Arundel pounded on the window.
It didn’t budge.
Arundel, who had been looking around, lifted the chair next to the table high.
And she hit the window again.
Bang!
But only a loud noise echoed, and the window, like it was made of steel, didn’t budge.
Arundel, who had given up, threw the chair anywhere.
‘It’s all over.’
She was trapped.
It went back to the day she first saw Zion. No, it got worse.
This place, wrapped in magic, she will never be able to leave unless Zion unravels it.
At least then, she could sneak out.
Now, she can’t even see the beautiful garden.
In the end, nothing changed.
Zion eventually went mad, and the garden was ruined as she had seen in the mirror of projection.
She was trapped again in this luxurious prison.
‘Why on earth…’
Where did it start to get tangled?
There were some obstacles, but the mission was going well.
[We will hold the Empress’s coronation.]
It was what Zion said at the Crown Prince’s welcome party.
As if checking a report card, divine power had returned although faint, and she was proud of Zion’s changed appearance every day.
But,
[Don’t you know yet? You can’t escape from me.]
Arundel recalled the look in Zion’s eyes, flashing with madness.
What on earth made him so angry?
Anger towards Irina’s father? Obsession with Empress Irina?
Even thinking about it, no answer came out.
She stared blankly outside. The rain was still pouring heavily.
The heavy rain hit the window, making a pattering sound.
[Don’t forget, you’re mine.]
[Until your breath stops.]
That was the last thing Zion said.
And then he disappeared.
Turning this imperial palace back into a prison.
Arundel suddenly felt scared.
Would she really die alone in solitude like this? Then, she would meet the same end as the original Empress Irina.
Arundel, who had been dazed, got up again. She had been lost until now, but if she gave up here, everything would be over.
The wings that crossed the sky, the divine power that ruled all things.
‘I have to get out of here.’
Arundel pounded heavily on the door leading to the lobby of the imperial palace, not the garden.
“Belle!! Head maid!! Guards!! Is there anyone outside?!!”
As expected, no sound came. Only silence filled the bedroom.
Arundel, who was anxious, turned her direction and knocked on the walls here and there.
Maybe there would be a responsive place.
Arundel, who kept knocking, paused for a moment at the pain she felt on the back of her hand.
How much had she knocked, the back of her hand was swollen.
Moreover, looking at the mirror next to her, she was a mess.
Her hair was tangled here and there, blood was stained here and there on her clothes, the back of her hand was swollen, and her lips were swollen…
Arundel’s gaze lingered on her swollen lips.
[When I see you, I feel like I’m going crazy with pain.]
Arundel closed her eyes.
The forced kiss with Zion, who was in pain.
‘Really… it’s the worst.’
No matter how much she hit and pushed, Zion didn’t move like a rock. The more she pushed, the rougher…
Arundel, who was looking at the mirror, unknowingly bit her tender lips.
While she was staring blankly at the mirror,
Tap tap-
There was a sound from the wall she was knocking on.
It was a small and light sound, like a mouse passing by.
Arundel opened her eyes wide and looked at the wall.
Tap tap-
The sound came again from beyond the wall.
“…What.”
Arundel glared at the wall as if on guard.
Of course, she knocked on the wall hoping for such a response, but she was surprised when the response actually came.
Thump thump-!
The sound of knocking on the wall got louder. A much louder sound came. At this rate, the wall seemed to collapse soon.
Bang-!
The wall really broke. Arundel was startled and fell away from the wall.
Brick dust flew all over as the wall broke.
“Cough cough-!”
A thin coughing sound came from between the broken walls. And red hair came into view.
“Bianca!!”
“Your Majesty the Empress!!”
The visitor was Bianca. She shouted loudly at the unexpected appearance of Bianca.
Bianca spoke with tears welling up in her eyes.
“Your Majesty the Empress…! Are you okay?”
“…No. As you can see, I’m in this state again.”
“I heard the story. From Your Majesty’s head maid.”
Perhaps at first, the head maid was confused, but the head maid who had served Arundel for a long time would have noticed quickly.
That there was something going on with Zion.
“More than that… How did you get in here?”
“Ahaha, I’ve been studying magic hard.”
“You…? Have you really become a great magician who can break through Zion’s magic?”
“In fact… I used a magic potion. The effect doesn’t last long though…”
Bianca, who seemed tense, was quite different from her usual self.
“But first, I have to tell you something.”
Bianca hesitated and then sighed. Then she opened her mouth with a serious expression.
“We have to leave right now.”
“Suddenly…What…”
“…Have you been feeling uncomfortable or in pain somewhere in your body recently?”
Arundel nodded with a surprised expression at Bianca’s attitude, as if she knew something.
“Yes… Recently, I’ve often had a terrible pain as if my heart was being pierced.”
“I see. Then let me ask you one more thing.”
The sound of Bianca swallowing her dry saliva cut through the quiet air. Her tension was clearly revealed.
“Have you eaten food given by a stranger recently…?”
“…!”
Arundel’s eyes were filled with shock.
“How… How did you…!”
She remembered the ‘old man’ she met at the hunting after-party.
The old man had offered her a fragrant and delicious premium wine, and she had gulped down that wine without any doubt.
