FMV 40

Chapter 40

“That…!”

“It’s a secret map of the Imperial Palace.”

Elise continued in a low voice.

“It includes passages that don’t appear on the official blueprints. Routes used only by the imperial family in emergencies, doors leading to underground storage rooms, and concealed passages connected to the emperor’s private chambers.”

Dalia was unable to speak for a long time. Then she slowly smiled.

“Ha.”

“Yes.”

“You’re really going to give me this? Are you crazy?”

The curse slipped out before she could stop herself, but it was closer to praise than an insult.

Elise replied expressionlessly.

“Eshit is the one who backed me into this corner.”

Dalia stared at her for a moment before finally extending her right hand.

“All right. I promise.”

Her voice was perfectly clear.

“I won’t force children who have nowhere else to go into becoming weapons anymore. From now on, I’ll ask them what they want properly. If they say no, I’ll make sure they’re adopted into decent families.”

Elise mulled over those words once more.

It didn’t seem like a lie.

No—at least at this moment, Dalia was sincere.

After a brief hesitation, Elise finally took her hand.

The two women’s hands met in the middle of the prayer room.

It was neither a warm nor affectionate handshake.

Yet it contained a contract more dangerous and more certain than any oath.

As they released their hands, Dalia gave a low chuckle.

“I never thought I’d end up on the same side as the Saintess.”

“Not yet.”

Elise released her hand as she spoke.

“We simply have the same enemy.”

Dalia narrowed her eyes, as though she liked that answer even more.

“I prefer that.”

Just then, a presence passed outside the prayer room.

It was undoubtedly someone who had come to deliver the emperor’s summons once again.

Elise immediately turned around.

“I should go now.”

“To meet the emperor?”

“Yes.”

Dalia asked meaningfully,

“Will you be all right? On your own?”

With her hand resting on the doorknob, Elise smiled coldly.

“Don’t worry.”

Her violet eyes gleamed icily.

“Today isn’t the day I’m going to be eaten. It’s the day they’re going to be forced to look at their own depravity.”

“Yes. If it’s you…”

Dalia nodded slightly and smiled gently.

“You’ll do well.”

At those words, Dalia’s figure disappeared in the blink of an eye.

Elise blinked rapidly.

“Ha…”

She supposed Dalia wasn’t called the leader for nothing.

Still clutching her startled heart, Elise left the prayer room and headed toward the Imperial Palace.

Eshit’s chamber was quieter than any other room in the palace and more suffocating than any prison.

All the curtains were drawn, and only the flames of the golden candlesticks cast a dim light throughout the room.

Eshit stood in the center.

“Eshit.”

The moment Elise entered, he slowly raised his head.

The benevolent face of the emperor was nowhere to be seen.

Instead, anger, obsession, and an almost disturbingly blatant possessiveness were written across his face.

“You came.”

Standing by the door, Elise did not offer her usual formal greeting.

“You summoned me, Your Majesty. Of course I had to come.”

Eshit stared at her for a long time.

His gaze was unpleasantly persistent.

It was as though he wasn’t looking at a person, but inspecting an object he absolutely had to possess.

“You were remarkably bold today. Truly impressive.”

“You were the one who prepared the stage for me, Your Majesty. Wasn’t it a stage where I was supposed to be the main character?”

When she immediately retorted, Eshit’s lips twisted.

“Yes. And that’s why I’ve finally realized something.”

He took one step toward Elise, then another.

“I can’t leave you as merely the Saintess of the empire.”

Despite the pressure she could feel from him, Elise stood her ground without even blinking.

Eshit’s voice gradually dropped lower.

“I tried to respect your feelings.”

At that moment, Elise’s gaze turned cold.

Respect?

What an absurd thing to say.

If there was anyone in the Arriaton Empire who had never respected her, it was Eshit.

“But today, I finally understood my own feelings. I realized that I can’t do without you.”

“…What did you say?”

It was something she had never expected.

Even at her bewildered reaction, Eshit paid no attention.

Instead, he continued as though he actually enjoyed her response.

“Leonhardt, Ian, and even those nameless, insect-like nobles. They all want to look at you however they please. But you were special from the very beginning, weren’t you?”

A chilling madness glimmered in his red eyes.

“You don’t have to love me.”

A hypocritical, seemingly benevolent smile appeared on Eshit’s lips.

“So now… I want you to remain within my sight.”

His words sounded similar to things Damian had said to her, but they carried an entirely different meaning.

It was like a dog that had always obeyed its master suddenly breaking its leash and trying to run away.

The leash called Leonhardt no longer worked.

So now he intended to act personally.

He would lock Elise herself inside the imperial palace so that no one else could lay a hand on her.

Whether it was affection, obsession, or possessiveness disguised as devotion to the empire, the essence was the same.

In the end, she was still nothing more than an object to him.

Elise found the realization horribly absurd.

“Your Majesty.”

She slowly opened her mouth.

“Do you realize that what you just said to me could almost sound like a confession of love?”

Shamelessly, Eshit let out a short laugh.

“Isn’t that something you’ve known for quite some time?”

“Yes, I suppose it is.”

Though she despised him, Elise smiled as though nothing was wrong.

“But is that feeling really love?”

Eshit’s face hardened, and a brief silence followed.

“What does that mean? Are you questioning my sincerity?”

“Yes.”

Elise answered boldly and even took a step forward.

“It’s too contradictory.”

“Contradictory?”

His brow furrowed slightly, clearly failing to understand her point.

Elise gave a small sigh and lowered her lashes as though saddened.

“You always called me the Saintess of the empire, Your Majesty. Yet you say you want to keep me within your sight. Doesn’t that mean you want to decide everything for me? Who I smile at, whose side I stand beside, and for whom I use my divine power?”

Realization dawned on Eshit, and his mouth fell slightly open.

He hadn’t realized how foolishly he had been speaking.

After all that nonsense about sacrificing myself for the empire, he’s finally revealed that he wants to possess me for himself.

It was an obvious contradiction.

And Elise had just pointed it out to him with perfect clarity.

For a long while, Eshit couldn’t find a rebuttal. He pressed his lips tightly together.

But the silence didn’t last.

“I can’t help it.”

He finally spoke.

“You are an extremely precious person to me. But lately, you seem to have a lot of other thoughts on your mind. I’m worried you’ll get hurt.”

At Eshit’s words, Elise’s eyes trembled slightly.

Mistaking that movement for fear, he spoke in an even lower and more persistent voice.

“You will no longer be allowed to leave the temple, the Imperial Palace, or any place I have permitted without authorization. I will also decide who is allowed to stay by your side. If necessary, I will even move your residence into the Imperial Palace.”

Without the slightest hesitation, Eshit added,

“That way, I don’t think I’ll lose you.”

A laugh escaped Elise’s lips at those words.

“All of this is for my sake?”

“Yes.”

“Your Majesty.”

She spoke very softly.

“I was never yours to begin with.”

Just then—

Heavy footsteps sounded outside the door.

Bang!

The closed door flew open with a thunderous crash.

And the person who entered was none other than—

“Your Majesty!”

Leonhardt, looking absolutely furious.