“Your Majesty, the imperial mages have discovered traces of hypnosis in Cecilia. They say one is light, and the other is very strong hypnosis.”

“…I see.”

In the Emperor’s study, where the faded sunset shines through, the Empress was the first to speak.

The study’s owner, who visited the place after a long time, and the Empress sit facing each other with a small table between them.

“What will you do? Still, will you not forgive her?”

“What kind of hypnosis was it?”

“The first hypnosis was an evil one that made her forget who she was, and the second one was powerful, but its nature is unknown. It seems to have touched her memories, but even the mages couldn’t undo it.”

The Emperor cast his gaze far away, towards the sunset outside the window.

“Cecilia will be exiled from the empire. And I will strip the Marquis of his title… That should suffice, Empress.”

“It is a merciful decision.”

“You were the only one to whom I could not show mercy.”

“…”

“What is the reason for suddenly returning after being away for so long?”

The Emperor asked. The Empress gave no answer.

“I think it was my mistake to do that to the House of Antoine… your family. If you wish, I will order the restoration of the House of Antoine.”

“Do so if it is what you desire, Your Majesty, not what I want. If not, it is unnecessary.”

“Unnecessary…”

The Emperor gave a bitter smile.

The fragrant tea brought by the chamberlain to calm the nerves tasted bitter in his mouth today. As if he had eaten something he shouldn’t have, ruining his mouth.

“You abandoned me, but the Grand Duke of the North followed you.”

The Empress almost let out an exasperated sigh without realizing it. However, she swallowed that bitterness as she always did and opened her mouth.

“I heard that the Grand Duke of Belfast took in my younger siblings and their families.”

“…You returned just for that reason?”

“Because I’m old now too.”

“…Francis.”

The Emperor called the name of his old lover in an earnest voice.

“Don’t call me that, Your Majesty. Your Francis died a long time ago.”

“…Will you join me for dinner?”

The Emperor looked at the Empress’s face like a child gauging her reaction.

Seeing that, the Empress’s heart sank painfully again.

“I will restore the House of Antoine. It is my wish. And… to carry out the restoration, Belfast must also return to his territory.”

The Emperor spoke in a slow tone and brought the tea to his mouth.

Of course, his true intentions were contained in his following words.

The Empress asked.

“Do you wish for the Grand Duke of Belfast to leave the capital?”

“…”

“Do you still hate that child’s father so much? You drove him to the battlefield to die without any evidence. You sent that child’s mother away like that and brought that young one to the capital, pushing him into battle as soon as he turned fifteen. Is it still not enough?”

The Emperor roughly put down the teacup. The fragrant tea in the golden cup splashed everywhere.

“Don’t speak like that when you know nothing! What do you know… Did you see it?”

The Emperor trembled, unable to control the memories of that day that came to mind.

“That man was standing with a sword in front of Mikael’s fallen body! You didn’t see that!”

“The wounds on the Grand Duke of the North’s sword and Mikael’s body did not match. He arrived there after Mikael died.”

“He could have instigated it in advance! If only there was evidence… If there was evidence, I would have exterminated his entire family! That is my eternal regret. The Shield of the Empire? Don’t make me laugh! The son of the Crown Prince’s assassin, acting as a Grand Duke. How much longer do I have to put up with him? I’m doing my best to endure even now!”

The Emperor shouted as if he was struggling.

“Who was it that drove Mikael to the North?”

The Empress calmly gazed at the Emperor. Then the Emperor looked at the Empress with a dazed face.

A wind of deep silence blew between the two like a whirlwind. The Emperor’s face slowly distorted.

“You, shut that mouth. How did you raise the child to become a worm that gives his heart to the femme fatale of a fallen nation?”

“…”

The Empress was at a loss for words. After a long silence, she opened her mouth.

“Mikael, my son, was not a worm. He was a beautiful, free, and gentle child. A person who could see the worth of others regardless of their background, honest to himself.”

The Emperor anxiously swept up his hair that had fallen over his face.

“Empress, I went a bit too far with my words. Pretend you didn’t hear it. But don’t you dare challenge the authority of me, the Emperor. Who dares to reprimand me?”

The Emperor’s expression changed from moment to moment like a madman.

Seeing that, the Empress’s heart crumbled.

She never imagined. That this man would be so broken.

“Chamberlain! Summon the Grand Duke of the South and Medeia!”

“Your Majesty!”

“They were the ones who stood by my side when no one else was there. Why, seeing them today, they were quite cold to you. Do you have the right to be like that to them?”

The Emperor sneered.

The Empress closed her eyes. And after a while, she spoke as Antoine, who had loved the man in front of her long ago.

“Your Majesty, will you not spend dinner with me?”

“…”

“Do you need someone else?”

The Empress looked at the Emperor.

The silver-haired man who was once considered the wisest and most beautiful among the emperors of all time.

But who is this person in front of my eyes now?

A pitiful and dangerous sick man with a broken heart, the Emperor of this empire.

“Do not say things you do not mean.”

The Emperor tried to get up from his seat.

“Could it be that the memory only you and Mikael share… is the story of the frog?”

The Empress desperately tried to stop the Emperor. The Emperor’s face became surprised.

“How do you know that?”

“Have you not told me before?”

“Ah… That’s right. Yes, I did.”

The Emperor’s eyes turned to a distant place in his memory.

“That child held that disgusting creature in both hands and smiled like sunshine. That’s right…”

“Have you truly never told that memory to anyone other than me, Your Majesty?”

“That’s right. Why do you ask that?”

“I was curious because you said that the child named Cecilia knows that memory. How did that woman know about it?”

