chapter 2. the beginning of deception

At the small banquet hall located inside the empress’s palace.

Louise stood at the highest point of the small banquet hall, taking in each of the empress’s palace servants who filled the hall.

Rumors had already been circulating in the imperial palace that the empress might be pregnant since Louise started experiencing morning sickness, but the truth of the rumors had not been officially confirmed.

Initially, she briefly considered removing the child in her womb without even telling Rondimio.

But not anymore.

Two days ago and today, she had received confirmation of her pregnancy twice from the imperial physicians.

Rondimio, not content with just knowing about her pregnancy, even promised to hold a banquet to celebrate the child’s arrival.

Having decided to give birth to the child in her womb, hand it to Rondimio, and leave, she needed to protect the child safely until then.

“The reason I called you all here is because a child has come to me.”

‘Princess Louise has betrayed us once again.’

Louise clearly saw, in a fleeting moment, the emotion of betrayal settling in the servants’ eyes.

The expressions of the servants, who had been looking at Louise with feigned excitement as she embraced her stomach, all hardened.

They hadn’t liked Louise since the moment she became empress of the Araceli Empire. Louise knew this well.

The servants gathered before her now, those who had served Louise’s parents and brothers who met their deaths at Rondimio’s hands, couldn’t hide their rising anger.

“I want to entrust my child to your care from now on as well. And I wanted to inform you that we will soon hold a banquet to celebrate the child’s arrival.”

“Does Your Majesty the Empress… truly love His Majesty the Emperor?”

As Louise pretended to be the pure and powerless empress as usual, intending to give the child in her womb to Rondimio and live alone, a sharp question flew at her.

The owner of the voice was Margaret, who had served Louise a few days ago.

Ah. I haven’t given you any trust until now. Then I should give you trust on this occasion.

“What insolence—”

“I’m fine, so please stop, head maid. And Margaret, would you come closer?”

Louise, preciously holding her stomach that wasn’t showing at all, called for Margaret who was standing far from the platform in the small banquet hall.

Louise knew it too. That she was pretending to be an innocent victim who knew nothing while hiding behind the tyrant Rondimio who killed her parents and was abusing her brothers.

Of course, the “truth” that Princess Louise had loved the new emperor even before being forcibly married to him had spread widely throughout the empire.

But there were many who didn’t believe this fact or believed that Louise had whispered lies to survive.

Even now, there would be people who believed that the child in her womb was forced upon her by Rondimio.

Louise pulled Margaret, who approached the platform, close enough that their noses almost touched.

Margaret, you must believe me.

I need your father, Marquis Miko’s help.

“Margaret. I don’t love His Majesty.”

Do I truly love Rondimio?

If you had asked if I loved him, I would have answered yes, but unfortunately, I’ve now decided not to love him.

“I just pretended to love His Majesty to save my brothers in the underground prison.”

I’m sorry. This is half a lie too.

I definitely sincerely loved Rondimio at one point.

“So… help me. His Majesty will eventually kill me too.”

I’m sorry, I’m sorry. This is a complete lie.

Rondimio is always kind to me, but I can’t stay by his side any longer. I want to leave him.

“I got a promise from His Majesty to let me meet my brothers in the underground prison. It’s an opportunity I’ve finally obtained.”

“……”

Margaret, who had been listening to Louise’s desperate whispers, forcefully pushed away her arm with an exaggerated voice. To someone watching from afar, it would look like the two were fighting.

Louise was momentarily confused and just blinked, but when Margaret began to glare intensely with desperation, Louise played along.

“That’s absurd, Your Majesty the Empress!”

“Ah… the child is innocent. Are you so displeased that I’m holding a banquet to celebrate the child’s arrival?”

Everyone would think the empress and her maid had started fighting. Immediately, the head maid of the empress’s palace approached Louise’s side to protect her.

“Instead of thinking about taking special care of the Empress who carries the precious imperial heir, what insolence is this! Lady Miko!”

“Head maid…. I’m really fine. There was just a small misunderstanding. I only said that I sincerely love His Majesty the Emperor, but Margaret kept insisting that couldn’t be true….”

