Who Stole The Empress

After the noisy theater, Tamon and Asha and their group hurried out of the secret passageway.

It was fortunate that their residence was near the Imperial Palace.

The royalty, Theoransha and Helia stayed in the Imperial Palace, but Tamon was different.

Of course, Tamon could have stayed at the Imperial Palace if he wanted to, but he did not care.

Anyway, it was convenient to go out of the Imperial Palace for many reasons.

With Theoransha, he was also free to go in and out of the Imperial Palace.

Asha was tired as if her whole body was melting down, even though she did not fight a battle.

The still dim sky showed that dawn had not yet passed.

The waiting Knights escorted them to the mansion.

Asha thought she would fall asleep when she returned to the mansion, but she had to change her mind as soon as the mansion door opened.

“Asha!”

Hannah, who was still awake in the middle of the night, greeted her.

“My sister is here!”

It still seemed early to end the dawn, and there were guests who had been waiting for them for a long time.

* * *

“Hello, my name is Mana. I have been waiting for you both for a long time.”

Mana looked very much like Hannah, but had a peculiarly calm atmosphere.

Her dark red hair was peculiar, but it looked dark pink at first glance, and in different directions, her hair looked orange.

Perhaps if Hannah’s original hair color had remained, it would have looked like this.

Mana looked young, but the eyes were clear and calm.

Mana briefly told them about how she had come to be here.

“Master Hartz went out of his way to help Lady Asha and was captured by the emperor of Tanatos. I hear that we must be prepared for the unexpected before one returns.”

Asha was surprised by Mana’s words without expressing it.

Even though Hartz was a prophet, Asha was impressed at how far ahead he could see.

As if reading her mind, Mana continued her words.

“Normally, Master is not one to move this far. Even if he saw a little of the future, he wouldn’t jump into it. But he said that what he saw this time was different. He said that our future is also at stake, so we have no choice but to move.”

Mana, who had quietly continued her words, added carefully, biting her lip.

“Perhaps this is the last future he will see.”

Mana looked a little scared as she spoke that way.

It was because it was difficult to guess the meaning contained in the word “last.”

Or was it death that’s implicit in it?

Forcing away the thought she dared not imagine, Mana lifted her head.

“When this is all over, Master Hartz and I and Hannah too can all hold complete peace. That is why I have come here to help you.”

Manna’s voice trembled a little, but it was full of conviction.

Perhaps it was a confidence of trust in Hartz.

“I met with Master Hartz about two weeks ago. He asked me to do something. He told me he was going to be locked in the emperor’s tower.”

“Do something?”

“Yes, I had to guarantee the life or death of a certain person.”

“Did he mean that if …… any person lived or died, you would save someone?”

Mana nodded and stood up.

“There is someone I want you to meet.”

Mana led Asha and Tamon, who had been listening, to another room next to the reception room.

As they opened the door to the room and entered, one elderly man warming himself in front of the fireplace looked back at them.

“….. you’re finally here.”

The old man forced himself to sit up, seemingly having trouble stretching his bent back.

“I’m …….”

The senile woman giggled and stood in front of Asha and Tamon.

“I’m the midwife who received the baby from a woman named Natasha Roanti.”

* * *

At first Asha didn’t quite understand what she meant when she said she had received the baby of Natasha Roanti.

But shortly after hearing that Natasha had given birth not long ago, Asha unknowingly jumped up from her seat.

‘Natasha Roanti had secretly given birth to a baby. And she is still pretending to be pregnant.’

It was clear what this meant.

It meant that now was not the supposed time for her baby to come out.

The midwife said the baby must be 10 months old to come out.

As soon as the baby was born, his eyes opened round and his arms and legs were plump, no doubt a baby that had grown enough in its mother’s belly.

Inwardly, Asha estimated Natasha’s gestational age.

Back then Natasha was hanging at her feet and bleeding red blood. (*this scene was at the beginning of the novel when Natasha pretended to bleed in front of Roselyn)

That was barely seventy-eight months ago now.

At the time, they said that Natasha had lost the child in her belly because of Roselyn and Cain.

Asha learned that the stillbirth was a lie at that time.

It didn’t fit at all with the time of year.

Gillotti tormented Roselyn especially when he and Natasha were not on good terms.

