I Will Surrender My Position as the Empress - Chapter 61
At that moment, the knights were too preoccupied with praising the empress to notice anything else.
“She twists her hand like this towards Wyvern and tears apart its wings!” An already exaggerated tale echoed.
“Facing a Wyvern against our empress? It’s just a flick of her finger, and the creature writhed in agony on the ground!” It inflated to such an extent.
“When the empress spoke of wanting to save us all, I saw tears welling up in her eyes. She endured, shedding tears until she spewed blood for us!”
Although no one knew where these tears were witnessed, the once grim reaper-like figure had transformed into a benevolent force, standing against the pitch-black calamity with an open mouth of crimson maw. Death was familiar, easy, and terrifying to the knights confronting the looming threat. Please help us. Please fight with us. It was as if their desperate wishes, echoed thousands and millions of times, had been heard. Today, the empress fought alongside them, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. The hearts of the knights burned with fervor.
“I will organize the guards around the empress’s chambers,” Henri Jackal said, and before he could finish, the knights rose in unison, shouting, “I will do it!”
So many volunteered to guard the empress that even Lionel was taken aback. Lionel, considering the individual conditions of the knights, dismissed a significant number while returning them, but still, there were more than enough.
“Your Excellency, with so many knights, why don’t you take a break?” Viscount Vuetta personally suggested, but Lionel politely declined.
“I’m fine. However, I have one request.”
“Please, speak.”
“Now, not only in this corridor we stand in but also on the terrace outside the room where Her Majesty the Empress resides, ensure that the lanterns stay lit throughout the night.”
“Do you mean keeping the lights on all night?”
“Yes. Additionally, I will temporarily remove the latch from this door, so it cannot be locked from the inside.”
“Understood.”
“Thoroughly manage those who patrol around the room where Her Majesty the Empress stays.”
“Yes, of course. The maids will change shifts at dawn, and the guards will remain the same.”
Viscount Vueta turned away, affirming that even Lionel Baldr’s protection was flawless. As he distanced himself, Henri Jackal approached and whispered to him, “We have surveillance on not only the terrace but also the small windows.”
Though Lionel had meticulously arranged the knights, inspecting the garden himself, the room where the empress resided was practically a fortress. Still, Lionel never let his guard down for a moment.
“If anyone shows suspicious movements, apprehend them immediately,” he instructed everyone.
“Yes, understood.”
For those plotting the empress’s assassination, this was an opportune moment while she remained unconscious. Lionel pledged to protect Adele from the unknown assassin tonight.
****
As the slow and steady chime of the midnight bell echoed, the chambermaid struggled to open her heavy eyelids. It was time to guard the empress’s side from midnight onwards. Rubbing her stiff eyes, she tried to wake her drowsy companion when suddenly a pungent smell filled her nostrils.
“Hmm?”
For some reason, a shiver ran down her spine as her hazy mind snapped back into focus. Just as the chambermaid widened her eyes and began to fidget, someone whispered in the darkness.
“Scream, and I’ll kill you.”
“!!”
The voice was so eerie that the chambermaid couldn’t move a single finger. Eventually, the candlelight illuminated the dark room. To avoid screaming, the chambermaid had to cover her mouth. The other chambermaid, already awake, was in the same situation. Seated on the bloody figure of someone who had collapsed, an eerie devil had silently appeared, laughing at them.
“You’re going to see the empress soon, aren’t you?”
****
Around that time, just in front of the room where the empress stayed, the expressions of the stationed knights guarding the door were noticeably relaxed. The recent news from the physician who had just visited brought joyful tidings of the empress’s improving condition. As the night deepened and the sporadic sounds of crickets faded away, a profound silence descended, interrupted only by the crackling of the torches. In the meantime, as if it were time for a shift change, two maids appeared. Lionel, who had been leaning against the wall, stood up. Having been introduced to the maids who would be taken over by Lady Vuetta, he nodded in approval. The knights guarding the door took a step back, clearing the way.
However, at that moment, Lionel called the maids over for a brief conversation. Their expressions seemed somewhat uneasy for some reason.
“What’s the matter?”
“Oh, it’s nothing. We’re fine.”
As they nervously shook their heads in response to his question, the maids from inside opened the door and stepped out.
“Well then, we’ll go in now.”
The maids hastily entered the room, escaping Lionel’s grasp. Lionel furrowed his brow for a moment and then knocked on the door. As it opened from the inside, he slowly entered the room, gazing intently at the maids with a scrutinizing look, and asked slowly,
“Is everything alright?”
“Um, yes.”
The maids quickly nodded, hiding their trembling fingertips behind their backs. Lionel, who stood there for a moment, staring at the maids, approached Adele and checked her condition. Her breathing was stable, and she seemed fine. Lionel glanced around the room suspiciously but found nothing unusual. Nevertheless, a nagging feeling persisted, as if something unsettling lingered in the air. Lionel reluctantly left the room. While the maids cared for the empress, Lionel occasionally opened the door to inspect the room’s condition. Despite everyone thinking the night had passed uneventfully, the moment they thought that, the door creaked open, and one of the maids urgently exclaimed,
“She’s suddenly running a fever!”
Lionel and the knights immediately stood up.
“We need cold water, towels, and, um, medicine—quickly!”
As the maid fumbled through her words, Lionel calmly inquired, “Is there anything wrong?”
“Calm down. Did you say the empress has a fever?”
“Yes? Uh, yes.”
“Where can we get cold towels and medicine?”
“Oh, if you go downstairs, there’s a maid waiting.”
With a nod from Lionel, two knights stationed at the end of the corridor hurriedly descended the stairs. Meanwhile, a maid, stumbling nervously, tried to enter the room, but Lionel, who had been watching her with suspicion, grabbed the door handle.
“I need to see the empress myself.”
At this, the maid startled, vigorously shaking her head.
“She’s just trying to bring down the fever with a soaked cloth.”
Then, urgent footsteps were heard, and one of the knights appeared in the corridor, bringing a bowl of cold water and several towels with a maid. Lionel frowned as he glanced at the newcomer. It wasn’t the person introduced by Lady Vuetta.
“Do you know her?”
Lionel asked, and the gazes of the two maids met. The maid guarding the room nodded slowly.
“Yes.”
“Step aside, please. I heard the empress has a fever!”
The new maid spoke urgently. She had a peculiar impression—a face so ordinary that it seemed familiar, yet one that you wouldn’t remember once turned away.
“Well then, let’s go in.”
The maid entered the room beyond the open door, bowing her head uncomfortably under Lionel’s intense gaze.
As the door slowly closed, the maid placed the bowl and towels down and tried to find a lock for the door.
“….”
Realizing that the lock was tampered with, she gave up on locking the door and, muttering curses under her breath, walked calmly towards the two shivering maids in the corner.
“Do you know what happens if you scream? If you want to save your lives, cooperate until the end.”
The maid, or rather, the assassin, stepped back with a sinister smile. The reason she was renowned as a skilled assassin was her ability to bring about a seemingly natural death tailored to the situation. The sudden fever of the empress, the fact that she couldn’t be disturbed as she was wearing an internal garment—everything was a lie orchestrated by her. The assassin twirled around, facing the empress, and pulled a small vial from her bosom. It contained a drug that would damage the lungs, causing the victim to suffer from a high fever for a few days before slowly succumbing. No one would suspect the empress’s assassination if she died from an illness. The assassin opened the vial and quickly approached the empress, grabbing her chin with one hand. If she killed only this woman, she could earn a fortune, enough to never have to do this again. Just one minute. Just one minute is all it takes. At the moment the assassin smiled triumphantly, the door suddenly creaked open.
