Charlen, who had escaped from the underground prison, took a deep breath of fresh air into his lungs.

After several deep breaths, he opened his eyes but could not shake off his troubled expression.

Thinking about how Rose and the child in her womb had almost been in danger because of this incident, he felt like strangling Katharine right away would not be enough, but now that things had turned out this way, his mind was utterly complicated.

‘Do I really have to take her life with my own hands?’

It was as if shouts saying he should obviously do so and wails saying he couldn’t possibly do it were ringing on both sides of his temples.

‘No. I can’t waver. She tried to take the life of my child, to cut off the lifeline of this country. It’s a capital crime that can’t be repaid even with death.’

I wasn’t wrong.

I made the right decision.

Charlen kept muttering to himself as if brainwashing himself that he would not regret Katharine’s death, and went to the Queen’s Palace.

Thinking that it was his duty as a devoted husband to be by the Queen’s side, who must be going through emotional distress right now.

.

.

.

“My Queen. Has everything been alright while I was away?”

“Nothing special. I didn’t even notice the time passing as I waited for Your Majesty to come.”

As he entered the Queen’s bedchamber, the pungent smell of disinfectant that could hardly be called pleasant stung his nose.

She was leaning weakly against the bed with her hair loosely undone.

Although they were half-sisters, it was strange how she looked nothing like Katharine when seen like this.

Except for those green eyes, it was hard to find any trace of Katharine in Rose, to the point where one would believe they were strangers.

“You waited for me?”

“I wait for Your Majesty every day. And our baby too. It said it wanted to see its father’s face.”

Rose said playfully, caressing her stomach which was still flat with no sign of rounding yet.

Charlen placed his hand over Rose’s with an expression that clearly showed his satisfaction.

Yes. Even this was different.

Unlike Rose who usually had a high body temperature, when holding Katharine’s hand, a chilly coldness like ice would transmit through the skin.

Perhaps her characteristically resolute and cold personality had seeped into her heart.

That distant sensation of her cold, slender hand like a winter witch caressing his body – he would never feel it again.

“Rose, you always love me consistently.”

“Of course, Your Majesty.”

“You at least will always remain as Rose, just like now, won’t you?”

“Of course.”

Charlen kissed the hollow of Rose’s palm.

Yes. This is enough.

He has a wife who loves and respects her husband unchangingly, and soon there will be an adorable child born amidst blessings.

In this vast world, the sky won’t fall and the earth won’t cave in just because one woman named Katharine is gone.

Rather, life will become stable and peaceful.

Hasn’t her very existence been a wicked temptation he could hardly resist all this time?

“Tomorrow, Katharine’s fate will be finally decided.”

Charlen carefully continued while observing Rose’s expression.

“The result will probably be… unanimous public execution. We have no choice since she attempted to assassinate the Queen of a country. I’m not sure if it’s right to tell you this, but I think it’s better for you to be mentally prepared in advance.”

Public execution.

That short phrase alone was threatening and desolate to Rose, without need for any complex explanation.

Elder sister is going to die.

Like ash falling from burned-out firewood scattering in the wind.

Although she knew things would turn out this way from the beginning and it was the expected outcome, now that the end was approaching, Rose couldn’t bring herself to smile.

But she had no intention of pleading with Charlen to save her sister either.

‘Elder sister is smart and beautiful. And she has deep public support too.’

If we don’t cut off the roots completely here and now, she might threaten the position of Queen someday.

Moreover, didn’t elder sister say it herself when she first entered the palace as Queen?

That the royal family is inherently a world of survival of the fittest.

‘I’m sorry, elder sister. From now on, I’ll do my best to be happy for your share too. Oh God, please bestow mercy and forgiveness upon this sinful one…’

Rose closed her eyes and offered a prayer for Katharine with all her heart for the first and last time.

Of course, that prayer was nothing more than rationalization to forget the guilt of stepping on her sister’s corpse to rise higher, nothing more, nothing less.

The attempted assassination of the Queen surrounding Katharine and Rose caused an enormous shock within the kingdom of Kan.

The country became unstable, fierce debates erupted everywhere disrupting order, and all royal affairs were temporarily suspended.

Amidst this, a public trial was held to make the final decision on Katharine’s punishment.

It was a rare spectacle that one might not see twice in a lifetime, with notable nobles gathered from all regions of the country.

“Lady Katharine of the Roberfon Viscounty. I will give you one last chance to ask for God’s forgiveness with proper respect.”

The archbishop opened his mouth in the frozen atmosphere.

“For the sake of your beloved neighbors and ancestors, confess and ask for forgiveness. That is the only path to peace and rest.”

“I swear to God, and dare say with my soul at stake. I have never attempted to assassinate Her Majesty the Queen. No matter how many times you ask, my answer will be the same.”

Katharine spoke firmly in a voice more resolute than ever.

Sighs flowed from here and there.

Charlen, who was quietly looking down at Katharine from the highest seat, shook his head as if in disbelief.

What a stubborn woman.

He seemed to be muttering.

“Your Eminence. There is nothing more to ask. Please bring down the hammer of justice on that evil witch as soon as possible.”

