Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Even after the terrifying kidnapping incident, there are still constant attempts to poison him with poisons extracted from plants.

Fortunately, Croisen was one of the most knowledgeable on all things botanical, including botanical magic on the continent. So the Croisen’s descendants would carry all kinds of poisons and antidotes, making them not an easy target.

Anything that could be poisonous was filtered through a thorough inspection. Consequently, Karloi developed resistance to poison, though it’s not something to be thankful for.

After the assassination attempt, he would go to the Imperial Palace and see the specter smiling the next day.

There were days that he felt like he would lose his mind if he ever let go for a moment. Every time he had an urge just to let go of everything, there was only one reason why Karloi didn’t go insane.

Because it might be the price of someone else’s life that he lived, so he couldn’t simply give up with that in mind.

“The one who’s going to be damned…”

It was unknown when the hell he would be able to see the end of that specter. So in order not to fall again, Karloi had to strengthen his mind.

****

The Empress, who received the Emperor’s message to speed up the process, sent a brief reply that she will keep it in mind, without saying anything else. The answer was very much like Yvonne.

But contrary to the answer, the work was still sluggish. After two weeks of entrusting the job, there was no progress. That caused Karloi to become furious, and went directly to the Empress’ palace.

The handmaids were surprised to see the Emperor, who hated the Empress, step in the Empress’s palace entrance and walk into the bedroom himself.

Karloi felt a lingering sense of the uneasiness circulating throughout the Empress’s palace among the commotion.

“What’s going on? Where is the Empress?”

“Ah, the Empress is in the bedroom…”

“I’m entering now.”

“Your Majesty! I…”

The handmaids guarding the entrance tried to stop the Emperor.

Before Karloi could say anything, the attendant, Gorten, yelled at the maids and asked if they were crazy for trying to stop the Emperor, and told them to step back.

The bedroom was dark since not a single light was turned on. Karloi couldn’t see well, as the curtains were also closed.

Karloi frowned and glanced at Gorten, so he quickly turned the lights on. As soon as the lights were on, Gorten was shocked.

“Oh! Your Majesty, please be careful. The floor is…”

The floor was covered with shattered glass. Karloi tried looking around to see what the hell happened. All the mirrors in the bedroom were broken.

“No, what is this…”

A sharp voice was heard from inside the bedroom, causing Karloi to come back to his senses.

“I told you not to turn on the lights!”

If he wasn’t in the Empress’s bedroom, Karloi would never have thought the voice was Yvonne’s.

It was a sharp and sensitive voice that he never imagined Yvonne could make.

The handmaid, Mary Ann, approached Karloi, who stopped in surprise. Mary Anne couldn’t believe that it was Karloi who turned on the lights. She gasped and closed her mouth with her hand.

“Your Majesty…! How did you…”

“What the hell is going on here.”

“Oh, it’s nothing…”

“Do I look stupid? How is this nothing? Why is the Empress like that?”

Mary Ann didn’t know what to do, and while her feet were moving, the sharp voice shouted back.

“Mary Ann! Turn off the lights!”

Another sound of something breaking was heard inside. Karloi eventually couldn’t stand it and went in.

Mary Ann and Gorten were startled to see Karloi stepping on the glass without fear. They followed him while roughly sweeping the shards to make a path.

“Empress, what the hell is going…”

Karloi couldn’t finish the sentence.

Mirror fragments were scattered around the bed with the drapery removed, and liquor was lying on the floor. It seemed that the sound earlier was a glass of wine she threw.

On the bed was a small figure, sitting. Karloi approached her unconsciously.

“Mary Ann! Mary Ann…”

Yvonne wasn’t speaking how she usually does. Her eyes, which had no soul in them, found Karloi standing in front of her.

There was a silence between the two of them. Karloi slowly glanced at Yvonne.

Karloi’s gaze passed Yvonne’s messy hair and touched her pale hand with blood flowing, cut by the glass. Contrasting to her pale skin, the flowing blood looked even more horrifying.

By the time Karloi came to his senses, he had already grabbed Yvonne’s bloody hand with his hand.

Yvonne couldn’t breathe and looked up at Karloi with her eyes wide open. Both were confused as Karloi’s hands reached out, and stood still without saying a word.

It was the first time since the wedding that their hands met.

Karloi realized that he, too, also forgot to breathe. He couldn’t understand the reason.

Was it because he was surprised by the blood? Or was it an instinct?

The silence, which was as precarious as the broken glass, ended when Yvonne pulling her hand away coldly.

