Side Story Episode 5

The room shrouded by heavy curtains was gloomy. It was spacious and filled with various opulent furnishings, yet it was desolate to the point where not a trace of vitality could be found.

The woman in the splendid dress crossed the room with familiarity. It had been quite a long time since the people coming and going from this room had been fixed to just one person. That one person was precisely this woman.

The most noble woman in the Empire. The sole Empress, who had unwaveringly maintained her position and obediently fulfilled her duties all her life.

"Who is it……."

"Ah, you're awake."

The Empress's gaze, looking down at the Emperor lying on the bed and breathing roughly, held not a speck of warmth.

"Empress."

The Emperor's eyes, recognizing the Empress, shone sharply. But it was fleeting, and soon he turned his head away weakly, averting his gaze from her.

His body was in a wretchedly ruined state due to secretly accumulated toxins. And that wasn't all. He could feel his cognitive abilities deteriorating day by day, and even regulating his emotions was no longer easy.

It had been quite a while since rumors spread that the Emperor had become tyrannical. It was probably around the same time that those who had supported the Emperor began to turn their backs on him, one by one.

「His Majesty has gone mad.」

What more needed to be said? The Emperor had simply been defeated in a power struggle. And by his own child. By his wife, whom he had never considered a threat in the slightest.

The Emperor, who had believed without a doubt until the moment he closed his eyes that his end would be glorious, had become a defeated, powerless dog, cowering with its tail between its legs.

"Your mind seems clear today, so you must sign the documents that have been postponed."

The Emperor's seal had long since passed into the Empress's hands. That alone was enough to handle the Empire's affairs, both great and small, but abdication was a slightly different matter.

To prove that the abdication involved the Emperor's will, his handwritten signature was absolutely required.

Originally, the Emperor should have attended the coronation ceremony in person to hand over the crown... but with a body like this, appearing would only make a pitiful spectacle.

"If your eyes are blurry, just hold the pen. I will guide your hand to sign."

The Empress personally reached out and raised the Emperor's upper body. The Emperor, whose body was forcibly raised, let out a sigh-like breath.

"How could you, why would you... like this..."

When the Empress first stabbed a knife into his back, the Emperor did not believe it. Not only that, but no one would have believed that the Empress had pointed a blade at the Emperor.

She was a woman who had devoted her life to upholding the Emperor's will and keeping to her proper place, so everyone thought there was no reason for her to turn against him now.

「Since His Majesty's mind is not sound, I will personally oversee his well-being and convey his will.」

The Empress easily inserted herself into state affairs. Under the pretext of conveying the Emperor's will, she deftly manipulated several matters. The results were favorable to Heinri.

Although the power struggle between Maxel and Heinri over the throne had intensified, it was safe to say that the Empress stood to gain no real benefit by inserting herself between them.

The Empress's family was still a small, borderland family, and even Heinri, who respected his mother, did not bring maternal relatives into the imperial palace. Maxel also did not care for maternal relatives who were of no help to him.

Then what on earth could the Empress possibly gain?

The Emperor had already placed her in the position of the most noble woman in the Empire. There was nothing more she could gain beyond that.

On the contrary, if her son ascended the throne early, and especially if he welcomed a young Empress, she, having become the Empress Dowager, would have to relinquish her position.

"What on earth did you agree to receive from that bastard?"

The Emperor, staring blankly at the pen being placed in his hand, asked in a low voice.

It wasn't the first time he had asked. He had already asked several times and never received an answer. He thought today would be the same. Because the Empress never spoke more than necessary in this room.

But unexpectedly, a low voice flowed from the Empress's lips.

"Something Your Majesty would absolutely never give me."

At the unexpected answer, the Emperor's eyes widened. And soon, he shook his head violently.

The Emperor's eyes, which had been like those of a dead fish, flashed, taking on a cunning glint.

"You are my only wife, the first lady of the Empire. What could you possibly not have? What reason is there to turn so extreme? No matter how cruelly you act, we are all still members of the imperial family, so in the end, it's like cutting off your own flesh. Even without this, I could have given you what you wanted."

It was the most animated voice in weeks. Even as his hand trembled from the side effects of drug poisoning, the Emperor stared at the Empress with bloodshot eyes.

The Empress gazed at the Emperor for a moment, then quietly lowered her eyes.

"You said you would seat me in the most noble position, so I must fulfill my duties."

What she spoke of was a memory from a very distant past. In that moment, the Emperor, fearing she might lose interest in everything and leave, quickly uttered words of appeasement.

