Chapter 2 – The Queen’s Secret

Zenon was not the only unexpected person to appear in the courtroom. Following behind him, one more person entered the trial chamber. It was Chloen’s older brother, Erbe Risse.

“Br……other?”

Chloen’s body lurched forward on its own. If the royal guard standing beside her had not caught hold of her, her legs would already have carried her to Erbe.

His face was covered all over in dark bruises, so badly ruined that even Chloen, his own younger sister, could barely recognize him. He even seemed unable to hold himself up properly, being supported by two royal guards and all but dragged inside.

“Wh, what in the world…… what did you do to my brother? What did you do to him!”

Chloen’s scream rang through the courtroom. But before the echo of that scream could even fade, a voice, terribly calm and low, replaced the sound.

“I, Zenon Alberic O’Shea, as the son of the noble and sole god Eilus, swear before the god that I will speak only the truth, without the slightest concealment or addition, so as not to be ashamed before him.”

Having finished reciting the witness’s oath, Zenon slowly lifted his head. In that instant, dark gray eyes colder than a frozen river met Chloen as though piercing straight through her. Then the judge directed a question at Zenon.

“I ask you, Your Majesty the King. Did you truly witness the accused’s eyes turning red like those of a demonic beast?”

At the judge’s question, Chloen’s complexion, already drained white, turned even paler. But Zenon calmly shifted his gaze toward the judge. Then he moved lips that were set shut as firmly as stone.

“That is correct. And I intend to show everyone present here today what I myself saw. In order to do that…”

Zenon stopped speaking, and his ashen gaze fell upon the royal guard holding Erbe by the arm. Chloen’s bewildered gaze hurried after Zenon’s as well. But before her eyes could even reach their destination, a heavy, sickening sound struck her ears first.

Thunk-

It happened in an instant, the sharp dagger stabbing into Erbe’s neck. The dagger being pulled back out from where it had sunk deeply was no different.

“Ugh-.”

Along with Erbe’s low groan, red blood burst from his neck like a fountain. At the same time, his body collapsed to the floor with a thud.

“N, no……!”

Tears welled over Chloen’s brown eyes as she screamed. She tried to rush toward her fallen brother, but she could not. The same hands that had stripped away her hat and gloves earlier now held her face in place.

Because of that, the crowd’s gazes, which had been directed toward Erbe collapsed on the floor, all shifted to Chloen. And not long after, frightened gasps broke out here and there.

“L, look at those eyes! Her eye color really changed!”

“My god! Those are really the eyes of a demonic beast! Blood-red eyes like a demonic beast’s!”

It was true. Her eyes, which had been shining a bright brown, had already changed into the same color as the red blood flowing from Erbe’s neck and slowly soaking the floor.

But Chloen could hear nothing. All that was clear to her were her brother’s two tear-filled eyes as he lay sprawled on the floor, dying. Chloen struggled with all her strength to break free from the hands of the royal guard restraining her.

“Let go of me! Let go! Brother! Brother!”

Thud-

At that moment, the hard edge of a royal guard’s hand struck the back of Chloen’s head. As a result, Chloen collapsed right there on the spot. But even in the midst of that, Chloen’s blood-red eyes were fixed on only one person.

Her brother, Erbe Risse, who was dying because of her.

* * *

Eleven years ago, her brother said this to her, when she was a whining child.

‘Chloen. The north is far too dangerous, unlike the south. It’s close to the island where the demonic beasts live, so there’s no knowing when one might appear. So this time, I’ll just go on this business trip alone. Chloen, you stay home. All right?’

But back then, she did not listen to her brother. In the end, she followed him north and was bitten by a demonic beast that had come down to a village. And astonishingly, having received magical power from that demonic beast, the moment she became agitated, she turned into a ‘half-demonic beast,’ her eyes reddening like those of a demonic beast.

One year ago, on the day she returned after receiving Zenon’s proposal, her brother also tried to dissuade her.

‘Chloen. Do you really have to go through with this marriage? He’s far too cold a man. He may look beautiful on the outside, but in the end he’ll only make you lonely and unhappy.’

But even then, she did not listen to her brother. She was simply happy and grateful that the man she loved, even after learning the shameful secret that she was a ‘half-demonic beast,’ did not reject her and even intended to take her as his wife. Of course, she knew he was cold, but she thought that even if that coldness turned into an icy spike and pierced her, it would be all right. No, perhaps she had been expecting it. That she would be able to melt that ice for him.

But…… it had all been a foolish delusion.

In the end, because of her foolish choice, she became a ‘half-demonic beast,’ and her brother died.

So all of this unhappiness began with her.

Because of me. Foolish, stupid monster Chloen Risse. Because of me.

* * *

“I’m sorry, Brother. Hngh. I’m sorry…….”

When Chloen, who had collapsed on the floor unconscious, finally opened her eyes while sobbing, the first thing she saw was iron bars bristling like thorns.

‘A prison.’

The moment she realized where this bleak and unfamiliar place was, Chloen felt it anew. That the horrible and cruel things that had happened in the courtroom earlier had all been real. At the same time, that dreadful moment replayed itself in her mind once more.

