Chapter 3
At my bold reply, the emperor looked momentarily speechless. Apparently, he hadn’t expected me to lie so openly.
Well—who in their right mind would dare lie straight to the emperor’s face?
‘Didn’t expect him to show up so suddenly.’
I was briefly startled by his unexpected appearance, but not enough to faint on the spot. After meeting so many masterminds over multiple lives, there really wasn’t much left that could shock me.
“……”
My life was hanging by a thread, so sure, I was a little tense—but still.
‘More importantly… why is he here?’
I quietly studied the emperor, who had clamped his mouth shut. Whatever others might think, I personally had no choice but to welcome his arrival.
I’d planned to meet him one way or another after seeing the Fourth Prince anyway. Right now, this was practically a gift falling into my lap.
‘Still, there are a few things that bother me.’
For starters, Emperor Lambert was absolutely not the domestic, family-oriented type.
He was especially cruel to the Fourth Prince, but even his other children rarely received so much as a glance. At most, he’d toss them a word or two of praise when they did something useful to him.
It was almost unheard of for him to visit a palace like this on his own.
Unless he was here to kill someone.
Even then, he usually sent knights to do it. He rarely came in person.
‘…Don’t tell me he came because of me?’
I had seen a maid run out of the room earlier. If he really came because of me, that meant she’d reported the incident.
Otherwise, there was no reason for the emperor to come here.
It wasn’t like he’d suddenly developed paternal affection.
‘Unlucky… or maybe lucky.’
I glanced at the Fourth Prince, who was still clenching his fists tightly. Maybe because the emperor was here—he looked even more withdrawn than before.
Naturally. The emperor’s presence was a massive variable. No one knew what kind of insane thing he might do next.
Still, all things considered, I was glad we’d met.
“…You were the princess of Revillia, weren’t you?”
After a long silence, the emperor spoke slowly. His voice was so quiet it was almost a mutter to himself.
Revillia was Shatrina’s homeland—and a nation hostile to the empire.
When I nodded, something flickered in the emperor’s eyes for the first time. Perhaps surprised that I’d answered so calmly, he curved his lips.
“Interesting.”
His expression looked like someone who’d found a toy that finally caught his interest.
The head attendant, however, sneered at me—clearly thinking, You’re finished now.
But the emperor’s thoughts didn’t quite align with his.
“What is your name?”
“Shatrina.”
“…Shatrina.”
A poisonous herb, huh.
The emperor murmured quietly, then turned his back.
“Follow me.”
…Huh?
Did he just call me?
For a moment, I doubted my ears and asked dumbly,
“Pardon?”
“Don’t make me say it twice.”
No—I heard you. That’s not the issue.
Still not fully processing it, I cautiously asked,
“…Are you telling me to follow you to hell?”
“……”
Just before leaving the room, the emperor turned his head slightly. His expression twisted strangely.
“Shut up and come.”
…Yes, Your Majesty.
I’d encountered many masterminds in my lives, but there was one type I avoided above all else.
Even if they weren’t villains, I stayed far away from clever schemers whenever possible. The reason was simple—I hated mind games.
Smart people were bad enough on their own. If you got on the wrong side of a schemer, they could become endlessly troublesome.
‘Lambert de Vertige.’
A man with fierce pride and deep attachment to the imperial palace.
In Dead, the emperor was both a powerhouse and a schemer—a textbook final boss.
So when Emperor Lambert summoned me, I was honestly pretty annoyed. I’d only intended to teach the head attendant a lesson.
‘Didn’t expect him to personally take me along.’
Trailing after him, I let out a quiet sigh. I’d lied to the emperor partly because I wanted to see the head attendant’s face twist in anger—but also to catch the emperor’s attention.
It felt a bit like attention-seeking.
Still, if I wanted to save the Fourth Prince, I had to meet the emperor one way or another.
I’d gone to see my husband first to check his condition. After all, the root cause of his death was the emperor himself.
That was why, when I realized the emperor had arrived, I’d felt secretly relieved.
Sure, I might die from a single word out of his mouth—but if I was going to die anyway by doing nothing, I might as well gamble.
‘At least this isn’t the guillotine.’
The emperor led me to a quiet garden in the rear of the palace.
He instructed a nearby attendant to prepare refreshments, then sat down first.
I remained standing awkwardly until a maid pulled out a chair for me. I took the seat naturally.
Soon after, a tray of assorted sweets was brought out, and pale black tea was poured into our cups.
‘Guess it’s the imperial palace. Even the teacups are pretty.’
I briefly wondered how much they’d cost if broken, then pushed the thought aside and lifted my cup.
I took a slow sip—
And then the emperor suddenly spoke.
