~Chapter 109~
The Water Prison of the Edith Empire.
It was famous for being built by more than a dozen great mages working together for months.
The place was filled with water up to an adult’s ankles. But whenever someone bent down to drink, the water instantly vanished, leaving nothing.
From the ceiling, vents connected to the imperial palace kitchens carried the delicious smells of breakfast, lunch, dinner, and even snacks. The scents alone were enough to make one’s mouth water—but no food could ever be eaten there.
On top of that, anyone imprisoned there was cursed by magic: they would never die of thirst or hunger, yet they would suffer endless hunger and thirst until the end of their natural lifespan.
It was a prison perfectly suited for those consumed by greed and desire.
They could crave all they wanted, but they couldn’t even touch the most basic human needs—food and water.
“W-What! The Water Prison?!”
Calypso shouted in disbelief.
Adultery usually only brought public ridicule at worst. Even if he had incited murder, sentencing him to the Water Prison was far too harsh.
But the Emperor replied calmly.
“Didn’t you know? The law was revised a few days ago.”
“A few days ago?!”
“Yes. The day you gave your academic presentation, wasn’t it? Someone made a petition about amending the law.”
In that moment, a memory flashed in Calypso’s mind.
“Do your best. You’ll do well. I’ll just stop by the imperial palace for a bit.”
Diana’s words from that day.
Calypso snapped his head toward her. She was smiling beautifully at him, as if nothing was unusual.
That very day, when Calypso was giving his research presentation, Diana had hurried to the imperial palace.
At the Emperor’s office, the chamberlain was already waiting.
“You’ve arrived, Your Grace the Grand Duchess.”
“Yes. His Majesty?”
“He is waiting inside. Please enter.”
Lifting the hem of her dress, Diana stepped into the office.
The Emperor had already received word of her visit.
“Infinite glory to the Sun of the Empire.”
Diana bowed politely.
“Sit.”
Though she had seen the Emperor at balls and while following Calypso to the palace, this was her first time meeting him alone.
The Emperor’s overwhelming presence made her a little tense.
“What is your reason for requesting an audience?”
The Emperor asked calmly, his blue eyes shining as he raised his head. Diana thought those eyes looked oddly familiar as she opened her mouth.
“Your Majesty. What do you think of adultery?”
“Adultery?”
“Yes.”
The Emperor stroked his chin, curious about her question.
“It is filthy and disgraceful. A betrayal of respect and morality.”
“As I thought… right?”
Diana lowered her head slightly. Her eyes looked unbearably sorrowful.
The Emperor frowned, sensing something strange.
“What is the matter?”
Diana let out a quiet sigh. Then, after a moment of thought, she finally spoke.
“Your Majesty.”
Those blue eyes, so much like Ruery’s, gazed at her. Thinking of him eased the tension in her shoulders. Finally, she let out the words that had lingered on her tongue.
“…The Grand Duke Ernest has committed adultery.”
“What…? Adultery?!”
The Emperor slammed his fist on the table.
“He even had a child with his mistress, and pretended that child was mine!”
Diana’s voice shook with fury. The Emperor was too shocked to answer at once.
Though Calypso was not a direct heir, he was still of imperial blood. Adultery, an illegitimate child—such shame could not be tolerated.
The Grand Duke’s house had long been a thorn in the Emperor’s eye for wasting wealth in decadence while neglecting royal duties.
And now this? If society learned of it, the Empire itself would become a laughingstock.
The Emperor scowled deeply. But at last, he spoke in a low voice.
“…He is still of royal blood. Couldn’t you just divorce quietly and end it there?”
“Are you worried the royal family will become a laughingstock, Your Majesty?”
At Diana’s sharp words, the Emperor froze with his teacup halfway raised.
He felt ashamed—here he was, thinking only of appearances before a woman who had endured such pain.
Yet, as Emperor, appearances mattered even more than his actual rule.
Most people cared more about what they saw on the surface than about truth within.
And Diana knew that all too well.
“Betraying true sincerity is no different from murder. No—it is worse, Your Majesty.”
Her eyes glistened with unshed tears.
“He only needed my father’s money… He wanted to hold both wealth and another woman in his hands. Isn’t that too much greed?”
At last, she pleaded desperately:
“Aren’t they beasts without even a shred of humanity, Your Majesty?”
The Emperor’s face darkened. He recalled the eyes of those who had pushed him to remarry immediately after his Empress’s death.
“…I understand your view, Grand Duchess. But the royal family’s honor…”
“There is a way to preserve the royal family’s honor and punish them.”
She looked him straight in the eyes.
“And what is that?”
“To deal the harshest punishment possible to those who betrayed humanity… directly, with Your Majesty’s own hands.”
The Emperor met her gaze firmly. Then he nodded slowly.
When Diana left the office, a calm smile played on her lips.
“Diana!”
Held by knights, Calypso screamed.
“How could you do this to me! Aisel! Aisel!”
He shouted until his voice broke, looking at Aisel. But she didn’t even turn her head.
To live forever imprisoned, haunted by the memory of killing his own child—this was his punishment.
And Alicia shared the same fate.
“This is all your fault, Alicia! You seduced me—you made me like this!”
Catherine clung to Alicia, sobbing and shaking her. Alicia only wept silently.
Her punishment was to live blind, hated by her own child.
For any parent who loved their child, no punishment could be more wretched.
And Catherine…
“Ugh, look at her.”
“So disgusting.”
“Her body is all wrinkled!”
Now, looking like an ugly crone instead of a young debutante, she would live the rest of her life seeing her reflection in the water.
All three punishments were cruel enough to make them wish for death.
And all were consequences they had brought upon themselves.
Diana and Aisel coldly watched their endless excuses and blame-shifting as the knights dragged them away.
The knights led them deep into the imperial palace dungeons, to the Water Prison.
“Get in!”
“Kyaa!”
“Ahh!”
Catherine and Alicia were shoved inside first.
“Please! Spare me, I beg you!”
Calypso resisted to the end, but the knights forced him in.
“Filthy creatures.”
Spitting in disgust, they slammed the iron door shut.
Calypso banged furiously on the ceiling bars until his hands bled, but they never opened.
“No! Nooo!”
Darkness fell as the door closed. Cool water rippled around their ankles.
Catherine, still not fully realizing the truth, tried to scoop water in her hands. But before it reached her lips, it crumbled like sand.
Her cracked lips grew drier.
“This can’t be real… to be imprisoned in a place like this…”
Then, from the ceiling vent, the smell of steak with butter began to waft down.
The scent filled the prison. It was maddening. The water shimmered before their eyes, yet they couldn’t drink. The delicious food’s aroma teased them, yet they couldn’t taste it.
Hunger and thirst clawed at them, driving them insane.
Soon, Calypso began laughing like a madman. He wanted to wake from this nightmare. He was of imperial blood—he didn’t belong here.
His crazed laughter echoed through the cell.
Alicia trembled at the chilling sound. Feeling along the wall, she slid down and sat weakly, tears dripping endlessly in the unending dark.
“Save me, please! Aaaahhh!”
Catherine screamed and thrashed to the last. Her grotesque face reflected in the water below. She shrieked as if convulsing at the sight.
But no one came.
There would only ever be the three of them—in that prison, forever.
