“Insulting the Princess and trying to stand above her is already a grave crime. Someone who has injured her cannot be let off.” The emperor looked at Catherine coldly.

“Catherine Roenheim shall be dethroned, and in three days…”

The Imperial Mistress’s servants gulped and tried to think about whether they should stand up for her or step back.

“Send her to the guillotine.”

Silence shrouded the banquet hall right after the emperor finished speaking. Catherine slowly fell to the ground as her servants looked at one another and stepped back. After all, they would only look bad in front of the Emperor if they tried to help.

“Y-Your Majesty…”

Nobody stepped up for Catherine and eventually, someone came to grab both of her arms and drag out the door roughly her as the emperor just stood there and watched. He only spoke again once she was gone.

“Resume the music.”

The musicians broke into a cold sweat but did as he said and played cheerful music played. Everyone drank awkwardly to hide their fear, and soon enough, the strange banquet came to an end.

* * *

That banquet left a deep impression on every attendee. They once again saw for themselves the prowess of Petra Liepherr from the banquet that proudly displayed its extreme luxury, and yet, with not a single procedure happening out of place.

Some of the clueless nobles, who had been planning to make a connection with the imperial mistresses from lowly families, were shocked back to their senses upon seeing Catherine get dragged away.

-The emperor and his family are the ones who run this palace.

That was the emperor’s message, and it came clear to everyone. Thanks to this, no one outside the Liepherr family would have the vain thoughts of trying to take over the affairs of the palace ever again.

On the night that the banquet ended, the emperor was waiting for somebody in his study. He was almost forty, but he was still handsome and his face wasn’t marred by any wrinkles.

The tall stature, jet-black hair, and bright golden eyes of the Liepherr family made him resemble a wolf, and it was enough to make not only his young mistresses but the court attendants fall for him.

“Your Majesty, she has arrived.”

A woman entered behind a servant and politely showed courtesy to the Emperor. It was Petra Liepherr, his younger sister.

The Emperor gestured for the attendant to leave and to make room for the two of them, and she did exactly that.

“The days have turned cold. You should wear thicker clothes,” Petra said.

She always had her black hair tied up in a bun and her golden eyes resembled his.

“I’m fine, you should take care of yourself.”

Petra sighed as the emperor was so uncaring and poured him some tea.

“Then at least have plenty of hot food and drinks.”

She was known for being blunt, unfriendly, and not showing any pity to others, but she showed some generosity to her older brother, the emperor.

“Has Viscount Roenheim been notified of the news?”

“He’s begging for us to spare his daughter and is willing to give us everything he has.”

“The entire fortune of a viscount… it wouldn’t be too bad if we see how much he has.”

“Withdrawing an order that you already made isn’t a good idea,” Petra said strictly as her brother rolled his eyes.

“How cold of you.

“Speak for yourself. You’re the one who ordered me to kick out a imperial mistresses that attracts unnecessary attention should I get the chance, Your Majesty. Also, remind me who it was that ordered the execution of the mistress again?”

Petra was the only one in the entire empire who could speak to the emperor so casually.

“Haha, that’s true. I didn’t think any my mistresses would have the audacity to cause a scene in just ten days after entering the palace.”

“She didn’t even try to hide her greed. She must’ve thought that the other mistresses were idiots for staying still.”

“I can’t believe that the Viscount would give up all of his land to save that foolish daughter of his.” The emperor clicked his tongue a few times.

There was no hint of apology or pity for the mistress on his face. After all, he was the one who had planned on dethroning Catherine Roenheim in the first place. He purposely chose daughters from lowly families as his mistresses and thought of having one of them dethroned to set an example.

-Anyone’s life can change in an instant with an order from the emperor.

That was the lesson he wanted to give them, and he established the authority of the Liepherr family by letting his sister choose which one of the mistresses would be dethroned.

“There are fathers who think dearly of their daughters after all.”

The emperor chuckled in response. He felt like he knew where Petra was going with that.

“What are you going to do about the princess?”

“That again.”

“I could clearly see how fast her wounds healed. That girl’s bloodline is dense.”

“Fast healing, huh?” The emperor’s eyebrow rose for a moment but he soon laughed like it wasn’t a problem to him.

“It’s not that I don’t trust you, but did you really see that in such short space of time?”

“I could clearly see that she was trying to hide something.”

“That’s probably because she’s timid.”

