MAE 02

Chapter 2…..
Who Is My Mother?

For now, everything was proceeding smoothly, just as planned.

She had become the emperor’s consort and had entered the very heart of the royal court. Today’s banquet had also left a solid impression on the nobles.

However…

Vintera’s gaze drifted toward the balcony outside the banquet hall.

It was the spot where the empress had been sitting, slumped on the floor.

Why had she been sitting there like that?

In the moonlight, Vintera thought she glimpsed tears.

She was the empress of an empire enjoying the greatest golden age in history, yet how pitiful her situation seemed.

How miserable she looked.

The cold, judging stares of the nobles toward the empress came to mind.

The emperor’s harsh tone when he raised his voice recklessly also came to mind.

Vintera spun around roughly and glared at the emperor.

A strange red flicker flashed in her green eyes.

The emperor, mad with his witch hunts.

The blood of hundreds of thousands of witches on his hands.

Now, this murderer would pay the price.

For daring to take the very witch he despised so much as a consort.

He would die cruelly by the hands of that consort.

“Mama, what on earth happened? Could it be that that woman harmed you?”

On the way back from the banquet to the empress’s palace, the outraged Countess Tramont raged like a wild storm.

She was the empress’s chief lady-in-waiting—and the only one—and came from the Tramont family, which had produced chief ladies-in-waiting for generations.

Unlike many nobles these days, she was upright and principled. She was wholly devoted to the one and only empress of this palace.

“No, it wasn’t that. I was sitting on the floor when that person approached me.”

Empress Euribe explained, but the countess didn’t seem convinced.

“Why were you sitting on the floor?”

“Uh… well…”

By the emperor’s order, she had been driven away from the throne and forced outside the banquet hall by the nobles’ glares and murmurs.

Being pushed endlessly, she had twisted her ankle and collapsed to the floor.

Her ankle healed quickly, but she had sat there, humiliated and miserable, when she came face-to-face with “that woman.”

“Mama, you can be honest with me… Don’t you trust me?”

“No! I only have you.”

Seeing Euribe’s worried expression, the countess relaxed.

She had developed a habit of feeling relieved whenever Euribe revealed even a hint of emotion.

Euribe, like a broken doll, rarely showed her feelings while functioning as an extension of the emperor.

So whenever Euribe displayed even the slightest different expression, the countess would feel reassured that she was not completely broken yet.

“I’ll prepare your bath. Immersing yourself in warm water will make you feel better.”

As the countess walked ahead, Euribe followed slowly behind.

Her feet hurt too much from wearing shoes to walk quickly. She considered rushing to her room to remove her shoes, but the corset made such a frantic effort impossible.

“Now even getting beaten around? The empress’s dignity has hit rock bottom and is rolling in the mud.”

A mocking voice came from behind.

Euribe squeezed her eyes shut. Her head already throbbed and spun from the events at the banquet.

Light footsteps stopped in front of her.

“Open your eyes.”

Reluctantly opening her eyes, she found the Second Prince, Nugos, staring down at her.

Resembling only the worst traits of the emperor and the former empress, he was handsome but exuded a decadent, dangerous aura.

Tall, with long arms that swung as he walked, he made everyone around him tense and cautious.

Ever since Euribe became a member of the royal family, he had made a habit of seeking her out and causing trouble.

“I asked you. Were you beaten?”

“Never.”

“Then why were you on the floor like that? Looking pitiful.”

“….”

“Behave like an empress if you’re an empress. You’ve made the royal family look ridiculous. Understand?”

“Then start by treating me like an empress, as a stepmother….”

“Who is your mother?!”

At the word “mother,” Nugos stomped and yelled.

Euribe squeezed her eyes shut again at his violent outburst, and he smiled, clearly satisfied.

Her head spun, her heart raced, and she felt she needed to lie down immediately.

Nugos didn’t seem inclined to let her go, despite her obvious condition.

“Think carefully.”

Like a well-fed wolf toying with its prey, his soft voice poured over her.

“For the rest of your life, I’ll be on the throne longer than His Majesty. So who should you be trying to please?”

The First Prince had died, and Nugos arrogantly believed he was the next heir. Euribe smiled—or rather, didn’t smile at all.

In fact, the emperor had never considered Nugos a successor.

The emperor often confided things to Euribe, not because he trusted her, but because there was no one else she could relay the information to.

She was like a living diary.

“The Third Prince should come back soon and get serious. He has a long way to go, even if he starts his heir training immediately.”

“….”

“Honestly, a princess would make the most ideal emperor, but it’s a pity. If only she had been born a son.”

“….”

“Nugos is completely out of the question. We can’t let him ruin the country, can we?”

“….”

No matter what the emperor said, Euribe had to keep her mouth shut.

She had learned the hard way that responding, even slightly, would earn her a severe scolding.

“Don’t you understand? Make sure you show me respect.”

Compared to the furious emperor, Nugos seemed almost harmless.

But for powerless Euribe, he was just as dangerous.

If Nugos harmed her, no one would protect her. She had no choice but to be cautious.

“When His Majesty passes away, I’ll move to the Dowager Empress’s palace, so there will be nothing to attract the prince’s attention. Isn’t that what you want?”

Yet, apparently, something about her answer displeased him.

“You don’t know what I want.”

Nugos pressed close and murmured, a growl like a wild beast escaping his throat.

“You want me gone, don’t you.”

Euribe’s calm response left him momentarily speechless. He then laughed harshly and grabbed her chin.

“You know well. Then why are you still in front of me?”

The cold touch on her skin.

The hot breath against her face.

A shadow looming over her, ready to devour.

Eyes so intense she could barely meet them.

Instinctively, she twisted to escape his grip. Suddenly, a swirl of emotions, unimaginable from her perspective, raged in Nugos’s eyes.

“You…!”

“Your Highness!”

A command echoed down the corridor, and Nugos froze.

Only two people in the world could control him: the emperor and Countess Tramont.

The countess, former chief lady-in-waiting to the late empress, was like a nanny to Nugos. If anyone could substitute for his mother, it would be her.

“Your Highness, what rude behavior is this!”

“I was just…”

“Apologize to Her Majesty the Empress immediately!”

Apologize?

Even if the world flipped upside down, Nugos would never apologize. As expected, he glared at Euribe one last time and left without a word.

“Mama, are you alright? In just that brief moment…”

Euribe swayed from the tension release, and the countess hurriedly supported her.

For three years, the empress’s dresses had worn down and were finally torn beyond repair.

She had patched them as best she could, but now the fabric was too worn to mend.

“What if there’s another banquet soon?”

The countess stomped in frustration, holding the torn parts.

Euribe only had three outfits: her formal banquet dress, casual dress, and sleepwear.

The banquet dress was a gift from the emperor at their wedding, and her casual dress was simple wool—something commoners might wear. She had purchased it sparingly, saving every penny.

The wardrobe of the empire’s highest-ranking woman was so empty because the empress’s palace budget was barely enough to cover the salaries of the palace staff.

Again, this was not Euribe’s personal money, but the palace budget, meant to pay everyone in her service.

Even with minimal staff, she had almost nothing left for herself.

This was the emperor’s vile scheme to isolate the empress.

Though she wanted to use this as an excuse to skip events…

Euribe heaved a deep sigh and headed toward the imperial palace, dragging her unbearably heavy steps along.