~Chapter 99~
Part 2 Epilogue (1)
Through the council of state, the Empress Dowager’s fate was decided.
Stripped of all her authority and wealth for treason, she was demoted to a commoner and imprisoned in the Regulus Monastery on the empire’s frontier.
Every meal, every garment, even the smallest details were monitored. Unless she died, she would never leave that monastery for the rest of her life.
No one showed sympathy for the evils she had committed using Glamis.
“Don’t touch me! You filthy wretches! How dare… how dare you—do you know who I am!”
Bound in chains, the Empress Dowager was dragged out to the carriage, screaming.
“I was the mother of the empire! It was I who built the palace—! What a ridiculous, absurd thing!”
Even she, who had once delighted in the fall of others, could not laugh at her own ruin.
When the guards held her down on both sides, she screamed as they dragged her along.
“The nobles allied with her grandmother were tied up in the trial of Baron Mowin over the arena incident, unable to act.”
The Emperor murmured bitterly, though a satisfied smile tugged at his lips.
“Thanks to you and the Grand Duchess.”
The trial of Baron Mowin had helped bring about the Empress Dowager’s fall.
On the day Romulus had triumphed over the assassins, the light-reflecting seal on his hand allowed Grand Duke Raul to capture every noble attempting to flee through the gate.
Inevitably, nobles connected to the Empress Dowager faced a storm of blood and justice.
With her fall, the pillars supporting her—the many noble houses—collapsed overnight, branded as traitors and criminals.
The Emperor, as if excising a long-rotting wound, cut out piece by piece the corrupted noble society.
“Even those who claimed to be loyal to the empire were hiding behind one woman, the Empress Dowager.”
“…May you live long enough to root out all those yet undiscovered, Your Majesty.”
“Hmm, still no ambition to ascend the throne, I see.”
Joseph chuckled and snorted at Dane’s blessing.
“Escalus will be chaotic for a while. The fallen will lash out in desperation.”
“We will handle it,” Dane replied.
Joseph smiled faintly.
“I look forward to it. Oh, and recently, I can feel movement in Anita’s womb…”
The Emperor’s health fully restored thanks to Camilla’s care, he beamed proudly.
Dane ignored the boastful Emperor, wishing this moment to pass quickly. He longed to see Camilla in Escalus as soon as possible.
“Also, I have a gift for the Duke and Grand Duchess.”
Even Dane had to raise his head at that.
Camilla slowly descended the stairs. The flickering candlelight cast faint shadows on the walls.
At the iron bars, the prisoner’s figure came into view.
The once-proud Baron Mowin was no longer a noble, no longer a father—just an old criminal, bound in chains.
He lifted his head at the sound of her footsteps.
Under the dim torchlight, his eyes sparkled.
“Ca… Camilla?”
Camilla didn’t answer. She merely stood quietly before the bars.
Last night, his trial had ended.
Evidence of multiple violations of imperial law and killings was laid bare.
-I too almost died by the hands of Jeochi.
-Same here!
All the nobles Camilla had hidden, pretending they were dead with golden potions, came forward as witnesses, exposing his crimes.
Even the Churello family, who had lost a marquis, raged in fury.
Moreover, the fact that he had delivered Meisa to the Empress Dowager was confirmed, adding the charge of treason.
As presiding Grand Duke, Dane declared with a cold gaze:
The Mowin family colluded with the Empress Dowager to corrupt the empire. Their crimes are atrocious, and from today, they shall be erased.
The Mowin family was annihilated.
Those proven innocent will be separated from the family according to law.
And:
As the head of the family, Baron Mowin is hereby sentenced to death at this moment.
The death sentence.
Execution would come at dawn.
The Baron clenched the bars, gritting his teeth as he spat out:
“Why… why are you here? Surely… surely the Empress Dowager sent you to save me?!”
Camilla looked at his face for a moment.
The one who had dragged her as a child, the cold eyes that ignored her in the mansion…
He had shrunk so small. He looked at her desperately, flickers of hope in his eyes.
“…No.”
Camilla spoke calmly.
“The Empress Dowager has been demoted to a commoner for treason and imprisoned in the Regulus Monastery.”
A remote frontier monastery, iron prison disguised as a monastery—there was no way out for the rest of her life.
“Wh-what?! No…! That can’t be!”
The Empress Dowager, who had been Glamis’ iron backing, reduced to nothing!
“All the wealth she seized with Glamis will be absorbed into the Escalus family. Every servant will be held accountable too.”
At that icy tone, the Baron trembled.
“You… are truly finished. That’s why you came here to tell me.”
“…Child, you are my daughter. I raised you, nurtured you, made you into this fine person! Will you abandon filial duty?”
“…You already abandoned it, didn’t you?”
“Then why… why are you here?! To save me?!”
Camilla stared down her shameless biological father.
Nothing stirred in her. No anger, no disappointment.
“I came to see for myself.”
“See…?”
“I was curious because of Mother. I wondered if seeing Father again would make me feel differently.”
Camilla stepped back, a faint smile on her lips.
“All checked. You are nothing to me.”
“Wh-what?”
To the one who had once been the object of her vengeance, the source of her fury, she felt nothing.
“I will forgive you no longer. And I hope we never cross paths again, even in hell.”
Saying this, she turned away.
The Baron clutched the bars, screaming:
“Come back! I—I raised you! I’ll give you Glamis’ leadership—!”
Camilla paused.
The Baron, desperate, shouted:
“You’re Mowin through and through! Black blood runs in you! Haven’t you hurt people, treated them like dogs?!”
Camilla slowly turned, and the Baron babbled on, eyes glittering with hope.
“You’ve had many grievances with your father, yes, I understand!”
His tone softened, as if comforting a child.
“But child… we know many dark secrets even the Empress Dowager doesn’t know.”
He whispered to her.
“I’ll tell you everything. Secrets not even revealed at the trial!”
“…”
“Curious about my hidden branches? Or the weaknesses of Caloine, another branch of the royal family?!”
Seeing her gaze, he laughed, believing he had captivated her.
“Save me, and all of it will be yours.”
At that moment, Camilla whispered:
“You revealed there are secrets hidden by a criminal.”
What?
The knights who had been hidden stepped out and bowed slightly to Camilla.
“We can extract everything before the execution, yes?”
“Leave it to us, Grand Duchess. Dawn is long.”
These knights were experts in extracting information through interrogation.
“Wha—what?! Grand Duchess?!”
The Baron’s face drained of color.
He shrieked in fury:
“You… you—! A Mowin, now a Grand Duchess, and you won’t even save your own father—guh!”
A knight kicked him in the stomach. Twisting in pain, the Baron was secured to a chair, gagged for interrogation.
Muffled screams came from behind, but Camilla didn’t look back.
As a final farewell, she whispered softly:
“No, I am… not of the Mowin family. I am Escalus’.”
The door closed.
That was the last time Camilla saw her father.
Dane, waiting above the stairs, took her wrist and asked:
“Are you okay?”
Camilla closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them, smiling softly.
“…Yes. I’m truly okay.”
Together, they stepped into the dawn.
She never looked back again.
