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~Chapter 38~
Hart saw the young ladies leave the Crystal Palace at dawn, with Knight Cole quietly following after them.
Cole was on high alert, so Hart thought it would be risky to follow. Instead, she waited in hiding behind a tree in the Crystal Palace garden.
Soon, the ladies came back—this time, they brought the princess with them.
Hart was surprised and looked behind the princess, but the princess’s bodyguard, the déc, was nowhere to be seen. Only Cole silently returned inside the palace.
Why did the princess come to the Crystal Palace at dawn? And why isn’t the déc here?
Instead of listening to their conversation, Hart thought it was better to report first. She hurried to the Emperor’s rooms.
But just then, someone suddenly appeared from the darkness.
“Hart.”
Even in the dim light, Hart recognized the figure and the voice.
“Diane?”
“Please… tell His Majesty… I’m… sorry…”
Diane’s voice was so weak, it sounded like it could break at any moment.
“What happened to you?”
“My… last request… cough—”
At that moment, the clouds moved and moonlight lit up Diane’s face.
Hart was shocked. Diane’s front was covered in blood.
Diane pressed a handkerchief to her mouth, eyes desperate.
“Diane! Why… what happened to you!?”
Hart stared in shock.
She had never seen a déc cough blood before, but she knew what it meant.
To become an Emperor’s déc, you must swear a magical oath of loyalty.
If you break the oath or betray the Emperor, you start coughing blood and die.
But all déc knew this. Everyone who became a déc was ready to die for the Emperor.
And Diane was one of the most loyal.
So why…?
“Cough—!”
Diane dropped to her knees and coughed more blood.
“Diane!”
“I’m… sorry… tell him…”
“Don’t say that! Tell him yourself! Don’t you dare die yet!”
Hart quickly lifted Diane onto her back and ran.
“Don’t die yet. Even if you die, do it after His Majesty forgives you. If you die now, it’s for nothing!”
“Sorry…”
“Shut up and just hang on, you traitor!”
Hart gritted her teeth and ran as fast as she could.
Tap. Tap tap. Tap tap tap.
Hart knocked on the Emperor’s window.
“Come in.”
Hart hurried inside, knelt, and gently set Diane down next to her.
Diane knelt, barely holding herself up so she wouldn’t fall over.
“Your Majesty.”
The Emperor looked up from his papers.
He didn’t seem to see Diane, just stared at Hart.
“What is it?”
“Your Highness the Princess visited the Crystal Palace.”
“At this hour?”
“Yes. I ran straight here, so I don’t know the full details.”
“Cough—”
Diane finally fell forward and coughed up more blood.
Hart glanced at her with worry but waited for the Emperor’s response.
Cool air came in through the open window, blowing away the smell of blood.
The Emperor glanced at Diane, then turned his attention back to Hart.
“Hart, is any déc available?”
“Chloe is almost done with her mission and will return soon.”
“Then until Chloe returns, you will guard the princess. Go to the Crystal Palace, check the situation, and report.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Hart bowed and left quickly, but she kept looking back at Diane with regret before leaving through the window.
The room was filled with silence and the smell of blood.
The Emperor’s gaze slowly went to Diane.
Diane forced herself upright and looked at him.
She bowed her head and coughed up more blood. Her eyelids kept falling, but she tried to stay awake.
“I’m… sorry… cough…”
The Emperor stared at her coldly.
A déc’s betrayal—he never expected it.
He had trained hard all his life to avoid assassins.
He even built up poison resistance and never let anyone get close.
But the déc were different.
Maybe he trusted them—just a little—because of the oath.
But now, there was a traitor.
He looked at Diane’s blood-covered face.
Normally, a déc would die as soon as they broke their oath, but Diane was still alive.
That meant—
She betrayed him, but her heart was still loyal.
“Do you have something to say?”
She looked up at him.
“I… cough… didn’t… betray… Your Majesty…”
She struggled to speak.
“If you were truly a traitor, you’d already be dead.”
A look of relief crossed her pale face.
“My… loyalty… please… know—”
“But you’ll die soon.”
He interrupted coldly.
Diane forced her eyes open and looked at him.
She remembered their first meeting.
Back then, she was beaten and collapsed in an alley after stealing bread.
He showed up, shining even in simple clothes.
He was the first light she’d ever seen in her dark life.
The only one she wanted to serve.
Her body was in pain, but her mind was clear.
“Did you realize it? That I plan to make the princess the next emperor?”
Diane swallowed blood and nodded slowly.
She had worked in the princess’s palace for over three years.
Outwardly, the Emperor acted cold to the princess, but Diane knew he cared about her.
She thought it was just family affection—
until he started teaching her imperial studies.
From then on, the princess wasn’t just his relative.
She became a rival for the throne.
A girl shouldn’t, couldn’t, become the Emperor of Luusefon. So in Diane’s heart, the princess became someone she had to remove.
That’s why she didn’t report it when Silvia started acting suspicious.
She knew she was breaking the oath. Even though she was dying, she held onto her beliefs.
In Diane’s dying eyes, there was only her stubborn loyalty to the Emperor.
