On the emperor’s splendid bed lay a n*ked woman. As the emperor entered, she raised her upper body with a nasal sound and seductively smiled while covering her br*asts with her long, red hair. The emperor kissed the forehead of his young mistress, whom he had recently begun to favor, and said,

“Get ready. Let’s go to the Ivory Palace together. Today, I’ll treat you like an empress.”

“Oh my, really?”

The thoughtless young woman, who had caught the emperor’s eye solely with her beautiful appearance, simply smiled happily at the promise of being treated like an empress. The emperor giggled as he wrapped his arm around her waist and fondled her br*ast.

“Of course. Let’s have you try on the empress’s crown too.”

“My goodness, Your Majesty!”

Kedrick laughed with his mistress at the news of the empress’s departure. Why had the empress suddenly gone on a journey? He should have shown at least some curiosity, but perhaps because of the smoke rising from the pipe he shared with his mistress, he failed to detect the danger beginning to loom over him.

“Your Majesty. The empress has sent a letter. She ordered it to be delivered privately……”

“Enough! I’ll look at it later, so put it somewhere. She’s probably just written useless things. Making a fuss even as she leaves. What does she think she is?”

After holding a grand drinking party with several mistresses at the Ivory Palace, Kedrick threw away even the letter that Liliana had sent with difficulty.

Liliana’s final letter, written in anger, contained revelations about Roshan and Yerena’s relationship, along with resentment toward her father and Roshan who had banished her to Moulin, and hints about their relationship.

However, on the emperor’s orders, the attendant placed Liliana’s letter in the emperor’s office. The letter, placed on the desk in the office which he rarely visited, would only see the light much later.

* * *

“That’s impossible! I know Jane. She’s not that kind of person.”

“Lady Yerena. Please calm down. This is a fact revealed by investigation. Miss Jane attempted to poison you. This bottle is the evidence.”

Alicia waved the bottle in front of Yerena. Though Yerena couldn’t see the exact shape of the bottle in Alicia’s hand, she could see the object moving with a golden light.

“No.”

Yerena shook her head. Jane couldn’t be that kind of person. Though not exceptionally long, they had been together enough for her to know. She was kind and gentle. As Yerena repeatedly denied it, Alicia sighed and said,

“……This wasn’t her only attempt. Do you remember when you were poisoned before?”

At Alicia’s words, Yerena hesitated momentarily as she recalled that time. Alicia spoke decisively, like a judge delivering a verdict,

“It was Miss Jane’s doing.”

“J-Jane is an ordinary person. She has no grudge against me.”

“……”

“So why would Jane do that? There must be some misunderstanding. When I was poisoned before, Jane took such good care of me. That was sincere.”

After keeping her mouth shut briefly, Yerena defended Jane. Her voice was desperate. Alicia read the fear in Yerena’s denial. She couldn’t accept the fact that someone she had given her heart to since coming to the empire had betrayed her.

“Most poisoning cases in the imperial palace are carried out by subordinates. And their motive is usually money.”

Alicia, who knew the truth, slightly clenched her fist. But soon, recalling the burning Hestia Temple, she straightened her mouth and continued the act. And the man standing next to Yerena’s couch watched Alicia with an expressionless face.

“This is a pouch of gold coins found in Miss Jane’s room. When we visited Jane’s home, we discovered they had become quite wealthy. They had moved to a house far too expensive for what her wages from me could afford.”

“She has other family members. They probably earned a lot of money.”

Yerena still shook her head despite Alicia’s words. The Jane she knew wasn’t someone who greatly coveted money. How many times had she hesitated before accepting the gold coins Yerena gave her? It couldn’t be true.

“You know. Miss Jane’s family is in no condition to work. They’re all either sick or too young.”

But Alicia began to break down Yerena’s firm belief. Like bricks falling one by one from a solid tower, Yerena raised her voice with an anxious face,

“I don’t believe it! Do you have evidence that Jane did it for money?”

“Yes. We do.”

“……”

“Miss Jane has been with you since the Sedas Kingdom, right? Lady Yerena. Is your relationship with the mother of the current king of Sedas…… that is, the Queen Dowager, bad?”

Though phrased as a question, her tone suggested she already knew. When Bianca was suddenly mentioned, Yerena looked confused, then seemed to guess something and began to tremble.

“Why are you suddenly……”

Yerena barely managed to speak while hiding her thoughts. The man stared at her hand trembling incessantly on the couch armrest and slightly raised the corner of his mouth.

