Arundel’s hand, holding the flyer, began to tremble.
“What… what is this…”
“We only discovered it this morning. It seems someone posted it at dawn.”
“Who would do such a thing…”
“We haven’t been able to identify the person who posted the flyer yet.”
The head maid explained the situation to Arundel with an anxious face.
“And…”
The head maid hesitated, as if there was still shocking news to share.
“The flyers are not only in the Empress’s Palace… but all over the Imperial Palace…”
Arundel closed her eyes.
It was an extremely malicious act. Who on earth… who would do such a thing to her.
Arundel’s fingertips trembled slightly at this first-time experience.
The tragedy didn’t end there.
“Gasp-!”
Suddenly, Arundel clutched his chest. This time, it wasn’t her head that hurt, but her heart.
It was the same pain as before. A terrible pain, as if her chest was being pierced.
For a moment, Arundel couldn’t breathe.
“Your Majesty the Empress!! Are you alright!!”
The head maid rushed towards Arundel, who was struggling to breathe.
“Uh… yes.”
Arundel answered with difficulty. Fortunately, the pain gradually subsided.
What on earth is happening…
With an unbelievable scandal and anxious pain, Arundel suppressed her uneasy thoughts and looked down.
‘First… this.’
The pain had subsided for now. The urgent matter was this unidentified flyer. To understand the exact content, she slowly read the flyer in her hand again.
“Empress Irina, affair with Knight Captain Royden.”
It was written in red letters on the paper.
“For some reason, the Empress and the Emperor are not on good terms. So the Emperor abandoned the Empress, and the person who helped her then was Knight Captain Royden…?!”
She did receive help from Royden at that time, but the atmosphere was not like this at all!
Arundel continued to read the flyer with a trembling heart.
“So their love sprouted, and the Emperor was jealous of his old friend, Knight Captain Royden. That’s why the famous ‘Emperor’s Birthday Party’ incident happened.”
It was the incident where Zion confronted Royden at his birthday party.
At that time, Royden was just trying to dust off her head, but Zion misunderstood it…!
The shocking content continued.
“Recently, they have been having secret meetings behind the Emperor’s back, and the main meeting place is behind the armory in the training ground…?!”
As expected…the feeling of being watched yesterday was true.
Someone had been stalking her.
Arundel crumpled the paper.
“These are lies.”
“Of course, we think so too. The problem is with other people.”
“Did it spread all over the Imperial Palace?”
“Yes… probably His Majesty the Emperor knows about this too.”
Arundel felt like she was going to faint.
“For your sake, it would be best to stay in the Empress’s Palace for a while.”
“Ha…”
“People’s attention will be focused. It would be best to be careful until we find the culprit who spread the flyers.”
At the head maid’s firm advice, Arundel nodded her head.
‘You’re right. It’s better to stay quiet until this talk subsides.’
That being said, she was afraid of Zion’s reaction right now. Would he believe her, or would he lock him up in the Empress’s Palace again?
Arundel fell into a state of despair.
The stigma of Hills, the unbelievable flyer… and what was the pain in her heart earlier?
For a while, she was happy thinking that Zion had changed… but fate is cruel after all.
At this point, it seemed like she was being told to just disappear from heaven.
****
Arundel lay down weakly on the bed. She didn’t think she could get out of bed for a while.
‘I wonder if Royden is okay…’
Royden must be quite perplexed too.
Suddenly caught up in an affair scandal. And that too with the Empress.
How would he face his subordinates, and how would he handle Zion’s anger?
Of course, she was not in a position to worry about others, but she was worried when she thought of Royden’s kind face.
Arundel curled up on the bed.
****
A few days later.
It was an evening like any other. She had been living in seclusion in the Empress’s Palace for several days. She really missed people.
Bianca came to visit once in between, but she refused to meet her, swallowing her tears.
Right now, she definitely didn’t want to meet anyone.
‘I’m sorry, Bianca… Royden… It’s a relief that Belle is by my side at least.’
If Belle showed a disappointed expression towards her, she felt like she would be hurt, but fortunately,
[Of course, Her Majesty the Empress wouldn’t do such a thing! Even if you did, I’m on your side.]
She said something touching. She seemed to like Royden quite a bit, but she acted as if she didn’t care at all.
“Will you have dinner in the garden again today?”
“Yeah.”
At the head maid’s question, Arundel nodded her head weakly.
Still, being stuck in the Empress’s Palace wasn’t all bad.
After all, rumors were bound to spread anywhere, and more so if you were the Empress.
She didn’t have to worry about someone discovering her stigma.
Fortunately, after that, there was no terrible pain in her heart. Arundel hoped that the pain was temporary. If the pain persisted, she thought of seeing a doctor.
But there was something else that drained Arundel’s blood.
It was ‘Zion’.
She thought he would break down the door and ask about the facts, but for some reason, he didn’t show up.
So day by day, she just stared at the door, wondering when Zion would come…
Even after a week, there was no news from Zion.
Did Zion really believe the contents of that flyer? So he was disappointed in her and didn’t come?
Arundel stared at the door as if to pierce it.
Suddenly-!
Is it Zion?!
No, the person who came in was the head maid. But her face was as white as if she had seen a ghost.
“Em…Empress. He’s here.”
