Chapter 107: Adolf’s Final Letter

Edelweiss carefully unfolded the newspaper Anna had brought her and read it thoroughly.

The only sound in the still room was Gloria’s soft, sleepy breathing.

She placed the paper on the table beside the fireplace and let out a long sigh.

It said Ivana Celine had slipped and fallen to her death.

But Edelweiss knew that wasn’t the truth.

Damian had clearly done something.

No one saw anything… right?

Her chest tightened with a rising fear, and just then, the door opened and Damian walked in.

“……Your Highness!”

He stepped in heavily and pulled off his gloves.

Edelweiss picked up the newspaper again and handed it to him.

He took it silently and began to read.

His damp hair, the deep fatigue in his eyes, the faint scent of sea salt lingering on him—

everything pointed to where he’d been.

“…Was it you?”

Edelweiss watched him closely as she carefully asked.

Damian’s eyes, meeting hers for a moment, wavered for the first time.

As if even hearing the question irritated him, he turned his gaze away.

“……What if it causes trouble later?”

“Lady Ivana Celine of the House of Celine was found drowned near the harbor.

Authorities are investigating whether it was an accident or foul play,

but the lack of witnesses is reportedly making the case difficult.”

Damian recited the headline in a low voice.

A faint smile tugged at his lips—but it carried a bitter edge.

“I left no trace. The fog covered everything.”

Edelweiss’s fingertips trembled for a moment.

Lowering her eyes, she murmured quietly,

“We could’ve taken her to court. Had her tried for attempted murder—

She might’ve been sentenced to life.”

Damian let out a heavy breath and sneered.

“…Then do you think the Count and Countess Celine would have left you alone?”

“……”

“You have to eliminate anything that could become a future threat. Don’t say such naive things.”

It wasn’t that Edelweiss couldn’t understand Damian’s words. The Celine couple, having lost their daughter in an instant, could very well seek revenge.

At the very least, Count Celine could’ve spread rumors about Anemone and tarnished the name of the Blossomweaver family.

In that case, it might’ve been better to kill cleanly. Still, she was terrified something might happen to Damian because of it.

“Or is it that you find me horrifying for having killed someone? As if killing Rosemary Widden wasn’t enough, now Ivana Celine too?”

“……”

“I think I’ve already shown a great deal of mercy by not burning her alive the same way.”

Above all, the misunderstanding in this situation was what gave him a headache.

“You know I didn’t mean it that way.”

She wanted to say that wasn’t what she meant, that she was just worried, that she never once thought he was horrible.

But for some reason, she couldn’t get the words out. Tears welled up in her frustration.

“…Really, I didn’t mean it like that.”

Before she realized it, Damian was standing in front of her.

He gently grasped her chin and lifted her head. Seeing her cheeks wet with tears, he grew flustered and wiped them with his rough hand.

“…It’s not that. Please believe me. I was just worried about you. If something happened to you because of this… I wouldn’t know what to do…”

At that moment, Damian’s expression twisted slightly.

“That won’t happen. As I always say, I don’t trust people. Do you think I would’ve ordered someone else or bribed anyone?”

Edelweiss slowly shook her head.

Damian awkwardly withdrew his hand. Then he stepped toward the cradle.

Inside, Gloria was fast asleep. Damian gently poked her dimple with the tip of his index finger.

***

Two months.

Neither short nor long.

But on the day of Damian’s crown prince investiture, the emperor looked emaciated like a sickly old man.

His complexion was utterly pale, his hands trembled thinly, and his lips were parched.

Since there had been no summons for Gloria for a while, Edelweiss was startled by the emperor’s condition.

‘Why does he look like that all of a sudden?’

The golden ceremonial uniform and jewel-studded epaulettes he wore only served to emphasize his frailty.

Edelweiss shifted her gaze to Damian. He was kneeling before the emperor on one knee.

“Let all bear witness. On this day, I intend to name another sun of Rejenoel.

Before the glory of death, I make this proclamation.”

“……”

“Damian Rejenoel Lorendel. Inheriting my will, I appoint him as crown prince of Rejenoel. Even your silence shall be command. I, Ludwig Rejenoel, record this moment in history and proclaim the investiture of the crown prince…”

Clutching his chest uncomfortably as he spoke, the emperor suddenly flinched, reached out his hand, and began coughing violently.

“Khugh… kegh, kegh!”

What he spat out was black blood.

The splatter stained Damian’s white ceremonial robe like spreading blotches.

As the smell of blood filled the room, unrest rippled through the hall.

“Y-Your Majesty!”

The chamberlain rushed to support the emperor, but the emperor lost consciousness and collapsed.

***

In the days following the investiture, chaos reigned.

The emperor had yet to regain consciousness.

The royal physician, after examining the bedridden emperor, concluded that he had been poisoned. The shocking news that the emperor had been poisoned only intensified the already grim atmosphere.

Rumors began to spread in some corners suggesting that perhaps Damian had orchestrated it in order to ascend the throne even a day sooner.

“We are doing everything we can… but the poison has already spread too extensively throughout his body…

There’s no point in further treatment, Your Highness the Crown Prince.”

At those words, the head attendant, who had been fidgeting nervously, suddenly dropped to his knees.

“Your Highness, please execute this unworthy servant!” he sobbed uncontrollably.

“It was Prince Adolf… he threatened me. Said he’d kill my son. I had no choice…

He said if I didn’t poison His Majesty, my wife and—”

Damian didn’t even glance at the head attendant. He looked down once at the emperor’s pallid face, now darkened with illness, but there was no trace of anger in his gaze.

He looked like someone simply hearing news about a stranger.

“Your Highness…?”

The confused attendant slowly raised his head, only for Edelweiss to step forward quickly.

“His Majesty’s condition has surely taken a toll on His Highness. He must be exhausted in both body and mind. Your Highness, please steel yourself.”

Only then did Damian speak, turning to the royal knights standing at attention.

“…Bring Prince Adolf here immediately.”

But shortly after, the knights returned with something unexpected—not Adolf, but his final letter, soaked in dark red blood.

“…When we arrived, he had already taken his own life.”

“…”

It was said that Adolf had hung himself in the same way Empress Roxanne once had.

Damian had no emotions left for Adolf at this point, and yet, reading the letter filled with hatred toward the emperor and soaked in despair left him uneasy.

“Take the head attendant away and execute him at once.”

After reading the letter for a moment, Damian tossed it into the fireplace, letting it burn with the wood.

“…Your Majesty! Have you awakened?!”

Just then, as the royal knights were dragging the attendant out, the royal physician cried out.