Chapter 27
"It's all thanks to all of you for trusting me and following my orders. If you hadn't, we never could have achieved this."
Riena's nose stung.
Her heart pounded.
All she had done was give them direction once.
Yet everyone had followed her as though they had been waiting for someone to lead them.
If she could, she wanted to take each person's hand and thank them herself.
But there was still a mountain of work left.
"Your Highness, every injured person has been transported to the Imperial Cartes Hospital."
"Are you sure? I'll check again myself."
"Pardon?! I swear it's true!"
Franco nodded vigorously, looking wronged.
"Sir Antonio, what about the refugees?"
"A total of twelve homes were destroyed by the fire. As you ordered, the refugees have been given free lodging and meals at nearby inns!"
"Then we should dispatch Imperial Palace mages to begin rebuilding the homes first. And...."
The bereaved families.
Riena couldn't bring herself to face them.
She had done everything she could.
Yet the fact that she still hadn't managed to save everyone hurt unbearably.
"...What about the bereaved families?"
"Some fainted, and others are receiving treatment at the hospital for injuries."
"......"
"Your Highness did everything you could!!"
"It just hurts that this is all my best could accomplish."
Riena stared blankly at the Cartes mountain range, still thick with smoke.
One injured person weighed on her heart more than a hundred people who had escaped unharmed.
Is this why Emperors eventually lose both blood and tears?
"Your Highness...."
Antonio's brows drew together as tears gathered in his eyes.
"W-why are you doing that...? No kneeling and no crying."
"Then please grant me the honor of remaining by Your Highness's side until the day my life ends!"
"I already did. And you keep putting your life on the line too easily. That's becoming a habit. No more betting your life!"
"B-but!"
"That's forbidden too."
After firmly declaring yet another prohibition, Riena stepped down from the platform.
Applause erupted once again from the people of the Empire.
Noblesse oblige.
The first picture Riena had drawn was now complete.
Perfectly.
The ladies-in-waiting had stayed beside the Empress all night, yet none of them showed any sign of exhaustion.
"Your Majesty! Her Highness successfully suppressed the fire and is on her way back to the Imperial Palace!"
The strength left the Empress's hand.
The pen she had been holding dropped to the desk.
She hadn't shown it, but she had prayed all night.
She had prayed to the moonlight.
To the gods in the heavens.
Even to the spirits said to dwell within the earth.
"Thank... goodness."
Her voice trembled faintly before she released a long breath of relief.
"H-however...."
The Empress thought the report was finished.
But when the chief attendant hesitated, her expression hardened.
"L-Lady Trinia is in critical condition!"
Trinia had been perfectly fine just last night.
"What are you talking about? How could she suddenly become critically ill overnight?"
"She suddenly complained of abdominal pain at dawn. Her assigned palace physicians examined her, but they couldn't determine the cause...."
"Why am I only hearing about this now?!"
"Her dedicated physicians tried to keep it quiet...."
The Empress had no time to listen to excuses.
She abruptly stood.
"Does His Majesty know?"
"...His Majesty is also unwell."
Her steps stopped.
"And no one reported that to me either?"
"His Majesty ordered that nothing be disclosed outside...."
Her fingers tightened around her skirt until her knuckles turned white.
Outside?
Was the Empress considered an outsider now?
"So you believe I am an outsider too. Fine."
Her calm voice carried unmistakable anger.
The chief attendant swallowed dryly.
"Th-that is.... His Majesty is currently in the Rose Palace."
Only then did the Empress understand what the Emperor's order not to disclose anything outside actually meant.
She let out a deep sigh.
"If this matter goes wrong, you will have difficulty avoiding responsibility."
The chief attendant bowed silently, trembling faintly.
The Empress climbed into the waiting carriage and opened the inner window.
Why did the journey feel so long?
Was this distance the same as the distance between herself and the Emperor?
She shook her head and sighed deeply.
In the distance, the Rose Palace came into view, colored a faded rose shade similar to Trinia's eyes.
Just far enough from the Empress's Palace, and conveniently close to the Emperor's Palace. He must have put quite a lot of thought into it.
There had once been a time when his icy gaze alone had hurt her so badly that it felt as though her chest might split apart.
But even the luxury of feeling that pain had disappeared.
She had needed to work until her body broke.
Simply earning the recognition of the nobles and the people had already taken everything she had.
Even then, the Emperor's greed knew no end.
Recently, he'd even begun interfering in the relationship between mother and daughter.
He must have thought I was controlling Riena however I pleased.
There were many things she could understand if she forced herself to compromise.
But this...
I couldn't sleep a single moment.... Yet that man, who calls himself her father, left his daughter in the middle of a raging fire while fooling around with his mistress.
