Another news greeted me when I returned to the castle. It was of Marchioness Toruka.
In the end, she was abandoned by her family and the dowager empress. The Toruka family claimed they knew nothing of what she did. Her own husband denounced her as a traitor and filed for a divorce. The dowager empress also announced her ignorance in this matter.
Even after being imprisoned and tortured, Marchioness Toruka remained silent. However, when she learned of being abandoned and betrayed by everyone, she swore she would tell the emperor everything.
The next morning after she promised to confess, she was found dead in her cell.
Everyone knew who killed Marchioness Toruka, but no one had any proofs.
Beside her dead body was a letter written with a shaky hand. It stated that she felt jealous of me, the first wife, and that was why she tried to kill me. She stated that she did it all on her own.
The funny thing was no one could figure out how she got a pen and paper to write this letter. Not to mention, where did she get the poison to kill herself?
Again, everyone knew who was behind the murder of Marchioness Toruka, but no one could say it out loud.
“…”
It was an unpleasant topic to discuss during the morning teatime. I didn’t know what to say. I felt cold.
My enemies were cruel and efficient. They eliminated their own without hesitation.
These were the people the emperor wanted me to fight and shield him against.
I hid my fear and replied to him, “… So we gained nothing from poisoning me. Basically, Marchioness Toruka is gone, but the dowager empress will just get new maids. How disappointing.”
He smiled. I always found his confidence annoying.
“Not exactly. We will make sure to get something out of this.”
Good for you.
I hated how he said it as if he was the one who was forced to make a sacrifice for this plot. It was me who was poisoned, not him!
I didn’t say anything, and the emperor continued to smile.
He explained, “Because of this, Marquis Toruka lost his heir.”
“Pardon?”
“The Marquis and Marchioness had two grown sons. One was 17 and the other was 15. Anyway, the oldest was the confirmed heir to the title. The Marquis had several concubines and other children. He didn’t want to complicate anything though, so he sent away all his other children to be married or to be adopted by other noble families.”
It was strange, but apparently, this was a common practice here.
Lucretius continued, “But after the Marchioness was arrested, things became uncertain for the Toruka family. By betraying his wife, Marquis Toruka managed to protect his sister, the dowager empress, and her unborn child, but I went a step further.”
“What did you do?”
His evil smile gleamed. I waited for his answer nervously.
“Marchioness’s crime was treason, but we promised them she won’t be executed. However, the family succession situation was a different story.”
“Oh!”
I understood immediately. By divorcing the Marchioness, Marquis Toruka could protect his family name, but his sons! They were also the sons of the traitor Marchioness. This meant the emperor had the right to insist on her sons not inheriting the title.
Lucretius ordered a servant to bring a bottle of wine. He poured a glass himself. It was a dark ruby color. I suspected it was the highest quality wine one could find in this kingdom.
He came towards me and poured me a glass as well. I accepted it without a word.
“The Marquis is already over 40 years old. All his other sons have been adopted to other families. He could technically re-adopt them, but he needs the emperor’s approval and I will not give it to him. I will tell him he is not old enough to adopt an heir. He should try to remarry and sire a son naturally. To do this, he will have to move fast… Of course, I would be surprised if any noble family would allow their daughter to marry the man who abandoned his wife in the dungeon and left her to die.”
Lucretius smirked. He was such a cold man. I agreed with his actions, so I supposed that made me a cold woman too.
I usually preferred white wine or champagne. I found red wine to be often sour and bitter. Sometimes, I thought it smelled a little bit like blood. Perhaps it was just my imagination.
After a quick taste, I looked up and asked him. I guess it was a little too late to get his permission when it was already a done deal.
“I already gave her a position and a place to stay in my wing, so I guess I have done this backward. I should have asked for your permission first.”
“What’s going on?”
“It’s about Agnes.”
“You mean Agnes Dotrya who is responsible for Lonez?”
“Yes. I would like to have her as my maid.”
