After listening to the report of Nadan Leslie, the First Minister, the Empress asked him with a distressed face:
“So you're saying that the spies I sent to follow the Crown Princess have disappeared?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“She killed them?”
The First Minister shook his head, answering:
“Contact with them was lost after the last report a month ago, so I can't say exactly what happened...”
The Empress trembled with anger all over her body.
Even the most experienced mercenaries vanished without a trace as soon as they were sent to the empire's border. How many times had this been? The Empress rubbed her temples tensely, as if her stepdaughter was an insect that was very difficult to get rid of.
“Damn it!” the Empress cried out, lowering her head. Her light hair, resembling bronze, fell in lush waves, “That wretch! Does she take me for a fool?!”
Smack!
The Empress threw her teacup. Water splashed in all directions, and shards flew even further, but she paid no attention. In her unrelenting rage, the Empress even threw the teapot.
“Your Majesty, please calm down...” the First Minister tried in vain to defuse the situation.
“ ‘Calm down’?” the woman breathed heavily, her shoulders shaking, “In a situation like this, you tell me to calm down...?!”
“...”
The First Minister, who had witnessed the Empress's rage bordering on madness, nervously swallowed.
Out of caution, he decided to remain silent, lest the sparks of fury fall on him.
“What a headache.”
As the Empress became increasingly agitated, the door to the room slowly opened.
“Good morning, Mother.”
The oppressive atmosphere in the Empress's chambers was suddenly interrupted.
Two heads turned towards the door.
At the threshold stood a beautiful girl with light hair and clear, lake-like blue eyes. Jerica de Ronan. The Second Princess of the empire and daughter of the reigning Empress, whose beauty was praised by all inhabitants of the Ruwens Empire. She was so beautiful that she seemed to have stepped out of a painting.
As soon as the Empress saw her beloved daughter enter the room, her face noticeably softened.
“You may go, Duke Leslie.”
The Empress waved her hand, ordering her subordinate to leave. The First Minister, bowing to both present, hastily left the chambers of the most influential woman in the empire.
As soon as that happened, a soft smile blossomed on the Empress's lips, a smile that seemed impossible on this woman's face.
“Welcome, Jerica. Sit down,” the Empress greeted her.
“Thank you, Mother.”
Maids served them tea, and the Second Princess gracefully lifted her cup. The Empress, observing this, praised her:
“Magnificent. You must be the most intelligent lady in the empire.”
“Thank you, Mother. I am flattered.”
Today, the Empress had kindly invited her for tea. For this, Jerica had set aside her state affairs and came to her immediately after returning to the palace upon completing a recent mission. The princess couldn't help but notice that her mother looked somewhat agitated.
Perhaps it was related to the First Minister's recent visit?
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Usually, Jerica didn't interfere in her mother's affairs, but this time she decided to inquire.
“Duke Leslie came to see you today. Has something happened?”
As expected, there was a reason for the Empress's restless mood.
“There's been no news from the border for a month.”
Jerica, who was reaching for her cup, paused for a moment.
Six months had passed since the Emperor sent the Crown Princess to guard the empire's southern border. The reason was a conflict with the neighboring empire of Tersia, which had long been a source of border problems. The Crown Princess's task was to resolve this situation and prevent a potential threat of uprising.
At the time, the Empress naively believed that getting rid of her stepdaughter would be much easier while she was in the South than in the capital. Over these past few months, so many mercenaries had been sent to the empire's border that they could have formed an entire detachment.
However, time passed, and there was no good news.
And lately, no messages at all had come from the border. This involuntarily put the Empress on alert.
As the Empress was immersed in her worries, she involuntarily shuddered when a warm hand was placed over hers.
“Kaena must have resolved the conflict in the South and is already preparing to return,” Jerica said, “You know, sister doesn't really like writing letters. Especially when she's at war.”
The woman's eyes flashed with an angry gleam when she heard these words.
“How can you call that worthless creature your sister...?!” she cried, “Because of her, our whole family suffers! Only because we haven't kicked her out yet should she be grateful...”
