Shallen, who had never laid a finger on Kasallin’s face no matter what happened, lost his grip on reason for the first time.

The person who grabbed his arm from behind as it rose to strike once more was none other than Aster.

“Your Majesty. Please calm yourself.”

He couldn’t understand why this man, who seemed willing to grovel at Shallen’s feet and bark for advancement, was now restraining Shallen.

Aster whispered softly in Shallen’s ear.

“Many eyes are watching.”

Only then did Shallen look around at the coldly settled atmosphere and lowered his arm, clenching his fist tightly.

Aster glanced at Kasallin, who was still collapsed on the cold floor, breathing heavily.

It seemed there was a hint of compassion in those serpent-like, bewitching eyes, which made it even more unpleasant.

“If anything had happened to the child in her womb, I would have taken not her cheek but her neck right here and now. Such a witch…”

Kasallin, lying collapsed, rested her head on the floor and looked up at Shallen quietly.

Then she let out a weak sneer.

“Laughing? Are you laughing right now?”

“I am wronged, Your Majesty.”

“Wronged?”

“As I said, I caused no harm whatsoever to Her Majesty the Queen.”

“No matter what nonsensical excuses you babble with that disgusting mouth of yours, nothing will change. Nothing except the fact that my child nearly went to the other world before seeing the light of this one!”

“You keep saying ‘child, child’ from earlier, but aren’t you worried about Rose?”

“What?”

“At least in my eyes, you seem to have lost your reason not because Rose was hurt, but because the child in Rose’s womb nearly died.”

“How could it not be important? I am the King. I have a duty to produce an heir as soon as possible to solidify this nation’s foundation. If only you, Kasallin, hadn’t foolishly had that accident back then, I would have long since been holding my son in my arms. When you think about it, you, Kasallin, are the source of all misfortune!”

“What did you say…?”

Kasallin’s face turned pale.

Even she, who had always responded coldly no matter what he said until now, couldn’t help but feel her eyes burn with tears this time.

How could anyone say such things unless they were a demon?

Kasallin raised her bound hands, grabbed a small porcelain piece from the nearby table, and hurled it mercilessly at his chest.

The rapidly flying porcelain narrowly missed but left a significant wound on his forearm before shattering into pieces.

“Your Majesty, are you alright!”

“Completely insane! That mad woman, immediately…!”

“When I was hovering between life and death from the carriage accident, you were having secret meetings with Rose!”

As Kasallin raised her voice and shouted, the dangerous atmosphere in the room froze as if solid.

Shallen narrowed his eyes.

“What…”

“Did you think I would never know? While you were engaged to me, you were already secretly having an affair with Rose for a long time. Someone like me wouldn’t have worried you much. After all, I survived, and as for children, you could always have more!”

“No… since when did you know that…”

“Even a demon would be shocked seeing you now. I was a fool for once truly loving someone like you. I was an idiot.”

Hearing Kasallin’s revelation, the vassals began to murmur restlessly.

Shallen said urgently.

“You’re deliberately taking the situation off track to escape this crisis. That’s ancient history, long past, and most importantly, I was young and immature then. What matters most now is that you tried to brutally murder my Queen!”

“You were immature…”

What a convenient excuse that was.

Kasallin muttered with a bitter smile.

“This matter will not be easily overlooked. I will confiscate all of your social status, privileges, and property without exception, and after strict deliberation, I will decide your punishment. Do you understand?”

Shallen raised one hand as if he had nothing more to say.

The soldiers who had been waiting for orders rushed over and roughly grabbed Kasallin’s arms.

“Confine her in the underground prison until further orders.”

“One last piece of advice for old time’s sake. Shallen Riche. Remember well what I’m saying now.”

Just before being dragged out of the room, Kasallin turned her back to him and spoke quietly.

“You are now putting your leg into a grave you dug yourself. It would be better to come to your senses quickly before you beat the ground in regret someday.”

Though you certainly won’t understand it now.

When Rose opened her eyes, the situation had already been cleanly resolved.

She first saw Shallen’s face watching over her with worried eyes, and the servants followed with words of comfort.

Among them, Rose had become the pitiful female protagonist who had been stabbed in the back by the sister she trusted.

“The court physician says that fortunately the baby is safe and sound. God has protected us.”

“Oh my… thank goodness. I was so worried about what would happen if something went wrong, but I’m really relieved.”

Rose let out a trembling sigh and shed a single tear.

She had jumped down half-impulsively, thinking this was the only way to erase the tiresome existence called Sister Kasallin from her life.

Of course, she had confirmed that there was a thick pile of hay directly below the balcony, which allowed her to make the final decision.

