Anita often pretended not to hear Renee’s pleas for help. Helping Isabelle was undoubtedly the right thing to do, but was it really worth the risk?

‘If I act recklessly at a time like this and something happens to me, what will become of Félicité?’

Even as things were, the weight on her shoulders already felt unbearable. Yet Anita kept those thoughts buried deep inside. When Renee wasn’t around and it was just her and Félicité, she would quietly take out the broken locket her brother had given her and gaze at the tiny portrait inside.

Time slipped by swiftly. Summer had long faded, and autumn had returned once more. It was the season of the late Empress Ines’s memorial. As empress, Anita was responsible for organizing the ceremony, but she couldn’t bring herself to speak to Cédric about it for days.

“Your Majesty, the preparations for your walk are complete. Shall the princess accompany you as well?”

“Yes, the weather is lovely, it’s the perfect day for Félicité to enjoy some sunlight.”

With her mind weary from endless thoughts, Anita took Félicité out for a stroll. The Empress’s Palace had changed beyond recognition, every trace of its former mistress, who had been condemned as a traitor, had been erased. Even the smallest ornaments in the garden had been replaced, as though trying to rewrite history.

Everything had changed: every chair, every flower, and even the design of the garden. The only thing that remained unchanged in form was the glass conservatory, which the late Emperor had once gifted to his disgraced consort, though its interior had been completely remodeled.

Anita started towards the conservatory but turned away just before reaching it. For some reason, memories of the late emperor and his two wives were lingering stubbornly in her mind. It was probably because of the approaching memorial ceremony.

Hoping to shake off the heaviness in her chest, Anita looked at her daughter, who was being held by the nurse. Thankfully, Félicité seemed to sense her mother’s mood; instead of crying, she let out a series of cheerful, bubbling laughs. With her large, shining eyes and silvery hair that gleamed like spun light, the young princess was so beautiful that anyone who saw her couldn’t help but smile.

Now able to lift her head and roll over by herself, Félicité clearly recognized her mother and adored her above all others. Even when she cried, just a few tender words from Anita would calm her, and she would soon settle peacefully against her mother’s chest. Anita felt a swell of gratitude and a faint ache of guilt each time she looked at her daughter.

“Feppi, isn’t this shade lovely? The breeze feels so soft and cool.”

Having chosen a quiet spot beneath a tree, through whose leaves the light filtered gently, Anita instructed the nurse to place Félicité in the portable cradle Renee was pushing. Crafted by an artisan under Anita’s patronage, the cradle was a small marvel of design, light enough for a woman to move with ease yet steady enough that it barely trembled while in motion. Thanks to it, Félicité’s outings had become far more pleasant.

Even so, the nurse remained cautious, worried that the unfamiliar device might endanger the princess, and only used it when absolutely necessary.

“It’s all right. We’ve used it several times already, haven’t we? It’s sturdy enough to hold her safely.”

Anita smiled gently to reassure her, knowing how devotedly the nurse cared for her child. With a reluctant nod, the nurse placed Félicité into the cradle. Lying on the soft bedding, the little princess reached out her tiny hands towards Anita.

Though she could not yet speak, her gesture was unmistakable: she was reaching for Anita. Smiling tenderly, Anita extended her hand in return.

“Your Highness, the princess! Our lovely, precious little princess.”

Renee stood right beside Anita and smiled warmly at Félicite. He waved at the child and called to her sweetly, addressing her as “Your Highness”.

Drawn by the movement, Félicite turned her gaze towards Renee.

In that instant, Renee’s expression changed. Holding Félicite’s gaze, she smiled deeply and spoke again, this time in a tone that was entirely different from before, yet still clear and deliberate.

“Grow strong and healthy, Your Highness. Grow quickly, so you may someday lend your strength to Her Majesty the Emperor in Callithea.”

Anita, who had been watching her daughter with quiet affection, could hardly believe her ears. Startled, she turned sharply towards Renee.

“Her Majesty is Her Highness’s cousin by blood, a close relation indeed. So, of course, Her Highness must help her restore Callithea to its former glory someday.”

Even under Anita’s piercing gaze, Renee continued without hesitation. Anita’s face drained of color, and she immediately pulled the cradle closer to her. The sudden movement caused the cradle to jolt, startling Félicité, who burst into tears.

“Your Highness!”

The nurse, her eyes wide with alarm, quickly lifted the crying princess into her arms. As soon as Anita confirmed that her daughter was unharmed, she turned back towards Renee, her expression taut with disbelief and anger.

The look on Anita’s face revealed her shattered trust and mounting anger. Yet Renee merely returned her gaze with calm, expressionless eyes that had watched their mistress for years. In fact, they seemed to scold her, as if asking what she had done wrong.

“You… Renee, what did you just say?”

