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Chapter 30
“E-Empress…”
Chief maid Jeina burst into the room, her face as pale as snow.
“Your Majesty… the Emperor… he’s coming!”
Normally, this would have been wonderful news to deliver—but Jeina looked like a ghost.
“With knights accompanying him…!”
What should they do?
The maids trembled like leaves in fear. Since this morning, the imperial residence had felt like a funeral hall. The Emperor had ordered that all suspects in the recent state secrets leak be confined to their quarters until the investigation concluded.
The maids were horrified. They had only served Empress Lucretia for a few months, yet in that time, they had seen her as gentle and kind. How could she possibly have leaked such sensitive information? But even the tiniest seed of doubt had begun to grow in their hearts.
Perhaps Her Majesty, with her angelic demeanor, had been hiding her true actions from us all along… secretly leaking information every day while appearing to serve dutifully in the palace…
What would become of them now? The maids exchanged terrified glances. The Hunting Festival was a major state affair, and leaking related information abroad could, in the worst case, be considered treason. If their mistress were implicated, they would not escape punishment either.
All eyes turned to Lucretia. She alone met their gaze and spoke calmly.
“Leave the door open.”
She exhaled softly, steadying herself. The morning’s news about her confinement had hit her like a thunderclap. Why? Why me? She hadn’t done anything wrong.
A private letter arrived for her in the midst of her confusion. It was from Count Elle, recounting the events of the morning’s council meeting.
“I believe Your Majesty did not leak any information. The Emperor, having considered all possibilities, only formally ordered your temporary confinement along with the other suspects. He does not truly suspect you.”
At the letter’s close, Count Elle emphasized his trust in Lucretia once again, reassuring her not to be afraid.
Indeed, he was right. She was innocent.
But…
Father.
Lucretia bit her lips until they bled.
Surely you haven’t done anything reckless.
She knew better than anyone that she had never shared any classified information with Marquis Zeffer. Yet her instincts wouldn’t let her rest, constantly whispering unease.
Do not tremble.
She was the only one who could fully believe in her innocence.
Footsteps approached the door.
“Empress.”
The Emperor’s voice.
Lucretia took a quiet breath before turning to face him.
“You’ve been visiting often these days,” she said, trying to sound composed.
Yet despite the casual tone, the Emperor’s face was as cold as ice. She caught sight of red stains on his sleeve and swallowed hard.
“Your Majesty…”
Lucretia’s voice trembled, though she fought to contain it. His eyes were unreadable, simply fixed on her.
Finally, he spoke.
“Everyone else, leave.”
The maids left the room, exchanging anxious glances. The knights followed. Soon, only the two of them remained.
“You’ve been bold.”
The Emperor strode toward her, his steps echoing.
“Leaking state secrets, colluding with a foreign trading guild for profiteering…”
“….”
“Daring, to the point of audacity. I wanted to interrogate the culprit myself.”
He came close enough to lift her chin with his hand.
“Why?”
“It wasn’t me, Your Majesty,” Lucretia replied, enunciating each word carefully to keep her composure.
“I had no knowledge that Cerilda would be summoned.”
“The testimony from Count Elle’s steward tells a different story,” he said.
Count Elle’s steward? Lucretia’s eyes went blank. Why would that person’s testimony…?
A memory struck her—about a week before the Hunting Festival, the steward had dropped some documents. Could that devilish information…?
She shook her head. Even if that were true, it made no sense.
“It’s true I picked up a document the steward dropped, but how could I possibly have stolen the information hidden in it? Please reconsider, Your Majesty. I had nothing to do with this matter. I beg you—”
“Then why…”
The Emperor cut her off.
“Why did the Terarocia trading guild meet so often with Marquis Zeffer?”
“Marquis Zeffer… you mean?” Lucretia’s voice faltered.
“You hid your tracks well,” the Emperor said, faintly smiling as he looked down at her.
She visibly flinched.
