“I lost the child.”

Her tone was so calm that it took Shallen a moment to process her words and register them in his mind.

His fingers, resting on his knee, twitched and wandered aimlessly in the air. Shallen asked again, as if to confirm.

“What did you just say? You lost the child, you mean you miscarried?”

Rose could hardly believe she was confessing the truth to him herself. She was afraid and anxious about what reaction might come, but she hid those feelings skillfully and nodded quietly. This was likely the final conversation that would determine the end of their relationship.

Rose was prepared to choose a different path depending on how Shallen reacted.

If he regarded her even slightly as a beloved wife and offered words of comfort, Rose would immediately apologize for her mistakes and support him wholeheartedly until her strength gave out.

Rose didn’t want much. She only wished to be treated as Rose Riche, a person, not just a queen producing an heir.

Of course, at first, she had coveted the status and honor of being queen, along with gold, jewels, and a life of abundance. But now, those things didn’t seem to matter anymore.

She realized that no matter how surrounded she was by luxurious, glittering things, it was all meaningless if her companion never gave her a single warm glance.

Rose held her breath, waiting for his first response.

In the blink of an eye, a teacup flew past her face and shattered against the wall.

With a sharp crash, the piercing sound echoed, and Rose swallowed a trembling breath a beat too late. Looking up, she saw Shallen’s face twisted with unbearable anger.

“I can’t believe it… How could someone responsible for a nation’s future sit idly by until the child in their womb met such a fate? And to announce it with such a nonchalant expression, as if it’s just a report? Tell me, am I the one being unreasonable here?”

“Your Majesty.”

Rose stared at Shallen in disbelief. Even after smashing a teacup, his anger seemed unquelled, his fists trembling violently.

She had expected this outcome, but facing it now, she was terrified. Rose couldn’t move, gripped by the fear that his fist might strike her face at any moment.

“I didn’t ask for much, did I? Did I ever tell you to preside over royal council meetings? Or burden you with troublesome duties and demand you resolve them? All I asked was that, at your age, with nothing else you could do properly, you sit still, bear a child, and raise it well. That was all. And you couldn’t even fulfill that one simple duty, and now you say you lost the child?”

Shallen let out a hollow laugh, as if the absurdity was too much to bear.

“Well done! When the people hear you miscarried, imagine what they’ll say. The nobles who’ve defected to Princess Rillen’s faction will secretly rejoice, thinking there’s no better news. A king who’s failed to produce an heir twice already—what a perfect excuse to drag me down.”

“…”

“Why can’t you say anything? Like before, shouldn’t you at least kneel and make excuses or beg to do better next time?”

As his words ended, Rose felt the fragile thread connecting her and Shallen snap completely.

With reddish, tear-brimmed eyes, Rose glared at him resentfully.

Shallen seemed momentarily taken aback by her unfamiliar expression, one she had never shown before, but he quickly turned brazen, acting as if he were the victim.

“What’s that look? That’s not the expression a queen who’s committed an irreversible mistake should show to her king. Do you think my words are harsh?”

“It’s not my fault I lost the child.”

“If it’s not your fault, then whose is it? Are you blaming the gods of fate in the heavens?”

“I lost the child because of you, Your Majesty.”

One of Shallen’s eyes twitched faintly. He tilted his head, as if doubting his ears.

“What did you say?”

“If you hadn’t provoked the Empire of Renel, if you hadn’t angered the Emperor by meddling with Kasallin, our Khan royal family wouldn’t be in such chaos. Queen Dowager Nivia wouldn’t have come to the palace, and Princess Rillen wouldn’t have been granted regency powers to threaten the throne. Then I wouldn’t have been so stressed or trembling with anxiety.”

Shallen, utterly stunned, seemed to have never imagined hearing such words from Rose of all people.

Like someone who had forgotten how to stop speaking, Rose poured out the words she had kept buried inside her.

