The eyelids felt impossibly heavy. It seemed like I had been lying on the bed for more than half a day, yet I couldn’t regain my senses due to drowsiness. It was all…
“It’s because of Karl.”
Lying in bed, I couldn’t do anything. Every time I tried to close my eyes and sleep, I couldn’t drift off due to hands pinching here and there.
As a result, fatigue persisted without any relief, and the night had completely turned to day.
“From now on, you can truly rest. I’ve instructed the attendants not to draw the curtains, so you can sleep late. Good night, Sally.”
Karl’s voice, heard in a daze, lingered in my ears.
“Rest well, he said.”
Feeling unusually drowsy, I called for a doctor. He told me it’s common to feel very sleepy in the early stages of pregnancy.
Though I felt like I was sleeping double my usual amount, I was still constantly sleepy and sluggish, making outdoor activities difficult.
Whenever Karl found time, he rushed to the bedroom, and each time, his mischievous gaze and touch drained the little energy I had managed to recharge.
I had to take my chances to rest swiftly when Karl was busy with work. Consequently, I ended up unintentionally leading a life where I rested during the day and rolled around with my husband at night, altering my day-night cycle.
“Um…”
While I was burying my face in the pillowcase, Leev cautiously called out.
“If it’s that hard, why don’t you tell His Majesty?”
“Tell him what?”
“That you’re too tired and need to rest…”
Sitting up, I nodded off like a sickly chicken; Leev seemed quite displeased with Karl disturbing my sleep.
She probably thought she was being very brave to say this after much consideration.
How could a chambermaid of the Empress speak about matters concerning His Majesty? However, Leev was unaware of one fact.
“Huh? No, it’s fine.”
“You don’t seem fine at all. You look so tired; I wonder if His Majesty knows… or if he does know, why he continues.”
No. Karl didn’t realize that his gestures disturbed my restful sleep. He believed he could sleep soundly only when his nose was buried in my skin, taking in my warmth and scent.
Thinking that if he was close to me, I would also sleep well.
“Really, I’m okay, Leev.”
However, she could not understand why she didn’t say anything to him.
Given Karl’s personality, if he said he found it uncomfortable to sleep too close, he would immediately move away to fall asleep.
So, if she said just a word, he would be able to sleep comfortably. She knew that. Even though she knew, she still didn’t speak.
“Is it something Her Majesty the Empress wants as well…?”
Such a perceptive person, like Leev. When exhausted and struggling, she could just speak, yet she held it in. Leev saw through her true feelings.
Karl’s warm presence was not unwelcome, even when he fidgeted whenever he was about to sleep. Though she was clearly tired, feeling his warmth so close calmed her like nothing else.
To simply say it was reassuring didn’t capture it fully. It felt like having a truly solid ally in this world.
Standing on the edge of a cliff, unsure when she might fall, and finally feeling like she was living in her safe and sturdy home. Karl’s presence was a great comfort to her.
“Then you should have said so earlier. I was almost unfairly blaming His Majesty the Emperor without knowing,” Leev pretended to complain. They both knew this wasn’t real complaining.
Mrs. Margaret wasn’t around to witness this scene. She was busy handling all the affairs of the Count, staying at the Count’s residence.
If the strict Mrs. Margaret had seen Leev’s complaints, she surely would have scolded, “How dare you speak so in front of Her Majesty the Empress!”
“Well, I don’t know what you’re talking about, Leev.”
A chuckle escaped them simultaneously. Watching Leev trying to hold back laughter while I enjoyed a night with my husband, she buried her face in her sleeves and chuckled softly.
“How rich my heart feels seeing you two care for and love each other. I truly appreciate it.”
“Leev, you should hurry and get married. You need to find your match too.”
“What do you mean? I want to spend my whole life beside Her Majesty the Empress. I don’t need a man.”
“You’ll regret saying that when you meet someone you truly love.”
“Not at all. My loyalty isn’t that superficial.”
“Sure. Well, if a moment comes when you want to take that back, just let me know. I’ll pretend I didn’t hear it.”
“Your Majesty!”
Seeing Leev’s face change from red to blue is so amusing. We spent quite a while laughing together.
While the atmosphere in the royal family outside the Empress Palace suddenly turned grim, it would take us a while longer to realize it.
***
The large explosion that occurred in the early morning sent the entire palace into emergency mode. The center of the explosion was none other than the underground prison in the palace, where the most heinous criminals were confined.
Among those imprisoned was the man who had recently been known as Duke Toskur, along with his subordinates, so the explosion could not have been a mere coincidence.
Despite our concerns about their potential escape and having taken various precautions, an unexpected explosion occurred in the prison.
This meant that someone might have colluded with the prisoners inside.
If they were confined, they wouldn’t be able to do anything. The royal court was understandably shaken, wondering who could have helped those marked for ultimate punishment.
“Have any particular findings been discovered?”
“The entrance to the prison has completely collapsed due to the explosion. We are hastily clearing the rubble, but it will take some more time before we can fully reopen it.”
“I was worried this would happen, yet we couldn’t prevent it.”
Perhaps I had let my guard down too much. Karl’s brow furrowed. As long as Franz was alive, he would continue to plot and attempt something.
I had already anticipated this to some extent and prepared accordingly. But, as if mocking those preparations, an incident occurred in the very prison that held him.
“It seems there are forces colluding with the prisoners. They couldn’t have caused such an explosion on their own, Your Majesty.”
Clovis’s face was filled with concern. Although we had captured and imprisoned the core group, we hadn’t executed them immediately, which led to this issue.
The reason for not punishing Franz and the knights yet was to ensure we could deal with all the branches connected to them.
However, it was incomprehensible how someone, whose hands and feet were cut off and bound to the point of being unable to do anything but breathe, could have caused such a significant incident.
Something had happened that could not have been initiated by their own power. This meant there were outside helpers involved.
“How is it possible that those bastards still have an accomplice?”
“That is…”
Even if Franz were to escape from prison, he could not turn the tide. The imperial throne had already passed to Karl Albrecht, and the military power of the empire was also firmly in his grasp.
No matter how much they attempted to escape and plot new rebellions, it would be like a quail pecking at a cliff face.
Still, if he risked his life to help Franz, there was only one possibility for that.
‘Even if he doesn’t help them, if he’s already dead, he might try to help.’
Karl nodded.
‘If he’s going to die anyway, he’d want to bet everything on even the slightest chance.’
It’s a gamble with odds nearly at zero. But if he doesn’t assist Franz, the probability of death is 100 percent. Who would choose that? Karl’s gaze narrowed.
‘Could it be the commander Rodrigo? He really should have been imprisoned long ago, but since there’s no objective evidence of his direct involvement in the rebellion, he was released, right?’
‘He may not be in prison, but his limbs have already been severed. He doesn’t have the strength to cause an explosion of this magnitude now.’
‘Then…’
A few possible candidates came to mind.
‘We need to check.’
‘Yes, Your Majesty.’
But in the end, they were all destined to be captured. The current struggle only staved off their scheduled death by a little.
The entrance of the prison had completely collapsed due to the explosion, making it impossible for anyone to come out from inside or anyone to enter from outside.
First, they had to restore the collapsed entrance to confirm whether Franz had escaped or not.
‘We must deploy more manpower to restore the entrance as quickly as possible.’
‘Yes, Your Majesty!’
But Karl instinctively knew. Even if they cleared all the rubble and went inside, there would likely be no one there. Franz had vanished.
