“Mia……?”

“I’m sorry…… I’m sorry. I was envious of your good fortune and unconsciously……”

This way of declaring “you are lucky” seemed somehow familiar, giving Eva a chill down her spine.

Fortunate? Me? Shouldn’t my luck be considered over from the moment I was captured by a conqueror, regardless of how twisted my life had become?

“You truly are fortunate, Eva, to have met such a man as your conqueror. He could have taken the women sent as gifts for himself or thrown them to his subordinates without a second thought. But Lord Divlik fed and clothed us well, like guests, and said he would send us wherever we wanted to go depending on the situation.”

After repeatedly saying that Lord Divlik was truly a good person, Mia suddenly took both of Eva’s hands in hers.

“Would you take in the pitiful me, Eva?”

“Take you in?”

“I want to stay here in any capacity. They say castles usually keep one or two people responsible for the emperor’s health. Would you recommend me?”

“Would my recommendation…… matter? I could be expelled from this castle or killed at any moment.”

“But you were an empress. He will surely listen.”

Eva repeatedly said her words were meaningless, but Mia didn’t listen at all and just smiled while holding Eva’s hands tightly. Eva felt an eerie familiarity in Mia’s behavior, which seemed to ignore whether Eva was listening or not.

“What are you doing here? It’s almost time for the meal.”

“Lord Divlik, you’re here.”

But their conversation had to end there with Divlik’s appearance.

Though beautifully blooming flowers outside the wide-open windows conveyed their brightness, the stiff atmosphere in the dining hall showed no signs of easing. Divlik, Eva, and Finn all silently moved their hands and mouths to empty their plates when food was served.

“The way they glare at me as if they want to kill me is suffocating.”

The servants’ gazes toward Divlik were more rigid than ever. They couldn’t look kindly upon Divlik because they were all heartbroken that he had finally taken Eva with their lives as collateral.

“I trust the rest of your night was peaceful, deposed empress.”

“Yes, Lord Divlik.”

Eva deliberately raised her voice to answer in that atmosphere. She wanted the servants to know somehow that she was fine—not because nothing had happened, but regardless of what might have happened.

“Eva, this part will be especially tender. Though you must have no appetite in your miserable state, please eat slowly and plenty. You must have had a difficult night, so you need to replenish your strength with food at least.”

At that point, Eileen stepped forward and attended to Eva first, ignoring Divlik. Normally, when the main course arrived, Divlik and Finn at the head of the table would be served first, followed by Eva, but they treated Divlik and Finn as if they weren’t there. Eileen cut the best portions and served Eva first, focusing solely on attending to her.

“Why do you keep covering your eyes? Now that he has had his way with you, you should at least remove the cloth covering your eyes during meals. Isn’t this why you’re spilling food unlike before, Eva?”

Eileen even criticized Divlik’s orders.

In the chilled atmosphere, the servants attending to Divlik’s meal all stopped and watched for his reaction, but fortunately, Divlik didn’t seem inclined to get angry and even personally answered Eileen’s comment.

“She has hands, doesn’t she?”

“Are you…… telling Eva…… to eat with her hands?”

Eileen trembled as if she herself had been insulted by Divlik’s answer.

“Why not? Meat with bones like this tastes much better when held whole and eaten.”

Divlik reached out and picked up a piece of meat from the plate with his hand, holding it by the bone and tearing off a bite with his teeth, as if it were nothing unusual.

The sight shocked the nearby servants, as he looked like a wild beast. More than his lack of refinement, Divlik in that moment perfectly embodied the beast worthy of being called the wolf.

“Lord Divlik was certainly not raised in a noble family.”

“Does that matter? Despite those precious nobles, I’m the one sitting on the emperor’s throne now, able to justifiably take your head at any time.”

Divlik let out a  laugh.

Divlik’s laughter had always been hollow, preventing those nearby from joining in, but this time he seemed genuinely amused. It was the kind of laugh an adult might give when watching children who don’t know their place acting up—a laugh of ridicule mixed with fondness.

“Eileen. You should refrain from speaking further.”

No one seemed to properly read the emotion in that laugh. Divlik had appeared uncomfortable from the moment he greeted Eva at the entrance to the dining hall. Though he seemed to be trying to control himself, Eva tried to improve the meal’s atmosphere, but when Eileen mentioned noble families, she felt Divlik’s patience had once again run out with that laugh.

A fierce energy was rising from Divlik—different from now, cold and chilling, feeling colder despite the fire rising.

