“…There is.”

Gerard said at last.

Cedric gave a short, contemptuous laugh.

Once the words were out, courage followed. Gerard knew exactly who his brother had meant by that woman, and anger rose in him.

“There is, Brother.”

He repeated firmly, feet planted on the ground.

Cedric looked him over from head to toe, the faintest smirk twisting his lips before he spat out.

“How many times have you seen her?”

“That’s…”

“You don’t think I know how you look at the Crown Princess, do you?”

Cedric’s tone was low and cutting; each word was as sharp as a knife.

Gerard’s lips clamped shut at Cedric’s sudden outburst. It was a secret he should never have shared with anyone, least of all Cedric.

Realizing that the one person he most needed to hide it from had already seen through him filled him with guilt and shame. He dropped his gaze to the ground.

“Disgusting.”

Cedric said flatly, without the slightest hesitation.

Gerard couldn’t bring himself to look up. His voice came out low and strained.

“Her Highness has done nothing wrong. It’s only me… I’ve simply harbored these feelings alone.”

“Impressive.”

Cedric said, his tone dripping with mockery.

“The number of times I’ve seen her doesn’t define what I feel.”

Cedric’s mood sank further at the refusal to deny it and those steady, shame-filled words. The discomfort in his chest intensified, growing heavy and sharp.

If he had had a sword in his hand, he might have drawn it and pressed its edge to his brother’s throat right then and there.

“…Please, don’t speak of her that way.”

Gerard murmured, trembling slightly. He was unaware of just how angry his brother had become.

Cedric’s brow furrowed.

‘What nonsense is he about to say now?’

“Of all people, Her Highness shouldn’t have to live like that.”

At the memorial, Gerard stood close to Anita, giving him a clear view of her. He noticed her tear-stained eyes and sorrow-filled face. He noticed how she trembled simply from standing beside her husband, and how she looked up at him, fear evident in every breath.

“Someone like her should never have to wear such an expression.”

Even when she first arrived in Laxion, there was a sadness in her eyes. Rumors of Cedric’s coldness towards her had spread through the court, and each time Gerard saw her, her dejected appearance only served to reinforce them.

But the woman he saw at the memorial was beyond sorrow; she looked broken. Her thin frame looked as if it might collapse at any moment, and her anxious eyes had dimmed to a lifeless grey.

“You know it too, Brother. She’s kind… someone who deserves love from everyone—”

“It’s the Empress who should be listening to that.”

Cedric cut in, his voice sharp enough to slice the air.

Gerard’s face blanched.

“Because if she were to hear you speak this way, we’d soon be attending someone’s funeral. Don’t you agree?”

“Brother!”

Gerard understood.

If his mother, the empress, ever found out how he felt, she would destroy Anita without hesitation. In her eyes, anything preventing her son from ascending to the throne had to be eliminated. Lately, she had deemed Anita to be useless.

He was certain she would act on it.

“And to think I’m standing here listening to this drivel…”

“…”

“Such a pathetic crush you have, Gerard.”

“…”

“You couldn’t lay a hand on me until you toppled me—no, even if you did, you wouldn’t dare touch my woman.”

“…”

“And even if I die by your hand, it won’t change the fact that I was the first man to lie between her legs.”

He was right. Even if he were to overthrow Cedric and claim the throne, would he marry his brother’s wife, a woman who had already slept with Cedric? If he did, the world would brand him a mad tyrant and her a wanton woman.

Cedric’s words stripped away Gerard’s remaining resolve. He could only stand there, speechless, as his brother’s voice fell quiet. Then Cedric turned, his tone almost weary.

“Gerard, find another woman. Think of it as advice from an older brother who actually cares about you. There are plenty of beauties who blush at the mere sight of you, look to them instead.”

Even in a confrontation like this, Cedric offered neither protection nor kindness. Gerard couldn’t bring himself to protest or reach for his sleeve. Cedric simply waved a hand in passing, without once looking back. He clicked his tongue in mild annoyance and walked away.

··· ✦ ···

“Why? Why, why! Whyyyy!”

The Empress’s chamber was in disarray. She — the mistress of the palace itself — had thrown everything she could get her hands on, heedless of its value. One crash followed another and the air was filled with the sounds of breaking glass and splintering wood.

In the corner, a maid stood frozen to the spot, one trembling hand clamped over her mouth to stifle a scream as she watched the destruction unfold.

Only after some time did the storm subside. The Empress, breathless and exhausted, sank into the wreckage and collapsed onto a nearby couch. A maid hurried to her side, frantic with worry, to see if she was injured.

Seated there with her loyal attendant close by, the Empress was almost unrecognizable. Such an outburst — wild and unrestrained — had not erupted from her in nearly a decade. No matter how furious she had been since arriving in this place, no matter how often she had wished for that man’s death, she had never before allowed herself to lose control. Yet today, for reasons she could not name, her restraint had simply shattered.

“His Majesty?”

“…The palace reports say there’s been some improvement.”

“Then shall I go see him?”

The maid hesitated, unable to give her mistress the response she wanted. Seeing this, the Empress slammed her hand down on the armrest, her temper flaring once more.

“Why… Why now, of all times? A husband and wife should be closest in moments like these!”

The Emperor’s refusal to see her wounded her pride, and the fact that he withdrew right after Empress Ines’s memorial made it all the more unbearable. For a moment, she considered going to see him herself, before abruptly standing up.

“…No. If he’s not calling for me, it must mean he’s recovering.”