The last sentence was filled with moisture in her voice so only the head maid could hear.

Louise deliberately looked at the servants filling the small banquet hall and sniffled. Fortunately, Louise’s beautiful appearance was good at stirring people’s emotions.

The head maid was Rondimio’s person, so she would report everything that happened today to him. That the empress was pressed by the palace servants about whether she loved the emperor.

And that she said ‘I sincerely love His Majesty the Emperor’ and then quarreled with the servants.

“I’m sorry, Margaret. I’ll apologize if I upset you. I think I need to rest now.”

“Your Majesty the Empress….”

“You’re a maid I cherish… so I want to see you for a long time.”

She didn’t forget to add “cherished maid” in case Rondimio might harm Margaret.

Even so, Rondimio wouldn’t carelessly kill the maids cherished by his empress.

She had heard that Marquis Miko, whose help she sought through Margaret, was a nobleman who maintained neutrality well before Rondimio.

This was information she had heard from her eldest brother, Berus, whom she had been able to meet for the first time a year ago after pleading with Rondimio.

If she had known that time would pass like this and she would eventually decide not to love him, she would have listened more carefully to her brothers’ words then.

She should not have been so cold to her brothers who were steadfastly trying to help their sister who loved the man who caused their parents’ death.

If she gets to meet her brothers this time, she’ll tell them that she’s decided not to love Rondimio anymore and that she’ll leave Rondimio with the help of forces that don’t like him.

Though she’s not sure if her brothers would still want to help their foolish sister even now.

Louise left the small banquet hall filled with the empress’s palace servants without regret.

She wasn’t worried because today, too, she had successfully played the role of Princess Louise who was pure like a child, to the point of being naive, stupid, and busy just trying to survive on her own.

She had even shown Margaret that she needed help with half-truths, so something would work out on the day of the banquet to celebrate the child in her womb.

As soon as she left the small banquet hall, fatigue rushed over her as if it had been waiting, and Louise hurried to her bedroom, ignoring the servants following her.

Rondimio had said he would come later than usual today, so she could spend at least a few hours alone.

Louise flopped down on the large bed and closed her eyes.

It seemed like bad things always happened on days when Rondimio said such things, but Louise didn’t have the strength to stop him.

* * *

The terrible smell emanating from the familiar remnants of the past.

Rondimio, with a hard leather whip fastened to his waist, strode into the underground prison located in the deepest part of the Araceli imperial palace.

“Pretending to be noble when you’re just members of the imperial family.”

Bang.

As the two underground prison doors opened, what appeared were two men as robust as Rondimio, or rather, who had been robust.

The former emperor Hiems’s beloved two sons, First Prince Berus and Second Prince Isel, frowned at the sight of Rondimio who appeared after a long time.

He hadn’t shown up for a while, so did he need someone to vent his anger on today?

“Why. Do you think I came to ‘vent’ on you again, like you used to do to me long ago?”

Seeing Rondimio grab the whip that was fastened to his waist, the bodies of Berus and Isel trembled with human instinct.

But since he hadn’t brought knights who could subdue the two princes who were still robust despite not being properly provided with meals and beds, it seemed he didn’t intend to ‘vent’.

The self-loathing from uncertain expectations made the two even more miserable.

Long ago, whenever Berus and Isel needed someone to vent their anger on, they freely abused Rondimio, who was imprisoned in this underground prison, with a leather whip.

Despite the pain of his whole body being torn, he didn’t make a sound, and they continued whipping until he passed out from exhaustion, so how much resentment must have built up?

‘Are you okay? Does it hurt a lot, Rondimio? I’m sorry…’

Rondimio’s resentment was very deep.

Rondimio had somewhat adapted to the severe abuse from the Araceli imperial family, but it was too painful for him to see Louise, who came to him when he was broken by abuse, suffering from guilt every time.

Without even gauging how great Rondimio’s resentment was, Berus and Isel met Rondimio and the whip in his hand once a week at most, or once every few months at least.

“Just kill us instead. Stop making Louise suffer…!”

“No. You live because of Louise and can’t die because of Louise. I can’t stand to see tears in Louise’s eyes.”