"I am well aware of the hardships you have endured all your life for the stability of the imperial family."

"My entire life was not hardship, Your Majesty."

A faint smile touched the corners of the Empress's calm lips.

"It was resignation."

The Empress stared intently at the Emperor.

"Have you forgotten how you seated me in this palace?"

"I, Empress..."

"The duty of the Empress is to produce an heir. When you said that, do you remember that I was merely a young lady?"

The Emperor's gaze wavered. Scenes from a past so distant he had forgotten them, old and musty, fluttered through his mind like torn pieces of a painting.

"It's alright, Your Majesty. I already knew long ago that you had forgotten everything."

The faint smile that had barely surfaced vanished as if washed away. The Empress returned to her dry expression and placed the documents on the Emperor's lap as if it were nothing.

"As you said, I have sat in the most noble position and lived a life of being waited on hand and foot, so you did not lie to me."

"I..."

"So now, I am repaying you."

The Empress neither raised her voice nor made her tone rough. Yet, why was it? The Emperor, looking at the gentle and quiet Empress, was seized by fear.

The hand holding the pen trembled violently. The Emperor's breathing grew increasingly ragged.

"You asked what I agreed to receive from him?"

The Empress softly extended her hand. Placing her hand over the Emperor's, she guided the pen tip toward the document.

"Freedom."

The sharp pen nib moved slowly. The line broke in places and veered crookedly. But the Empress did not remove her hand.

"The freedom to do anything."

Finally, the pen drew the last line. Staring blankly at the completed signature, made against his will, the Emperor gasped for breath.

Black ink stained his wrinkled hand.

The Empress smoothly extracted the pen from the Emperor's noticeably trembling hand. Then, she carefully picked up the document so the ink wouldn't smudge. Having obtained what she wanted, the Empress let out a long breath.

The Emperor still sat there, dazed. Over his head, the Empress's tranquil voice dropped like a stone.

"How could I forget Your Majesty's grace? I will repay it with all that remains of my life."

It was a declaration without a shred of mercy, like a noose tightening around the neck.

* * *

Having retrieved Bark and Minte, I had intended to immediately begin inquiring about Pallides.

The impression of a female knight who covers her entire body in armor was too broad and unspecified, but I thought if I mobilized all animals and insects, I could somehow manage.

I had planned to go out briefly to see if there were any rumors about a headless woman appearing. But I didn't, because of something I happened to realize.

The fact that Duke Roam and the Duchess of Roam were in prison.

「Duke? What nonsense is that? His title was stripped ages ago.」

「That's exactly what I'm saying. The people in charge of the prison are at their wits' end.」

「Hah, really. You never know about life, do you? Who would have thought Roam would collapse overnight like that?」

「Exactly. The second young lady, who was branded a wicked woman, became the goddess's Resurrected One, yet the family is in ruins.」

「I heard they failed to recognize the goddess's Resurrected One and put her on the execution block, so they received divine punishment?」

Recalling the conversation I had overheard by chance between the imperial guards made me feel strange. It wasn't that I now felt pity for the utterly ruined Roam. Naturally, I felt no guilt either.

But I was curious.

'Come to think of it, I never looked into the specifics.'

I had heard a rough account of Roam's news from Heinri. But that was merely a comment that had flowed by amidst numerous other topics.

From what I heard then, my Phrygian sister's body, poisoned by toxins, rapidly deteriorated and she eventually passed away, and Sayri was forcibly transferred to a secluded monastery.

Lilia was publicly executed, and my father and mother, who were nearly publicly executed alongside her, were spared that fate, whether unfortunately or fortunately.

Of course, being spared public execution did not mean they were reinstated. Perhaps they had been forgotten.

Even without Roam, Heinri had many political enemies to deal with, so he couldn't have bothered with them forever.

Where might they have experienced such trivial treatment? Thinking of my father and mother, who in life would never have bowed their heads to anyone, I naturally headed towards the prison.

Not just anyone could enter the prison, but I, with the Crown Prince awaiting his coronation on my side, had no problem at all.

「I'll just take care of this urgent matter and return, so you must stay quietly in the palace!」

I only remembered Xenon's earnest admonition—as he had to leave his post due to unavoidable Magic Tower business—when I arrived at the prison gate.

Well, it can't be helped. It's not like I left the imperial palace grounds, so it should be fine.

Thinking lightly, I strode into the prison without hesitation. The first thing I felt was a dizzyingly foul stench.

I truly couldn't imagine it. My father and mother, locked up in such a filthy prison.