Seraphina cleared her throat. Then she raised her hand toward the shrieking Mireille.

“Just a moment.”

“What now?!”

Mireille scowled at Seraphina for stopping her. However, her expression softened the moment she heard what she had to say.

“I wish to formally accuse Her Majesty the Empress before His Imperial Majesty.”

“Accuse me?”

The Empress cried out in disbelief. Seraphina met her gaze calmly and spoke.

“Because Lady Mireille did not act alone.”

“That’s right—Her Highness is absolutely correct!”

Seizing the opportunity, Mireille immediately chimed in. The Empress tilted her head back and took a step backwards. This unconscious reaction sent another ripple of unrest through the audience chamber.

“Crown Princess,” the Emperor asked, silencing the room with a single glance. “On what grounds do you seek to accuse the Empress?”

Seraphina squeezed Damian’s hand tightly. She loosened her grip and tried to step forward, but he did not let go.

“I’ll help you. Let me.”

“…Are you sure? She’s still your mother.”

“I’m sure.”

Damian answered, his face set in firm resolve. His eyes showed no wavering as he looked at her.

Ultimately, Seraphina took his hand and stood before the Emperor.

“Your Majesty, the Empress has subjected me to countless acts of verbal *buse over the years, pressuring me to become pregnant under the guise of marital duty.”

Seraphina’s voice trembled as she addressed the emperor. Sensing her tension, Damian tightened his grip on her hand. Steadying her breath, she continued more calmly.

“Even after our wedding, the Empress kept Lady Mireille close and treated her as though she were a true member of the imperial family, like my own sister-in-law. For this reason, I believe the Empress bears significant responsibility for this matter.”

“Oh, is that all?”

The Empress scoffed lightly, lips curling.

“So that’s what you were building up to say.”

The Empress, who had been glaring at Seraphina, let out a mocking laugh. With a dismissive wave of her hand, she said.

“It seems the Crown Princess has endured so much recently that she is exhausted, Your Majesty. When a person is worn down, even the smallest matters can feel like grave injustices.”

She smiled benevolently, carefully arranging her expression to appear gentle and innocent, then clicked her tongue.

“Life as a daughter-in-law must be very difficult indeed if you harbor such resentment towards your mother-in-law. But this is not how you should behave, Crown Princess. Everything I did was meant to teach you, for the sake of the Empire.”

“There certainly have been many incidents. After all, Your Majesty worked very hard to orchestrate them.”

She had expected the Empress to respond this way.

Compared to everything she had endured thus far, this was nothing.

“You ordered your chief maid and Lady Mireille to isolate me from high society, humiliating and mocking me at every turn for being an ‘overzealous omega’. My maid can testify to this.”

“The testimony of the Crown Princess’s maid? Who would ever believe the words of someone so clearly on her side?”

“What about Lady Mireille, then? She is not my servant, but she can still testify, since we are determining where responsibility truly lies.”

At these words, Mireille’s eyes lit up. She nodded vigorously.

“Of course! The things Her Majesty ordered me to do are endless, Your Majesty.”

Growing animated, Mireille continued.

“At tea parties, she would instruct me to deliberately spill tea on Her Highness’s dress. At formal gatherings, she would give Her Highness the wrong dress code, which was humiliating for her. Sometimes, everyone would meet elsewhere, leaving Her Highness out. Whenever Her Majesty reprimanded Her Highness, I was expected to join in.”

As Mireille recounted her past actions one by one, Damian’s expression darkened with each word. He tightened his grip on Seraphina’s hand, his jaw set hard.

“When Her Highness became pregnant, Her Majesty sent Fabiola – no, the chief maid – to keep her under surveillance. That is why His Highness the Crown Prince issued an order barring the Empress’s palace staff from entering. There should be records of it.”

Unlike Mireille, who spoke with unsettling enthusiasm, the Empress’s face drained of color.

Mireille might be a criminal, but she was still the daughter of a duchess.

Her testimony could not simply be dismissed.

Panicking, the Empress turned and shoved Fabiola forward.

“Don’t just stand there—say something!”

“W-What? I—I…”

“Fabiola. The wife of Count Dietmar, is it?”

Fabiola, who had been blinking in confusion, flinched at his words. She shrank back, gauging his reaction.

“The House of Dietmar wishes to atone for its past wrongs. Such things will never happen again. Please, grant us your forgiveness, Your Highness.”

“Fabiola, have you lost your mind?!”

The Empress recoiled in disgust. Was she not, by speaking like that, admitting fault outright?

“If you’re going to say nonsense like that, come here—!”

“Please look kindly upon the House of Dietmar, Your Highness.”

Ignoring the Empress’s furious protest, Fabiola bowed deeply to the Crown Prince.

Count Dietmar had already fallen out of favor with the Crown Prince, and he was paying the price for it. She had no intention of provoking his anger further, even if it meant turning her back on the Empress.

Besides, just as the Empress had abandoned Mireille when she was in danger, she would undoubtedly abandon Fabiola, too. It was far wiser to secure a path to survival now than to cling to her.

“Even the chief maid speaks this way. I cannot simply dismiss the Crown Princess’s words.”

The Emperor rested his chin on his hand as he listened to Fabiola’s testimony. Disappointment was unmistakable in his gaze as he looked at his wife.

“I believed the imperial palace was being managed properly, yet it seems you have turned it into your own playground.”

“A playground, Your Majesty? No, that’s not it! I truly don’t understand why everyone is behaving this way. Was I really so unfair to you?”

The empress asked, her skin breaking out in a cold sweat. But neither Mireille nor Fabiola spared her a glance. At their refusal to even look at her, the Empress bit down hard on her lip.

At that moment, Damian—still holding Seraphina’s hand—stepped forward.

“Your Majesty. The Empress even abducted the Crown Grandson to the Empress’s Palace.”

“Abducted? That is an exaggeration, Crown Prince.”

Damian shot his mother a cold look. The chill in his eyes made the Empress flinch.

“Then what would you call forcibly taking a baby barely a week old away from his mother?”

“Th-That was…”

“Do you think I want to accuse my own mother? But what Her Majesty the Empress has done is no less severe than Lady Mireille’s actions.”

Looking at his mother, he wore a troubled expression. She glanced around helplessly, searching for someone — anyone — to support her. But not a single person in the room stepped forward.

“If Your Majesty chooses to protect the Empress, I will not oppose that decision. However, my wife and I will leave the imperial palace. The Crown Grandson will leave with us.”

“Are you threatening the Emperor?”

The Emperor narrowed his eyes at the firm resolve he saw in Damian’s face. There was clear displeasure in his voice. Damian bowed at the waist.

“Please understand it as desperation.”

In response, the Emperor tapped the armrest of the throne. The sound was slow, steady and deliberate. After a moment, he swept his gaze over the Empress, Damian, and Seraphina in turn.

Finally, the Emperor fixed his gaze on Seraphina and let out a long sigh. He studied her in silence for a while before finally speaking.

“…Crown Princess.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

At his call, Seraphina looked up at him. As she met the Emperor’s gaze upon the dais, she sucked in a sharp breath.