“What?!”

Just as she flung open the door, pushing past the young ladies who had rabbit eyes from surprise, Rose was startled to find knights filling the doorway. The young ladies who discovered the knights menacingly blocking the door a step later screamed.

“Kyaa! Th-the Imperial Knights?!”

“Look, aren’t those soldiers coming up from the first floor?!”

Though these young ladies were tough enough to enjoy such places, they sensed something was wrong from the harsh atmosphere. Moreover, soldiers were rushing up from the first floor. Rose couldn’t see the commotion the young ladies were making on the first floor. This was because female knights approached and grabbed both her arms. Instead of being surprised, Rose raised her eyebrows.

“What is the meaning of this?”

The Imperial Knight who stood at the front merely sneered as if it were laughable. Yes, it was a face she had seen before.

“We are arresting you on the spot, Lady Rose Clematis.”

* * *

“…Ah, I remember.”

The Imperial Knight who had sneered at her. She had seen that man, who appeared to be the commander of the knights, in the Crown Prince’s office before. Her cousin, the Crown Prince, that is.

Rose’s charge was ‘treason.’

It was incomprehensible why the knights, who had come out as casually as they were going for a neighborhood stroll, were reciting this heaviest of crimes — one that is treated most seriously whether in times of peace or turmoil — in front of her.

Rose tried to think coldly.

Currently, she was confined in an underground prison, tied up exactly as she had been when captured. For ten days she had barely eaten, barely moistened her throat let alone had water, and mysterious individuals who came from time to time continued their interrogations.

Though it was confusing, dizzy, and chaotic, Rose tried to maintain her composure.

‘Something must be wrong. Rose, stay still! Your father will somehow fix this…’

Five days ago, the Duke of Clematis who had visited was aghast at the sight of his only daughter and paced back and forth, disregarding his dignity. He was a father who had showered even more love on his daughter who had lost her mother at a young age.

However, the father who, though gruff in nature, deeply cherished his daughter was no longer in this world.

Exactly two days after her father’s visit, Rose heard the news that her father had died from mysterious poisoning. The perpetrator was unknown and the Imperial family did not investigate. Because he was the father of a traitor.

‘He said that person would surely… handle it well!’

Rose calmly tried to recall when her father had last visited. Whether then or now, she hadn’t been able to sleep properly, so she couldn’t remember everything he had said. Who was the ‘he’ her father had mentioned?

Before she knew it, wet tears were flowing down Rose’s cheeks. She was already feeling thirsty, so crying would make it even worse. Even while thinking this, Rose uncontrollably shed tears. Her eyes darted around wildly.

Why? For what reason? Who? Who had framed her for treason? It was a false charge. And no one was willing to hear her explanation. This meant she had fallen into a well-crafted trap.

Creak, someone approached the prison bars. The metallic sound was deliberately made by the visitor to draw attention.

“Are you alright, sister?”

A gentle voice. Rose slowly lifted her head that was drooping from weakness. Before her stood a handsome man wearing a deeply concerned expression. Red hair. It was the Crown Prince, her cousin.

“How could you commit such a horrible crime. Treason, of all things.”

“Brother, I…”

“Who gave you permission to call me, the Crown Prince, that way?”

Rose was silent for a moment before asking.

“…Your Highness, do you not fear heaven?”

“Shouldn’t you be the one fearing heaven? Sister.”

The voice was affectionate yet firm. Rose stared at the Crown Prince before letting out a small laugh.

Ah, so this was the culprit. Whether he’s a perpetrator or an accomplice, the Crown Prince before her was not on her side.

Memories of the times she spent with the Crown Prince flashed through her dizzy mind. Come to think of it, she and that man weren’t the close cousins they appeared to be. Especially not after she rejected the marriage proposal to another kingdom that he had recommended.

“Did you do all this just because you wouldn’t get the marriage you wanted?”

“As you said, I wouldn’t create such a crime for merely that, Rose.”

Laughter mixed with his gentle voice.

“Ironically, the whole world thinks of you as a vicious and cruel traitor who even killed her own father.”

“……”

The Crown Prince reached through the prison bars and gently stroked Rose’s dirty hair.

It was something he often did in their childhood.

“But there is one person who insists on your innocence. It’s quite annoying.”

“……”

“You chose your husband well, didn’t you?”

Rose’s eyes widened. The expressionless and cold face of Maverick Phlox flashed before her eyes. That proud man who seemed to live in a world of his own was taking her side?

Why?

Seeing confusion spread across her usually proud face for the first time, the Crown Prince felt a base sense of pleasure. It felt refreshing to see that face that always looked down on everyone as if she sat at the top finally crumple.

With this, the Crown Prince decided to reveal one more thing purely for his own amusement.

“Sister, let me tell you something interesting before your imminent death. First, once you die, I will take possession of your beloved mines and trading ports.”

It wasn’t surprising. This foolish Crown Prince might think he had hidden it well, but Rose had known since her teenage years about her cousin’s dirty gaze that looked at her mature self, and the base desire he showed whenever the mines she inherited and her trading ports were mentioned.

“What a bastard. Acting so smug.”

As Rose giggled, his face hardened severely, but he continued undeterred.

“Ah, and here’s something else you didn’t know. Your husband, who’s currently the only one taking your side, actually considers Duke Clematis his enemy.”

“……”

As Rose’s smiling lips dropped, pleasure once again filled the Crown Prince’s eyes.

“You really didn’t know? That Duke of Clematis, your father, killed your husband’s father and everyone in his family before bringing him to you.”

“……”

“What a pitiful man, isn’t he? Living a life where he could do nothing, forced into marriage with you through threats… how frustrated must he be?”

The Crown Prince whispered.

“So even his sole support of you might not be from pure intentions.”

The fact that Maverick was claiming her innocence… That momentarily surprising and small warm feeling that had risen was crushed by these words. The Crown Prince rose from his seat, satisfied as he observed Rose’s shocked expression.

“All of this was for you, who will be executed tomorrow.”

It would be unfair to die without knowing. It was truly a villainous line. Like being in a moment of tragedy, the Crown Prince’s excited demeanor as he revealed everything seemed ridiculous.

“Ah, and lastly, there’s someone who wanted to see you. It will be a familiar face.”

After leaving these words like an act of charity, Rose raised her head again. Someone who wanted to see her…

Could it be Maverick?