“My informants had quite the time uncovering the truth,” he continued.
The Marquis had worked tirelessly to hide his connections with the guild. But who would have guessed that the Emperor had a spy among the foreign Terarocia guild? It was misfortune for the Marquis.
“Your Majesty…”
Lucretia clenched her fists. The Emperor’s words implied that the Marquis was indeed behind the guild’s backroom dealings.
But I never gave my father any information.
She had never shared information willingly. Now, more than ever, she needed to firmly deny any connection between herself and the Marquis.
“Indeed, the Marquis was my guardian. But that was in the past. Even if the guild had dealings with him, it has nothing to do with me. Please do not link me to the Marquis’s crimes, Your Majesty!”
If the Emperor was doubting her because of a single glance at the steward’s document, it was unfair. She had only glimpsed it for a moment, and the text was sealed with a cipher no ordinary genius could decode at a glance.
The Emperor spoke first.
“Is that so? Really?”
Though he smiled lightly, Lucretia felt the blade of his gaze beneath it.
“I just returned from personally interrogating the Terarocia guild’s local branch chief.”
The word interrogation sent chills down her spine. She instinctively looked at his sleeve—could that blood be evidence of the questioning?
“Though he received information, the terms of his deal with the Marquis were unfair. I asked why he agreed, and after much resistance, he confessed. He had demanded a seven-tenths share…”
The Emperor’s mocking smile vanished in an instant.
“Empress. He demanded you.”
Lucretia froze, unable to process his words.
“Your Majesty… what do you mean?”
“Don’t you remember? He had a habit of stealing…”
The branch chief, realizing he faced the Emperor himself, had confessed with tears and blood in a frenzy. He wanted to see the famously beautiful women of the guild, and among them, he was most curious about the Emperor’s consort—Her Majesty herself.
The Marquis, citing his past connection to her, tried to negotiate terms, and the branch chief succumbed.
“On the first day, he touched her hair; on the second day, he held her hand. Afterward, he swore never to let curiosity and desire blind him to foolish mistakes again…”
The Emperor’s gaze was emotionless, like the stare of Cerilda—overwhelming and disarming.
“To ensure his vow, I cut the hands of the guilty.”
Lucretia moistened her dry lips. Fear was inevitable. Fear of the suspicions, fear of the Emperor with blood on his sleeve. Yet if she faltered here, no one would step forward to defend her.
“I never met this branch chief, Your Majesty. If he really said that, someone must have impersonated me.”
A single face flickered in her mind: Eleonora Zeffer. Her half-sister bore striking resemblance to Lucretia. Though Lucretia had silver hair, Eleonora’s honey-blonde could easily have been hidden with a wig.
Even if her father had manipulated matters to raise the stakes, it wasn’t impossible. After all, she knew the Marquis well enough to understand that using children for leverage would not faze him.
“I have yet to appear before the public formally. If someone resembling me was brought to the branch chief, he would have been fooled. Especially since he is foreign…”
Lucretia had sat on the throne for months, but no proper portrait had been made. Rumors spread by amateur artists were all the public knew. The branch chief could easily have been deceived by Eleonora, whom the Marquis presented as her.
“Very well.”
The Emperor’s gaze scanned her features as if appraising them. Locking eyes with him, Lucretia realized the wild energy simmering beneath his expressionless facade.
“So, by your account, no man besides me has ever touched you.”
“Of course…!”
Lucretia replied hastily. Even if infidelity ran rampant among nobles, the Emperor and Empress were a different matter. Neither could risk scandal with outsiders.
“Good. Empress. Almost there.”
The Emperor smiled, as if encouragement for the final step to prove her innocence.
“Then we need only resolve the last doubt.”
Last doubt? Lucretia’s eyes widened. She was already overwhelmed—there was still more?
“Originally, it was not Cerilda who was to be summoned to the Hunting Festival… it was Erexion, one of the Eight Devils.”