“Letting her live is dangerous. If she’s also inherited that strong physical ability along with the looks of her bloodline—”

“Let’s say that you’re right,” the emperor cut his sister off and explained gently as if he was comforting her. “What would be so dangerous about her? Even if she can heal quickly, she has such a weak personality.”

“The legitimacy…”

“The number of reigning empresses throughout the one-thousand-year history can be counted on one hand.” He sneered

Petra didn’t stand down, however, “But the few that did were considered great and wise.”

“That’s just because they were lucky and born into a good era. Women aren’t suited to become rulers. Even the greatest of women only have meaning when they’re supporting a man.”

Petra frowned when she heard his words but fixed her expression before he could notice.

“Even you; aren’t you best when you’re with me? That’s because it’s your duty to do so, like all the other women in the Liepherr family have.” The emperor arrogantly leaned back against his chair. “Apollonia is no different. Politics is far out of reach for a girl of her nature, who takes after her mother and is even more frail than you.”

Petra disputed him again, “What if she succeeds the throne by marrying a strong man, just like her mother? You can’t do anything about Perris’s eyes, even if you try to hide the color of his hair.”

Apollonia’s nature wasn’t a problem to her.

“I’m not worried about her. What I’m worried about is our subjects will support her succession after seeing her traits of her bloodline.”

When it came to Apollonia’s personality, she didn’t think much differently from the emperor. She could tell how weakhearted she was from the way she ran away whenever she saw her.

However, Petra was cautious.

“Her marriage could be a big help to us if we make the right decision. After all, it’s up to me who she marries.”

“…”

“Perris has grown up to be a fine man anyways. She’s nothing, even if she has the blood of the imperial family.”

He didn’t hide the fact he hated the fact she had imperial blood in her as he spoke. Petra agreed with him even though she sighed after hearing what he had to say.

“…I understand, Your Majesty.”

The emperor seemed pleased upon hearing her reluctant reply and waved his hands a few times to send her out. Petra did as he asked and quickly left the study without wasting any time on needless formalities. Then, she headed to a carriage that was waiting for her at the entrance of the palace. She frowned as she walked on, but soon enough, a faint smirk appeared on her face. That wasn’t because she had decided to stop caring about Apollonia.

“I should meet with Saphiro,” She whispered to one of her henchmen before she got into the carriage. “There’s someone I want to get rid of.”

She thought that everything would be solved if she just got rid of Apollonia herself.

* * *

Apollonia curled up and sat hugging her knees at the head of her bed. She seemed even smaller when she sat on her large bed like that. Her mind was overwhelmed as she was overcome by so many thoughts.

Imperial Mistress Catherine Roenheim would no longer be in the palace starting tomorrow. If Petra had seen everything, that much was obvious.

Greed had gotten the better of Catherine, and she wasn’t capable of surviving in the palace since she didn’t have any skills or a good background. She lost the competition before she even found out who her competitors were.

However, now wasn’t the time for Apollonia to worry about someone else.

Apollonia remembered everything that had happened over the last seven years.

⋮

“I want to ride that, Mother.”

Petra’s oldest son, Gareth pointed to the horse Apollonia was riding back when she was ten. It was a beautiful pony that had a long, snow-white mane that covered its sleek body. Apollonia had been riding it ever since she started taking lessons.

It hated when anyone aside from Apollonia mounted on its back, so she refused to let Gareth ride it.

However, Petra smiled, just like she did at her mother’s funeral, and grabbed her by the shoulders.

Anyone would think she was a kind aunt who took care of the princess losing her mother, but Apollonia could feel how strong her grip was, and it almost felt like she was about to break her shoulders.

Petra whispered to her in a cold, sharp voice.

“It’s fine if you don’t want to give Gareth your horse. However, Nia, one of your servants will take its place and become his slave if you don’t. You don’t want them to suffer because of you, do you?”

She stepped back from Apollonia and spoke in a friendly voice as she looked at her.

“Show some manners to Her Highness, Gareth. Please forgive him, Princess. How could you give him something so precious? It would be terrible if such a dear friend of yours were to get hurt.”

Apollonia knew Petra wasn’t just talking about her pony. She was talking about her servants, so, she petted her horse a few times and gave it to Gareth as a present. However, it didn’t open up to its new master, so it was thrown away into a forest full of monsters with one of its legs broken, just two days later.

Back when Apollonia was twelve, the Commander of the Imperial Order and Perris’s swordsmanship teacher, Sir Kaness volunteered to teach her how to use a sword.

It was quite symbolic and important for a noble to learn swordsmanship in the empire since wars often occurred at the border.