Having been tricked by Nine into believing that the bitter tea was good for adults, Radinis waited for the former empress to drink first. Derivis, arriving too late, clutched his mother’s cold, lifeless body and wept.
Blaming himself for not recognizing the situation sooner, he felt a deep, unshakable resentment towards the young Radinis and guilt for feeling that way towards him.
“No, we’re all just victims here.”
Derivis gripped the small hand tightly.
“Once again, I failed to be a good brother to you.”
Rosalie placed a comforting hand on Derivis’s rigid back. Feeling her touch, he released his grip.
“No. If I had been smarter, I could have stopped her. Just like at the monster hunting tournament…”
Radinis fidgeted and bowed his head, riddled with guilt although it wasn’t his fault. Derivis gently patted the back of Radinis’s head.
It had been seven years since he last felt this touch. He realized that it was time to end this tragedy.
“No. You did your best, Radinis.”
“Derivis, we need to protect Prince Radinis.”
“Yes, we must.”
Derivis gritted his teeth. Contrary to his boiling anger, his mind grew cold.
Watching the two brothers, Rosalie also resolved to end this for once and for all.
⊱⊱⊱────── {.⋅ ✧✧✧ ⋅.} ──────⊰⊰⊰
Inside the banquet hall where the festive atmosphere was fading, Bianca was searching for the missing Rosalie.
“Oh my, are you saying that the Duchess of Judeheart and His Highness have disappeared together?”
The nobles began to gossip about Rosalie and Derivis now that they had been absent for some time.
“Did you see them dancing earlier? They looked so close!”
The banquet hall was abuzz with talk about Rosalie and Derivis. Just as Nine began to find the chatter irritating, the noisy hall fell silent.
Sensing that something was wrong, Nine turned her head to see Derivis entering with Rosalie.
“Why is Radinis…?”
Nine muttered to herself, covering her mouth with a fan. Her intense purple gaze was fixed on Radinis, who was behind Derivis and Rosalie.
Concealing her impatience, Nine approached Derivis. It must have been a coincidence. He wouldn’t embrace the child who gave his mother the poison. He never had and never would.
There was no way his feelings would suddenly change. However, her uneasy premonition was rarely wrong.
“Your Highness, are you enjoying the ball?”
“Yes, Your Majesty. I am enjoying it immensely. It’s so delightful that I can’t help but laugh.”
Feeling the sharp edge in Derivis’s words, Nine signaled to Radinis to come to her. However, Rosalie blocked his hesitant steps, and Nine’s grip tightened on her fan.
“Radinis, come to your mother…”
“Actually, I have something to tell you, Your Majesty.”
Derivis cut off Nine’s words abruptly. She barely managed to keep her smile.
“What is it? What could the prince have to tell me?”
“I plan to have Radinis take imperial lessons from now on. I will also teach him swordsmanship personally.”
“…Oh my, what brought this on suddenly?”
“It’s just as you heard.”
Derivis’s lips curled into a sardonic smile. Nine clenched her teeth in response to his sharp demeanor. With so many eyes on them, she couldn’t smile, so she chose to express her anger as best as she could.
“Radinis, you should discuss things like this with your mother first. Come here.”
Nine beckoned Radinis to her. Fortunately, the Emperor had left the banquet hall. If Patrick were here, he would undoubtedly support Derivis immediately.
However, Radinis ignored Nine’s gesture and turned his head away. Seeing that, she quickly tried to figure out what was going on.
“I plan to teach Radinis swordsmanship every day, so he will see me daily.”
This was a clear message to Nine that she shouldn’t even think about manipulating Radinis. Nine glanced between Radinis and Rosalie. Rosalie’s piercing gaze seemed to penetrate her conscience.
‘…Has she figured something out?’
For now, Nine’s priority was to prevent Radinis from slipping out of her control.
“…Radinis is not strong. Such sudden training might be too much for him…”
“That’s why it’s necessary.”
Rosalie stepped forward. Her presence stifled even the smallest breaths in the room. Despite the intense scrutiny, Rosalie stood tall and proud.
“If the prince is weak, then he needs the training all the more. What better opportunity would there be for him to learn apart from learning from the empire’s best swordsman, the Crown Prince?”
“I didn’t realize the Duchess was so concerned about the prince’s health.”
“Not as much as Your Majesty, though I’m unsure what exactly Your Majesty is worried about.”
