“They said they would bring me a new dog. It looks quite lovely, so it should be very much to my liking.”

Kyle, who had lazily descended the stairs, stopped in front of Natasha. He extended his index finger and tapped her chest.

“Who do you think that was, madam?”

As if pointing out that she had opened a Pandora’s box that should not have been opened.

“Who do you think it was?”

Natasha ignored the irritating teasing and asked calmly.

“I heard about the situation you two were in together. So who planned the poison at the coronation?”

“Is that important right now? Well, it was the wench.”

“…And pushing me off the terrace?”

“Oh my, that was the wench’s doing too.”

The mischievous finger pushed against Natasha’s chest once more.

“Your false pregnancy too, Cayena Ten.”

“…”

“It was that wench’s greatest plan, madam.”

Kyle clearly stated that he had merely assisted in successfully carrying out the plan, but all the scheming had been done by Cayena.

The man’s intention in readily revealing the truth was obvious and certain. Do not turn away, but face it directly. All of this was aided by the madam’s friend, not by me.

The emperor took a step back, intending to fully capture Natasha’s face.

The final entry into Bluebeard’s secret room was agony. The confrontation with the cruel truth hidden in the room, as well as the price for ignoring the warning, were all Natasha’s to bear.

Kyle Letius placed the blood-stained key in the woman’s hand and asked softly.

“Do you want revenge?”

“…What did you say?”

“Against that wench who betrayed ten years of friendship and kindness, do you want revenge?”

The lake in his eyes seemed to ripple. A strange light flickered in the man’s blue eyes.

Crazy bastard.

Natasha muttered words she shouldn’t have in her mind. At the same time, blue veins bulged on her pale hands.

As she clenched her fist as if to tear into her palm, the pain of her nails digging into her flesh overwhelmed her.

He must have acted like this with Cayena too.

When she hesitated to offer Natasha as a sacrifice, he must have chosen words to cultivate her desire for revenge, gradually handing her the knife handle.

“…Disgusting hypocrite.”

A filthy man who grows by sucking up others’ pain like nutrients. A beast who grabs and shakes human vulnerabilities.

A devil unchanged from his past life to this one.

“Kyle Letius, you… will never receive God’s love. The blood and tears abandoned because of you will lead you to hell!”

Natasha shouted at her opponent who continued to violate her until the end.

It didn’t take long for the face that had been mocking to harden. The wrinkles around his eyes and mouth crumpled deeply. The voice that had been youthful like a tomboy gained weight.

“Are you mad, madam?”

“I might be.”

“Shut up!”

The growling man finally took off his bracelet and threw it.

The heavy bracelet grazed past Natasha’s side. A red line stood out on the cheek he had gestured at. It seemed her face had been scratched by the sharp surface.

She ignored the burning sensation rising from her skin. Without wiping the flowing blood, she turned her head to glare at the emperor.

Kyle let out a scornful laugh after hearing the woman’s indifferent apology. He also muttered under his breath, “Tough bitch.”

“Shall I drive you even madder?”

The man grabbed Natasha’s chin and stretched her neck out. It seemed as if her neck and upper body would separate and fall off.

“Don’t you want to know what that duke who keeps hovering around you did to you? No, shall I thoroughly confess how filthy a being you are to the duke?”

“…Ugh!”

“How laughable it is for you sinners to keep circling each other without knowing your own sins, do you want me to expose it as a third party!”

The man’s voice resounded throughout the room. The fierce roar echoed repeatedly in her mind.

Aren’t you curious, Princess?

No, daughter. Do not listen!

Voices that had not appeared at all suddenly emerged and shouted.

In succession, voices whispered. On one side, Cayena’s cheerful chatter, and on the other, her father’s screams alternately struck her eardrums.

This was clearly the woman’s thoughts as well. It must be the conflicting opinions of the woman agonizing in front of the door Bluebeard had warned not to open. Her true feelings struggling between reason and instinct.

Hurry and listen! Princess!

No. Cover your ears!

“Answer, Natasha Asthart!”

She struggled in Kyle Letius’s grasp. No matter how she scratched and hit the man’s hands, his vicious grip would not let go.

You must answer, Princess.

Deny it, quickly!

The voices urging Natasha had already,

Open your mouth right now!

Silence that man!

were commanding her to give a quick answer.

Stop, stop, stop…!

Natasha shouted at everything. At the strong hands holding her, at the noisy voices shaking her.

The voices were another self moving regardless of her will. Kyle Letius was a madman excited by observing her painful expression. Neither of them would listen to Natasha’s words.

But, for some reason, all restraints were released.

“Haa, haa…”

Her lowered gaze stared blankly at the carpet. A ringing sound repeatedly echoed between her muffled ears.

