MAE 10

Chapter 10 … Beloved Stepmother

“Our beloved Abamama spends the whole day living under the skirts of the imperial consort, you indifferent brother.”

Lucilla descended the stairs, followed closely by Nugos and Euribe.

“So… you do as you please?”

“As the acting Crown Prince, I have this much authority. Above all, we can’t just leave an innocent person to freeze to death, can we?”

After the emperor withdrew from state affairs, several ministers, including Marquis Pecori, persuaded him to delegate some authority to Princess Lucilla.

However, opinions differed regarding the position of ‘acting Crown Prince.’

Although she ranked below her eldest brother in seniority, now that the first prince had died, Lucilla believed she was far more suited to be the next heir than her foolish second brother or frail youngest brother.

The emperor had no objection to this, but in his mind, a daughter—no matter how outstanding—was never considered a candidate for the throne.

Lucilla knew her father’s bias all too well.

So she worked twice as hard, accumulating achievements and building her power to prepare for the future.

Of course, all her efforts could be rendered meaningless the moment a piece of paper bearing the emperor’s seal declared that the throne would pass to the third prince, Terros.

“What if the emperor finds out?”

Nugos’s eyebrows twitched slightly at the words ‘acting Crown Prince,’ but he shrugged it off.

Confident in his position as the next emperor by seniority, Nugos thought that any fuss about the acting Crown Prince would only create more work.

Let Lucilla handle the troublesome matters—he just needed to sit in the throne after his father’s death.

“The emperor doesn’t care. He probably forgot that the empress is even in the western tower.”

“Well…”

Led by his siblings, Euribe had come out of the prison in a daze and spoke cautiously.

Though she was neither kind nor affectionate, and never recognized him as her mother, Princess Lucilla was the only member of the imperial family Euribe could speak with.

“Why… was I imprisoned in the first place?”

Her tone was overly polite for a stepmother speaking to her stepdaughter, but no one, not even the emperor’s new consort, dared correct her because they were all older than Euribe.

“Didn’t you know?”

The siblings exchanged a look that said, this is a bit much.

“Your Majesty, the Empress!”

At the bottom of the stairs, Countess Tramont, pacing anxiously, hurried over and wrapped Euribe tightly in a thick cloak.

Even if they hadn’t experienced it firsthand, everyone knew of the western tower’s notorious reputation.

“You’ve grown even thinner! His Majesty is truly… too much!”

Realizing too late that such words were inappropriate in front of the crown prince and princess, the countess quickly shut her mouth.

“It’s fine, Countess. We feel the same way.”

“Inform the Empress about the wall-incident. She seems to have been imprisoned without knowing the reason.”

After Countess Tramont escorted Euribe away, Lucilla spun around and faced Nugos.

“Why did you come to the western tower?”

“…Why is it okay for you but not for me?”

“I came to release the Empress, and you came with no authority. You weren’t confident, so you sneaked in like a mouse and knocked out the guards, didn’t you?”

“Calling me a mouse to my brother…”

“Just pointing out the obvious.”

Lucilla wasn’t genuinely curious, so she turned to return to her room, but Nugos followed.

“Hey, Acting Crown Prince. Lift the ban on entering the Empress’s quarters. You said you had that much authority.”

“Do you expect me to disobey imperial orders for that?”

“But you let Euribe go…!”

“Then persuade me.”

Her stern gaze, lifted chin, and unwavering demeanor mirrored their mother perfectly.

“I… want to see Her Majesty’s room too…”

“Don’t say nonsense. I know you’re not a filial son.”

“Ah, fine, forget it!”

Having no other arguments, Nugos stomped away in frustration. Lucilla didn’t stop him, but a small doubt began to grow in her mind: why was her incompetent brother so obsessed with their stepmother?

Nugos pulled up his hood and slipped into the imperial consort’s palace through a secret passage known only to the royal family.

With few palace attendants around, nothing impeded him.

He quickly reached Euribe’s room and quietly locked the door. As expected, Euribe was alone.

Countess Tramont had hurried away after receiving a fake letter claiming her youngest son was gravely ill, and no maid would voluntarily tend to a discarded empress.

Satisfied, Nugos walked leisurely toward Euribe’s bed.

A single bed in a barren room.

The ‘Empress’s room,’ where his mother had stayed, was preserved as it had been, and the room Euribe occupied had originally been for collateral royals—a ‘guest room.’

The room layout starkly reflected her position.

Nugos plopped onto a chair, probably brought from outside for tending to the sick.

Was she really that unwell? Her flushed face and uneven breathing were pitiful.

He fixed his gaze on Euribe’s face and, as he had in the tower, placed his hand beneath her nose.

Her scorching breath brushed against his fingers.

After hesitating, his hand finally cupped her cheek.

Warm and soft, smaller and more fragile than he expected.

After encasing her cheek, his thumb cautiously touched her lips.

The slight exhalation and saliva from her parted mouth sent shivers through him.

Ah… I see.

I…

“…Ma…”

“……!”

Startled by her murmured words, Nugos pulled back.

“…Don’t… go.”

Don’t go.

Was she dreaming of her dead family?

As Euribe fell quiet again, Nugos smiled grimly and held her hand in both of his.

“I’m glad your family is dead. Thanks to that, you’re here.”

A fluttering sound came from the ceiling, but Nugos didn’t hear it.

“When your father dies, you’ll be mine. I’ll keep you by my side forever.”

Kissing her hand, he stared intently at her face.

He had just realized the nature of the suffocating feelings that had tormented him over the past three years.

“You’ve had a hard life. And yet someone like me… loves you.”

Was she even listening? Pretending to be asleep as before, even though she could hear everything?

It didn’t matter.

“Do you know why I’m holding a sleeping you like this?”

“…….”

“Because I’m a cowardly, vile man. I couldn’t decide whether to confess to you or not. I even hoped you would decide for me.”

For a moment, Euribe’s face seemed calm. Perhaps his cold hand acted as ice.

Moonlight streamed through the window, illuminating Euribe.

Her pale skin reflected the light, making her glow like a goddess of the moon.

At her sacred beauty, Nugos slipped from the chair and knelt on the floor.

Like a magnet, he slowly drew closer to her face.

Bang!

A deafening sound, like lightning striking, echoed through the corridor.

“What…!”

Either way, he was still banned from entering the Empress’s quarters.

No one could see him like this.

Panicked, Nugos pulled his hood over his head and dashed down the hall. Something pecked at the back of his head, like a bird’s beak, but he wasn’t sure.

Being confined in the cold tower for so long had been devastating for Euribe’s already fragile health.

No, it should have been.

On the first day Euribe left the tower, the palace physician thought she might be in serious danger.

Prepared for anything, he returned the next day… and couldn’t believe his eyes.

Frostbitten hands and feet, swollen neck, and especially her damaged lungs—all were completely healed overnight.

“How… is this possible?”

Euribe looked up at the ceiling, blinking awkwardly.

She realized her body had changed overnight and wondered if she had unconsciously used healing magic herself.

But when she tested it, her magical restraint bracelet still responded sensitively to her own power.

So someone else must have used healing magic…

‘That woman.’

Even when she had collapsed before, ‘that woman’ had secretly treated her.