IWJACM Chapter 13

The Princess continued, her voice trembling.

"So I do know, to that extent, what abnormalities are present in my body, and what changes are taking place."

"Can you swear it before God?!"

"I swear it."

"And this is not merely a temporary measure to escape execution?!"

"That is for Your Majesty to judge."

With those words the Princess fell silent. Beneath her slowly lowered eyes, a clear teardrop caught the light.

In the distance, a bell was tolling the hour. Exactly twelve times. Noon.

The condemned had not appeared at the hour the execution should have begun.

It was obvious who would be angriest at this deviation from the arranged schedule. The short-tempered barbarians would come charging over here at once, demanding the Princess be handed over.

'Should she be surrendered, or not?!'

Noyre drummed his fingers on the throne's armrest, in no hurry at all.

"For me to judge, is it… No, Princess. That judgment belongs to the Grand Duke."

He knew Rezet Kyrstan's disposition well enough. Whatever the rumors circulating said about his cruelty, the truth was certainly not that extreme—but Rezet did have a cold streak, without question.

Whatever got in his way, whatever became a nuisance—man, beast, or object, it made no difference—he cleared it out, without mercy. What he once threw away, he almost never picked back up.

So if the Princess's claim was a lie, then no matter how it was phrased as an imperial command, the Grand Duke would not appear here at all. At most, he would send back some perfunctory message that the matter had nothing to do with him.

But what if there was some part of it that weighed on his mind?

'If, by some chance, it's true. This is the perfect opportunity to acquire a yon'gyn.'

And not just any yon'gyn—Rezet Kyrstan's own heir. Worth more than could be measured against mere territory.

So he need only wait, and he would naturally learn the truth. Whether the Princess's words were true, or false.

Noyre slowly settled his body deeper into the throne.

Now then—who would arrive first, he wondered?

An ominous silence fell, no one willing to speak. Elise closed her eyes, trying to bring her steadily blurring vision back into focus.

Before she could open them again—the doors to the audience chamber swung open without leave.

"……!"

A monstrous pressure lashed out at her from behind. However hard she tried to hold herself together, her body started shaking—juddering like an aspen in the wind.

'Footsteps….'

Through the entire journey to Van Yela, she had pictured this exact moment in her head dozens, hundreds of times.

What words to open with, what reasons to give as cover, how to answer the Emperor's interrogation. But in truth, none of that had been as difficult as she'd feared.

What she had feared most was this precise moment.

Rezet Kyrstan—that man—how would he react to a situation this far past reason? That alone, she had never been able to predict.

A cold voice spoke from behind her.

"You called for me, Your Majesty."

"…Came fast."

Noyre straightened his posture and checked the time again. He had sent a servant just before noon. Not even a full hour had passed. Rezet was dressed as if he had been about to depart for Lothier that very moment.

He had thought it far more likely Rezet would not appear at all. He'd been wrong. So then—could it be?

"You've heard the general shape of the situation, I take it. Grand Duke—explain it to me."

"…….."

"Is the Princess's claim true?"

Rezet's jaw locked, hard. His eyes raked over her—the woman kneeling there as if she'd simply collapsed onto the carpet.

Elise strained to bear the gaze cutting straight through her. She didn't have to turn to know it. Killing intent, threaded into that stare. It was fierce enough that she couldn't find the nerve to lift her head and look.

Having come this far, she wasn't afraid—but the contempt that seemed to shred, piece by piece, the last desperate hand she'd managed to play was harder to stand. Braced as she'd been for this, there was nothing she could do about wanting to vanish from this room entirely.

'What kind of woman must he think I am.'

Even with her life hanging by a thread, the self-loathing still found her.

Shame. Humiliation. Guilt. That sorry, gnawing feeling toward him—all of it came trailing after, one after another. This absurd lie hadn't just dirtied Elise's own honor. If only that had been all it touched.

She had, in effect, made that man into an irresponsible retainer who'd taken a captive because he'd been blinded by lust. No matter how she framed it—insisting she had seduced him first—the outcome did not change.

"Rise."

Fog drifted across her vision. Elise, occupied with holding every muscle in her body rigid just to keep from collapsing, did not even register that the words had been meant for her.

Without warning, her right forearm was seized. Elise was hauled upright, nearly lifted clean off the floor by the brute strength of his grip. Startled, she looked up at him—but the man's eyes were not on her.

Still gripping the arm of Elise, who stood there awkward and off-balance, unable to find her footing—Rezet addressed Noyre.

