It was so different from that day when she first reclaimed Abel from the slave-fighting arena.

“……When will we go back?”

It would have been better if it had been a threat. If Abel had been forceful, she would have subdued him and achieved what she wanted. But this weak and gentle approach…… she didn’t know how to handle it.

Abel smiled at Marian’s sigh.

“Soon. When the baby stabilizes and you’re feeling better.”

“That sounds like you’re saying we’ll return after the situation in the capital is completely resolved.”

Marian spoke with a voice full of discontent. This was the timing when something must be happening in the capital. Marian was absent, and the greedy traitors wouldn’t just sit still. Besides, what had Leoni done with that hairpin?

What was the Empress doing now?

There were many questions, but no one would answer them.

“I don’t think that’s so bad.”

Marian’s sigh grew deeper.

Abel gently played with her hair, and as she surrendered to his touch, sleep began to overtake her.

She found herself sleeping more and more, as if half of each day was spent in slumber.

Wasn’t she just like a newborn baby?

“……I think it’s bad though. Yaaawn.”

Marian yawned and closed her drowsy eyes.

Abel’s soft laughter echoed around her as he kissed her forehead.

A radiant smile lingered on his face.

“Marian.”

He wanted to preserve the peace Marian was enjoying now.

Abel gently placed a cushion under her head and got up from the sofa.

Her defenseless sleeping form was so lovely that it made his heart ache.

He kissed her cheek, and it was Abel who melted into the softness of her yielding cheek and lips.

“……I like you, Marian.”

Abel confessed quietly. He rubbed Marian’s cheek with trembling hands.

“……I love you.”

Yes, this was perhaps love.

The ordinary love that people talk about. Abel too was experiencing such love. The sweet language he had never uttered before colored the entire air.

“……I love you, Marian.”

Once his heart burst open, it flowed out like a waterfall.

Marian smiled, as if she could hear Abel’s unspoken words.

He kissed the corner of her smile once more before standing up.

Abel quietly left Marian’s bedroom.

Liebe and Rosette, who had been dozing off in the reception room connected to her bedroom, immediately jumped to their feet.

“Your Grace……!”

“Watch over her well. Make sure no problems arise.”

Liebe and Rosette nodded. Abel was about to leave the room completely but turned back to look at Liebe and Rosette again.

“……Rosette.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

“Don’t forget what you learned before.”

Rosette asked with a puzzled face.

“……But, Your Grace. When everything is so peaceful now, what could happen?”

“Peace isn’t everything.”

Abel calculated coldly.

No one could predict when the powder keg in the capital might explode, but Abel intended to extract only the benefits from it.

Those driven to the edge of a cliff would do anything to seize their last hope.

No one could foresee where that desperation might lead.

Rosette nodded in agreement.

“I don’t understand what you mean, but I will definitely protect Her Highness the Princess. Don’t worry.”

Abel nodded.

Once again, the three of them were united. For Marian.

**

Abel also received the news from Leoni.

“The Empress attacked Katra, and now Marquis Katra has been captured. So Katra has become a battlefield, they say.”

Albrecht let out a scornful laugh.

“In the end, she’s devouring her own body. All the remaining descendants of Katra outside have now turned to Countess Yulian.”

“……Then we should devour these fallen pieces one by one.”

“Yes. That’s true, but…… there’s no guarantee that those who have betrayed once won’t betray again.”

“Even rotten apples must be kept nearby sometimes. Isn’t there a saying? Fish cannot live in water that’s too clear. If we’re not careful, we might have to cut everything out. If that happens, who will run the empire?”

Abel narrowed his eyes.

He planned to extract the useful ones from among them and make them part of Drake’s forces. While Madrian and Countess Yulian dealt with the Empress, Abel would build up Marian’s forces and take control of the imperial family.

And then devour the two hunting dogs.

“……Tell Leoni to spread some suitable bait. Let’s see who takes the bait. Say that Princess Marian is building a new power base.”

“Won’t there be resistance from Duke Madrian and Yulian’s side?”

“They won’t have time for that. Tell Leoni to inform the Empress of Duke Madrian’s location. Let them tear at each other.”

“Yes, Your Grace!”

Abel laughed.

Even from here, the situation in the capital was clear. Hadn’t he scattered all kinds of bait before coming, to attract flies?

Now he just had to wait for the hunting dogs to tear at each other and hunt.

Abel narrowed his eyes.

“……Ah, but what should we do about the missing Crown Prince?”

“That fool?”

Abel muttered coldly.

“That fool must not harbor hope again. Put him and the children on a ship and send them out. With the children, he won’t move rashly.”

“But…… it could become a problem in the future.”

“……Marian wouldn’t want that.”

