chapter 8
The Marchioness of Regalo, with her plump figure and fierce-looking face, raised her brows as she entered the imperial palace alongside her son.
“Mother, do you know what that woman said to me? She called me ugly… Ha… When she’s the one who cheated first, and now she’s making up such ridiculous excuses just to break off the engagement!”
There had been only one reason she allowed her precious, well-raised son to be engaged to that ill-tempered daughter of the Elemore family.
The Elemore house was one that everyone feared—and revered.
If pleasing that family’s daughter could lead to advancement, it wasn’t such a bad deal.
Most of all, she was the only daughter, which meant she would inherit all that wealth.
But then, the Duke and Duchess of Elemore died.
Though she had pretended to be sorrowful at the funeral, the thought of Philios gaining a share of that family’s fortune made the corners of her lips twitch upward.
And now—a broken engagement?
Worse still, they dared to publish an article that completely tarnished her son’s honor.
What was so wrong with a man seeing a few women here and there?
All the newspapers had already been bribed, so they couldn’t even publish anything criticizing that woman—it made her boil with rage.
“We greet Your Imperial Majesty.”
The Marchioness of Regalo and her son, Philios Regalo, bowed before the Emperor.
A half-brother of the late emperor.
A cruel and ruthless usurper who had stolen his nephew’s throne.
He hadn’t killed Prince Etieus only because of the council’s protection—but surely, he still saw the prince as a thorn in his side.
“And we have a confidential matter to report to Your Majesty.”
The Emperor would surely welcome the news she had brought.
“…You claim to know of a noble from the imperial faction who is in league with Etieus?”
The Emperor’s lips moved beneath his beard.
“Yes! I am certain, Your Majesty!”
“The daughter of the late Duke Elemore—Katrin Elemore—is conspiring with Prince Etieus! The two of them are clearly involved with each other!”
As the Marchioness spoke heatedly, the Emperor’s brows twitched.
The late Duke of Elemore had once been his right-hand man.
And now his daughter was in contact with Etieus?
The Marchioness’s eyes gleamed as she watched the Emperor’s reaction.
Now that the Duke was dead, many nobles were eyeing his vacant position.
If she reported that arrogant Elemore girl here, her son would have a good chance of taking that place.
After the scandal that damaged the Regalo name, the Marquis had ordered his son into seclusion—but the Marchioness opposed it.
“What proof do you have?”
“I heard that at today’s ball, Katrin Elemore is preparing something to give to Prince Etieus!”
She hadn’t come to the Emperor based solely on her son’s words.
To find a weakness, she immediately sent people to the Elemore household and managed to extract detailed information from unusually busy servants.
Katrin was hurriedly preparing something to be loaded onto Prince Etieus’s carriage.
“Hmm…”
The Emperor’s eyes gleamed sharply.
“If what you say is true, you shall be well rewarded.”
A hopeful light spread across Philios Regalo’s face.
“But if it is false… Philios Regalo, you will bear the full consequences—along with your mother’s share as well.”
Though shaken by the threat tightening around his throat, Philios steadied himself.
No great leap forward was ever achieved without risk.
The moment I—Katrin Elemore, the Poison Rose of Elemore—entered, the ballroom fell into a stir.
My pink hair, loosely braided to one side, accentuated my elegant beauty, and the dress—refined through countless rejections—was more dazzling and beautiful than anyone else’s attire here.
However, my notorious personality kept anyone from daring to approach me.
“…Eek!”
The girl who avoided my gaze the moment our eyes met—Lady Evelyn, daughter of Count Abelrin.
She once dared to challenge me at my birthday party, and I tripped her so she fell and got a nosebleed.
“…!”
That young man flinching over there—wasn’t he the son of Count Sheldon?
He grabbed my hand while drunk once, and I slapped him three times.
“….”
And that girl over there, staring at me with clear displeasure among her group…
Just as I was meeting her gaze head-on, a palace attendant’s voice rang out:
“His Majesty the Emperor, the great glory of Oswell, enters!”
A tense silence fell as all eyes turned to the upper balcony.
The silk curtains were drawn aside, and a middle-aged man with a snake-like impression strode forward.
Everyone paid their respects.
“….”
He slowly descended into the ballroom.
The current Emperor, Deus Kal Clyde—half-brother of the late emperor and uncle to Etie.
Born to a concubine, he had no right to the throne—yet he usurped it from five-year-old Etie after their father’s death.
‘What a bastard.’
The Emperor stopped and looked around.
Today marked the 15th anniversary of his reign.
He celebrated the day of his coronation with this grand party.
“Thank you all for gathering to celebrate the 15th anniversary of my ascension. Ah, and my dear nephew as well.”
Following his gaze, I turned toward the entrance.
There stood Etie, dressed far more modestly than the Emperor.
Behind him stood two particularly menacing soldiers.
There was only one reason the Emperor had invited him.
To show him that everyone here stood on the Emperor’s side—and that Etie had no place.
To warn him not to entertain foolish thoughts.
And to imprint on everyone present that the pitiful prince was unworthy, and that he alone was the true Emperor.
“….”
Etie stood silently, staring coldly at the Emperor.
My clenched fist tightened.
That old man—no matter how much he dresses up, he’s just pearls on a pig. Etie, even without adornment, is a hundred—no, a thousand times more dignified.
Don’t lose heart, Etie!
“Anyway, I’ve prepared a grand feast—eat, drink, and enjoy!”
“Long live His Majesty!”
Raising my glass, I drank my wine with a sour expression.
Come to think of it, this place is filled entirely with the Emperor’s faction.
They just dragged Etie here like a prop—what a despicable man.
“….”
Well, to Etie, I probably look the same.
After handing my empty glass to a servant, I tried to slip away to a corner.
But the Emperor’s voice stopped me in my tracks.
“Lady Elemore.”
“…!”
A chill ran down my spine. For a moment, my eyes met Etie’s again.
From beneath the shadows on his face, his vivid blue eyes pierced into me.
What is he thinking right now?
“….”
Reluctantly, I turned back.
As the Emperor approached me, all eyes followed.
Placing a hand on my chest, I bowed slightly.
“…You are beautiful.”
Ugh—hearing that from him makes my skin crawl.
Suppressing my discomfort, I answered calmly:
“Thank you, Your Majesty.”
“Come to think of it, this is the first time I’ve seen you since your parents’ funeral.”
“…Yes….”
Please stop talking to me.
“…But you see.”
His fingers suddenly reached toward me, catching a strand of my hair and slowly twirling it around his finger.
What the hell is this lunatic doing?
Then, with a slight force—snap.
The strand broke.
“Before your father’s accident, he said he had a document he absolutely had to deliver to me.”
His gaze remained fixed on the severed strand in his hand.
My heart began to race.
“A document…?”
“Yes. A top-class state secret concerning the security of Oswell. That’s what I was told.”
At the mention of a top-level secret, murmurs spread through the crowd.
Such secrets concerned matters like treason or war—things that could endanger the nation.
“Since you’re here today, I thought I’d ask.”
I knew what the Duke of Elemore had intended to give the Emperor.
Among the inheritance I received after the funeral was the key to his study—where all the information he had gathered was stored.
“Do you possess this top-level secret, Lady Elemore?”
The Emperor’s sharp gaze searched me.
