It was a voice that seemed oddly familiar, and it turned out to be Alonzo Laugel, Shallen Riche’s close attendant.In a secluded corridor, Alonzo was saying something to Shallen.

But the content of their conversation was far from ordinary.

“Inflict an injury on the Emperor in advance?”

Rose quickly hid behind a pillar, listening to their conversation.

“How many men can we use right now?”

Shallen asked, as if confirming what Alonzo had said, followed by a few barely audible whispers exchanged between them.

The wind was loud, and the distance made it hard to catch everything, but it seemed they were secretly planning to hire assassins.

“There’s a narrow canyon on the shortest route from the western mountains to the great plains. Given the Emperor’s personality, he’s likely to take that path. We’ll ambush him there and drop rocks the moment his procession passes.”

“It’s a bit of a risky plan… but I’ll prepare to ensure no mistakes are made. However, Your Highness, isn’t there a chance someone in the procession shouldn’t get hurt?”

“Someone who shouldn’t get hurt?”

“The Empress.”

A silence lingered for a while. Rose covered her mouth with one hand, holding her breath. Then, Shallen’s confident voice broke the silence.

“She probably won’t be accompanying the Emperor to the battlefield.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“She’s… carrying his child right now. No one around her would allow her to travel far, and she wouldn’t take the risk herself either.”

Shallen muttered in a tone that felt oddly dejected. It was hard to believe he was the same man who had shouted at Rose like a thunderbolt and used violent words.

Shallen and Alonzo continued their hushed conversation for a few more moments before disappearing toward the central palace as if nothing had happened.

Rose stood frozen in place, clutching her rapidly beating heart. In those brief seconds, thousands of thoughts raced through her mind.

If Shallen’s plan succeeded and the Emperor were injured,

Shallen’s chances of defeating the Emperor in a duel would increase, and he could maintain his current position.

Of course, imagining the Emperor losing to him was difficult, but with Alonzo’s cunning added, it might not be entirely impossible.

If that happened, she would be irrevocably trapped in the gilded cage of being his queen, never free until her death.

“It would be a dreadful life. I have to find a way to make him step down from the throne…”

So, what could she do? What could she do with the plan she’d just overheard?

As Rose anxiously paced the desolate garden where all the flowers had withered, she suddenly noticed a flock of birds flying overhead. A resolve slowly settled in her eyes.

Sunlight was streaming brightly into the bedroom.

As soon as Kasallin opened her eyes, she instinctively checked the spot beside her. A faint warmth, barely lingering, proved someone had been there until recently.

She got up and rang the bell, and Loren Logia entered. When asked if His Majesty had gone to the palace, she nodded in confirmation.

“If you have any messages for His Majesty, shall I call for a messenger?”

At Loren’s kind question, Kasallin hesitated and shook her head. Truthfully, she hadn’t even sorted out what she wanted to say to him.

Kasallin washed her face, changed her clothes, and had a simple meal before aimlessly wandering the front garden of the villa.

She secretly hoped he might return early today, but as time passed, not even a shadow appeared on the hill below.

“The sun is getting hot, Your Majesty. Why don’t you come into the shade?”

Loren called out with concern from under the porch.

Kasallin nodded and dragged her feet, which felt heavier than usual, as if weighed down.

Then, her gaze caught a small annex building next to the main house. When she first arrived at Hisberrie, Parnes had explained it was used as a birthing place for past empresses.

Drawn by an inexplicable curiosity, Kasallin headed toward it.

When she turned the weathered doorknob, the door surprisingly welcomed the unfamiliar visitor with open arms.

The interior was sparse but seemed regularly maintained. The ceiling was finished with wood, and the floor was laid with jet-black stone.

As she walked further, touching the wall adorned with an antique tapestry, she noticed a refined table that seemed out of place in the annex’s atmosphere. Beneath it was a leather-bound book.

“Not a book… a diary?”

When she blew on it, a cloud of fine dust scattered like snowflakes. Opening the front page without much thought, she saw slightly crooked handwriting.

[Peter’s dog broke through the fence again today. It’s cute. I feel bad for Peter, but I hope it comes to play every day.]

No matter how she looked at it, it seemed like the diary of an ordinary commoner girl. Why would it be in a place like this?

