‘You’re not seriously thinking of checking if I’m pregnant, are you? Is that even possible?’

Come to think of it, Diarob was a man who collected magical artifacts even more obsessively than Prince Dylan.

The one in front of me must be one of those rare items.

‘What are you planning to do if there really is an imperial heir in this body?’

It was only one night, so it seemed unlikely… but I had been drinking tea that was good for pregnancy.

There was a real possibility that a child had taken root in my body. My lips dried up from the tension.

In an instant, a red energy rose around Vivian’s body and enveloped me.

‘That’s definitely something that can only emanate from a magical artifact…’

Unbelievably, the red energy was spreading from Vivian.

‘How is that emanating from a human body?’

Before that question could grow, the dark and unpleasant light that flowed from the magical artifact rushed at me.

At the same time, a searing pain engulfed me.

Cold sweat beaded on my forehead and a death cry-like scream escaped my lips.

“Ahhh!”

Ignoring that, the man took out a needle and threateningly poked my arm.

Red blood drops formed and fell into the bottle-shaped magical artifact.

The blood drops that bloomed like paint mixed and swirled in the water like smoke.

How long did it flow like that? In the heavy silence, the result came out.

‘Black?’

Not knowing what it meant, I raised my head and saw Diarob’s expression.

The distorted face, the unmoving eyebrows… everything spoke of the result.

‘Not pregnant.’

Feeling like I could breathe again, I let out a long breath I had been holding.

‘Thank goodness.’

It wasn’t that I didn’t want to have a child.

In fact, I had long dreamed of marrying Casius, having children, and living an ordinary family life like anyone else.

Since he had imperial blood, such an ordinary life would be nearly impossible, but couldn’t I at least dream about it?

I had even imagined how beautiful and bright a baby between me and Casius would be.

But now it was all a dream that should not come true.

If I were to have an imperial heir, it was obvious how Diarob would react.

If an heir with Snowfell blood was born, he might do something to Casius.

Honestly, it was closer to certainty than suspicion.

Going through this coronation, I realized it even more painfully. Diarob was even more vicious than I had thought.

I could feel a sharp gaze penetrating me.

Turning my head, I saw Diarob, his face stiff, glaring at me while gritting his teeth.

The fierce gaze, strong enough to burn, stirred an ominous energy.

Diarob slammed the table with a bang, and Vivian immediately cornered me as if expecting it.

“How can you not do a single thing right!”

When I glared at him with fierce eyes, Vivian flinched for a moment.

But only for a moment, he raised his hand frivolously and shouted.

“What are you raising your eyes like that for, as if you did well!”

‘Did he even slap me?’

He was much lower than I thought.

So much so that I wondered if this was why Diarob hadn’t exposed him to the outside world until now, because of this scoundrel-like personality.

While thinking about which way to dodge, his hand slowly lowered.

He seemed to have belatedly realized my status as the empress.

“How did father put you in the position of empress and you can’t even handle one emperor?”

“……”

“You need to quickly give birth to an imperial heir so I can show my face and walk around with peace of mind!”

Like father, like son.

I’m not particularly advocating for Vivian, but the nerve to shamelessly push his sister into a hellish marriage and only seek his own gain.

Behind him stood Diarob, pressing his temples as if trying to regain his composure.

But what I was looking at was not Diarob, but the red light that had been grating on my nerves since earlier.

The things that had been rippling around Vivian were finally subsiding… but the question still remained.

Although it was difficult to accurately identify due to the small amount of mana currently remaining in the body, it was possible to visually distinguish it with years of experience.

‘There was no mention of Vivian being a mage…’

If Vivian was a mage, Diarob would have been the type to drag him around the imperial and noble social circles, boasting about him.

Moreover, a red light that can only bloom from magical artifacts.

Amidst thoughts that followed one after another, a chilling assumption passed by.

‘Could it be that Diarob is raising human weapons?’

During his days as a great mage roaming the empire, he had heard that such a thing was possible.

