Chapter 52

The cats raised by Dowager Empress Isabella Abelard were quite unique. Most cats were large enough to be hugged by humans.

However, the cat raised by the Dowager Empress was very large even though it was a naturally occurring species. How big was it, it was larger than most big dogs. The cats were as tall as an adult male when they stood with their front paws up, and they were violent as bulls.

“What the…”

Evelina freaked out when she saw that the cats bit all of her canaries and killed them.

– Ppik!

“Ah…”

She ran toward the canary, who was still alive and shouted for the last time. The canary tried to fly toward Evelina the moment she saw her. The yellow canary, which was flapping with desperate wings, was already injured and the shape of it flying was strange.

– Ppik!

“Ah…”

In front of Evelina’s eyes, the cat even bit the last canary and put it in her mouth. Then, when there was no sound in his mouth, he spits it out.

The cats raised in the palace couldn’t be hungry. He must have done this just for hunting and playing.

“Ah… how….”

Evelina felt unfamiliar with the glass greenhouse, where all the birds she raised died and became quiet.

“Lina!”

Ianathas grabbed her shoulder and supported her as she tried to collapse with dizziness.

“Should I kill them all?”

At the words of Ianathas, Evelina almost said, “Yes,” with raging bewilderment and anger.

“…No, don’t do that.”

“Why? It killed all your birds, but you’re not angry?”

Evelina was understandably upset. How did she raise the birds? They were the birds she spent almost all of her time with when she secluded herself at the Logias mansion before her marriage. The round collars on the ankles of those birds were her own, custom-made.

The new legs were thin and fragile. Therefore, she thought they wouldn’t be able to fly if she attached something that weighed, so she purposely chose something that would weigh little and wouldn’t interfere with the safety of the birds. In addition, the canaries she raised have never cut their wings. Ordinary canaries used to cut off their wings so that they could not leave their owners.

She loved the birds that never left her.

“What did these kids know?”

Even as she said that she wept from the shock of her loss of the birds. But what about cats? What a ruthless beast.

The problem was the culprit who sent the cats here.

“Investigate why Her Majesty’s cats are here.”

Usher Fronen nodded when he heard her.

Evelina cried and took each of the birds lying on the floor with her hands.

Evelina found all the birds she had and the cats were caught and caged. They were all terribly dead, and only the feathers stained with blood seemed to represent their distress.

While Evelina was crying and silently embracing the birds, neither Ianathas nor any of the employees could open their mouths.

It was very late at night when Evelina buried the birds herself and left the glass greenhouse with her whole body covered in dirt.

She tried to bury the low-cost birds herself even if she broke her wrist. That’s why it took so long.

Evelina, who was in a mess, wiped away her tears and clenched her fist.

“Lina, are you okay?”

Evelina looked back at Ianathas’ question.

“No.”

Then she walked forward again whimpering. Maybe because SHE cried so much.

“Lina!”

