.jpg)
"I know. I only ask that you spare my mother's life."
"......"
The Emperor did not respond to Darian's words, but closed his eyes tightly.
After a long while, he opened his mouth.
"You may leave now."
"......Yes, thank you for listening."
As soon as Darian turned around after bowing, the Emperor opened his eyes again.
He couldn't take his eyes off his son's back for a long time as he left the study.
"Ouch!"
The Empress, who was getting her hair done, suddenly frowned.
She turned around with an annoyed face and shouted sharply.
"How can you be a lady-in-waiting if you can't even comb properly?"
"I-I'm sorry, Your Majesty."
"Can't you get out of here right now?!"
The Empress threw an object on the dressing table at her.
The maid barely dodged the flying objects, hurriedly put down the comb, and stepped back.
"I'm already upset enough, and you're just making it worse......"
The Empress narrowed her brows and turned her head again.
The maids exchanged glances, and after a while, they plucked up their courage and began to comb the Empress's hair again.
Their movements were slower and more cautious than before.
Only then did the Empress close her eyes tightly, as if trying to suppress her anger.
She had been acting as a benevolent Empress as best as she could, but lately, her patience was reaching its limit.
The Empress knew exactly where her anger came from.
'Darian and Rian, too. Why are they all so quiet?'
Both of them should be making moves, but they were strangely silent. That fact made her even more uneasy.
'I have to contact Rian somehow.'
The Empress bit her lip.
After Peony almost died, a major investigation was conducted, and security at the Imperial Palace became tighter than usual.
With the strengthening of the security Magic Circle, even the means to contact Rian had disappeared.
'This is a disaster. I need to get rid of Ayla and Peony as soon as possible.'
There was no way she could do it alone. Just as she was about to drink some water out of frustration,
the door burst open and a maid rushed in with a pale face.
"Y-Your Majesty......!"
The Empress's eyebrows shot up sharply.
"What is this rude behavior without knocking?"
"I'm sorry. It's just that it's such an urgent matter......! His Majesty is leading troops this way right now!"
"......What? Why?"
"I don't know the reason either! But the atmosphere seemed ominous."
The Empress's expression hardened coldly at the maid's restless words.
At that moment, the sound of rattling footsteps was heard from beyond the hallway. The sound was threatening, as if they had brought a considerable number of people.
Before she could even prepare, the Emperor and armed knights burst through the door.
The Empress composed herself and slowly rose from her seat.
The moment she saw the Emperor's cold expression towards her, a bad feeling gripped her heart.
She forced herself to sound calm and raised her voice.
"......What is the meaning of this? No matter how much you are His Majesty, how can you barge into my palace with armed soldiers without even a word?"
The Emperor did not respond to her words. Instead, he gave a cold order to the knights.
"Arrest the Empress and the maids."
No sooner had he finished speaking than the knights approached and forcibly grabbed the Empress's arms.
Soon, as they tied ropes around her body, the Empress shouted in fury.
"Your Majesty, why are you doing this!"
She struggled desperately, but she was no match for the strength of the men.
The Emperor's eyes narrowed.
"Do you really not know the reason? After committing such heinous acts?"
At those words, the Empress's heart sank.
'......What did they find out?'
She paused for a moment, but then shook her head violently and denied it.
"Don't be ridiculous! What heinous acts have I committed? Let go of my hands right now!"
The Emperor watched the struggling Empress and raised one corner of his mouth as if he was dumbfounded.
He didn't expect her to admit her guilt so easily, but he didn't expect her to deny it so brazenly.
"Peony's maids have given new testimony."
"W-What kind of testimony are you talking about?"
"They said that they all shared the food that a maid named Lona brought in the morning. And immediately after that, they all fell asleep at the same time."
"W-What's wrong with that? They must have been sleepy because it was early in the morning!"
A cold sneer spread across the Emperor's lips.
"Yes, they could be sleepy. But how could they all fall asleep at the same time? It's more likely that the maid named Lona did something to the food."
He strode closer to the Empress and continued.
"I didn't suspect her because I thought she was an innocent victim who died unjustly...... But now that I see it, I can't rule out the possibility that she lost her life in a fight with an accomplice."
"......Are you suspecting me of ordering Peony's assassination?"
"That's right."
The Empress scoffed as if she was dumbfounded.
"Ha, what grounds do you have for such ridiculous suspicion? Do you have any evidence?"
"Evidence?"
The Emperor laughed briefly.
"I don't have any evidence. But I have a witness."
"A witness...... It must be someone who's trying to frame me! I have no reason to do such a thing."
The Emperor let out a long sigh and strode towards her.
The Empress, who was struggling with the ropes, froze at his next words.
"The witness is none other than your son."
"......What did you say?"
"Darian told me everything."
As soon as she heard those words, the Empress froze as if she had been stabbed by a sharp dagger.
A silence in which even breathing disappeared heavily pressed down on the room.
The Emperor coldly added.
"Not only this incident, but everything you did to young Peony through Lona has been revealed. Fortunately, Ayla has been keeping Peony from taking the medicine and keeping it all separate."
The Empress could only move her lips and couldn't say anything.
She stared at the Emperor with disbelieving eyes.
"When I took the medicine and questioned Peony's doctor, he confessed everything, saying that he was only following your orders."
The Emperor slowly tilted his head.
"Well? Are you still going to deny your sins even in this situation?"
"......There seems to be some kind of misunderstanding, Your Majesty."
The Empress belatedly came to her senses and opened her mouth. Tears instantly welled up in her eyes.
"Darian has been upset with me lately, but he kept avoiding talking to me, so I couldn't correct the misunderstanding. I didn't know it would come to this......"
"It's all a misunderstanding?"
"Yes, please believe me, Your Majesty. I know how much you cherish Peony...... There's no way I would do such a thing."
The Empress looked up at him with pleading eyes and begged.
The Emperor frowned as if he was disgusted, looking at her.
"Are you going to deny it even though there's evidence? Even though the medicines you had the doctor give Peony are still there?"
"T-That's...... Someone must be framing me. I'm really innocent, Your Majesty!"
"......It's just a waste of breath to keep talking."
The Emperor turned away with a look of exhaustion.
"Save your excuses for the interrogation that will follow. But there's no other way but to admit your guilt anyway."
At the Emperor's cold words, the Empress slumped to the floor as if she had lost her will.
More than the fact that all her sins had been exposed, the fact that Darian was the one who revealed them made her deeply despair.
"Ah, Darian. Why......"
The Emperor frowned.
'She doesn't have even a speck of guilt for what she did to Peony.'
He gave the order without paying attention to the Empress's shock.
"Imprison the Empress in an unused detached palace. Do not release her until I order it, and keep her under strict surveillance."
As soon as the Emperor's order was issued, the knights grabbed the Empress again.
She was helplessly dragged out without even resisting.
.jpg)