~Chapter 90~
Camilla wondered nervously. The syringe came with a note that seemed to have been written by the Grand Duchess herself—but could she really trust it and use it?
And to make matters worse, Anita was still imprisoned.
They would have to escape this place somehow to use it.
Then—
Thud, thud.
Footsteps echoed down the corridor. Not one, but many. Anita shivered in fear.
Click.
The door opened, and Anita could hardly believe her eyes.
“I am Romulus Everitt, captain of the new Imperial Shadow Knights. I’ve come to rescue you, Countess.”
A man with black hair and a tear-shaped mark beneath his eye bowed politely, his blood-stained sword brushed off as he spoke.
Meanwhile, the Empress Dowager’s eyes had turned wild.
“……How dare… that one!!!”
She gritted her teeth and commanded Ares.
“Throw a dagger toward Meisa!”
Ares bowed respectfully, drew the dagger at his waist, and tossed it into the circular arena.
Clank!
The dagger landed precisely in front of Meisa. Her eyes trembled.
“Meisa, you know what I expect of you, don’t you?!”
Meisa glanced at Camilla. The slack chains were long enough to reach her.
“Y-Your Majesty……”
“Stab her immediately. Then I’ll let you out.”
“…W-wait a moment! A dagger, not even a potion?”
“Yes. What’s the problem?”
Meisa had never been accustomed to harming others. Her hands trembled violently, unable to hold the dagger steadily.
Then—
Bang, bang!
“Your Majesty!”
The door burst open, and a servant ran in, dropping to his knees.
“Empress Dowager! His Majesty the Emperor’s breathing is rapidly declining!”
‘…What?’
Everything froze except for the rushing water. Camilla felt her heart drop.
“He says he wants to see his family one last time… He wishes to see you immediately, Your Majesty.”
Even the Empress Dowager’s face turned briefly pale.
“…Huh, what? His Majesty is gravely ill?”
She snapped her fan shut and rose from the steps.
“Ho, ho. I thought he’d endure until seeing the child, but my grandson is weaker than I expected.”
She smiled, folding her wrinkles delicately.
‘…No.’
The Emperor had to live for Dane’s plan to succeed. Yet now, he was on the brink of death.
Camilla’s mind raced.
‘Could it be… Dane sent Lady Renelia’s spare antidote to His Majesty?’
The Empress Dowager nodded, mistaking Camilla’s fear for the panic of imminent death.
“Very well. He shall have his final farewell. We must depart immediately…”
She slowly approached the edge of the water tank, where the two women were submerged up to their calves.
The Empress Dowager twisted her lips and called to Ares.
“Ares, watch closely as Meisa kills that girl! Ho, ho, ho!”
Thud.
With a laugh, the Empress Dowager stepped back out. The underground arena echoed with the roar of falling water and Meisa’s ragged breathing.
Ares slowly approached the rising water’s edge.
“Well, what a sight.”
By now, Meisa had gripped the dagger, trembling violently.
“Hey, Camilla. Want me to tell you a way for both you and your mother to survive?”
Meisa’s eyes widened. Camilla looked at him with a cold stare.
Ares grinned fiercely.
“Say you’ll escape with me.”
Camilla scoffed.
‘Is he insane?’
Elsewhere, the Emperor’s guards approached the room.
“Empress Dowager.”
“Open the door. I must see His Majesty.”
“…It seems the end has come. Please observe His Majesty’s condition carefully.”
The Empress Dowager sneered at the guards bowing her into the Emperor’s bedroom and entered.
‘Foolish men. It was I who caused this illness.’
The opulent bedroom smelled faintly of incense and was stiflingly warm. Except for the bed, the room was dark.
“Extinguish that incense and leave this place.”
“…Yes, Your Majesty.”
The lady-in-waiting did not intend to inhale any of the maddening incense and bowed to obey.
Tap, tap, tap.
The Empress Dowager stepped closer to the bed.
