The next day, Lynette had to hear a short reprimand from Ilarid.

“I told you to wake me up in an hour.”

“It’s not like the work is severely backed up, you just need to send letters encouraging the ladies to participate in the charity event.”

“Still, work should be done in advance…”

“Sometimes Your Majesty the Empress overworks herself too much.”

Especially when things she wants to forget come up. Lynette could roughly tell what kind of dream Ilarid had when she saw her appearance just after waking up.

Today, her eyes were particularly red and swollen. She must have had an unpleasant dream.

Lynette immediately approached Ilarid’s side. Placing her hand on the chair, Lynette bent down to meet the Empress’s eyes.

“I can’t fully grasp what Your Majesty’s plans are. But… you need to be healthy. That’s how you can endure.”

Ilarid’s expression, which had been troubled over the courtesy letters, gradually softened. She looked at Lynette with a slightly embarrassed smile.

She still hadn’t revealed her entire plan to Lynette. Perhaps she would have some idea of her longtime friend’s thoughts by now.

“Aren’t you upset? I’m keeping my mouth shut.”

“I’m sure you’ll tell me when the time is right. If you haven’t spoken, I assume it means I don’t need to know.”

“…Thank you.”

“If you understand, then from now on, eat well and sleep well. As the head lady-in-waiting of the Empress’s Palace, I have a duty to look after Your Majesty’s health.”

Sometimes she was more like an older sister than a friend. In her actions of managing the schedule while inserting rest times here and there, and preparing light snacks in case meals were skipped, there was a pure concern that could be seen between family members.

“Exactly one hour later, after you finish your meal, you will take a lunchtime walk with me. I will not accept any excuses about having too much work.”

Judging by her tone, there was no way to avoid it with the excuse of being busy. No choice then. Ilarid smiled and accepted her friend’s order.

Under the peaceful scenery, an unpeaceful man was walking.

A man who did not fit at all with the beautiful and noble atmosphere of the Imperial Palace. People realized his presence while strolling in the garden and quickly stepped back or started walking to avoid him altogether.

Ilarid froze in place after seeing the large, intimidating man walking from afar.

“Why is that person here…”

She barely manages to stop herself from collapsing. Lynette, who also recognized who the man was, immediately stood by Ilarid’s side. It felt like if she relaxed her tension, the trembling of her entire body would be exposed.

Tamiel. The Imperial torture technician.

Where would there be a technician for torture? That bizarre and terrible title was a name Tamiel had given himself. Even Cledius had approved of his profession. Tamiel went around proudly displaying his job while receiving the Emperor’s trust.

Tamiel’s existence was the Emperor’s power. It was also the reason why people of the Empire trembled at just the mention of the ‘Prison Tower’. All those who coveted the Emperor’s power and plotted rebellion were sent to Tamiel in the Prison Tower.

It was said that even those with the strongest willpower would make up non-existent crimes and confess everything when seated before Tamiel.

‘Do you think anyone has walked out of my torture chamber on their own feet?’

Tamiel had that phrase as his habit. All those who went through him came out with both body and mind broken.

Even when families of victims protested, it was quickly buried. They didn’t hesitate to accuse even family members of being related to the traitors.

Tamiel, one of Cledius’s loyal right-hand men, had even cruelly tortured Ilarid’s older brother, Limless Rowen Melpiram, and drove him to the brink of death.

Ilarid closed her eyes, fearing that the image of Limless she had faced through the prison bars would resurface.

“Well, who do we have here, if it isn’t Her Majesty the Empress?”

Tamiel greeted with a drawl. It would be easier to ignore him and walk past. Ilarid slowly opened her eyes that she had squeezed shut.

The man with the huge build swaggered in front of her. At least within the Imperial Palace, there were hardly any who treated the Empress in such a manner. Even Selina would at least offer a formal greeting.

‘He must believe the Emperor will protect him to the end.’

Ilarid clicked her tongue lightly. Tamiel raised an eyebrow at the Empress’s unexpected reaction. He had thought she would be trembling without being able to say a word, but she was facing off against Tamiel.

The Empress was no ordinary person. She was different from other noble young ladies. It was impossible to imagine the complexion of someone who had lived a life of compliance in complete peace.

‘Even so… what can the Empress do?’

There were hardly any nobles who could openly support Ilarid. And behind Tamiel was Cledius. His monarch who could cut and break the Empress’s wings at any time.

Tamiel had now approached right in front of Ilarid. A small but unwavering gaze pierced through Tamiel’s huge body.

Look at this. A sneer appeared on his lips. Tamiel was seized by the urge to scratch that smooth face of the Empress before him. Without wiping away the corners of his mouth that had turned up, he sneered at Ilarid.

“Come to think of it, Your Majesty resembles the young master of Melpiram quite a bit.”

Tamiel’s voice dropped low. As soon as the words “young master of Melpiram” came out of his mouth, Ilarid bit her lip.

“Limless Rowen Melpiram.”

Tamiel uttered Limless’s name while flicking his moist tongue. And immediately observed Ilarid’s expression. What reaction would she show upon seeing the face of the person who had driven her brother to the brink of death right before her eyes?

Lynette glared at Tamiel while anxiously worrying that Ilarid might collapse.

They had been an exceptionally close sibling pair. Not only did they resemble each other greatly, but he was also one of the people who understood Ilarid the best.

A family member who shared Ilarid’s world and was her strongest support. Part of her crumbled on the day Limless received his death sentence.

Tamiel continued speaking slowly, disregarding Lynette’s sharp gaze.

