In a small village about half a day’s journey from the capital, there was a run-down inn and tavern in a remote location.

“Beer! I said bring more beer!”

A man in shabby clothes shouted loudly. His face was grimy as if he hadn’t washed properly for days, and his hair was matted and greasy. Though other guests at the inn were also shabbily dressed, even they tried to avoid going near the man.

Only after staring at his face for a while could one recognize who he was. Surprisingly, the man was Marquis Belmont, who was once called the Empress’s right hand.

‘I’ll let you keep your life.’

Clutching his cup tightly as Aidan’s voice echoed in his ears, Belmont swallowed a harsh curse and downed his drink. No matter how much he drank, he couldn’t get drunk. The cheap alcohol only upset his stomach.

‘How could this happen! I kept my promise to His Highness! His Highness guaranteed my life!’

Aidan’s subordinates had stripped off his clothes, dressed him in rags, and dumped him in this village.

‘This is His Highness’s order. We’ve shaken off all the imperial knights and assassins who were following us on the way here. His Highness said if you maintain that appearance and stay inconspicuous, the Empress’s assassins won’t find you either.’

‘You want me to live like this?’

He looked no different from a beggar. For Belmont, who had lived his entire life wearing fine clothes and eating fine food, it was like a bolt from the blue. He thought he couldn’t endure even a single day, no, not even a single hour.

‘We can return your clothes, but if you stay here dressed like that, you’ll be reported as suspicious and discovered by the Empress’s assassins before half a day passes.’

Just like Aidan’s subordinate said, the village was full of shabbily dressed people. If he wore his original clothes, he would certainly stand out.

‘How long do you expect me to stay in this state?’

‘Until His Highness’s business is concluded, he said.’

Too vague an answer. What did Aidan want? That was unclear from the start. Would he move against the Empress now that he had learned her weakness from him? That wouldn’t be so easy… His head was complicated with countless thoughts.

If that fact were revealed, even the Empress would deserve expulsion.

What he had given Aidan only extended to the inappropriate relationship between the Empress and himself, but he didn’t know how much more Aidan could uncover. He also didn’t know how long it would take. But being told to just wait in this state made him feel like he would go mad.

‘His Highness gave one more order.’

Speaking in a mechanical tone, the subordinate suddenly grabbed Belmont’s wrist tightly and pinned it to the floor.

‘W-what are you doing!’

When he saw the subordinate pull out a dagger, he asked in shock as the man’s gaze turned to Belmont’s finger. On his finger was a ring engraved with the Marquis Belmont family seal. He had made it into a ring to keep it as close to his body as possible, just in case.

‘His Highness said he needs the seal.’

The calm and flat tone made it even more chilling.

‘You crazy bastard! I’ll take off the ring, just let go of my hand!’

With the Emperor marking him as an enemy and searching for him, maintaining House Belmont was already impossible. If the family couldn’t be maintained, the seal meant nothing. It was absurd to have his finger cut off to protect such a seal. As soon as he pulled off the seal from his hand and threw it, Aidan’s subordinate finally released Belmont’s hand.

‘There’s an inn that way. Stay there under the name Smith. You won’t have problems with food and lodging. If you want to live, you’d better maintain an inconspicuous appearance.’

After telling him the alias to use and where to stay, Aidan’s subordinate picked up the fallen seal and left as if his business was done. Though Belmont wondered how they could just abandon someone like this, when he found the inn and gave the name Smith as instructed by Aidan, he truly had no problems with food and lodging. Regardless of whether Aidan’s side had paid in advance, the innkeeper supplied whatever Belmont requested.

I’ll let you keep your life.

It was exactly as promised. Belmont had no problems staying alive here. Though he lost all his pride and dignity as a noble, he could still eat, sleep, and relieve himself. Though he couldn’t wash properly since the run-down inn only had cold water, he was still alive.

No one thought he was a high-ranking noble who used to frequent the imperial palace. Thanks to that, he became free from the threat of assassins.

How long would he have to endure like this? Dissatisfied with his appearance that was no different from a beggar’s, he considered leaving for his territory but soon abandoned the idea. Most likely, the moment he left this place, either the imperial knights or the Empress’s assassins would catch and kill him. Though he felt frustrated with his maddening appearance, he knew staying here until Aidan’s next instructions was the safest option.

