The reason for drawing the sword was unknown, but it was clear that it had a bad meaning.

Rasilia hid Ivette with her body and hardened her expression toward Serben.

“What are you doing, officer. Put down the sword.”

“I am merely fulfilling my duty as a shadow knight, Your Majesty the Empress. Your Majesty’s appearance cannot be casually seen by those who are not permitted.”

“I don’t understand what you mean.”

Lian spoke from behind Serben.

“It means that the maid saw something she shouldn’t have seen, so her mouth must be silenced, Your Majesty the Empress.”

“Heeek, kkeung!”

At the words of having to silence her mouth, Ivette covered her mouth with her own hand.

Rasilia twisted her arm behind her and embraced Ivette.

Ivette grabbed her own sleeve with trembling hands. It was vividly conveyed how scared she must be without even seeing her expression.

“I don’t understand. Isn’t it a wellknown fact to everyone in the palace that Your Majesty’s appearance changes at Blue Moon? Saying that we have to silence her just because she saw it. What does that mean?”

“Knowing it and seeing it with your own eyes are different. ……That aside, Your Majesty, are you now obstructing the execution of imperial law?”

“It’s unacceptable. Weren’t there many people who saw Your Majesty’s appearance just yesterday? Why do we have to punish her now?”

“No, Your Majesty the Empress. Besides you and me, there was no one else.”

“That can’t be. There were people everywhere in the palace.”

“It was not a movement that humans could see.”

Maybe that was true.

The emperor suddenly rushed out from the darkness. There was no royal guard chasing after the emperor.

“What about today?”

“The witnesses were the chief knights of the royal guard. They have sworn loyalty with their lives.”

“…….”

Rasilia lost her words. Serben added a word as if he knew it would be so.

“The only ones who can see that appearance without concern are those who have sworn loyalty with death and those connected by royal blood. There are no exceptions.”

The fact that the royal family was connected by demon blood was clear, but people witnessing it had been an ageold thing.

There had never been an emperor like Rascal who was so heavily influenced by demon blood. Only a few initial emperors experienced changes at Blue Moon.

After that, they all met companions in time, or their demon characteristics were not strong enough to experience the changes.

Even the shadow knights took time to get used to Rascal’s changes. If ordinary people saw it, there would be a huge uproar.

“Now please step aside, Your Majesty the Empress. We will take care of the maid’s safety.”

That couldn’t be done.

No matter what the law said, Ivette had only followed her words.

Rasilia shook her head.

“But…… that’s too harsh a punishment.”

“There is a reason for the law, Your Majesty the Empress.”

Serben deliberately made his voice colder.

“It may seem cruel, but such a law has protected the royal family and His Majesty the Emperor until now.”

Serben twisted his mouth after a brief pause.

“And in that regard, I cannot understand why Your Majesty the Empress would protect a maid who clearly violated imperial law. Since when did you care for the life of a maid? Do you know how many maids have died in the Empress’s palace for much more trivial reasons? Oh, of course you don’t. It would be too trivial a matter to Your Majesty.”

“That is…….”

Not remembering was not an answer.

Here, Rasilia was the Empress. The Empress of Eliaden’s Cartahena was capricious, cruel, lying, and used contact as a weapon to wield the Emperor at will.

“So I can’t help but suspect that you have some other purpose as a shadow knight, Your Majesty the Empress. Is there a reason that the maid, who has become a threat to the safety of the royal family, must survive? Are you planning something through that maid? Was that why you were hiding in the northern tower where no one would find you alone?”

“No? That’s not true! It really isn’t!”

Ivette, who cried out in a fluster, knelt on the floor.
“It’s true…… It’s true. Her Majesty the Empress is not planning anything. If she wanted to do something through me, I would have to know! But she said nothing. It’s true!”

Serben did not listen to Ivette’s words.

So far, whenever Empress Cartagena did something strange, there was always a reason.

It was already the second time the Empress, who had been ranting about losing her memory, had hidden herself without anyone knowing. Twice was never a coincidence, and that’s why it had to be more thoroughly suspected.

Contrary to what he had been suspecting, Empress Cartagena might actually have been the true consort. It seemed that Lyan had already accepted it that way.

Serben thought that was more of a problem.

Because that meant there was another reason the Empress had been refusing Rascal all this time.

That reason was still unknown. But he could be sure. It must be something sinister and evil, somehow aimed at harming the Emperor.