He looked at me suspiciously.
“She is definitely someone you can trust, but… why? How did you convince her to come? Agnes would never leave her adopted mother behind.”
I remembered Agnes’ anguished face as she talked about what had happened to Empress Beatrice. She was taking care of her adopted mother Dame Dotrya, who was Empress Beatrice’s mother.
It was clear she loved her adopted mother and sister like her real family. That explained her extreme fury.
That was why I chose her. She could be the best weapon against our common enemy.
I didn’t let the emperor know of my real reason.
“I chose her because she can be trusted. The more trustworthy people I have, the better.”
He looked like he didn’t believe my explanation. He studied me for a few seconds and sighed deeply.
“You are getting better at hiding your feelings. Well, why not. I’m sure you have a good reason for it.”
He put down his empty glass. I didn’t reply to him.
Lucretius was about to stand up when he suddenly remembered something.
“Duke of Aeal is very persistent. Apparently, he still hasn’t left yet. He is insisting on seeing you before he leaves. Do you want to kick him out yourself?”
This was a surprise. I laughed loudly and clapped.
“Really? That’s perfect. I thought he already left and was planning on getting him back.”
The emperor frowned.
“What?”
He obviously wanted to know my reason, but I pretended not to notice him. When I refused to explain, he questioned me.
“Why don’t you want them gone immediately? I don’t understand.”
“Well…”
I smiled at him mysteriously. I loved this situation. Finally, I was, for once, taking control of our conversation. I paused on purpose and waited for his reaction.
Lucretius started to tap the table with his finger impatiently. He looked cross.
“So you aren’t going to kick them out. You are saying you would have called for him anyway. I don’t understand.”
“…”
“You don’t mean to forgive them and keep them here, right?”
I drank my wine slowly and answered. It was very strong.
“Of course not.”
Unless I had gone crazy, I would never do something like that. He knew it well.
Lucretius looked at me curiously. I thought I probably made him wait long enough.
I paused a little while longer until it looked like he was about to ask again. Before he could say anything, I interrupted him.
“It’s nothing special. It’s just I think they can be useful in fighting against the dowager empress.”
“You are going to use them against the dowager empress?”
Lucretius didn’t sound convinced and I understood why.
He continued, “Duke Aeal has no power at all in this kingdom. He won’t be any help for you against the dowager empress. On top of that, I’m sure they hate you, so…”
Suddenly, his eyes widened. He seemed like he realized something. He smiled slowly.
“Aha! Could it be…?”
I didn’t even say anything, but it appeared that he understood what I meant to do. He was definitely an evil genius.
Lucretius murmured to himself loudly, “I can definitely see them doing something stupid to fulfill their greed. I only met them once, but it was pretty obvious.”
“Exactly. Lisbeth will be especially useful. If I keep her near me, she won’t be able to stop herself from doing whatever it takes to get what she wants. She will grab the dowager empress’s attention for sure.”
I looked at my husband.
Beautiful golden hair and clear green eyes. Any girl would fall in love with such a gorgeous man.
Lisbeth would have been sent here if I wasn’t available. However, because she was a naïve, fragile young girl, I doubted she would have survived. She would have been murdered along with the former emperor on their wedding night.
I basically saved Lisbeth’s life and this meant I repaid my debt to the Bonafit family for taking care of me for a year.
We were even. If they gave up their impossible dream and left this castle, I would let them go and they would live. However, will they be able to let their greed go?
I didn’t think so. Just the fact that they were still here meant they wouldn’t give up on their ambition. I knew if I ignored them or kick them out, they would try to harm me in any way possible.
They weren’t grateful to me for saving Lisbeth. In fact, they saw me as the thief who stole Lisbeth’s chance at becoming the emperor’s first wife herself.
It would be a lie if I said I wasn’t angry. I was honest enough to admit I would love to cause them serious harm as an act of revenge for tricking me. However, the decision to keep Lisbeth close was based on pure logic.
