Things were somewhat better because Amaryllis was from Sehera. In normal cases, if a foreign-born empress did such a thing, she would be executed and her head displayed outside the square by the citizens’ word.

“Whether I’m at a murderer’s grave or an angel’s cradle is none of your business.”

Amaryllis merely snorted and showed the arrogance fitting for an empress. After all, the Belle Laure before her was merely someone from Tristan.

Finally, Amaryllis sharpened her tone.

“The princess is… quite brazen.”

“My. Why suddenly mention Her Highness?”

“What strange words. Am I someone who shouldn’t mention the princess?”

“Of course not, but as a maid, I’m curious…”

Though Amaryllis’s eyes flashed dangerously, Belle Laure didn’t back down one bit.

“Especially since it doesn’t seem like you’re mentioning her with good intentions.”

“How could I speak well of seeing someone who’s paying respects to a person she killed with her own hands?”

Amaryllis bit her lips savagely and prattled on.

Hearing those words that shifted blame, Valentine exaggeratedly shrugged her shoulders.

“Pardon? How could Her Highness have killed anyone?”

It was behavior that turned people’s insides out. Veins stood out on Amaryllis’s clenched hand.

“Wasn’t it His Majesty the Emperor who gave the execution order? I… really don’t understand what wrong Her Highness could have done?”

Amaryllis’s eyebrow twitched. Was this truly spoken in ignorance of the tragedy? Or was she mocking Amaryllis?

Most likely the latter, without doubt. Though she just noticed, she was a woman skilled in such fights despite her young age of having just stepped into society.

“And to call her brazen, that’s wrong. Shouldn’t you say she’s admirable? If it were me… no, most sane people wouldn’t care about a murderer’s well-being.”

Unlike her gentle tone, her words were full of thorns. As she said, no one visited this grave. Anyone in their right mind wouldn’t mourn a murderer.

“But since my kind master orders showing respect even to one who abandoned their humanity, I must obey.”

Valentine murmured smoothly and carelessly threw the flowers she held. The black roses falling indifferently toward the grave created a truly alien sensation.

There was no mourning or sympathy for the deceased. Just an utterly indifferent action, like disposing of waste.

“You… have no right to speak that way.”

“That’s hard to understand. What else should I call a murderer? Over four hundred people died, didn’t they?”

Yet the woman speaking showed no signs of sympathy or sadness. Rather, a strange excitement could be glimpsed.

That bizarre… sense of dissonance. Amaryllis stared blankly at Valentine for a moment.

Dusk fell behind the woman. The red-dyed shadows seemed to embrace her protectively.

The woman was certainly beautiful even in moments like this. The atmosphere surrounding her was dazzling enough to send chills down one’s spine. Yet it was an incredibly bizarre time that couldn’t be expressed in such simple terms.

“A duchy must have that many retainers. I was surprised.”

“……”

Those innocent words.

The duke went mad and killed everyone in his household.

Yes… to many people, that would be all there was to it. Just as they still gossip about Madame Marguerite and Astaire III, Liam’s case would now be the same.

With this belated realization, Amaryllis rose from her seat. Her steps, full of lingering attachment, moved while ignoring Valentine. Toward the sloping hill. Then,

“Amaryllis.”

The name placed upon those red lips gripped Amaryllis’s ankle right there. The empress who turned around instantly faced the dizzying slope. Her brown hair disheveled like her heart.

“Don’t dare call my name. I never gave you permission.”

Sparks flew from eyes redder than the sunset.

“Insolence is allowed only once, Belle Laure.”

“My. How could I dare casually call Your Majesty’s name? Though of humble birth, I was taught that much courtesy.”

Amaryllis’s eyebrow twitched at the flowing response. She was clearly picking a fight.

“But I can’t help the sudden question that comes to mind.”

The woman continued speaking, her words flowing as if she were singing.

“From what I heard from Lord Gwenael, the person lying in this grave now dared to act like a duke despite being only half-qualified. Isn’t the result quite heartbreaking?”

She was saying Liam was killed for coveting a position beyond his station. That it was the natural result.

Amaryllis’s voice grew stern as her expression twisted.

“So what question came to mind? If it’s nonsense, I’ll hold you responsible for your rudeness.”

“Ah, I just find it curious that it’s not Fleur-de-lis.”

The Fleur-de-lis, or lily, was one of the most prominent symbols of both the Sehera Imperial Family and the continental religion. Naturally, it carried a far more regal and empress-like connotation compared to Amaryllis—a name that could be deemed artificial, lacking almost any true fragrance.

