You’re out of your mind.

It felt like I’d struck a nerve.

Edan’s mother and the Empress were entirely different types of people—from their birth status, personalities, and the aura they exuded, down to their subtle attitudes toward the Emperor.

In the original story, it was written that the Emperor deeply cherished Edan’s mother. Though their story occupied only a few lines, it was easy to guess what happened.

Jealousy and inferiority toward a concubine who was loved more than oneself, the legitimate wife.

It was highly likely that claiming Edan’s mother was of too low status to be recognized as a concubine was merely an excuse. Given the Empress’s personality, even if the Emperor had brought home any extraordinary woman, she would have been blinded by jealousy and inferiority.

Had he brought a woman from a family superior to hers, she’d have raged, accusing him of disrespecting her—there’d always be some pretext to pick on.

Even after his mother’s death, Edan suffered for a long time due to her lingering inferiority complex. Still, considering how much Edan had already sacrificed for the imperial family, they should have let it rest.

It’s high time to let go of resentment toward someone long dead. Yet she clung to it—the inferiority she felt toward that woman.

“What exactly have you done for the Empire, Your Majesty the Empress?”

“What did you say?”

“If you truly cared for the Empire, shouldn’t you be fostering even closer ties between His Highness the Crown Prince and His Grace the Duke?”

“What do you know, you wretch—!”

“Oh, you’ve made such a scene that even if I wanted to ignore it, I couldn’t.”

When I lightly smiled with my eyes, the Empress shot up from her seat.

Furious at my provocation—which she’d assumed would be easy to crush—she clenched her teeth and stormed rapidly down the stairs.

The moment her foot touched the last step, I too stepped forward.

Though the men around me, including Edan, looked alarmed, I walked resolutely until I stood face to face with her.

“Your Majesty.”

A cold, murderous glare poured from the Empress’s fiercely raised eyes.

My, how bloodthirsty. Had we been alone, she’d probably have slit my throat right then and there.

I stepped very close to her, stopping just a few paces away, then whispered softly into her ear.

“What good is high birth if your actions are vulgar and cowardly? Do you think yourself grand because you bully subordinates into submission?”

“…!”

“But what can you do? To me, you’re nothing but a pitiful bundle of inferiority. You’re a selfish, foolish perpetrator who tormented a child orphaned since youth for years. Nothing more, nothing less.”

“You really want to die—!”

“Had you been just a bit smarter, had you known how to control your emotions, you’d have realized—”

“Realized what?”

“That childish antics like this won’t work forever. Lord Killian and Duke Edan are no longer children. Face reality. They’ve already seen through your transparent schemes.”

I clearly heard the Empress gulp, her Adam’s apple bobbing. I chuckled softly.

“No matter how lavishly you wrap yourself in fine garments and jewels, your wretched nature cannot be hidden. What a pity.”

“…!”

“Still, don’t get too angry. You’ll only look more pathetic.”

Having finished speaking, I wiped the smile from my face and turned toward the Emperor. At that moment, the Empress seized my hair.

“Ugh!”

“Mother!”

Killian’s booming voice echoed through the audience chamber.

“Let go.”

The painful, scalp-tearing sensation quickly subsided—Edan had stepped close and twisted her wrist away.

“Ha! So now you finally show your true colors, you bastard—!”

Seriously? Is she sane? Not even considering her own wrongdoing, she’s blaming Edan again!

“Enough—!”

“Enough.”

Since I was already thoroughly disliked, I was about to hurl another barb—but Killian approached. He took the Empress’s wrist from Edan’s grasp and shoved her away dismissively.

The Empress staggered backward, her face painted with bewilderment.

“Crown Prince!”

That was when it happened. Suddenly, the surroundings plunged into deep darkness, as if night had fallen instantly. And that nauseating stench I’d momentarily forgotten began surging back, vibrating through the air.

I looked out the window.

An eerie wind howled as if heralding a storm, black clouds rolled in, and the sky darkened to midnight blackness in mere moments—even though it was broad daylight. That revolting smell…

As I stared at the sky where the sun had vanished, the lights in the audience chamber blazed on with a sharp *click*.

At that instant, it felt as if I’d been struck on the back of the head—I suddenly recalled the book I’d read in the Archmage’s secret chamber.

This can’t be.

Among the records, there was a passage describing the vile odor emanating from the witch who had consumed hearts. It was described there as a fishy, rotting stench—and when intensified, it resembled the putrid smell of decaying fish or dead animals. The author wrote “resembled” because ordinary people couldn’t perceive it—only Saints could detect it.

