Chapter 11 (Part 2)

Before dawn, Therese left the Duke’s tent and headed straight for the Imperial Palace.  

“I was worried you might break our agreement.”  

The Emperor greeted Therese warmly.  

Draped in a loosely tied robe, he scrutinized her entire figure.  

“……”  

Standing with her hands clasped, Therese had hastily tied her unevenly cut hair into a bun. Her black dress, which covered her neck completely, gave her an austere and restrained appearance.  

“A black dress, huh…”  

The Emperor stroked his chin in satisfaction and spoke.  

“Your Majesty, since I am here as promised…”  

Driven by her desire to save her father, Therese hurriedly began to speak.  

“Anyone overhearing us might think we’re meeting under some condition. Isn’t this simply because we are fond of each other?”  

“…Yes, of course.”  

“In that case, I’d like to hear what part of me you are so drawn to.”  

“…Ah.”  

Therese struggled to hide her trembling hands.  

Everything the Emperor said was nonsense.  

She was here because she had been blackmailed with the lives of her father and husband.  

“To be favored by the Emperor is indeed an honor.”  

“I think so too.” 

Therese replied cautiously, her body trembling.  

“Come, sit beside me. They say a glass of wine during a meal is good for one’s health.”  

The Emperor leisurely sipped his wine.  

But Therese had no desire to drink.  

Until she confirmed her father’s condition, she couldn’t bring herself to do anything.  

When Therese hesitated, Felipe’s expression turned ominous.  

“Are you refusing to obey me?”  

“I swear eternal loyalty to you, Your Majesty.”  

Kneeling before the Emperor, Therese kissed the back of his hand. Her submissive demeanor brought a satisfied smile to Felipe’s lips.  

“Baron Demori will return home safely, and as for the Duke, he’s currently dealing with monsters on the frontier. Ensuring his safety is beyond my control.”  

Though Felipe’s innocent expression made her feel sick, Therese forced herself to maintain her composure.  

‘The Emperor is completely insane.’  

Thus, she tried her best not to provoke him.  

“You made the right choice in coming to me.”  

Felipe, who had risen from his seat, approached Therese from behind. Lowering his head, he buried it into her shoulder.  

“Doesn’t it thrill you to know that this empire lies beneath your feet?”  

Therese held her breath to endure his alcohol-laden stench. Soon, his cold hand brushed against her neck as he exhaled heavily.  

“Your skin is so soft. It feels like it would stain red the moment I touch it.”  

“……”  

Seeing Therese, whom he had finally obtained, Felipe felt an indescribable excitement.  

“Make a sound. I want to hear your voice.”  

His hot breath fell on the top of her head, and his rough hands tugged at her dress, as if trying to tear it apart.  

“Did you not know that such attire excites a man’s l*st even more?”  

“……Ugh.”  

Therese told herself she could endure anything if it meant protecting her loved ones.  

‘Just a little longer…’  

She believed that the Emperor, who grew bored easily, would soon lose interest in her.  

Then, the reception room door opened, and a servant, bowing his head, cautiously glanced at the Emperor.  

“Your Majesty, the meeting preparations are complete.”  

“Of all times!”  

Felipe, lifting his head from Therese’s neck, didn’t hide his irritation.  

He was in the middle of an enjoyable game and disliked being interrupted.  

However, Felipe couldn’t neglect his imperial duties. He leaned close to Therese’s ear and whispered tenderly,  

“Wait for me here.”  

Adjusting his robe, Felipe raised his chin, prompting the servant to quickly instruct the attendants to prepare his attire.  

“…Ha.”  

Left alone in the reception room, Therese finally exhaled the breath she had been holding.  

“Sniff.”  

Though she tried not to cry, tears streamed down her cheeks uncontrollably.  

Her cruel fate weighed heavily on her, and the sleeping face of the Duke, whom she had left behind, came to mind.  

“How disgusted he must be with me.”  

The thought of Jeremy Richard seeing her as the Emperor’s mistress made her feel as if she would collapse.  

“I wish he would just hate me.”  

The memory of the Duke begging for her love was enough to break her heart.  

Her flowing tears soaked the front of her dress.  

***

It took only fifteen days for Jeremy Richard’s unit to exterminate all the monsters.  

In particular, this battle had yielded the achievement of locating and completely destroying the monsters’ lair.  

Duke Richard silently surveyed the area below the hill.  

It was a battle he had started with the determination to win, and he had achieved victory.  

But the end of every battle was always bittersweet.  

The sticky blood on his hands felt as if it would never wash away.  