“…I’m curious about that too. Could it be that you told someone else?”

“…There was exactly one time.”

“Who was it?”

The Emperor’s eyes flashed.

“It was the Grand Duchess Medeia.”

“Medeia?”

“A few months after I retired to the detached palace, the young Grand Duchess came to see me with her father.”

The Empress recalled that time.

Back then, she only thought of her as a kind and cute child who came to see her after she had abandoned everything. But was that really the case?

Young Medeia kept asking her with her round eyes cutely open.

“Will you really not return to the imperial palace, Empress Mother? Is that true?”

What did that child want to know? Did she want to confirm that I really had no intention of returning?

The Empress opened her closed eyes.

“To that child who kept asking me why I wouldn’t return to the imperial palace, I said that I couldn’t go to Your Majesty’s side because there were too many memories. And I also told the story of the frog that you and Mikael had caught.”

“…”

“I’ll be going now. The meal… Please don’t skip it.”

There was a concerned feeling in those words.

“Don’t tell me you’re going back? To the detached palace?”

“Now I will keep my place, Your Majesty. I will be by Your Majesty’s side even if there are those who do not wish for it.”

“I, I see.”

“…”

“Anyways, as the Shield of the Empire, Belfast must return to the North! The border is a strategic point that cannot be left empty for a moment. The restoration of the House of Antoine must also be carried out.”

The Emperor said sternly.

The Empress bowed to the Emperor without a word. Then she turned and headed outside.

The Emperor did not see her expression that seemed like it would crumble at any moment.

Left alone again, the Emperor became lost in thought.

‘Medeia… That child knows.’

But that child, she’s not the type to use such a story maliciously.

‘The Empress is not as smart as she used to be either. She has aged like me… Or could it be that the rude fellow Belfast whispered something to the Empress?’

The Emperor picked up the teacup to rinse his bitter-tasting mouth. But the tea that had filled the golden cup had already spilled and disappeared.

Anger rose again.

“The Emperor called the woman the Crown Prince loved, the saint of the fallen nation Ventus, a femme fatale.”

“Femme fatale…”

I unintentionally repeated those words. Arcadia said.

“Yeah, only the Emperor.”

As soon as we returned to the capital mansion, Arcadia called me to an empty reception room.

Then he explained to me why the Emperor hates Belfast.

“But his only son eloped with that femme fatale, no, the saint of Ventus, and our previous Grand Duke hid them. The two were very close friends. But it would have been nice if it was a good ending, but the Crown Prince and his wife were murdered, and the one who first discovered their bodies was also the previous Grand Duke. So the Emperor thinks Belfast killed his son… It’s a nonsensical idea, but he wanted to believe that.”

It wasn’t Belfast who killed my parents, but Lahert.

But the Emperor believed Lahert.

“In the end, the Emperor decided to kill the previous Grand Duke on the battlefield. He constantly drove him to deadly situations. After finally achieving that goal, this time he summoned the Grand Duchess and the eight-year-old current Grand Duke Sion Belfast to the capital. Under the pretext of helping the young Grand Duke’s growth in place of the deceased Grand Duke of the North, but in reality, he took the young Grand Duke as a hostage. That’s why I also came to the capital alone when I was nine. To represent our family.”

“…”

“After the Duchess passed away due to illness, it was just the three of us – me, the Grand Duke, and our Hans.”

“I see.”

“Hey, your responses are a bit dry?”

“…”

“Huh? Why are your eyes red?”

Arcadia suddenly stared at my face.

“It’s nothing.”

I quickly turned my head away.

I wasn’t the only one who lost my parents.

Grand Duke Belfast also lost his parents because of Medeia’s father.

Because his predecessor helped my parents.

And in my previous life, I killed Arcadia, the Grand Duke’s right-hand man. This warm man in front of my eyes, with a bit of a rough mouth but pure and beautiful.

At that moment, Bran, who came to drink water, waved at us. So innocently.

“Greetings, Vice Captain! Hey, Esther! My fellow knight! Aren’t you going to greet me?”

In my previous life, I killed this young man who loves the North and respects the Grand Duke of the North and Arcadia, despite being quite jealous.

In my previous life, I also killed Sir Emils. He was the one I killed without even looking at his face.

It’s not just these three.

The number of the Grand Duke of the North’s people that I killed reaches several dozen.

The weight of the sin from my previous life’s memories that suddenly revived began to weigh on my chest.

It’s hard to breathe.

‘It’s ridiculous that in this life, I wanted to stand out, even if briefly, claiming to be a princess.’

A mad emperor who can’t even distinguish between enemies and allies, and an assassin princess!

It’s too absurd.

“What’s wrong, Esther? Are you suddenly feeling unwell somewhere?”

Arcadia looked at me with a very unfamiliar face full of concern.

I let out a sigh without realizing it.

“…Ah, no, I’m fine.”

“Vice Captain! Viscount Jardeng has arrived!”

At that moment, Sir Emils came to call Arcadia.

“Oh! I’ll be right there! Escort him to the Grand Duke right away!”

“I’m all right, Vice Captain. Please go ahead. It’s about taxes, right? It’s important.”

“Yeah, that’s right. The important information you provided.”

The information I provided…

Don’t look at me like that, Arcadia. I also remember your face the moment you fell from the balcony and died because of me.

“I’ll go get some fresh air for a bit.”

I got up from my seat and went up to my room. Then, wearing a black cloak, I immediately headed out to the streets.

The sudden onslaught of guilt made me unable to stay in that beautiful room the Grand Duke had given me.