Kasallin tilted her head and flipped through to the middle pages. The sporadic entries grew more mature as they went on, and soon familiar words began to appear.

[Why did he propose to me? I’m scared. I can’t understand him at all. The Empress’s palace is too vast, and the people are unfamiliar…] [Should I have burned Peter’s letter? I don’t know. Lately, he feels terrifying.] [No matter what I say to him, it feels like we’re at odds. Maybe it’s better to avoid him. Parnes, I hope that poor child isn’t hurt…]

Kasallin stopped breathing when she spotted Parnes’s name among the unfamiliar sentences.

This belonged to Parnes’s mother, Dowager Empress Margarita. She was said to have fallen ill due to some incident and was recuperating in isolation at a nearby annex.

Kasallin swallowed dryly and turned to the next page. But the entry mentioning Parnes was the last, and the pages after were blank.

“Dowager Empress Margarita. The woman who bore and raised His Majesty. The one who was Empress before me.”

She was the person who could tell Kasallin the most right now. Why hadn’t she thought to visit her sooner?

As if entranced, Kasallin took the diary and crossed to the main house. She ordered a carriage prepared immediately for a destination she wanted to visit, leaving Loren and the knights bewildered.

“Where are you going so suddenly?”

“I’m going to the annex where the Dowager Empress is staying. I need to meet her, so send word there.”

“I’ve heard that the place where the Dowager Empress is recuperating isn’t open to just anyone. And His Majesty said to stay in Hisberrie whenever possible…”

“There’s no place in this country I cannot go. And I’m not imprisoned in Hisberrie.”

As Kasallin spoke clearly with sharp eyes, a hint of discomfort crossed Vincent’s face. But in the end, he couldn’t block her path.

The annex where Dowager Empress Margarita was recuperating was just an hour’s carriage ride from Hisberrie.

Though called an annex, it was more like a quaint, elegant mansion.

An old willow tree draped its branches over the river, and behind the main house, a massive mountain range stood like a grand landscape painting.

Passing through the front gate and crossing the sprawling lawn, Kasallin saw someone standing at the entrance.

Assuming it was the annex’s caretaker coming to greet her upon hearing of the Empress’s arrival, she approached and realized the face was familiar.

“Countess Grantia?”

“I offer my greetings to Her Majesty, Empress of the Renel Empire. I was waiting after receiving word in advance.”

She was the woman who, for a brief time, had served Kasallin when she stayed in Renel due to an injury caused by Shallen.

As the matriarch of the Grantia family and a former lady-in-waiting to the Dowager Empress, why was she here? Before Kasallin could ask, Countess Grantia spoke first.

“For the past few months, I’ve been staying here to care for the Dowager Empress. His Majesty doesn’t think highly of me, but he permitted me to stay for the sake of my mother.”

“I see. That must be quite a task.”

“Not at all. I’m used to serving the Dowager Empress.”

Kasallin paused, studying Countess Grantia. She recalled how, during their first meeting, the countess had cryptically warned her to stay away from His Majesty.

Why had she said that? Kasallin deftly hid her rising questions and followed the countess’s lead.

“My sudden visit must have been surprising.”

“Not at all. I’m only embarrassed and apologetic to host Your Majesty in such a humble place.”

Following Countess Grantia, the interior of the mansion resembled that of any noble’s home, but the air was thick with the sharp scent of medicine. Kasallin spoke to her.

“If possible, I’d like to meet the Dowager Empress right away. How is she?”

“It’s hard to describe the Dowager Empress’s condition in words. It would be easier for you to see her yourself.”

Countess Grantia stopped at the end of the second-floor corridor. Beyond this door was the woman who had borne and raised His Majesty Parnes.

Holding the tightly closed door handle, Countess Grantia spoke in a meaningful tone to Kasallin.

“I don’t know why Your Majesty has come here, but don’t expect anything. I assure you… you won’t get anything from the Dowager Empress.”

Nothing to gain? Was this a warning that she wouldn’t be welcoming?

Kasallin quietly furrowed her brow. Then, with a creak, the wooden door opened.

Without hesitation, Kasallin stepped into the room where the Dowager Empress was.

And she immediately understood what Countess Grantia had meant by her words.