The light in the communication crystal ball darkened.

“Aslan, you cheeky bastard…”

At the eerie muttering of the Emperor, the servant who was beside him trembled.

“Everyone get out. Now!”

The Emperor’s condition wasn’t good enough to think that he was lucky to have escaped from the previous Emperor’s subsequent congratulatory orders.

Even if he played a gentle Emperor, his true nature couldn’t be hidden.

He was quite twisted as could be seen by everyone around him. Which could seem to be viewed as worthless.

It was a face they had not seen in many years, but his cocky and indifferent attitude to the point of anger was still there.

The Emperor always wanted the nobles to sit at his feet.

In the first place, the Grand Duke Aslan, who was always superior to him, always existed.

He did nothing but be a threat to the Emperor just by being there.

That was the power of the Krovachatz, the family and the power of Aslan, the most powerful in the Empire.

He was the Emperor, but the feeling of inferiority that Aslan has brought since the days of the Great Emperor.

He ascended to the highest position, but his ugly sense of inferiority only increased in size.

How satisfied he was that he lost his wife and daughter and didn’t even set a foot in the capital.

“…But that daughter wasn’t dead.”

For the whole time, I only thought that she was dead seven years ago.

The Emperor muttered, rubbing his throbbing head.

The strange air that has been circling inside the Imperial Palace since the last few days.

The disturbing news he had just heard made him sensitive.

‘I had a feeling that something bad was going to happen.’ ᵁˡʸˢˢᵉˢ

✿

A laughter was heard in the greenhouse where the roses were blooming.

A place where pretense, flattery, and words as swords come and go.

It was tea time, a miniature version of society.

“You even invited me to the greenhouse you’ve been putting so much effort into these days. It’s an honor, Your Majesty.”

“It’s like looking at your Majesty the Empress, with the roses gracefully lit up.”

At those words, the Empress smiled satisfactorily and lifted the glass with an elegant touch.

The teacup that had touched her red lips was placed on the table.

“It’s worth the effort you put into your eyes to see it that way.”

Rather than being vulgar, the appearance of the alluring mouth curve was just elegant.

The topic of the tea party, which started with a simple story, has turned into a naked content as time went on.

“I heard that Count Antoine’s mistress has changed.”

“Oh! I heard that too. This time I heard it was a fifteen-year-old baron…”

The noble women, who covered their mouths with fans, smiled gracefully and spoke ill of others.

It could be said that there are no secrets in the society, but the story they’re sharing now was even lower.

“You found a ruby ​​mine in Delta’s house this time, right? That it’s a high-quality product, so it’s enough to be offered to the Imperial Family.”

“Oh, then, your Majesty the Empress might be the first to see it.”

Occasionally, a lot of pretense of flattery flowed out, but each time the Empress smiled with only the corners of her eyes curled.

To be honest, the Empress didn’t like the people who were gathered at the table now.

No, exactly, it was close to contempt.

They were so foolish that she could not find the dignity of the nobility in them.

However, there were no people who were rumored to be as fast in society as they were, so it was necessary to have regular meetings.

The Empress felt disgusted every time she met them, but it was inevitable.

“…How vulgar.”

The Empress, who was holding the teacup with her fingertips, pulled up one corner of her lips behind her fan to ridicule them.

It was then…

“Come to think of it, did you all hear about that rumor?”

“What kind of rumor are you talking about?”

There were a lot of rumors she could hear. The Empress, who was first to speak about the reactions of other ladies, spoke with a slightly more cautious voice than before.

“The news that the Grand Duke’s… daughter of Krovachatz has returned.”

“Oh my God. I thought she was dead!”

“I thought so too, but I don’t think she died, she must have been growing up in an orphanage.”

‘Oh my!‘

Each of the ladies exclaimed little by little.

They were all well-respected people in the society, but the situation right now wasn’t as common.

He wasn’t a noble man as much as he was, and the only Grand Duke of the Empire.

At least none of the nobles in the capital today were unaware of the accident that had taken place seven years ago.

The fact that the Grand Duchess died and the Grand Duke’s daughter disappeared in the accident was also known.

But they couldn’t believe that the Grand Princess, who was missing and who everyone thought had died, had been in an orphanage until now.

It couldn’t help but be shocking. The ladies excitedly spoke faster.

“I couldn’t believe that the grand princess was in an orphanage all this time. How could you have imagined it?”

“I mean… I heard that the place where the Grand Princess lived was more than three weeks away from the Grand Palace.”

“Oh my! How did she get so far?”

The ladies, who fell in love with the topic, brought up the stories they had heard so far one by one.

It was difficult to open the water the first time, but once the water was opened, they didn’t know how to stop it.

“There must be a lot of people who think it’s strange.”

