Chapter : 160
“Ugh—! Aaah—!!”
The scream filled with agony echoed throughout the Emperor’s bedroom.
“Your Majesty, please! Come to your senses…!”
The chamberlain, tears streaming down his face, poured the medicinal water into the Emperor’s mouth.
“Grrrk— Ugh, grk….”
But Simon Alberta couldn’t even swallow half of the medicine.
A dark, viscous liquid dripped from his stiffened mouth. One of the priests watching the scene shouted loudly.
“What are you doing!? Immediately prepare an antidote—!!”
The one shouting was Cardinal Paul. One of the attendants quickly ran out of the room.
The chamberlain, standing a step away from the Emperor, wept sorrowfully. His trembling hands still held the bowl.
At that moment, there was a disturbance outside the closed door.
“The- the Empress!”
The chamberlain, with a flustered expression, turned to the door. Cardinal Paul did the same.
With a sudden swing—
The door opened.
Disheveled hair across her forehead. A pale, lifeless face. Her eyes unfocused and swaying.
Grace stumbled forward, step by step, into the room.
“Your Majesty, Your Majesty… What… what is this…”
Reaching the bed, Grace looked down at Simon’s face with a shocked expression.
“This… This can’t be…”
She collapsed onto the floor.
The surprised chamberlain rushed to her side to support her, but she couldn’t seem to gather herself.
“Your Majesty, Your Majesty—!!!”
Tears began to flow down the Empress’s white cheeks.
The chamberlain forgot to breathe, unable to take his eyes off the tragic scene.
“Your Majesty, please! Come to your senses! What… What is happening…!”
Grace gripped the blanket covering Simon and cried out desperately.
It had been nearly ten years since the chamberlain had served the Empress. Even he had never seen the Empress like this.
The chamberlain barely held back his tears and stepped back. At that moment, someone tapped his shoulder.
He turned to see Cardinal Paul looking down at him with a serious expression.
He gestured subtly at the Empress and whispered softly.
“… It would be helpful if you stepped outside for a moment. The Empress, it seems… she’s a bit… unwell.”
The chamberlain hesitated for a moment, but seeing Grace sobbing uncontrollably, he nodded.
“I’ll let you know when the medicine arrives.”
“I will.”
The chamberlain, answering, walked out with the bowl in hand.
The Emperor on the bed lay with his eyes shut as if he were dead.
His face, including his forehead, cheeks, and lips, was pale as a corpse.
Grace stroked the Emperor’s hand, still crying. Her sobs were so deep they could hardly be described.
However, as time passed, her pitiful crying began to subside.
And finally, when the bedroom was enveloped in complete silence—
The faint sobs stopped abruptly.
The Empress slowly stood up.
Paul silently watched her back.
The Empress, fully standing, slowly raised one hand and placed it under the Emperor’s nose.
Then, she muttered.
“… He fainted.”
Her voice was dry, completely unlike the sobbing one she had just moments ago.
But Paul, as if understanding, took a step forward.
“Why did you dismiss the attendant? You could have kept him and used him for future matters.”
Grace slowly turned her body to face him.
Her hair was still disheveled, and her complexion pale. But her expression was different from when she entered.
She met Paul’s gaze and gave a small smile.
“Nonsense.”
Paul stiffened.
“Are the dogs of Prater always this stupid? If the attendant had been kept alive and it were revealed that I was behind this, what would we do then?”
“….”
“If you’re going to keep babbling nonsense, leave. You’re in the way.”
A vein popped up on Paul’s forehead. But he restrained his anger and faced the Empress.
“… It seems you’ve forgotten who helped you get to where you are now, Grace Belmart.”
Grace’s pupils widened slightly. But soon, they returned to their usual calm state.
“Hah.”
A short, yet clearly mocking, laugh escaped Grace’s lips.
“How laughable.”
She stared at Paul.
Soon, a serene smile, characteristic of her, spread across her face.
“Listen, Cardinal.”
Her gentle voice made Paul freeze in place.
He almost blurted out, “Yes, Your Majesty,” but barely managed to stop himself.
“If I had forgotten our past, do you think I’d be helping you with this messy work now?”
“….”
“Whether then or now, the temple never keeps its promises. It’s pitifully pathetic.”
Grace’s expression turned cold in an instant.
She glanced behind her at the Emperor, lying unconscious as if dead.
“Simon was a kind person. He was foolish, but kind.”
“….”
“Perhaps he was much more deserving of life than hypocrites like you. Yet, I made him into this.”
She shot a cold glare at Paul.
“Because of your endless, damnable greed.”
Paul cleared his throat loudly. Then, he straightened his back.
He had no intention of bowing to Grace.
Though she was the Empress, she was nothing but a puppet of the temple.
She had only succumbed to their threats involving her son, and that was why she had cooperated.
A puppet is still just a puppet. The one in control was himself.
“You speak too lightly of the Sacred Order, Your Majesty.”
“You, as always, continue to disrespect me.”
Their gazes clashed in the air.
It was Paul who looked away first. He cleared his throat again to hide his discomfort and said.
“Enough with the personal talk. We’re not done yet.”
Grace scoffed.
“The poison Simon drank is the product of a curse. Unless your gods show up with a miracle, there’s no way he can survive.”
“He’s still royalty. He won’t die so easily. Besides, Simon’s ability uses mana as life force, doesn’t it?”
Grace raised an eyebrow.
“So, what are you suggesting? Should I have personally stabbed his heart with a sword?”
“No, just watch carefully.”
Paul glanced at Simon, whose complexion was already a ghastly blue, and continued.
“As I said, all the nobles have been summoned to the palace.”
“Right.”
“Well done. When the Emperor dies, we’ll immediately convene the council. Once Erbia is named the Sacred State, your role will truly be over.”
Grace lowered her gaze. Paul, seeing this, added as though offering a favor.
“Once that happens, I’ll completely cover up the crimes of you and your son.”
At those words, Grace looked up. Her cold eyes flared with intensity.
“My son’s crimes?”
“Yes. Your son’s…”
“Zenon has no crimes. What has that child even done?”
Grace muttered bitterly as she clenched her teeth.
“Don’t ever think of weighing my son against this. If you speak of him like that again…”
At that moment, a noise from outside the door sounded as if another door was opening.
“Your Majesty, the antidote has arrived.”
As Grace glared fiercely at Paul, the door opened, and the expression of anger on her face immediately disappeared.
She then put on a sorrowful expression once more.
A few maidservants, following the chamberlain, approached the Empress.
“Your Majesty, a room has been prepared for you to rest in. Please, for now, step out. Your health will be compromised if you stay like this…”
Grace staggered, pretending to be weak, and allowed the maidservants to support her.
“Ugh… Ugh…”
From behind, Simon’s groans could once again be heard. Likely from the effects of the medicine meant to awaken him.
Grace, leaving the sound behind, stepped out of the bedroom.
Tears flowed from her eyes, but whether they were real or fake, it was hard to tell.
The poison she had used was the product of a forbidden curse.
The moment it entered the body, it blinded the eyes and ears, and only pain dominated the entire body.
A regular person would have died within an hour after ingesting it. But Simon was of royal blood.
His ability was overflowing vitality. He could freely convert mana into life force.
‘One week left.’
She believed Simon had one week left.
As this thought crossed her mind, a heavy ache hit her chest again.
A self-deprecating laugh bubbled up inside her.
‘I’ve committed so many sins.’
Perhaps, the very start of all this…
Was that the problem?
She lifted her head, stumbling slightly.
In her swaying vision, the luxurious interior of the Emperor’s palace seemed to blur endlessly.
The sin she remembered had been with her since the moment she was born.
