Episode 85
A sneer curled the lips of Tower Master Ren as he recognized the mage.
“Who would have thought someone would be helping with such a pathetic scheme?”
The old mage hurriedly bowed his head, his face burning with shame. Of all people to witness his humiliation—this arrogant man. He felt he had lived too long.
Under the Emperor’s silent gaze, the Tower Master approached the soldier carrying the sack. The soldier, unable to kneel properly due to the burden slung over his shoulder, stood frozen like a stone. With a mere flick of his wrist, Ren effortlessly took the sack from the soldier and cradled it in his arms. He then quietly opened it, revealing the face of its occupant for all to see.
“…Louise.”
The Emperor let out a groan-like whisper. But his youngest daughter merely lay limp in the Tower Master’s arms, her face paler than linen.
A flicker of madness passed through Ren’s violet eyes.
“How dare you commit such an act against His Majesty, who is unwell!”
At that moment, Crown Prince Rurik interjected, his own face pale.
“I request Your Majesty’s permission to take my ailing sister back to receive treatment and continue her convalescence.”
The Emperor glanced at his second son almost nervously before replying hastily.
“Of course, Rurik.”
No sooner had the command been given than black flames erupted on the sandy ground, and the Tower Master vanished with the Princess.
The temporary gate had already closed, but a mere gate could never hope to restrain the Tower Master’s movements anyway.
“It—it was my decision alone! Her—Her Majesty the Empress knows nothing of this!” Duke Gideon stammered out his excuse.
The Emperor turned to him, a look of sheer disbelief on his face.
“If the Empress were to abandon her own family here, what would she have left?”
Gideon fell to his knees on the sand.
“It’s the truth. Her Majesty the Empress knows nothing. I too… I only intended to bring Her Highness the youngest Princess to persuade His Highness the Second Prince. I had no ill intentions whatsoever…”
The Emperor let out a heavy sigh.
“Daring to deceive me and attempting to harm the Princess behind my back are crimes worthy of immediate execution. However, in light of your past service, I will remand you for a trial by the noble court.”
The fact that Duke Damiani was taking sole responsibility and accepting punishment was, in truth, a relief to the Emperor. It was far better for appearances than the alternative—that the Empress, out of jealousy for the Second Prince, had kidnapped his powerless younger sister.
The Emperor’s command continued.
“However, your ducal title is stripped effective immediately.”
Tears of despair streamed from Gideon’s eyes.
“I… I am grateful for Your Majesty’s mercy.”
Meanwhile, the Empress remained alone in the Imperial Palace, enduring an agonizing wait.
‘Why did His Majesty go to the Damiani estate…?’
Startled by her husband’s sudden announcement of an inspection tour of the city, she had urgently sent a message to the Damiani estate, only to find the private soldiers had already left for Edessa. The news that the Emperor, on his inspection, had specifically visited the Damiani mansion made her anxiety spike to unbearable levels.
‘Surely he couldn’t have found out something. Even Crown Prince Flavius was so tense he stayed put in Edessa without moving a muscle.’
According to her secret reconnaissance of the Emperor’s office, no letters had arrived from the Flavius house.
Her heart felt like it was melting away as she waited for news from her family.
“Your Majesty!”
Finally, a messenger arrived from the Damiani family.
“What happened?”
At her urgent question, the messenger knelt, his face ashen.
“His Imperial Majesty was at the training grounds… when our soldiers arrived carrying Her Highness, the youngest Princess, who was asleep…”
The news was devastating. The Empress’s legs gave way, and she had to hastily brace herself against a table.
‘Of all days, they had to succeed today, after failing twice before!’
Until the very last moment, she had held onto the hope that today’s attempt would also fail, allowing everything to pass as if nothing had happened.
“And then?” she asked sharply.
The messenger, his eyes glistening with tears, continued.
“The Duke claimed it was an act of his own discretion and begged for punishment. His Majesty stripped him of his title on the spot but decreed that the remaining punishment would be determined by a trial.”
“…His Majesty stripped Gideon of his title?”
Her heart pounded incessantly.
‘Is His Majesty abandoning our family? So easily?’
She shook her head vigorously.
‘No. The Second Prince, the Tower Master, and even the Imperial Guards were with him on this trip.’
Perhaps even the Emperor had no way to save the Duke right then and there.
Suppressing her rising panic, the Empress steadied herself.
‘The trial… we must ensure the trial is conducted as favorably as possible.’
As long as she remained Empress within the Imperial family, she could slowly plan for the future. There would be opportunities to recover.
She felt a pang of guilt, remembering how her younger brother, Duke Damiani, had been reluctant about this plan from the start. But more pressing matters demanded her attention now.
‘In the end, we failed to bring that girl here, and the Second Prince must be deeply offended, making him impossible to persuade now.’
Given that he would likely also fall under the Emperor’s displeasure because of this, it would be difficult to grant Cyril the position of Crown Princess now.
‘In that case, what I need is a miracle.’
A miracle where Hart, from his sickbed, would suddenly rise and reclaim his position as Crown Prince.
“I see,” the Empress replied gloomily.
She then tried to head towards the Crown Prince’s residence, but the kneeling messenger dared to block her path.
“Y-Your Majesty… Will our master be… alright? Will Your Majesty the Empress save him?”
Astonished that a mere messenger would dare question her so directly, the Empress snorted in derision and turned away. Just then, the messenger let out a sob. Clicking her tongue in annoyance, the Empress looked back.
“Do you truly believe I would abandon my own family? Return and tell the Duke to wait for my contact.”
“Yes, Your Majesty! Thank you!”
Shaking her head, she left the room. The moment she stepped into the corridor, the Empress’s hunched shoulders straightened.
‘I am the Empress of this Empire. Dorotheo Damiani Brentania.’
Even after becoming Empress, she had kept her maiden name as a middle name, cherishing it above all else. The Damiani family—the greatest noble house in the Empire, the foundation that had given her, a woman neither particularly beautiful nor younger than the Emperor, an unshakable position within the Imperial family.
‘Gideon acted wisely and took the fall.’
And so, the Empress resolved to fight with all her might to protect this opportunity, even if it might be her last.
“Hah… Hah…”
Hart, in his sickbed, gasped for breath as if being chased by something. Even in the deep, unending sleep he was trapped in all day, he often moaned and groaned in pain.
Every time the Empress witnessed her son’s suffering, it felt as though her very organs were melting away in agony.
“Hart… my poor son.”
The Crown Princess was nowhere to be seen, as usual.
‘Before he was deposed, she at least stayed by his side, praying.’
It seemed she had abandoned all hope now.
‘How useless. Especially at a time like this, she should be mindful of her conduct and think about securing a place for her own children within the Imperial family!’
Sighing inwardly, the Empress quietly knelt by her son’s bedside. Her old joints creaked, but she did not hesitate to kneel on the floor. She had been praying to the gods for a considerable time when the door to the room opened behind her without even a knock.
Even with things in such a state, the Empress turned to face her husband with a dignified expression.
“…You’ve come.”
Since Gideon had chosen to take the blame, she too had to act her part thoroughly enough to deceive everyone.
“Empress.”
Her husband’s voice sounded dry. They had been married in a political union when she was young.
‘In my youth, my pride was wounded and my anger flared every time he glanced at other women.’
But all those trivial matters had ultimately been nothing more than fleeting amusements. After the death of the Second Imperial Consort, the Empress had never felt threatened by anyone in the Imperial Palace.
‘Perhaps that was my arrogance.’
The Emperor looked over Hart with cold eyes. Soon, words like a thunderclap from a clear sky fell from his lips.
“When the Tower Master returns, I will have the protective magic on Hart removed.”
