If he had known he would be curious, he should have asked. In this situation where she didn’t even know if her lord was alive or dead, her country belonged to someone else, and her body, which she had tried to protect until the end, was as good as surrendered—in such circumstances, what prayer could have been answered?

“Not surprising.”

“Pardon?”

It wasn’t a prayer for the emperor, so it wasn’t surprising that she had chosen the emperor over her first man. However, when he thought about why such a woman would refuse only him while abandoning the emperor…

Right. She had only ever avoided being sincere with me.

“What did you say? I didn’t hear you clearly.”

“Nothing.”

“Anyway, I wish we could do something more. Given how you obtained this position, we should make the coronation as splendid as possible, even if we have to use all the remaining treasury funds.”

“I suppose we should.”

He wanted to avoid excessive luxury to differentiate himself from Fabian and the nobles who had buried their wealth, but this was a once-in-a-lifetime coronation. One day of extravagance wouldn’t cause anyone to starve to death. Rather, merchants would be happy to earn money when the imperial family spent it.

“Let’s go back inside, Lord Divlik. It’s almost time for breakfast. You must have exerted yourself, so you should eat properly.”

Whether or not she knew her own situation, the deposed empress seemed unaware of his position. He needed to show her that there were important positions above one’s birth. To make her realize he was the emperor, he would have to hang the maid by her side early today.

“Finn.”

“Yes, Lord Divlik.”

“Would you die for my honor as emperor if I asked you to?”

Divlik hesitated. Taking an innocent life as if it were a game—wasn’t that a greater sin than the luxury of the nobles whose lives he had been forced to take?

“If my death would benefit your name, Lord Divlik, I would gladly die.”

He had expected such an answer, but Divlik took no pleasure in Finn’s response.

“Say no.”

“Pardon?”

“At least if it’s not for my life, don’t even think about dying for something like my honor.”

“Ah. Yes.”

It wasn’t right. It wasn’t right at all. If someone deserved to die for their crimes, that was the criminal’s burden. He hadn’t specified how she should behave in bed, so could he consider this simply as a rejection on his part and let it go?

While pondering this, as they approached the castle gate, a soldier came forward with an unidentifiable torn piece of cloth.

“Lord Finn. This was discarded in a corner, and I didn’t know what it was, so I brought it.”

“Lord Divlik! This is—!!”

Finn immediately recognized it and turned to Divlik in shock. It was the cloth Eva had been embroidering for the coronation cloak, leaving countless needle marks on her fingertips.

“Who would do such a thing……! Could the deposed empress have done this?”

He had intended to let it go this time too. If she properly served in his bed tonight without using such drugs, he would have overlooked it.

But was I seen as this ridiculous?

Divlik’s brow inevitably furrowed at the sight of the shredded cloth. While thinking Eva wouldn’t do such a foolish thing, he also found himself pathetic for being so certain she wouldn’t have done this.

Wouldn’t have done this? Why not?

“Or perhaps servants who care for the deposed empress did it. After learning that the deposed empress finally entered your bed yesterday.”

“So your words were right again.”

“Pardon? My words?”

Perhaps I looked ridiculous for threatening to kill someone yet still not having killed anyone.

“So there really was someone who saw me as ridiculous.”

“If so, they must be out of their mind. Such a person shouldn’t be allowed to live! I will find whoever did this and kill them with my own hands! Lord Divlik!”

“No, it’s fine.”

Divlik stopped Finn from rushing ahead again, but unlike before, he wasn’t trying to dissuade him. At least today, someone would die—either because Eva couldn’t properly serve him in bed or because they found the person who tore this cloth.

“Lord Divlik!”

“I will kill them myself when they’re found.”

He meant that the person would pay the appropriate price by his own hand. Finn didn’t dare casually say things like “so that’s what you meant” or “I was needlessly surprised” due to the murderous aura spreading around Divlik. The current Divlik seemed ready to kill everyone in the castle if the culprit wasn’t found.

“If anyone dares to think me ridiculous, I will personally tear them into pieces smaller than this cloth.”

Now he didn’t care about anything. If she couldn’t accept him like this, he had no choice but to show her what a real beast looked like. And before that, Eva would just have to scream with her innermost self exposed.

* * *

First, she would apologize for the aphrodisiac, saying it was a mistake. That she had misjudged, thinking he would like her that way. While at it, she would also explain her previous words. That her statement about preferring death without such incidents was said without sincerity, hoping he might kill her there, and that she had never looked down on Lord Divlik because of his birth.

But the cloak…… what about the cloak?

