The man who had so boldly summoned the Emperor in the middle of his meal was a middle-aged man with strikingly ordinary features. So ordinary, in fact, that his face might not be remembered after the farewell.

As the Emperor entered the reception room, the man slowly rose to his feet.

“I greet His Majesty, the shining sun of the Empire.”

Judging by the way he showed the Emperor the proper respect, he didn’t seem to be a reckless fool.

Or so Rabion thought – until Kider suddenly called out to the man.

“Muscular beauty…”

The man’s eyes lit up and a slight smile appeared at the corner of his lips.

“I don’t eat bread!”

At these words, Kider gave a satisfied nod.

“No matter what anyone says…”

Once again, the man shouted without hesitation.
“Meat love!”

As expected, Kider nodded in satisfaction and turned to the Emperor with a bright smile.
“This man is undoubtedly from the Red Beard Merchant Guild, Your Majesty.”

Rabion’s face contorted in frustration as he realised that Kider had learned the password they had used to contact him.

“The item you returned was not the Sword of the Saint.”

The man got straight to the point. He seemed to be in a hurry.

“We returned exactly what we borrowed…”

Still unable to understand, Kider tilted his head several times in confusion.

“Our guild never lies. Even though it looked identical… it was not the Sword of the Saint.”

“How can you be sure of that?”

Rabion asked in obvious disbelief.

“Because we had changed its appearance at your request and now had to return it to its original form.”

“And?”

“In the process of restoring it, we discovered that the sword we had previously given you was not the same one.”

“What…?”

Rabion’s mind went completely blank.

When had the sacred relic been switched?

If what this man said was true, then the sword pointed at Freya’s throat during the execution wasn’t a relic at all – it was an ordinary executioner’s blade.

‘What if Freya hadn’t said she wanted to become Empress?’
The horrifying thought filled his mind, and he involuntarily sucked in a sharp breath.

‘Who? Who could’ve done such a thing?’

Kider, too, stood there with his mouth agape, blinking his dark eyes in disbelief.

The man, silently watching their reactions, soon nodded as if he had expected it all along.

“I thought it unlikely that the Emperor of the Empire would play such a trick on mere merchants like us… but it seems you really had no idea.”

Letting out a deep sigh, the man continued.

“The sword you requested to be made with this particular appearance… as far as I know, it matches the one used in Imperial executions. Am I right?”

As one might expect from a member of the Red Beard Merchant’s Guild, there was nothing he didn’t know.

Rabion frowned at the words and glared at Kider.

Startled, Kider turned to the man and said in a cold voice.

“You didn’t… talk about this outside, did you? You…”

“Would I ever do such a thing?”

The man chuckled, his demeanour noticeably more relaxed than before.

“Our guild thrives on trust and secrecy. We never sell or lend forged items, and we never reveal the secrets of our clients. Surely you haven’t been using our services all this time without knowing that much about us?”

From the man’s tone and manner, it didn’t seem like he was lying.

“It’s partly the fault of our staff for accepting the item based on its appearance alone – swords of this design aren’t common, after all. But… it almost led to a serious incident.”

The man shook his head as if he didn’t want to think about it.

“What do you mean?”

“I am the only one in our guild who is allowed to change the appearance of items. But while I was away, a customer came in desperate for a blade, and our staff almost handed over this very sword.”

“……!”

“If I’d returned even a little later, it would have been disastrous. Fortunately, the item wasn’t reserved, or it could have been much worse. I sincerely request that the item be collected and returned as soon as possible.”

“Of course, we’ll return it. And if your guild has suffered any losses as a result of this incident, we’ll make sure you’re fully compensated.”

Even as Rabion spoke, his expression remained frozen in shock.

“Do you have any idea where she might be?”

The man asked, obviously still worried.

“The blade wielder.”

“Pardon?”
Kider looked confused, and the Emperor furrowed his brow.

“I mean the executioner. There’s a good chance it was switched after it passed through his hands.”

“Yes.”

Kider agreed.

Still, neither of them could quite make sense of the situation.

‘So the holy relic – disguised to look like the usual execution sword – was recognised by the executioner and then replaced?’

If so, then the executioner’s intention must have been one or both of the following: to sabotage Rabion’s plan and ensure Freya’s death… or to steal the precious holy relic.

Of course, the executioner may not be the culprit.

Someone else nearby could have secretly made the exchange – or perhaps he was bribed or coerced.