Count Hanson, a representative of the Queen’s faction, said while glaring fiercely at Katharine.

At that moment, a woman with a somewhat familiar face entered Katharine’s view.

She was someone Katharine knew well.

It was Lauren Rogia, who had once been Rose’s maid and had requested a leave of absence after the funeral incident, disappearing for a while.

Originally timid, she was extremely tense but her face was bright red as if feeling great anger at Count Hanson’s words.

When she was about to stand up from her seat with a clatter to take Katharine’s side, it happened.

“Shh.”

Astor, who was quietly standing behind, pressed down on her shoulder with force, warning her to stay still.

In fact, among the other nobles, there seemed to be some who wanted to defend Katharine, but no one dared to step forward actively.

The people were already outraged, demanding that Katharine be put to death.

It was because the Queen happened to be pregnant with her first child.

In this situation, it was safe to say that there was almost no one who could risk their life to protect Katharine.

In that sense, Katharine was so grateful to Lauren who had not forgotten her and had come all the way here.

It seemed she had at least one friend who would not betray their friendship until the end, even in the dirtiest mud pit.

She would definitely repay Lauren later.

“My lady…”

What should I do about this?

Lauren, who had lost the chance to speak because of Astor’s restraint, mouthed silently with a tearful face.

Katharine gave her a faint smile.

Charlen’s half-submerged voice was heard from the platform.

“Katharine. No, Katharine Roberfon. Despite everything, you were once almost the mistress of this country. You should know well that we are being very lenient even now. If you just say these two sentences: ‘What I did was true. I’m sorry.’ you can at least avoid the terrible dishonor of being publicly executed in front of all the people. Yet you still refuse to admit your crime to the end?”

Katharine let out a short but heavy sigh and looked at each person in the courtroom one by one.

And finally, staring straight at Charlen, she said.

“Your Majesty. If it is revealed that I am innocent, how will you compensate for the mental damage I have suffered and my tarnished reputation?”

“I will grant all the demands you want. But it’s just an impossible assumption. There will never be a case where you are found to be innocent.”

“Alright. You just made a promise in front of everyone. You must keep that word.”

With what confidence does she hold her head up so high and refuse to bend?

Charlen, trying to calm his strangely shaken heart as if a chilly wind was blowing, said to the archbishop.

“There is no point in dragging this on any longer. It will only lead to meaningless arguments. Archbishop, proceed with the vote now.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

The archbishop continued speaking while calming the unsettled atmosphere in the courtroom.

“We will now proceed to the vote. Ministers of each department, please use the wooden tablets in front of you to decide your vote for or against.”

The noble ministers picked up the wooden tablets one by one and put them into the box.

After the voting was over, the archbishop took out the wooden tablets from the box one by one and announced the results.

They say reality is different from novels.

Indeed, there was no twist.

“It has been unanimously decided for public execution. From this hour today, all titles, citizenship, and private property of the criminal Katharine Roberfon are completely stripped, and her status is classified as a state traitor.”

The archbishop turned around and bowed his head towards Charlen.

“Your Majesty. As the people’s anger is reaching the sky and state affairs are not running normally, I believe it would be appropriate to move up the execution date as soon as possible.”

“…”

“…Your Majesty?”

When the archbishop called again, Charlen, who had been lost in deep thought alone, suddenly raised his head.

“Ah, yes. That’s right. When do you think would be good?”

“How about the ninth day of this month?”

“The ninth day…”

Only four days from now.

Charlen muttered in a tone tinged with strange lingering attachment.

Taking advantage of the commotion after the royal trial ended, Astor beckoned Lauren to quietly come to a deserted place under the stairs.

Lauren went to where he had called her, breathing heavily with a mix of bewilderment and thinking this was well-timed.

Before Astor could open his mouth, Lauren, overcome with emotion and highly agitated, spoke as if confronting him.

“Why did you do that? I was going to speak to prove Lady Katharine’s innocence! But because of you, I missed the chance!”

“Calm down. Lady Katharine is not dead yet.”

“She may not be dead yet, but she’s about to die! Our lady is truly a kind person, there’s no way she could have committed such an evil act, but everyone is cornering her. What should we do…”

Lauren, who had been sobbing loudly, took a step forward saying she couldn’t just stay like this, and Astor insensitively grabbed her arm and pulled her back.

“I respect your courage to defend Lady Katharine, prepared to be abandoned by the Queen. But the royal court is different from ordinary civilian society. If this could be resolved by emotional appeals, the trial wouldn’t have been held in the first place.”

Lauren slowly calmed her breathing and listened to his continued words.

“A royal trial is not so much about determining whether the accused’s wrongdoing is true or false, but rather aims to discuss how heavy a punishment to impose on the accused. Moreover, even if you had made a fuss today in the presence of all the nobles of the Queen’s faction, it wouldn’t have been very effective given your hopelessly poor oratory skills.”

Rather, the Queen, who is currently on a high with her pregnancy, might have branded you as a traitor.

Astor muttered as if adding, and Lauren hesitated, seeming to think his words made sense upon hearing them.

“In that sense, we need to ride the flow.”

“The flow?”

“Yes. The steady flow called the Emperor of a great nation, which will not waver under any circumstances.”