Chapter 4

"What the hell is going on...!"

Edgar bitterly punched the wall.

"Why must we be locked up!?"

The tightly closed door refused to open. As the crown prince, Edgar, and his wife, Mina, were under house arrest.

"Mina! Can you really not use your power!?"

"……"

Seeing Mina shake her head silently, Edgar ran his fingers through his hair in frustration.

Before dawn, Edgar and Mina were summoned to the emperor's office. They were expelled from the room the moment it was discovered that Mina's eyes were a mundane brown. They were then locked up and, upon inspection by the high priest, it was confirmed that Mina had completely lost her holy power.

Since then, despite the sky turning white, there had been no news.

Originally, the execution of the villainess Iris Tarantulan was scheduled to take place at dawn. However, there was no sign of it happening.

As time passed, Edgar gradually lost his composure.

"This doesn't make any sense! Why would Iris be the real one...! Then what was Mina supposed to be!? Mina is the real one! There's no way Iris, who killed my mother, could be the holy maiden!"

In stark contrast to Edgar's agitation, Mina remained silent. However, as time went on, she bit her thumbnail and her eyes turned bloodshot.

"You're a false holy maiden who has committed a crime!? What did Mina do! Mina! You haven't committed any crime, right? You only saw Iris poison my mother, the empress, right!?"

However, Mina did not answer. Just as Edgar, frustrated by her silence, was about to confront her, the door, which had shown no sign of movement, opened.

"What are you making a fuss about?"

"Father!"

The emperor, with a cold expression, entered, and Edgar rushed over to him.

"What's going on? Has Mina's suspicion been cleared? Has Iris been executed!?"

The emperor, glancing at his son, slapped him sharply across the cheek. A dry sound echoed.

"Ugh!? ...Father?"

"You fool!"

Edgar, who had always been treated kindly by his father, the emperor, could not understand why he had suddenly become so angry.

"Iris possesses far greater holy power than Mina! Iris is the real one! You were deceived by a mere commoner's bastard!"

"...What?"

"The woman you are infatuated with is a fake! Iris is the real holy maiden!"

Edgar, kneeling on the floor, was in a daze. He did not want to understand his father's words.

"That's... a lie. A lie! Because Iris poisoned my mother, right? Don't you hate the one who killed your wife!?"

As Edgar clung to him, the emperor pushed his son's hand away.

"Of course I know! As the divine oracle stated! The false holy maiden Mina committed a crime, and the true holy maiden Iris is innocent! Mina testified that Iris poisoned the empress, which led to Mina losing her status as the holy maiden and Iris taking her place. It's obvious who was right!"

In Edgar's mind, the emperor's words circled around.

"Then... who killed my mother?"

"...Mina. On that day, only the empress, Iris, you, and the head chamberlain were present. The head chamberlain, who testified to your innocence, confessed. It was Mina, not Iris, who served the empress tea. If you confess, I might let you die more easily."

Edgar, more shaken than Mina, could not control his anger at the emperor's low voice.

"That's... a lie, a lie, right? ...Mina..."

In response to Edgar's pleading, Mina, who was tearing her thumbnail, raised her voice.

"Yes, that's right! It was me! I killed the empress!"

Mina, with a face contorted like a beast, glared at the emperor and the crown prince.

"Why?"

The emperor, with eyes full of hatred, asked, and Mina, now defiant, began to expose her actions.

"She was in the way! The empress always compared me to Iris! Everyone praised me for being the holy maiden, but the empress opposed my marriage to Edgar until the end! I was fed up with it! So I made Iris take the blame and killed her! Why... why did it turn out like this!? Everything was going so well!"

"Such... a lie, Mina, please tell me it's a lie."

Unable to comprehend, Edgar, with a blank expression, reached out to Mina.

"You too! You were hesitating about our marriage, weren't you, trying to please your mother! I know it! Your indecisiveness led to your mother's death!"

With her hair disheveled, Mina screamed, and there was no trace of the holy maiden left in her.

"Ah! So this is the end of everything! What is she doing! How far will she go to get in my way! If I had killed her then, none of this would have happened!"

The emperor, glaring at the hysterical Mina, said with disgust.

"Mina will be imprisoned in place of Iris! And Edgar, I order you to divorce Mina. After the divorce, you will immediately propose to the holy maiden Iris."

Edgar, who had finally been united with the woman he loved after a long and difficult journey, could not follow the cruel words of his wife, who had changed like a different person, and his father, the emperor. He was simply in a daze.

"Are you listening, Edgar!"

"I... I don't understand... I don't know what's happening..."

"Tsk! To be so spineless! It seems I've been too lenient with you. Stay in this room until you come to your senses!"

Mina, branded as a fake and driven mad, was taken away by the guards, and the emperor locked the door to his son's room.

Left behind, Edgar, overwhelmed by the rapid developments, pitifully fainted on the spot.