Abel’s method was to cleanly remove all seeds of anxiety.

But now, he didn’t want to go against Marian’s wishes and feelings. No matter how trivial they might be.

**

In the underground where Marquis Katra was imprisoned, a musty, damp smell of mold mixed with the stench of filth. The Empress covered her mouth with a handkerchief.

The Empress’s fierce gaze was directed at Marquis Katra.

“……The woman who turned her back on Katra and betrayed us has the audacity to show her face.”

“I believe you betrayed me first, Marquis.”

The Empress coldly rebuked.

Even now, Katra refused to acknowledge their crimes and continued to rebel against her.

Their anger toward the Empress had turned into a fierce flame surging toward the imperial palace. Reports indicated that Katra’s people from the west were making their way to the capital.

“Even now, look. How brazen and bold you are despite committing crimes. Your children are gathered in front of the imperial palace, making a fuss demanding their father back.”

“……Don’t touch those children.”

Marquis Katra bared his teeth.

“I will never forgive you, even in death!”

“What can you do with a body rotting away? Look, Marquis. You know better than I do how difficult it was for me to get here.”

The Empress laughed softly.

“I did my best for Your Majesty the Empress and His Highness the Crown Prince. From the time I hid and raised a child who wasn’t even the Emperor’s…… seed, I have lived as a dog for the imperial family.”

The Empress’s smile cracked.

“And this is the reward for that!”

“You’ve basked in that much glory all this time! Do you truly believe it was solely your achievement that made you the master of the west?”

“I killed the Duke and Duchess of Drake to hide Your Majesty the Empress’s secret. I reported them to the Emperor and became a traitor! I drove innocent people to their deaths just because they discovered the secret!”

“Shut up!”

The Empress shouted.

“Benjamin is a member of the imperial family no matter what anyone says! That child has inherited his father’s blood and is qualified to become a great Emperor!”

The Empress gripped the iron bars, glaring at Marquis Katra with blazing eyes.

“Remember the fact that I’m still sparing your descendants in consideration of what you’ve done all this time. Die quietly here. If you do that, your child will safely inherit Katra.”

“……Heaven is watching, Your Majesty the Empress. I did not kill the head chamberlain.”

“Then,”

The Empress smiled coldly.

“Was it me? No. Since a Katra hairpin was found, whoever it was must be of Katra blood, and as the head of the family, shouldn’t you take responsibility for that?”

The Empress spouted sophistry. In fact, she was simply trying to eliminate Marquis Katra, who had become a thorn in her side, to break the rebellious forces.

Marquis Katra, Madrian, and even Yulian.

The Empress trembled with a sense of betrayal.

“Who else has conspired?”

“Everyone in this empire opposes Your Majesty the Empress. They think a suitable successor should ascend to that position! At least someone with a drop of imperial blood!”

“Name them. If you help identify the traitors, I might preserve your pitiful body.”

“……Who else do you want to purge?”

Marquis Katra asked with a voice mixed with scorn. Right now, the Empress wanted to hear the answer she had predetermined from Marquis Katra’s mouth. The name that Marquis Katra would provide, to eliminate the person who was an obstacle to her.

The Empress leaned down.

“What about Drake? In the past, they already harbored treasonous thoughts once. Their bloodline is likely to harbor such thoughts again. Besides, they now have Princess Marian, don’t they? Those insolent ones are plotting rebellion with the Princess as a hostage. Isn’t that right?”

Marquis Katra laughed.

The Empress’s eyes were still full of greed. She was still burning in hellfire, coveting what she shouldn’t desire and yearning for what she couldn’t have. The Empress’s eyes flashed as she declared.

“Poor Princess Marian. Shouldn’t I bring that child to me and take care of her?”

“……Do you truly have no conscience? Not even a little remorse?”

“I only want the truth.”

The Empress said coldly.

“How grateful I am that you’ve confessed so cooperatively.”

The Empress slowly rose. She ordered the guards standing behind her.

“Extract a confession and handle it as s*icide.”

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

Marquis Katra shook the iron bars and raged, but the Empress didn’t look back. Whether her heart had frozen or not, she felt no guilt.

“Monster! You demon! Even in death, you will not rest in peace! You will burn forever in that hellfire! You damned, demonic woman!”

Marquis Katra poured out curses too vile to be heard. The Empress didn’t stop. She only saw the glorious imperial scepter.

To keep that position, the Empress could do anything.

**

Marquis Katra’s head was displayed for execution.

The bereaved family shed tears of blood at the sight of the Marquis’s head hanging in front of the imperial palace, and those who had plotted rebellion together seized the opportunity to take up swords.

“K*ll the witch and reclaim the throne! For the thousand-year history of Federico!”