“What?”

“Wasn’t it a bit unusual for the Grand Princess, who was young at the time of the accident, to be found in an orphanage at the eastern end of the road?”

“Hmm… That’s right.”

The story that one of them brought up was enough to attract the attention of others.

In a society full of conspiracies and trickery, incidents like this have always been an interesting topic.

That was the moment when they were trying to get the right number and start the story.

“So…”

“Hello.”

The elegant voice of the Empress came in after a soft interruption.

At the words of the Empress, the maids who were bowing their heads from behind replaced the cooled goggles.

After a while, a steaming tea was placed in front of all the ladies.

“You interrupted the story unintentionally. You have to drink this tea before it cools down to reveal its true value.”

“Oh really?”

Their natural flow turned their attention back to the tea.

While sipping tea, they began to chatter with each other about aroma and taste.

The fact that the topic had changed all of a sudden didn’t really matter to them.

They didn’t know.

“Aaaah!”

“Her Majesty the Empress!”

“Get out! Get everyone out!”

The fact that the Empress’s eyes were glistening with anger and uncontrollable anxiety when she returned from tea time.

Clink!

Pottery made by a famous craftsman hit the wall, shattered, and expensive jewelry was scattered on the floor.

However, that alone didn’t resolve the anger.

Those words that just came out of the mouths of vulgar ladies.

It couldn’t have happened. Why’s the girl who fell into the sea with a foreign noble?

“Argh!”

After pouring out her emotions for a long time, the Empress collapsed in front of the bed while breathing heavily.

Even the silk blanket that was softly wrapped around her hand, she wanted to rip it off.

It was impossible, no, it shouldn’t have happened.

However, the letter sent by her father, the head of the family, contained the same content.

It’s true that the daughter of Krovachatz, who was left in an orphanage, was adopted.

After seeing the letter, the Empress couldn’t stop her anger.

However, I thought it couldn’t be helped because a foreign nobleman took her.

If they stop him, it may cause diplomatic problems.

When she was told that the girl drowned and died, she thought it was rather fortunate.

Even if the plan was broken, Krovachatz’s daughter died and the younger generation disappeared.

I tried tracking just in case, but there was nothing strange at all.

It was strangely annoying, but after that, the movement of the Grand Duke was also the same as usual.

But what’s this situation right now?

It would have been completed in just one more year.

She hadn’t died before then, and she fell into the hands of the Grand Duke!

‘I ordered the tail to be cut off, so the Grand Duke wouldn’t know. So this anxiety must be in the air.’

The Empress bit her lip in the rising anxiety.

Sting, snap…

The manicured nails were messed up and bleeding, but there was no pain.

The Empress bit her red lips.

The memories of seven years ago that she had forgotten so far came to mind vividly.

‘I should have killed her then.’

Whether the girl was born with the black hair of the Grand Duchess or not, she should have just been killed anyway.

He didn’t care about old superstitions.

The Empress only now realized.

How foolish the past was when they were somehow reluctant to use the demon blood that they say flows in their blood.

If that curse existed, it would certainly be a curse now.

Bloody eyes are now starting to stand in full bloom.

‘Yes. It was already seven years ago that Serbia died… We never know.’

Even if they found the girl, they won’t know the truth because I cut off all the tails.

“Yeah. Even Krovachatz wouldn’t know.”

The Empress’ face, seen through her scattered hair, was dotted with anger and fear.

The Empress ignored the anxiety she was struggling with and repeated that she would be fine.

Like if she doesn’t, she’ll be in big trouble.

“I could finish it before he finds out.”

A glimpse of madness flashed in the eyes of the Empress, who continued to mutter.

The air shook unsteadily. She felt something ominous.

✿

A room in which the vitality of a living person couldn’t be found.

Only the sound of slow breathing resounded.

On the bed, a woman with a face as pale as her silvery hair that lost its gloss was lying.

The face, which obviously looked ill, was that of a sick person on the verge of death.

The woman’s gaze, who was looking around slowly, stopped at the child who was a little away.

“Calion, wait, come closer…”

The child followed his mother’s gesture and put one ear close to his mother’s lips.

Her dry lips twitched slowly.

The faint sound that seemed to break at any moment was so small that no one could hear it except for the child.

After she had finished speaking, the woman gently stroked the head of her child, who struggled to hold back his tears.

But the given time was soon approaching. Her hand, which was stroking the child’s silver hair, fell helplessly.

Breath that no longer exists.

Seeing that, the child’s tears fell as he trembled.

The moment when even the faint breath stopped. “Mother, don’t go,” the child begged, dripping tears that he had been holding back in the end.

But time passed equally for everyone, and so did death.

It was a moment when the original story was twisted once again.