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CHAPTER 6………………………………………………………………………..
“Then how about this? I know the truth about the burn incident that drove the former Empress to her death.”
As Melina whispered as if revealing a secret, the Grand Duke’s eyes trembled slightly. The former Empress had been his mother.
“If you accept my proposal, I will clear the Empress’s name of the disgrace—that she tried to kill the Crown Prince out of jealousy.”
Melina leaned back comfortably in her chair with a faint smile.
“Are you trying to blackmail me with my mother’s past? You’d better stop that ridiculous scheme.”
The Grand Duke leaned forward threateningly, glaring at her sharply.
“Blackmail? How could I dare? I’m merely offering you a deal, Your Highness. And also trying to help you.”
“There is no hidden truth in that burn incident. It is true she harmed the Crown Prince, and she later took her own life out of guilt because she was weak-willed.”
When the current Emperor was still very young, the former Empress had been imprisoned in a tower for pouring boiling tea on him and causing burns. That was the infamous burn incident.
Because the Crown Prince born of the Empress had been harmed, and the Empress later committed suicide, the empire had been thrown into turmoil for a while.
“Do you really believe that?”
At Melina’s question, the Grand Duke’s eyes wavered like a ship losing its course. But only for a moment—when he opened his eyes again, the confusion had vanished.
“That is the truth. There is no hidden story.”
“I heard the Empress insisted she was innocent. Do you not believe that either?”
“She may have claimed it was unintentional. But even if it was an accident, she still injured the Crown Prince. She couldn’t escape responsibility.”
Over the years, layers of rationalization had formed a sturdy mental defense.
After all, the Grand Duke had only been four years old at the time—what could a child possibly understand?
Moreover, no one would have told the disgraced Crown Prince the truth. He would have needed a reason to accept why his mother was imprisoned and why she died.
Without such rationalizations, he would not have been able to survive mentally.
Just as Melina herself had once created excuses not to question her own mother’s whereabouts… just as she had convinced herself she was a bastard child to endure her father’s and the duchess’s cold treatment, and her siblings’ contempt.
Seeing her own foolish past reflected in him, she felt both anger and pity.
At the same time, she felt an urge to shatter his defenses.
“So there was no way to avoid it? If the Empress had not acted that way, things would not have escalated so far.”
At that time, although the Crown Prince had not been in real danger, the Empress had appealed to the Emperor, claiming the Empress Dowager had tried to kill him.
In addition, the nursemaids and maids who were present all testified that it had been intentional, leaving the Emperor no choice but to suppress the incident.
In the end, the Emperor confined the Empress and withdrew his favor from her son as well.
“Do you feel no injustice? No anger?”
“Injustice… I’m not sure. I’ve never thought about it. I only feel pity for my mother.”
His calm acceptance irritated Melina like fire rising inside her.
She herself had lived like that before—only to be betrayed and killed.
No one acknowledges you for enduring quietly. They only trample you as something insignificant.
“You should feel wronged. You should be angry.”
“…Why would I be angry? What does this have to do with you?”
The Grand Duke looked at her with a strange expression.
Only then did Melina realize she had become too emotional. She slowly took a breath.
“I got carried away while talking.”
He simply stared at her without a word.
“The Empress did nothing wrong. You already know who was behind it, don’t you?”
At her firm tone, he fell silent, his expression unsettled.
“…Do you have proof?”
She had expected him to dismiss it again, but—
“I am keeping a maid who was holding the teapot that day under Temno’s protection.”
The former head of Temno had been even more meticulous than Bertha. He had always monitored the imperial family closely to protect Temno, gathering any potential weaknesses. That maid was one of them.
“…Where is she? Can I meet her?”
He must have tried to convince himself it was fine, that his mother had been guilty anyway—but in truth, he wanted to know the truth of that day. The tremor in his voice eased the pressure in Melina’s chest.
“I will let you meet her. If you marry me.”
At the word “marriage,” the Grand Duke’s face stiffened.
“It’s not a bad deal for you, is it? Not only clearing the Empress’s name, but also giving you the throne.”
“What if I take everything I want and then demand a divorce? Would you still proceed with this marriage?”
“I never make deals at a loss. That’s why this marriage comes with conditions.”
Melina smiled meaningfully.
“You’re adding conditions to a one-sided proposal?”
He let out a hollow laugh.
“First, there will be no divorce. Second, I must be given the position of Empress.”
She listed them one by one, unfazed by his reaction.
His brow furrowed.
“Supporting the Empress and revealing the burn incident means directly opposing the Emperor. From Temno’s perspective, that’s troublesome.”
She pressed a hand to her forehead as if already exhausted.
“Not only that. Even if I seek revenge on the Emperor, overthrowing him puts Temno at great risk.”
“….”
“And after taking such risks to give you the throne, if I were to be discarded via divorce, I would be the only one losing out, wouldn’t I?”
