Chapter 11 – Part 7

Beatrice suggested Heinrich engage Leonard with Alaina.

Heinrich replied, as he always did, without even looking at her.

“Do as you wish.”

The years hadn’t changed his cold demeanor.

She was used to it now, but that didn’t mean it didn’t hurt.

Accepting that this person would never change, Beatrice couldn’t erase her loneliness.

Leonard and Alaina got engaged without any issues, and Beatrice often invited Alaina to the palace to teach her duties.

The child, raised without a mother, followed Beatrice obediently.

Beatrice thought it would be like this forever.

Until Heinrich hadn’t returned from the last conquest war with a severe injury.

The royal physician said there was nothing they could do. Beatrice looked at Heinrich in disbelief.

The unconscious man could only gasp for air. His eyes were unable to open, but his face occasionally contorted in pain.

“……I think we should prepare for his death.”

The older royal physician spoke softly. Beatrice nodded.

Nobles flocked to the palace to prepare for the Emperor’s impending death upon hearing the news of the medicine being prepared by the Empress.

Beatrice slowly poured the medicine into Heinrich’s mouth.

The emperor’s dying medication was a kind of elixir for a dignified death.

It was supposed to take away his pain for half a day to a day, clear his mind, and finally make his death as restful as sleep.

Heinrich opened his eyes not long after the pills were in his mouth.

He slowly looked back at Beatrice as he lay in bed.

“Did you… give me the medicine?”

“Yes.”

“In that case…”

Heinrich’s eyes squeezed shut and then opened.

“Will ……I die?”

His cold blue eyes held an unprecedented desperation.

Even the icy, stony man was afraid of death.

“Yes.”

Beatrice nodded meekly. Heinrich fell silent briefly.

Despite the confusion on his face, Beatrice was not sad.

She just thought about the state and Leonard’s coronation and realized that this man could also express such an expression.

Heinrich quickly composed himself and prepared for death.

Beatrice stood by Heinrich’s side with Leonard the entire time, as the nobles lined the hallway.

“You’ve suffered a lot.”

“So have you, Your Majesty.”

Heinrich’s voice had returned to its normal tone.

The two exchanged brief farewells with solemnity.

Heinrich’s mouth twitched as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, he didn’t.

The Duke of Travell, who happened to be in the capital, was the first to enter the Emperor’s bedchamber and exchange final words with him.

He was followed by Marquis Salvatore, whose daughter was engaged to the crown prince.

“You helped the Empress a lot when you were her aide.”

“I was merely following His Majesty’s orders.”

Alaina stood by Leonard’s side, waiting for her father to finish his greeting.

She exchanged a small glance with Leonard, who stood stiffly.

Beatrice sat on the side of the bed and watched idly as Heinrich and Isaac exchanged pleasantries.

It still hadn’t sunk in yet, despite their relaxed expressions.

Dying. The man who seemed to be able to keep death at bay…….

Bam!

The sudden sound made Beatrice turn her head.

The vases on the table were shattered and strewn about, and Leonard’s sleeve was damp.

Alaina quickly apologized.

“I apologize. The vase suddenly fell over.”

“It’s fine. Tidy up your clothes and come back.”

Beatrice looked at his wet clothes. The two bowed and hurried off to the annex.

When they were gone, Isaac turned back to the Emperor.

“Speaking of which, Your Majesty, I had something else to tell you…… I’m glad the children are out of the way.”

Beatrice suspected he, too, was distraught at the prospect of the Emperor’s death.

But to call both Alaina and the Crown Prince ‘children’…

However, when Isaac met her gaze and subtly smiled, a sudden unease gripped Beatrice.

“Please forgive me, Your Majesty. I betrayed His Majesty’s trust… … I had a close relationship with Her Majesty the Empress.”

Beatrice’s hand stiffened at Isaac’s words.

Isaac bowed his head respectfully toward Heinrich.

Why would he suddenly say that, and for what reason? Beatrice opened her mouth in bewilderment.

“Why are you suddenly saying such things, Marquis?”

“I apologize, Your Majesty. As I see Your Majesty nearing the end, I can’t bear the guilt in my conscience… I couldn’t keep it hidden any longer.”

Despite his delicate expression, Beatrice felt as if Isaac were acting in a play.

As if he were trying to mock the Emperor, who didn’t realize he’d been playing with the Empress all this time.

She glanced back at Heinrich quickly.

“Oh, no, no, no, Your Majesty, I never did…….”

“It’s alright. The Empress has been quite annoyed by my indifference, and I am grateful that it has relieved her loneliness, even if only for a moment.”

It was at that moment that Heinrich answered.

Beatrice froze at the sight of his calm expression. Isaac was equally puzzled.

“Did you know ……?”

Isaac asked. Heinrich raised the corners of his mouth as if to say.

