Chapter 18

The emperor, who had been engrossed in his work for a long time, instinctively rose halfway when he saw a maid enter his study. It was usually not a good sign when Diane sent her direct maid. "What is it?" "Your Majesty, the Lady of the Palace has been summoned to the Empress's Palace." At this, Karl frowned. "The Empress summoned Diane? What for?" "The Lady of the Palace submitted a supplementary budget, but the Empress ordered her to redo it twice. She was so terrified on her way to the Empress's Palace that I couldn't just stand by and came to you, Your Majesty. Please forgive my rudeness, Your Majesty." She was trembling with fear. At these words, a wave of unease stirred in the emperor's chest as if he were being choked by a giant. A bottomless black sea seemed to fill one side of Karl Ulrich's heart. He felt as if he were being pushed into that deep, dark sea, overwhelmed by a wave of guilt. The voice of the past echoed vividly in his mind. 'When you become emperor... will you recognize me as your mother then?' Karl bit his lip hard and pressed his hand to his forehead. "Your Majesty?" "..." "Your Majesty..." "Be quiet." "I-I'm sorry!" Seeing the emperor's displeasure, Lorraine stammered, flustered. 'Karl!!' A call that felt like being torn apart, as if his breath was being cut off, like the final agony. The deep, dark sea in his heart finally churned violently. Karl clenched his teeth and sprang to his feet. "She was summoned to the Empress's Palace." "Yes, Your Majesty." His purple eyes, which flickered with an eerie intensity, made Lorraine instinctively shrink back. The emperor passed her, taking heavy steps. *** Diane blinked. "You're... transferring the funds allocated to the Ivory Palace to the Empress's Palace?" She asked, her expression bewildered. Adele, still smiling, nodded and leisurely leaned back on the sofa, crossing her legs. "Haven't you been fulfilling the Empress's role all this time?" "..." "And isn't that budget the reward for performing the Empress's duties? Since I'm taking over the Empress's role, it's only natural that the budget allocated for that role should also be transferred to me. Are you unhappy about it?" "..." Adele leaned forward, her shining golden eyes fixed on Diane's face. "I'm not unhappy. I'm just... frustrated." This was not a scenario Diane had anticipated. The Empress's long fingers tapped the budget details of the Ivory Palace. "You've worked hard. I won't ask you to write up the detailed usage report now. I'll do it myself, so transfer all the funds allocated to the Ivory Palace to the Empress's Palace. It seems the Emperor has entrusted you with that authority." The Empress did not make a request or a plea. She did not even wait for the Emperor to grant her the authority. Despite having no support from her family or allies, she was the Empress. Diane had no choice but to hand over the rights she had enjoyed for the past three years with a single command from the Empress. She held no official title in this palace. The fact was infuriating. Despite all her preparations for such a moment, reality and imagination were different. Her blood boiled, her eyes turned red, and heat rose to her pale, transparent face, turning it red. "Your Majesty." The voice, mixed with indignation, made the smile on Adele's face vanish coldly. "Is there something you're dissatisfied with?" Her raised golden eyes were threatening in themselves. Even the maids waiting behind her instinctively took a step back, almost pressing against the wall. But Diane met her gaze, teeth clenched. "Diane Poitiers." The Empress called her in a cold, harsh tone, as if warning her, but Diane did not back down. Adele and Diane's gazes locked, as if trying to devour each other. Diane thought bitterly. This palace, this reception room, this very spot! The seat beside the Emperor, the seat from which one could look down on all, the supreme seat! It was mine! It was mine!! It was mine, not yours, and it should have been mine by right!!! At this moment, she felt powerless to challenge the Empress's authority on her own. Tears of anger poured from her sky-blue eyes, now red. As she looked at her own reflection in Diane's eyes, a familiar voice echoed in Adele's mind. 'Step down from the line of succession.' Damn it. Why does this come to mind now?!! The tears of someone who had been robbed of what was hers overlapped with her own past self. Adele, who had been fiercely driving out the Empress, suddenly clenched her fists tightly and took a deep breath. Seeing her suddenly weakened, Lady Giselle frowned and looked at the Empress. Adele took another long, deep breath. 