She buried all the birds and went back to her room. She fainted as she was.

~~~~

“Yesterday, you kicked me out after receiving a greeting.”

It was dawn, and the Dowager Empress had come to Princess Elsius’ room, accompanied only by the chamberlain and two knights she trusted. It was also possible because she bought the knights guarding the door of Princess Elsius’ room.

In the first place, the knights assigned to the palace of Princess Elsus were those who could no longer be expected to succeed their families. Therefore, they were those who were blinded by immediate money and could do this.

What could they get by watching the confined princess?

“Because I was in a bad mood yesterday.”

Princess Elsius stared at the Dowager Empress sitting in front of her shamelessly. She hated the Dowager Empress the most in the world. The Dowager Empress was the one who killed her mother. But now there was someone more hateful than her.

It was Queen Evelina.

A fox-like girl who took away the power she should have had and blinded Kaiden to it.

“What happened yesterday was unexpected. Why didn’t you tell me the truth?”

What Dowager Empress was talking about was the tea party affair. She was conversing about what happened when Kayden came to investigate Countess Arianna.

Count Arianna was demoted to the baronet, and the title was forfeited for a year, attributing to the Tea Party Dress Code to Princess Elsius. He said she was behind it.

“I can’t be stuck here forever.”

“Huh.”

The Dowager Empress realized that she could not beat Queen Evelina by herself, who was like a cheeky bitch and looking for reinforcements.

The Dowager Empress did not spare much for other nobles except the imperial family. Because she had a strong sense of the common people of the imperial family. Even though Princess Elsius was stupid and unfulfilled, she thought she was more useful than the aristocrats who didn’t like her.

And seeing that Kaiden didn’t kill Princess Elsius, he meant that he wouldn’t kill her even if she was used in moderation and discarded.

Therefore, it would have been the best thing to do if you made a profit from the marriage business and sold her to another country.

It was a loss for the Dowager Empress to keep her in the palace like this. After Kaiden took the throne, he killed all of his immediate royal family except for Princess Elsius and her. The seeds were dry.

That’s why the Dowager Empress urged Evelina to have a child. She was the only one left above, and only Kaiden and Princess Elsius remained.

Now there were only three legitimate royal families.

“Let’s make an alliance only until we deal with the Queen.”

“All right, I don’t like the queen either. Instead, there’s something I’d like to receive on the condition that I help.”

“What’s that?”

“I want to marry the person I want.”

The Dowager Empress laughed at Princess Elsius. The Dowager Empress intended to give her away as a concubine to an old emperor in neighboring countries. Then if she can’t be an empress, since she’s weak, she would be an ally at the same time. In addition, it was difficult from the beginning to become a concubine of an old emperor. It was so hard to finish the first night.

The Dowager Empress answered, thinking so.

“Who do you want?”

“I’ll tell you that after I’m out of probation.”

“That’s bold.”

“I have nothing to regret.”

It wasn’t such a bad thing for Princess Elsius to stay in the palace like this. Even if her brother is currently angry with her, he would let her go someday. He said she would be detained for 10 years, so there would be at least five years. But she could still be released in five years. It was a fair deal not to send her to an area farther than anything else.

“He’ll release you soon. Hang on your mother’s keepsake instead.”

“Are you crazy? Do you think I didn’t know who made my mother like that?”

Princess Elsius glared at the Dowager Empress with a contemptuous look. Then the Dowager Empress looked at her with a brazen expression and said.

“That’s why I’m asking for the ring. Because I can’t trust you.”

Princess Elsius stiffened her face with a cold expression.

“That’s enough. My excitement has cooled down.”

“What?”

“Even if I live here, I will go out someday. But the Dowager Empress will continue to be beaten by Queen Evelina.”

“Why does the ring measure like that?”

The Dowager Empress clenched her fist and stared at Princess Elsius.

“Will you believe a person who committed immorality, Dowager Empress? That’s how it is for me to hand this ring over to the Dowager Empress.”

“Huh.”

The Dowager Empress was angry, but she thought she wasn’t also wrong. It wasn’t even trustworthy from the beginning. She just needed a strong ally now. There was no one in the royal family who was on her side now. The servants were afraid, but there were more people who could not be trusted.

There were only few who would move with money like Viscountess Arianna.

Then,

“All right, I’ll get you out. You’re not wrong.”

Said Elsius, clenching her mother’s ring.

“The way to isolate the queen and my brother is simple. If you just get me out, I’ll help you easily.”

“Hmm. You talk like a fish. You couldn’t do it, so you got stuck here.”

At the words of the Dowager Empress, Princess Elsius laughed at her and said.

“I was enraged and out of my mind back then. If the Dowager Empress helps me, I can deal with the girl this time.”

“How?”

Elsius did not give her a ring, but she opened her mouth because she thought that she would have to share her plans with the alliance for a while.

“Just make it seem like… it doesn’t exist.”

At her words, the queen smiled willingly.

Thus, the two were forced to form an alliance where one could not trust the other.

~~~~

“Lina, what the hell is going on here?”

Evelina buried the bird and didn’t want to go back until dawn. As a result of lacking physical strength, she fainted on her way back.

“Ah…”

Now she was staring blankly at Kaiden. She looked blankly at Kaiden’s face, pretending to be worried, and said:

“When did I get here… Ah…!”

For a moment she opened her eyes wide, surprised that she was not wearing anything.

“I think I need to wash up.”

It occurred to Evelina that she was covered in dirt before she collapsed.

“Ah…”

She was now completely naked and immersed in a bathtub in the tiny bathroom.