“Miss Jane exchanged letters secretly with Sedas’ queen dowager. It seems they had a connection from the kingdom.”

“……”

“At first, she seemed to report only your movements, but later they discussed assassination as well.”

“……”

“The fortunate thing is that, perhaps fearing discovery, they didn’t exchange many letters. Because of this, we expect there were fewer assassination attempts.”

Tears welled up in her eyes that saw the world in golden light. Yerena couldn’t feel dizzy from the rippling masses of light that danced like waves. She felt as if dozens of arrows had pierced her back. She asked without even noticing her own tears falling steadily,

“……Di-did you read all the letters?”

“Yes.”

“……No. If that were true, she would have burned them long ago to destroy the evidence. Why would she keep them?”

“She said she kept them thinking they might be useful later.”

Yerena, who had been shaking her head in denial while crying, flinched at Alicia’s words. Her tone sounded exactly like she was relaying someone else’s words. Yerena raised her slightly lowered head and asked,

“Does that mean Jane admitted…… that she spied on me and tried to poison me?”

“……Yes. Miss Jane has already confessed.”

Alicia nodded as she answered. Yerena groaned. Tears burst forth. She had never once doubted Jane. But why……

“No…… No, it’s not true!”

Unable to accept that she had been betrayed by someone she trusted, Yerena jumped up and shouted. After roughly wiping away her tears, she demanded of Alicia,

“I need to see Jane. Let me see her.”

“That’s not possible.”

“Why? I can’t believe this. Let me see her. Please……”

Alicia shook her head and took a step back. Then she delivered her final message,

“……A new maid will come starting tomorrow.”

“Alicia!”

“Sir Kian.”

Yerena tried to approach Alicia. Alicia called the person who was closest to Yerena. The man gently but firmly grabbed Yerena’s shoulders. She struggled against his grip, which she couldn’t escape no matter how hard she tried.

“Let me go! Alicia!”

Yerena desperately called out to Alicia. But Alicia left Yerena in the man’s hands as he wished and turned away.

Thud.

“Where are you going! Alicia!”

Even after the door closed, Yerena continued calling for Alicia, begging to see Jane. But she couldn’t move an inch away from the man and eventually collapsed, drained of strength, and poured out tears.

“Lady Yerena. Please calm down.”

The man’s arm wrapped around her shoulders. His low voice was gentle. But the arm that firmly supported her was like a snake’s body, and the tongue that conveyed comfort resembled that of a serpent.

* * *

The queen had gone mad.

The radiant queen, who had lost her companion and all four of her children, cast aside her glory. She wandered the palace as an invalid, ignoring everyone’s words, only continuing her research while drawing her own blood in her laboratory.

People gradually abandoned the queen who neglected state affairs. The war with other races and Helena’s harsh temperament meant she had numerous enemies from the start. Her political rivals quietly readied their swords, yearning for her downfall.

‘Let’s drag down the witch!’

‘Find a queen!’

‘A new king! New glory!’

And eventually, rebellion broke out. The queen merely sat on her throne, staring out the window even as spears were pointed at her. Her eyes, still not blind, lifelessly watched the setting sun.

‘Sister. It’s over now.’

The queen’s younger brother spoke as he pointed his sword at her. He was the brother who had once briefly sat in the position  of crown prince when Helena was a radiant princess, taking advantage of when she went blind. To think he was still alive, not dead. The queen raised her lips for the first time in a long while.

‘They said you were mad…… I couldn’t have imagined seeing you like this, Sister.’

The man who would ascend to the throne twitched his eyebrows at the sight. But with many issues to resolve, he simply seized his sister and dragged her from the throne. The radiant queen—no, the queen who had become a witch—was thus imprisoned in a dark tower where barely a ray of light entered.

How many years passed like that? More than 10 years went by. The radiant queen aged rapidly. Her face and neck were covered in wrinkles, and her skeletal body couldn’t be hidden even by the shabby prisoner’s clothes.

A criminal who could meet no one. The former queen imprisoned in a towering tower. No one sought out the forgotten woman. Only the occasional rat would scurry over her body, squeaking as it checked her rising and falling chest.

Clank.

‘Helena!’

But after a long time, like dust scattered through the years, a visitor came to her after more than 10 years. It was the new king, the one who had sent her to this place.

‘What’s happening! You know, don’t you?’

The man with a face similar to Helena’s glared at his sister as if he would kill her and grabbed her collar. Then he shouted,

‘My first daughter has gone blind. Just like you back then! Like your daughters!’