“Could this guy…?”

No, that couldn’t be. Illei had been raised by her own hands since he was a baby.

Although he wasn’t a baby who inherited her blood, she had raised him dearly like her own grandson.

Empress Tae-hoo closed her eyes quietly, recalling the past.

She had wanted to become the Empress. She wanted to sit in that noble position more than any other woman in the empire.

And when she gave birth to the long-awaited son, she believed without a doubt that her dream would come true.

However, with her birth as a bastard, she couldn’t ascend to the position of Empress.

At the moment when another woman became the Empress and the son she gave birth to ascended to the throne, she thought her dream of becoming the Empress was over.

‘But that wasn’t the end.’

The gods gave her, a pitiful person, an opportunity.

When the illness of the late Emperor Philip III worsened, and the issue of succession was mentioned, the Empress Sun, Akia’s mother, had a difficult time getting pregnant due to her health.

Because of that, although the nobles advised bringing in a concubine to produce an heir, the compassionate Emperor Sun rejected it.

It was around that time that she thought, perhaps she could fulfill the dream she couldn’t achieve.

However, contrary to her desire, Spencer, the wife of the Marquis and her daughter-in-law, also had difficulty conceiving.

Empress Tae-hoo initially thought it was a problem on her daughter-in-law’s side.

But.

The problem lay with her son.

Empress Tae-hoo felt as if her stomach had collapsed. Her dream had been shattered like this.

However, the flames of desire once ignited did not easily extinguish.

So, one day while wracking her brain to find a solution, she coincidentally discovered a newborn baby born to a distant relative of her family.

The baby was strangely similar to herself. Although the hair was brown, resembling the baby’s mother, the face was so similar that it wouldn’t be wrong to say he was her grandson.

So, she killed him. To take away the baby who looked like her.

After disguising herself as the parents of the baby’s distant relatives and killing them in an accident, she also made it look like the baby died right there.

The baby she abducted grew up as the offspring of Empress Tae-hoo’s son and daughter-in-law.

After that, Illei, who was raised with sincerity, brought various precious things and grew up as if he were her own grandson.

‘Yes, there’s no way that child would betray me.’

But unbelievably, the one she had been so fearful of revealing suddenly appeared.

“Illei…!”

With a joyful heart, Empress Tae-hoo stood up and approached him.

“Why, are you coming now…!”
“There is much to handle. Please take a seat for now.”

Supported by him, the empress sat on the chair in the room.

“You must have been surprised. Please, have a drink for now.”

As she was quite thirsty, Empress Tae-hoo gulped down the water Illei brought.

Now that her mind had settled a bit, the empress inquired about what had happened so far.

“So, what happened?”

“For now, I will ensure a proper investigation is carried out. So please stay here temporarily until then.”

“Stay here continuously…! That cannot be! Take a look around here! It’s not a place for me!”

As she said, this place was not suitable for the Empress of the empire.

“Grandmother.”

Empress Tae-hoo’s eyes widened at the sight of the emperor calling her grandmother.

It had been quite a while since Emperor Illei, who had become the emperor, did not address her as the empress.

And Empress Tae-hoo was quite content with this fact.

The only person who could take her out of this cold palace was relying on the blood ties.

“Yes, ahem… Illei.”

After that, looking at Emperor Illei, who had embraced her tightly, Empress Tae-hoo stroked his back as if she did when he was young.

But it was strange. Her mouth, which had started to dry up, soon turned into a thirst that was growing.

Suddenly, Empress Tae-hoo, who had pushed Illei away, pointed at the glass.

“Hey, can you give me some water?”

Dry coughs burst forth incessantly from her parched throat.

“Are you talking about this?”

Illei, holding the glass pointed by Empress Tae-hoo, tilted his head.

“Cough, yes… cough. Come on, give it to me. Cough.”

However, Illei, holding the glass, remained motionless. He just stared at Empress Tae-hoo, who was coughing increasingly.

“Illei?”

Upon asking again, he finally approached Empress Tae-hoo. And then.

Clang!

The sound of shattering glass echoed sharply in the cold room.

“You, what is this… cough. What…!”

Seeing the shattered glass on the floor, Empress Tae-hoo nudged him.

But Illei, with an indifferent expression, continued speaking as if nothing had happened.

“Initially, your mouth will start to dry up, and then you will gradually feel a severe thirst.”

“…What?”

“But even if you drink water, it’s useless, Grandmother.”

With a brighter smile than ever, Illei looked at Empress Tae-hoo.

“Did you think I wouldn’t know?”

“What…?”

“You killed my parents to ascend to this position, didn’t you?”

“…How could…!”

Gasp.

However, Empress Tae-hoo could not offer any excuses in response to Emperor Illei’s words.

Shortly after, drops of red blood spat out of her mouth.

“…Illei.”

Collapsed on the floor, Empress Tae-hoo grabbed the hem of the emperor.

“You, you betrayed me…”

Illei, who had been looking down at her for a moment, kneeled down, meeting her gaze.

“Grandmother, you said to kill anyone who knows about my birth.”

In response to Illei’s final words, Empress Tae-hoo let out a short sigh.

“Just die like this. For the sake of your beloved grandson.”