“It was quite a sight to see that smooth face get crushed. I can still vividly hear the screams that traitor let out. He was quite loud, so the prisoners in the Prison Tower complained a lot. Ah, perhaps you couldn’t hear it from outside?”

It was an insult. A desecration of the dead and an affront thrown at the living as well. A cruel and vicious tongue that put the already dead back in its mouth to kill them once again.

Unable to bear it any longer, Lynette stepped forward.

“You are in front of Her Majesty the Empress. Refrain from such rude speech and behavior.”

“Rude, you say? I merely spoke the facts. It was all revealed that Limless Rowen Melpiram trained soldiers with the purpose of assassinating His Majesty the Emperor and made contact with the republican faction.”

And there was Limless’s confession. He admitted to all crimes and confessed that he had tried to assassinate Cledius. Ilarid did not believe those words.

It must have been a confession obtained through torture. It was said that even a healthy young man couldn’t walk out after entering Tamiel’s torture chamber. She believed they must have pressured him with fabricated evidence.

“I merely catch those who try to harm His Majesty the Emperor. Your Majesty the Empress should let go of the past and release your anger.”

“How impertinent you are, Tamiel.”

Tamiel, who had been treating the Empress with a sly attitude, froze at Ilarid’s words.

The corners of Tamiel’s mouth, which had been smugly sneering, were now stuck in a rigid downward position. He had expected her to be scared and trembling, but instead, Ilarid was confronting Tamiel and glaring at him.

“His Majesty the Emperor should know that you have an overreaching tongue.”

“My abilities do not include wagging my tongue, Your Majesty.”

“Good then. There’s no point in keeping an unnecessary tongue in your mouth, it would only add weight to your oversized body. When His Majesty the Emperor returns, I shall request to have Tamiel’s unnecessary tongue cut out.”

She didn’t let a single word slide. Tamiel deliberately dusted off his arms as if trying to shake off Ilarid’s green gaze. In fact, it was an action that came from wanting to get rid of the goosebumps that had risen on his arms. He wanted to hurry and leave this place.

“I wonder if His Majesty the Emperor knows this side of Your Majesty. This disrespectful person will take his leave now. I hope there never comes a day when Your Majesty sits before me.”

“I hope there never comes a day when you sit before me either.”

If that ever happens, I will pay you back in the most cruel way possible. Just like what my brother suffered, no, even more viciously. Ilarid barely swallowed the words that followed.

Tamiel turned his back on the Empress and walked away. He hated those green eyes. Just like Limless Rowen Melpiram, those eyes burning blue. Those eerie eyes that seemed to see right through him, as if knowing exactly what kind of person he was.

It was also the reason why he had inflicted even more severe pain on Limless. Is it that blood relatives can’t be deceived? The Empress, his sister, also glared at Tamiel with the same eyes.

In any case, what an unpleasant pair of siblings. He quickened his steps while shuddering.

**

On days when she saw Tamiel even from afar, Ilarid would dream of meeting Limless.

How nice it would be if it were her brother from those peaceful days. The reliable older brother who always stood by her side and stepped forward for her.

If it were the image of him tying back his long silver hair and riding horses together with Ilarid. If it were the moment when they secretly escaped together after attending a salon following her debut in high society.

But when Ilarid opened her eyes in the dream, it was always in front of the stairs of the Prison Tower.

Dark and long stairs descending downwards spread out before her eyes. When she reached out to the side, she could feel the rough touch of the stone wall. The damp sensation felt unfamiliar. Even though she clearly knew it was a dream.

A man holding a lamp cautioned quietly from below.

“Your Majesty the Empress, please watch your step.”

It was the jailer of the underground prison. He was someone who had received help from Limless in the past and admired him in his heart.

Visits to traitors were prohibited, but with the jailer’s help, she was able to make a brief moment. Ilarid followed the guard down, further down.

Limless Rowen Melpiram resembled Ilarid a lot. Even a complete stranger could immediately tell that Ilarid and he were siblings.

His long, bright silver hair loosely tied back made him look like a tall and handsome Ilarid from behind.

There were many rumors about him. An eccentric who entered the military academy at the top of his class but dropped out and ran away in the middle. A righteous rogue with a fiery temper. The Empire’s heretic who went in the opposite direction of the nobles.

If Ilarid was a flame quietly burning from below, Limless was a flame that exploded straight to the boiling point.

The Countess had nagged all day to kill that fiery temper, but it did not easily subside.

But he wasn’t reckless enough to plot treason and lead an assassination of the Emperor. Moreover, his sister was the Empress. What fool would openly do such a thing?

It was true that Cledius and Limless kept an eye on each other with distaste. Limless’s disgust and shuddering when he first met Cledius might have been because he sensed part of the tragedy that was to unfold.

“We’ve arrived.”

Ilarid snapped back to reality at the jailer’s words. Ilarid walked down the long corridor following the light of the torch and lamp. The underground level of the Prison Tower, where only political prisoners and heinous criminals were confined, showed not even a small light, let alone sunlight.

“…Brother.”

Limless was sitting leaning against the gap where the iron bars and wall met. Rather than sitting, it was more accurate to say he was barely propping his body up to avoid collapsing.

His once bright and beautiful silver hair was now soaked with congealed blood stains, and his entire body was covered in bruises.

Among them, his severely swollen arms caught her eye. Ilarid turned to the guard with eyes full of tears.

“Why on earth…”

“Both his arms are broken, Your Majesty.”

The guard’s voice trailed off despondently. She didn’t even want to imagine what had happened.