“You never intended to help me anyway.”

“So?”

“Then I’ll have to find another way without your help.”

The wife who had once cowered before him like a mouse before a cat was nowhere to be seen.

Anita twisted in his grip and glared at him.

Was this the same woman who had been kneeling at his feet just moments ago?

Cedric barely managed to compose his expression.

“If I offer something, anything there might be someone willing to help save my nephews.”

“And what exactly do you have to offer?”

Her constant attempts to pull away irritated him.

Naturally, his words came out sharp.

At Cedric’s sneer, Anita bit down hard on her lip.

“Ah, so you’re planning to go to the Empress? Too bad. She was the first to wash her hands of the Callithea affair. She’ll just see you as a waste of money, like all the others. You’d best be careful. She might raise her hand.”

Her pressed-together lips, almost bleeding, made Cedric’s brow twitch.

Still, he kept pushing, determined to break her spirit.

“That much is nothing.”

Anita muttered, her voice broken.  Her jaw throbbed where he was holding it, but she refused to show it.   She spoke words she’d never dared think before.

“A few slaps and a kneel, who knows? Unlike Your Highness, Her Majesty might show mercy. Don’t worry. After everything I’ve endured at your hands, that doesn’t faze me anymore.”

Would the Empress truly hear her plea?

Anita knew the answer.

With her homeland in ruins, Cedric was probably right; she would be cast aside.

But now wasn’t the time to weigh up the odds and possible outcomes.

She was ready to cling to anyone who would listen.

Once the tears had dried, it was Anita’s reason that was lost instead.

She had to save the children at least her young nephews.

This thought alone consumed her.

“If nothing else works, I’ll do as Your Highness always said and travel from place to place selling my body.”

“What?”

The words came out unfiltered, of course.

Perhaps it was a backlash to everything she’d suppressed until now.

“Why that face? With Callithea in ruins, you were always going to cast me aside, weren’t you? Or did you think I was a fool who couldn’t work that out?”

Her words poured out without hesitation, and something snapped inside Cedric’s mind.

She wasn’t wrong.

Once the title of Callithea’s princess had become a mere shell, what use was the woman before him?

Even if he didn’t act, others would move first to claim her.

Besides, she was someone he’d planned to discard soon enough.

And yet…

“Wouldn’t it be smarter to act while I’m still the Crown Princess in name? While I can fetch a higher price?”

“Argh!”

Cedric couldn’t hold back.

He tightened his grip on her arm, causing her to scream in pain.

Cedric didn’t care.

Adjusting the pressure just enough to avoid crushing her face in his hand, he snarled.

“Who would even want someone like you? What’s so valuable about that body?”

“Didn’t you hear me just now? That’s why I should sell it while it’s still worth something.”

Despite the burning pain in her arm, Anita didn’t back down.

She threw his words right back at him.

The more she did so, the more Cedric felt something boil inside him.

What could he do?

How could he silence this woman and punish her?

His jaw clenched visibly.

“…Who here doesn’t know that you’re my woman? Haven’t you realized it yourself by now? In this palace, there’s no one who would dare deal with you but me.”

“I’ll take care of that myself. Don’t worry about it. After all, people are drawn to danger, so one or two of them might find me tempting. Some might even be more intrigued knowing that I once belonged to you.”

With every word, Cedric’s fury edged closer to the brink.

A vein bulged in his temple.

Anyone who saw him now would either fall to their knees, begging for mercy, or flee in terror.

But Anita, seemingly numb to fear, continued to speak.

“And you always told me, didn’t you? That with this face and body, I’d never starve. Didn’t that mean I was worth something?”

“…”

“Isn’t that right?”

“….”

“They say that Callithean women are promiscuous here in Laxion, don’t they? That I slept with lots of men before I got married? Ha!”

“…'”

“With things as they are, I regret not doing it sooner. As you said, if that’s what it takes to get things done, why didn’t I do it sooner? What was I clinging to? This body is not sacred.”

Her remorse, steeped in guilt, was a howl of self-reproach.

Mid-sentence, Anita realized her cheeks were wet once more.

“No, Your Highness. I was never meant to marry you. Both my brother and my mother told me to think carefully, but…”

I should never have insisted on Laxion or Cedric.

I should have gone to Inesia or another Callithea ally.

If only I had known then that he would offer no help at all!

Instead of clinging foolishly to the promise that he would honor our alliance and strengthen the ties between our two countries, I should have listened to reason and found a match that would truly benefit my brother.

At the time, the marriage between Anita and Cedric seemed to be the best choice for Callithea.

Ultimately, however, their union did nothing to delay the downfall of House Hardyde.

How could she not regret it now?

All the paths she had once dismissed and all the options she had brushed aside now came back to haunt her.

