Chapter 17

In order to entertain the Emperor, he hunted down every remaining member of the Second Empress faction he could find.

He even dragged in their innocent children and nephews, despite them having committed no crimes at all.

Because what mattered was not whether someone was guilty.

What mattered was how entertaining the Emperor found them.

In the end, his efforts paid off.

Once unable to secure a proper seat even at the edge of the VIP section, he was now seated proudly near the center.

But his rise did not last long.

Once the Second Empress faction had been completely wiped out, the Emperor immediately lost interest.

Ignoring Viscount Cornwell’s stare, Evelyn continued speaking.

“Why not simply place someone truly interesting into the arena?”

“Hm?”

For the first time, genuine interest appeared on Mary’s face.

“Then speak your thoughts, Princess.”

“There is someone here who has insulted Your Majesty.”

Murmurs spread through the VIP section.

The nobles’ eyes sparkled with curiosity.

The princess, who normally sat as silent and motionless as a statue, had suddenly chosen to speak.

Mary gazed down at her with lazy interest before curling one corner of her lips upward.

“And who would that be?”

“Viscount Cornwell.”

“Th-That’s absurd…!”

Cornwell, who had also been standing, immediately raised his voice.

“Why are you suddenly accusing me of such a thing?!”

“Viscount, I think it would be best if you remained silent for the moment.”

Robert’s deep voice rang out from where he had been quietly seated.

The instant he heard the word insult, killing intent surfaced in his blue eyes.

When their gazes met, Viscount Cornwell’s shoulders trembled slightly.

A moment later, Robert jerked his chin toward Evelyn, as if telling her to continue.

The fact that she was receiving his help left a bitter taste in her mouth.

Still, Evelyn chose to prioritize the greater cause over her personal feelings.

“These are the records of the participants Viscount Cornwell has supplied for the Feeding Competitions thus far.”

At Evelyn’s signal, Lilia handed a stack of documents to an attendant, who then delivered them to the Emperor.

Mary read through the contents expressionlessly.

“Not only did he embezzle funds confiscated from noble houses by the state, he also extorted money from Your Majesty’s subjects through threats and intimidation.”

‘Your Majesty’s subjects.’

The people who had once been dismissed as mere commoners were instantly elevated into the Emperor’s people.

Rather than discussing the noble houses of the Second Empress faction, Evelyn began recounting the stories of ordinary citizens one after another.

“Some participants entered the Feeding Competition because they had committed crimes and deserved punishment. However, many others were forcibly dragged in because they could not pay the sums demanded by Viscount Cornwell. Among them, several claim that certain criminals paid them to participate in their place.”

“They participated in someone else’s stead?”

“Yes. He particularly favored people with large physiques.”

Excluding the very first competition involving the Sands family, every winner over the past five months had been a large, strong-built man.

‘Of course, Mary herself wouldn’t care about such things.’

But where was she right now?

At a public event, seated as the sovereign before her people.

Wasn’t this the perfect opportunity to strengthen imperial authority and win overwhelming support from the populace?

Mary might not care.

But Robert certainly would not let such an opportunity pass.

“Your Majesty, please hear the grievances of your subjects.”

Just as Evelyn had expected, Robert smoothly began persuading his liege.

“This event was created for the people of the Empire. How can we tolerate someone who dares ignore Your Majesty’s intentions and instead profits for his own gain?”

“N-No! That’s not true! Count, why would you say such a thing?! Your Majesty, this is a misunderstanding!”

Viscount Cornwell hurried toward the imperial throne.

Dropping to his knees, he cast a desperate glance toward the Head Attendant before pleading directly to Mary.

“It was merely a donation for the events held at the Imperial Palace! Every coin I received was delivered in full to Head Attendant Wilcock!”

“Viscount Cornwell!”

The Head Attendant, who had stood motionless behind the Emperor like a statue, suddenly barked in outrage.

He immediately turned toward Mary.

“Can there be a more vile man? Not content with oppressing Your Majesty’s subjects, he now dares slander me, Your Majesty’s loyal servant and trusted aide!”

Then he looked down at the subordinate he had discarded without hesitation.

“You should be ashamed of yourself, Viscount.”

“Head Attendant!”

“Enough.”

The Emperor raised a hand, cutting through the argument.

At once, the surrounding area fell silent.

Since no aura had been used to amplify the conversation, those in the arena and the distant spectator stands could not hear what was being said in the VIP section.

Under the curious and confused gazes of countless onlookers, Mary finally spoke.

“The Count and the Head Attendant are correct.”

“Your Majesty! No, please! Please—!”

“Bind Viscount Cornwell’s mouth and throw him into the arena immediately.”

“Your Majesty!!”

His desperate cry echoed throughout the stadium.

The audience, unaware of the circumstances, merely tilted their heads in confusion.

The nobles who had heard the details, however, let out quiet sighs.

As Cornwell was gagged and dragged downward like a beast, Evelyn calmly resumed her seat.

At that moment, Robert leaned his upper body toward her from beside her.

“It seems you weren’t very fond of the Head Attendant’s hunting dog.”

“…”

“No matter what, wasn’t it a bit harsh to kill someone else’s dog like that? Won’t its owner be saddened?”

“Do I really need to concern myself with that?”

“Hmm.”

