As its queen, she could not simply die as she pleased.

Freya looked silently from Hilde, whose shoulders trembled as she cried, to Aaron, who still hadn’t woken up. Then she slowly turned her back on them.

“I’m too tired… I’ll come back now.”

But just as she was about to take a step, she felt the world sway violently and staggered again.

“Your Majesty!”

Startled, Belia rushed to her side to steady her.

‘How great her shock must be…’

Understanding only too well why her queen had put up with Christy’s misdeeds for so long, Belia found the whole situation heartbreaking.

To think that she had endured every painful day, clinging to life only to protect a man like him, just waiting for this day to come – the thought of it made Belia’s eyes brim with tears.

As Freya walked with difficulty, supported by the maids at her side, the sound of the woman’s sobs grew louder behind her.

The sound brought Freya back to herself. She turned and with a voice barely steady, forced through clenched teeth, she gave her order.

“Take these two… and lock them in the underground prison immediately. It’s too late – the judgement will come tomorrow.”

And with that, Freya left Aaron’s room.

At last, the tears she had been holding back began to flow down her cheeks.

He was the man she had loved with all her heart.

And that was why his betrayal hurt so much.

Saying her heart hurt wasn’t just a figure of speech.

She clutched her chest, where the pain throbbed sharply, and struggled to hold her breath.

Once they started to fall, the tears didn’t stop. They continued to flow, and still flowed.

And so that hellish night passed.

And at dawn the next day – the Empire of Karl the Great invaded.

To devour the Kingdom of Havern in one swift strike.

❖ ❖ ❖

After publicly declaring her divorce from Aaron in front of everyone, Freya bit down hard on her lip, enduring the stabbing pain in her chest once again.

The painful memory she had recalled in order to survive had reopened wounds that had not yet healed.

‘How much more time must pass… before I can finally forget?’

Every fragment of memory was vivid – cruelly so.

“Lean on me.”

The broad shoulder and comforting embrace he had always offered.

“Until my last breath, I will live only for Your Majesty.”

The deep, soft voice still echoed in her ears.

“I belong to you, for the rest of my life.”

That warm breath, those soft brown eyes.

And – the memory of that day, more vivid than all the rest.

‘I have to forget.’

The pain gripping her chest made even breathing a struggle.

And then – the Emperor, who had been watching Freya in silence, finally spoke.

“Is what she said… really the truth?”

Before Freya could answer, Tana’s sharp voice cut in from behind.

“She’s talking nonsense to save her own life!”

But the violet eyes that met Tana’s burning red gaze remained calm, unwavering.

“It’s all true.”

“How dare you speak lies!”

Just as the furious Tana raised her hand to slap Freya across the face .

“Ahh! What are you doing?!”

Tana yelled, her voice almost a scream as her wrist was caught in a large hand.

The grip was so relentless that it felt like her bones would break.

“That’s exactly what I’d like to ask you, former Empress.”

The Emperor said, his voice cold enough to freeze.

Her wrist throbbed with pain. At this rate, it would surely bruise.

Tana, overwhelmed with rage, breathed heavily, her chest rising and falling in sharp breaths.

“Are you really doing this to me… over some pitiful prisoner girl?”

But her trembling voice trailed off.

For the voice that followed from Rabion was so eerily calm – it sent a chill through the air.

“This is… my limit.”

“W-What do you mean…?”

“If you cross the line any further… even I don’t know what I can do.”

It was a clear warning.

His beautiful face showed no emotion.

But the killing intent beneath it was unmistakable, and Tana nodded instinctively, without meaning to.

She grabbed her free wrist quickly, her expression twisted into a grimace.

The stinging pain was one thing, but more than that, she was deeply unsettled by the Emperor’s attitude.

An inexplicable feeling of unease scratched at her nerves.

Finally, the Emperor turned his gaze from Tana to Freya.

“So… this consort of yours had an affair, did he?”

There was something strangely unreadable in his expression.

