Chapter 67

# 67

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Diana, who followed the emperor into the bedroom, took his outer robe from the chamberlain and said, "You must have worked hard this morning."

"You worked hard. It must have taken quite a while to wake up early and dress so beautifully."

Diana laughed, her voice trembling like leaves in the wind, in response to Julius's teasing words.

"Oh, are you scolding me for being beautiful?"

"Speak not so. I say this so that I won’t be jealous of your beauty."

Julius said this as he embraced his beautiful wife and kissed her forehead.

They still shared a sweet affection like newlyweds.

Knock knock.

At that moment, Helen, the head lady-in-waiting, entered.

"Your Majesty, it’s time for the empress to take her medicine. I regret to disturb your time together. Please forgive my rudeness."

"The empress’s health is the most important. Bring the medicine quickly."

Diana had nearly lost her life after a miscarriage caused by poisoning long ago.

Since then, she had to take her medicine on time every day.

Diana held the medicine in her hand and murmured bitterly.

"Even if I take this medicine, I can no longer bear a child. It weighs heavily on my heart..."

Julius patted his wife’s shoulder and said, "Don’t say that. As long as you are healthy, that is enough for me."

"Your Majesty..."

Diana leaned her cheek against his chest, looking moved, but her eyes were cold.

'And yet, you’ll go to your mistress under the pretext of a winter hunt.'

I must find that mistress and tear her apart.

Julius was so thorough that she had yet to discover his new secret lover.

Eight years ago, Diana had taken poison herself.

At the time, she was pregnant with their second child, and a miscarriage would have been very dangerous.

But she went through with it.

To frame the Aylts Dukedom and Empress Estelle for her attempted murder, she had to pay such a price.

The emperor, unlike the gentle Diana, did not particularly like the stern Empress Estelle, making the plan easier.

Diana recently received intelligence that the emperor was still meeting a mistress he had taken during that period.

While I was fighting for my life, he was being unfaithful.

What a treacherous affection. After spending a deep time with the emperor, Diana got up at an appropriate moment when it would be just right to feel a bit regretful.

"I will retire now. Please rest well."

Diana returned to her palace, changed her clothes, and said to Helen, the head lady-in-waiting, who followed her in.

"The Duke Agnus’s expression today was quite a sight. Thanks to Wood, I had a very enjoyable time."

"Poor the foster daughter."

"That’s not the case. I thought the plan to make Esselred’s successor had failed, but the situation has turned out quite interestingly."

Diana changed into an indoor dress and yawned widely.

"I’m so tired from moving so early."

"Would you like some tea?"

"Yes, I need it. My nerves are sharp, so make sure the maids don’t hover around."

"As you wish."

When the surroundings became quiet, Diana slowly opened her half-closed eyes.

She put on a thick robe.

The rooms of the powerful are naturally filled with secrets. Diana activated a mechanism to open the path to the underground passage.

Diana held a lamp in her hand and walked through the long passage familiarly.

Soon, the passage ended, and as she climbed the stairs, the sound of rain became clear.

Ahead was the cold palace used to confine the deposed empress.

"Hmm."

Diana hummed a tune as she entered the palace.

"I greet the Empress."

"Ah, well done."

She casually acknowledged the greeting of Hudson, the magician she employed as a researcher, and approached the large crystal prison.

Inside, a boy with black hair floated in the air, asleep.

He was the second prince, Creed, who was reported to have died.

"Has the 'future prediction' ability not manifested yet?"

Hudson replied apologetically.

"I apologize."

"Well... it’s fine. As long as he has Estelle’s blood, there’s a possibility."

Diana looked at Creed and smiled ecstatically.

"What a great fortune that I discovered the predictive ability that Estelle tried so hard to hide."

Diana did not deal with Estelle to take the Aylts Dukedom’s meager magical train business or to secure the next imperial succession safely.

It was because she knew Estelle had the ability to predict the future.

