What have you done?
Imperial soldiers searched every corner of the Riota royal palace as if hunting down a rat, but they ultimately failed to find Princess Greta.
On the third day after the incident, they stopped searching the palace, as they believed the princess had already run away.
Shortly after, an official statement from the Empire was delivered to the Riota royal family through diplomatic channels.
The statement declared that, based on Princess Greta’s confession, she was guilty of conspiring with Loriell to poison Emperor Herhan. The Empire vowed to proceed with the appropriate punishment.
The peace treaty between the Empire of Elshweig and the Kingdom of Riota was naturally broken.
Furthermore, it was publicly revealed that the Riota royal family had a history of threatening Emperor Herhan and his fiancée, Riella Blinite.
International public opinion was completely on the side of the Elshweig Empire.
No nation dared to oppose the continent’s greatest superpower, and the crimes of the Riota Kingdom were so egregious and obvious that defending them would be disgraceful.
It wasn’t even a case of an egg trying to break a rock—it was worse than that.
The Kingdom of Riota was nothing more than a mere fly that had briefly buzzed before a predator’s eyes.
On the streets, spectators were placing bets: would today be the day Riota disappeared from history, or would it be tomorrow?
“Please give an official answer! Your Majesty the King.”
“……”
“You should announce your intention to step down and at least make a statement asking for forgiveness. Only then can we save the lives of the people in the palace! If this continues, we will all die! Your Majesty!”
“……”
Even as the ministers pounded on the doors day and night, King Taran II sat deep within the palace, refusing to move.
The Imperial soldiers, speechless at such an irresponsible and foolish attitude, merely watched as the royal family crumbled.
Meanwhile, Emperor Herhan’s secret order arrived for Eric, who was waiting in the palace.
[…Investigate…… regarding Loriell Igdnis]
* * *
“Are you waiting again? I told you to sleep, Riella.”
Late at night, a single candle flickered in the bedroom, casting a warm glow on Riela as she anxiously sat at the table. She lifted her head and gave a tired smile.
Waiting for Herhan, who is often late returning from meetings, has become a daily routine for her.
“I can’t sleep without Your Majesty.”
“Still. Now that we have to start preparing for the wedding, you will be even more tired.”
“That’s why I waited longer. Because I needed Your Majesty by my side to relieve my fatigue.”
As Herhan approached, the candlelight wavered.
He sat beside her and took her hand. As expected, Riella’s hands were cold.
“You always say the sweetest things.”
Herhan chuckled and gently rubbed her small, tense fingers, trying to warm them.
Small, tense fingers, trying to warm them.
He wanted to keep laughing with her like that.
But the news he had to share would only keep her up even longer.
Herhan was worried that the news he was about to deliver would keep Riella up at night even more.
“I received an additional report from Eric today.”
“……”
“I think you’re right, Riella.”
She flinched slightly.
Herhan squeezed her hand a little tighter, giving her a moment to steady her breath.
“Then….”
Riella let out a trembling breath and closed her eyes gently.
“Your Majesty, have you ever fallen from the third floor? I have.”
“What? When? Where? Are you hurt?”
“Not now, but when I was little. I was playing around and climbing a tree. I wasn’t badly hurt, just limped for a few days. I barely even remember it now.”
That night, when she first heard the news about the royal family…
She wasn’t just bringing up an old story for no reason.
Herhan immediately understood what she meant.
“Are you saying that Loriell’s death is suspicious?”
“Yes.”
“Even from the third floor, if she landed on her head, she could have died instantly.”
“Even so, it’s strange. They say Lorial was holding onto the princess when they fell. If they fell together, they should have landed in the same way—but the princess survived. And not just survived, she was well enough to escape immediately.”
It was a valid point.
Standing on the third-floor balcony of the imperial palace and looking down, the height didn’t seem all that deadly.
“I think there might be another reason for Loriell’s death.”
‘A hidden cause behind Loriell Igdnis’s death.’
That was exactly what Herhan had ordered Eric to investigate in secret.
And the report he received today contained a brutal truth.
“You were right. Loriell was still alive for some time after the fall.”
The report that Herhan opened and showed her contained traces of her desperate struggle for survival.
The marks of her fingernails digging into the floor as she tried to crawl. The dark dirt lodged beneath her nails.
“Then… that means…”
“Yes.”
Even without further explanation, Riella understood Herhan’s answer immediately. She accepted it calmly.
Should she be angry?
Or should she feel sorry for her?
Riella was confused and complicated, but soon decided to become determined.
“Your Majesty. This can’t go on.”
Her crimson eyes reflected the flickering candlelight beside her, burning with unwavering determination.
“Do not let the royal family continue cleaning up after the princess. We must catch the princess and make her pay for what she did.”
“But then I don’t know how much longer it will take.”
The reason Herhan wanted to resolve the matter quickly was because he wanted Riella to find peace a little sooner.
The one who will suffer the most from the ill-fated relationship with the kingdom is none other than Riella.
But Riella shook her head firmly.
“Even if it took more time. The princess is not someone who has the right to hide behind someone.”
“…Okay, I understand.”
Herhan didn’t argue any further and just stroked Riella’s cheek.
