“It’s been a while, Eve.”

The person smiling faintly was, as Eve expected, Princess Melissa. Although they were cousins, they had only met a few times. Eve awkwardly bowed her head towards her.

“Greetings to Your Highness the Princess.”

In response to the rather polite greeting despite her sniffling, Melissa responded with a quiet smile.

“Let’s save the greetings for later. Getting out of here quickly is the priority for now.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Margaret, quickly responding to Melissa’s words, picked Eve up on her back without hesitation.

“Eve. From now on, we need to quietly slip out of here without catching anyone’s eye. So close your eyes tight and let your elder sister carry you for a bit. Can you do that?”

“Okay!”

Eve clung tightly to Margaret’s back without another word.

The Princess wrapped her robe around Eve’s body to completely conceal her, then pulled the hood over Margaret’s head as well. So that Eve’s appearance would not be revealed unless someone forcibly removed the robe.

The Princess took the lead, extinguishing the lamp she was holding, and Margaret followed behind her out of the cell. The two moved very quickly and swiftly without making a sound.

Eve was extremely curious about the outside situation, but kept her eyes tightly shut as Margaret had asked, not opening them.

Although her own physique was on the small side, Eve knew well that it would not be easy for Margaret, a noble young lady, to carry her. It had already been a few years since even her nanny refused to carry her, saying Eve had gotten heavy.

Eve concentrated all her attention solely on clinging to Margaret’s back, barely even breathing.

“Let’s go up the stairs first and assess the situation.”

“It’s okay now. Hurry down.”

Only Princess Melissa’s calm voice giving directions could be heard from time to time.

By the time Margaret’s breathing grew rough and ragged, the air seeping into the robe had become much fresher. It seemed they had finally made it outside.

“Now that we’re out of the tower, you can put Eve down.”

As soon as the Princess finished speaking, Eve leaped down from Margaret’s back.

“Elder sister, are you okay? It was hard, wasn’t it?”

At Eve’s concern, Margaret waved her hand dismissively even as she panted for breath.

“No, no. Don’t worry.”

“Someone might come soon. Let’s go now.”

Following the Princess’s urging, Eve walked quickly, but suddenly glanced back and was startled. Below the tower they appeared to have just escaped from, two people were lying collapsed.

“Don’t worry. They just ate some of the sleeping medicine put in their dinner, so they’ll wake up soon.”

Eve was surprised by Princess Melissa’s quiet voice. The Princess seemed to have been watching where Eve’s gaze was directed the whole time.

“But there will be an uproar once the replacement personnel arrive. We need to move as far as possible before then.”

Hearing the Princess’s words, Eve moved her feet even more diligently. The three of them continued on, hiding their bodies behind surrounding bushes, rocks, and pillars as they went.

Before they knew it, their surroundings had grown much brighter with a bluish dawn light. Seeing the scenery that naturally entered her eyes, Eve soon grew puzzled.

‘Huh…? This is the imperial palace?’

Although she had not frequently visited the imperial palace, the huge white castle walls and tall spires in the distance were definitely familiar. Eve gauged their current location by looking at the direction of the pointed spires.

It seemed the place they had just escaped from was the watchtower located at the far northern end of the imperial palace.

‘Why am I at the imperial palace? I’m sure I was kidnapped by some villain…. Though it was strange from the moment Princess Melissa suddenly appeared.’

There was a mountain of things she was curious about, but now was not the time to ask questions. Suddenly, Princess Melissa made a gesture for them to be quiet and crouched down low. At the same time, urgent voices pierced through the early morning air.

“They couldn’t have gone far yet! Block all the exits!”

“Make sure to capture them! Move quickly!”

Several soldiers could be heard giving and receiving orders, accompanied by hurried footsteps.

“We’ve already been discovered. In that case, leaving through the castle gate will be difficult.”

Hidden behind some bushes, the Princess muttered under her breath.

“Then what should we do? Is there any place nearby we can hide?”

At Margaret’s anxious question, the Princess fell into thought. After a moment, her expression settled as if she had made a decision, and she faced the two.

“There is one place. Somewhere no one would dare to recklessly search.”

Margaret was a bit puzzled seeing the Princess’s darkened eyes but could not show it. As soon as the soldiers’ footsteps receded, the three immediately began to move.

“Still, they won’t be able to blatantly dispatch many soldiers to search. The fact that Eve, a Grand Duke’s daughter, was kidnapped and confined in the imperial palace is a huge scandal to begin with.”