She had lived as others wished before—and all she received in return was betrayal and death.
She refused to be used and discarded again.
The Empress position was hers. Nora, Leila—she would not give it to anyone.
That was why she chose the Grand Duke as her partner. He was second in line to the throne.
And with him, dethroning the Emperor would be easier, and Temno would not be branded as traitors.
“I refuse your conditions,” he said.
“Then I’ll find someone else.”
“There is no one else with a claim to the throne.”
“As long as they have imperial blood, it’s enough. Somewhere in the distant branches, I’m sure there’s someone.”
She spoke casually, though she had no real backup plan.
“That’s a challenge to me for the throne?”
“It’s not impossible. You currently have no support base. Between someone backed by Temno and someone who isn’t—who do you think will win?”
Her confident tone made him frown.
“Or perhaps I should just change the imperial family altogether.”
At her casual mention of treason, he let out a hollow laugh.
“Think carefully. Clearing the Empress’s name will clear her disgrace and also strengthen your position. Do you intend to remain a tragic, forgotten prince?”
His eyes wavered.
Before the incident, he had been the Emperor’s favored heir candidate. But afterward, he lost all attention and became the “ill-fated prince.”
“Do you want to keep living under assassination attempts? Aren’t you tired of it?”
At the word “assassins,” fatigue darkened his face.
“Take my hand. I’ll free you from all of that.”
Melina extended her hand.
He stared at it for a long time.
“May I ask one thing?”
“Ask anything.”
“What exactly is the debt you want to repay to the Emperor?”
Melina could not answer immediately.
How could she so easily speak of her own death?
Even now, she could not forget the Emperor’s amusement as he watched her bleed.
She steadied her breathing.
“The Emperor killed someone I loved.”
The Grand Duke flinched.
“…You had someone you loved?”
Melina smiled faintly, realizing his misunderstanding.
“Yes. The person I loved most—my younger sibling.”
She could not say the Emperor had killed her. So she used a different truth.
At the word “sibling,” tension left his body.
“Who was your sibling?”
“…Melina Renaultor, the late Empress.”
His eyes widened.
“So the Baron of Essen was executed as the Empress’s killer, wasn’t he? Then how can you say it was the Emperor?”
The Baron of Essen had been nothing more than a scapegoat. The Emperor had used the Empress’s death to eliminate a political nuisance.
“I heard it directly from the Empress herself. And don’t ask how I entered the palace—I cannot explain that.”
He seemed about to ask, but closed his mouth instead.
“Why would the Emperor eliminate the Empress? The Renaultor ducal house wasn’t even weakened.”
“I believe he had a lover of his own. And to the Duke, the Empress was merely an illegitimate child.”
Melina explained everything, her emotions occasionally rising and making it difficult to stay composed.
“…Those bastards are worse than animals.”
The Grand Duke’s curse felt strangely comforting.
“So you believe me?”
“It’s too detailed to be fabricated. Besides, both the Emperor and the Duke are capable of such things.”
That remark made her smile faintly.
“More importantly, I’m curious how you and the Empress became sisters.”
“I had ties with her mother. I couldn’t meet openly due to Temno, but we were as close as real sisters.”
It was a lie—but it hardly mattered. He could not verify it anyway.
“Temno’s influence is truly unfathomable.”
He shook his head slightly.
“Now that I’ve shown all my cards, the decision is yours. Will you take my hand?”
After a long silence, he finally looked up and met her gaze.
“I accept. The marriage.”
At his decisive answer, Melina clenched and unclenched her fist behind her back.
“When do you want the wedding?”
“As soon as possible. We must reach the palace before the Emperor installs a new Empress.”
“That will keep us busy. Are you sure no one outside has seen your face?”
“No. Even the Emperor has never seen my face. If I disguise my identity, no one will recognize me.”
The Emperor had ruled only two years, and relations between the Imperial Family and Temno had always been hostile.
At one point, the Empire had even attempted to capture Temno’s leader, but suffered heavy retaliation and backed off.
“Do not underestimate the Emperor. He is meticulous and ruthless. Especially when it comes to me.”
As if I didn’t know, Melina thought bitterly.
“I know. That’s why we must prepare carefully. From now on, Your Highness, you will need to act.”
“…Act?”
“If we suddenly announce a marriage, suspicion will rise. We need a believable reason to deceive the Emperor.”
“A reason…”
“Cliché as it is… something no one can refute. Love.”
“Do you think the Emperor will believe I’ve fallen in love? That will only raise suspicion.”
He laughed in disbelief.
“It will work. Love changes people. The Emperor himself killed the Empress after falling in love, didn’t he?”
Of course he would suspect it—but he could not openly oppose it.
Love could not be proven.
“Of course, everything depends on how well Your Highness can act.”
She emphasized “well.”
