The Abandoned Empress Will Not Return

“A year ago, rumors spread in the capital that His Majesty the late Emperor had a hidden child.
It is said that he left his child with a family he trusted….”

 

“…….”

 

“Of course, it quickly disappeared because it was thought to have been a groundless rumor…….
as if someone had intentionally hidden it in an instant.”

 

Kane himself dismissed it as an unfounded rumor, and let it go.
It was impossible.

 

But his judgment was clouded.
He had gotten used to suffering from the mental fear that he might die soon.

 

If the poison touches his heart, he dies.
He had to find the culprit before that.

 

“I have a theory.”

 

Sola held her palm up showing it to Kane, and continued to talk while folding her fingers one by one.

 

“First, from the beginning, the Empress entered the imperial palace with a purpose.
Second, in order to deceive you, the Empress softened your vigilance within the past three years.
Third, she seized the opportunity and used poison, but she changed her plan because of a variable, me.”

 

“That’s…”

 

“If you look at historical records, it is not uncommon for an empress to poison her emperor.”

 

Sola had a point.
He thought it was necessary to think deeper.
Then Sola folded her fourth finger and continued.

 

“When the poison didn’t work, the Empress used that man named Revlon.
If you look into him, you’ll get the answer.”

 

Doubt breeds doubt.

 

Once Sola has sprouted his doubts, painful thoughts will dig deeper and haunt Kane.

 

“The Marquis is a power-hungry man.”

 

And Sola’s last words were enough to ignite the small spark of doubt in Kane’s mind into a great fire.

 

‘But Rodelia…….
My Empress…….’

 

“Rodelia would never listen to the Marquis straight away.”

 

There was absolutely no way.
She feared and hated the Marquis of Florence at the same time.

 

“How can you be so sure?”

 

Sola frowned.
What the hell does he believe in? It was worth doubting.
But Kane stood firm that Rodelia would never do it.

 

“……not my Empress anyway.”

 

He couldn’t be that sure.

 

Something was strange.
Sola, who uncrossed her legs, was sure that there was something she didn’t know.
But that was something she’d have to figure out later.….

 

First and foremost, she succeeded in shaking the emperor, so she had already achieved her purpose.

 

“No one knows that.”

 

Sola smiled quietly.
Kane stared at Sola and turned his eyes away.

 

He was worried for nothing.
Of course, it was natural to doubt Rodelia in this situation.
The Marquis of Florence was a man with a terrible desire for power, and he was not an emperor weak enough to satisfy it.

[E/N: It probably means that Kane isn’t weak enough to be easily manipulated.]

 

Therefore, he might be planning to satisfy his greed by raising a new emperor.

 

But…

 

“I hope you don’t bring this up from now on.”

 

“Rodelia couldn’t have done this.”

 

Kane coldly replied to Sola and left Stella Palace.

 

***

 

Come to think of it, the traces of the poison seemed to have worsened again after meeting Rodelia.

 

He told Sola that he believed in Rodelia, but wouldn’t it be better to confirm it? As a precaution.
Kane, who was struggling, summoned Revlon.

 

“Revlon Hart, is there anything you’re hiding from me?”

 

A cold voice strode up to Revlon.

 

Kane was clueless but he said it as if he had found out everything.
There was nothing more certain than catching one’s reaction.

 

If he was hiding something, it would definitely be noticeable even if it was small, he just needed to catch it properly.

 

“None.”

 

Revlon, who still had a nonchalant face, said dryly.
He showed no suspicious reaction.

 

Kane smirked and flicked his finger.

 

He did not expect that it would be revealed right away anyway.
A person who didn’t have this much audacity wouldn’t have even thought of poisoning him in the first place.

 

“Can you prove it?”

 

He had to think of all the possibilities.
Kane, staring at him, added coldly.

 

“You didn’t react even though you saw the poison spreading in my body closely.
As if you knew.”

 

Revlon’s eyes, which had been firm, fluctuated slightly.
Kane didn’t miss it.

 

“You seem to know something.”

 

Before he knew it, Kane, who shifted his gaze to the beads of sweat on his forehead, laughed.
A feeling of being betrayed came over him.

 

As Sola said, he still didn’t know if Revlon had poisoned him, but he seemed to have some connection.

 

Kane’s voice was low, angry with himself for being unusually incompetent recently.

