“I am grateful for Your Majesty’s generous permission.”

Duchess Lorelaine gracefully paid her respects. Despite her age, her beautiful face was like a painting.

“Then, I shall escort Your Majesty.”

Duke Theon acted tactfully. Rockfort nodded and left the chapel first.

“……Huff.”

Only after Rockfort disappeared from sight did Elia finally exhale.

“The empress seems tired, so perhaps we should move to the empress’s chambers?”

Duchess Lorelaine was experienced in many ways. It wasn’t for nothing that she had quietly wielded power behind the scenes at House Theon for many years.

“Stand straight and walk tall.”

Lorelaine whispered softly enough that only Elia could hear.

“You must create your own place.”

It was a typical statement from her always-strict mother. But what Elia needed now was comfort.

Elia had to accept that there was no warmth to lean on in her life anymore.

So, there was a truth she absolutely needed to know today.

* * *

The emperor had invited Duke Theon to his chambers and offered him tea, a rare occurrence. This too was likely atonement for letting Cecilia die alone.

“In many ways, I’ve wronged House Theon.”

“Not at all. How could you say such a thing?”

For a moment, the emperor’s purple eyes, containing darkness, observed the duke. Only then did the duke sense something ominous.

“The imperial palace has seen many sudden misfortunes.”

It was a meaningful statement.

“Could all of them be coincidences?”

The duke’s lips became parched.

“You must know how many lives were lost before I ascended to the throne……”

Rockfort was neither the eldest son nor the only prince. Of course, he was the most excellent among the former emperor’s sons and most suitable for the throne, but he was here because the empress dowager had been the victor in the power struggle.

“Women’s schemes, lies, poisoning, false accusations, accidents disguised as plans… I now find such things abhorrent.”

“Your Majesty……”

The emperor rose from his seat.

“Out of respect for the former emperor’s promise and the deceased Cecilia, I won’t dig deeper into past events.”

“What do you……”

“Did you think I wouldn’t investigate Cecilia’s death at all?”

A quiet anger rose in his purple eyes.

“Cecilia was healthy. There was nothing wrong with her. Until she took that… unknown medicine sent by the duchess through her younger sister.”

His cold voice resonated firmly.

“Your Majesty, how can you say such frightening things……!”

“Everyone knew Cecilia wasn’t the duchess’s biological daughter. But House Theon acknowledged Cecilia as a legitimate daughter, and I actually thought highly of the duchess’s virtue for recognizing her as her own child.”

“I don’t understand what misunderstanding you have, Your Majesty……”

Rockfort raised one hand to stop the duke’s words.

“Can you guarantee it? When I formally bring this case to light and thoroughly investigate… can you bear the consequences of that crime?”

The emperor wasn’t expressing doubt but certainty. However, even Duke Theon couldn’t know the extent of that certainty.

“I’m saying that I will show the utmost leniency for the sake of poor Cecilia who has passed away.”

Duke Beriat Theon had always entrusted the affairs of the ducal house to his wife and focused on external matters when he heard the news of Cecilia’s death.

In other words, even Duke Theon couldn’t guarantee the truth about Cecilia’s death.

“If you admit it now, I will depose the empress and end this.”

This was both a notification and an order. He had won the war, and the former emperor was old and ill, unable to intervene in major affairs. Rockfort, having secured his imperial authority, was finally voicing what he had long kept to himself.

“Whether to have my suspicions thoroughly investigated, or to quietly accept deposition due to health issues.”

Rockfort had taken Elia as his second empress because of the wishes of the former emperor, who was bedridden at the time.

But now his reign had grown stronger than the former emperor’s wishes. Moreover, he had confirmed his suspicion that Cecilia’s death was not natural.

“Decide.”

His decision not to investigate further stemmed from a slight sense of indebtedness to the late Cecilia. Having become empress through an arranged marriage, dying from a plot in the empress’s chambers without a husband—she was truly a pitiful woman to Rockfort.

Duke Theon felt burning anxiety. But it was difficult to give any hasty answer.

“I’ll take your silence as your answer.”