“…Huh?”
“His Majesty the Emperor…He’s here!!”
As expected!
At the head maid’s words, Arundel got up. And not long after, Zion, whom she had been waiting for, appeared.
Her glad heart made his sculpted face look even more handsome.
“I thought we could have dinner together today.”
“…Dinner?”
“Weren’t you the one who originally suggested we have dinner together every evening?”
Zion was surprisingly normal.
Even though an incident had occurred and they hadn’t met for a whole week, he acted as if they had met just yesterday.
From his expression and behavior, he seemed like someone who knew nothing about the flyer.
The head maid cautiously intervened, watching the two of them.
“We have prepared Her Majesty the Empress’s meal in the garden. We will also prepare His Majesty the Emperor’s meal soon.”
Zion nodded his head. They moved to the garden together.
The table was laden with abundant food. But Arundel still couldn’t pick up her utensils.
“Why aren’t you eating?”
Zion, who had picked up his utensils first, looked at Arundel and spoke.
“…Why aren’t you saying anything?”
“What should I say?”
Zion asked back.
Arundel was wondering if it was right to bring up ‘Royden’ now.
“…No.”
That’s right, there was no need to bring up uncomfortable talk first.
Arundel also scooped up the soup in front of her. But she didn’t know what the soup she was eating now tasted like.
Zion, for whatever reason, was having a normal meal without saying a word.
Unable to bear the silence, Arundel opened her mouth first.
“The people who attacked in the forest that time.”
Zion finally looked at Arundel.
“Did you find out who was behind it…?”
“No.”
Zion answered briefly. And he looked up at Arundel.
“It’s not your concern.”
“But…”
“I didn’t plan to kill everyone then either. I had to leave one alive to easily find out who was behind it.”
Arundel thought she had chosen the wrong topic.
“As I said, you’re just getting in the way.”
“Yes…”
Arundel concluded that it was right not to open her mouth today.
With nothing to say, Arundel nibbled at the food in front of her.
Zion was usually quiet, and she usually chattered, but she didn’t feel like talking.
Around the time they were finishing their meal, Zion opened his mouth.
“You’re bandaged.”
“Huh?”
“Did you get hurt?”
“Ah… this…”
Arundel fiddled with her left wrist.
‘Damn, did he see it when I was sleeping last time.’
“Yes… I got a burn.”
“Do you have any business near the fire?”
At Zion’s rather sharp point, Arundel’s palms began to sweat.
Arundel quickly thought of a suitable reason.
“…Ah! I spilled hot tea last time…”
“I see.”
Zion answered briefly, cutting off the conversation. Fortunately, he didn’t ask more about the bandage, but his expression was a bit dark.
But fortunately, the meal ended without any problems, and Zion got up from his seat.
‘Is he really leaving like this…?’
Arundel was a little flustered.
He didn’t bring up the scandal with Royden first either, but she waited because she thought Zion would bring it up first.
But Zion really seemed to leave without discussing ‘that topic’.
Arundel was anxious.
Zion was different than usual, too different. Normally, he would have scowled and grumbled…
Arundel couldn’t help but grab Zion’s sleeve.
“Why aren’t you talking about that?”
“What are you talking about?”
“About Royden.”
In the end, she blurted it out.
But Zion’s reaction was cold.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“…”
“If you have nothing else to say, I’ll go.”
Arundel stared blankly at Zion. Zion really left like that.
“What… what is it…”
Does he really not know…? He must know…
Or could it be, is he avoiding talking about this topic…? Then why did he come here…?
Arundel was in a state of confusion.
Should she be happy about this situation, or should she be sad?
“Your Majesty! Fortunately, nothing happened!”
Belle, who appeared at a good timing, pulled back Arundel’s mind, who was about to drift into space.
“Do you know how nervous we were outside? We might go back to that time.”
The maids were worried just like Arundel. ‘That time’ must be when she was stuck in the Empress’s Palace.
“He must have seen the flyer… or he believes in the Empress?”
It would be nice if that was the case… but Zion was avoiding talking about it.
It wasn’t a positive feeling.
“By the way, who on earth posted such a ridiculous flyer?”
“That’s right…do you know how Royden is doing?”
“I don’t know in detail, but it seems like he doesn’t come to the palace often because he’s busy with demon-related work.”
“How are people reacting…?”
She had been curious all along, but she had saved the question because she thought a predictable answer would come out.
“To be honest…of course, it was noisy. But don’t worry too much. People are just chasing sensational content.”
“Yeah…”
“We’ve removed all the flyers, so the talk will soon die down.”
At Belle’s kind words, Arundel nodded her head.
In fact, it was true. It was the same when Empress Irina was disowned by her family, and it goes without saying when she was locked up in the palace.
Thinking about it, she felt a little better.
****
A few days later, Arundel regained her freedom.
‘How long has it been since I smelled the outside air…’
Arundel, who came out of the Empress’s Palace, muttered to herself as if she had been released from prison.
Thanks to Belle, she had been steadily hearing about the outside situation, and fortunately, the talk about the affair scandal had almost died down.
‘Hmm, is it because of the outside air? It feels especially refreshing!’
Feeling once again that time is a medicine, Arundel enjoyed the outside scenery.
Unaware of what was about to happen.