The Princess also reassured them with such words as she calmly surveyed their surroundings.

Scratching the back of her hand on bushes and getting startled by grasshoppers suddenly leaping up, how far had they moved?

Before they knew it, the shadow of a splendid palace appeared ahead, and Eve grew a bit puzzled.

‘This is… the detached palace?’

Although only once, Eve had been here before as well, so she knew it well. And she knew who the owner of this detached palace was.

“Your Highness. This place is….”

Margaret also seemed to know where this was, trailing off with a startled voice.

“Yes, that’s right. It’s where my mother resides.”

Replying like that, the Princess looked at the two in turn.

“It’s also a place no one in the imperial palace would dare to recklessly disturb.”

Of course that was true. Margaret agreed with those words but felt an inexplicable unease. However, without giving her a chance to reply, the Princess hastened her steps.

“This way. There’s a side door here that the servants use.”

Following where the Princess led, a side door appeared connecting to the laundry room and kitchen. Perhaps because it was still before the servants had awoken, the interior was deathly still.

The Princess advanced without any hesitation, ascending the stairs to the second floor.

The three proceeded down a corridor where the pure white marble had been polished to a sheen and beautiful paintings and decorations were displayed. Luxurious yet strangely lifeless spaces continued on.

Soon stopping before an ornately decorated door, the Princess composed her expression before knocking.

“Who is it?”

An elderly woman poked her head out.

“It’s me. Dolores.”

“Oh my, Your Highness the Princess. What brings you here so early in the morning?”

“I came to see Mother.”

“But why are you alone without even a lady-in-waiting…?”

The puzzled woman craned her neck, and only upon seeing Margaret standing behind did she nod her head in relief.

“Please come in.”

However, the Princess hesitated, stalling for time.

“Dolores. Go take a short break. I’ll watch over Mother. And… don’t tell anyone I came here today.”

“Who would I tell such a thing to? Don’t worry, Your Highness.”

The woman called Dolores readily nodded her head and opened the door wide.

“Come in. I’ll have breakfast prepared, so eat before you go. I’ll have them bake the walnut pie you like.”

The Princess quietly nodded to Dolores as she said that. Dolores, her face pleased, also greeted Margaret and Eve before hurriedly disappearing beyond the corridor.

The Princess, unable to take her eyes off Dolores’s retreating back for a moment, soon gestured with her eyes to Margaret and Eve.

“Let’s go in now.”

But Margaret hesitated.

“…But this is Her Majesty the Empress’s bedchamber, is it not? I heard Her Majesty’s illness is grave, so how can we enter….”

“Don’t worry. I told you, didn’t I? Inside here is the safest place within the imperial palace.”

Not giving Margaret a chance to decline further, the Princess opened the door without delay.

As soon as they entered the room, they were nearly blinded by dazzling golden light. The ceiling, walls, and even the floor were intricately decorated with gold leaf, making the entire room look like a single lavish work of art.

The crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling was as resplendent as a ballroom, and rare porcelains from the continent across the sea filled the room.

Princess Melissa spoke bitterly to Margaret and Eve, who were dazzled by the splendid room.

“The most useless luxuries in the entire empire.”

She walked towards the bed in the center of the room and drew back the canopy. The Princess’s face was strangely shadowed as she looked at the two.

“Will you pay your respects… to the Empress of the empire?”

Margaret hesitated, looking down at Eve, but Eve nodded her head with bright eyes as if to say not to worry. The two held hands and slowly approached the bed.

The Empress lay on bedding so white it hurt the eyes. Her body, wrapped in an ornately embroidered golden gown, was completely still. Like a still-life placed inside a display case.

Finally approaching and looking down at the Empress’s face, Margaret gasped and stopped breathing. Eve was also so shocked she gripped Margaret’s hand tightly.

What lay there wrapped in the elegant gown was not a person. It was a corpse.

The skin clinging to the skull had a sickly bluish tint that could not belong to a living person, and the hair was patchy with yellowish bare scalp showing through. An unpleasant odor even wafted from that wretched body.

Watching the two stumble back in horror, the Princess smiled a bitter, empty smile.

“Yes. This is my mother. Empress Anne, the noblest woman in the empire. How is it seeing her in person?”

“B-but Your Highness. This is….”

“Don’t worry. She hasn’t passed away yet.”

Melissa, her face expressionless as she said that, knelt beside the bed. She brought her lips to the withered cheek of Empress Anne, who looked more like she was lying in a golden coffin than a bed.

“Of course, as a mother, she might be better off dead….”