“…Why did you come without a message.”

Suddenly, his left hand felt empty. No, it was beyond empty. Karloi was feeling disgusted. It was a wave of indescribable anger.

“You’re acting as if you’ve touched a bug. I didn’t like it either.”

“…What is it?”

“Do you usually act like this? I guess you’re not ashamed of others seeing you in this state.”

Yvonne grinned without an answer. Perhaps it was the alcohol, but she seems different than usual. The usual Yvonne would never smile at Karloi like that.

“I came here because of the Queen’s ceremony. When you think about it, it’s too cruel. Not even the date, place, and scale have been decided.”

After knowing the only reason why Karloi came to see the Empress was purely for the ceremony. Instead of Yvonne, Mary Ann shot a resentful stare at Gorten, who avoided her eyes.

“…I apologize. I’m not capable enough, so things are slow.”

“That’s not a good enough excuse, but I’m glad to hear you know your capability. No matter how much the Duke interferes, if the Empress knows how to work efficiently, the ceremony would’ve been done quicker.”

“Yes.”

Again! With that short reply!

What does ‘yes’ mean? What does that mean? So, are you saying that you were slowing down when you could have done it quicker?

Karloi barely endured shaking Yvonne’s shoulder and said what he wanted to say.

“This is unacceptable. Stop slacking and just do what you have to do.”

Yvonne, who had been looking down this whole time, suddenly raised her head.

“Don’t worry about it.”

Gorten and Mary Ann, who were standing behind, faced each other in astonishment from the shocking response.

They weren’t the only ones that were surprised. Karloi looked at Yvonne, speechless.

Mary Ann looked at Yvonne and desperately shook her head, but Yvonne seemed to have already lost her reason.

“Cruel? Your Majesty treats me as a shameless evil, emotionless wicked Empress with her father on her back.”

Yvonne smiled weakly at the situation, funny how he says she’s cruel.

“Isn’t that funny? You presume that the only daughter of the Duke, whose power is so powerful, is evil.”

“Empress!”

“Is it evil enough to cancel the Queen’s ceremony altogether? Or to oust Lady Roden without reason? Or to be able to ignore His Majesty’s words, without handling all the work in the Empress’ palace?”

This time Gorten grabbed Mary Anne and shook her. Stop her!

Mary Ann shook her head in tears.

Yvonne stared straight at Karloi, as if she has no care in the world. As Yvonne’s words got harsher, Karloi, on the contrary, became calmer.

“Has your Majesty ever thought about that? I had been trying to live in this palace quietly enough that I wouldn’t even hear my own breathing. Not interfering with your life, and living like a scarecrow Empress to benefit your Majesty.”

Yvonne’s speech was a little droopy, indicating that she was drunk. Karloi asked.

“So now you are saying that you are doing all this for me?”

Yvonne, who had been talkative, suddenly went quiet at Karloi’s question. As if she just realized something.

Well, she’s not doing it only for Karloi. So she guesses he does have a little conscience.

Karloi talked slowly, looking at Yvonne’s hand. He noticed the blood was now dry.

“Yeah, the Empress is definitely… not behaving like the Duke. I know that.”

Karloi, who would typically yell at the Empress right now, was speaking unexpectedly casually. Yvonne was observing him dumbfoundedly.

“However, the Empress seems to have some kind of big misunderstanding. You’re right, you’re the Duke’s precious only child, who is more powerful than the emperor, and you can ignore me if you want, but you aren’t doing this just for me…”

“Your Majesty.”

“It’s the goodness in your heart. And I appreciate that heart, but you can do more than that if you are really doing it for me. You really don’t know that?”

Yvonne blinked slowly. The green eyes were like leaves, limp, and rustling.

If it’s such a great position, she didn’t see why he pretended to be so unhappy and defeated by it. What the hell are you complaining about?

“If you don’t know what I’m saying, then I’ll tell you. If you don’t dare to stop your father, the Duke, you can at least keep him out from the palace, so you can do your job without him interfering.”

Karloi could feel Yvonne shivering in his hand, but he didn’t stop talking.

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“If there is only one thing I want from you, then it’s for you to disappear. To get out of my sight.”

The calm and friendly voice sounded relentless. Yvonne couldn’t answer anything and shook her head. Karloi looked at her and smiled, but it was a cold smile.

“I knew it, Empress. You have no intention of doing that.”

Karloi, who spoke coldly, soon wiped his forced smile off his face.

“I don’t expect anything else from you, so stop being so kindhearted and finish the Queen’s ceremony.”