Chapter 43

At that moment, everyone in the room held their breath. Lionel unconsciously bit the tender flesh inside his mouth. The emperor sat close to the empress, slowly brushing her hair away. As he carefully removed the strands of black hair that clung to her face, he ordered Lionel:

“Counselor, bring me a wet towel.”

As soon as the emperor's command was given, Lady Giggs reacted like a spring.

“Your Majesty, I can do it...”

But the emperor cut her off sharply.

“Isn’t the empress your charge? You should be able to do this much.”

The emperor stared intently at the frozen Lionel and urged him again. The gazes of the waiting physicians and servants in the empress's room all turned to Lionel. Lionel suddenly felt both pitiful and ridiculous. The emperor had deliberately given this order to show how shallow the relationship between Lionel and the empress was. There was no need to be shaken, and no reason to be shaken in the first place, right? Yet, why did his heart sway like reeds in the wind, and why did he feel as if he were suffocating under a pile of earth? Lionel barely managed to steady his trembling heart and walked to the wet towel set aside in a corner, then approached the emperor. The emperor, maintaining a cold expression, glared at Lionel and roughly took the wet towel. He then turned his gaze to the sleeping Adel and, as if to show everyone, slowly wiped her face. His touch was as careful and delicate as if he were handling a glass ornament. Lionel watched the entire scene without a single breath, as if trying to etch it into his retina.

After a while, when Adel's face, which had been wet with sweat and tears, was cleaned, Karl got off the bed with a satisfied look. He then pressed the lukewarm wet towel into Lionel's chest and whispered:

“From now on, wait outside the door when the empress is sleeping. Understand?”

The emperor left the room, telling the chief physician to inform him if the empress woke up, and Lady Giggs took the wet towel from Lionel. Lionel, with a rigid expression, glanced at Adel's face once more before turning away. The old lady shook her head slightly, muttering that she didn't understand what he was thinking. ＊ ＊ ＊

Lionel, who had stormed out of the empress's palace, returned to his office and locked the door. When Henri Jacal asked what had happened, Lionel couldn't even respond. Despite releasing the breath he had been holding, his chest still felt tight. Lionel roughly undid the buttons at his collar. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to calm his wildly beating heart, but the scene came back to him. The emperor, sitting on the empress's bed as if it were his right.

“Ha...”

Lionel sighed and collapsed onto the sofa. They were a married couple. It wasn't unusual for the emperor to nurse the empress, nor was it something to criticize. Yet, at that moment, Lionel wanted to shout out crudely:

‘The empress called for me, not you, when she woke up.’

‘Do you know that she finds this place a living hell?!’

He wiped his face repeatedly and clenched his teeth. He had vowed just a day ago to suppress his desires and never let them resurface. But the turbulent emotions surged like a spring, violently shaking him. Lionel couldn't bear it any longer and abruptly stood up. His heart was beating so hard it hurt. He rubbed his chest roughly, growling like a wounded animal. This emotion, he knew, could never be resolved. Or rather, he wasn't even sure what it was. He was afraid to name it. Was it admiration, longing, respect, awe, or something else? Shaken by the overwhelming waves of emotion, Lionel suddenly thought of Adel's face, which had been like that of a dead person in sleep. Is she okay? Lionel laughed in despair and covered his eyes with his hand. It felt as if he had been given a leash by Adelaide. He was being shaken helplessly by even the smallest of her actions. ＊ ＊ ＊

“Continue the story you were telling.”

As Karl left the empress's palace, he said to the attendant following him. When he heard that the empress had woken up, the emperor was listening to a report about her from the attendant.

“I'm sorry, but I couldn't determine the exact situation inside the palace.”

“So? Whether they shared a room or not.”

“It seems they used separate rooms.”

“...”

Karl scowled and bit his lip. Lionel Valdor. His existence was like a thorn in his throat. The empress had called for him as soon as she opened her eyes, and he had undoubtedly rushed to her side. Karl, too, had rushed there upon hearing the news. The attendant, sensing the emperor's ominous mood, chose his words carefully.

“And two days ago, you visited the slums beyond the Niavara River.”

Karl, lost in thought, stopped walking.

“The slums?”

“Yes. It seems you stayed there for about two hours. According to the boy who guided the empress, she visited the slums and inspected the interiors of the houses.”

“Who did you go with?”

