Outside the torture chamber, in the corridor, servants were on standby. Seeing the serious situation, the servants all bowed their heads without exception.

“Everyone, withdraw.”

Even though the corridor quickly became quiet, Cledius did not let go of Ilarid’s wrist. It was an awkward situation, but she tried to speak calmly.

“Your Majesty the Emperor. You are very agitated. Please let go first.”

“Because of whom…!”

Cledius pulled Ilarid’s wrist and pushed her against the wall. Feeling the sudden impact on her back, Ilarid let out a short groan.

She wanted to shake him off and quickly leave, but Cledius had already bound her body as if restraining her. The more she struggled, the narrower the gap between them became.

She wanted to turn her back and ignore him, but with both wrists held, even moving was difficult.

“Ilarid… tell me.”

It was almost like a plea. He seemed to have difficulty even saying Ilarid’s name.

“…What’s the reason for all this?”

Cledius’s red eyes trembled. The whites of his eyes had turned completely red, as if blood vessels had burst. The light of pain and color of warning began to flicker in his eyes.

He opened his mouth with a face that looked like he was about to cry.

“Why, why do you make me so miserable? Answer me, Ilarid.”

“You started it first, Cledius.”

A low voice followed as if swallowing the words. At the same time, Ilarid’s green eyes burned clearly.

Anger must be met with anger. Only then will the other person know the pain and shrink back.

Cledius let out a gasping breath upon hearing Ilarid’s words. Then he slowly pulled away from her. Red turmoil arose in his eyes.

Had she ever spoken his name out loud before? And right in front of Cledius, no less.

It was not common for the Emperor and Empress to call each other by name. Of course, if they were alone, they could call each other by any name or nickname they mutually agreed upon.

But calling out a name in the midst of a broken relationship froze the blood in one’s body.

Ilarid twisted her captive wrist and barely managed to pull it free. Due to being held with such strong force, red marks had already appeared on her slender white wrist.

“Experience the humiliation I suffered and more. You won’t be able to move an inch to preserve your face and position.”

And you’ll live for the sake of the Emperor’s position, which is more precious than anything else in the world.

A look of emptiness spread across Cledius’s face. He didn’t even seem to have the strength to grab Ilarid again. Standing there blankly like someone whose soul had left their body, he uttered one sentence.

“Then, what about your position?”

When did he try so hard to tear it down with Selina, and now he wants to talk about the Empress’s position? Ilarid glared at Cledius with an expression that said she couldn’t believe it.

“I’m taking responsibility and working hard for the position of Empress on my own…”

“I have to exist for you to exist.”

What difference does it make to say such nonsense out loud? But Cledius seemed to sincerely believe those meaningless words. His eyes, which had been unsteadily shaking for a long time, had now regained their composure and were staring at Ilarid.

“My existence will make you a complete Empress.”

He grabbed both of Ilarid’s arms again. It was more the gesture of someone clinging to beg rather than restraining.

The Emperor’s position had to be complete in order to perfectly possess Ilarid.

So all those who interfered with and invaded the Emperor’s power had to be eliminated.

From the moment he first saw Ilarid, he thought he would keep her by his side. It was the perfect ending befitting the predetermined course. He believed she would become entirely Cledius’s possession.

That’s why he even drove his mother, who tried to harm Ilarid, to her death.

But one death did not solve all the problems.

The death of the Empress Dowager immediately brought another knot called ‘Melpiram’. Nobles who called for sharing power with the people were impious, and that in itself was treason.

A family that constantly marred imperial authority. To Cledius, ‘Melpiram’ was like an obstacle that had to be eliminated. If he left those who challenged authority alone, they would surely become stumbling blocks for Cledius in the future.

That’s why he erased them from the world without hesitation, using treason as an excuse.

Ilarid is no longer ‘Melpiram’ from the moment she became Empress. Now she is a member of ‘Astrid’. Her surname has changed and her affiliation is different. He thought there would be no problem.

If he could just get rid of that thorn in his side, Melpiram, Ilarid would become Cledius’s possession completely.

When Cledius finally defeated all his enemies and turned around holding his blood-stained sword, what remained was Ilarid, who had turned into a corpse-like state. Was this what he wanted?

No. Cledius desperately denied it as he expanded his territory.

It was a war that everyone tried to stop, but hearing the screams and gunfire on the bloody battlefield made him feel alive. It was better than seeing Ilarid shut up in the Empress’s palace with a dead expression.

However, even when he visited the Empress’s palace with dazzling spoils of war, she just stared blankly into space. It was an empty gaze, as if looking for a ghost.

He couldn’t leave Ilarid to die like that. So he hoped she would survive using hatred as her driving force. He acted coldly even when he heard the news of Ilarid’s pregnancy from the doctor, even when the child died just 3 days after birth.

An Ilarid full of revenge and anger looked much better. He even found it somewhat cute how she endured with all her might with an expressionless face.

But the result left behind was disastrous.

In the end, everything Cledius had done was engraved in Ilarid’s eyes and heart, becoming a large dagger that flew into his solar plexus.

Ilarid never simply endured. Under that green gaze, she was constantly sharpening her knife and tending to her gun, waiting for the right moment.

Cledius realized it only then.

Bringing Ribell in as a ‘shadow’ was not just a warning shot. It was a well-aimed shot and a finishing blow.

Not knowing what to do, he spoke incoherently in a trembling voice.

“…Melpiram was destined to decline anyway. They were always sharpening their blades against the imperial family. A noble who stands with the people? Do you think that makes sense? Everything I did, it was to protect you…”

“What were you trying to protect me from?”

A sharply honed voice cut off Cledius’s words coldly.

