Viscountess Willis was dead.

Her death was what Claire had hoped for.

The moment she saw the body of Viscountess Willis, she was delighted. Then, rather than being happy, fear took precedence. It was the first time she had seen someone’s corpse in her life.

This was never pleasant.

It was hard to believe that a person who was alive a few hours ago turned into a cold corpse, and she had been facing that corpse in the dark for hours.

There was a smell of filth pouring from the hanging Viscountess.

When left in that state for several hours, insects took charge and an unpleasant stench was added.

Seeing the horrific sight, Claire screamed for hours.

But the guard did not come until her voice was gone.

Because of that, she was left in the same room with the hanging body for a long time.

Even now, when she opened her eyes, the image of the helpless body of Viscountess Willis hanging in the air was in front of her.

If she fell asleep, the people who killed her seemed likely to visit again.

So she hadn’t been able to sleep to wink.

She was sleepy like crazy, but she had no choice but to keep her eyes open.

But now it was the limit.

At that moment, she heard the guards walking from the other side of the hallway.

“In the end, the maid died. Two people died in one day. It’s a pity.”

Said the man with short hair and a chubby body.

“Isn’t it common for people to die during interrogation? It’s not like you’re new here, but you suddenly feel sorry for them?”

At his words, the skinny man made a puzzled face.

“Aren’t you sad? The maid’s face looked pretty too. It’s unfortunate to die at such a young age.”

With those words, the skinny man looked at the chubby man with a meaningful gaze.

The chubby man turned his head away from the gaze of his colleague.

Seeing him like that, the skinny man said.

“Now that I see it, you must have liked the maid. When a commoner touched the duke’s daughter, she must have been prepared to die somehow.”

Hearing the guards’ conversation, Claire paused.

The maid in their conversation now must have been her own maid.

‘After Viscountess Willis, Ellie also died?’

Claire was terrified.

But as the excitement subsided and reason gradually returned, an idea came to her mind.

Viscountess Willis did not commit suicide.

She was murdered.

Who killed her?

After a little thought, the answer came.

‘The Crown Prince.’

He didn’t give up on her.

In the first place, she (Claire) wasn’t brought in as a criminal.

She was accused, but now that all the witnesses were gone, there was no way to prove her guilt.

There was no law that could keep an innocent person imprisoned.

So it would be a matter of time before she would be released.

“After all… His Highness can’t abandon me.”

Claire muttered in a determined voice.

The light of victory flashed in her eyes.

If the Princess found out about this, how would she react? If she found out that her fiancé ordered the killing of the nanny who raised her for another woman…

A smile flashed across her bloodshot red eyes.

A pair of eyes twinkled in a strange light in the dark prison.

***

The sun was shining down on the green trees.

On the clear sky, white clouds moved slowly with the wind.

A light breeze shook the purple curtains.

Joan opened the curtain and Tien poured the tea.

It was a peaceful afternoon.

While sitting still and drinking tea, Stephen knocked on the door.

“Lady, this is Stephen. May I come in?”

“Come in.”

When my permission was granted, the door opened and he entered.

In Stephen’s hand was a letter.

After the Duke’s victory banquet, the number of invitations and letters that flocked to me doubled.

Earlier, Annie had already brought a basket of invitations and letters to me.

“There are more?”

Looking at him with a puzzled face, he handed me the letter.

“It was sent by the Empress Dowager.”

For a moment, my face stiffened.

I slowly reached out and accepted the letter.

On the outside of the clean white envelope was the seal of the Empress.

“Here, Lady.”

Annie, who came closer to me, handed me a paper knife.

I accepted it and opened the envelope.

“Lady, what is it? What did the Empress say?”

Joan asked with bright eyes.

Tien was also curious.

Contrary to me, the maids seemed honored and delighted by the empress’s interest.

There was nothing special and there was nothing to hide in particular, so I answered docilely.

“The Empress Dowager is asking me to enter the palace once more. There are things to discuss about the birthday party.”

The maids’ eyes brightened even more.

“The Empress is a difficult person to make friends with because she is a picky person, but seeing that she asked to meet the Lady again, I think she likes the Lady.”

Joan continued speaking in an excited voice.

“How exciting. Ordinary people don’t even have a chance to meet her like this, Lady, you shouldn’t miss this great opportunity.”

“Is this a good opportunity?”

As I looked at her, Joan continued to speak with a smile on her face.

“Yes, very good. If you get close to the Empress, you will be braver when the Lady enters the palace next year. It will definitely help you later before you get married.”

“Will it?”

I laughed at the words of the maids.

Joan said something right, but it was all useless.

Because I had no intention of entering the Imperial Palace.

Joan asked with a puzzled face at my strange reaction.