However, as days passed one by one, he reached his limit more and more. How was his current state any different from death? He couldn’t endure a moment without pouring alcohol down his throat. He shouted for alcohol as soon as he opened his eyes, and the innkeeper, though frowning, brought it.

Only by getting drunk and cursing alternately at Aidan and Lilith McCoy, blaming them for everything, could he barely endure.

The wooden door at the entrance opened with a creak, but no one paid attention to the new guests. A woman with a deeply pulled hood and a man with a masked face looked around the tavern before their gaze stopped at one spot.

The woman narrowed her eyes and frowned. Uncertain if it was the face she was looking for, she stared for a long while before moving.

Clank. At the sound of the chair moving across from him, Belmont finally raised his head to look forward. The masked man pulled out a chair, and the hooded woman sat in it.

“What…?”

Speaking with a tongue twisted from being completely drunk, Belmont furrowed his brow and strained his eyes when he saw the face of the woman sitting across from him. He must be really drunk. He was seeing a woman who would never be in a place like this.

“Crazy…”

Thinking he was having hallucinations, he ignored it and lifted the bottle to his mouth, but the masked man standing behind the woman came forward and grabbed Belmont’s arm. The vivid sensation confirmed this was real, not a hallucination.

“Your state is really…”

The woman’s tone, unable to finish her words from shock, was very familiar. It was clearly Lilith McCoy, the Empress. For a moment, he felt suddenly sober. Why was this woman here? How did she find me?

His body froze, thinking the man standing behind her would cut his throat any moment.

“Why are you causing so much trouble?”

The Empress asked in an irritated voice.

“I’m asking what you want by doing this.”

The Empress’s voice remained sharp. She seemed to have abandoned even pretending to smile as she had been doing. But Belmont couldn’t understand her question. He had thought she would try to kill him immediately upon seeing his face, but she was asking why he was doing this. Could it be that all the attempts on his life until now weren’t from the Empress?

No, that was too much to hope for. It was clearly the Empress who had pinned all the blame for the attack on Aidan on him, and therefore was trying to kill him to silence his mouth that knew the truth.

She doesn’t plan to kill me right now. She wants something from me.

His mind worked slowly because of the alcohol. The fact that the Empress still wanted to eliminate him hadn’t changed. As proof, the man behind her kept his hand on his sword. It meant he would cut him down at any moment if necessary.

Once he assessed the situation, he became a bit more relaxed. At least until the Empress got the answer she wanted, she wouldn’t try to kill him. Besides, there were too many eyes here now. Even the Empress couldn’t cut him down in a place like this.

Just moments ago, he had been cursing Aidan for making him stay in such a decrepit inn, but seeing the situation now, he realized Aidan’s judgment had been correct. This shabby and cheap inn had countless people coming and going day and night, which meant there would always be witnesses.

“I should be the one asking. Why are you so desperate to kill me?”

The Empress frowned at Belmont’s disrespect. He hadn’t spoken to her like this since the days he met her as Lilith McCoy.

“The situation has made you quite brazen, I see.”

Since Belmont spoke roughly, the Empress saw no need to maintain honorifics either. He would die by her hands soon anyway.

“Pfft, hahaha.”

Belmont suddenly burst into loud, crazy laughter. The deeper the Empress’s frown became, the louder his laughter grew.

“Have you gone mad?”

“I am mad! How could anyone endure this state without going mad?”

Still giggling, he suddenly stopped laughing and glared at the Empress.

“I spent over 20 years going all-in for you, how could I not go mad after being backstabbed?”

“Watch your words! You just used me to fulfill your own greed!”

The Empress snapped back angrily.

“Did you suffer any losses? You’re sitting in that position thanks to me.”

Killing intent flickered in Belmont’s eyes.

“If only I had never met you…”

He ground his teeth in regret. If he hadn’t met Lilith McCoy, if he hadn’t introduced her to the Emperor, if she hadn’t become Empress, at least he would still be living peacefully as the head of his marquisate.

“You’re the greedy one. How dare you aim for the position of Lloyd’s consort…!”

“Why not? House Belmont would have been good enough, wouldn’t it? Ah, is there something that bothers you?”

Belmont raised the corner of his mouth in a mocking smile.