The sound of shoes echoed on the marble floor. It was Cecilia's footsteps.
When he thought she had stopped, Cecilia suddenly started running like a madman. He followed her because she was someone he had to serve, but the faces of the servants who had no idea what was going on were filled with confusion.
“His Highness?”
“He is sleeping. So I bit the people guarding him...”
Cecilia suddenly asked a question, then pushed aside the servant who was answering awkwardly and flung open the bedroom door.
“Eden!”
As the surprised attendant was about to grab Cecilia, he stopped when he saw the sight beyond the open door.
In the bedroom, which was only illuminated by the light from the hallway, the sleeping man was calm, regardless of the commotion outside the door. Up until that point, everything was normal.
“...”
However, the smell of blood in a room with a sleeping man was not ordinary. Either the servant had sprinkled the room with animal blood, or Eden had been injured. However, the former was obviously not possible.
“Eden?”
Cecilia approached Eden, calling his name in a trembling voice. As she got closer, Eden’s pale face was revealed. It was so lifeless that it was tempting to believe it was the moonlight streaming in through the curtains.
"Ah..."
Cecilia's face turned pale. A hand, vibrating slightly, touched Eden's face.
It's lukewarm. The moment she thought that, Eden's large hand fell to the side of the bed. Along with it was the knife that the criminal had not yet managed to wrench.
“Call the palace doctor!”
Cecilia screamed sharply as she discovered the bloodstain that had spread round on Eden's chest. It wasn't to show it to others.
"Immediately!"
One of the servants who had been watching the scene with a blank expression suddenly took a step back. Then, at some point, as if he had come to his senses, he ran out of the building in a hurry.
***
In the middle of the night, the palace was turned upside down because Cecilia immediately sent one of her servants to the Emperor.
'Go to His Majesty the Emperor immediately. Tell him that Grand Duke Burnett was almost assassinated.'
Cecilia breathed into Eden several times, rubbed his bloody hands, and shared her body heat with him. Since she was the only one in contact with Eden, he had no time to tell her whether he was dead or not.
'There's Ilya Nova, no, Ilya Jakcinson, in the palace, and we have to catch her.'
'...'
'So, we must lock all the doors in the palace and not let even a single rat out.'
Then, with a blank expression, he gave the order to his attendant. The attendant stammered and spoke to the Emperor, recalling the cold face staring at him.
“That’s, what..."
The Emperor was speechless for a while. He covered his mouth at the news he had heard in bed, and for a while, he just scanned the air with a confused gaze.
“Lock the doors immediately and do not allow anyone to escape from the palace!”
But the moment he realized that it was not a dream, the Emperor's anger exploded in an instant. His voice cracked.
Everyone lowered their bodies and kept their voices quiet, watching the Emperor closely. It was clearly a festive night, with a new Crown Prince born and a banquet held. There was no way to know how it had come to this.
“You fucking bitch...!”
“Your Majesty, please calm down.”
The Emperor was breathing heavily. The chief chamberlain hurriedly supported the Emperor. He was afraid that he would end up in a state of mourning.
“...Ilya Jackinson was said to have blonde hair and golden eyes. Arrest any woman with a similar appearance.”
“Everyone, are you talking?”
The chamberlain asked cautiously. The Emperor turned his eyes away, flashing with anger.
“Everyone! Regardless of social status!”
The Emperor's eyes were wide open. His most beloved son, Aster, had already met a tragic death. He pretended not to care, pretended to be strong, but the Emperor had not been able to sleep properly since that day. That was the way it was for parents who had lost their children.
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
The Emperor had not yet accepted the death and was still in a state of repose. The chief chamberlain hurriedly bowed his head and answered.
“Arrest all blonde and golden-eyed women in the palace, regardless of status.”
And so he left the Emperor's bedroom and relayed his orders to his servants.
“Even if you are a noble?”
The Emperor had already lost his beloved wife and his first son. Now, to lose his second son as well. That was a sorrow the Emperor could not bear.
“Even if you are a noble.”
