Chapter 5: The Truth Revealed (11)

“These are the ones you seemed to enjoy before.”

Charelle approached carefully and set something down in front of her.

Larie’s gaze followed the sound of the teacup gently placed on the table.

Alongside it was a biscuit—one she had often absentmindedly eaten while feeding Rui.

“…”

She had gone her whole life indifferent to her own likes and dislikes.

So the fact that someone remembered what she liked to eat felt unfamiliar.

Unfamiliar… but grateful.

Even while she was helplessly trapped in a thorny briar, these small acts of warmth would graze her skin.

Like Susan at the ducal estate, the villagers, and now Charelle too.

Larie parted her lips slightly and, after some thought, called out to her.

“Charelle.”

“Yes, Your Majesty?”

She wanted to say thank you, but her courage faltered.

After all, even being seated in such a high position felt burdensome.

In the end, she decided to ask about what had been bothering her.

“Where… where is Jane?”

Jane, the maid who had cared so dearly for Rui, was suddenly absent—just like Sara had been before.

And now today, Jane was nowhere to be seen.

Larie remembered how Jane had once mentioned seeing her father, Baron Trompérie, at the palace.

It stirred a deeper worry—memories of how Susan had suffered under the Trompérie family’s cruelty.

“I sent her out briefly on an errand outside the palace.”

It seemed nothing serious had happened.

But Larie still wondered… Should she warn them about Trompérie?

Would speaking up about him only make her look suspicious?

“She seemed worried about Sara… Please check in on her, if you can.”

Larie spoke hesitantly, thinking about what she had seen earlier.

Jane and Sara had appeared quite close—it was likely she was deeply concerned.

“…Yes, Your Majesty. Please don’t worry.”

Larie didn’t notice how the mention of Sara’s name made the head maid’s face stiffen.

 She ended up making a weak plea in the end.

Because she feared her father would once again hurt these people to get what he wanted.

“…And please, be careful of my family…”

“Understo…stood, Your Majesty.”

The head maid couldn’t quite hide her confusion at the sudden remark.

After all, what good was a warning from someone who bore the Trompérie name herself? No one would believe her.

Still, Larie wanted to say it.

Even if her strange request caused them to mistrust or look down on her—better that, than them being harmed.

“…”

If only she had been able to say something back at the ducal estate.

A shadow seemed to pull her down deeper, as if it wanted to swallow her whole.

❖ ❖ ❖

‘Where in the world did Sara go?’

Jane, a maid of the Empress’s court, moved with hurried steps.

Tasked by the head maid, she had left the palace and was now making her way around the capital.

Her most important task this outing was to get newspapers.

Why the Empress was suddenly interested in commoner-focused publications, she couldn’t understand.

Still, the order came from the head maid—so she could only carry it out diligently.

Lately, the head maid had been troubled, searching for ways to keep the Empress entertained.

Apparently, there had been an issue with a previous article that had been passed along, but even so, she wanted to collect more.

Jane, watching from the sidelines, could at least understand why.

The Empress, who had entered the court as if she’d fallen from the sky one day, had something about her that stirred sympathy.

It seemed silly now that she’d been nervous just because the Empress came from that Trompérie family.

Her manner of speaking was quiet and restrained, and she never threw her family’s weight around like the rumors claimed.

The one who did act just like the rumors, however, was someone else entirely.

‘I know where that maid went, you know. If I say it concerns our family… I think you’ll get the picture.’

Jane’s face twisted into a grimace as she recalled Gafel’s smug expression.

The handmaids of the Empress’s palace, save for Charelle, all came from humble lineages.

They had been chosen for a single quality—their loyalty, as desired by the Emperor—making it an unusually lowborn assembly for someone of the Empress’s rank to be served by.

Knowing this, Gafel always wore a sneering attitude.

Though he used formal speech, he treated Jane as if she were his personal housemaid.

Even so, Jane had no choice but to obey.

She was worried—Sara had suddenly disappeared one day without a word.

“Just deliver this to my sister.”

For some reason, a strict order had been given barring anyone from House Trompérie from crossing into the Empress’s gardens.

Perhaps it was because of tensions between the Emperor and the Trompérie family.

Whatever the case, it explained why even a simple letter had to take such a roundabout route to reach the Empress.

It was just a letter.

He hadn’t asked for a reply. He hadn’t told her to bring anyone back.

With that in mind, Jane’s heart began to lean toward agreement.

It was a message from her family, after all.

Surely nothing serious would come of simply passing it along—especially since the Empress was said to be the Baron’s cherished daughter.

And thinking back on the way Gafel had sneered and called it “a family matter,” her concern grew.

There had been ghastly rumors that several maids had died while serving the Duchess, back when the Empress had still been the Duke’s fiancée.