“Heh… my grandson…”
She looked down at the Emperor, who could barely speak, and smiled.
“You caused my daughter to die.”
Her smile was gentle, yet cruel.
“She was foolish, yes, but she was my daughter whom I bore with pain. My daughter died giving birth to someone like you.”
The daughter in her memory had been lovable, yet naive.
“Demian Escalus will be your match.”
“N-no… Mother……”
So foolish, so disobedient. She had even rejected Stella, her lover by Dane’s side, and arranged for her to be one of the Empire’s most precious.
She had fled the palace, refusing marriage. Then, returning heavily pregnant, she died shortly after giving birth.
That child was now the Emperor.
“A child who didn’t even know their father. From the moment you rejected me, you were marked for death.”
After raising him to the throne, how dare he escape anyone’s grasp?
The Empress Dowager laughed at the Emperor’s vacant gaze.
“But to fall so easily from a single sleep incense? Ho, ho, ho! I wanted it to be more entertaining!”
“That will suffice.”
A low voice spoke, and someone stepped from the darkness.
The Empress Dowager’s eyes widened.
The figure’s features in the dim light looked strangely familiar.
“…Demian Escalus?”
“No. I am Dane Escalus, the new Grand Duke Escalus, Your Majesty.”
‘What?!’
The Empress Dowager finally realized.
‘A trap!’
“Even if a Grand Duke… how dare you enter the Emperor’s bedroom…! Guards!”
“The guards will not come. You granted me permission, Your Majesty.”
Dane whispered as he approached the bed.
“Is this not sufficient verification, Your Majesty?”
“…Yes, it seems sufficient.”
The Empress Dowager’s mouth hung open.
The Emperor dusted off his face and rose from the bed.
Where he had appeared weak and sick, there was no trace left.
“Hah, ruling as Emperor seems unbearable at times.”
“…Impossible.”
The Emperor leisurely lowered his legs, composed and fully recovered.
“My beloved Anita delivered the antidote.”
Emperor Iosif replied dryly.
“…The imprisoned girl did it?”
“She was also confined by the grandmother,” Dane clarified.
“My loyal Shadow Knights moved to rescue her. Allow me to introduce her, grandmother. She is a temporary recruit of the Shadow Knights.”
Temporary recruit.
Dane showed no expression, displeased with the title.
Yet he had personally requested Kabul to let him operate directly inside the palace without rebellion.
-I must serve under you for a while.
-…What?!
Though nominal, the position allowed him to enter armed into the Emperor’s chambers.
Through the secret passage of the Shadow Knights, he rescued Anita and secured the antidote.
And after saving the Emperor via Anita, he summoned the Empress Dowager.
“Thanks to your incessant chatter, there is now evidence.”
“…How dare you…!”
Dane asked coolly:
“Your Majesty, before me stands an old traitor. What is your command?”
The Emperor, abandoning his usual friendly tone, commanded:
“Imprison the traitor.”
“As you command.”
Romulus and Eugenia emerged from behind the curtains, seizing the Empress Dowager’s arms.
“…Am I not the new captain?”
Romulus muttered, while Eugenia shot him a glare to shut him up.
“Ha! How dare you try to oppose me!”
The Empress Dowager struggled, teeth gritted.
“How dare a fool make a wretched girl the Grand Duchess and defy me!”
Dane’s expression cracked at her words.
“Where is Camilla?”
“Ho, ho! Do you think I would tell you?! Too bad! That girl is probably floating dead in the tank I designed myself!”
Dane’s breath caught.
“How intriguing… but to miss seeing her face when discovering her body—what a shame!”
“Dane!”
The Emperor, noticing Dane’s expression, quickly reached for him.
“Impossible, Your Grace!”
A line of blood ran down the Empress Dowager’s neck.
“H-huh?!”
“Tell me where Camilla is.”
Dane pressed his sword against the Empress Dowager’s neck, eyes burning with intensity.
“Or there will be no next time.”