"I request a private audience with Her Highness the Princess."

"Answer the question first, Grand Duke."

"I have heard only a few words relayed through a servant's mouth. Grant me time to grasp the situation myself."

"…Hm."

"I will speak with her first."

The phrasing alone was deferential; in substance, it was nothing short of demanding permission. A flicker of interest crossed Noyre's eyes. But before he could get out whatever he'd meant to say, Rezet gave a short nod.

"Then I will take that as your permission."

Rezet let his grip on Elise's forearm slide down. Catching her hand as though snaring it in a noose, he turned and walked out without a moment's hesitation.

Noyre watched his half-brother's back as he left the audience chamber, all but dragging the Princess along behind him like dead weight. Outside the door, the knight who had accompanied his superior was shifting his feet in visible distress.

Noyre shouted at the knight, who stood there frozen, unable to do a thing either way.

"Sir Ruben! Come in here."

"Sir? Ah—yes! Your Majesty."

Ruben hastily dropped to one knee before the throne.

Noyre, his eyes never leaving the closed doors, gave his order.

"Report to me in detail everything that occurred between the Princess and the Grand Duke, from the Argan border to this capital. Do not leave out a single trivial thing. All of it!"

"Have you lost your mind?"

Those were the first words Rezet spoke after seizing both of Elise's hands and wrists together and dragging her from the audience chamber.

Once again, there was no time to answer. She was swept along by his rough grip and shoved back against a pillar. Her shoulder blade cracked into the carved stone hard enough to tear a cry loose—she bit it back. This was no place to be nursing pain out loud.

"What were you thinking?"

The third storm Elise had witnessed in Rezet Kyrstan had not subsided as quickly as the previous two had. In the two months since she'd come to know him, this was the first time the Grand Duke had shown her open hostility.

"You, I am asking, Your Highness, precisely what you have been thinking in that head of yours, and precisely what scheme you have been plotting."

The formal address that had never once faltered was now a jumbled mess. Proof enough that his composure was cracking.

"We both know perfectly well that such a thing will never happen. Don't we?"

"To begin with…."

Elise let out a small, ragged breath. The killing intent, fired straight at her point-blank, was so strong her lungs felt like they were being torn to shreds.

"I'm sorry, my lord. I apologize—"

"You act first, however you please, and only then offer an apology? That is not the answer I want. I am asking you a third time, Your Highness—why did you report such a useless lie?"

"You know—you already know what I want most."

"Speak plainly. If you keep circling the point, this dull-witted man cannot follow."

"To live—I want... to live."

Elise twisted her body free of his grip. Once separated, her breath finally came a little easier. Seeing her face drained of all color, Rezet reluctantly reined in the killing intent he had let spread through the air.

"Is that all?"

But his lowered voice still carried the same hostility as before. His eyes, a cold, vivid blue, seemed to reproach her. Did she want to live that badly? Did she really mean to grovel like this, with not one scrap of pride left?

Yes. That was exactly it. Somewhere along the way, both of Elise's cheeks had become streaked with tears. The heavy iron binding her two wrists pressed her endlessly downward.

"I don't want to die. I want to live, whatever it takes. There's something I have to do—I can't just... have my neck strung up like this—"

"That is a matter you must resolve by your own strength. Not one you should be dragging me into."

"…….."

"Perhaps there was some other, wiser method available to you. Was this truly your last resort? I beg your pardon, but to me it is nothing more or less than the worst possible move you could have made."

"If I had tried to find some other method, would you simply have stood by and watched?"

"At the very least…."

Rezet closed his eyes, and let a long breath pass before opening them again.

"At the very least, had I known you were plotting a scheme of this kind, I might have offered you an alternative—"

"No. There's no way that's true. Don't lie to me, my lord."

This time it was Elise's turn to let a hollow laugh escape.

"You wouldn't even have pretended to listen."

"…….."

"Whatever I schemed up, whatever nonsense I spouted—you would have looked away. You've told me more than once already that you have no intention of helping me. Because you—you think that I—"

"Your Highness."

"You think I should have died today, out there in that square."

The man did not answer at once, not this time. He only let out a single, short, stifled sigh. To Elise, it landed like a finishing blow—the shot fired to make sure the kill had taken.

Rezet Kyrstan had pushed her execution back nearly two months. He was, without question, merciful in certain ways. But he was exactly that cruel in others, too.

Elise did not fail to understand that the kindness he had shown her had only ever meant one thing: enjoy what time remains to you as fully as you like, since you're going to die regardless.