The Second Princess sighed, listening to her mother's complaints.
The Empress was hostile towards her stepdaughter and Jerica's half-sister. And there were reasons for that. The woman wanted nothing more than for the title of Crown Princess to go to her daughter. However, due to the existence of Kaena de Ronan, her dream remained unattainable.
But Jerica herself had a different opinion on the matter.
Even if Kaena wasn't the best candidate for the role of Crown Princess, the title still belonged to her by law. Besides, they shared a common lineage. The Second Princess believed that even if their relationship was far from ideal, they were still members of the same family.
“Kaena is my older sister,” the girl murmured, “Though we're not close, I should still show her respect...”
“Nonsense!” the Empress spat out and glared angrily at her daughter.
The woman couldn't believe she had uttered such absurd words.
Although the Second Princess seemed perfect in every way, in the Empress's opinion, her daughter still had one significant flaw. She had no ambition for power. Moreover, she was too kind-hearted. This was a quality completely unsuitable for a ruler.
Even after that spawn had caused so much trouble for their family, Jerica still called her “sister”. The Empress herself considered this supposed kinship worthless.
“If you want to achieve more, as my daughter, you must have ambition,” she declared.
“What...?” Jerica looked at her in surprise.
Although Jerica was still quite young, she had achieved much. The girl worked diligently for the good of the country, and largely thanks to the reforms she proposed, the lives of citizens were improving. Not to mention that the princess was the Captain of the Imperial Army, becoming the youngest commander of this unit in its entire history.
However, in the Empress's eyes, this was still not enough.
“The whole country wants to see you on the throne,” she stated directly, “And I agree with that.”
The Second Princess's expression abruptly paled.
“Mother, what are you talking about?” Jerica asked again, “The Crown Princess is Kaena.
Even if she has committed many crimes, we cannot simply strip her of her title...” The Empress laughed mockingly.
“Crown Princess? Don't make me laugh. That savage can't even be called human.”
Kaena de Ronan was still a child when the Emperor exiled her to the eastern border. To where lawlessness and chaos reigned. The pretext was the most plausible — the Emperor wanted to express his intention to support the eastern region by sending the Crown Princess to maintain order in those lands. But in reality, it was just a pretext to get rid of her.
In this hell, the girl lived for several years. But they didn't pass without a trace — the princess grew up to be the strongest madwoman in the east. And by the age of fifteen, as rumor had it, she had formed the Dark Army, which kept the empire's inhabitants in fear.
In the end, the Emperor's plans, who eagerly awaited his daughter's death, backfired — the prodigal princess returned and, by right of inheritance, took her place.
She was like a rabid dog off its chain, whose thoughts were impossible to predict in advance. The Emperor and Empress feared most that, upon ascending the throne, Kaena's first act would be to deal with her relatives.
Because of this fear, they repeatedly attempted to get rid of the Crown Princess. But in the end... This girl, like the most resilient rat, remained unharmed.
“This cannot continue,” the Empress suddenly spoke, “His Majesty and I must put an end to this.”
Each time they sent the girl to the battlefield, hoping she wouldn't return. However, not only did this not happen, but the princess also brought glory to the empire with her military victories. Thus, given all her merits, even the Emperor couldn't strip Kaena of her title without a good reason.
Meanwhile, the ruler of the empire himself wasn't getting any younger, and the fateful day of the coronation was approaching.
The Empress decided that the time had come for drastic measures.
“The empire's founding anniversary is soon, isn't it?”
“In a month,” Jerica corrected, and the Empress nodded in agreement.
“Yes. Since it's a big holiday, it's an excellent opportunity to announce the news that His Majesty and I are preparing.”
“News...?”
Jerica de Ronan didn't quite understand what her mother meant, but the Empress's mood seemed to improve.
Having resolved the problematic issue, the woman laughed heartily.
“Let's see how favorable the heavens will be to her this time. This time, that spawn definitely won't manage to return alive.”