“Do you regret it now?”

Cedric asked in a low voice, his blue eyes glinting with bitterness and wounded pride.

Anita said nothing. Her silence spoke louder than any denial could. The flicker of emotion in Cedric’s eyes turned to fire.

“Do you mean you regret not sleeping with Gerard sooner? Is that it, huh?”

He named his half-brother.

Anita hadn’t even thought of Gerard until Cedric threw his name at her like an accusation.

“Yes! Fine! I regret it! Maybe I should have gone to the Second Prince when I had the chance. Maybe I should have made better use of the body I’d already given up!”

Even now, as Cedric continued to insult her, Anita could only feel revulsion.

He tried to nod, still gripping her face in his hand.

“The Second Prince has helped me more than once. Whether he did it for his own gain or not, at least he made me feel grateful.’’

“…..”

“Even if it wasn’t him! Anyone would have been more helpful than Your Highness. No one else would have treated me as cruelly as you have!”

Cedric’s eyes flashed at her unwavering assertion that anyone would be better than him.

He released her jaw, only to seize both her arms.

Pain surged again and Anita kicked out, trying to escape.

But Cedric wasn’t about to let her go.

Still holding her, he began to walk, dragging her deeper into the palace.

“Let go! I’m leaving! I’ll handle this myself, so just—!”

“Will you shut your mouth?”

Thud.

The door slammed shut.

He pulled her into a room with a tiny window, cloaked in an air of secrecy.

Anita pushed him, trying to get past.

Cedric caught her, like a hunter snaring prey.

After a brief pause, he said.

“I’ve got a question.”

“I’ve already sent someone.”

Anita froze in her tracks. Cedric finally met his wife’s quiet gaze. Confusion clouded them, and tears glistened in them, evoking a sorrow that tightened his chest.

“I’ve sent men to find the young prince and princess of Callithea.”

“…”

“Even if the land is divided and various lords or a new emperor rise to power, it would be disastrous for Laxion if Callithea were to vanish completely.”

Laxion and the other nations had wanted to weaken Callithea for their own gain, but none of them wanted to see the royal house erased outright. Even if the realm fractured, the nobles and lords would remain to preserve the social order.

For this reason, many nobles had already allied themselves with the rebels, and with the support of various factions, they controlled the movement’s center. Therefore, even if House Hardyde were to fall and Callithea ceased to exist, the monarchy itself would likely persist in some form.

“It makes sense to secure them first if they might be of use.”

Although he was talking about the young nephews and nieces, Anita felt a flicker of hope. Whatever the motive, survival came first. If only their lives could be guaranteed even that would be something.

Yet Cedric’s words were, in truth, a deception. He had posted guards to protect the prince and princess, but his orders were clinical and uncompromising: “Keep an eye on the prince and princess as well. If they try to escape, follow them and alert us. Make sure you confirm their capture and report it precisely.”

The young prince and princess had only just managed to escape with their lives. If the Empress Dowager had not allowed herself to be captured in order to protect her grandchildren, Anita’s niece and nephew would certainly have been seized by now, especially since Cedric’s men were positioned along their route.

They would have found the twins by now, or would do so soon. When they did, the twins would be handed over to a contact of Cedric’s within the rebel faction, a man set to become either Callithea’s new emperor or ruler of its largest province. Perhaps the exchange had already taken place and the report was simply on its way to him.

“Is it true? You really sent people to save them?”

“Yes.”

Cedric’s throat tightened painfully as he looked at his wife, who clung to him once more. ‘Why am I whispering this lie?’ he wondered, the words burning like ash on his tongue. Their tearful eyes met, but he couldn’t bear to look back.

Anita had never even imagined that he could be lying. Who would deceive someone over such a thing — over the lives of children? And so, without hesitation, she believed him.

She bound herself to him again, gazing up at him with almost worshipful reverence. Her voice trembled as she pleaded with him and thanked him all at once.

Then, fearing she might offend him, she lowered her gaze, softening her tone and being careful and cautious.

“Ah… ah…”

The thought that her young niece and nephew might be safe brought fragile, fleeting relief. But with that relief came a fresh wave of agony, grief for her brother who was awaiting execution, and for her mother, who had already been buried.

Anita’s sobs deepened, raw and broken, as she repeatedly bowed before Cedric, her tears soaking the floor at his feet.

“Thank you! I won’t forget your kindness. Thank you so much.”

Then, suddenly, her mouth fell open in a gasp.

A pain unlike anything she had ever experienced tore through her lower abdomen as though her heart were splitting in two.

“Anita?”

Cedric crouched down to examine her, sensing that something was terribly wrong.

But Anita, groaning in agony so intense that she could no longer see straight, collapsed to the side the moment his hand touched her.