Rockfort sighed once more and waved his hand. The physician took the cue, paid his respects, and withdrew.

“This is outrageous. Jayden, what about the Duke and Duchess?”

“They maintain that they knew nothing until the end. Also, they claim that the medicine they sent through Lady Elia was a folk remedy to help with pregnancy, and while bringing in medicine from outside is a crime, they insist they absolutely knew nothing about the infidelity.”

In any case, Cecilia was dead. The dead cannot speak, so they would continue to feign ignorance until the end.

“Better than her parents. No, it’s almost unfair to compare.”

“Are you referring to the lady?”

“Yes. While everyone commits such terrible sins yet remains dignified, she alone asked me for the death penalty despite having committed no sin.”

Rockfort recalled those eyes as blue as ice. There was no hesitation or attachment in Elia’s eyes. Even if the angel of death appeared right then, her resolute gaze would have remained steady.

“She feared nothing. Not the Emperor, not death.”

They said Elia was only nineteen. He remembered how her platinum blonde hair had fallen to cover her profile when she bowed her head after calmly confessing everything in her still youthful and delicate voice.

No, in truth, that image had not left his mind since then.

“A young lady who barely knows the ways of the world testified to the truth more resolutely and loyally than any knight. Looking at the Duke and Duchess now, it certainly wasn’t due to parental guidance.”

Rockfort’s gaze was fixed on some distant point. Despite his mind being preoccupied with Cecilia’s case, Elia’s image kept appearing before his eyes.

“I cannot understand. How…… could this be possible?”

Elia had said she would rather die honestly than live by lies. Such simple and common words, yet Rockfort had never met anyone who lived by them.

“Even the wisest sage, the most valiant knight, even…… those of noble imperial blood—all tremble with fear when their crimes are exposed and death approaches.”

Those transparent eyes, that fair and elegant face—she was more virtuous than anyone Rockfort had ever seen.

The scene where Elia calmly laid down her life and bowed her head remained vivid, as if etched into his eyes.

“The head of the illustrious House Theon, his wife, and even the woman who was my empress committed acts too disgusting to speak of.”

What’s stronger than his disgust was his rage at being deceived and his contempt for their shameful behavior.

“Isn’t it remarkable? To think there are humans who would do worse than my mother.”

Jayden kept his mouth firmly shut, not daring to insult the Empress Dowager. But his thoughts were not much different from Rockfort’s.

“Amidst all this, the only one who was innocent and honest before me was her, Lady Elia.”

Rockfort’s deep voice resonated meaningfully.

“Only the youngest and most fragile lady spoke the truth.”

He had long concluded that such people didn’t exist in this world. But he had been wrong.

“I…… didn’t know someone with such a noble heart existed in this world. Had it not been for this incident, I would have never known.”

Rarely did Rockfort show such emotion toward another person. It was something unseen since he had become Crown Prince at a young age.

“Your Majesty, I apologize, but…… if all of Lady Elia’s testimony is true, it would be reasonable to request the death penalty.”

Empress Cecilia’s infidelity and attempt to deceive the Emperor was a crime tantamount to treason. House Theon had aided her, so naturally, Elia could also be considered a criminal.

“Jayden, are you asking me to execute the only truthful person I’ve ever met in my life?”

Rockfort gripped the armrest of his ornate throne tightly.

“As long as I sit on this throne, there will never be another like her.”

That was the nature of being Emperor. He also knew that this world was not moved by truth.

To rule a vast empire, one had to accept sweet lies and endure transparent flattery and meaningless oaths of loyalty. All things he had hated his entire life.

“Even I must cover this incident with lies.”

Rumors of the Empress’s infidelity would be fatal to imperial authority. The imperial family’s life depended on legitimacy, so nothing that might shake its foundation could be allowed to spread.

“You’re right, Your Majesty. It would be best to minimize this incident and suppress it as much as possible. If we drag this out any longer…… someone might notice.”

“You mean the Empress Dowager or the former Emperor?”

Jayden did not answer. He only thought to himself how cruel Rockfort’s life was, having to guard against political weaknesses even from his own parents.