“I thought it was a good opportunity, but the Lady doesn’t look very happy…. Did anything happen at the Imperial Palace the last time the Empress called you?”

“It’s not like that, so don’t think about it.”

I replied indifferently to Joan’s words, and then turned my gaze back to the teacup in front of me.

Then I suddenly remembered that there was another person and raised my head.

Stephen, who was standing there, met my gaze.

His eyes were full of wonder as he looked at me.

He must think that I was strange to have an unusual reaction.

But I didn’t care.

“I have one more question for you.” (Stephen)

“What is it?”

“It’s time to make a donation to Triton. This time, it seems that we are starting a new trade business between other continents.” (Stephen)

I frowned.

If it was Triton, it was a place run by the Crown Prince.

The Crown Prince, feeling anxious about the return of the 2nd Prince, undertook new business to achieve remarkable results.

His own Triton organization was also very busy.

However, the results of working hard and doing well were not very good.

“Is that the nonsensical business plan I saw last time? I knew it was too risky, so I decided not to proceed.”

Roxana supported the various businesses of the Crown Prince in the name of the family.

It was a form of quietly pouring donations from behind without informing others.

However, the Crown Prince’s business has not been going well in recent years.

As a result, the family suffered great losses for several years.

I pondered for a moment and said.

“You can’t force the family to lose money because of an ugly fiancé. Tell them to stop investing. We don’t have to spend money on impossible things. Not even a penny or two.”

A look of surprise crossed Stephen’s face at my words.

He looked at me blankly for a while.

When our eyes met, Stephen nodded as if he had just come to his senses.

“I will do as you order.”

“Ok, thank you.”

“If you don’t have anything else to order, I’ll leave then.”

“Yes. Go. You always have a lot of work.”

“Not really. Then have a good rest.”

Stephen bowed politely and left the room.

The teacup on the table was already empty.

While Joan cleared the table, Tien said.

“I’ve never done it before, so I don’t know much about marriage, but Joan is right. Lady, being close to Her Majesty will help you in teh future.”

There was sincere concern in her eyes.

I looked at Tien for a moment and then nodded reluctantly.

“I know, so you don’t have to worry too much.”

“There really isn’t much time left now. The dress should be finished soon…”

Joan said with a worried face.

“I ordered it just in case, but the imperial family will send the Lady a nice dress too, so what are you worried about?”

When Tien spoke, Joan immediately nodded in agreement.

“Well, I suppose so. When will the dress arrive? It shouldn’t be too late to pick up matching accessories.”

I turned my head away as I watched the maids talking.

****

A few more days passed.

Eventually, the date the Empress called me came.

I got up early, dressed calmly and elegantly, and got in the carriage.

When I arrived at the Empress Palace, unlike the last time, the only person waiting was the Empress.

I walked over to the tea table where the refreshments were set and greeted her.

“I see Your Majesty the Empress. It is an honor to be invited.”

“You don’t have to be too formal. Come here and sit down.”

As I greeted her, the Empress patted the seat next to her with a benevolent smile.

“Then excuse me.”

As I sat down, the attendant poured tea into the teacup in front of me.

When the teacup engraved with golden roses was half full of scarlet tea, the Empress spoke.

“Are there any inconveniences or concerns these days?”

“There’s no problem.”

“It’s okay to be honest with me.”

“I cannot trouble the Empress with my trifles. I appreciate the warm hospitality of the Empress, but I am really fine.”

The Empress was kind to me, but I couldn’t get close to her.

At my words, which seemed to draw a boundary line, the Empress let out a small sigh.

“I fully understand the frustration. Princess, when I just entered the palace, I was the same age as you. At that time, my situation was worse than yours. There were already many women by His Majesty’s side.”

The Empress made a complicated face as if reminiscing about the past.

There was a sad look in her eyes.

There was a bitter smile on her red-painted lips.

It was a completely different atmosphere from her dignified and cold appearance when she stood in front of people.

“It is very difficult to be the emperor’s only woman. No matter how much I block it, it doesn’t go my way. Some women even gave birth to his children.”

The Empress suddenly grabbed my hand.

Contrary to her face, which looked older than her actual age because of her heartache, her hands were very fine and soft.

“But in the end, I am the only one left with His Majesty. My son will become emperor, and I have nothing more to hope for.”

I frowned while silently listening to the Empress’s words.

I felt the pain in the gripped hand getting stronger and stronger.

Cold, pointed rings and long, sharp nails pressed painfully against my skin.

Without realizing it, I raised my head and looked up at the Empress.

Then my eyes met hers.

“The Empress is the highest position a woman can ascend. You don’t have to worry about food and expenses for the rest of your life, and you will enjoy incomparable wealth, honor, and power compared to when you were a noble girl.”

The Empress still had a benevolent face.

But there was a serious warning in her gaze.