Pretending to ponder for a moment, Robert pursed his lips before shrugging.

“Of course not.”

“…”

“Still, thanks to you, Her Majesty will finally get to enjoy an entertaining match for the first time in a while.”

Smiling in satisfaction, Robert turned his head toward Mary.

Following his gaze, Evelyn glanced in the same direction.

The Emperor still appeared as indifferent as ever, yet a faint light now gleamed within the pale green eyes so similar to Evelyn’s own.

“For a hunting dog’s life, it seems to have been worth quite a lot, wouldn’t you agree?”

“…”

Instead of answering, Evelyn fixed her gaze upon the arena.

Among the contestants wearing collars, Viscount Cornwell appeared with a gag forced into his mouth.

Then came the Head Attendant’s additional explanation.

At last, thunderous cheers erupted from the audience.

“For this match, an additional rule will be applied! Not only will the contestant who secures the food be recognized as the victor, but anyone who kills the criminal Bernardo Cornwell will also be declared a winner! We encourage your enthusiastic participation!”

“WAAAAAAAH!”

“The only way for the criminal to leave the arena alive is to kill every single participant! Surely the price of incurring Her Majesty’s wrath must be this great!”

As the Head Attendant’s amplified voice rang through the arena, a heavy haze settled over Evelyn’s eyes.

Meanwhile, Aiden was left speechless by what he was witnessing.

“This is the ‘Feeding Competition’ I told you about.”

“…”

“The people of the capital lost their will to make a living long ago. They’ve sunk into it completely, obsessed with the gambling sponsored by the Imperial Family.”

The spectator stands descended into chaos once more.

With the addition of Viscount Cornwell to the arena, even more people rushed to place wagers on human lives.

The roar of the crowd grew louder.

Coins changed hands.

Names and numbers were shouted across the stands.

And below, in the arena itself, human beings were reduced to nothing more than pieces on a gaming board.

Aiden’s amber eyes slowly hardened.

The capital he had fought to protect at the border was nowhere to be found.

What stood before him now was something grotesque.

A city intoxicated by cruelty.

A people cheering for sl*ughter.

And at the center of it all sat the Emperor, watching with interest.

For a long moment, Aiden said nothing.

Then, quietly, he asked,

“…How long has this been going on?”

His gaze remained fixed on the arena as another wave of cheers shook the stadium.

Rooted to the spot, Aiden could not even breathe.

Watching him stand frozen, Lilia quietly added,

“When the event is over, please come through the passage from earlier. Her Highness wishes to speak with you.”

His wavering amber eyes moved past Lilia and settled on Evelyn in the distance.

The emerald eyes that had been fixed upon the arena were now looking directly at them.

***

As soon as the event ended, Evelyn turned away as though she were returning to the detached palace.

By now, Morian had long since forgotten her role as a watcher.

In both her first and second lives, Evelyn had not had a separate residence around this time, which meant she had never met Morian during this period.

Even so, she knew that Morian had become obsessed with the Feeding Competition because the girl had later told her about it herself.

‘She’s fallen into it even deeper than I expected.’

‘Still, that gives me more freedom to move around.’

Soon, Evelyn arrived at the secret passage and opened the hidden entrance.

As she ventured deeper into the dark, moisture-filled tunnel, a faint light began to flicker ahead.

In truth, she had known about the existence of the secret passage for a long time.

However, in her previous life, she had never dared to make use of it.

More than anything, she had lacked the confidence to truly escape Mary’s grasp.

That was why, immediately after returning to this life, she had briefly considered another option.

‘Should I somehow escape the Imperial Tower, use the secret passage, and run away?’

But she had quickly abandoned the idea.

‘As long as Mary lives, there is nowhere I can truly live in peace.’

This conflict would only end when one of them reached the end.

With every step she took, the growing light illuminated more of the path ahead.

At last, she arrived at a spacious chamber.

A familiar face was waiting there.

“…Greetings, Your Highness.”

Aiden Gloucester bowed his head to Princess Evelyn.

“Your Grace.”

The person she had long awaited stood before her at last.

The moment to set the first piece in place—the first step toward driving Mary from power—had finally arrived.

“Are you injured anywhere?”

“No, Your Highness. But… are you all right?”

At that question, countless emotions surfaced.

She still could not forget the expression she had seen on his face in the arena.

The shock.

The fury.

The despair.

The killing intent raging within those brilliant eyes.

The moment she saw it, Evelyn became certain that her choice had been the right one.

‘Aiden Gloucester will become the sharpest blade I can point at Mary.’

“‘All right,’ you say…”

A faint smile touched Evelyn’s lips.

“I’m not sure how to answer that. Since I haven’t yet been forced to participate in the Feeding Competition myself, perhaps I should say that I am.”

“…How often does something like this happen? Does the Emperor commit such atrocities every time?”

“Who knows? It’s not a regularly scheduled event. It depends entirely on the Emperor’s whims. Though this particular event was likely held to counter your victory.”

“The Emperor… is trying to keep me in check?”

Aiden’s neatly shaped brows jumped sharply.

“Of course.”

“But why?”

“Because you’re a war hero who returned with news of victory.”

“That’s…”

The deep furrow forming between his dark brows revealed his anger all too clearly.

And Evelyn did not miss it.