myself."
The Empress hesitated and gently took Iana's hand. Then she said with a firm look in her eyes.
"Then from now on, I will properly hate and resent."
"......"
"His Majesty the Emperor and Lady Riel......"
✦ ✦ ✦
Iana and Charles were not able to return to their detached palace lodging until after midnight.
Charles, who had finished bathing, sat on the sofa and was deep in thought. He seemed to be making plans for what to do in the future.
Iana sat quietly in front of the vanity so as not to disturb him and quietly looked at Charles.
"Ha......!"
Could it be that his thoughts were not going well? He sighed and roughly swept back his hair.
A few strands of his silver hair stuck out.
Iana felt like she was about to burst out laughing at the sight. Then a good idea flashed through her mind and she picked up a comb placed on the vanity.
Stealthily.
Iana muffled her footsteps and secretly walked behind the sofa where Charles was sitting.
Just as she was about to comb his hair from right behind him.
Charles spoke in his unique low voice.
"You have to comb it nicely. Like I did for you."
"You knew?"
Iana was startled and her face turned red.
"Please try not to do ambushes or surprise attacks as much as possible. It's too obvious."
Charles leaned back on the sofa, tilted his head back, and playfully scolded her.
Iana pouted and asked as she combed Charles's hair.
"But what's not going well?"
"I'm thinking about how to send more reinforcements to the North, but it's not coming to me."
Iana also fell into thought. Her hand, which was combing, slowed down.
"Iana, you have to comb it properly."
Charles playfully scolded her, and Iana combed his hair again and said,
"His Majesty the Emperor doesn't send more reinforcements to the North because of his own safety, right?"
"That's right. Because he has to protect the capital where the Imperial Palace is."
"So you need a reason why His Majesty the Emperor has no choice but to move the troops."
"Even if I tell you that the war in the North is serious, you're stubborn......"
"Insurrection."
"What?"
A different light flashed in Charles's eyes.
"You can say that there are signs of an insurrection in the North."
"......"
"By using His Majesty the Emperor's fear of insurrection."
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