“Is this Father’s doing?”

“What are you talking about as soon as you wake up?”

The nerves, already sharpened due to the Duke, became even more tense.

“To send such a look to Father. Whose child is so insolent? Since you seem physically fine, I’ll take my leave.”

It wasn’t the usual appearance of a loving lady.

She turned her back on Diana and attempted to leave the room.

However, due to the sharp voice that reached her ears, she couldn’t help but stop her steps.

“Father!”

At Diana’s screaming, the one who had stopped in place slowly turned around.

“Without any decency, who taught you to shout like that?”

The Crown Princess looked at her father with empty eyes.

‘I didn’t want to believe it…’

Was everything she had doubted until now the truth?

The late Emperor and Empress, and even her stepmother… Did Father kill them all?

Her trust in Father, who had been carefully holding onto this incident, collapsed.

‘Really… He replaced my brother’s wine with poisoned wine.’

Diana, who faced an unwanted truth, was extremely confused.

Until Duke Artem revealed all of this to her, she didn’t believe the Duke’s words.

Because she didn’t believe, she accepted the Duke’s proposal.

She never thought her father would put poison in the wine she would drink.

If nothing happened, the trauma of poison wouldn’t come to her mind…

However, her expectations were ruthlessly shattered.

She didn’t want to believe the truth unfolding before her eyes, but the reality was cruel.

Diana bit her lower lip and struggled to speak.

“…How many more people do you have to kill to satisfy your anger, Father?”

Diana’s gaze on the Emperor shook like a mirage.

“What useless words.”

Unlike her, the Emperor seemed very indifferent.

“In front of me… You didn’t kill them, did you?”

Tremors were felt in the Crown Princess’s voice. Speaking with her eyes closed and her two eyes tightly shut, she looked extremely strained.

Swallowing dry saliva, Diana stared at her father. Then, in a muffled voice, she muttered.

“You fed poison to Grandfather…”

The Emperor glared at Diana with a cold gaze.

Because she uttered the story of poisoning, almost taboo.

Diana had three memories she wanted to forget.

The first was her mother’s death, and the second was the death of Empress Seon, who had cared for her more than anyone after losing her mother early.

And finally, the death of Emperor Seon.

She was the unfortunate child who first discovered the deaths of the three.

Her mother’s death was more sorrowful than anything, but the most shocking death was that of Empress Seon.

Empress Seon faced death in front of Diana.

The sight of Empress Seon, who was sharing tea with Diana, vomiting blood and collapsing, was vividly etched in her memory even after several years.
She had experienced her mother’s death once, but since witnessing someone die in front of her, it became difficult for her to lead a normal life.

Diana, who had lost a place to lean on, found strength in Duke Artem and her paternal uncle, Emperor Seon.

Especially with the Duke, there was a shared understanding of losing a mother at a young age, which brought them closer.

The Emperor looked at Diana with a cold, indifferent gaze.

“You casually speak profane words, Diana.”

Exhaling a deep sigh, he continued silently.

“You know well how much I followed your brother.”

The Emperor approached the princess slowly.

“Our brotherhood was truly unique. I respected your brother. He was an excellent emperor.”

In his face, reminiscing about the past, a hint of nostalgia appeared.

The Emperor genuinely admired his brother.

He was competent in everything, unlike himself.

Although they came from the same family, the difference in abilities between Emperor Seon and himself was too distinct. Being compared from birth was his fate.

Emperor Seon and he were like light and shadow.

While Emperor Seon received praises from everyone and shone brightly, he was a mediocre existence.

He never received a parent’s love and attention.

While everyone paid attention to his brother, only Diana’s mother, who was a palace maid at the time, looked at him.

At that time, they had different statuses, but such things didn’t matter.

That was how much he loved Diana’s mother.

However, why did he kill such a woman?

Thinking about the deceased Emperor Seon and Diana’s mother, the Emperor stiffened his expression coldly.

‘The person I believed without suspicion, who was supposed to be my woman, has now discovered that she loves my brother…’

The anger was inevitable at the fact that his brother, who had everything, stole even the heart of his woman.

He lost the only thing he had.

Admiration for Emperor Seon turned into resentment, transcending envy.

His suppressed frustration erupted brutally.

Unconsciously, the Emperor approached Diana and gently lifted her chin with his finger, then spoke in a low voice.

“Seeing you reminds me of my departed brother.”

In the Emperor’s gaze focused on Diana, unease crept into her heart.

From the kind blue eyes to the straight nose and thick lips.