Chapter 78

The emperor unknowingly clenched his teeth and glared at the two people. His pupils tightened like those of a beast. His heart raced wildly, but his entire body turned cold. The queen's mysterious dark blue dress was embroidered with gold thread like stars. The hem of her dress, which swayed with each step, resembled a curtain of night. The dress, which depicted her jet-black hair and moon-like golden eyes, suited her as if it had melted into her. And by her side was Lionel, wearing a suit similar in design to hers. The nobles, mesmerized by Lionel's elegant and charismatic appearance as he escorted the queen with measured steps, looked at him with lost expressions. The queen and her advisor seemed to have been a pair from the beginning. The emperor's gaze fell on the tips of their lightly clasped hands. The sight of Adelaide appearing with another man's hand made his blood boil. The emperor's piercing gaze was so overt that all the surrounding nobles held their breath and watched them. After looking at the emperor and Dean, who appeared in green attire, Adelaide bowed respectfully to the emperor. The emperor glared at Lionel, who was bowing to the queen. "Please enter, Your Majesty." At the cold voice, the emperor turned his head toward Adelaide. However, Adelaide stubbornly stared at the closed doors of the ballroom, refusing to meet Karl's eyes. Karl clenched his jaw and spat out an order. "Open the doors." At the emperor's command, the heavy doors slowly opened. The noise of the already started ball spilled out through the gap. "His Majesty the Emperor, Her Majesty the Queen, Duke Herbert, and Lady Diane Poitiers!" The butler's loud voice echoed throughout the spacious ballroom, and the noise that had filled the room instantly disappeared. The orchestra stopped playing and stood up. Elisabeth and Theseus, who had already arrived, turned their bodies toward the door, as did Despoina and Renox. Despoina, seeing the emperor through the open door, called out exaggeratedly. "Your Majesty! You and the duchess look so well together! We have been waiting for you!" Lionel observed Adelaide's expression. Though she maintained a calm demeanor as always, her hand, which was clasped with his, was firmly tense. Lionel squeezed her hand a little harder. She turned her gaze to him, and feeling the warmth in their meeting eyes, she gave him a faint smile and squeezed his hand again. The emperor entered first with Dean. Despoina welcomed them as if he were the host of the ball and personally led Dean to her seat. While Despoina was praising Dean in great detail, the queen entered with Lionel. All the gazes in the ballroom, like a tide, turned to the two of them. Even Despoina, who had been hosting the ball, turned his head as if enchanted. As Theseus and Elisabeth came forward to greet the queen, the eyes of the nobles sparkled like those of predators seeking prey. No one paid attention to the fact that the imperial couple had brought their partners. This ballroom was a giant political arena. As the nobles, eager to greet the queen, stirred, Despoina and the emperor were pushed to the background. Even the prominent nobles joined the flow, wanting to greet the queen, making the emperor and Despoina's camp appear relatively empty. Despoina, watching this with a displeased expression, frowned and strode up to the podium. He approached the emperor, who was seated on the throne and glaring at the queen, and whispered in his ear. "Do you see? This is just a trend now, but it will soon snowball into a massive and solid force! A week? No, it will happen in just a few days!" Since the queen had boldly claimed she could destroy the tower within two years, the ears of the nobles, who had been anxious about the tower, must have perked up. "Can you find a solution just by glaring?! We can't afford to wait any longer!" Even as Despoina burst out in a suppressed voice, the emperor did not budge. Despoina, whose throat felt as if he had swallowed lava and whose chest burned, glared at the queen, who stood regally amidst the crowd like the eye of a storm. "Your Majesty!" Despoina growled and turned his head toward the emperor. However, contrary to the expectation that he would still be glaring at the queen, the emperor was looking at him. The moment their eyes met, Despoina instinctively furrowed his brow. '...What is this?' The emperor's eyes, entangled with obsession and desire, made even Despoina feel a chill. Like a tremendous wind swirling around the eye of a storm, the queen's storm hit the emperor's crown. The emperor stared at Despoina and said in a sinister tone. "I will no longer stand by and watch this trend, so don't worry." Karl turned his gaze from him to Adelaide. My night, shining alone. Upon reflection, love was not about pitying and feeling sorry for someone, but about possessing everything. Or rather, he had always thought so. To achieve this, he needed to sweep away the annoying things around her, like Lionel Herbert or Theseus Valdor. Sending Adelaide to Vuita was also to possess her completely. However, Adelaide had beautifully shattered that thought. Just that much was not enough to break her. Well, then, how far do I need to push you to make you fall into the abyss? What do I need to take from you to make you think of holding my hand? Karl reached a cruel conclusion. ＊ ＊ ＊ The ball was a battlefield