The floor turning red with blood, and upon it, her brother’s face growing deathly pale as he lay sprawled there. And Zenon’s cold eyes as he looked at both her and her brother. Those chilly ash-gray eyes.

“Hngh…….”

Tears flowed from Chloen’s eyes once again.

Zenon, why in the world did you betray me? From the moment she had first met him at nineteen, she had lived only for him. It was she who had saved him when he nearly died after drinking demonic beast poison, and it was also she who had driven out his stepmother and half sibling and made it possible for him to sit in the highest place in this country. So why had he betrayed her. Why, in the world.

At that moment, the rumor that had been circulating in society suddenly came back to her again. The rumor that the sudden hardships that had befallen Eilan were all because of ‘the curse of a witch as wicked as a demonic beast.’

Was that rumor why he had come to suspect me. Did he really think I had cast some spell to curse Eilan?

She thought that perhaps it was possible enough. At first, he probably had not believed it either. But Zenon was a man who, from childhood, had always struggled to protect his own place. To a man like that, perhaps at some point that rumor had begun to approach him as suspicion. Suspicion had bred misunderstanding, and in the end, perhaps he had truly come to believe that absurd rumor.

But then why did he say those things to me last night? Why did he say that everything would pass without trouble…….

That was when it happened. Step, step. From the darkness beyond the iron bars came the sound of someone walking.

Startled, Chloen rose from where she sat. Then she hurried closer to the bars.

Could it be Zenon. If it was Zenon, what should I say to him.

Yes, first I should explain. That I have never laid any such curse. That most likely some faction dissatisfied with the royal family, or perhaps a group jealous of our House of Risse, which had built up wealth through overseas land investment for many years, had deliberately spread false rumors and trapped me. If I remind him how much I have done for him all this time, then surely Zenon will believe me in the end.

At that moment, the owner of the footsteps emerged through the darkness.

“Chloen?”

A low sigh slipped from Chloen’s lips. Sadly, the face revealed in the darkness was not Zenon. The silver hair shining like the moon was the same as Zenon’s, but the one who had come to find Chloen was not Zenon, but Rachel. Chloen’s only friend and maid, and also the one person who had known Chloen’s secret and hidden it for her all this time. Rachel Roburn.

“Chloen! Poor Chloen! What are we to do about this? Chloen, what am I going to do with you, so pitiful like this!”

The moment she discovered Chloen, Rachel came closer, calling her friend’s name with anguish.

It was not Zenon, but hearing the voice of her friend, who called her so familiarly as before Chloen had entered the court, tears suddenly poured from Chloen’s eyes once again.

But this was not the time to be crying. Chloen barely stopped herself from sobbing and cried out earnestly toward Rachel.

“Rachel, I think His Majesty has misunderstood me because of those absurd rumors. So please, clear up that misunderstanding for me. Since you are also His Majesty’s cousin, he may listen to what you say.”

Because her throat was so tightly choked with sobs, her voice would not come out properly, but Chloen forced herself to swallow her tears.

“You know too. It’s true that I gained a strange kind of magical power after being bitten by a demonic beast, but there’s no way I would have done something like cast a curse. I don’t even have the ability to curse anyone. The only ability I have is merely…….”

That was when it happened.

“Chloen.”

The voice that slipped from between Rachel’s rose-petal lips cut off Chloen’s words midway.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t think I can grant that request after all. Instead, there’s something I need to tell you.”

Rachel, who paused for a moment, soon moved her lips calmly.

“They say the Dowager Madame has passed away. I thought you, as her daughter, should know.”

“Wh, what are you saying? My mother has…… passed away?”

“Yes. They say that after hearing that your brother died and that you too had been sentenced to be burned at the stake, she collapsed from the shock. But since she was already advanced in years, I suppose she was unable to wake again.”

At that moment, Chloen’s hands, which had been clinging to the iron bars as she barely managed to stay standing, gave way. And she sank heavily to the floor.

‘Chloen. Even after you go to the Imperial Palace, you must always wear your hat and gloves. Do you understand? If your secret is revealed and something should happen to you, this old mother would never be able to go on living. So, Chloen. Always be careful.’

Suddenly, the voice of her mother, who had called her to give her that warning on the day before the wedding, rang in her ears.

So Mother became exactly as she said then. Because something happened to me, Mother lost the strength to go on living any longer.

“Hhk. Hngh.”

The tears she had tried so hard to swallow came pouring out. Everything was over now. Her brother too, her mother too. Now that no one remained by her side, Chloen too had no reason to keep living in this world.

At that moment, Rachel, who had been looking down at Chloen collapsed there and shedding endless tears, slowly bent her knees. Then she parted her lips kindly toward Chloen.

“Chloen. Don’t be too sad. It’s terribly unfortunate that both of them passed away, but you’ll be able to see them soon too, won’t you? Since by tomorrow, you as well.”

Tilting her deathly pale face slightly, Rachel continued bluntly.

“Will be tied to the stake and burned to death.”