“For now… rest assured. We will recover the relic and return it without fail.”

Rabion’s blue eyes gleamed with a murderous fury.

‘She nearly died…’

Who in their right mind would dare such a reckless act?

Just as Rabion was about to find the culprit and make them pay, there was a commotion outside the living room.

The increasing noise finally prompted Kider to rush over and open the door.

What he saw was Sienna, looking like she was about to burst into tears, being held back by several servants.

“What’s going on here?”

“Please… let me see His Majesty the Emperor.”

The sight of her dishevelled green eyes made Kider’s heart sink.

“Let her in.”

The Emperor’s voice called from inside.

Sienna ran straight towards him, panting and struggling to catch her breath.

Rabion looked at her in confusion.

Her face was drenched in sweat, her hair tangled and dishevelled – clear signs of how desperate she had been to get there.

“Her Majesty the Dowager Empress… she’s gone to see Lady Freya again.”

“What did you say?”

Rabion shot up from his seat without noticing.

“Your Majesty…”

Kider had approached quietly, leaning in to whisper to his lord – an unspoken reminder that the merchant from the guild was still present and probably overhearing.

Even if it was a trivial matter, there was no point in leaking the palace’s internal affairs.

The man wore a calm, unaffected expression, as if he hadn’t heard anything, but Rabion quickly regretted his own rash reaction.

Why was it that anything to do with Freya so easily shook his composure?

He really didn’t understand it himself.

“I will see to it that the item is recovered and returned. You needn’t worry. And if we somehow fail to find it, we will offer compensation – though I assure you that won’t be necessary.”

“Since the Emperor of the Empire says so, I’ll take your word for it. Then I will take my leave.”

The man said nothing more. He simply bowed politely.

Leaving the rest to Kider, Rabion quickly left the drawing room and made his way to Hebe’s palace.

He was already a fast walker, but now his pace had doubled, causing his attendants to fall behind one by one.

Despite this, Sienna stayed right behind him, almost running to keep up.

Noticing her struggling pace, Rabion slowed down slightly and asked.

“What reason does the Dowager Empress have for visiting Hebe’s palace again?”

It had only been a day since he had warned her. He hadn’t thought her foolish enough to try something again so soon – but clearly he had misjudged her.

“After Your Majesty left earlier…”

Sienna’s frightened green eyes still trembled slightly.

❖ ❖ ❖

As poor little Kamangi followed the Emperor out of the room, Freya felt all the strength drain from her body.

“Everyone, leave.”

She collapsed onto the bed as if her legs could no longer support her.

Perhaps it was the swirl of tangled emotions – an overwhelming fatigue suddenly washed over her.

Anger, shame, sadness… all mixed together, tormenting her.

Soon those emotions swelled into resentment and rage directed at the Emperor.

‘What? Do you think I’m capable of feeding a dog while worrying about an old friend?’

Unconsciously, her hand tightened on the blanket.

He wasn’t wrong.

She had lost her country, yet here she was, living comfortably, remembering old friends, and feeding the Emperor’s dog like a pathetic fool.

But even if it were true – should he, the one who stole her country, be the one to say it?

How brazen. How cruel.

She had thought he would at least show her the basic courtesy of being Empress.

Now she felt stupid for ever thinking that.

‘How pathetic can I be…’

Even if he had led her into this misunderstanding, she was the one who had allowed herself to believe it.

She couldn’t stand how naive she’d been – to expect a shred of decency from a man like that.

But… she just wanted to hear news of Rey.

To know if he was all right – or at least alive.

That was all.

She had only asked questions after being surprised by the Emperor’s comment that Kamangi had once been a stray.

Was that really something worth being criticised so harshly for?

What she had suffered today was only the beginning.

She would have to harden herself even more.

Freya kept repeating this to herself.

She didn’t know what intentions were behind his decision to make her Empress – but one thing was certain: he was the enemy.

The one she had to watch out for… and fear.

Thanks to the wish she’d made just before she died, her life had been spared, but she didn’t need to see it first hand to know how insignificant her position as Empress would be.

‘This is true. This is only the beginning.’

Taking slow, deep breaths, Freya finally regained control of her emotions.

She pulled the bell cord and told the maid to bring her a meal.

She had to eat something.

Only then would she have the strength to do anything.

She needed to find out what had happened to Rey—and she needed to start searching for a way to reclaim her lost kingdom.

A renewed determination lit up in Freya’s violet eyes.