Could Sara have gotten caught up in some family mess, too?

In the end, Jane returned to the palace, gnawing nervously at her thumbnail.

She decided she would quietly leave the letter somewhere the Empress would see it.

“Jane Brown.”

A voice called from behind.

She turned slowly and saw several of the Emperor’s personal knights.

“Please come with us.”

Her heart plummeted.

❖ ❖ ❖

As dusk approached, long shadows stretched across the imperial study.

It was around the same hour Larie had rushed to him in desperation.

“How was she today?”

Even though the question came without any context, the chamberlain bowed deeply.

The emperor’s unwavering attention had always belonged to the one in the Empress’s palace.

“…Her Majesty remained in her chambers again today.”

As expected. Terian fell into silence.

After a moment of brooding, he asked the next thing weighing on his mind.

“And the child?”

“He went for a walk by the lakeside with the wet nursemaid and several knights.”

The wet nursemaid had insisted on the child getting some fresh air, and Terian felt a strange debt from it. The child’s blue eyes—each time they looked at him—made his heart stir more deeply than he could admit.

Perhaps it was because an innocent child had been caught up in all of this.

“……”

It was high summer. Moist heat, pushed inland by the great mountains, clung to the capital.

Yet Terian was parched, deeply so. Hearing that Lariee had stayed in her room the entire day left him unbearably anxious.

He had already lifted the lockdown on the Empress’s palace, realizing too late how much it had terrified her.

But now, it was the opposite—Lariee wouldn’t leave. As if chained to her chambers.

Just like back in the Grand Duke’s manor.

‘If it’s for the political marriage negotiations… use me however you want. Just please, please spare Rui…’

It was clear what misunderstanding she held. Terian had tried to clarify things, but she hadn’t believed him.

How could she trust him?

A cold self-mockery scraped across his already dry skin, leaving red scars across his chest like a blade.

“Your Majesty. It’s been secured.”

At that moment, a knight rushed into the study.

In his hand was a letter.

“Bring it here.”

Terian’s gaze, moments ago drowning in guilt, now burned sharp again.

He had long kept close surveillance on Gafel, the gambling-addicted heir of Tromperie. He’d known the fool was planning something—like bribing one of the Empress’s maids.

And now, they had the evidence.

Would he have used such threats when meeting the child’s real father? To keep her in the position of Grand Duchess?

Or… since when?

“Your Majesty?”

The knight called him anxiously, but Terian remained lost in thought.

“……”

From the baron’s perspective, using Rui was the better option.

After all, the child he had planned with the former emperor’s concubine couldn’t escape a divine lineage test. It made more sense now to claim kinship through Rui, who Terian might one day acknowledge as his own. A clever cornering tactic—even for Terian.

Was it because they knew Rui wasn’t his biological child? Were they using that to blackmail him?

That didn’t make sense either. Terian had never publicly declared Rui as his own. And technically, the fault here lay with the Tromperie family.

They must know it was too late to cover their tracks. So why send a threatening letter to the Empress’s palace?

Was this what Lariee had feared?

Gafel’s behavior began to register as a serious warning.

“Your Majesty. A messenger has arrived urgently from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.”

The chamberlain reported urgently to Terian, breaking his thoughts.

“Send them in.”

The entering messenger wore a grim expression. As expected, the news he carried was far from favorable.

“Your Majesty. The Alfrang war has ended.”

“Hm…”

Terian narrowed his eyes, calculating the situation quickly. It had ended far earlier than anticipated in the discussions with the Rassium Empire.

But the messenger continued with even worse news.

“And… Shupetania has resumed coal exports.”

The air in the study grew suddenly several shades heavier. As everyone held their breath, the messenger finally revealed the truly urgent part.

“Details are incoming… but there are rumors they’ll start at half the original price.”

“……”

“The claws of Shupetania were once again trying to encroach on this land of Laxtreen.”

“Summon the lords immediately.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Terian, having secured the letter, moved quickly. This was an issue that had been fully prepared for. If they held firm like this, the matter could be dealt with.

“Chamberlain. What has become of the investigation I ordered earlier?”

“The results should be out soon.”

“I will order them to return quickly.”

This sense of unease they had discovered would not be put off. That’s why Terian hastened the information from the Baron’s house, which had been entrusted to the chamberlain.

Finally, his steps halted in front of the knight. With a cold, stiff expression, he issued the order.

“And activate the trap set for Gafel.”

If there were suspicions, they could simply capture him and interrogate him directly. Since Gafel dared to make such a vile threat against Larie, he had crossed the line. Whatever his reasons, Terian was not going to take this matter lightly.

“Increase security around the Empress’s palace.”

With a face full of rage, Terian left the office.