Thank you for letting me meet my brothers, Rondimio….

Louise stroked Rondimio’s hair, who had fallen asleep immediately, perhaps because he had drunk a whole bottle of wine, and smiled bitterly before closing her eyes.

Tomorrow morning, after helping my brothers escape, I will sleep and wake up in your arms, pretending to know nothing.

Just as I slept and woke up in your arms even after you killed my parents.

I’m sorry for loving you, Rondimio. But… I want to leave your embrace now.

I don’t want to see you anymore.

Louise fell asleep, suppressing the various thoughts swirling in her mind.

Trying to act like a woman happy to meet her brothers after a long time.

* * *

A warm morning like any other.

Louise, who had fallen asleep in Rondimio’s arms, woke up early. Her heart fluttered a little at the thought of meeting her brothers after such a long time.

What would her brothers say to her first when they met?

Would they reproach their younger sister for loving the man who killed their parents?

She didn’t care about that; she just hoped they would be happy to learn she had come with difficulty to help them escape into the outside world.

And that they would safely escape from the underground prison and, together with the nobles plotting rebellion, overthrow Rondimio, who had seized the Araceli throne.

Phew. Louise sighed softly as she rose from the bed. To get her brothers out of the underground prison, she needed Rondimio’s cooperation.

Even if he didn’t cooperate, the plan had to be carried out somehow.

“You look happy, Louise. Did you sleep well?”

“I’m happy thinking about meeting my brothers today.”

“I promised to allow it once you and the baby entered a stable period, so I should let you meet them.”

Rondimio, who had woken up at some point, embraced Louise’s waist from behind and gently stroked her lower abdomen.

He really loved the child in her womb.

Every night, he would rest his head on her belly, wanting to feel the movements of the child who had just entered a stable period.

It was right to grant one request from his lovely wife carrying the child, as the arrival of this long-awaited child was worthy of blessing.

As always, because Rondimio was embracing her from behind, Louise couldn’t see his expression.

Still, he probably didn’t want to show her the princes imprisoned in the underground prison.

“It would be better if… I go alone to where my brothers are, right? Your Majesty is busy.”

Louise carefully opened her mouth before Rondimio could speak about today’s plan.

The usual Rondimio would surely suggest going to the underground prison together, but that would make the original plan a bit more difficult.

But instead of answering, Rondimio just stared at Louise’s blue-green eyes.

For the past few days, Rondimio often seemed absent-minded, with a face that showed no thoughts.

According to what Margaret had heard, a solution for the drought in the west had been found, but was Rondimio still visiting his office daily?

Louise recalled the answer she had received from Margaret after telling her what she had seen during her first and last visit to the emperor’s office.

That even if Rondimio had discovered the nobles’ rebellion, he couldn’t back down since the empress, Louise, was involved.

That just rescuing and smuggling out her brothers from the underground prison would be enough to promise a future.

They seemed confident, despite how thoroughly the nobles had prepared for the rebellion.

Very different from Louise, who thought Rondimio was a terrifying person.

Offered as a prisoner from an enemy country at a young age, he had only suffered abuse in the underground prison before escaping to the outside world. In just three years, he led a rebellion and became the new emperor of Araceli.

The reason he didn’t properly attend to state affairs was because he could solve everything with the military power he had honed when staging the rebellion….

Recalling Rondimio’s suspicious behavior, Louise could only hope her worries were unfounded as she gave him a radiant smile.

“I’d like to go with you, but… I’m busy today. May I come pick you up in the evening?”

As Louise’s thoughts deepened, Rondimio finally answered.

Unexpectedly, he was willing to give her ample personal time to meet her brothers.

In truth, the cooperation Louise had wanted from Rondimio was just a brief moment alone with her brothers inside the underground prison.

Pretending to be happy about being able to see her brothers for a long time, Louise hugged Rondimio tightly.

“Of course. Thank you.”

Thank you for letting me meet my brothers until late.

And for giving me time to help my brothers escape.

In exchange for allowing Louise to visit the underground prison, Rondimio set several conditions.