At first, it seemed indifferent – but the longer she looked, the more she felt he might be angry.

Or… was that a faint smile at the corner of his lips?

Of course, it was probably all in her head.

“He cheated… on the Queen of a nation… with another woman?”

Freya was so taken aback that she was speechless for a moment.

To hear such a painful memory treated like casual gossip – asked about again as if it were an entertaining anecdote – was beyond offensive.

“I told you.”

Tana scoffed as she watched the exchange.

“How could she possibly prove it?Your Majesty, you must not fall for this woman’s lies. What wouldn’t she do to save her own skin?”

Although her tone had softened somewhat, Tana still spoke with clear disapproval.

“Would you please hold your tongue? I’m getting a headache.”

The Emperor sighed and knitted his beautifully shaped brows as he looked at Tana.

“Can you prove your claim?”

His piercing blue eyes stared directly at Freya.

“Your Majesty… hic…”

“Are you unharmed?”

The ones being roughly dragged in by the soldiers, crying in fear, were none other than Freya’s closest maids.

Forced to kneel at the execution site without knowing why, their eyes were dark with terror.

“Can you prove your claim?”

Freya answered the emperor’s earlier question with one of her own.

“What happened to my maids?”

“Why do you ask that?”

“If they’re still alive, they can prove it.”

At present, the only way to verify the truth of the divorce was through the testimony of witnesses.

If the Emperor agreed, Freya would also be able to confirm the condition of the maids who had been captured with her during the fall of Havern.

But now, at the sight of their miserable condition, she couldn’t even lift her head, overwhelmed by guilt.

‘It was all my fault…’

A powerless queen who had lost her country… and now, for the sake of becoming empress of a hostile empire, she had taken her handmaidens into captivity.

Freya bit her lip in silence.

“Hear me.”

The Emperor’s sharp blue eyes swept over the maids.

“From this moment on, you are to answer my questions only with the truth.”

“…”

“Before you came here – tell me everything that happened between your queen and her husband.”

“…!”

As soon as the words left his lips, all eyes turned to Freya in unison.

“Do as he says.”

Freya told them. But the maids, clearly confused, looked at each other anxiously, not knowing what to do.

“Speak—now!”

“……”

Even with their mistress’s permission, the maids remained silent, unable to speak.

The emperor sighed in irritation.

“Are you really not afraid to die?”

At his signal, the captain of the royal guard, Kider, drew his sword without hesitation.

Its sharp, gleaming edge shimmered in the scorching sunlight.

“I… I’ll tell you everything!”

Finally, the head maid, Belia, cried out in resignation, and the other maids quickly followed, nodding in agreement.

“Go on. Speak.”

“It was… the night before the war broke out.”

With trembling voices, the maids began to recount the events of that night in fragments.

Their testimony was disorganised, scattered and halting – but it all fitted perfectly with what Freya had claimed: the Queen had caught the royal consort in the act of adultery, and a summary divorce had been granted on the spot.

“So it seems to be true. That this so-called consort had an affair and was divorced.”

Freya, stung by the Emperor’s indifferent tone, glared at him before she could stop herself – but he didn’t seem the least bit affected.

“With that, there is no longer any obstacle to fulfilling the will of the goddess Imona.”

Around them, murmurs of admiration rose from the nobles who had been watching.

“As expected, the goddess Imona must have foreseen all of this.”

“The Emperor is truly remarkable for revealing the truth.”

Soon the once solemn execution ground was filled with the loud chatter of onlookers.

Among them, Tana could be seen storming off, turning sharply as she left the square.

“See you at the palace.”

A voice that had become all too familiar whispered in Freya’s ear.

Still dazed, Freya stared at the Emperor’s retreating figure, then slowly rose to her feet, guided by the steady hands of those supporting her.

At last, the cycle of endless, repeated death had come to an end.

She was no longer a prisoner awaiting execution.

❖ ❖ ❖