Chapter 30
"Your Highness Grand Duke Jeremier, you've arrived at just the right time!"
"Then His Highness the Grand Duke can personally confirm the truth!"
Only then did the frozen atmosphere in the coronation hall begin to ease.
"I'll check immediately."
Blue aurora-like mana burst from the Grand Duke's large hand and wrapped around Francio in an instant.
"Y-Your Majesty's eyes!"
The nobles pointed toward Francio's face.
The blue aura had turned a dark crimson as it circled his eyes.
The Grand Duke poured more mana into the area, but the dark crimson glow did not change.
"It would be difficult to reverse this."
The Grand Duke spoke quietly.
Count Shilton's face turned pale.
He had never imagined Grand Duke Jeremier himself would come all the way to the Imperial Palace.
"L-look at that!"
"Oh my goodness!"
In the next moment, the traces of mana revealed themselves clearly.
The Grand Duke had activated a magic circle that allowed even those incapable of sensing mana to see it.
And as if condemning those who had lied, not even the faintest trace of mana appeared around the Empress.
Grand Duke Jeremier's violet gaze immediately turned sharp as it landed on the mage.
"I-I...."
"Did you intend to use your knowledge to follow liars and accumulate wealth and status?"
The Grand Duke's low roar made the mage collapse to the floor.
"I only did what I was ordered to do! I was ordered!"
"I'm asking about your crimes, and the first thing out of your mouth is an excuse? I feel like ripping out your jaw."
At the cruelty in his gaze, Franco, who had been trembling nearby, collapsed as well.
"C-Count Shilton ordered all of this! We truly didn't know anything!"
"What...? Th-then you're saying the Empress wasn't responsible?"
Francio asked with his eyes tightly shut.
Franco nodded frantically.
"They promised that if we did exactly as they told us, we'd receive titles and estates...!"
Slap.
A small hand struck Franco cleanly across the face.
Every gaze turned toward Riena.
"Lock every one of them at the top of the tower immediately. Keep them alive, but only barely. Let them live until they beg you to kill them!"
The moment she finished speaking, everyone involved was dragged away.
Their wailing and hatred-filled screams echoed through the hall.
"M-my lord!"
Shilton instinctively reached toward Marquis Hutlen.
But Hutlen shook him off and disappeared among the nobles.
Shilton screamed after him in resentment, only to be roughly struck and restrained.
The coronation hall descended into complete chaos.
"T-then who is behind all of this?!"
Lost in endless darkness, Francio shouted in despair.
The Grand Duke, apparently unable to watch any longer, spoke with open mockery.
"The traces of mana continue in that direction."
His finger pointed honestly toward the southeast.
There was only one palace in that direction.
The Rose Palace, where Trinia stayed.
"Then tell me what palace lies that way!"
A pair of golden eyes looked at Francio with deep contempt.
For a moment, they burned fiercely.
"The palace to the southeast, ...Father."
"S-southeast...."
Francio's body swayed violently.
No one moved to support him.
"There's only... the Rose Palace...."
Thud.
His staggering body finally collapsed to the floor.
He could do nothing but repeat that it couldn't be true.
The Rose Palace was filled only with the scent of dried roses and the fading smell of baby powder.
Trinia lay sprawled across the bed, drifting between consciousness and fainting.
The Emperor roughly seized her arm and pulled.
"Wake up. You wretched woman! Was this really your doing? Answer me!"
Francio could barely support his own body as he dragged at Trinia's arm.
"Why?! I went against my father's dying wishes for you! I gave you a title and brought you in as my mistress! So why... why did you do this?!"
His body collapsed against the bed.
Then suddenly, he began sobbing and screaming like a wounded beast.
Thick blood trickled from the corner of Trinia's mouth.
She coughed painfully and forced her rose-colored eyes open.
"...You really don't know?"
At her dying voice, Francio lifted his head.
"Tell me. Why did you do this? Why?!"
Her blood-red lips curved upward.
For a moment, the smile was vicious.
Then her expression turned cold as she ground her teeth.
"You said you'd make my son Emperor. And then you, of all people, played with my son's future...?"
"Th-that's why?"
Watching him tremble with betrayal, Trinia sneered with satisfaction.
"You were going to make me an Imperial Consort? Ha! Ever since you brought me into the Imperial Palace, you've lied as naturally as breathing! I should never have followed you here...."
Her furious eyes glared at him as though she wanted to tear out his throat.
"I even allowed you to bear a son.... What more was I supposed to do?!"
"You should have killed the Empress if you had to and made my son Crown Prince.... If you couldn't do that, then you never should have promised me!"
"You're insane.... Both you and I are insane."
