Chapter 3….
Your Mother Thrown into Hell
“Isn’t that the Empress?”
“What is she doing in the Imperial Palace?”
As the Empress entered the palace wearing a dress that was not just worn but torn to shreds, the servants began murmuring among themselves.
“What’s with that outfit?”
“Is she doing that on purpose? Is she trying to protest before His Majesty?”
“How can she dress like that as the Empress…?”
Even a servant working for another noble—or at the very least for a minor noble—could never imagine acting like this.
Even if a master walked around naked, a properly trained servant would look the other way, remain silent, and pretend not to see or hear anything.
Of course, the palace servants were thoroughly trained. When serving the Emperor, even the slightest mistake was unacceptable.
Yet still, they whispered so that the master could hear, openly showing disdain, disrespect, and mockery.
For Euribe, this was nothing new. She had been accustomed to it from the moment she first set foot in the palace.
“He’s here to see His Majesty.”
“His Majesty is currently in the bedroom.”
“At this hour?”
It was broad daylight. A time when he should have been busy with official matters.
Euribe’s face fell, realizing she had deliberately chosen a time when the Emperor would be busy. Her plan had been to quickly request a replacement for her only torn dress and slip away unnoticed.
Since bringing Vintera to the palace, the Emperor had stopped seeking Euribe out. She didn’t want to break this fragile peace by catching his attention unnecessarily.
Maybe she should just walk around in the torn dress. No matter how she wore it, she’d be criticized anyway.
“The Empress has been summoned to the bedroom if she has matters to discuss, as per His Majesty’s orders.”
At that moment, the servant who had rushed to report Euribe’s arrival to the Emperor hurried back to deliver the message.
Ah…
Now that the Emperor knew, she had no choice.
Ignoring the urging servant, Euribe slowly took heavy steps forward.
Soon, as always, the guards stood vigilantly in front of the Emperor’s bedroom door.
“Your Majesty, the Empress has arrived.”
“Escort her in.”
Even after hearing the Emperor’s response, the guards hesitated, exchanging glances as they dawdled.
From that gesture, Euribe felt a pang of sympathy.
“Sympathy? For me…?”
When the bedroom door finally opened after what felt like forever, Euribe understood why.
In the center of the room sat the Emperor on the enormous bed, his attire disheveled.
Behind him… wrapped only in a blanket, slept that woman.
It was a sight Euribe had never wanted to see. Her body froze as if someone had poured ice water over her head.
Cold sweat broke out, and before she could stop it, she felt a wave of nausea. Even in front of the Emperor, instincts could not be suppressed.
“Ugh—!”
The Emperor, instead of reacting negatively, leaned in with a satisfied expression and stroked Vintera’s cheek.
Raising himself back up, he returned to his usual cold expression as if nothing had happened.
“What is it?”
His deep blue eyes, sharp as a finely honed blade, pierced her endlessly.
The Empress, as if forgetting why she had come, remained silent.
Her hollow eyes stayed fixed on Vintera.
Seeing her gaze linger for so long, the Emperor stood protectively in front of Vintera.
The frail Empress would not harm Vintera, but one could never be too careful.
Only then did the Empress lift her eyes to meet the Emperor’s, tears flowing freely.
‘Oh dear.’
The Emperor clicked his tongue and wiped her tears with the back of his hand.
While it was true he had deliberately isolated her so she would rely on no one but him, he had not expected her to become so obsessed with him.
It was fortunate, but with Vintera now beside him, it felt inconvenient.
“Accept it, Empress. Among the Emperors before me, more than ten had multiple consorts. I understand this is shocking as it is your first experience, but this too is a virtue the Empress must possess.”
Perhaps unaware she was crying, the Empress awkwardly wiped her own tears, freeing her hands from the Emperor.
The Emperor clicked his tongue once more in disdain and asked again,
“What is it that brought you here?”
“…”
“Empress.”
“…The dress… the dress you granted me has been torn.”
“The dress has been torn?”