“If my empress wishes so, then so be it.”
Her soft skin still felt the same under his fingertips, but Riella had grown strong enough to distinguish who she could forgive and who she could not.
* * *
The next morning.
Instead of holding the Feodorna royal family accountable for the escaped princess’s crimes, the empire delivered a new statement to the kingdom.
[I will give you one week to end the sentence. If Princess Greta Feodorna appears within that time, confesses her crime, and willingly accepts the punishment, I will not hold the royal family jointly responsible except for the guilty party.]
As soon as he received the statement, King Taran ll immediately got up from the sickbed.
He has remained silent and indifferent since the incident, but his first order upon appearing in public was to issue an arrest warrant for his own daughter.
“Search every corner and find Greta! Place a bounty—no, do whatever it takes to capture that foolish girl!”
“But, Your Majesty… placing a bounty on the princess would be—”
“As of this moment, Greta is exiled from the Feodorna royal family. She is no longer my daughter or anything else!”
* * *
A Dark, Isolated Forest.
Deep in the wilderness, where even wild animals roamed, an abandoned villa stood.
Greta was right there.
Watching her world fall apart.
“It’s quite the uproar, isn’t it? I thought things would settle after toppling a dynasty, but it seems they won’t end properly until you’re caught.”
“……”
“If you surrender willingly, this crisis might subside. So, what will you do?”
Despite the man’s question, Greta did not move from her proud sitting position.
However, Greta’s gaze, with her fists clenched, was fixed on the newspaper in front of her.
[Princess Greta Feodorna, officially exiled from the royal family.]
[No heir to the throne—The Riota Kingdom in crisis.]
[High-ranking nobles fleeing abroad en masse.]
[Riots erupt as citizens demand the Feodorna family’s abdication.]
Each one of the densely written words flew into Greta’s heart like an arrow, but Greta was now so numb to despair that It no longer hurt.
“If you’re considering turning yourself in, I can send you back to the capital. There are plenty of carriages available.”
The man spoke again.
Greta snorted at the words, not knowing if he meant it or was just trying to provoke her.
“If you were going to let me go so easily, why did you save me?”
“This girl. Even if I save you, You’re rather ungrateful, aren’t you?”
“It’s funny. You brought me here as if you had some grand plan, but all you do is keep me locked away like an animal?”
Indeed, that man is too suspicious to be called a ‘benefactor’.
“Who are you, really?”
“It’s still too early to ask about me.”
“What do you want from me?”
“It’s too early to even ask that.”
How infuriating.
Just as Greta was about to get angry in frustration, the man suddenly reached out and grasped her hand.
“….!”
The moment his fingers touched the back of her pale hand, a chill ran down her spine.
For some reason, her body stiffened unnaturally, as if it were no longer her own.
“That’s not what’s important right now, is it?”
The shadow of the man who had come closer covered Greta’s head.
It was just a touch—yet she felt suffocated, as though she were being crushed under an unbearable weight.
“Surrender.”
“……”
“Are you going to do it or not?”
“……”
“I don’t like holding onto a losing hand for too long.”
The man smiled faintly.
The moment those blue eyes met her gaze, Greta came to her senses.
Greta shouted as she roughly pulled her hand away from the man.
“No! Why would I surrender?”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes! Am I crazy? Do you know what I’ve done just to survive?!”
“What have you done?”
Greta’s body froze again as the man asked her questions with a grin.
A cold sweat ran down my spine.
Several scenes quickly flashed through Greta’s mind.
The moment when she fell from the terrace and hit the ground with a thud.
Loriell, whose limbs were broken and whose body was twisted strangely.
Loriell’s defiant eyes stared up at her, full of scorn, unable to even get up in that state.
“What’s that rock for? Ah. Were you planning to kill me? Greta, do you really think you can do it? You’ve always manipulated others from the shadows, never staining your own hands with blood. You’re a noble little princess, aren’t you?”
‘Who do you think you are to look down on me? Just a worthless maid.’
Without a second thought, she swung her arm with all her strength.
The sound of a person’s life ending with a ‘scream’, or those eerie eyes that stare at her with wide eyes until she completely stops breathing.
That’s right.
It was she who had killed Loriell.
She had thoroughly taken the life of that foolish woman who had fallen below the terrace, gasping for breath until the end of her life.
‘But so what? What’s the big deal? It was just the life of a lowly maid.’
Greta forced herself to shake off the tremors that threatened to consume her.
Her gaze dropped once more to the newspaper she had seen earlier.
The illustration depicted the people wailing in anticipation of the country’s downfall.
‘Just the lives of worthless commoners.’
Greta shook her head and muttered.
“I never do anything like surrender.”
‘Riella. Do you think I would waver if you threatened me with the lives of the royal family and the people?’
‘If you made me feel guilty, did you think I would cry and step out of here, and pay for my crimes?’
‘Not everyone in this world is as righteous as you.’
‘No. That isn’t even righteousness. That’s just being a fool.’
“Riella. I won’t fall for your tricks. I’ll survive to the very end.”
Greta repeated her vow like a curse.
She failed to notice the man’s ever-smiling eyes flicker meaningfully at the mention of “Riella”.
* * *