The conversation was over. From the beginning, it had gone as Rockfort had decided.

* * *

Elia brought her mother into her bedchamber and locked the door. Today, she absolutely wanted to verify something in secret.

“What is this state you’re in? Isn’t it time you finally showed some dignity?”

“……What?”

Elia doubted her ears. Was her mother actually scolding her?

“You’ve been empress for a year. It’s absurd that you’re being more cautious than a mere maid. Have you been living in the imperial palace with such little dignity all this time?”

The duchess immediately grasped the situation—Elia’s current predicament.

“You already knew, didn’t you? You knew…… and still made me empress, didn’t you?”

Over the past year, it had become well-known that the emperor regarded the empress as little more than a stone in a garden.

“Haven’t you seen how His Majesty looks at me in public and at banquets?”

“Even so, if you keep your eyes fixed on the ground and remain intimidated, how will your subordinates view you?”

She couldn’t bear it anymore. It was heartbreaking enough to be coldly treated by the emperor, but now even her mother was criticizing her for that fact.

“Mother.”

Elia grabbed the duchess’s arm.

“Please tell me honestly. That day…… what was the medicine you gave to Sister Cecilia?”

For an instant, Lorelaine’s eyes wavered. Elia didn’t miss that subtle change.

The doubt she had always harbored was gradually revealing its true nature.

Elia gripped the duchess’s arm more firmly.

“Mother, please tell me the truth!”

But Lorelaine shook off her arm harshly.

“I told you to forget about that.”

Lorelaine dropped the honorifics and spoke sternly.

“How many times must I tell you before you believe? Cecilia needed it and specially requested it from me. You…… were too young to understand then, but it was harmless.”

“Is that true? Then why didn’t you have the imperial physician prepare the medicine?”

“That’s…… because Cecilia wanted to use folk medicine.”

Elia’s eyebrows furrowed.

“Folk medicine?”

“She said she wanted to conceive as soon as His Majesty returned from the battlefield, so she wanted to take medicine in advance to help her get pregnant. I just helped her with that.”

Such medicines circulated openly among commoners. However, they weren’t officially used in the imperial family. Even for an empress, using medicine not prescribed by the imperial physician was a serious crime.

“The folk medicine was just a blend of herbs that warmed the body and improved blood circulation. It would harm no one.”

“Is that true? Then why does His Majesty always look at me with suspicious and contemptuous eyes?”

At some point, she had naturally come to understand. The way Rockfort looked at her was as if she were a horrible woman—specifically, a vile criminal who had killed her own sister out of desire to become empress.

“His Majesty suspects my sister’s death.”

“All the more reason for you to dispel his suspicions and earn his trust!”

Hah, Elia sank to the floor with a sigh. If it had been that easy, Elia wouldn’t have grown so thin.

“You’ve always been a problem because you weren’t tough enough since childhood. You always had your share taken away by that child.”

Elia squeezed her eyes shut. If even her mother blamed her, who in the world would protect her?

“Pull yourself together. There’s no reason you can’t do what that child did. Your status and birth are more noble! Your face is more beautiful!”

“Mother……”

Why don’t you understand, having come this far? I’m only alive because I can’t die.

But Elia’s voice would not reach her.

“Steel your heart and watch His Majesty’s side carefully. It’s all about what a woman makes of it. Especially for those of noble birth. That’s what marriage is.”

Could this even be called marriage? No, could it be called living as a person?

“Elia, you can do well. You’re my daughter.”

The duchess’s hand stroked the head of the dazed Elia. But Elia couldn’t feel anything.

Her only comfort was believing that the medicine she had delivered to her sister was harmless. Without that belief, she would have no strength to live.

If Elia was truly innocent, perhaps someday he would turn to look at her—that weak hope was her reason to live.

* * *

After everyone had left, a silent night arrived. And Rockfort, darker than the night itself, came to the empress’s chambers. Quietly, like the grim reaper.

“Leave us alone with the empress.”

Elia guessed from his face. This might be the end.

“Let’s stop this abominable charade.”

Until the end, he despised Elia.

“I simply cannot live with such an evil woman as you.”