“Neither devout enough to be religious nor fitting for the imperial family, even in its falseness…”

The woman raised her hand. Exaggeratedly, she held her thumb and index finger at an angle.

“A little, no, very much.”

Giggle. An obvious mockery bloomed.

“Should I say it’s vulgar?”

Meaning that Amaryllis, vulgar from her very name, would someday fall from her current position as empress, just like Liam who died from overreaching.

It was contemptible for a mere baron’s daughter to openly pick a fight with the empress. It would be justified to behead her right here.

However, that woman had Princess Lumière behind her. Seeming to understand her reason for picking this fight, Amaryllis muttered while tightly clenching her fist.

“…Such impressive loyalty.”

Her nails dug into her palm. Her fist, filled with rage, trembled violently.

Hoof, Amaryllis let out a deep sigh and her feet began to move again. As the Empress left this sorrowful space, she murmured.

“Tell her that I will never forget this debt to the princess.”

“Yes, as Your Majesty says.”

There was a rustle, as if in courtesy. The sound of dress hem folding echoed behind Amaryllis’s back. Her reluctant steps moved away like that.

Valentine watched Amaryllis’s retreating figure like she was seeing her off. Until she became a mere dot and disappeared.

After Amaryllis vanished into the dizzying gaps of sunset, Valentine turned around. The pitiful gravestone caught her eye. What was clearly engraved was simple.

Liam Cheval, his birth and death dates. Not even a single line of epitaph existed.

With him, her grudge too had departed. That’s what family relationships are like. Valentine whispered softly, speaking to the deceased.

“You lived as a brother and departed as a stranger. That must be unfair.”

Just when he could finally reach for what he had struggled to obtain his whole life. When it became possible, death came instead. It must have been the most ironic thing for Liam.

Her fingertips trembled as they moved toward the name. The engraved name was cold.

“…I wanted to tell you that you at least had the right to own my tears.”

Her voice was somewhat hoarse.

“Because you protected my childhood.”

During the time she was locked in her room, she had a short yet long dream.

The time she lived with Liam in Blumir. The childhood when they fought, won, and protected the duchy.

It was shortly after their parents had passed away. Whenever she was exhausted by the unbearable reality, Valentine would always run away and hide in the forest behind the castle. Liam would find Valentine like a ghost.

Liam’s role was to scold, comfort, and persuade Valentine to somehow return to the castle. But one day, Liam silently lay down beside Valentine. The siblings lay side by side in the forest, just staring at the sky that was barely visible through the trees.

Valentine wished time would stop right there. Because it was hard and painful, she didn’t want to return to the castle and face human greed again.

Even in the dense forest where even the vibration of air seemed to stop, time flowed. Night came, dawn broke, and morning arrived. When sunlight dyed the black forest pure white, Liam said.

‘Let’s go now. You still have many things to protect.’

At that moment, she woke from the dream.

That’s when Blumir fell completely into her hands. From then on, it was the time of girlhood when she could be an innocent child who knew nothing, like a fool.

“But, there’s no need for that now.”

She could almost feel the warmth Amaryllis had left at the grave.

What kind of relationship did Liam and Amaryllis have? Just as Liam was curious about what happened between Cassian and Valentine but never knew, Valentine would never know about Liam and Amaryllis’s connection.

“Still…”

Her small muttering spread like the evening sunset dyeing the sky.

“You had someone to cry for you.”

It was just strange that it was Amaryllis. A shadow fell across Valentine’s slightly bent face.

A sneer burst from her lips marked with shadows.

Whatever relationship Amaryllis and Liam had was irrelevant. Whether they were desperately in love or mortal enemies, it was no longer Valentine’s concern. Now that Liam was permanently banished from a place he didn’t belong.

Valentine’s next target is Amaryllis.

No matter what, she would make Amaryllis pay the most cruel price.

Recalling her deep-seated grudge, she muttered.

“If you had just said one thing… Just one word, I might have still let you go as my brother.”

“What word did you want to hear?”

Lucifer, who had been quietly observing, asked. Valentine thought for a moment before shaking her head.

“…I wonder.”

When actually asked what the word was, that was all she could answer. At least among the words Valentine knew, none existed that could untie the tightness in her chest.

But…

“Just as I knew the doubt in Liam’s heart… I just wished Liam would understand my inexplicable thirst.”