The Emperor frowned at what he deemed a trivial matter.
“That’s something to be handled by the Imperial Palace budget. You’ve come to see me over something so trivial?”
“The Imperial Palace budget cannot buy a dress suitable for official events, Your Majesty.”
Regaining her composure, the Empress answered quietly, eyes lowered.
‘Ah, of course. He did give me barely enough money.’
It would have sufficed to send her away, but today, the Empress’ appearance somehow caught his attention.
Her neatly styled blonde hair, delicate features, deer-like gentle eyes, coral-colored eyes full of melancholy.
Beautiful, yes, but the exact opposite of Vintera.
Come to think of it, the late former Empress was also a refined beauty.
Was that why he was more drawn to Vintera?
Was that why he fell so quickly, almost to his own surprise?
Finding Vintera irresistibly endearing once again, the Emperor sat on the bed and kissed her cheek.
“Sorry for the interruption. I’ll be going now.”
Interruption?
Yes. Interruption…
“Empress.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“I will warn you before you do anything foolish.”
His eyes, full of wrath at something not yet imagined, glinted with menace.
“If you harm Vintera, I will repay you double. Vintera and I are one now; any attack on her is treason. Do you understand?”
“Your Majesty’s wife… is the Empress.”
“Unfortunately, no.”
The Empress’ pale face turned even whiter, and her lips trembled.
“Will you kill me now?”
“What?”
“My usefulness is over.”
Her coral eyes, brimming with tears, reflected a strange mix of fear and relief.
The intensity of her emotion, bordering on madness, was incomprehensible to the Emperor and made him deeply uncomfortable.
“Not yet.”
“Why?”
“I want your mother, thrown into hell, to shed tears of blood. But you do not seem sufficiently unhappy yet.”
“Your Majesty! I am more than unhappy enough!”
The usually timid and quiet Empress screamed in anger, perhaps triggered by seeing her husband entangled with another woman.
“Please! Please kill me!”
“Pull yourself together, Empress!”
Her screams were easily drowned out by the Emperor’s lion-like roar.
At that moment, a strained voice called from behind him, as if not fully awake:
“Your Majesty…?”
Instantly, the Emperor’s attention shifted, and he scooped Vintera into his arms.
“Sorry, it seems I woke you.”
Vintera nuzzled against him, purring like a cat.
“I’m sorry for bothering you all day long.”
Chuckling, the Emperor tapped her nose playfully.
As they played together, lost in their love, Vintera suddenly sensed a presence and peeked over the Emperor’s shoulder.
“Empress!”
Startled, she quickly pulled the blanket over herself. Unlike her confident self at the party, her entire body flushed red, making her look helpless—an image the Emperor found pitiful.
He immediately ordered her departure.
“Leave, Empress. I will handle the dress.”
The arrogant Emperor interpreted Euribe’s outburst as jealousy, but to Euribe, he was not a husband—he was a jailer.
“I want your mother, thrown into hell, to shed tears of blood. But you do not seem sufficiently unhappy yet.”
How dare he. How dare he speak of her mother.
For the past three years, it had always been like this.
Before she could even realize it, tears flowed again.
What made Euribe’s suffering even worse was her complete helplessness.
If someone else had been in her place, she would not have been left so defenseless.
Her mother’s sacrifice would not have been rendered meaningless.
Every rumor circulating secretly in high society was true.
Euribe was the last princess of the now-destroyed Estum Kingdom.
It was only natural that a tyrant obsessed with witch hunts would invade the witch kingdom of Estum.
Indeed, Euribe was a witch with the potent magic of the Estum royal bloodline.
The Emperor had taken a witch as his Empress.
Why?
Because the Emperor’s feelings toward witches were not hatred but jealousy.
He had invaded the Estum Kingdom and taken the princess as Empress out of a desire to possess that magic in his own bloodline.
The kingdom collapsed easily under the empire’s formidable military, and everything went according to the Emperor’s plan.
That is, until Euribe’s mother, King Elhart, cursed the Emperor.