The field was filled with piles of monster corpses, stacked like mountains, and the soldiers were gathering them to burn. Thick smoke filled the sky.  

At that moment, Knight Commander Georges Dupont approached the Duke to deliver his report.  

“Your Grace, you’ve worked hard.”  

“Yes. How many injured soldiers do we have?”  

“About twenty need to be transported to the capital for immediate treatment.”  

Georges replied after reviewing the documents.  

“Make the arrangements immediately.”  

“As you command.”  

Removing his helmet, Georges looked at the Duke with admiration.  

“Once again, you were extraordinary.”  

Even in this battle, Duke Richard’s determination and bravery were unparalleled. Thanks to their exceptional leader, the Duke’s unit had swiftly subdued the fearsome monsters.  

Duke Richard shook his head lightly, withdrawing his gaze from the field below.  

“It was thanks to everyone’s efforts.”  

This victory was only possible because of his soldiers, who had faced death without fear.  

“Properly express condolences to the families of the fallen soldiers and deliver compensation.”  

“As you command.”  

Georges responded resolutely to the Duke’s orders.  

“Let’s head down.”  

As he descended the hill, the cold wind brushed against Jeremy Richard’s weary face.  

“Your Grace, is something troubling you?”

Observing the Duke’s expression, which showed no trace of joy despite the victory, Georges asked,  

“Your Grace, is something the matter?”  

“No, nothing at all…”  

After a brief pause, the Duke swept his disheveled hair back roughly.  

In truth, he couldn’t even recall how he had fought in the battle. The splattering blood as he swung his sword looked like Therese’s tears, and the fluttering flags in the wind reminded him of the hem of her dress.  

Jeremy’s body was on the battlefield, but his heart had never once strayed from Therese.  

‘I must see her immediately.’  

Jeremy’s gaze turned toward the direction of the Richard estate, beyond the plains.  

***

The Emperor’s bedchamber was filled with the bitter scent of tobacco smoke. Reclining in a central bath, the Emperor lazily twirled his pipe.  

“So, what is she doing now?”  

“The Duchess of Richard has refused food for over ten days…”  

The Emperor wasn’t particularly concerned about Therese’s condition. He simply felt satisfaction at having seized what he desired.  

“She’s like a wild animal, isn’t she? So fierce—it’s fun to tame her.”  

Felipe enjoyed capturing wild beasts that most would not dare to keep and breaking their spirit. Starving or inflicting pain on them was standard practice. Some beasts submitted quickly, while others did not. Felipe found the taming process more thrilling the harder it was.  

The servant, who had witnessed all of this, swallowed nervously.  

‘This time, it’s the Duchess of Richard.’  

The reason the Emperor’s peculiar tendencies hadn’t become widely known was that he didn’t covet women excessively. Moreover, the women he had taken an interest in were usually of common birth, so no one searched for them when they disappeared.  

‘But the Duchess of Richard is a different matter…’  

She was the wife of Duke Richard, the Empire’s foremost loyalist, and the only daughter of Baron Demori.  

‘No matter how powerful His Majesty is, this won’t go uncriticized.’  

There were factions secretly discontented with the Emperor’s oppressive rule of fear.  

Despite this, Emperor Morciani had maintained his strong influence because he had Duke Richard, often referred to as the Emperor’s Sword, standing behind him.  

‘But if His Majesty intends to take the wife of the Empire’s hero?’  

It was clear that public sentiment would turn against the Emperor.  

If the opposing factions seized this opportunity to rally around Duke Richard and launch a rebellion, the Empire would be drenched in blood.  

‘If that happens, I might lose my head.’  

Imagining such a grim future, cold sweat dripped down the servant’s back.  

“Your Majesty, wouldn’t it be awkward for both parties if Duke Richard returned and discovered this? After all, Your Majesty, you have said the Duke is still quite useful…”  

The servant cautiously tried to dissuade the Emperor.  

Felipe Morciani, who had been puffing on his hookah, spoke harshly.  

“A hunting dog can always be replaced.”  

“…Ah.”  

The servant felt utterly hopeless for the first time upon hearing the Emperor’s declaration that he intended to dispose of Duke Richard.  

“What should we do, Your Majesty?”  

“There cannot be two suns in the sky, can there?”  

As Felipe raised his arms, stepping out of the water unclothed, the servant quickly draped a robe over him.  

“Enough of this dull talk. Let’s go see the wounded beast. She must be feeling so frightened and lonely right now.”  

Without even drying himself properly, the Emperor headed toward a small room adjacent to his bedchamber. This was where Felipe usually spent intimate moments with his favored dancers.