“I heard that place was passed down to the Princess from the Emperor. The aftermath of the hunting festival might still make things unsettled, but perhaps that’s for the better. For those people who are in shock, the Princess’s presence might be a comfort.”
Speaking in a monotone, the Empress looked at Marianne, who stood dumbfounded, and continued calmly.
“This seems to be the extent of the mercy I can bestow upon the Princess. If there’s anyone you wish to say farewell to, I’ll give you sufficient time—”
“…Are you telling me to leave the Imperial Palace?”
Marianne muttered as if talking to herself before letting out a bitter laugh.
She was flabbergasted.
Who dared to order whom to leave? This place, the Imperial Palace, was Marianne’s own home.
Her father was the former His Imperial Majesty the Emperor, and her mother, had things followed their natural course, should have been the Empress of this palace. Although she grew up branded as an illegitimate child, Marianne had always believed that the true royal bloodline resided in herself and her brother.
But the Empress merely stood with her hands clasped together in a dignified posture, silently watching her.
There was nothing more to add beyond the clear message: leave the palace and return to the estate that was originally yours—and your brother’s, now a scene of tragedy—and remain there for the rest of your life. It was nothing but an outright banishment.
Marianne’s molars ground together as belated humiliation surged through her.
This wall she had just crossed.
It was a wall of the Imperial Palace that she couldn’t easily pass through without permission, yet for that girl Sienna, her father had even built a new annex and cherished her so dearly.
Watching that spectacle, she had endured for years more. Despite her mother’s miserable death, she had endured for years, waiting for a father who never appeared.
The day her stepmother died, she had raised a toast with her brother—the memory remained vivid as if it happened yesterday, though earlier memories were now fading.
She had believed that with the death of the woman who had interfered with her life, everything would return to its natural order.
She thought it was time to receive compensation for a lifetime spent hearing the stigma of being an illegitimate child. She firmly believed that from then on, she would live receiving treatment befitting her true bloodline.
But why…
“I am the former Emperor’s daughter. The current Emperor’s only sister. Why should I… As a daughter of the Maloney family, the Empress has no right to issue such an order to me. A foreigner from another country…!”
“Isn’t this foreigner the Empress of you and this country, Princess?”
The Empress replied indifferently to Marianne who was seething, forgetting her place. It was meant to convey that she should recognize her position, but Marianne shook her head and clung to the Empress’s feet.
“Your Majesty. I don’t want Sendelk. I absolutely detest that place. How can you make me spend the rest of my life where my brother suffered such a tragedy? Isn’t that too cruel?”
Marianne changed her approach, pleading with a tear-stained face.
This wouldn’t do. Even for Marianne, full of pride as she was, she couldn’t fail to recognize that the current situation was turning against her.
Sendelk…! If she went there, it was obvious she would never be able to return to the capital again.
The nobles who observed Marianne’s actions would naturally realize that the Empress had cast her aside. Then it would only be a matter of time before the social circles turned their backs on Marianne.
Recalling the contemptuous gazes from faded memories, Marianne felt a chill run down her spine. She couldn’t return to such a world again.
Swallowing her pride, Marianne clung to the Empress more desperately.
“I will leave the Imperial Palace. I will acquire a mansion in the suburbs and stay there, Your Majesty. So please…”
She couldn’t let go of the vain hope that the Empress might allow her to remain in the capital, if not in the palace, even at this moment when she was being completely rejected.
But the Empress’s gaze looking down at her was emotionless. Not even a hint of sympathy was felt.
As Marianne looked up desperately at the Empress, hope gradually faded from her eyes.
“…This can’t be happening.”
Marianne’s expression changed as she shook her head numbly and muttered. Suddenly, an angry scream echoed sharply through the corridor.
“Who are you to give me such orders? Without my brother, you would never have even crossed the threshold of the Imperial Palace, you wench…!”
When her last strand of hope was severed, Marianne lashed out wildly without restraint.
With eyes reddened by fury, she glared at the Empress with a vicious gaze. Do you think you’ll be safe after abandoning your husband? As if deliberately planned, curses bordering on maledictions poured from her red lips indiscriminately.
