Even after all the maids had left, the atmosphere remained cold.

Khalid stared at the Empress with a sharp gaze, maintaining silence, while the Empress calmly sipped her tea, bearing all his scrutiny.

Eventually, Belia spoke first.

“Your complexion seems to have improved since the last time we met at the wedding.”

“Well.”

The Empress glanced down at Belia with an expression that revealed nothing about her thoughts. It was a chilly and indifferent attitude.

Undeterred, Belia placed a small jewel box on the table.

As if questioning what it was, the Empress raised her eyebrows slightly.

“It’s candy made by a renowned artisan in the Kingdom of Ronica.”

“I don’t particularly like sweets.”

The Empress replied coldly.

Then, Belia opened the lid of the jewel box, revealing its contents.

With a clink sound, the jewel box opened to unveil an array of colorful candies.

However, this was merely a smokescreen.

“Among these, the green candies contain an antidote.”

Belia whispered very softly.

“It’s a potent potion. If, by any chance, the taste of tea suddenly intensifies, use it. I’ve included three.”

Although the antidote was being delivered through a pre-informed maid, you never knew with people.

So, just in case the antidote couldn’t reach the Empress if something happened, Belia had requested the apothecary to prepare an emergency potion.

“Hmm. You’ve put quite a bit of thought into this.”

There was a glint in the Empress’s eyes.

“You’re welcome to have one candy whenever you’re bored.”

“…You make rude remarks so charmingly.”

The corners of the Empress’s lips lifted slightly.

“Still, the medicine I’ve given you so far seems effective.”

Whether the Empress was drinking the tea or not, whether she sensed the poison in the tea or not, was conveyed to the Emperor in real-time through the maids who were monitoring.

Most of the people working here were part of the Emperor’s entourage. So, Belia had been worried that they might not have been consistently taking the antidote. It was truly fortunate.

“Thank you. Thanks to you, I get to live a little longer.”

The Empress spoke indifferently.

Watching this quietly, Khalid burst into a sardonic laugh, his face expressing disbelief.

“Why are you laughing?”

“Well, a person who had been waiting to die suddenly says thanks for living a little longer. Isn’t it amusing?”

Khalid didn’t appreciate the Empress’s attitude.

‘…Mother isn’t insane?’

It was unbelievable that all the actions she had shown me until now were just an act.

Purposely rejecting her child and throwing things in anger?

No. It couldn’t be.

But the Empress sitting in front of me was so calm and serene.

As if she were a perfectly sane person.

“…Don’t you have anything to say to me?”

“Why should I have anything to say to you?”

He should have.

Khalid clenched his fist.

At least, if she really was his mother, there should have been something to say.

The young prince had no one to rely on amidst the Emperor’s indifference and disdain. There was only his mother.

But she poured out her loss and anger on her son.

There was no one to protect the child.

Everyone was captivated by their emotions and couldn’t see the small child.

“Why didn’t you explain anything to me?”

“There was no need to.”

The Empress’s expression remained calm.

Neither of them spoke.

A chilly air flowed between them.
“At that time, I couldn’t see anything different. If it’s an excuse, you could call it an excuse.”

However, when the trembling hand couldn’t hide the teacup when it was lowered, a clink sound was heard.

Normally, no sound would have been heard.

The Empress, with a faint smile on her lips, continued speaking.

“But if you ask if things have changed a lot since then, I don’t think so. So, I have no intention of asking for your forgiveness or expecting anything. If you came to apologize… I’m sorry, but I have no such intentions, so you took a wrong step.”

As if the Empress had said all she wanted to say, she coolly issued the expulsion order.

“Leave now. The conversation is over.”

They had dragged out the time for a long while. If they continued talking, suspicions might arise.

She lifted the teapot, poured the tea inside onto the table, and spoke.

“You should leave traces like this. Oh, it might be better to sprinkle a little on your clothes too.”

Saying so, the Empress extended the teapot.

There was still a smile on her lips.

Khalid received the teapot with a very displeased expression. Afterward, he tilted the teapot over his chest, letting the tea trickle down his clothes.

The Empress looked at his actions with satisfaction.

Beside them, Belia also synchronized, dropping a teacup onto the floor with a light thud.

The floor was covered with a carpet, so the teacup didn’t break, but it made a dull sound as it rolled and stopped hitting a chair in the distance.

Khalid and Belia stood up.

“Well then, I will endure here, waiting for the moment I should step forward. …At least your last appearance should resemble that of a mother.”

The Empress said, not looking at their backs.