“Eva, I……”

“Please, Eileen. I don’t want to feel this tension even during mealtime.”

“Eva……”

Eileen trailed off as if hurt that Eva didn’t understand her feelings.

Divlik didn’t miss this opportunity.

“What, do you want to prove your loyalty by dying here instead?”

“No, Lord Divlik. She won’t behave like this again. Right, Eileen?”

Eva defended Eileen with a composed voice, trying her best not to reveal that she had noticed Divlik’s mood.

“I will do as you say, Eva. That’s how I’ll stay alive to cook delicious food for you until the end. And if this man demands your night service again with our lives at stake, I’ll stake my life to buy you time so you don’t have to fall into his arms.”

“This man?”

Finn, who had been holding back to avoid ruining the meal while Divlik was also restraining himself, finally bared his teeth in anger. The relatively calm dining hall atmosphere, maintained thanks to Eva pretending not to notice Divlik’s discomfort, changed at that point.

In the tense atmosphere, Eileen tightly gripped the napkin she had been using to clean her hands after cutting the meat. Yet she didn’t apologize for her mistake. With a resolute attitude suggesting she would die if ordered to, Divlik suddenly burst into loud laughter that filled the dining hall.

“Haha…… Hahaha.”

Though it was clearly laughter, the people around him stiffened their faces more severely than if Divlik had shouted.

Even in Divlik’s breathing, suppressed anger could be detected.

“Eileen, was it?”

“Yes.”

“You will outlive the deposed empress.”

“What……?”

“Live until the end and watch. Watch how your noble empress crumbles and breaks, becoming unable to live as an empress ever again.”

Divlik slammed down the meat he was holding onto the plate. The impact shattered the plate into pieces, as if it had been ground to powder.

“Lord Divlik! You’re bleeding!”

Finn jumped up from his seat in shock and shouted, but Divlik paid no attention. As blood spread among the shattered plate pieces, Divlik casually picked up the napkin from his lap and wrapped it around his hand, turning his head toward Eva.

“The tailor will come to the castle this afternoon.”

Divlik suddenly changed the topic to clothes, and Eva swallowed dryly from the tension. He wouldn’t bring this up in such a situation without reason. Though she didn’t know how he knew, it was clear he was aware that Eva had lost the cloth she had embroidered.

“May I check how much embroidery has been completed? I’d like to see if it will match the clothes.”

As Eva had expected, Divlik asked about the cloak. She clenched her fists tightly on her lap. There was nowhere to retreat regarding this matter.

“I…… have no words to offer, Lord Divlik. The cloth…… I placed it near the fireplace and…… unfortunately, it caught fire and became unusable.”

“You lit a fire in the fireplace on this warm spring day?”

“My bedroom doesn’t get much sunlight, so the temperature drops at night, bringing a chill by dawn. This morning I felt cold and lit a fire briefly…… a spark flew into the basket where I had placed the cloth, and……”

Eva tried to resolve this matter on her own. At this point, when she had practically already spent the night with him, there was nothing left to protect except the servants’ lives. Divlik rose from his seat, showing no change in expression that would indicate whether he accepted Eva’s explanation.

“This concludes the meal. Clear everything away.”

“But Eva hasn’t yet……!”

At Eileen’s continued protest, Divlik approached her in a single step and grabbed her by the throat.

“Gack.”

“Eileen! Lord Divlik! Please show mercy……”

“Don’t say another word from there, deposed empress.”

Eva had urgently risen from her seat and grabbed Divlik’s arm. Divlik stopped Eva from speaking as if there was nothing more to hear, and said what he had to say.

“Your people may have loyalty to you, but they lack your wisdom. To interpret my goodwill in this manner. They seem to have forgotten who I am.”

Divlik glared at Eileen, who looked about to lose her breath, with murderous eyes.

“Go ahead, keep talking. All you need are your eyes to watch the empress’s demise and your hands to prepare food—the rest of your body parts can be disposed of as I see fit. If my words don’t get through to you, I can help you by slitting your throat like mine was, so you’ll never speak properly again.”

“Lord Divlik! Please……!”

“Mercy, you say, deposed empress.”

For some reason, there was moisture in Divlik’s blue eyes, which were filled with madness as if he might slit Eileen’s throat at any moment.

Despite showing his most ferocious appearance since entering the castle, Divlik’s eyes contained a fragility that seemed as if it would break with the slightest force.

Eva couldn’t see Divlik’s eyes, but she could feel it intensely throughout her body—that Divlik’s anger stemmed from unbearable sadness.