of words and glances instead of swords. Like a captain skillfully navigating through the waves, Adelaide adeptly dealt with the nobles. Lionel, as her advisor, stood by her side and supported her, while Elisabeth and Theseus formed a camp by engaging in organic conversations with her. Adelaide, taking a moment to catch her breath, whispered to Lionel, Theseus, and Elisabeth. "Come to the queen's palace briefly tomorrow morning. There is something to show and discuss." "Understood." As Theseus and Lionel nodded, Elisabeth, looking around the crowd surrounding them, gazed at the emperor and Despoina on the podium and said, "The emperor must have realized by now how precarious it was to hold power by taking the safety of the people as hostages. I will come in the morning." How long did they converse like this? A butler pushed through the crowd and approached the queen. "His Majesty the Emperor requests an audience." Adelaide instinctively looked at the throne, but it was empty. The quick-witted butler quickly added, "He is waiting on the terrace." Amidst the gazes that fell on her like arrows, Adelaide nodded calmly, paying attention to every detail. "Very well. Lead the way." "Yes." As the butler turned quickly, the surrounding nobles stepped back to make a path. Before following the butler, Adelaide's eyes met Lionel's. She gave him a faint smile and then moved on. Lionel followed her with a desperate gaze. The situation, where he could neither stop nor hold her, felt like a heavy stone on his chest, constricting his breath. "...Lionel." At the low call, Lionel looked at his brother. As Theseus shook his head sternly, Lionel quickly regained his composure and managed his expression. However, his entire attention was on the tightly closed terrace door. ＊ ＊ ＊ Meanwhile, Adelaide, who had arrived at the terrace door with the butler, took a deep breath and composed her expression. As the butler opened the door, the cold air that rushed through the gap pierced her skin. Her warm hands, which had been warm a moment ago, quickly turned cold from the fingertips. She clasped her hands, straightened her back, and entered the terrace. The emperor glared at her with a gaze that felt like a knife and said, "Sit down." Adelaide sat opposite the emperor and lifted her head to meet his gaze. Every time she looked at the emperor, she inevitably thought of her place. It was a habit. Her heart ached as if a thorn was embedded in it. Unconsciously lowering her gaze, she saw the elaborate hem of her dress. The scene of her running toward Lionel with a simple cotton skirt and a hastily picked wildflower in her hand, in a dream, kept overlapping like a hallucination. In the dream, Adelaide was just a woman, not a queen, and Lionel was just a man, not an advisor. A ridiculous and absurd imagination. "Queen." The cold voice from above snapped Adelaide back to reality, and she lifted her head again. The emperor was looking at her with an overt gaze. Adelaide looked at him and gathered her thoughts. 'First, get rid of Despoina from the palace. Since the emperor relies on his power, he will surely lose strength. For now, that's the goal.' Just then, the emperor called her again. This time, however, ... "Adelaide Ulrich Echmont." The voice, somehow pitiful, was damp. Adelaide could not grasp the emperor's intentions and tightly closed her mouth, watching him. After a moment of silence, Karl leaned forward and whispered to her. "Do you think you can become the one holding the quill by pushing Despoina away and taking control of the real power, making me a puppet?" "..." "Do you think the many nobles will bow their heads to you and show their loyalty? ...I don't think so." Karl shook his head with a captivating smile. "You are a ship that has dropped anchor in Echmont. Even if you are the princess of Gothrop, the reason you can be a queen here in Echmont is only one: your connection to me, not Lionel Herbert. So, you are cutting the anchor rope with your own hands." "You think I'm doing this just for the sake of power." As Adelaide replied in a sinister tone, Karl fell silent for a moment before speaking. "This is my last warning and request." "..." "Cancel the official statement that you can destroy the tower within two years. Furthermore, do not offer any opinions as a mage from now on." As the same words continued to repeat like a hamster running in a wheel, Adelaide sighed. "I can't do that." "You always try to enforce your own thoughts. How arrogant." "I am not forcing my mere preferences on Your Majesty! If the tower is actively destroyed, the nobles will genuinely respect Your Majesty more than they do now," "Enough. I'm tired of it." The emperor cut off Adelaide's words and said something that seemed to deviate from the context. "Adelaide Ulrich Echmont. You always ignore the most important duty of a queen." And he smiled softly at the tightly closed Adelaide and whispered, "I warned you. You refused. And you failed to fulfill your duty." A cold wind blew past Adelaide's cheek. The energy carried by the wind was terrifying. ＊ ＊ ＊ The emperor immediately stormed out of the ballroom. He ordered the butler who followed him, "Contact the temple immediately and bring the high priest who officiated the royal wedding. Also, bring the chief judge." Adelaide. Even after you are no longer the queen, will you still be able to reject me?