TFA~47💥

Chapter 47

Early the next morning, the adjutant rushed to find the Duke.

“What is it?”

“Geil has died in prison.”

They had not yet managed to bribe the guards. Because of that, it was an unexpected development.

Duke Lauhen was startled and asked,

“What? How did that happen?”

“He apparently slammed his head against the wall and committed suicide.”

At those words, the Duke muttered blankly,

“So he chose to take his own life to avoid speaking.”

For a moment, he had thought he might lose everything.

But with Geil dying on his own like this, he felt greatly relieved.

‘However, who will watch Izaya from now on…’

Thinking of Countess Melanie, the Duke frowned and shook his head.

‘No, that woman is already out of my control.’

The reason Melanie had once obeyed him was for the sake of her younger sibling’s release.

But now that her sibling had been freed, there was nothing left to blackmail her with.

‘If not for Count Balder… I would’ve dealt with her already.’

She was clearly dangerous, but now that she had even taken the ransom money, recruiting Melanie was nearly impossible.

He glared at his desk and picked up a quill.

‘For now, I should write to Izaya asking if she is well. I might visit the Imperial Palace soon as well.’

But he was unable to act as he planned.

“Ah, and Duke… I believe you need to see this.”

The adjutant handed him a document.

The Duke’s eyes widened.

“What is this supposed to mean? A confirmation of estate sale?!”

It was a mansion located in the capital’s central district, near a prime commercial area—extremely valuable property.

And that mansion had belonged to Fernando.

Meanwhile, Izaya had also heard the news.

“Geil is dead?”

“Yes. They say he committed suicide by hitting his head against a wall.”

Izaya looked puzzled.

‘Strange. He was never someone who would take his own life… Could Father have intervened?’

Regardless, one thing was certain: the spy connected to the Empress’s palace was gone.

After a moment, Izaya said to Melanie,

“Perhaps my father will try to approach you again.”

Melanie replied in confusion,

“Is that likely? I’ve already been discarded by the Duke.”

“We’ll see about that.”

After speaking meaningfully, Izaya looked out the window.

“Let’s prepare. Soon we’ll be sending off the coffin of the poor maid who died in my place.”

The Empress’s maid had been killed in place of the Empress.

She had been a fallen noble, an orphan who had drifted between relatives’ homes.

As the coffin left the palace, the Empress herself accompanied it in honor.

“You’ve suffered all this time. Now rest in peace. And please…”

As the carriage carrying the coffin departed, Izaya broke into tears and collapsed, staggering.

“Your Majesty, are you alright?”

No matter how many times she was called, the Empress did not respond. Upon closer look, she had lost consciousness.

Melanie urgently shouted,

“Quickly, take Her Majesty back to the Empress’s palace—Emperor?!”

At some point, Erne had taken Izaya from Melanie’s arms. He looked at his wife and let out a small sigh.

“I’ll carry her.”

“Yes, yes! Understood!”

Melanie, along with the head maid and Gehlen, followed the Emperor.

When they arrived at the Empress’s palace, Erne laid Izaya on the bed and stared at her face for a long time.

“Hah.”

With a short sigh, he stood up and asked Gehlen,

“What is the current security situation of the Empress’s palace?”

“I apologize. Only two guards were stationed at each entrance and corridor, while most forces were assigned to the annex where Jeffrey Zarman is held.”

“Was that the Empress’s order?”

At the Emperor’s cold question, Melanie shook her head.

“No, Your Majesty. The Empress did not issue such orders. Knight Geil had insisted that Jeffrey Zarman might attempt to escape, and convinced Her Majesty to deploy troops there.”

The Emperor curled his lips.

“An utter mess.”

He then ordered Gehlen, the commander of the Imperial Knights:

“Immediately dismiss all guards of the Empress’s palace and assign new personnel.”

Lying down and listening to Erne’s voice, Izaya felt a sense of relief.

‘If I collapsed, I planned to use the media to blame Geil and the others… but I didn’t expect Erne to help like this.’

Feeling relieved, her strength drained further.

Seeing Erne acting more like a true Emperor made him strangely reliable today.

‘With this, all my guards will lose their positions.’

That had been the intention from the start—selecting corrupt knights deliberately.

Once the traitors were removed, no more of Duke Lauhen’s spies would remain near her or Erne.

“If such negligence happens again, it will be punished as treason against the Empire.”

At his stern words, Izaya internally cheered, ‘Go, Erne!’

At that moment, a gentle hand touched her hair.

The hand slowly moved down, caressing her cheek.

The sensation made her chest tickle. Pretending to be unconscious, Izaya was struggling internally.

‘When is he leaving?’

As her eyelids trembled slightly, he whispered softly into her ear:

“I’ll let it slide this time.”

Izaya nearly opened her eyes in shock.

‘Let it slide? What does that mean? Did he realize something? That this was all staged?’

But she quickly denied it.

‘No, Erne can’t possibly know. He probably just realized I was pretending to be unconscious.’

His footsteps faded away, ignoring her confusion.

When the room became quiet, Izaya opened her eyes.

A small embarrassed smile formed.

‘Did he think I was acting weak?’

Then Melanie approached her with a worried expression.

“Your Majesty, are you alright? You collapsed unexpectedly—I was startled.”

“Oh, Lady Camellia suggested I create a dramatic scene to get media coverage.”

“Please tell me in advance next time! I almost had a heart attack!”

“I understand. By the way, how are the knights?”

“They only have minor injuries, nothing life-threatening.”

“I’m glad.”

“Glad?”

At Izaya’s words, Melanie ground her teeth.

“They neglected their duty when assassins attacked! If this were real, Your Majesty would have died by now!”

Izaya bitterly recalled the scene.

“Kill the Emperor!”

The rebels rushing toward the Emperor like swarming moths…

Just thinking about it still irritated her.

Still, she had hoped they might change.

But once again, they prioritized Geil’s orders over protecting their assigned target.

‘People really don’t change.’

She smiled bitterly.

Melanie then added sharply,

“You don’t need to act sad for a maid who isn’t even dead.”

“She’ll be fine. Roxanne had to cover herself in pig’s blood and lie in a coffin all day…”

“She suffered terribly. And she complained the coffin was too small!”

Izaya laughed and patted Melanie’s shoulder.

“Good work.”

Breaking News: Assassin Infiltrates Empress’s Palace

An assassin targeting Her Majesty the Empress infiltrated the palace today but failed.

During the defense, the guards engaged in combat but were unable to subdue the attacker.

The one who threw herself at the assassin was a newly recruited maid who had joined less than three days ago.

According to palace sources, the deceased maid was a fallen noble praised by the Empress for her diligence.

The Empress, shocked by her death, fainted after crying uncontrollably.

Geil Derus, the head of the Empress’s guards, reportedly committed suicide due to overwhelming pressure.

Meanwhile, current palace guards are reported to have suffered minor injuries, and questions are being raised about their qualifications…

Fernando crumpled the newspaper harshly.

‘I thought he was skilled, but he was trash!’

Enraged, he stood up.

‘Damn it, I’m getting my money back right now.’

At that moment, someone called him.

“Fernando, where are you going?”

Seeing his father, Fernando smirked.

“I’m just going to meet some friends…”

But he couldn’t finish.

“Really? Going out to waste the money from selling the estate?”

“Ho-how did you…?”

SLAP!

Stars exploded in front of his eyes.

“You worthless son! You know the family is struggling and you do something like this?”