“It’s late, Mathel.”
“Do you think it’s easy to leave the palace? Just be grateful that I came out with you.”
Acting all haughty, as if she were something more than just a lady-in-waiting.
It seemed she mistook herself for a countess now, having once been the count’s daughter as a peer at the academy. But she was nothing more than a commoner without a title.
Count Eliom scoffed inwardly at Mathel.
However, intriguingly, he didn’t show a hint of it outwardly. He was still somewhat satisfied with dealing with Mathel, and a new necessity had arisen.
“So why did you call me? I told you several times that I was tired. You’re not calling me just for a bed, are you?”
“It would be nice to enjoy while I’m here, but I’m not going to force you. Do you think there’s only one or two women? Today, I called you because I heard something through the kite I secretly planted above.”
“So what is it, then?”
“There’s a secret lover of the Emperor. Additionally, there’s an illegitimate child born between them!”
Seeing Mathel’s eyes widen, Count Eliom smirked.
“Are you surprised? It’s too early to be shocked. Do you know who that lover is? It’s Eliza. Eliza Millet! That Eliza who was living for her own sake during our academy days. You remember, right, Mathel? You were the one who had the worst relationship with Eliza.”
“Who do you think I am, a moron with no memory? Of course I remember. So what if Eliza is the Emperor’s lover?”
‘Have you ever seen such a foolish girl?’
“If the news has reached my ears, then everyone above must already know. Soon, it’ll reach the Empress’s ears as well.”
“There will be trouble soon.”
“Yes. Soon, Eliza and that child will be executed. But, you know, Mathel, I feel a bit disappointed. You know how much I coveted Eliza back in the academy. But now that Eliza Millet has become the Emperor’s woman. I know very well how high the Emperor’s standards are, so her beauty can’t have withered too much. Even if it has, so what? She’s none other than the woman the Emperor cherished!”
“What… what are you thinking?”
“If she’s going to die anyway, wouldn’t it be alright for me to have a little fun before that, hmm?”
“No matter how obsessed you are with women, you’ve truly gone mad.”
Ignoring the woman glaring at him seriously, the count chuckled lazily.
“In fact, I’ve already prepared a woman with red blonde hair and a similar build. All that’s left is to switch her and make it look like a suicide. He might catch on, so I’ll have to make sure the child is killed as well.”
“Are you serious?”
“Whether the corpse is real or fake, the Empress won’t care. As long as the one who disguised Eliza’s disappearance as a suicide isn’t the Emperor.”
“Why are you telling me this?”
“Oh Mathel, do you think I called you for no reason? Would I have called you out of boredom when you’re someone who can roam freely in the palace and gather information about Eliza? I can tell just by your expression that you’ve met Eliza before.”
Mathel’s eyes trembled violently. Enjoying himself, the middle-aged man stroked his beard.
“I’m not asking you to cooperate for nothing, of course. Once the job is done, I’ll give you 70,000 gold and a new identity. If you’re worried about being caught and executed, you don’t need to worry at all. I know quite a few people in that area.”
“70,000 gold…? You’re going to spend that much money to…”
“It’s not about how much I spend; having a chance to possess the Emperor’s woman is a rare opportunity. So, what will you do?”
Biting her nails, Mathel fell into thought. Knowing how that dilemma would end, the count maintained a relaxed expression while waiting.
A few minutes passed, and the agitation faded from her hazel eyes as Mathel’s face hardened with resolve.
“I understand.”
Count Eliom smiled in satisfaction.
After leaving Count Eliom, Mathel returned to the palace. But for some reason, she went straight to see the Empress the very next day.
Although Mathel wasn’t a maid serving the Empress, fortunately, she had a close friend among the Empress’s maids.
The story about the Emperor’s secret lover reached the Empress through a note.
Although Mathel feared that she might be punished for spouting nonsense, fortunately, the Empress calmly summoned her. In front of her, Mathel laid bare everything she knew.
The relationship between Eliza and the Emperor, how Eliza had lived in hiding for over a decade with the Emperor’s power, and that the child born during that time was already fifteen years old.
The Empress listened quietly to Mathel’s words. Her expression didn’t change at all, and she didn’t respond, leaving Mathel unable to gauge what the Empress was thinking.
Finally, after all the stories were told, the brief silence was broken as the Empress called her maid.
Mathel received tea leaves from the Empress’s maid.
* * *
As dawn broke, Annecy came out to the place where he often met Edevin. However, he couldn’t find Edevin there.
The boy alternated between the walking paths, the lake, and the outskirts where Edevin frequently roamed, but still, Edevin didn’t show a trace.
Is he busy? At first, Annecy felt disappointed, but as he kept searching, his determination grew.
Finally, Annecy used a bit of magic that he usually kept secret to hide his presence and made his way to Edevin’s palace.
Every time he snuck into the palace, he recalled his brother’s astonished face, wondering how he managed to go undetected, and he smiled.
However, when he finally met his brother, there was no look of shock, nor did he express any concern for the boy getting caught. He merely looked down at Annecy with an unusually cold expression and told him to go back.
“Edevin…?”
Thinking it was a joke, Annecy laughed, only to quickly realize it was no jest. Edevin turned his back and walked briskly in the opposite direction.
Staring blankly at Edevin’s retreating figure, Annecy kicked off his feet and chased after him.
“Edevin! Why are you acting like this all of a sudden? What did I do wrong?”
