"Your Majesty…?"
When I looked at the Empress with a pale face, she returned to her usual gentle smile.
"I heard you inherited Heister's ability even as a woman. That's truly impressive. That's why… I thought it would be nice if you became my younger sister."
…Younger sister?
A cold feeling ran down my spine.
She didn't mean it like real family.
The Empress continued gracefully:
"Not only Heister, but even the imperial family of Paveluf is losing its abilities with each generation. Sadly, none of the Emperor's current children have inherited any power."
…No way.
"Yes. I would like you to give birth to the Emperor's heir. Ideally, a child who has both the imperial family's ability and Heister's ability."
"That makes no sense!"
"Why not? You were already married to Valdormer, yet you had a child with Silverstel, didn't you?"
Her words were exactly the same as the Emperor's.
I felt stunned.
So the Empress was on his side too.
No… maybe she was even more insane than him.
"Still, it's fortunate that Denian is Sir Lloyd's child. A fortune teller once said that 'an unextinguishable flame with wings of darkness will bring destruction to Paveluf.'"
…Unextinguishable flame with wings of darkness.
It clearly sounded like Denian, who has both fire and dark power.
My whole body froze in fear.
"So you should be grateful for the Emperor's favor, Yuliana. If Denian had truly been Valdormer's child, he wouldn't even be alive right now."
My hands trembled uncontrollably.
But I clenched them tightly, trying not to show anything.
Because they were talking about Denian.
If the Empress found out the truth—
I forced myself to stay calm.
The Empress, thinking I had accepted it, spoke kindly:
"I will take good care of Denian, so you should focus on giving the Emperor an heir."
I felt chills.
She was smiling while basically saying she would use Denian as a hostage.
And telling me to bear a child with her husband like it was nothing.
But I couldn't say anything.
I just lowered my head.
* * *
I was taken away from the Empress's palace by soldiers and locked again in another luxurious room.
Thankfully, the Emperor didn't show up for several days.
But the guards became even stricter.
It felt like the entire palace was surrounded.
I stared out the window blankly.
I wanted to die before the Emperor came again—
Even bite my tongue if I had to.
But I couldn't.
Because of Denian.
In my past life, I gave up my life easily.
But in this life—
I was desperately holding on.
If I died…
My child—
The precious child I finally met after eleven lifetimes—
would be left alone, waiting for me.
I couldn't throw my life away.
At that moment—
The door suddenly burst open.
The Emperor stumbled in, clearly drunk.
I quickly grabbed a vase and threw it in front of the bed.
Crash!
The Emperor dodged it, his face twisting in anger.
"You've really gone crazy."
But I wasn't afraid.
Their goal was to have a child with me.
Until then, they wouldn't kill me.
I picked up a sharp piece of the broken vase and held it.
That was why I broke it.
The Emperor stepped back for a moment, thinking I might attack—
Then froze when he saw what I was doing.
"What are you doing?"
I pressed the shard against my neck and glared at him.
"If you come closer, I'll cut my throat."
If I attacked him and failed, Denian would be in danger.
So I chose the only way to protect myself—
Threatening my own life.
The Emperor let out a laugh.
"Well… a feisty personality has its charm…"
Then his eyes turned cold.
"But this is getting boring."
His gaze made my skin crawl.
I swallowed nervously.
I couldn't die while leaving Denian behind.
So I prayed this would work.
After staring at me for a while, the Emperor sighed and sat down on the sofa.
Maybe because he was drunk—
He seemed to lose interest.
"The fortune teller said four days from now is an auspicious day."
Just like the Empress, he trusted that fortune teller completely.
"That's when I'll take you."
His emotionless voice made my whole body stiff.
To them—
I was just a tool to produce an heir.
If I didn't even have that use…
They would've killed me without hesitation.
* * *
In complete darkness—
A place where even moonlight couldn't reach—
The air was damp and heavy.
Cold stone floors.
A foul smell.
Occasionally, the sound of rats licking blood echoed in the silence.
A weak, fading breath filled the space.
In the deepest part of the underground prison—
A man was hanging from the wall, bound in restraints.
His body was so damaged from torture that he barely looked human.
More like a lump of flesh hanging from chains.
Yet—
He was still barely alive.
Someone stood in front of him, watching coldly.
It was hard to see clearly, but Lloyd forced his eyes to focus.
A dark figure stood there.
After a long silence, the man spoke:
"Where is Lady Yuliana?"
It was Jared.
Lloyd tried to speak, but instead coughed up blood.
"Cough—!"
Blood ran down his chin.
Jared frowned, but he had no time for sympathy.
It had already been a week since the time Yuliana promised to return.
The banquet had ended long ago.
But Yuliana, Denian, and Lloyd never came back.
Something was wrong.
So Jared infiltrated the imperial palace.
But he couldn't find them anywhere.
The only thing he discovered—
Lloyd had been imprisoned as a traitor in the underground prison.
"I asked where Lady Yuliana is."
Jared's voice was cold.
Lloyd finally managed to speak:
"…You're the one who always watched over her from a distance."
Jared's expression hardened.
"You knew?"
"You never took her… nor attacked her. I assumed you were on her side."
"…."
Lloyd looked at him carefully, as if judging his strength.
Then he spoke weakly:
"You alone… won't be able to save her."
"I'll decide that myself. Where are Lady Yuliana and Denian?"
Jared's gaze didn't waver.
Lloyd looked at him seriously and said:
"…There's something I want to ask of you."