Chapter 31_Our Secret Passage

Bellita tiptoed towards the sound, feeling extremely tense.

Knock, knock, knock.

Now the sound was clearly coming from right beneath her feet. Standing on the thick carpet, she felt a slight vibration under her feet along with the sound. Bellita quietly lowered herself and put her ear to the floor, waiting again.

Knock, knock, knock.

• Madam. Please open this. I came as promised.

Ah.

She definitely heard it. It was a small voice, but she heard it clearly. Her eyes widened in surprise.

What is this?

***

A little later, she rolled up the thick carpet to reveal the floor. There was a small square door about 50cm by 50cm. It was a wooden door, just big enough for one person to pass through, leading to the lower floor.

What is all this?

She had never imagined there would be something like this. A wooden door in the floor of the Empress’s room, and there was someone below it.

She could just not open it. What if she opened it and some strange person popped out? But Bellita turned her head and looked at the reliable figure standing by the window, gathering her courage.

Who could it be? Who is trying to sneak into the Empress’s room at this hour?

The continuous knocking was bothering her, so she cautiously lifted the door.

Creak… She expected it to make a sound, but it opened quietly. This meant it wasn’t the first time. But she couldn’t think any further. As soon as she saw the top of a man’s head, she tensed up.

As the wooden door on the floor opened, the man’s two hands were placed on the edges. Knowing he was trying to pull himself up, Bellita instinctively moved quickly. She stomped hard on the man’s fingers without mercy.

Ugh.

Whether it was because of the pain or because he didn’t expect her to do this, the man looked up in surprise.

Ah. This man?

Bellita looked down at the man’s face with an expression of disbelief.

His face was familiar. Ah! He was one of the Horse Brigade members she had met while passing by last time. She didn’t remember his name exactly. She just remembered his annoying thin mustache and his greasy eyes.

“Madam?”

The man looked up at her, confused by her unexpected action. Tilting his head, he finally got a grasp of the situation when he saw Bellita’s fierce expression.

“You’re upset because I’m late? I’m sorry.”

Who’s upset?

“The others were grumbling that it’s almost impossible to get into the Empress’s Palace.”

Of course. No men are allowed except those who have permission. Since the audacious Baltz, even the requests from nobles have been refused. There are no exceptions. 

So, you definitely can’t get in.

“But I didn’t worry about such talk because I could use our secret passage.”

Our secret passage….

As the surprise and confusion passed, only questions remained. She had never known such a place existed, nor why it was there or how it was used. 

Was it a secret passage used like this? How often was it used? It seemed dangerous that anyone could sneak in like a rat.

“Who else knows about this passage?”

“Who else? As I mentioned before, only you and I know about it, Madam. No one else.”

So, only this man has been coming and going. Is that true?

“I’ve been eagerly waiting for this day every month. I was so anxious I thought I would die.”

Meeting every month?

No way.

No way.

He looks at least twenty years older….

“Although I’m older, I’m stronger than young men. I can’t thank you enough for your praise, Madam. Trust me again tonight.”

It wasn’t a joke.

This crazy Bellita. I thought I knew her taste after meeting so many of her men, but it was just the tip of the iceberg. She didn’t care about age or status. Any man was fine.

Both the seducing woman and the man responding to it. This filthy world.

She found both of them so pitiful.

Sigh….

A long sigh escaped her. Even a member of the Horse Brigade was one of Bellita’s men. No, Bellita liked any man regardless of who he was. It was beyond pitiful; it started to make her angry.

“What do you mean, trust you?”

Moreover, this Horse Brigade man was an enemy of the Emperor. Reaching out to the enemy, this was madness.

She was angry at both Bellita and this man, and she glared at him fiercely. This man, with a bandage on one ear, must be out of his mind. He probably had a wife and children too.

“Madam. Please let me come up. Let’s have another passionate night like last month…”

Again, his fingers appeared at the edge. She quickly grabbed a vase from the nearby table and poured the water inside it on him without mercy.

Splash.

Ugh.

Duke Santino, drenched like a wet rat, looked up at Bellita in bewilderment.

Why is the Empress doing this? Even to me?

“Madam?”

There was no reason to keep watching the man’s bewildered face, not knowing why she was doing this.