Nine’s long-held composure finally broke. She hastily opened her fan to hide her face while the surrounding nobles murmured about her unusual behavior. Derivis approached her, his smile as cold as his voice.
“If you make a fuss, people will suspect you’re hiding something, Your Majesty.”
Nine glared at Derivis through the gap in her fan. Seeing her reaction, Derivis casually stepped back.
“Let’s continue this discussion another time.”
“There’s no need. I’m going to report this to the Emperor now.”
Derivis stated firmly. Then, Nine gritted her teeth and walked away. Losing control of her expression now would be her downfall.
Radinis watched Nine leave in disbelief. Derivis called for the servants to play lively music and serve more champagne and wine, restoring the festive atmosphere.
As the banquet hall buzzed again, Derivis approached Rosalie and Radinis.
“The Emperor will appoint new servants for your palace.”
“If mother causes more trouble…”
“She won’t be able to.”
Rosalie reassured the anxious Radinis.
Radinis couldn’t take his eyes off the reassuring figures of Rosalie and Derivis, barely able to hold back his emotions.
‘If brother wants to leave the palace, then I’ll make sure he can.’
This time, Radinis vowed to protect them.
⊱⊱⊱────── {.⋅ ✧✧✧ ⋅.} ──────⊰⊰⊰
Rosalie and Derivis escorted Radinis to his quarters. Although he didn’t show it, his defiance of Nine’s will left him visibly uneasy. Rosalie insisted on accompanying him to his door.
“Go inside, Radinis.”
“Yes, thank you both for today.”
“Don’t be.”
Radinis smiled as he gradually disappeared into the palace. Derivis offered to accompany Rosalie to the carriage, and they slowly walked out.
“Derivis, this isn’t your fault.”
They walked in silence for a while. Rosalie could easily guess what he was thinking. When he finally stopped, his expression was heavy with sorrow.
“I knew it wasn’t that boy’s fault.”
“And it’s not yours, either.”
Rosalie met his gaze and gently traced her fingers around his eyes. Derivis closed his eyes at her tender touch.
“It’s no one’s fault. Like you said, you’re both just victims.”
Derivis slowly opened his eyes.
“There was a time I thought about sneaking into the empress’s chambers and stabbing her in the heart.”
For Derivis, a peaceful death was too kind for Nine. Just then, Rosalie withdrew her hand from his face.
“But it’s too easy to let her go as a tragic empress killed by a mad crown prince.”
Rosalie nodded in agreement. Nine needed to see all her accomplishments crumble. That was the true punishment she deserved.
“But my thoughts have changed.”
“What do you mean?”
“If the empress lays a hand on you, I’ll kill her immediately.”
Derivis’s face turned icy cold. The intensity of his conviction made Rosalie swallow hard.
⊱⊱⊱────── {.⋅ ✧✧✧ ⋅.} ──────⊰⊰⊰
Now back in her palace, Nine screamed and threw everything within reach to the floor.
“Aaaaargh!”
“Calm down, Your Majesty!”
Andree grabbed Nine’s arm. After a few deep breaths, Nine threw the last piece of decor in her hand.
“Goodness. What happened to this room?”
“Rondun!”
Nine called out irritably as Rondun entered the room, spinning around playfully before approaching her.
“Is there any progress with the experiments? How long do I have to wait?”
“Why are you suddenly in such a hurry? It won’t be much longer. Since Prince Radinis and Your Majesty~ have only one body each, we have to proceed carefully~!”
Due to limited experiments with Radinis, Rondun conducted illegal trials on slaves smuggled from other countries and children kidnapped from orphanages run by nobles.
“Besides, isn’t Your Majesty’s aging process already halted?”
Following Nine’s orders to erase any traces, Rondun had no qualms about disposing of children who survived the experiments.
‘Their life force is preventing Nine from aging. These experiments have been quite impressive.’
Rondun often praised his own ingenuity. However, unlike Rondun, Nine couldn’t hide her impatience.
“Turn Radinis into my puppet quickly!”
Rondun’s experiments, funded by Nine, aimed to make Radinis her obedient puppet, allowing her to control him entirely in both body and mind.
Nine intended to place her son on the throne and rule from the highest position.
“But, Your Majesty, I have a new proposal.”
“What is it now?”
“How about Your Majesty inhabiting the prince’s body?”
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