“Dear Emperor.”

Familiar shoes entered beside the carpet. Even with the sudden stop, the two feet maintained a straight line without wavering.

The brown shoes were neat without a speck of dust. They were what Natasha had seen countless times while bowing her head before him.

“What the hell are you doing?”

However, today the man’s dignity approached with a different feeling than usual.

The Sieghart before her eyes was a completely different person from the man Natasha Asthart had known.

Though his voice was suppressed as if pressed down by something, it was still fierce and strong. The accent was particularly rough. The sharpened phonemes and voice quality made the pronunciation oddly different.

The man reacting with pent-up stimulation showed no wavering in his movements. Only when he occasionally inhaled and exhaled did his upper body shake slightly.

Other than that, the strength in his hand holding Natasha loosened for a moment before returning.

Natasha, with her wrist held, blankly stared at the man’s back. The broad wall was large and sturdy enough to dominate her field of vision.

It seemed as if this wall would be too much for Kyle Letius to dare overcome…

‘Am I feeling relieved?’

That’s nonsense. The one before her eyes was Sieghart Asthart.

He is not Sir Dante who used to protect her. He is not Cayena Ten, on whom she once poured unlimited affection and support. He is not the family that protected Natasha until their deaths, nor the royal knights who swore loyalty.

But, why…

Her ears were stuffy as if filled with water. Waves rose inside.

The sound of conversation coming from the other side was swept away by suddenly occurring waves. Even as their voices rose, only the degree of pitch could be heard in the end.

“I’ll warn you one more time, Kyle Letius.”

A beast roared. For some reason, the beast in the prey position seemed to have taken on the form of a predator.

“If you want to keep even the shell of the seat you’re sitting on.”

“…”

“Do not touch my people.”

A voice rippling with anger came over the wall. The force holding Natasha wavered with emotion.

She dared not say it hurt. Natasha herself did not perceive the pain temporarily either.

“Kyle Letius, this is what you’ve brought upon yourself.”

All sounds were unfamiliar to the point of being strange. Her ears felt stuffy as if made of seashells. It was like listening to a grand opera in a small room.

“From today, House Asthart will completely turn its back on the imperial family.”

Natasha stood blankly like a person in a daze at the unfamiliar musical performance.

Afterwards, she barely managed to move her feet, but even that was not a fundamental movement with the woman’s will behind it.

Sieghart’s steps across the red carpet were consistent. His two feet moved forward precisely with similar intensity at similar intervals. Only her own steps being dragged behind were a mess, which was embarrassing in a way.

The man’s meticulous movements rarely distorted when he extended his foot to kick the audience chamber door. The door that should have been pulled was kicked outward and shattered.

The moment they went outside, Natasha finally regained her freedom. The seashells covering the surface of her ears began to break. The reverberation of inorganic matter began to fall between her calmed ears.

A cool breeze came in and out through the broken window. Birds chirped cutely.

“Sieghart, you must know!”

Suddenly Kyle Letius’s voice struck. The sound accompanied by pain sounded just like a death rattle.

“How traitors who betray are eradicated!”

However, even at that desperate cry, Sieghart did not stop. The man continued walking without hesitation.

The wide palace corridor was desolate. From the door of the audience chamber to the entrance of the palace, the bodies of knights were strewn across the corridor floor. It meant security was not lax.

She closed her eyes and moved forward.

When they reached the castle gate, she finally called out to stop Sieghart.

“Sieghart, just a moment…”

“…”

“You, just stop for a moment, please!”

She shouted at the man who simply would not stop.

Whether he had not intended to ignore her or had not heard, fortunately he stopped immediately.

The strength in his grip on her wrist weakened as well.

“You…”

“…”

“What are you doing?”

Natasha finally pulled her hand away and asked.

She did not intend to reproach him. Truly, she simply asked out of curiosity about the man’s intentions.

His eyes, which had been flickering darkly as if enraged, gradually regained their composure. When he closed and opened them, they had finally changed to be like Sieghart Asthart’s.

With the peaceful eyes the man only made when looking at his wife.

“Too much time had passed, so I went in first.”

Natasha’s gaze unconsciously turned to the clock tower in the center of the palace. Compared to when they had set out for the audience chamber, only one hour hand had moved.

“And then loud noises started coming from inside the room. I had no choice but to check out of worry.”

The man added, as if embarrassed.

After finishing speaking, he tilted his head slightly to the side. It meant that his actions were not wrong, since Natasha had actually been in danger.

On the other hand, she had wanted to get away from Kyle’s side, so the man’s appearance was welcome. But…

“There’s one thing I want to ask.”

There was something bothering her among the words she had not heard.