And the historical records of the Empire from when demons previously appeared… They described the darkness summoned by the witch who ate hearts and soaked the land in blood.

Exactly like the situation unfolding now.

I turned urgently toward the Emperor.

“Your Majesty! The vanished witch, Ivy Violet, was my friend. We must find Ivy immediately. I don’t know why Her Majesty the Empress hid her, but she is a witch! You know what witches did to the Empire in the past!”

The Emperor, who had been gazing grimly at the unnaturally darkened sky, widened his eyes at my words.

“Your Imperial Majesty! Quickly, find the witch—!”

But then I saw the Empress’s expression before me—and my words died in my throat.

The Empress was smiling at the sky, wearing a satisfied smirk—as if she’d known all along what was happening.

I seized her arm firmly.

“Where is Ivy?”

“How dare you lay your filthy hands on me! Let go!”

The Empress roughly shook off my hand and sneered. But I grabbed her arm again.

“Tell me right now where Ivy is! What have you done with the witch?”

No one else seemed to notice the stench—they probably thought it was just gloomy weather. But no, this was nothing so simple!

Frantically scanning my surroundings, my gaze locked onto the High Priest. His eyes were fixed on the ominous wind blowing through the window, his frail body trembling violently as if gripped by overwhelming terror.

Beside him, Hillstain Mathias stared down at him with an incredulous expression—as if watching a trembling aspen leaf. I swallowed hard, my face pale, and stepped toward the High Priest.

“High Priest, you know something, don’t you?”

Cold sweat poured from his face like rain.

“I—I mean…”

“Why are you trembling like that? As if you’ve committed a capital crime.”

Hillstain Mathias sharply tapped the stammering High Priest’s back with his knuckles. The priest collapsed onto the floor as if his body had given out.

“I—I’m sorry! It was Her Majesty the Empress’s command!”

“What?”

Hillstain Mathias looked down at the High Priest with disbelief, while I stepped back slightly and gazed down at his prostrate form.

An impatient, blade-sharp voice sliced through from behind me.

“High Priest! Shut your mouth! Betray me once more, and I’ll slit your throat right here!”

“But, Your Majesty the Empress! Look outside! Clearly, this was the wrong choice! Didn’t I warn you this wouldn’t work!”

“Shut up! I said shut up!”

I bent my knees and crouched down, locking eyes with the High Priest sprawled on the floor.

“You know where Ivy is, don’t you? High Priest! Answer me!”

At the rise in my voice, the High Priest flinched—but ultimately remained silent. Then, heavy footsteps approached him from behind me.

It was Edan. Without hesitation, he pressed the tip of his sword against the High Priest’s neck.

“D—Duke…!”

“You sided with Latieana just now and spoke truthfully—so I’ll grant you one chance to live.”

“…!”

“But lie this time, and your head will roll. Don’t think I’m not pressing hard enough.”

Trembling fingers clutching the floor, the High Priest finally spoke.

“Hearts… I gave the witch the Saints’ hearts…”

They’re insane! Shocked, I stared with shaking eyes, alternating between the Empress and the High Priest.

“What on earth have you done!”

“Well, I didn’t do anything—the hearts were given by him, not me. He’s the one who handed over the Saints.”

Clang! Clang! The strengthening wind began battering the windows violently, and the stench grew thicker.

This is the witch’s stench—the rotting odor intensifies as the witch consumes hearts and grows stronger!

“How many… how many people…?”

When the High Priest didn’t answer, Edan pressed his blade harder. A single drop of blood trickled out.

“Answer.”

“…One… one hundred.”

At that moment—

CRASHHHH! The walls and massive windows shattered into fragments, the building shook violently, and a whirlwind of fierce gales surged from all directions.

“Latie!”

In an instant, Edan pulled me into his arms, shielding me with his solid body—simultaneously, a flash of blue supernatural light erupted.

Amid the screech of tearing flesh, blood sprayed in all directions.

It all happened in a flash. I hastily wriggled free from Edan’s embrace and scanned the surroundings—then froze, breath caught in my throat.

…A demon.

A massive demon seemed to have attacked through the audience chamber’s grand window—its head already severed into four pieces by Killian and Edan’s attacks. And… the Emperor’s body was impaled and dangling from the demon’s fangs, larger than a man’s height.

“AAAAAHHHH!”

The Empress’s scream, laced with horrific despair, echoed through the chamber.