A long time ago, a group of vicious mages implanted mana into human bodies and arbitrarily mass-produced mages, causing a huge disaster.

I came to the conclusion that Diarob was more than capable of doing such a thing and still having plenty left over.

However, creating human weapons came with enormous financial costs and risks.

Moreover, it was something strictly regulated by the empire.

The fact that he was carrying out such a thing despite the risks clearly meant he was planning something.

‘What the hell is Diarob after, going that far? Could it be… the imperial throne?’

I didn’t know how many human weapons there were, but if he was willing to turn his own son into an experimental subject like that, the number must be considerable.

Numerous circumstances turned suspicion into certainty.

If Snowfell was not destroyed, the empire would become a sea of blood.

A determination filled with anger was engraved in my heart.

Trying to pull myself together from the arbitrarily entangled emotions, I raised my head and Diarob entered my sight.

His eyes, calm to the point of being composed, instilled a sense of fear as it was a look I had never seen before.

Even Vivian, who had been huffing and puffing, was tiptoeing around him.

With a single gesture, Diarob stopped Vivian and sent him out of the room.

Naturally, only Diarob and I were left in the space.

A solemn atmosphere flowed over the space.

*

Diarob remained silent for a long time.

It would be better if he yelled or even got angry, to the point where I thought it would be less burdensome.

His gaze simply stared at me, as if he was extremely angry or just observing.

Anyway, that gaze was very burdensome to the point of instilling fear.

‘Is he seething because I couldn’t conceive an imperial heir?’

Come to think of it, it was a night obtained after a very arduous plan, so he may have had high expectations.

Amidst various thoughts that made my brain feel like it was going to explode, he finally opened his mouth.

“You said you would bring in the Berghen’s infirmary system?”

I had already expected Diarob to bring up this issue.

It wasn’t difficult to recite the prepared answer.

“I had no choice because Prince Dylan of Berghen was actively pushing for the infirmary system.”

I used the Berghen prince, who was unlikely to have any contact with him, as a shield, so as not to drag Casius into it, as he might bring it up again at the next competition.

But Diarob’s gaze was somehow subtle.

‘Does he know something?’

My insides flinched for no reason, but on the outside, I pretended to be as calm as ever.

The duke’s fingers tapping on the table made the tea water dangerously ripple.

I felt it from the beginning, but the duke was very strange today.

The persistent gaze felt as if it was seeing right through me to the bone. Only after the fine hairs stood up did Diarob open his mouth.

But.

“You made that proposal?”

“What? What proposal?”

I asked, feigning a natural expression.

The voice refined through countless training sessions did not tremble.

Separately, thoughts quickly branched out and spread in various directions.

‘What? Could it be that Diarob knows what happened inside the meeting room?’

It felt like my heart had dropped with a thud.

Judging from Diarob’s expression, it seemed like an issue that would not end easily.

The duke seemed to have certainty rather than suspicion.

‘Does he have ears in the imperial palace too? Or did he bribe the record-keepers like Evelina?’

Honestly, I didn’t even think he would go as far as bribing the record-keepers to confirm such a thing when he had his own daughter, me.

So I was at ease…

If he had noticed all the facts, it would be foolish to make excuses here.

I had to admit that I made the proposal myself, but seek an escape route by emphasizing that it was not of my own will.

“Your Majesty had already planned that issue.”

Diarob’s gaze penetrated me suffocatingly.

Looking straight into those eyes, I continued speaking as plausibly as possible.

“So I just brought it up first.”

“Are you in your right mind!”

With a bang, the ebony table shook.

Diarob gritted his teeth and pressed.

“Don’t you know how much the Snowfell family earns from the infirmary business?”

“I know.”

“You know, yet you make such a proposal?”

“It’s something that will happen anyway. I did it to try and win His Majesty’s heart.”

I raised my head and saw Diarob with an utterly incomprehensible expression.

Diarob then stared at me for quite a long time.

After a while of looking at him, hiding the tension under my clenched palms, he opened his mouth.

“Has that man stolen your heart?”

“…!”