“Haah…”
Bianca couldn’t answer at once and wore a painful expression.
Arundel urged her to answer at her anxious reaction.
“Tell me, Bianca. What happened to me?”
Bianca couldn’t meet Arundel’s eyes and looked down.
“Do you remember what I told you about my…father?”
“Duke Hellen…?”
“Yes… I told you. My father is a selfish person with a lot of greed.”
Bianca’s face twisted.
“I…Even though my father… I never thought he would do such a terrible thing…”
Arundel was frustrated. What on earth was happening to her?
“Bianca. Bianca doesn’t need to feel guilty. Just tell me what happened to me.”
“There’s a ‘heart-eating worm’ in your Majesty’s body.”
“Heart-eating worm…?”
Arundel asked back at the unfamiliar name. She had a bad feeling.
“A heart-eating worm is literally a bug that eats the heart. It slowly eats the heart and erodes the body.”
Arundel got goosebumps at the thought of a bug parasitizing her body.
“Probably, the food given by a stranger had a heart-eating worm in it.”
“Why on earth…Why did this happen to me?”
Arun Dell covered her mouth.
The unexpected culprit was Bianca’s father, ‘Duke Hellen’. But the problem was why she did this to him.
And who was that old man?
“My father… In the end, he was blinded by power. He always told me from a young age that I had to become the empress.”
Bianca’s face was cast with a deep shadow as she explained.
“As you know, I was originally the first candidate for the position of empress. It didn’t go as my father planned, but he didn’t give up.”
“…”
“Next, he tried to drive out Emperor Zion. But that didn’t go as planned either. Because he is absolute.”
The puzzle pieces in Arundel’s head were being filled.
The ‘shadows’ she met at the hunting party were hired by Duke Hellen, and the ‘woman’ they talked about seemed to refer to her.
So the original target that day was her.
Goosebumps rose on Arundel’s arm.
“My father targeted you again. He thought that me becoming the empress was the only way to take over the Croyden Empire.”
“So, to kill me and seat Bianca in the vacant empress position…He did this?”
Arundel backed away from the truth she didn’t want to believe. There were people worse than demons.
For his own greed, he tramples on and torments others.
“…Yes. He thought that without you, I could become the empress. So he did this.”
“By any chance…The recent flyer incident too…”
“I’m not sure…but maybe…”
Bianca admitted with a miserable face.
But it was something that shouldn’t have happened. It was like…
“Zion won’t stand still if he finds out.”
It was similar to the story of Zion’s mother.
If she is dethroned from the position of the empress due to being eroded by the heart-eating worm, although it’s not the same, it would be like following the same track as Zion’s mother who was driven out with a false charge.
If he finds out, Zion won’t stand still.
“Therefore…I have a favor to ask of Your Majesty the Empress.”
“…”
“…It’s actually a ‘deal’.”
Bianca seemed restless, clenching and unclenching her hands.
A cold sense of unease circled behind Arundel’s head. She didn’t want to hear it.
“I will escort Your Majesty out and remove the heart-eating worm.”
“…!!”
Throughout the conversation, Bianca’s eyes, which had been dull, showed a determined will.
“How do you say…?”
But it had to be clear. The method was more important than the will.
“The person who fed you, was it the ‘old man’ with an unknown face?”
“…Yes.”
“I know the identity of that old man. He is a famous magician and an alchemist. I saw him having a secret conversation with my father.”
Bianca knew all the details.
Thinking about it, she felt betrayed by Bianca. Had she known all along and pretended not to?
Arundel, who was already sensitive, asked with a sharp look.
“Bianca, did you know all along?”
“No! I only found out recently. I’ve been suspicious of my father since strange people started coming and going from the mansion.”
Bianca said restlessly.
“I visited after the flyer incident last time to tell you the truth, but I couldn’t meet you…”
During the confinement period, Bianca had visited once. But there was another part that didn’t make sense.
“Didn’t you think it was strange that he told you to become the empress?”
“I’ve been hearing that from my father since I was a child. So I didn’t feel that it was particularly strange.”
Bianca pleaded with a wronged face, but Arundel’s suspicion did not easily disappear.
“Then let’s just talk about the main point. Bianca knows where the old man who created the heart-eating worm is.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Then what does Bianca want? You said it’s a deal.”
Arundel’s eyes shone sharply.
Bianca, who was usually affectionate and weak, looked very different now.
She seemed hesitant but determined not to back down.
She had to know exactly what she was thinking.
“Shamelessly…Please keep the fact that my father tried to kill Your Majesty the Empress a secret from Emperor Zion.”
“…What?”
“If the Emperor finds out…not only my father, but our entire family will be annihilated.”
Arundel couldn’t hide her disappointment at Bianca’s words.
Had she misjudged a person?
Duke Hellen had done a terrible thing, but was she supposed to protect him because he was of the same blood?
At Bianca’s selfish words, Arundel wore a cold expression.
“I misjudged a person. I will not accept the deal.”
“Your Majesty…!! Please…!!”
“Go back. I will take care of my life.”
As Arundel was about to turn around, there was a ‘thud’ sound.
At the loud noise, Arundel reflexively turned around.
“…!!”
The situation unfolding in front of Arundel’s eyes was shocking.
Bianca was on her knees.