Therefore, she deliberately did not kill the second prince but secretly took him away.

She intended to forcibly awaken the latent future prediction ability in Creed and use it as a weapon.

"This child will be the perfect weapon to ensure that the main character can never be defeated."

Her voice was as sweet as honey.

"Report immediately if there is any progress."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

As Diana left the cold palace, Hudson clicked his tongue.

"No matter what, he’s your husband’s child. You are incredibly cruel."

He turned his gaze to Creed, who was trapped in the crystal prison.

Creed had been unconscious for five days, tortured to awaken his magic.

"Perhaps it would be better for you to remain unconscious and die this way."

Hudson muttered to the child who couldn’t respond and stretched his rain-soaked, stiff body.

"Ah, I need to rest."

He headed to the break room set up inside the palace.

When no one was left.

Creed lifted his eyelids and flashed a cold, blue light.

#11.

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The Way of Comfort

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"Where the hell are the food supplies supposed to be!"

Beni, the maid, couldn’t hold back her frustration as she rummaged through the storeroom.

Selen’s expression was no better.

"Could they be deliberately trying to make things difficult for us?"

They wanted to just throw everything away and go up to the room to confront them, but they couldn’t.

Theo’s menacing threat that he wouldn’t let them off if they were dismissed for any reason was still fresh in their minds.

"Ha... I thought it would just be a matter of sticking around and subtly tormenting a child."

They gnashed their teeth as they rummaged around and found a small amount of food supplies hidden in a corner.

"At the Alvin Marquess’s, the food supplies are piled up in baskets, sorted by type. This place is like a poor duke’s residence!"

In fact, the Alvin Marquess’s had a much larger number of people to feed, so they could store a lot of food supplies.

In contrast, there were only four people to feed in Esselred.

The maids managed to prepare a simple breakfast.

"Ugh, so frustrating! Since we’re prisoners, can’t they just let us starve?"

Beni grumbled as she and Selen climbed the stairs.

The third room on the left, right? Knock knock.

"Miss, I’ve brought your breakfast."

They stopped as they entered the room. Navia was already eating.

The maids’ faces turned cold at the sight.

"Miss, what is that?"

Navia glanced at the tray of food they had brought and said, "Sorry, I was so hungry and couldn’t wait any longer."

"Huh."

The maids were taken aback, and Minerva, who was by Navia’s side, flinched.

'...Are these the maids the Alvin Marquess mentioned?'

Those nasty maids brought by the Alvin Marquess. Minerva quietly held her breath.

'You’re not even trying to hide your deceitful attitude.'

Navia thought about giving them a hard time but decided against it to avoid unnecessary trouble.

"I’ll eat this later, so just leave it. If you’re hungry before the meal, you can eat it."

Sometimes, when the master loses their appetite and skips a meal, they might offer the food to their dedicated maid.

The servants considered it a great honor to taste the high-quality food made from ingredients they usually couldn’t afford.

However, Beni and Selen were unimpressed.

The food they had brought for Navia was just a regular sandwich, and it was even worse than what Navia was currently eating.

Selen, who had a worse temper than Beni, stiffened her cheeks and widened her eyes.

'Is she really trying to feed us garbage?'

But Navia seemed to have no ulterior motives.

"...Understood."

They weren’t so poor that they would be upset over such food, so they slammed the tray on the table where Navia was eating.

"Oh, be gentle. I’m sorry, Miss."

Beni smiled and mockingly apologized to Navia.

The sandwich’s contents spilled out, making it look messy.

Navia paused, looked at it for a moment, and then reacted nonchalantly.

"It’s fine. It could happen."

Beni smiled sardonically.

'So, she’s just a kid. Easy to handle.'

Children often don’t realize what’s happening to them as long as their whims are indulged.

"Our Miss is so kind."

Selen also chuckled, thinking the same thing.

At that moment, Minerva, who had been quietly bowing her head, spoke.