Chapter 103: They Say He’s Missing

“…How dare you. Who were you trying to kidnap?”

Strangely enough, the emperor was more enraged now than when he had learned that his own daughter, Princess Isabella, had been killed by Count Sandor.

“Your Majesty, Her Majesty the Empress was anxious about how deeply you favor Her Highness Gloria. If Her Highness Gloria were to become crown princess, it would push Prince Adolf down the line of succession—”

“I’ve never seen such fools in my life!” He unleashed even greater fury.

He rose violently from his seat.

He didn’t even shed a tear for Isabella. It left a bitter taste in Edelweiss’s mouth to realize how clearly he regarded Gloria as a replacement for Empress Anastasia.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t be placing more importance on Gloria than on his own child.

‘…Isabella.’

Edelweiss was filled with guilt toward Isabella.

She didn’t regret revealing the whole truth to Empress Roxanne. Nor did she regret exposing that Roxanne had planned to kidnap Gloria.

If it hadn’t been for Unit Magnollen, Gloria might have been taken without a trace.

Even if not, Edelweiss had seen clearly that Roxanne would eventually reach out to Gloria after her death—and had acted first.

Still, it left her uneasy, as if she had used Isabella’s death.

The emperor’s utter lack of mourning for Princess Isabella was frightening and repulsive.

‘Isabella.’

‘I’ve cleared your name. I’ll make sure Count Sandor, the one who killed you, meets a wretched end.

So now, rest in peace.’

***

As Beatrice Ruwes testified, the boatman’s corpse was discovered in Count Sandor’s garden.

Count Sandor, arrested by the knights, was thrown helplessly into prison.

Without even holding a trial, the emperor sentenced Count Sandor to death by burning for the crime of murdering a member of the imperial family.

He also confined Empress Roxanne to the Metter Palace and stripped Adolf of his right to inherit the throne. The Countess of Lumire, Roxanne’s sister, was also demoted to a commoner and exiled from the Empire of Rejenoel.

Even after that, the emperor’s fury remained unsated—he ordered that no food or water be sent into the Metter Palace.

“…The execution of Count Sandor is scheduled for two hours from now.”

There was still time left before she witnessed the end of Count Sandor.

Edelweiss headed to the prison to see him.

Just like Rosemary’s final moment. The torches, dry and without a single drop of oil, sputtered out faint flickers of light, as if they might go out at any moment.

Count Sandor sat in a dark corner, untouched even by the sparse light. Occasionally, the sound of chains echoed.

When they finally met, Count Sandor was a pitiful sight. After repeated t*rture, his face was swollen, his lips split, and his bloodshot eyes stared at the floor.

Once a powerful noble of the House of Stern, now he wheezed with dried blood caked all over him.

As Edelweiss approached, Count Sandor sensed her presence and barely lifted his head.

“…Edelweiss?”

A strange smile twisted on Count Sandor’s bruised lips as he recognized her.

He looked just like Rosemary.

“…My lovely niece came all this way to visit me. Should I offer a prayer of thanks to God for being allowed to see your noble face?”

Edelweiss looked down at Count Sandor with a blank expression.

“You’ll turn to ashes in the fire soon—I came to see you before then.”

“If I’d known this would happen, I would’ve killed the imperial heir long ago.”

“….”

He spat on the ground, the saliva mixed with blood, and growled.

“You should know what it’s like to lose a child, just like I do.”

“Count, losing your child was merely the price you paid for killing Princess Isabella. She, too, was someone’s child.”

“…Don’t you even pity Rosemary?”

Count Sandor didn’t hesitate to call Rosemary his daughter. His love for her had been genuine.

That was why he took the risk and killed Princess Isabella, to secure Empress Roxanne’s backing for Rosemary.

“Even so, Rosemary spent her whole life as your older sister. After killing her, do you really think you can live in peace?”

“It’s funny—you two are so alike in shamelessness. Why did it take so long for everyone to realize you were father and daughter?”

“…You wretch. Rosemary will never forgive you. One day, you’ll end up just like me.”

He narrowed his eyes and spat out a sneer.

“You’re the one who killed Rosemary, not me.”

“…….”

“If you hadn’t made Rosemary the illegitimate daughter of Duke Stern from the start. If you had married Serena Widen and let Rosemary live as the young lady of Count Sandor’s house, would she have dared to desire what was never hers?”

Guilt flickered in Count Sandor’s angry and resentful eyes.

“She was still a member of Stern’s branch family—she would’ve had a fine marriage. Even when Duke Stern found out she wasn’t his real daughter, he still tried to save her. If she’d lived as Count Sandor’s daughter, she might’ve received his support too.”

Edelweiss intentionally stirred those emotions.

“I… I wanted to give her the best position—”

“Rosemary lived her entire life scorned as the duke’s illegitimate daughter. She always watched her step, afraid of offending him. Because as a bastard, she had nowhere to go if he cast her aside. She once threw herself down the stairs to get his attention and ended up with a permanent limp.”

“……”

“That limp is what made her trip when she tried to escape at the train station.”

“……”

“If not for that, she might’ve gotten away and lived as ‘Lenia Ruwes’ in another country.”

Because of Damian’s gag order, the events of that day were never fully revealed. Hearing it now for the first time, Count Sandor’s face went stiff.

“She hated me because she was a bastard, and I was the legitimate heir. It was all just her inferiority complex.”

“……”

“And yet, does it look better than the life she might have lived as the daughter of Count Sandor?”

If she had only met Rosemary as a cousin—

Her life might not have ended in the same ruin as before.

“Rosemary’s life was ruined because of you.”

Count Sandor lowered his head and shrank in on himself.

His lips, cracked with dried blood, trembled as he muttered in a whisper.

“I… ruined Rosemary.”

His hands bound in chains twitched.

The realization that the consequences of his greed could never be undone seemed to suffocate him.

Edelweiss, watching Count Sandor clutch his head in torment, left the prison.

As if waiting, someone approached her.

“…Your Highness. Empress Roxanne—”

It was Unit Magnollen. She stepped close to Edelweiss and whispered softly.

“…Empress Roxanne hanged herself. His Majesty has forbidden even a funeral.”

In the end, Empress Roxanne had taken her own life.

“She must not have been able to bear the fact that Isabella died at Count Sandor’s hands.”

Empress Roxanne was now gone, and Count Sandor would soon follow.

All that remained was for Damian to return.

The little time left pressed ever more vividly on her.

As dizziness swept in and she braced herself against the headache, a steward came into view.

From afar, the steward was running toward her in haste.

Was he going to report on Empress Roxanne’s final moments?

That thought crossed her mind just as the steward reached her.

He took in a deep breath—

But couldn’t speak, only gasping for air.

“Your Highness…!”

“…What is it?”

At Edelweiss’s firm voice, the steward barely managed to respond.

“The warship bound for the Arcane Strait…”

“……”

A long silence fell.

In that instant, Edelweiss’s heart froze.

It pounded so violently she could hardly breathe.

“His Highness Damian… is reported missing…”

It felt like a cold blade pierced deep into her lungs.

The world around her turned still, as though even the wind had stopped.

Gulp.

She tried to inhale, but something hot surged from deep within her throat.

“Your Highness! Are you all right?”

After a fit of rough coughing, blood gushed from her lips.

Bright red blood splattered across the floor.