Perhaps the outburst had exhausted her. As her strength waned, her reason returned. She already knew that going herself would not change a thing. She pressed her fingers to her temple and gave a cold command.

“Clean this up.”

Her voice was sharp and frigid. The maid quickly summoned other attendants to clear the wreckage, while the Empress turned away and made her way toward the bedchamber.

“My head aches. Nothing ever goes as I wish.”

She drained the tea her maid had brought and muttered under her breath.

Lately, nothing had gone the way she had wanted it to. The appointment of the Supreme Commander and the unresolved question of the Capital Minister were both matters that had slipped beyond her control. Instead of the news she had hoped for from the palace of the Crown Prince, on whom she had pinned her highest hopes, came the worst possible news.

“She’s not dead!”

She had spread rumors about the fig-pie affair, intending to widen the gulf between the Crown Prince and his wife. Yet, rather than hearing that the Crown Princess had been struck down or exiled, she encountered different rumors claiming that the two had finally spent the night together and that their relationship was improving.

“So that snake of a man has fallen for her pretty face, has he?”

She spat, laughter twisting bitterly from her lips.

“Even after what happened to his mother, he still lets his eyes wander to that so-called goddess from Callithea!”

“Your Majesty, if I may…”

As the Empress’s voice rose again, the maid hurried closer and whispered something into her ear. The Empress’s expression brightened at once.

“Is that true?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. They say the Crown Princess’s complexion looks poor.”

“…Even so, that’s hardly cause for celebration. If any affection takes root between them, it’ll be disastrous.”

While it was understandable for a crown princess to fear her husband, what if she managed to capture his heart instead? What if their bond grew stronger? If she claimed that she had been violated and appealed to the Emperor himself, then perhaps he would believe her.

But to expose the affairs of the marital chamber would be to cast oneself into the flames.

The Empress’s eyes narrowed.

“So she’s a fox after all.”

It wasn’t long before the Empress directed her fury towards Anita.

From the outset, she had disliked the Crown Princess, seeing her as a worthless pawn to be discarded once she had outlived her usefulness. However, ever since Gerard had started to pay closer attention to that woman, his dislike had turned into something closer to hatred.

“Useless thing. Absolutely useless.”

“…”

“Lucie.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

The Empress, staring off into space as if in deep thought, beckoned her maid closer and whispered something in her ear.

“Your Majesty, but…”

“Time is running short. If His Majesty were to abdicate in that boy’s favor, it would be disastrous.”

“Y-you’re right, Your Majesty. Or if the Emperor were to suffer some misfortune—”

Smack!

The slap was swift and merciless. The stunned maid dropped to her knees, pressing her forehead to the floor before she could cry out.

“Watch your tongue.”

She did not dare respond; she merely bowed deeper, her forehead touching the ground. Speaking such forbidden words in front of her mistress, words hinting at the Emperor’s death was tantamount to a death sentence. If she survived the night, it would be by luck alone.

Fortunately for her, however, the Empress had no intention of discarding a faithful servant. Instead, she stared down at the trembling maid and muttered in a voice cold enough to chill the bones.

“Never speak such things aloud again.”

··· ✦ ···

Night had fallen. Instead of sleeping, Cedric was sitting on the edge of his bed in his own room, staring out of the window.

The moon was unusually large and full. The sky had been cleared by the passing monsoon and was now an immaculate expanse of inky blue, perhaps explaining its brightness. Yet despite its beauty, Cedric’s eyes remained cold and his fingers tapped idly against the mattress.

He hadn’t slept properly in over ten days, and he knew exactly why.

“It’s not as though I lack for women. From now on, you’ll come to me yourself.”

The problem was simple: she hadn’t shown up. The woman who had clung to him, repeating her promises like a parrot, had gone silent.

A curse slipped out under his breath. He knew what was causing his irritation, but he had no way of alleviating it. If it were merely l*st, he would not have been so restless or angry.

Cedric found himself haunted by her. He even attended meaningless banquets, which he usually avoided, hoping—though he would never have admitted it—to catch sight of her in the crowd.

However, the moment he touched another woman and felt her body press against his, he realised how futile it was. This gnawing thirst inside him could not be satisfied by anyone else.

His hand clenched into a fist.

He wrestled with himself. What did it matter if he went to her? She would never refuse him. He could pin her down and take what he wanted — hadn’t he always intended to do that?

“Someone like her should never wear such an expression.”

That arrogant voice of his half brother came back to him, and with it, Cedric’s decision hardened.

‘Fine. Go to her.’

He lifted her skirts first, and only then did he speak. Callithea, her family, and her pleas for mercy would all be silenced. She would yield the moment he wanted her to, as she always did.

Cedric rose from the bed. In the dark, he fixed his eyes on the door as he prepared to leave.

But then, his sharp ears caught something.

The chamber was located deep within the palace, and the door was so thick that no ordinary person could hear anything beyond it. Yet Cedric, who had survived countless assassination attempts, could sense even the slightest disturbance.

This noise, however, was far too clumsy to be an assassin.

He flung the door open.

Instead of Dian standing guard, there was a knight who stiffened visibly when their eyes met. Not far behind him, a servant fidgeted silently until his master appeared, looking pale and panicked.

Then he froze.

“What’s going on?”

“Y-your Highness… it’s…”

The servant could not find the words. Cedric said nothing, but fixed him with a look that demanded an answer.

Finally, the servant blurted it out.

“Her Highness the Crown Princess… she’s come to see you.”