As the situation grew increasingly ominous, the guards standing nearby seized Marianne by both arms.
“Let go of me!”
The Empress, who had been watching Marianne struggle in the grip of the soldiers, eventually turned her attention to the guards.
“Escort the First Princess safely to the villa in Sendelk.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
As the guards began to move, the Empress turned away. Though Marianne’s desperate screams could be heard from behind, familiar tranquility returned the moment the bedroom door closed.
Only then did the Empress exhale a quiet breath.
At last, it was the end of a hateful connection.
****
The hearing was held on a Saturday morning.
On a day when they would normally be resting comfortably in their mansions, everyone looked displeased about coming to the Imperial Palace.
When Dahlia entered, sharp gazes immediately flew toward her. Though she seemed to shrink for a moment, she quickly walked with brisk steps to find her seat.
When Count Monches entered, the nobles sitting in the back rows began to gossip loudly enough to be heard.
“The Empress troubles herself needlessly.”
“Such a ploy won’t work at this point. The outcome is obvious, isn’t it?”
“The charges are so serious. Besides, since the Grand Duke himself has admitted to the facts, how does the Empress think she can overturn this?”
Everyone clicked their tongues, agreeing that this hearing was surely a waste of time.
Except for Theodore Monches, who was confined to his quarters, all figures related to the incident at the hunting festival had made their appearance.
Regarding Dahlia or the Count, they couldn’t escape disciplinary action as they were deeply involved in the matter. However, in case Sienna did not attend, a separate witness who knew the circumstances would be needed, so the Empress had summoned them in advance.
Nevertheless, the nobles criticized them, saying that regardless of the circumstances, the very fact that they showed their faces at such an occasion was nothing short of brazen.
Meanwhile, the Count, who ignored the criticism reaching his ears, glanced at those sitting beside him. Unlike Dahlia, who was calmer than expected, Marquis Hoffman had an anxious face and kept fidgeting with his knees incessantly.
“Her Majesty the Empress.”
At the chamberlain’s announcement, the murmuring from all around suddenly stopped.
As usual, the Empress was impeccably dressed and took her seat at the top with unwavering steps. As the nobles began to sit down one by one, the door on the opposite side of where the nobles were seated opened.
The quiet assembly began to stir again. Like the other nobles, the Count looked at the defendant’s seat and unconsciously tensed his jaw.
Declan looked no different from usual, except that he appeared in more shabby attire than normal and was accompanied by guards.
His characteristic arrogant gaze remained. He swept over the nobles with a dry look, showing no sign of tension inappropriate to the situation.
For a brief moment, his eyes met the Count’s, but it was an extremely short instant.
The Marquis muttered to himself that Declan looked better than expected, but the Count did not respond.
There was no comfort in the Marquis’s words when his respected superior had fallen to the status of a criminal, receiving the contempt of the nobles.
Though he knew the Princess’s matter would not flow in a favorable direction for the Grand Duke, actually seeing it with his own eyes made him feel even more miserable.
As Declan took his position, Baron Vermont announced the beginning of the hearing.
“We will begin the inquiry.”
Thereafter, the questions and answers that had already been exchanged several times were mechanically repeated.
Someone had to take responsibility anyway.
The nobles were desperate to place all blame on the Grand Duke and conclude the matter, while Declan, though answering obediently, clearly showed his irritation.
This behavior ultimately made the nobles even more indignant, but even that was Declan’s intention to quickly finish this matter.
The situation unfolded as expected and continued tediously. Just as people began to yawn one after another, the Empress signaled to the guards standing by the door.
“Let’s bring in the witness at this point.”
Dahlia and the Count, naturally assuming they were being referred to, rose from their seats to take the witness stand. Meanwhile, Declan still wore a face that showed little interest in the situation.
But the moment the guard opened the door, the atmosphere in the hall changed dramatically.
Declan, who had been tilting his head askew and responding perfunctorily throughout the questioning, suddenly stiffened.
Meanwhile, Sienna stood at the witness stand with an expressionless face, as if the commotion here had nothing to do with her. Her emotionless blue eyes were directed solely toward the Empress.
