Chapter 244
“Your Majesty the Empress, a letter has arrived that you should see.”
The maid’s voice gently pulled the Empress out of her half-conscious state.
After a brief silence, the Empress slowly raised her hand, fumbling over the cold towel draped across her eyes.
That her voice carried no irritation was entirely due to the trust she placed in her attendants.
She knew well—her maid would never disturb her rest over something trivial.
With a hoarse voice, the Empress asked,
“What is it?”
“An anonymous letter has arrived for Your Majesty. But its contents…”
Trailing off, the maid added cautiously, “I believe it’s something you should see for yourself.”
Sensing that this was no simple matter, the Empress handed the damp towel to another maid.
The letter she received next bore a curious mark—an official seal used only within the Imperial Palace.
“Was this sent by someone on the inside?”
“At the very least, it must be someone with connections to the palace.”
It was a seal distinct from those used by the royal family—one reserved for interdepartmental documents circulated within palace institutions.
Only a limited number of people had access to such seals, but the list wasn’t exactly short either.
Finding nothing unusual about the familiar symbol, the Empress opened the envelope with little concern.
Since it had arrived anonymously, the envelope had already been unsealed and checked by her staff.
She pulled out the letter and began reading the lines within—slowly, deliberately.
Her expression subtly stiffened.
“…Have you still not identified the sender?”
Upon reading the contents, she finally understood why the maid had emphasized its anonymity.
The Empress turned her piercing gaze toward the maid.
The maid bowed her head deeply in apology—an unspoken affirmation.
“Who else knows about this letter?”
“Only me and Laura, my contact. I brought it to you directly, without delay.”
“That’s at least something.”
The Empress murmured, pressing her temple with her fingertips.
It wasn’t just her who couldn’t shake the unease—her maid, too, asked something uncharacteristically bothersome.
“It’s just a cruel prank… right?”
“Well, it’s not outside the realm of possibility.”
“But Lady Iona would never…”
The maid, seemingly spooked by her own words, trailed off. Still, the Empress had no trouble guessing the rest.
It was probably something along the lines of, “She’s nothing like Princess Teresa, after all.”
And truthfully, because of that very difference, even the Empress had once dismissed her doubts. It wouldn’t be fair to fault the maid for the same.
“But doesn’t this letter suggest otherwise?”
The Empress tapped her fingernail thoughtfully against the lines of text.
As she silently reread the letter, a small smirk tugged at her lips.
Wasn’t it absurd?
The daughter of Teresa—believed dead, or at least hoped dead—had apparently been living all this time, right under their noses.
Or at least, someone claiming to be her was within the palace walls right now.
She hadn’t expected the nightmare that had kept her awake the night before to so brazenly reincarnate itself in reality.
The Empress wiped the faint smile from her lips and asked,
“How many of Teresa’s people are still within the palace?”
“Only about five have access to the seal. We’ll need to investigate further for those beneath them. I’ll report back once we’ve confirmed the full list.”
“And who would pull something like this, and for what reason?”
Murmuring to herself, the Empress folded the letter and set it neatly on the table.
Then, with a tone that carried a hint of curiosity, she mused aloud,
“Could that old snake really have had the guts to pull this off?”
The Empress recalled the moment Hayden had approached her with an offer.
There had been a gleam of pride in his eyes—as if he relished having deceived her all these years—when he insisted that Teresa’s child was still alive.
If he had truly passed off Teresa’s daughter as someone of different origin and slipped her into the palace… that would explain it.
Until now, the Empress had never once made any connection between Iona and Teresa.
She clicked her tongue softly.
“Richard returned to the palace recently, didn’t he?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Go and tell him I’ve summoned him. It seems I need to discuss this matter with him. He was closest to Lady Iona, after all.”
The maid bowed respectfully and stepped away.
Left alone to wait for her son, the Empress turned her gaze out the window, lost in thought.
“Lady Iona, huh…”
The Empress’ impression of Iona had always been simple.
The woman her son loved—yet a woman who knew nothing beyond submission and obedience.
Someone who would never defy the Crown Prince’s orders.
And because of that, the Empress had always kept a subtle watch on her—not out of fear of ambition, but out of doubt in her son’s self-control.
So when Iona had, seemingly on her own, distanced herself from the Crown Prince, the Empress had believed the matter resolved.
“But now, it seems there may have been a far deeper entanglement between them?”
A bitter smile crossed the Empress’ lips.
Perhaps it was all just a cruel prank meant to stir chaos.
And yet… she couldn’t afford to ignore the possibility that it wasn’t.
If what she’d just read was true… what decision would she have to make?
It hadn’t been enough to ruin Teresa’s life in the past—would she now have to take the daughter’s life as well?
“Teresa… to you, I must truly have been nothing but an enemy.”
The Empress murmured bitterly—more to herself than to anyone else—just as the door quietly opened behind her.
She heard movement outside the door.
Turning her head, she saw her son stepping through the entrance just as the door opened.
The Empress’ brows lifted slightly at his unexpectedly swift arrival.
She lightly adjusted the veil draped over her head and said,
“You’re here earlier than I expected.”
“I was on my way to see you anyway.”
“Come, have a seat.”
Richard quietly took a seat across from her.
Perhaps it was the aftermath of the recent unrest—he had traveled out to the provinces on her behalf to settle the matter.
Whatever the cause, his face was noticeably tired.
The Empress stared at her son for a moment before sliding the letter on the table over to him.
“Read it.”
She then sat back and watched him silently as he read the letter.
She was curious—how would he react upon learning that the woman he held dear might be his blood relative?
Or rather, was this truly the first time he was hearing such a claim?
As Richard read, a subtle twitch flickered across his eyes.
He asked, his voice calm but tense,
“Who sent this?”
“We don’t know yet.”
“You believe this baseless accusation?”
“This isn’t something I can just ignore without at least looking into it. It’s been nearly twenty years since we buried the matter of Teresa and the late Count Modrov, and yet this letter knows the details all too well.”
“One of the few people aware of the incident could be using this to smear my knight. No matter how far she’s risen, Iona was merely a bodyguard. Suddenly, she’s become a figure of power.”
“Is it that you can’t accept it… or that you don’t want to?”
At the Empress’ calm question, Richard fell silent.
He didn’t let his emotions show on his face, but a deep breath—measured and heavy—betrayed the turmoil he was holding back.
When he finally spoke, his voice was unnaturally composed.
“What surprises me most is that Your Majesty is even entertaining such a ridiculous letter.”
“You’re making a claim without proof, just the same.”
“Do you really think… that Aunt Teresa didn’t trust us? That she would go so far as to hide her daughter’s survival from her own family?”
This time, it was the Empress who had no answer.
A scene etched deep into her mind—one that had never faded—suddenly rose before her eyes again.
Eyes glistening with tears, pale hands, and a hoarse voice yelling loud enough to burn her ears.
If there was any comfort to be found, it was that the memory had grown a little more faded than the first time it haunted her.
The Empress swallowed down her guilt—something she had become far too practiced at—and spoke in a hushed voice.
“Teresa wasn’t cautious, but she was clever. And over time, it’s not strange she might have learned caution as well. Her life was never an easy one.”
“If this letter is true, then Your Majesty is about to add another misfortune to her life. Because you won’t let Iona live.”
Richard spoke the words like a quiet accusation, bordering on mockery.
Yet the Empress didn’t feel insulted.
Because… he wasn’t wrong.
Richard stared at her, almost in rebuke, and said,
“Please give me time. I’ll prove to you that this claim is false. And… I already have someone in mind.”
---The End Of The Chapter---
Join Patreon to support the translation and to read 5 chapters ahead of the release.
Comments