The Emperor slapped her arm away and staggered to his feet.
"To think I loved a devil like you."
At the word devil, Trinia burst into laughter loud enough to shake the room.
The laughter was cruel enough to sound demonic.
But it was also filled with grief.
Then, all at once, she stopped laughing and stared at Francio as though she wanted him dead.
"You're the hypocrite who played with my son and my life. Lie after lie. You tortured me with false hope until I went mad...."
"The Imperial Princess was weak! That's why I intended to make the prince Crown Prince! I meant it. Whether I killed the Empress or divorced her, I was prepared to do whatever it took!"
It wasn't enough for Riena merely to be an Imperial Princess.
A princess who was kind, considerate, and seemingly fragile couldn't be made Crown Princess.
That was why he had waited for Prince Turio to grow.
But everything had changed drastically in the last few months.
"And then? Then what?!"
"The Imperial Princess proved she could act as Crown Princess. Once that happened, there was no reason to put a prince born outside the direct Imperial line ahead of her."
Trinia's deep-set eyes widened.
"H-how dare you... say that to my face... about my son...!"
"That is what it means to be Emperor. Someone like you could never understand what goes on inside my head."
Having said only what he wanted, the Emperor slowly headed for the door.
Lost in complete darkness, he staggered and felt along the nearby furniture with his hands.
Trinia silently watched him leave.
Then she wiped the blood from her mouth and picked up a shard of broken glass from the table.
"You killed my son.... Goodbye, Francio."
Murderous intent filled her eyes as she forced her body upright.
After the uproar finally passed, the coronation was canceled.
But Chernuier said nothing.
She maintained the same indifferent golden eyes and tightly closed lips as always.
Because of that, the ladies-in-waiting beside her also remained silent as they followed.
"I greet Your Majesty."
Violet eyes that suited the moonlight perfectly looked toward Chernuier with concern.
Chernuier stared at him for a moment before giving a faint smile.
"Grand Duke... So it is you. Yes. I owe you thanks for what happened today."
Grand Duke Jeremier's brows twitched at the emptiness in her golden eyes.
"It wasn't entirely because of me. The truth would have come out eventually. Besides, the Grand Duke's heir was there, and so was Her Highness the Imperial Princess."
"The Imperial Princess still shouldn't be able to handle mana that well...."
"The Grand Duke's heir said that once she learns one thing, she understands ten. He praised her quite highly. She must have inherited Your Majesty's intelligence."
There was an unusual playfulness in the Grand Duke's eyes.
Perhaps pleased by it, the Empress gave a small laugh and gestured for her ladies to withdraw.
Once everyone nearby had left, the two naturally began walking through the garden.
"If you promise not to accuse me of insulting the Imperial Family, I'd like to drop the formal speech for a little while."
"A little while sounds too short. Let's make it the rest of today."
The pleasant chirping of insects drifted through the dark night.
Chernuier silently looked up at the sky and flowers before sitting on a nearby bench.
"Thank you. Truly. For today."
"What's there to thank me for? We're friends."
With the insects singing in the background, Chernuier took a deep breath.
The faint trembling in it revealed just how exhausted she was.
"...I'm so tired of all this."
"Come north. It's full of monsters and the weather is brutal, so you won't have time to be tired of anything. Besides, don't you think I could spare one room for you?"
The ridiculous persuasion made the Empress burst out laughing.
But only for a moment.
Her expression soon fell back into bitterness.
"The north would be nice. If possible, somewhere even farther from the Imperial Palace would be better."
"For that, Riena would need to grow up a little more."
"That child will be capable of ruling in three years. But now that Francio has ended up like this...."
She couldn't finish.
The frustration rising inside her choked the words away.
All the emotions she'd suppressed until now finally threatened to overflow.
"No one's watching. Cry if you want. Laugh if you want. We're too old as friends to worry about appearances."
The Emperor had gone blind.
And he was telling her to laugh?
The Empress let out a hollow laugh and looked at the Grand Duke.
"Laugh? In this situation?"
"Francio finally got punished for all the rotten things he's done. You're allowed to laugh."
They had been friends for many years.
Yet she had never truly opened her heart to him.
Even so, the Grand Duke seemed to see straight through Chernuier.
Well... Francio, you certainly did plenty of unforgivable things to me.
She had become pregnant with Riena almost immediately after the political marriage.
Soon after, the Emperor had brought Trinia into the palace as his mistress.
From that day onward, any possibility of a peaceful marriage had shattered completely.
Pushing aside the bitter past, the Empress quickly changed her expression and lifted her head.
"By the way, how did you know what was happening?"
As though he'd been waiting for that question, the Grand Duke pulled a small bundle of letters from inside his coat.