That alone was unforgivable.
"Your Majesty, we've arrived."
The Empress pushed aside her thoughts, stepped down from the carriage, and quickened her pace.
"Where is His Majesty?"
Before anyone could answer, she caught sight of Francio's sickly face through the open doorway.
"...W-what happened to you?!"
Dark shadows stained the skin beneath his eyes.
His lips were pale and cracked.
He looked so terrible that she could hardly believe the man before her was Francio.
"There's no need to shout."
"You are the Emperor of this Empire! And yet you ordered everyone to remain silent until you became like this?!"
"Who am I supposed to trust...?!"
His resentful voice fell heavily through the room.
Even after the echo faded, the Empress couldn't move a single step.
"What do you mean by that...?"
Francio wiped the faint blood from the corner of his mouth and gave a bitter laugh.
"Trinia lost the child, and my body has ended up like this.... I wonder who would be happiest about it."
The Empress's narrowed eyes trembled.
"I... Do you have any idea who I've endured all of this for...?"
"For yourself, obviously! In the Kingdom of Cornelia, divorced women are treated like animals!"
"To think that's the conclusion you've reached. I almost want to cry out of pity for myself after enduring this long."
There was neither shock nor hatred in the Empress's face.
Only an expression of utter contempt.
"My patience ends here, Francio."
The door slammed shut hard enough to sound as though it might break.
Francio's body, which he had barely managed to raise, collapsed back onto the bed.
The moment Riena reached the Imperial Palace, she was greeted by an unsettled, desolate atmosphere.
And the person who came to meet her wasn't the chief attendant.
It was a maid from the Empress's Palace.
"I greet Your Highness the Imperial Princess. I will escort you directly to the Empress's Palace."
The Empress's Palace?
Riena's jaw trembled as though a chill had run through her.
If Mother read my note, then she shouldn't have eaten the cookies....
The path from the entrance of the Empress's Palace to the office felt unbearably long.
"Nothing happened to Mother, right?"
"Of course not. Her Majesty couldn't sleep because she was worried about Your Highness, but other than that, nothing happened."
Riena slipped through the office door the moment they arrived.
"Mother!"
"Riena!"
Neither mother nor daughter waited for the other.
They rushed forward and embraced each other tightly.
The Empress immediately grabbed Riena's shoulders and looked her over from head to toe.
Her eyes were filled with worry as she checked for injuries and made sure Riena was truly unharmed.
Once she saw no obvious wounds, she finally let out a breath and spoke calmly.
"Riena, from now on, you need to listen carefully to what I say. All right?"
"Yes, Mother."
"...Your father is in poor health. Trinia is ill as well."
Riena simply nodded calmly, as though she had already known.
The fate that should have fallen upon Riena and the Empress had fallen on those two instead.
How could she not remain calm?
"We'll need to see how events unfold from here, but first, regarding the achievement of suppressing the fire...."
"Mother."
Riena interrupted.
The Empress's eyes widened.
"You do it. You can, can't you?"
The Empress's eyes trembled as she understood what Riena meant.
This young princess had grasped the entire rapidly changing situation and remained this calm.
Of course she was shocked.
Riena's tiny hand firmly took hers.
"Even if I were to rule, Mother would eventually have to step forward anyway. You know that."
She was right.
There was no chance the ministers would immediately place a seven-year-old Imperial Princess, one who hadn't even formally begun Crown Princess education, onto the throne.
"...I still want to run around and play in Mother's arms. Then, later, I want to build my nest inside the fence you create for me. All right?"
Chernuier's lips, which had been trembling faintly, curved into a small smile.
"...I'll make it a beautiful one."
This time, the main nobles responsible for each administrative region filled the conference chamber.
And Empress Chernuier occupied the highest seat.
Tension filled the room.
Several nobles even held their breath.
"Is His Majesty's condition truly that serious...?"
Instead of answering, the Empress let out a long sigh.
Everyone already knew the truth.
The question had only been asked to break the oppressive silence.
As expected, several nobles who had been itching to speak immediately jumped in.
"Someone must have used poison!"
"Exactly! Otherwise, how could both of them suddenly fall ill overnight?"
Several nobles who had merely been filling seats covered their mouths and watched with wide eyes.
One would have to be insane to openly shout accusations of poisoning like that.
"Have you finally lost your minds?"
"Think about it! How else could something like this happen in a single day if not poisoning?!"
"But no poison was detected, so stop making such reckless accusations!"
Count Heyrun cut them off sharply.
Only then did the noisy voices finally die down.
Especially Count Shilton.
The Empress's deep gaze settled on him.
