Divlik set down his wine glass and gazed intently at Eva’s upper chest and shoulders exposed above her dress.

“When I told you to seduce me, you collapsed as if it were an impossible task. There was absolutely no reason for that. You’re quite good at it.”

Eva was not a woman to me, but the former empress of the empire I conquered.

If asked what meaning there was in bedding Eva, Divlik could answer with unwavering eyes.

It was natural for the new emperor to take the former empress. She had no value as a woman whatsoever.

“I’m trying. I’m glad it’s reaching you, Lord Divlik.”

“Will you continue? I wondered what you would do since you seemed so averse, but it turns out you have talent.”

Clang! A plate fell from Hannah’s hands and shattered on the floor as she served the meal in place of Eileen.

Hannah had tears in her eyes, apparently unable to bear the word “talent.” To someone who still considered Eva her empress, there could be no greater insult than forcing such clothes on her and speaking of “talent.”

“I would be pleased if my efforts could reach you tonight as well.”

“If you try multiple times, you might satisfy me at least once.”

“Are you saying you’ll give me multiple opportunities?”

At the mention of “multiple times,” Finn cleared his throat awkwardly, and Divlik quietly reached out to grasp his wine glass.

Satisfaction. Such a thing would never happen, but perhaps he should pretend to give in. After all, once would be enough. Whether he was satisfied or not, as long as Eva properly crumbled.

“I’ll gladly give you that opportunity.”

* * *

Not long after finishing dinner, Eva completed her bath and preparations to seek out Divlik. Her long hair was braided and hung down her back, and she wore nothing under the sheer gown she had put on instead of pajamas.

The lilac flower scent dissolved in her bathwater had deeply permeated her body, spreading around her whenever she moved. All she could do was hope that all of this would stimulate Divlik.

“Come in.”

Those who entered Eva’s bedroom with a knock were not just Hannah, whom Eva had sent to find out where Divlik was. Sophie and other maids held Hannah’s hands tightly as they entered and blocked the bedroom door.

“Hannah? What is…… What’s going on, everyone?”

“We can’t take this anymore, Your Majesty. We can no longer watch that beast continue to toy with Your Majesty. All of us remaining in this castle as Your Majesty’s attendants, who might become weaknesses for you before that man, have decided to take poison tonight and die for Your Majesty.”

Hannah spoke of dying as casually as if she were reporting tomorrow’s breakfast menu.

Eva found it difficult even to process what she had just heard, to interpret and accept those words.

What was this about dying? For someone like me?

“What are you saying, Hannah!”

Eva was shocked, but Hannah, who was usually so timid that she always trembled and watched others’ reactions, answered with unwavering eyes for the first time.

“Eileen, who is imprisoned in the dungeon, also said she would not beg for her life. If we are gone, that man will no longer be able to use our lives to manipulate Your Majesty.”

“Hannah!”

“We never had a comfortable day in this castle until Your Majesty arrived. The former emperor might have been skilled in war, but he was incredibly cruel. Naturally, his sons were not human either.”

“What have I done to deserve this? I’ve only been in this castle with you for barely five years. During that time, I was empress in name only and did nothing. To risk your lives for such an empress—it makes no sense.”

“Your Majesty’s existence alone was salvation for us.”

When Hannah looked around at the surrounding maids, they all smiled at Eva with eyes full of affection and respect.

“Your Majesty was the only one who treated us as human beings. You gave us more than fair value for our labor, placing coins in our hands, and treated us like friends, sharing precious fruits that arrived each season. No one else ever did such things for us.”

“Even so…… How could I accept so many lives…… This cannot happen! If you hate that he uses your lives to manipulate me, you should think of escaping instead. Haven’t you had many opportunities to leave this castle?”

The more sincere the maids’ determination seemed, the darker Eva’s expression became. At this rate, she wouldn’t be facing someone’s death after failing to seduce Divlik—she would be confronting dozens of corpses overnight.

“That cannot happen. Move aside!”

When Eva tried to push past them and leave the room, Hannah embraced her tightly.

“If Your Majesty hadn’t been here, I might have been taken to the Western Grand Duchy to serve Grand Duke Joseph at night until death, or wandered the mountains as bait during hunting season. I regret so much that I couldn’t slit my throat properly in the bathroom before Your Majesty went to find Lord Divlik, momentarily afraid of death despite owing my life to you. Please understand our sincerity and, until our last breath, remain our noble and beautiful empress, Your Majesty.”