“Nanny!”

Thud, thud, thud.

The nanny, who was hiding by the window with a sword in case of an emergency, ran over.

“Duke Santino! How dare you to our Madam!!!”

The nanny, wielding the sword threateningly, shouted.

So this man is Duke Santino. The name fits. Cheap Santino.

His voice and actions reeked of cheapness.

“Duke Santino! Do you want to hurt your other ear too?”

Belita almost asked if he at least had a proper meal but stopped. Being a Duke, he must be well-fed. She found it a waste that he got to eat at all.

“Shall I let His Majesty hear about this?”

Gasp. The sound of him catching his breath came out immediately.

If that happened, not just the other ear, but his head would be gone. Duke Santino, trembling with absurdity and fear, alternated his gaze between Bellita’s strange behavior and the nanny’s face, holding the sword high.

Is this a trap? If so, he needs to escape.

“Wasn’t it you, Madam, who seduced me first? So I’ve been coming every month, what’s wrong with that?”

Suddenly, his voice and expression changed. Trying to maintain his dignity as a Duke, he was digging a hole to escape. A hole to escape. His head was quick. He was declaring that he would claim this if told to the Emperor. He intended to blame the originally promiscuous Bellita.

“Go ahead and tell His Majesty.”

Seeing things not going his way, Duke Santino turned threatening with a cold, scheming look. 

How many absurd threats and schemes had he concocted using his power and status? But that only worked on people of lower status than a duke.

I am the Empress.

Therefore, I am above you.

As the nanny said, how dare you!!!

The nanny was there, and in fact, the knights guarding the Empress’s Palace were also outside the door.

What would the original Bellita have said in this situation?

“I’m tired of men like you, so don’t come near me again. I’ll seal this place right away.”

Bang.

Ouch.

He must have hit his head on the wooden door that closed harshly. 

Serves him right.

“Phew… I was so nervous my hands were sweating. What was all that about? Why is there such a door here?”

It seemed the nanny didn’t know about the secret door either.

“Really? Were you meeting such a man through this door without my knowledge, Madam? Why would you need such a man… No, why would you keep it a secret from me?”

The nanny was ranting, but Bellita wasn’t listening.

Was that man really the only one who used this passage? 

That wasn’t certain. What was certain was that the man had used this passage to meet Bellita. Just thinking about it was horrifying, and she shut her eyes tightly. It was extremely unsettling.

“Madam. The knights probably didn’t hear what that man said. So it would be best to keep it a secret. You’re just getting close to His Majesty now, and if he hears about this, it won’t be beneficial for you. It’s not a servant or a commoner, but Duke Santino of all people.”

Agreed.

That cheap man could easily slander Bellita. Bellita’s behavior had been notoriously bad.

Bellita firmly locked the wooden door and, with the nanny’s help, dragged a small sofa over and placed it on top. This made her feel a bit more at ease. She would have to seal it off soon. If she blocked it with iron plates, no one could come in.

Lying back in bed, Bellita’s eyes naturally turned to that spot. The place where the wooden door was, where the cheap man had poked his head.

Oh dear….

All she could do was sigh repeatedly.

***

The next day, as soon as the Horse Brigade gathered, two Dukes, itching to speak, threw mocking smiles at Duke Santino.

“You seem to have returned late last night. Someone saw your carriage passing by late at night.”

“Wait. Didn’t you go somewhere late at night around this time last month too?”

Remembering such useless things. Duke Santino’s expression was not good.

“Who are you meeting so secretly? Shouldn’t you reveal it before the Grand Duke?”

The two dukes kept insinuating that he was secretly plotting something, trying to undermine him. But it was useless. They were beneath him.

“I had some business. Very special business.”

“What special business? We are very curious.”

Duke Santino stroked his thin mustache with a triumphant expression and answered.

“I went to meet Her Majesty the Empress Bellita.”

The effect of his words was evident as not only the two Dukes but even Grand Duke Kuro Benoit, who had been sitting quietly, leaned forward with interest.

Until now, he had kept it a secret, but after being rejected so harshly last night, there was no reason to hide it. She had loudly claimed she was no longer interested in him. So now he could use his relationship with the Empress to his advantage.