“With Sir Lionel Valdor.”

The emperor fell silent, lowering his eyes. The shadow cast by his tall figure made the attendant hold his breath. After a while, the emperor slowly resumed walking. The attendant, unaware, took a deep breath and hurried to follow closely behind. ＊ ＊ ＊

When the emperor returned to his office, Diane was waiting for him. As he entered, she stood up and smiled brightly. It was a habitual gesture.

“You're here, Your Majesty?”

Though it was a friendly greeting, Karl only glanced at her with a disinterested look before walking to his desk without a word. His chest felt cold, as if filled with wind. Diane bit her lip. Despite this, she tried to compose herself and turned around.

“Do you have something to discuss?”

The emperor, while checking the documents on his desk, asked her. His gaze and hands remained on the documents. This was a signal that he had nothing to discuss with her immediately, making Diane anxious. Normally, she would have pouted, approached him, kissed his cheek, and playfully asked him to come later, then left the room with a decisive attitude. At that moment, the side door, through which the servants entered and exited, opened, and someone entered the emperor's office. Diane's gaze slowly fell on her. Her golden hair, shimmering in the sunlight, and her clean, neat profile, moving like a spring breeze. Diane held her breath and watched her. It felt as if the world had stopped, and only the maid and Diane existed. The maid, moving quietly, approached the emperor's desk and began to organize the scattered documents. Her slender fingers danced over the documents. Her eyes, tilting her head to check the documents, were... a light blue. It was the same maid who had left the emperor's room earlier. Ah... A shock hit Diane as if all the blood in her body had rushed to her feet. Her palms became damp, and a chill ran down her spine. She almost collapsed. The insecurity that had always clung to her back, tormenting her nights, had finally taken a tangible form. It was even more intense than the unease she felt when facing the empress.

‘How many women under twenty-nine with golden hair and blue eyes could there be?’

What had the experienced chief steward, who had witnessed countless scenes in the palace over the years, seen? Diane's beautiful eyes were bloodshot. The maid, who resembled a gentle spring, gathered the documents and looked at the emperor. The emperor also looked at her.

“Thank you.”

It sounded affectionate. It felt affectionate. The maid, bowing her head slightly, turned and walked across the emperor's office with a fresh, lively gait, like a squirrel. Diane's gaze clung to her persistently. She exhaled a shaky breath only after the door closed.

“If you have nothing to say, go, Diane.”

“...”

Diane slowly raised her gaze to Karl. His cold eyes briefly met hers before disappearing. Ah, you're sending me back to hell again. You don't care at all about why I'm like this or what I'm feeling.

“Where did you go?”

“What?”

Karl, who had been casually looking at the documents, frowned and looked at Diane again. Only then did he notice her disheveled appearance, bloodshot eyes, and tense expression.

“Where did you go?”

Diane asked in a voice that sounded like she was about to cry.

“The document attendant has changed. The previous one must have had some issues.”

“...”

“The girl who just left. Her hands seemed meticulous... Actually, the empress has reassigned all the maids, which is a bit inconvenient.”

“Diane...?”

“Can’t you give her to me?”

Karl frowned and stared at Diane for a while before finally responding in a low, indifferent voice.

“Sure.”

It didn't matter to him either way; he left it to her. The attendant, standing nearby, bit his lip at the emperor's indifferent response and stared at him. The emperor, who didn't even know that the document attendant had been replaced by a maid, likely saw the servants as no different from the teacups he used. The attendant then turned his gaze to Diane. Her expression, breathing, attitude, and tone of voice. The attendant knew exactly what would happen to the maid if she were assigned to Diane.

“Thank you, Your Majesty.”

After Diane left the emperor's room, another attendant came to take over, and the first attendant left the room. After a moment of contemplation, he made a firm decision and started walking somewhere. When the document attendant was replaced, someone had secretly approached him and said:

‘Diane Poitiers will definitely try to make the maid her charge. Keep a close eye on things, and if you see any signs of this, come and tell me immediately.’

＊ ＊ ＊

Meanwhile, Renox immediately responded to Diane's call. His sister, whom he hadn't seen in days, looked visibly anxious.

“What's wrong? What happened?”

Diane, who had been pacing restlessly, habitually bit her nails and then her lip.

“Diane Poitiers!”

Even as a child, Diane had been calm when their