She regretted it madly for a brief moment while falling, but now that she had opened her eyes, she couldn’t be more satisfied.

It was because of Shallen’s reaction, his eyes full of guilt.

“My Queen. I’m sorry. I have no words. I didn’t want to lie to you, but I had no choice. I was afraid that if you knew that Kasallin’s mental illness was getting worse day by day and I had isolated her in the tower as a last resort, it would shock your tender heart.”

“No. I was the one who couldn’t overcome my curiosity and went to Sister Kasallin unreasonably.”

Whether his explanation was true or another lie no longer mattered.

What really mattered was that at this moment, Shallen was truly sorry to her, and that he regretted having eyes for Kasallin.

By overcoming just a brief moment of fear, Rose had gained everyone’s worry and pity, her husband’s favor and apology.

Even she thought she was quite a poisonous character.

‘By the way, what will happen to Sister Kasallin now?’

The charge of attempting to assassinate the Queen.

She couldn’t be safe.

Would she really be executed?

“By the way, My Queen. I still can’t believe that you are with child.”

“I’m sorry for not telling you earlier. I wanted to surprise you.”

“No. It’s fine. Everything’s fine now. If the child is safe, nothing else matters.”

Shallen couldn’t contain his genuine joy and pulled Rose into his arms.

Just the fact that he had a child carrying his bloodline made the world seem bright and beautiful.

He couldn’t understand why he had been so abnormally obsessed with that woman called Kasallin until now.

Shallen made a resolution.

From now on, he would never look elsewhere, be faithful to the royal family and home, and become an excellent father.

After Rose’s fall incident, Kasallin was imprisoned in the underground dungeon on charges of attempting to assassinate the Queen.

It was an unpleasant place filled with the stench of dried blood and rotting flesh.

Even so, because Kasallin was a member of the royal family, she received minimum courtesy and was confined in a room with a thin blanket, but it was far from enough to block the damp chill characteristic of underground places.

“Meal time.”

The guards watching the prison pushed a tray through a small door below the bars.

It was a simple meal consisting of just a loaf of bread and soup.

As she just stared at it, the guards said.

“Why isn’t she eating?”

“Why are you asking something so obvious? She’s a precious young lady who grew up pampered. Just wait a bit. She’ll shiver and say, ‘How can people eat such food waste? Oh, how terrible!'”

Kasallin looked at them giggling and laughing for a while, then brought the tray over and placed it on her knees.

The guards who had been chattering among themselves fell silent in surprise when she began to eat.

Of course, swallowing bread of such low quality that she had never eaten in her lifetime wasn’t easy, as they had said.

Her throat felt blocked and she felt like vomiting, but she endured it.

There were countless poor people in this world who were dying because they couldn’t even eat oat porridge, let alone bread.

Complaining about food while lamenting her situation was shameful behavior for a noble.

“I’ve finished.”

“…”

“Aren’t you taking the dishes?”

“Ah, yes.”

The guards exchanged silent glances and retrieved the dishes without complaint.

From that time on, they never again mocked or made disparaging remarks in front of Kasallin’s room.

“Are you alright?”

When she had become somewhat accustomed to the chilling cold rising from the stone floor,

A familiar male voice flowed through the bars.

It was Aster.

“As you can see, I’m not alright.”

Aster rolled his eyes to examine Kasallin’s complexion.

She had become noticeably gaunt, perhaps from recent stress.

Aster couldn’t take his eyes off her frail body leaning helplessly against the wall, looking as if she might collapse at any moment.

“That’s ancient history, long past, and most importantly, I was young and immature then.”

She must have been hurt. Very much so.

But why doesn’t she cry?

Why does she always make that strange expression as if desperately holding back tears? Aster was very curious about that.

“Um, Lady Kasallin.”

“Sorry, but I have nothing to discuss with you. Go back.”

“I know. I know that Lady Kasallin resents me greatly. After all, I was the one who most actively participated in Lady Kasallin’s misfortune.”

Then a deflating chuckle escaped from between Kasallin’s teeth.

Aster looked at her in bewilderment.

“How arrogant of you. I don’t have the time or leisure to resent someone like you. So don’t be mistaken.”

“But I kidnapped Lady Kasallin.”

“Yes. You committed a terrible and petty evil act without any excuse. But whether your will was involved or not, I decided not to resent you.”

Just as he was about to ask why, unable to understand at all,

Kasallin opened her eyes, shining brightly through the black bars as if she had no intention of being helplessly captured and sinking under false accusations.

She said meaningfully.

“Because I’m thinking of using you once from now on.”