“Do you think there’s anything I don’t know about the Empress?”

The dying man’s voice lacked the same majesty or resonance as before.

But what he said left them speechless. An unfamiliar chuckle sounded.

“But judging by your short-lived flirtation with fire, the Empress doesn’t seem to like you very much.”

“…….”

“Couldn’t you have tried a little coquetry? Then maybe she would have kept you around a little longer.”

Isaac’s face fell at that. Heinrich continued as if it were no big deal.

“Whatever you have done with the Empress does not change the fact that she is mine. Even now, she’s protecting me on my deathbed, not you, so what’s the problem?”

It was a generous mockery. There was a long silence.

He knew it all. Since when.

Beatrice looked at Heinrich, unable to say anything.

“I never knew ……His Majesty could be so merciful.”

It was Isaac who broke the long silence, watching Heinrich with a strange expression on his face.

Beatrice thought he looked somehow dissatisfied.

After a long moment of watching Heinrich, Isaac spoke.

“If that’s the case, Your Majesty, would you forgive me even if I hadn’t taken the contraceptive pills?”

“Marquis!”

It was Beatrice who screamed in surprise.

However, Isaac didn’t even glance in Beatrice’s direction. He simply watched Heinrich, as if gauging his reaction.

Heinrich narrowed his eyes in surprise. His eyelids moved slowly up and down.

“……I didn’t know that.”

“Your Majesty, it’s a lie. The Marquis is lying…”

“Did your daughter know?”

Heinrich asked, and Beatrice and Isaac turned around at the same time.

Alaina stood where their gazes met. A few feet away, Leonard stared at them, his face set.

“…This is the first I’ve heard of it, Your Majesty.”

Alaina blurted out, her face contorting, her gaze fixed on her father, Isaac.

“It is the most disgusting story I have ever heard in my life.”

“So it is, Marquis.”

Heinrich muttered. Isaac looked back at him, his face crumpling.

She glared at his father, his jaw clenched tightly, and then Alaina opened the door and stormed out. Isaac jumped to his feet and ran after her.

Beatrice sat there, frozen in place.

What did she hear?

He clearly said he took the medicine, didn’t he?

Why would he lie like that…….

“……Mother.”

It was her son’s voice, always so sweet, that woke her from her daze.

Tap. Tap. The sound of footsteps drew closer slowly.

“Mother, what is this…….”

“The prince needs to step aside for a moment.”

“Your Majesty.”

“I need to speak with your mother in private.”

“Father!”

Leonard raised his voice but added nothing.

He swept his hand angrily across his face and turned away, and Beatrice did not look up until his footsteps were out of earshot.

“……Empress.”

Heinrich was the first to speak. Beatrice was speechless.

“Empress…….”

“…….”

“That’s nonsense without proof.”

“Even if the Marquis really didn’t take the medicine… there’s also no evidence that Leonard is not his son, isn’t that right?”

Despite his harsh words, the hand clutching her dress was trembling slightly.

What if Leonard really was not of imperial blood, then…….

“It’s Your Majesty’s fault.”

The words of blame couldn’t come out, even if she tried.

‘It’s all because of you. It’s all because you didn’t love me.’

‘Instead of begging for the love you didn’t give, I found it in someone else.’

‘If only you had given me a little affection, a little tenderness, this wouldn’t have happened.’

It was less than a few months in over twenty years of loneliness.

It was only a few days in the cottage that crossed the line, so who was really at fault?

“His Majesty treated me so coldly, so this is what happened.”

Anxiety and guilt overtook her, as well as a sense of injustice.

This was the man who had accepted her hand-embroidered handkerchief and told her not to expect love as soon as she was married.

He was the one who didn’t teach her how to do her job properly when she didn’t know how to do it.

The man who didn’t say a word when I was ridiculed in society and ignored by the maids.

Beatrice couldn’t bring herself to ask him for forgiveness.

He’d known all along, and he’d pretended not to. That he was grateful that the duke had made her feel less lonely?

He’d just been so damn indifferent.

“It’s not your fault.”

The voice was kinder than she’d ever heard. Beatrice slowly raised her head.

Heinrich lifted her stiff arm and gently caressed the back of her hand.

“You didn’t know that either. You can just break off the engagement now. It can all be undone, so don’t be too hard on yourself.”

The words of comfort from his mouth were strange.

‘Why did you only say this now? Why did you wait until you’re dying to play the doting husband? ’

He never gave her a smile in his life. He never held her hand.

“……How long have you known?”

Beatrice looked at him coldly, as Heinrich had always done, but not without a hint of suspicion.

Was it when she’d entered the room and pressed her lips to the marks Isaac had left? When he saw her in a summer dress that covered her neck, he asked if she had a cold. Or when she nodded shyly at the mention of wanting to take a vacation before then.

“I was always looking at you, Beatrice.”