The words came out broken, strangled by betrayal. At a time when hostility towards Callithea was running dangerously high, even a whisper of what Renee had just said could be disastrous. Not only for Anita, but also for Felicite, who was still bound to her cradle, such words could bring ruin.

Renee was not the sort of person to be oblivious to that. Anita wanted to demand an explanation; she wanted to shout at Renee to retract her words. But then she felt it again: that same fleeting, chilling sensation she had sensed from Renee before. It was a shadow of something unnervingly cold, lingering just below her throat.

It was a clear warning.

As Felicite’s cries echoed around the room, Anita braced herself, trying to steady herself against the dizziness sweeping over her.

“Your Majesty, the Empress.”

Suddenly, footsteps approached. They came so swiftly that Anita bit down hard on her lip. Someone had turned the corner and was moving soundlessly.

‘Where did she come from? Had she overheard Renee?’

Anita lifted her gaze and met the eyes of a silver-haired woman who was bowing gracefully before her. Katrine.

The woman smiled faintly and Anita felt a chill run down her spine. Her heart dropped like a stone in her chest.

Katrine straightened her back, turned her head slightly and walked directly towards Renee.

Smack!

“Ack!”

Without a moment’s hesitation, Katrine raised her hand and struck Renee hard across the face. The sound cracked sharply through the air, the force behind it unmistakable. Renee tried to keep her footing but stumbled, falling heavily to the ground.

“My apologies for overhearing, Your Majesty the Empress. I should perhaps have pretended ignorance, but the words I heard were far too grave to overlook.”

She looked down at Renee as though she were something foul beneath her shoe before turning to Anita with a deep, respectful bow.

She heard it all.

Anita realized, with a sinking heart, that the very worst she had imagined had now come to pass.

“What are you waiting for? Take her away at once.”

At Katrine’s command, the two palace attendants who had accompanied her stepped forward without hesitation. They were originally servants of House Colbert, assigned to Katrine before she became an official court administrator, and now, temporarily holding positions as palace attendants. Thus, even in the Empress’s presence, they obeyed Katrine without question.

“How dare you act on your own authority!”

If Renee was dragged away now, it would be the end for her. Forcing down the betrayal burning inside her, Anita shouted sharply, her voice cutting through the tense air. At the same time, she signaled to the guards rushing over from the commotion and instructed the nurse to take Felicite and retreat at once.

“My lady, do you believe your actions just now are something fit to show before me? You have no authority to order my maid’s arrest. You are merely an administrator here, not the mistress of this place. The servants of this palace answer only to His Majesty the Emperor and his family, or to those who have been granted specific authority by the Emperor.”

“……”

“What are you waiting for, Renee? Rise.”

There was no time to waste. Anita planned to use her rank as Empress to block Katrine and pull Renee away, but Katrine had no intention of letting this opportunity pass.

“Thank you for the lesson, Your Majesty the Empress. I did not understand my place.”

Katrine shifted ever so slightly to block Anita’s path. She flashed a thin smile, then inclined herself courteously toward Anita.

“I will withdraw my presumptuous rudeness, as you instruct. How dare anyone who is not the master of the palace give orders to the palace servants?”

“……”

“However—”

“……”

“I will file a formal complaint. Right now.”

Katrine spoke the words with an unnervingly calm expression. Then she pointed at Renee, who had not yet risen, and raised her voice so that everyone nearby could hear.

“An act intended to harm Laxion for the benefit of a foreign power!”

“……”

“To toy with the blood of the great Fion line in order to accomplish one’s aims!”

“……”

“These are crimes that go far beyond ordinary offenses; they constitute treason. Regardless of rank, one may be denounced day or night. That is how grave these charges are.”

At the word ‘treason’, a cold silence fell. Even Felicité’s cries ceased, and the faint rustle of the grass sounded sharp in the still air. Although it was not cold, a chill sank into the bones. Anita gathered herself, forcing her mind to focus. She could not afford to collapse. Her gaze flickered once towards Felicite, then back to Katrine.

“Therefore, I, Katrine Colbert, in the name of my house and to protect the realm, hereby lodge a formal accusation.”

“……”

“That woman dared to claim she would use Her Highness the Princess as an instrument to bring harm upon Laxion, and with her own mouth declared she would damage Laxion. That is unmistakably treason. There is nothing left to discuss.”

While Anita was struggling to keep herself together, Katrine exuded composed vitality. Her determined voice was as clear as the sky. How could she be so happy? Katrine understood those obsessed with the hunt: driving prey into a corner, wounding them slowly in places other than the throat and finally cutting off their lifeline. It was splendid.

She spoke with the unerring focus of someone who had already identified their target.

“Therefore, Your Majesty, I ask that you order the immediate detention and investigation of that woman.”