Snowflakes scattered ceaselessly, and her wrists, bound in chains, grew increasingly cold and stiff. Odelia was mounted on a horse, surrounded by soldiers.
The spearheads of the imperial soldiers lined up front and back gleamed coldly in the darkness, casting a tense atmosphere over the road.
As they passed Talamand Fort and headed toward the village, the people who had heard the rumors began to gather one by one, breaking the deep night. Their faces were all pale, and their lips trembled.
“My lord!”
A choked voice burst forth from somewhere. Soon, tear-stained faces reached out toward her. Some wept while holding children in their arms, while others knelt and sobbed.
"Why... Why are you taking the Lord away!"
"There must definitely be some mistake or misunderstanding!"
The people mustered their courage and shouted. The escorting soldiers raised their spears and drove the people away, but the crying and shouting were not impressive.
Odelia looked at the people she had tried to protect, then lowered her gaze, her tightly closed lips trembling.
***
Lately, mornings at the Imperial Palace had always begun with a heavy atmosphere. Ministers were gathered in the conference room, engaged in a heated debate over Odelia amidst piles of various documents and reports.
"Your Majesty, this is clearly the seed of treason!"
"The fact that an army was raised without authorization in Talamand has already been confirmed by testimony!"
Voices exchanged violently, and the table thudded.
Calix, sitting in the center, was looking down at everyone with a calm gaze.
"Testimony is not the truth."
With a single short, firm remark, the ministers' shouting was instantly cut short. Calix picked up the documents, his eyes flashing.
"If anyone is swayed by falsehood and seeks to destroy the law and order of this empire, whoever he may be, he will be the first to be punished. Every word you utter shakes the fate of the empire, so engrave this clearly in your minds."
For a moment, the conference room fell silent as if cold water had been poured over it.
Amidst the heavy hues of the ministers' breathing, it was just as Calix put down the documents and was about to speak again that his body suddenly froze.
Just as his fingertips seemed to stop on the documents, he immediately grabbed the neck. At the same time as the sound of a gasp, fresh blood gushed from the corners of his lips.
Dark red blood was scattered on the conference room floor.
"Your Majesty!"
“Call the medic!”
The loud shouts of the ministers once again shook the meeting hall. The interior instantly turned into chaos, and the sounds of chairs and documents falling and crashing mingled together.
Calix tried to force his staggering body to its feet. His hand swung through the air as if trying to grasp something, and anger flashed across his tightly closed eyes.
It was not a weak collapse. It was the struggle of one who sought to hold out to the very end.
However, even that steel-like will could not last long in the face of the gushing blood and wavering vision. Bang! With the sound of a chair leg falling, the Emperor's body collapsed forward.
Blood spread across the carpet engraved with dazzling golden patterns.
A moment of silence fell over the meeting hall, soon filling it with a strange noise entangled in chaos. Ministers rushed out to call for the royal doctor, and attendants hurriedly supported the Emperor.
Calix's eyes were already sinking deep into the darkness. Nevertheless, his fingertips clutched the table until the very end, trembling as if refusing to collapse to the very last moment.
***
When Odelia arrived in the capital, the high walls of the imperial palace looked down on her intimidatingly.
She descended the long staircase, still bound in chains. The stone steps leading to the basement were colder than midwinter, and dampness seeped into every footprint.
It was a familiar smell. The fishy stench of mold, rusty iron bars, and damp dirt floors. Odelia caught her breath for a moment and closed her eyes. This was her second time here.
The first time was when Allan took his own life. It was when she finally kept her mouth shut to protect the secret amidst misunderstanding and blame. She thought that would be the last time, but who would have thought she would come back here again?
As the chains were released and the door slammed shut, the darkness descended even deeper.
The stone floor was like ice, and the damp air seeped to the bone. Odelia pressed her back against the wall and slowly slid her body down.
Her fingertips were frozen, and a thin breath escaped. Her body trembled as if the tension had finally released.
How much time had passed? Just as her senses were beginning to dull, the iron gate creaked open. As the light drew closer, a hem of red silk cut through the darkness in her brightened vision. It was Fabiana.
She slowly walked over and stood in front of the bars. Her piercing gaze spread, glistening with light. A thin, curled smile spread coolly.
"Maybe it's because it's your second time, but you don't seem that nervous."
Odelia leaned against the wall and caught her breath. She slowly raised her head. Her gaze and Fabiana's gaze met in the darkness.
Both the first and the second were caused by Fabiana. Ruminating on that fact anew, Odelia tightened her gaze and looked Fabiana straight in the eye.
Fabiana's footsteps echoed coldly in the damp air of the dungeon. A relaxed smile played on her face as she approached, dragging the hem of her cloak.
"You really... have no luck."
Odelia's gaze remained firmly fixed despite the sarcastic remarks. She slowly raised her head and met Fabiana's gaze head-on.
"It’s neither a misunderstanding nor bad luck, is it? You know that, too."
The smile on Fabiana's lips wavered for a moment. However, she soon let out a nonchalant snort.
"Even so... there was no need to go so far as to touch the children."
Fabiana immediately raised her eyebrows and averted her gaze.
"I don't understand what you're saying."
At that moment, BANG! The iron bars shook violently.
Fabiana reflexively faltered at the sound of the iron bars rattling as if they were about to shatter. Odelia tightened her grip on the bars with her fingertips and narrowed her gaze coldly.
“Are you afraid of me?”
After a brief silence, Fabiana's lips forced out the words.
"That can't be true... you're trapped in there."
Odelia's gaze shone brightly. The look in her eyes, aimed straight at her through the bars, was not that of a prisoner.
After that, no words were exchanged. Only the gazes of the two clashed between the iron bars.
Fabiana's lips were hidden by a fan, but the look in her eyes gleamed like a sharp blade. With a face frozen in coldness, Odelia did not avert her gaze even an inch.
The silence was long, and the air tightened heavily. One was the one holding power, and the other was a prisoner bound in chains.
However, strangely enough, the advantage did not easily shift.
Finally, Fabiana folded her fan with a thud. Over her fully exposed face, the corners of her mouth slowly curved upward. It was a smile that only one holding a secret could wear.
“You don’t know yet.”
She tilted her head slightly toward the helpless sinner and continued speaking in a whisper.
"Calix is now lying in a sickbed. He won't be able to comfort you like he used to."
In an instant, Odelia's heart pounded. The shock spread through her body, yet her expression remained completely unmoved.
Fabiana glanced at the scene, let out another snort, and fluttered the hem of her cloak. She feigned nonchalance in her footsteps, but her retreating figure as she left the prison showed signs of a hurried urgency.
Left alone in the dark basement, Odelia slowly let out a breath. Even after her enemy was gone, she clutched the cold iron bars tightly, as if enduring the shock.
Fabiana's voice lingering in her ears tightened her heart like an echo, but she ultimately did not show any wavering.
However, only one question endlessly lingered in her mind.
Calix is in bed?
Why? How? What happened? Was even that Fabiana's doing?
As questions followed one after another, Odelia closed her eyes and leaned her forehead against the cold iron bars. She gripped the bars even tighter, until every joint turned white.
As she bit her lip tightly, a faint smell of iron spread. No matter how hard she tried to suppress it, her heart pounded.
Odelia consciously tried to catch her breath, but the deep confusion could not even hold onto her breath properly.
The freezing prison air settled down heavier than ever.
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