“Do you want someone to hear you? You’re raising your voice recklessly. I told you to go back.”
“Let’s talk face to face for a moment!”
With each stride of the adult’s long legs, Annecy struggled to keep up, grabbing Edevin’s clothing hem. But before he could hold on, the boy’s hand was roughly brushed away.
Did Edevin just push me away?
In this bewildering situation, Annecy stared up at Edevin in confusion. The expression on his brother’s face was twisted in a way he had never seen before.
Suddenly filled with rage, Edevin frowned deeply and glared at Annecy.
“I wasn’t showing you any sympathy.”
“Edevin…?”
“Let me ask you something, Annecyke. Is it true that Eliza is telling you to become the Emperor?”
“That’s…! It’s just! Just something she said. You know my mother is a bit emotional. It’s just meaningless talk…”
“Meaningless talk? Do you think a woman who seduced the Emperor and bore an illegitimate child would say such a thing without reason? No one would believe that lie.”
Annecy’s eyes widened in disbelief at the sudden change in his brother’s demeanor.
Where had the kind and gentle Edevin gone, the one who carefully chose each word? The young man before him had words sharper than daggers spilling from his mouth.
The pointed words seemed aimed to wound, leaving Annecy feeling as if every part of him was being sliced.
What could his mother’s words mean? How could something that even the maids mocked turn so cold?
In this unbelievable situation, Annecy felt as if everything were a prank. If he could just endure these sharp words a little longer, it felt like Edevin would soon laugh and confess it was all just a joke.
But Edevin’s blades didn’t stop.
“Telga knew. Rubiette knew. There are witnesses. Every maid who resides in your filthy palace has heard the story more than a few times!
If you’re entangled in the traitorous scheme of the illegitimate child, you’ll be branded as a traitor too, do you understand?!”
“What… what do you mean? That’s not treason. You know that’s not true.”
“Do you think saying it’s not true will hold any weight in this royal family? The Emperor already dislikes me, and he’ll gladly use this to frame me. Even if he suffers a bit of shame from losing a mere lover, he can still place the desired heir on the throne!
Ha, I never should have mixed with lowly beings who received no education. To think I’d give up my claim to the throne just because of some pity! Damn it, damn it!”
“Edevin…”
“Whose name do you think you can utter so carelessly? You should call me His Highness, the Second Prince, properly. Do I really look like your brother just because I’ve treated you kindly? No, no, I have become that. Yes.”
Edevin openly mocked the confused boy. He didn’t hide his intention to ridicule and brushed Annecy’s hair aside.
With the rough movement of his hand, Annecy felt his scalp tugged. However, the shock to his heart was so immense that he didn’t even notice the pain in his head.
“Since you’re going to lose your head along with your mother soon anyway, I’ll show you a little mercy. Call me as you please, Annecyke. Until your life ends, that is.”
“Lose my head…? What do you mean by that?”
“Do you really think that Telga or even the Empress will let you two be? That’s impossible.”
“You mean the First Prince and the Empress will kill us? My mother and me?”
“Now that you know, go back and share a farewell with Eliza. Don’t stir my insides anymore.”
With a rough motion, Edevin pulled his hand away from Annecy’s head and turned his body.
Annecy, standing weakly, staggered with the withdrawal of that hand and sank to the ground.
Left behind in a daze, the boy stared blankly at his brother’s receding figure, unable to worry about whether anyone might see him.
Everything still felt like a dream. It seemed as if Edevin would return soon, lift him back up, and brush off the dust from his clothes.
However, Edevin didn’t come back, and the boy didn’t wake from his dream. Because it wasn’t a dream.
* * *
“Welcome, Mathel! It’s been a while.”
“I’ve been a bit busy lately. How have you been?”
“Thanks to you.”
Eliza took Mathel’s hands and smiled. Mathel, unusually, returned the smile with a bright expression.
As they headed to the reception room attached to the palace, Eliza curiously glanced at the basket Mathel was holding.
Noticing Eliza’s gaze, Mathel lifted the basket and smiled. Curious, are you?
“I brought some good tea leaves today.”
* * *
Even as time passed, nothing changed. The ground where the boy had sat was still cold and hard, and the brother who had faded away didn’t return.
Annecy slowly calmed the turmoil and began to accept the situation.
The emotions filling his heart turned dark. The love, affection, and admiration he had built up over time transformed entirely into feelings of betrayal.
Anger, betrayal, shame, and humiliation.
The intense emotions he had never felt in his life twisted and churned inside his heart.
Tears threatened to fall as he rubbed his eyes furiously. Nevertheless, his eyes burned red, and moisture gathered at the corners.
Annecy tried not to cry. He didn’t want to shed tears after being treated like this. He didn’t want to acknowledge that he had loved and trusted such a person only to be hurt in the end.
His pride was torn apart, and his self-esteem was bruised all over. But more than anything, the boy had no luxury to cry.
Wobbling like a newborn animal, he barely managed to stand upright.
It wasn’t the time to be overwhelmed by emotions and sit idly. Edevin had clearly said that Annecy and Eliza would be killed.
Though it was intended to frighten and unsettle him, Annecy calmed his mind by recalling those words.
“I must become a great Emperor to protect my mother. If not me, no one will protect me.”
Just as his mother had repeatedly said, he was the only one who could protect himself and Eliza.
A fierce determination sparked in Annecy’s eyes. The boy, who still didn’t want to die, resolved to kill instead.
He had to kill the Empress and the First Prince.
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