Divlik’s coronation was less than a week away. Even if she started embroidering again now and stayed up for several nights, it was an impossible deadline to meet. What should she say to Divlik when he looked for the cloak? If she said she had lost it somehow, Divlik would search the entire castle for it.

Already, servants had shown explicit hostility toward Divlik because of that cloak, revealing his hidden claws. This time, he might hunt down the castle servants like mice, and someone might be falsely accused and killed.

“Eva, this way.”

“Thank you, Hannah.”

At this point, even the excuse that she hadn’t been unwilling wouldn’t work. She had shown herself embroidering several times, and last night she had even shown her swollen fingers from being pricked by needles.

“Eva. Could you spare me a moment?”

“Mia?”

As Eva headed to the dining hall, racking her brain for a suitable answer, Mia approached her.

“I have something to tell you privately. It would be troublesome if someone heard…… just for a moment……”

“Hannah, would you give us some space? It will only take a moment.”

“Yes, Eva.”

At Mia’s words, Eva briefly sent Hannah away. Mia came closer and, seemingly afraid of being seen, looked around carefully for a while before continuing.

“But Eva, why are you covering your eyes?”

“Lord Divlik dislikes me looking at him.”

“He dislikes you looking at him? Why?”

While casually continuing the conversation with Eva, Mia discreetly slipped a small vial into Eva’s hand. Though no one was nearby, Mia lowered her voice even further.

“I thought you might need this medicine too, Eva.”

“What kind of medicine is it?”

“The medicine I mentioned using…… when I was at Elan Castle.”

“Elan Castle……? Ah……”

Mia didn’t explain in detail, but Eva could tell from her hesitation. It was the medicine Mia had mentioned drinking as a herbal decoction to prevent pregnancy, which had caused the smell to permeate her body.

“I’ve heard it’s most effective when taken the day after s*x. It’s not very good for your body, but it’s better than facing an unwanted situation.”

“Thank you. I’ll make sure to take it.”

Eva took the medicine and tucked the vial inside her clothes, but didn’t take it right away. Though she didn’t need this medicine since nothing had happened yesterday, considering what had happened to her body because of the aphrodisiac she had unknowingly taken yesterday, even if something had happened that required this medicine, she wouldn’t have been able to take it readily.

Unaware of Eva’s circumstances, Mia asked in shock,

“Eva.”

“Yes?”

“Could it be that nothing happened last night?”

“What? Why would you……”

Though Eva hadn’t said anything or shown any sign, somehow Mia immediately noticed Eva’s situation.

“A woman who has had an unwanted bed partner treasures this medicine I give her like a precious gem. But Eva…… unless you didn’t actually hate sharing a bed with Lord Divlik and wouldn’t mind bearing his child, your casual reaction reveals that nothing happened yesterday.”

Mia’s voice carried astonishment bordering on disbelief.

“Is it because you were an empress?”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

Even so, Mia seemed somewhat resentful about whatever point she was making. Though less intense than when she had confessed to being forcibly taken by Grand Duke Joseph, she still gritted her teeth slightly.

“I realized it from the reaction of the maid who attended to you yesterday. Contrary to rumors, Lord Divlik never took you even once since entering the castle. Yesterday must have been the first night you two spent together, correct?”

Mia wasn’t simply surprised; she marveled at each aspect of Eva’s situation.

“Isn’t it absurd? That there exists a man who accepts rejection from a woman in the land he conquered. And for so long. But to think he not only waited for you but stopped before taking you—it’s unbelievable. How is that possible?”

Mia exclaimed in continued amazement, saying she had never seen such a case before.

Eva became cautious now. If this conversation reached someone’s ears, Divlik would have to kill someone just to keep his word. Concerned about being overheard, Eva spoke as quietly as possible, barely opening her mouth.

“He must have been waiting until I was mentally prepared.”

“Mentally prepared? No man leaves a woman he could take at any time for such a trivial reason. It must be because you were an empress.”

Mia’s sigh in response to Eva’s words carried a strange resentment.

“Do nobles maintain such procedures and mutual respect even in lands conquered through war? In war, women like us sometimes suffer the terrible fate of being used by countless men.”

When Eva suggested that besides those reasons, it might be because Divlik wasn’t such a bad man, Mia even began to sob with a voice that couldn’t bear the injustice.

“Then you are a very lucky person, Eva.”

Was she saying Eva should have faced a more typical situation? Mia seemed somehow angry that Eva hadn’t suffered the harsh treatment she herself had experienced. Eva began to understand what the women meant when they warned her to be careful of Mia. It wasn’t just about Mia possibly having killed someone.