“While I was carrying the child, what did you do, Your Majesty? You schemed to slander Kasallin and bring her back to your side, had an inappropriate relationship with Isabella behind my back, groveled before Kasallin, and neglected the royal court to sprawl out and drink wine. How could the nobles not turn their backs? If I were a noble, I’d have no choice but to place my hopes in Princess Rillen too.”

“You…”

Shallen’s face hardened menacingly. He muttered.

“Are you prepared for the consequences of saying such things to me?”

“I’m only stating the facts. If my words upset you, it’s proof that your actions have been wrong all along.”

“You’re insane!”

Shallen’s voice rose as if it would pierce the ceiling. He leaned over the table with force in his grip, and Rose screamed, collapsing behind the sofa.

Soldiers, who had been anxiously waiting outside since the teacup shattered, had no choice but to rush in.

They grabbed Shallen, who looked ready to lunge at Rose and slap her, pleading with him to calm down.

Rose clutched her head with both hands, breathing shakily.

She had said it. She had said everything honestly.

In such a grave situation, she almost wanted to laugh. This would surely lead to divorce and deposition, but she no longer cared.

She didn’t want to stay with a man who couldn’t stand up to the neighboring emperor but raised his hand so easily against a wife who lost a child.

“Let me go!”

“Your Majesty, please calm down!”

Shallen struggled, pointing at Rose. With bloodshot eyes and bulging veins, he spoke to her.

“Don’t get it twisted. You probably think you’re the most pitiful, miserable person in the world. But don’t forget, you betrayed Kasallin too and committed infidelity with me. Never forget that the seat you’re in now was built on Kasallin’s blood and tears.”

“I know. At this moment, I realize and regret it more than ever. So do as you please. If you want to start divorce proceedings right now, I’ll comply without a word.”

“Divorce? Why should I do something that only benefits you? I’ll never part with you.”

Rose narrowed her eyes in disbelief and stared at him.

“What?”

“You’ll remain my queen forever. Take responsibility until the end. Don’t think you can escape like this. Bear and raise a worthy heir. That’s your duty.”

With that, Shallen snapped, shaking off the soldiers’ grip on his arms and storming out of the room.

Rose, in shock, stared at his retreating figure. She had braced herself for abandonment, but she never expected he’d trap her instead.

Shallen was truly a man beyond imagination. He knew exactly how to make others suffer the most.

Rose collapsed in place. Overwhelming regret enveloped her entire body.

Why had she betrayed Kasallin and taken this man’s hand?

Seeing Kasallin sitting at the entrance, crying silently after being abandoned by him, why hadn’t she felt even a shred of guilt?

If a miracle could take her back to the past, she would change everything.

“Such a thing happened. You must have been very shocked.”

Princess Rillen responded in a calm tone, hardly one of comfort, as she took a sip of tea.

Across from her on the sofa, Rose sat staring at her own feet. Aster stood by the window, feigning disinterest in the women’s conversation.

Setting down her teacup, Princess Rillen gave Rose a perfunctory smile.

“Don’t worry too much. His Majesty the King is already cornered, and the time he can maintain his current position is running out. All you need to do, Your Majesty, is continue supporting me as you have.”

Rose nodded quietly and rose from her seat. As she turned to leave, Princess Rillen added.

“Once this matter is resolved, it would be good to apologize to the person you’ve wronged the most, in whatever form. I believe that’s the first step to living a life with some meaning.”

“Thank you for the advice. But I don’t think the person I want to apologize to will accept it.”

Princess Rillen merely shrugged silently.

Leaving Princess Rillen’s room, Rose wandered aimlessly through the palace for a while. She vividly recalled the day she first entered the palace.

She had been filled with vague hope and happiness at the thought of living the courtly life everyone dreams of at least once.

With a bitter smile at the memory of that ignorant day, she was about to turn the corner of the corridor.

“Even if killing is impossible, we need to injure the Emperor in advance somehow. That’s the only way we’ll have a chance in battle.”