“Do you know how to use a whip?”
Pfft—!
The question came out of nowhere, and I nearly spat out my tea. Damn it—couldn’t you at least signal first?!
Biting my lip hard, I barely managed to swallow the tea. After wiping my mouth with a napkin, I replied in a slightly sharp voice,
“My apologies.”
“That’s enough. Everyone in that room probably knew already.”
That I’d lied.
At his quiet addition, I sighed in resignation.
I was already exhausted.
“Did you know how to use a whip originally?”
“I know the basics.”
“You seemed quite skilled.”
The emperor looked at me with interest, genuinely surprised.
Damn it. Too perceptive for his own good.
“I learned briefly when I was young.”
“Aren’t you still young?”
…Could you not nitpick?
I quickly smoothed my increasingly sour expression. Why was he suddenly pressing the issue?
“I learn things quickly.”
“Bold.”
“…I am honored.”
I wasn’t sure why that warranted honor, but I didn’t have a better response.
“Do you know why I summoned you?”
I shook my head. If I knew, I’d already be planning my answer.
I lifted my teacup again, and the emperor continued without taking his eyes off me.
“You’re the first person who’s ever said that kind of nonsense to me.”
…Ah. Right.
Was that a compliment or an insult?
Looking confused, I asked carefully,
“Is that… your preference, by any chance—?”
“What?”
“Ah—nothing.”
At his sharp reply, I hastily retracted my nonsense. The emperor lifted his cup and asked flatly,
“Why did you break the head attendant’s leg?”
I didn’t break it, actually…
But I had enough sense not to correct him.
Should I tell the truth? Rolling my eyes internally, I chose my words carefully.
‘This is my chance.’
Honestly, the only way to get rid of that “adorable” head attendant was to report him to the emperor.
I didn’t have the authority to handle him myself.
I could punish him lightly—but I had no power to remove him.
But if the emperor stepped in?
The immediate problem could be solved.
The issue was—
‘He’s going to send an assassin after the Fourth Prince.’
In one week, the emperor would attempt to kill my husband.
…Ugh. What a headache.
‘I can’t exactly lie again.’
Even I wouldn’t want to help someone I planned to kill soon.
Clicking my tongue internally, I finally spoke after a long pause.
“Because he struck my husband.”
“…Struck him?”
The emperor’s face darkened little by little.
Huh. He does react.
Feigning gloom, I nodded deliberately—like a wife genuinely worried about her husband.
“I don’t know why, but when I arrived, he’d already beaten him with a whip.”
That part was true.
I’d seen him holding it.
“Even the maids stood by and did nothing. So I had to protect my husband.”
“……”
“The Fourth Prince is still a member of the imperial family. To assault him is to challenge the authority of the imperial house itself.”
I emphasized the words imperial authority.
There was no sharper weapon against the emperor than the word imperial.
“So I merely disciplined him—for educational purposes—on behalf of His Highness, who is unwell.”
“Then why did you lie back there?”
“Well.”
“For his temper.”
“……”
“And honestly—I wanted to catch Your Majesty’s attention.”
Whether it ended well or badly, I had to meet him.
To save the Fourth Prince, I first had to eliminate his death flag.
“And why is that?”
“Hmm.”
After a brief pause, I answered brightly on purpose.
“Because I want the Fourth Prince to live.”
Crack.
The handle of the emperor’s teacup made a sharp sound as his grip tightened.
Tea spilled over, soaking the tablecloth—but neither of us paid it any mind.
“What do you mean?”
The pressure to answer immediately bore down on me. I took a breath and spoke carefully.
“This palace is far too harsh for someone who’s ill. Even lowly servants look down on us.”
I spoke as if ignorant—carefully skirting the edges, but never losing sight of the core.
“Please spare the Fourth Prince.”
And me as well.
“I’m not asking without reason.”
“……”
Under his piercing gaze, I steadied my breathing.
“The Emperor of Revillia is planning to attack the empire.”
“!”
The emperor hurled his cup to the floor.
The sharp crash echoed through the garden, but his gaze never left me.
The reason the emperor killed the Fourth Prince.
It was to fabricate a justification to attack Revillia—Shatrina’s homeland and the empire’s enemy.
No matter how tyrannical he was, he couldn’t attack another nation without a pretext.
So what if that reason could be replaced with something else?
‘This is when being possessed is convenient.’
I quickly recalled the original story.
There had been a side story covering the period when the emperor decided to strike Revillia.
And in it, the Emperor of Revillia had also resolved to attack the empire.
If I used that properly—
“I’ll find proof that Revillia plans to attack the empire.”
Then—
I had a chance.