“It would be troublesome if the Prime Minister or other nobles knew about this. Of course, it must not leak outside the Empire either.”

“I know.”

Rockfort answered dryly. Truth had never mattered anyway. Whatever he, as Emperor, declared would become the truth.

“That unfaithful woman…… fell into depression after my departure for the campaign and took her own life.”

His eyebrows furrowed involuntarily at the thought of Cecilia again. To think he had held the hand of such an unfaithful woman, made marriage vows, and kissed her lips. It was as disgusting as having insects crawl over his body.

“The Empress’s suicide is a disgrace to her family. For causing the imperial family great concern with their inadequate daughter, the Duke and Duchess of Theon will be banished from the capital and confined to their territory.”

A punishment far too light for their crime.

“When I think of their behavior, I want to have them beheaded immediately.”

Rockfort said through gritted teeth.

“But I cannot exterminate the ancient House of Theon when my reign is not yet fully stabilized.”

He was an ideal emperor. At least he had the reason to prioritize his reign over personal anger.

“House Theon has been a meritorious family since the previous Emperor’s time. Your Majesty has made the right decision.”

“Yes. Truth and honesty don’t matter. Nor does the weight of the crime.”

Rockfort recited sarcastically, self-mockingly.

“This…… can hardly be called punishment.”

Powerful nobles residing in the capital each had large territories in the provinces and occasionally returned to govern them directly, making this hardly a punishment.

The Duke and Duchess would merely be expelled from the capital, continuing to live comfortably as lords of the Theon territory.

“How absurd.”

Rockfort recalled the cold face of his mother. It was she who had taught him that power took precedence over truth and justice. And that teaching was true.

“Mother was right. If my reign had been complete, I could have properly punished them. Isn’t it ridiculous? Despite my ascension to the throne, nothing has changed from when my mother held power.”

His purple eyes gleamed coldly. He had ascended this throne wanting to prove his cruel mother’s methods wrong, but the fact that nothing had changed yet weighed heavily on his heart.

“That’s not true, Your Majesty.”

Jayden looked at his lord with sincere eyes.

“You are…… different.”

At those words, Rockfort blinked slowly.

“And there is one more.”

Suddenly, a presence crossed his mind.

“There is one more being different from this filthy world.”

* * *

After the Emperor’s visit, Elia slept like the dead for two days straight. She didn’t want to think about anything, and it seemed her body was lulled to sleep by the desire for everything to end quickly.

—My verdict is ‘not guilty.’

When she opened her eyes, Rockfort’s message came vividly to mind. In her previous life, it was what she had so desperately wanted to hear.

When she heard the words “I believe you,” she had wept with emotion, but now she felt nothing at all.

—I will come again soon.

The Emperor’s message was just two sentences. Ironically, they were words Elia had never heard in her previous life.

“It’s so easy.”

Elia stared blankly at the empty air as she spoke. Why had she been so anxious and tormented over his acknowledgment, over Rockfort himself?

“Something so easy…… why did I cling to it so miserably?”

She felt such pity for her past self who had lived so wretchedly just for one look without hatred, one word acknowledging she had done no wrong.

“I was such a fool.”

A sigh-like word escaped between her delicate lips.

“Letting go of attachments feels this comfortable…… I was only tormenting myself.”

She had known for some time that Rockfort would never look her way.

Yet she couldn’t stop her heart from racing whenever she encountered his presence. Hope would cruelly raise its head even after being repeatedly trampled.

“Not even realizing that I was hurting myself.”

It had all been an illusion. In her previous life, Rockfort’s coldness as her husband, his contempt, his hatred……

Elia’s suffering then, her eyes that only followed his back, the feelings in her heart she dared not speak—

“It was all nothing.”

She had thought she wasn’t even worthy of loving him. But she couldn’t abandon the small hope that someday he might recognize that Elia was innocent of any crime.

“I didn’t need to endure and bear it all.”

Once, she had tried to take her own life. Had the suicide of an empress not been such a grave crime, she would have done it long ago.