“What about your families! If you depart like this, what will happen to your remaining families?”

“Servants concerned about their remaining families have decided to leave the castle tonight. Sophie and I have no other family, and Eileen said she has no attachments since her only son died because of Fabian.”

At Hannah’s heartfelt plea, Eva briefly lowered her shoulders that had been tensed.

Is that so? Was I, at least to someone, an empress worth risking their lives to protect? Was my becoming empress so valuable to someone? I never wanted it. Never even dreamed of it. I only gave it a passing glance, never once harboring the thought of becoming empress. It was a clear mistake. Because of it, I lost everything, but was that mistake an opportunity to save someone?

“I am not some noble and beautiful empress.”

A noble and beautiful empress? How could that be…… It couldn’t be. Even if becoming empress had saved a hundred lives—no, a thousand, ten thousand, every person breathing and living in the Yarden Empire—Eva would have regretted becoming empress her entire life. Since Eva hadn’t chosen this position, regret might not be the right expression.

Saved them? Well. If someone better suited for the position of empress, someone who had coveted it, had taken the seat instead. Perhaps that would have been better for more people.

“I am not worthy of such loyalty from you.”

And if Hannah and the other maids who were crying that she had saved their lives had died somewhere unknown because she hadn’t become empress.

—Leon!!!

If she could have avoided becoming empress, and thereby saved Leon, she would have unhesitatingly turned her back on these lives to save Leon…… her breath and soul.

“What are you saying! It’s regrettable that we can only die once!”

“I feel the same way! Your Majesty!”

Yes, that’s right. I…… if I could have saved you even by killing thousands upon thousands, without caring about those people’s lives…… Leon, I would have saved you.

Therefore, Eva was not worthy of their life-risking loyalty. Let alone their lives.

Eva took a deep breath to steady her drifting mind.

“I understand your intentions well.”

In their eyes, I must appear to be a noble and beautiful empress, but…… no. I am the worst human being who shouldn’t even be alive, having killed the person I most wanted to protect.

“But there is no other way. Everyone, step aside.”

“Your Majesty……”

“I doubt Lord Divlik’s hand would stop with you. After your deaths, he would grasp the lives of servants in the castle with whom I’ve barely exchanged greetings, the people of Hael, and even everyone in the Yarden Empire…… He will certainly seek to obtain my submission by any means.”

It’s fitting. I have no value whatsoever. I am a person without any worth—not worth sacrificing lives to protect, not worth pouring out such feelings, even if they’re just words. But knowing these arguments wouldn’t work, Eva raised the most rational point for the current situation.

“That can’t be. Aren’t they all his subjects now? Would he cut the throats of innocent people?”

“You are all just as innocent.”

What Eva wanted to tell the maids wasn’t about Divlik’s cruelty. It was about Divlik’s determination. Divlik had declared with his own mouth that he would definitely achieve what he wanted. Even if all the servants associated with Eva took their own lives, he wouldn’t give up on Eva.

Such persistence had led to victory in war and eventually brought Eva to her knees.

“He will be satisfied with one day…… one night.”

Despite everything that had happened, what Divlik ultimately wanted was to see how beautifully the former empress Eva would crumble in his unwanted embrace. Whatever form it took, if it could give Divlik satisfaction, Eva was now fine with anything.

“Your Majesty……”

“Please live, all of you. This is for my sake as well.”

“For Your Majesty’s sake?”

“Stepping on others’ lives is a far more terrible thing than you might imagine. Every morning when the sun rises, I wonder how I’m still alive, and my very existence becomes so wretched that I want to hide. Whatever harm I might suffer in Lord Divlik’s arms cannot compare to that feeling.”

Not knowing Eva’s story, the maids exchanged glances, wondering if someone had already died because of her. But none of them knew anything, so they only looked puzzled.

“So please pray from your positions. Pray that Lord Divlik will accept my clumsy gestures as seduction and be satisfied with me.”

The maids didn’t know Eva’s story, but they could no longer say anything to her. Eva’s expression in the dim moonlight was so terrible and desperate, as if she wanted to hide, to deny her very existence.