The chief chamberlain who had served the Emperor for a long time had a hunch. If Ilya was caught, she would die without fail.
“We must capture her while keeping her life intact.”
It wasn't just a simple intuition. Harming the imperial family in the palace was something that could not be done alone.
“There must be an accomplice, so we need to get a confession.”
So that accomplice will definitely die, the chamberlain was certain, staring at the countless lights illuminating the palace in the deep night.
***
The Empress entered Damon's palace with hurried steps. Damon, dressed comfortably as if he was getting ready, looked back at the Empress with a surprised expression.
“What are you doing at this hour?”
Of course, it wasn't an unwelcome face. Damon's mother was the only family member who had always showered him with unsparing love.
“Everyone get out.”
The Empress, who had suddenly burst into her grown son's bedroom, gave orders to her subordinates.
“Everyone get out!”
The servants, who had been blinking with bewildered faces, not knowing what was going on, were startled. Damon quickly made a gesture and sent everyone out.
“Damon.”
As Damon's bedroom door closed, the Empress looked up at him, holding onto his strong shoulders. Damon looked down at the Empress with a puzzled expression.
“Be honest.”
A hand filled with longing held Damon tightly.
“By any chance, did you do something to the Second Prince?”
The Empress stammered a question. Damon, who had been scanning his mother's face with worried eyes, paused.
“What are you talking about?”
Of course, it was a moment. Damon smiled calmly and denied the Empress's suspicions.
“I parted ways with Brother Eden as soon as the drinking party was over. He was quite drunk, so I told the servant to take him away.”
I don't know what happened after that. That was what it meant.
“Please. Be honest with this mother. What did you do?”
But he was the Empress's own child. It wasn't even her first time seeing her own child. The Empress wasn't fooled.
“Your Majesty the Empress.”
“Damon!”
The Empress screamed her son's name. Damon let out a small sigh.
“Anyway, he didn’t die.”
And then he whispered softly in the Empress's ear. The Empress froze as if she had become a finely crafted piece of ice and looked up at her son.
“Damon.”
“Unfortunately.”
Damon turned away, brushing off the Empress with an annoyed expression. The Empress froze like a statue and stared blankly at the back of her son.
“I used Ilya Jakcinson anyway. She has malicious intentions towards him, so even if you catch her, you can just cut her off.”
After a while, Damon turned to the empress with a forced smile and explained in detail. It was as if he was trying to reassure his mother.
“Where did you hide her?”
“I hid her in the dungeon using a secret passage. They won’t look into the place where criminals are kept, so don’t worry.”
Ilya was a noble lady. She wouldn't have thought much about it since it was a place where only murderers and serious criminals were confined.
Damon spoke calmly, thinking like that.
"What?"
However, the Empress's eyes grew as big as lanterns when she heard Damon's words. Damon looked surprised and dumbfounded by the unexpected reaction.
"Dungeon?"
Damon nodded. The Empress licked her lips and turned away quickly. Damon could not stop his mother and just watched her antics.
“There’s a blonde woman with golden eyes in the dungeon.”
The Empress opened the door to Damon's bedroom and called in the servant she had brought from her parents' house. Damon watched from a distance.
“Kill her.”
The Empress commanded.
“Before anyone finds out. You have to kill her and finish her off!”
It was a desperate order. It was also an extremely cold and cruel order.
“Mother. Why on earth...”
As the maid left the bedroom, Damon grabbed the Empress and asked her, because it was the first time he had seen her lose her composure like this. The Empress was always elegant and relaxed. She never got excited or couldn't control herself.
“The Grand Duchess might remember, Damon.”
The Empress muttered with a face as hard as wax. It was a story that Damon could not fathom. How could the Grand Duchess know that the noblewoman Ilya was hidden in that vile and filthy place?
“I have to go and see...”
The Empress gives Damon an unusual push and dashes out of the room. Damon, wearing only a robe over his naked upper body, hurriedly followed behind.
“...”
So, what the Empress and Damon finally encountered were the knights lined up on the road leading to the dungeon.
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