“Don’t be ridiculous. You simply made the worst choice by calculating without being able to give up anything.”

Her arms, which had been held by Cledius, were gently released. If a soul left the body, would it feel like this? His arms falling limply felt only pathetic.

Ilarid returned to her original calm demeanor. It was hard to believe she was the same person who had just rebuked the Emperor.

“I regret the incident with Tamiel.”

Regret to an almost pleasant degree, but.

“However, it is deeply concerning to accuse someone of being a criminal based solely on Your Majesty’s suspicion, without proper investigation.”

Cledius was struck speechless at the regained dignity of the Empress.

Rationally speaking, everything Ilarid said was correct. A proper investigation should be conducted first, and if there were suspicious circumstances, then a full interrogation should begin. While following the most humane procedures possible.

But Cledius had thoroughly ignored all steps and imprisoned Ribell, attempting to torture him under the guise of interrogation.

Just before passing by him, Ilarid spoke in a small but clear voice.

“So conduct a proper, thorough investigation from the beginning. This kind of interrogation will only make Your Majesty’s position more difficult.”

Didn’t even Tamiel, who used to inflict merciless torture under the pretext of confession, eventually die?

Cledius reached out his arm to stop Ilarid. But he only felt the cool dampness inside the prison tower. Tightly grasping the empty air, he turned around to see her back in the torture chamber.

“Are you alright?”

A soft and gentle voice, the opposite of the bleak torture chamber, was heard.

Cledius suddenly felt a pain as if his chest was being gouged out. He clutched his chest with his strong hand, but the stifling feeling in his heart did not easily subside.

An emotion he had never felt before swirled around Ilarid and Ribell. Warm concern seeping through lips while cupping cheeks and making eye contact.

Had he ever seen such an expression on Ilarid’s face? He began to recall memories he thought he had forgotten.

The touch that removed an eyelash that had fallen on his cheek when Cledius gave his first speech.

The clear lips that smiled faintly while blowing the eyelash off the tip of her finger.

The bright eyes that greeted lightly with every gaze they met.

The small feet that quietly matched his pace when walking.

All the actions he had thought were natural and formal stemmed from Ilarid’s kindness. Why had he forgotten?

Ilarid untied his restraints herself. The rope was quite tough and must have hurt her hands, but she didn’t seem to mind.

She was even steadfast enough not to give Cledius the slightest opening. The Emperor’s empty gaze was fixed on the inside of the torture chamber.

The endless longing plummeted down, leaving only boundless despair.

The role given to him was to simply turn his back and walk out of the prison tower.

“…He’s gone.”

“I see he’s gone.”

The ropes binding Ribell had long been untied. With a deep sigh, Ilarid sat down in her place.

She rested her arms on Ribell’s knees and calmed her trembling heart. Cledius must have left the prison tower completely, as no presence could be felt around.

Only then did Ilarid feel relieved and examine Ribell’s face and body.

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

Ribell silently took Ilarid’s hand. Then he examined the red marks that had risen on her wrist. Marks that seemed to brand her as Cledius’s possession. Ribell’s brow furrowed slightly.

Fortunately, there was nothing unusual on Ribell’s body. As she examined various parts of his body, Ilarid finally spoke the words she had been holding back.

“Tamiel is dead.”

“Is that so.”

“Was it your doing?”

Ribell remained silent. His attention was focused solely on Ilarid’s wrist.

A slender wrist that could be grasped with one hand and still have room to spare. He had always been anxious, worried that if he grasped it wrong, it might leave a mark or even break.

There was no reason to grab the wrist rather than the hand in the first place.

He thought it wasn’t a part to touch unnecessarily unless the purpose was to subdue and control.

Does Cledius always treat Ilarid this way?

He continued to caress the red marks without answering Ilarid’s question.

If he could, he wanted to erase them. Because they looked like a fate that could never escape from Cledius’s grasp.

Unable to bear it any longer, Ilarid urged him impatiently.

“Ribell, are you listening?”

“…You are angry with me.”

The answer that came after a long pause was in a completely unexpected direction. Ilarid, not understanding the answer, tried to ask again hesitantly, but Ribell was faster.

“I couldn’t do anything. All I could do was watch as you were dragged away by that man…”

“Ribell.”

The hand that had been gently caressing fell away. Ilarid cupped Ribell’s cheeks and pulled her face close.

“Get a grip and answer me properly. That’s how I can protect you.”

Ribell snapped to his senses. Since their first meeting at the slave market, this was the first time he had seen the young lady so resolute and stern. Ilarid, unaware that her own speech had become much shorter, sent Ribell an urgent look.

For Ilarid, having such marks left on her was nothing. She had been through too much to tremble and curl up over something like this.

But Ribell neither affirmed nor denied. His unwavering eyes, like someone who truly hadn’t done anything, suddenly became frightening.

“I’ll ask one more time. Did you kill Tamiel?”

“I only follow the orders of Her Majesty the Empress.”

As it should be. The only true master Ribell sincerely follows is Ilarid alone.

Ribell wrapped his hands around Ilarid’s cold hands on his cheeks. When would these hands be able to hold warmth and be at ease? He continued speaking calmly.

“It seems there has been some noise due to the incident that occurred from last night to dawn… but I merely settled a personal grudge. Her Majesty the Empress knows nothing of it.”

It was reassurance bordering on brainwashing. Ribell’s secret whisper tickled Ilarid’s ear.

If he could cut off nightmares and gift peace, he would gladly become a monster.

And he intended to remain as the Empress’s hidden lover and secret agent operating in unseen places by Ilarid’s side.

“What…?”

Ilarid’s brow furrowed deeply upon hearing Ribell’s words. Displeasure was evident in the shadows cast across her face.