First, she must take the emperor’s direct knights with her and not bring any maids from the empress’s palace.

Second, she must come out of the underground prison for lunch.

Lastly, she could only meet her brothers until the evening when he would come to the underground prison.

There were many unexpected conditions, but none were difficult to follow.

Especially the requirement to come out for lunch would greatly help in rescuing her brothers.

For a long time, Louise had made various plans for how to rescue her brothers when she visited the underground prison.

One of them was to quickly duplicate the prison key and place it inside her brothers’ cell along with small weapons.

This would allow her brothers to escape some time after Louise’s visit, reducing suspicion on her.

To help the nobles’ rebellion, Louise had explained in detail to them the process by which she had once helped Rondimio escape and the structure of the underground prison.

After all, Louise, who had entered the underground prison daily in her childhood except for Rondimio and his direct knights, would know the escape routes better.

“I’ll be going now, Margaret.”

As soon as Rondimio left the empress’s palace, Louise made final plans with Margaret and stood up with a determined face.

If her brothers couldn’t escape from the underground prison alone or if other problems arose, she could come out for lunch and make new plans.

Whether that would work out as planned was uncertain….

“Take care, Your Majesty.”

Louise waved to Ciel and Margaret, who were disappointed they couldn’t accompany her, and headed toward the underground prison, clutching the key Rondimio had given her.

Jingle- The key to the underground prison that had come into Louise’s hands after such a long time had a small bell attached to it that made a metallic sound when shaken.

Rondimio had imprisoned Louise’s brothers in the same underground prison where he had been confined and abused as a child.

Therefore, Louise was somewhat confident in helping her brothers escape from there. It wouldn’t be her first time.

“Your Majesty. We will escort you. Please move carefully as the prison interior is narrow and dark….”

“I appreciate your concern, but I know this place better than you do, Marquis Tenul.”

“But His Majesty the Emperor has given orders.”

“That’s because His Majesty didn’t want me coming here.”

Louise walked two steps ahead of Marquis Tenul, preciously holding the key to the underground prison.

It was no easy task to outpace him, who had secured his position as Rondimio’s confidant solely through his military prowess.

With mixed feelings of anticipation and tension, as she made her way to the underground prison not far from the empress’s palace, Louise caught sight of herself in a full-length mirror hanging in the corridor.

Since it was cold enough outside the palace to freeze everything solid, Louise wore a shawl made of fur over a dress made of thick fabric.

Considering the child in her womb, she had designed the dress with loose strings at the waist instead of a corset, which made her swollen lower abdomen noticeably prominent.

Since learning that Rondimio had abused her brothers and then fallen asleep in her arms, she had struggled to eat properly and lost a lot of weight.

“Marquis, wait outside. Don’t come in until I call you.”

“Yes…. All the knights inside the underground prison have been removed. If anything unfortunate happens, please ring the bell attached to the end of that key.”

“Sigh…. My brothers wouldn’t threaten me.”

Upon reaching the entrance to the underground prison, Louise opened the prison door with familiarity and quickly walked past Marquis Tenul and Rondimio’s other confidants.

Click— Click— Click—.

Once inside the underground prison, Louise opened three iron doors with her key.

This key, which she had obtained only after long pleading to Rondimio and becoming pregnant, was known as a treasure of the Araceli Empire.

This key, used discreetly throughout the palace, could open all iron doors in the underground prison, but it was still just a key.

“Margaret should have brought a skilled locksmith into the empress’s palace….”

Louise’s plan would start with going out early for lunch.

Then, she would have the locksmith hidden in the empress’s palace duplicate the Araceli Empire’s key to give to her brothers, explain the nobles’ rebellion plan to them….

She intended to spend the remaining time entirely with her brothers.

They were her brothers whom she hadn’t seen for a very long time and her only two living family members.

Since she couldn’t guarantee how things would unfold, every minute and second spent with her brothers was precious.

When she saw the prison where her two brothers were confined, Louise smiled broadly, forgetting that this place had a terrible smell emanating from the remnants of a familiar past.