 

“Did you enter the palace because you wanted something in the first place?”

 

“…….”

 

“Did you come to kill me, I mean.”

 

Only then did Revlon’s lips, which had been tightly closed because of Kane’s rushing questions, slowly open.
After sighing, he continued to speak calmly.

 

“……I won’t deny it because you seem to know everything already.”

 

“What…?”

 

“But don’t resent me.
I’m the one who lost my family because of you.”

 

Everything was blowing smoothly like this.
Was he really not innocent?

 

He felt strange that things seemed to be working out easily, but that was something that could be investigated later.
Of course, he [Revlon] who didn’t have any ability wouldn’t have been able to do this alone, so there must be someone behind the scenes.

 

He no longer felt betrayed by Revlon.
He was just relieved that he can get this horrible poison out of his body now.

 

Kane, who opened his mouth, added chillingly.

 

“Who’s behind you?”

 

Contrary to Kane’s expectation that it would take the most time to dig up who was pulling the strings in the background, the answer came out quickly.
It seemed that they failed in properly educating him.

 

“Don’t you know it already?”

 

Revlon laughed horrifyingly.

 

He felt somewhat uneasy about his question, but he didn’t show it.
He shouldn’t get caught knowing nothing.

 

Kane swept up his hair as if annoyed and asked calmly.

 

“Don’t talk nonsense and just answer it straight.”

 

It was not until he heard Revlon’s answer that he knew where his uneasy feelings came from.

 

Because it was the one person he never wanted to hear, someone he trusted.

 

“Rodelia Florence.”

 

His own empress, the Flower of Thebes.

 

Hoping all this was a trap, Kane’s face turned pale.

 

***

 

It was early in the morning and the clear sound of the stream harmonizing with the green leaves of the trees can be heard.

 

Rodelia got up late and began to get ready to go to the imperial library.
It has been a while since she read a book, so she wanted to read one.

 

‘I’ll come back to the Empress Palace late in the afternoon, eat, and go to bed early.’

 

It was a pretty nice holiday plan.
Rodelia wore a white-toned dress and a wide-brimmed straw hat.
Finally, after changing into low-heeled shoes, she was about to leave the room.

 

“This is Her Majesty’s room.
How dare you come in like this…….”

 

There was a disturbance outside the door.
A little later, troubled voices from the maids came through the door.
Frowning, Rodelia took cautious steps towards it.

 

“Ahhhhhh!

 

The maids’ screams were heard from beyond the door.

 

Soon, the door, which had been tightly closed, opened violently with a bang.
Rodelia took a step back in surprise.
It was instantaneous that the spacious room was filled with guards.

 

“What the hell…!”

 

“This is His Majesty’s order.”

 

Rodelia’s words did not continue.
A man dressed as the captain of the knights guard stopped her and handed her a piece of parchment.
Rodelia glared at him, then snatched the paper in displeasure.

 

 

What does this mean? Poisoning?

 

Rodelia read the contents on the paper again carefully.
It was Kane’s handwriting, no matter how many times she read it.
At the bottom of the document, a large eagle-shaped seal was stamped, the symbol of the Thebes Empire.

 

“Poisoning.”

 

Rodelia muttered as if she could not believe it.
She didn’t understand what was happening to her at the moment.

 

“I think you understand, so we will conduct a search.”

 

But he was quick to judge.
The captain of the knights guard’s thick voice fell flatly.

 

“No…”

 

Why would she want to poison Kane? There was no reason or justification for that.
There must be something wrong.
The document must have been tampered with.

 

Isn’t it possible to manipulate the handwriting and seal?

 

In addition, his face is different from the previous captain of the knights guard that she knew.
It hasn’t been long since he took his position so it couldn’t have changed this quickly.
Rodelia stopped the guards trying to start the search.

 

“………call His Majesty.
Then I’ll cooperate with the investigation.”

 

She had to call Kane.

 

But he couldn’t be called.
The captain of the knights guard replied in a pompous tone, what was he so arrogant about?

 

“You’ll regret it.
You might be better off cooperating with the investigation now.
His Majesty is very angry.”

 

Rodelia didn’t answer him, but just stared sharply.
As if her figure was pathetic, he continued smirking.

 

“If that’s the case, I’ll bring him here.”