'Adelaide. Resign from the position of Princess.' It was such a simple and easy command. Still staring at Diane Poitiers, who was crying and looking at her with wide eyes, Adele forced her dry, parched mouth to open. "Do you think your position has been taken away because of me?" "..." Although she had no good feelings towards Diane, she couldn't help but be reminded of her own past by those tears. Adele decided to offer the best solution. "Listen carefully, Diane Poitiers." "..." "I am the Empress of Echmont. Do not dare to challenge my authority. I will not forgive any challenge to my authority, in any form. Do not think it has been taken away. Think carefully about what you originally possessed." This was the best Adele could offer. She had almost torn up the order to reside in the Ivory Palace and ordered her to leave, but she managed to hold back. Do not challenge the Empress's authority. Then I will recognize what you have as much as possible. This was the greatest consideration she could give to Diane. Despite this, Diane glared at Adele, clenching her fists tightly. Adele had offered to recognize everything except her authority as Empress, but to Diane, that 'authority' had long been a part of her. It was hers. So Adele's offer was wrong from the start. Her jaw trembled from how tightly she clenched her teeth. 'Your Majesty, Your Majesty. Why aren't you coming, Your Majesty!' Despite her offer of leniency, Diane's refusal and trembling with anger made Adele's expression freeze. And at that moment, the door to the Empress's reception room suddenly burst open without warning. Who dared to open the door to the Empress's reception room without permission!? As Adele frowned and glared at the door, Diane suddenly knelt and prostrated herself before her, crying out in a tearful voice. "I'm sorry, Your Majesty!" It was sudden and simultaneous. "I'm sorry, Your Majesty. Please forgive me." ...What? Adele, taken aback, opened her mouth wide and her eyes widened. What did she just say? Meanwhile, Karl's gaze fell on Diane, who was prostrate on the floor. Her disheveled blonde hair, small and delicate back, and trembling voice. Karl slowly raised his eyes and looked at the Empress, who was sitting in the chair. "Empress, what are you doing?" His deep voice was filled with thick anger and darkness, and his sunken purple eyes seemed to spout flames. Adele slowly rose from her seat under the Emperor's gaze. She alternated her gaze between Diane, who was still kneeling and crying, and the angry Emperor. "Get up, Lady Poitiers!! What are you doing after talking to me so well until now?!" "Empress!!" "Your Majesty, what are you doing?!" The Empress, who did not back down, faced the Emperor, who approached her like a raging beast. A hint of madness was visible on his face. Lorraine quickly helped the trembling Diane to her feet. Her white face was wet with tears, and her eyes were swollen and red. "Your Majesty, I will apologize to the Empress..." Her frail voice was about to break. Karl clenched his teeth and looked at Diane, then turned to the Empress. "Take Diane back to the Ivory Palace." "Yes, Your Majesty." Lorraine supported the nearly fainting Diane, who left the reception room like a limp rag doll. The air in the reception room froze like thin ice, ready to shatter at any moment. "Everyone, leave. I will have a private conversation with the Empress." The maids, who had been pressed against the wall, left as if they had been waiting for the order. Lady Giselle, the only one left, looked at Adele with a worried expression. "It's been a while." The Empress's cold greeting was met with a respectful bow from Lady Giselle. "It's been a while, Your Majesty." "You haven't changed." "..." "You're the same. You just watch as weaker people are trampled underfoot from the Empress's side. Is it amusing?" "Leave, Lady Giselle." Unable to listen any longer, Adele sharply commanded. The Emperor raised his voice. "Is it amusing?!" "Leave, Lady Giselle!!" Adele also shouted. The Emperor glared at Adele with a killing intent, and she met his gaze, her jaw set. Lady Giselle's wrinkles deepened. She took a trembling breath, bowed respectfully to both of them, and turned to leave the reception room. The door closed with a thud, leaving the Emperor and Empress alone in the spacious, luxurious reception room. Neither of them thought of sitting down. "What are