Sometimes he would come in after drinking and force himself on Roselyn, and sometimes he was so violent and evil that he didn’t want to touch her while doing so.

Sometimes he would get drunk and make noise about things she didn’t want to hear.

That was the time when, as far as she knew, Natasha was avoiding Gillotti for whatever reason.

For about a month or so, Natasha left the capital to recuperate nearby with the excuse that she was not feeling well, but she didn’t didn’t even have escorts.

Gillotti’s voice was fresh as he sarcastically said, 

‘…… Yes, indeed, Natasha said she was on the moon.’

Of course, shortly after that period, Gillotti and Natasha became close again, as usual.

No, rather, they became much closer than before.

Because it was a time when they put their minds together to bring down the Sunset family.

‘It’s strange. Why did she have the child secretly?’

In fact, the answer was clear.

‘It’s a child that should not arouse Gillotti’s suspicions.’

In other words, it was possible that the child was not of Gillotti’s blood.

“Natasha would really want the child she just gave birth to take the throne. To do so, she must not make Gillotti suspicious….she’s afraid to be discovered.”

“Exactly.”

Mana, who was listening, nodded.

Mana, who was smiling, pulled out another trump card.

“There was a maid who guarded the woman’s side when she gave birth to her child.”

The midwife modded at Mana’s words.

“She was a bit of a scared maid to take care of such a woman.”

“Not by name. ……. She was sponsored by Marquis Roxon.”

Roxon Bake!

He was a distant relative of Gillotti in the 8th generation.

Although a distant relative, he was close to Gillotti, who had no siblings.

The two also looked very much alike at first glance.

As soon as Asha heard these words, the puzzles that had been scattered around her head began to fit together.

Even Tamon, who had been listening attentively to their conversation, had finished all his deductions.

He looked at Asha, smiled, patted her on the cheek, and said, 

“I think we should take this poor baby to his mother. Right…?”

* * *

“……Ha, Your Majesty!”

Gillotti, who was slumped on the cold floor, woke up suddenly to the sound of someone calling him.

He saw John looking down at him with a white, frightened face in his vacant eyes.

“John?”

His voice was rough, as if he had scratched sandpaper. His body, which had been chilled by cold sweat, began to tremble.

“Stand up, Your Majesty. You look quite ill.”

Gillotti, who was up with John’s help, screamed as soon as he realized where he was.

“Me, why am I here?”

“Your Majesty…….”

“A nightmare, yes, I had a nightmare. Ah, the Empress appeared and ……. my neck. No, it was my father. No, I……..”

John, who had wrapped a blanket around Gillotti’s shoulders, hurried to remove him from the previous emperor’s room.

John already knew that the emperor had a strange sickness on the 16th.

It was John who had to vacate everything from the previous emperor’s bedroom.

To be precise, it was the Empress who ordered John to vacate the third floor.

Gillotti did not remember, but his attendants died when he wandered down the corridors from sleep walking.

He strangled anyone he saw or held a knife to their necks.

Sometimes he walked around muttering strange words, but the Empress was thoroughly concerned that they would not leak out.

Now there was no empress who cared, so John took care of the third floor.

He double and triple locked the door of the emperor’s bedroom and increased the number of guards outside, but it looked like this year was going to be a disaster again.

How on earth did the emperor open the tightly closed door and come all the way here?

On the way back to the room, supported by John, Gillotti shivered shakily.

It wasn’t just because of the cold.

Something collapsed, as if a corner of his heart had been broken. He felt his mind fluctuating.

“…… Natasha. I have to go to Natasha. Natasha!”

Gillotti rushed to Natasha’s room, shaking off John and the attendants who were supporting him.

It was not far from Gillotti’s room, so he arrived quickly.

Gillotti, who opened the door suddenly, hugged Natasha, who rose from the uproar.

“Natasha, I had a scary dream.”

“Oh, Your Majesty …….”

A flustered Natasha patted his shivering shoulder with a half-hearted hand.

She turned to John, who had followed him, and asked with her eyes what this was all about, but even John was in no condition to give her any answer.

“I, I will not be an emperor like my predecessor. I, I am not like my father. My child is……!”

Gillotti, who was spouting nonsense, hugged Natasha’s stomach with trembling hands.

“Oh, no!”

Surprised, Natasha involuntarily pushed Gillotti down with both hands as hard as she could.