you doing, Empress?" "Your Majesty, what are you doing?" "Amusing? Twisting the neck of someone weaker than you and making them beg for mercy. What a vile hobby." "I never did that." "I saw it with my own eyes, yet you make excuses." "She prostrated herself as soon as the door opened and started begging me. The moment Your Majesty arrived." "What a coincidence, indeed?" The Emperor mocked Adele with a sneer. Adele let out a deep sigh, her rising indignation, and roughly ran her hand through her hair. In the meantime, the Emperor picked up something from the table with one hand. It was the budget details of the Ivory Palace. "Are you envious?" "..." "Envious of what Diane has?" "It's not her but Your Majesty who is overstepping the line. Have you seen the Empress's Palace budget? How the supplementary budget is?" "..." "You haven't, have you? You even entrusted it to the Ivory Palace. A queen who receives money from the Emperor's mistress? Is that what you wanted?!" Adele laughed bitterly and continued in a rapid-fire manner. She then roughly pulled out the supplementary budget details from the trash can and slammed it on the table. "This is the supplementary budget for the Empress's Palace. Take a look! It's worth about one fine horse. Is the Empress's Palace budget so impoverished that it's worse than a common household's living expenses?" The Emperor looked at the budget details the Empress had placed, narrowing his eyes. As she said, the supplementary budget was worth about one fine horse. Silence hung between them for a moment. Karl took a deep breath and closed his eyes. But as he closed his eyes, the scene came back to him. The deep, dark sea was still not calm. "So you summoned Diane?" "She came herself after I ordered her to redo it." "That was your summons." "Is that so?" Adele asked in a sarcastic tone, and Karl flashed a threatening look at her. He took a step closer to her. Like the night before, they glared at each other from a precarious distance. "Your mother, the Dowager of Gotrop, lied to me." "..." "She said you were obedient and devoted... Have you learned nothing from being expelled from your homeland?" "Don't speak so carelessly about the reason I had to leave Gotrop without knowing the full story." "Listen well, Empress." Karl grabbed Adele's shoulder tightly. He warned her in a whisper-like tone. "Like a feather on a quill. Like a flower in a vase." Just to be there. A mechanical answer to the question of who the Empress of Echmont is. "Live like that." The moment she heard those words, a shiver ran from the top of Adele's head down to her toes. The Emperor, feeling the electric shock through his hand, let go and looked at Adele's golden eyes. At that moment, a thunderous boom shook the heavens and a flash of lightning illuminated the sky. The world turned white for a moment with the intense light, and Karl instinctively closed his eyes, but Adele quickly turned and ran to the terrace. The terrace glass door rattled in the strong wind. As soon as she turned the handle, the door opened, and the wind hit her full force. Adele grabbed the terrace railing and lifted her head to the sky. "Aaaaaah!!!" Sharp screams and the chaos of people running around shook the entire palace. "The sky, the sky!!!" The clear, sunny sky of late summer seemed as if someone had poured dark red paint over it. The sky turned red like spreading blood, and— "T-t-tower!!!" "The tower is coming down!!!" A black disaster, a harbinger of death, was rapidly approaching the Echmont Palace. "Like a feather on a quill, like a flower in a vase. Live like that?" Adele slowly repeated the words she had just heard, staring at the black disaster with unwavering eyes. The palace was in chaos. Thunder shook the heavens again. The Emperor, sensing the situation, rushed out of the reception room, and Lady Giselle ran in, shouting in alarm. "Your Majesty, are you alright? The tower is coming down, Your Majesty. You must take cover." Lady Giselle wrapped a shawl around Adele's shoulders and tried to lead her, but the Empress refused, her voice cold. "No. It's not necessary." Adele, looking at the sky turning red, undid the tight buttons on her sleeve. Her golden eyes sparkled as she looked up at the sky. "Your Majesty?" Lady Giselle called out in a bewildered voice at the Empress's sudden actions, but Adele did not respond. The blood-red sky and the terrifying black disaster were, for the first time, welcome. Adele turned sharply and headed towards her room. She had something to do.