Chapter 232

A/N: I will not bold the entire scene, but this is the flashback on how Perez used the entire 'poisoning' situation into his plan. Happy reading! 

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Otua's maid of honor looked at the person in front of her with fearful eyes.

The young man with black hair and reddish red eyes had such an outstanding appearance that anyone would be mesmerized by.

However, for the maid-in-honor, he was the scariest and most fearful man more than anyone else.

"The Empress has given you orders?"

The body of the maid, who was overly tense at Perez's low voice, winced greatly.

"Yes, it's the poison of the Titi spider. She said to put it in Your Majesty's liquor right now..."

The maid of Otua put the small bottle in her hand on the table with a trembling hand.

"The poison of a Titi spider."

Perez smiled as he reached out and rolled the small bottle out of his grasp.

If the Empress didn't move, he thought he would move himself.

"I guess, I'm lucky."

The maid of Otua sat still with her head down at the words of the Second Prince, whose language was unknown.

(A/N: Earlier in the translation two languages were mentioned, I think it's Korean and English. At first I was confused, then on this part, the word 'English' was brought up again. So I assumed that the maid wasn't particularly familiar with the Empire's language, which is English? or Korean? But that's the gist.)

"I didn't expect the Empress to save me trouble."

It was shortly after returning from the Academy that the Second Prince first visited the maid of Otua's home.

He said, 'If the Empress wants to harm His Majesty, come to me and let me know first.'

That's the reason behind the cost of money coming into Otua maid's secret account every year.

The salary of the Emperor's maidservant was not small.

However, it was a literally breathtaking money for the maid of Otua, who spent most of her time in her family's hometown, and it wasn't an easy life.

Although she had the Empress backing her up, she wasn't loyal.

She was black mailed with her family as hostage and she was compelled to listen to her command.

However, the situation has become increasingly strange recently.

Each time the Second Prince moved, the Empress' power was noticeably diminished, and eventually the even the Western owner changed.

The maid of Otua was terribly afraid of the Second Prince.

She can't even meet his eyes properly.

Well, there was a reason for that fear.

"What should I do?"

The maid of Otua asked carefully.

The answer was a fixed question.

The maid came to see the Second Prince with the thought of breaking the Empress' order to kill the Emperor.

"Put it in."

"...Yes?"

"As the empress told you, put the poison in his bottle."

"Huh...but.."

The maid of Otua was surprised and looked at the Second Prince.

The red eyes she met for the first time were cold.

"Why are you surprised?"

"Then His Majesty..."

"This won't be the first time you've poisoned His Majesty's liquor."

"That..how do you..."

Instead of answering, Perez said with a faint smile.

"So this time, you just have to poison the Emperor as the Empress told you."

The maid didn't answer.

She was just looking down at the hand that grabbed tightly on the hem of her dress.

She then asked with a trembling voice.

"What happens to my life?"

It was the same question she asked the Empress.

Empress Lavigne did not guarantee her own well-being.

That was the biggest reason why the Otua's maid visited Perez.

"...let me leave the palace and live as a new identity."

Perez, who was staring at the maid of honor, said.

"Is that what you want?"

Otua's maid-in-honor nodded.

Getting out of this scary palace, shaking off the shackles of her family.

That's what she wanted.

The maid-in-honor reached out again and grabbed the bottle of poison.

But the hand touching the lid of the bottle was still full of hesitation.

"Don't worry. If you give the antidote right after he falls, Your Majesty will not die."

Not yet.

It can't be this easy.

Perez was supposed to be the first to discover the fallen emperor.

"If so..."

At the words of Perez, the complexion of Otua's made was remarkably brightened.

"You must have a conscience that didn't exist more than a decade ago, Lady Bella Otua."

Perez said with a lot of sarcasm at the maid.

"I don't think there was such a hesitation when you brought me poisoned food."

"Your Highness...."

The only person who entered and exited the falling palace.

Bella Otua, the black-haired maid, opened her eyes wide.

"Did you think I didn't know?"

The maid of Otua got up from her seat and knelt on her knees.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry, Your Highness!"

Ba-dump! Ba-dump!

The sound of her head pounding on the floor rang.

"At that time, I had no choice but to... Please forgive me!"

"Stop with the apologies."

Perez coldly cut off the maid.

"Go back to the Emperor's palace right now and poison his drink with the spider's poison. That's how you pay for your sins, Bella Otua."

After a while, the maid of Otua, whose body was trembling, answered with her head curled.

"The order of His Majesty the Crown Prince....I will follow."

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---Back to the present---

(Florentia's POV)

"Tell me what you did, Maid Otua."

Emperor Yovanes asked, breathing hard.

"I...." Maid Otua said, closing her eyes tightly.

"I have poisoned your Majesty's bottle."

"Who told you to do it?"

The maid raised her trembling finger to point at the Empress.

"The Empress..."

"No!"

"No! This is a slander, Your Majesty! The maid and the Second Prince conspire to frame me!"

Instead of giving up and drowning, the Empress seemed to choose to struggle to the end.

"Here is the bottle of poison the Empress gave me."

The Maid of Otua said, taking a small glass of bottle with just one finger from her sleeve.

"It can't be used as a proof!"

The Empress strikingly and threateningly approached the maid-in-honor.

With eyes as if they wanted to rip that mouth off right away.

Then she looked down at the maid of honor with her gleaming eyes and said.

"Do you know what you're doing?!"

It was obviously a threat.

The maid-in-honor took a frightening step back, but continued to bow her head down.

"She gave me the poison and told me to put it all in Her Majesty's bottle."

"Your Majesty, it's unfair!"

This time, the Empress approached the Emperor's bed and begged.

"Do you believe that maid's word more than me? It's just a vicious slander, Your Majesty!"

Then she grabbed the Emperor's sleeves tightly, like in the conference room.

"Please believe me, Your Majesty."

How pathetic you are.

It was a performance that anyone could fall for.

Then, Perez said, pulling something out of his arms.

"There is evidence."

"What?"

The Empress's head turned toward Perez quickly enough to make a whistling sound.

"Here's a letter from the Empress asking the henchmen to save a poison of the Titi spider."

A purple letter envelope.

That was exactly what Serral gave me in return for saving Bellesac.

"No way..."

The Empress looked at the letter handed over to the Emperor's hand, with unbelievable eyes.

"That...How can I...."

The Emperor briefly checked the contents of the letter.

His lips, which became paralyzed because he couldn't breathe properly, rose crookedly toward Empress Lavigne.

And he said with a whimsical breath.

"How dare you do that to me."

The Emperor ordered the Empress to snap off the hand of the Empress who seized him.

"Take the empress to the dungeon."

Two knights waiting at the door immediately walked to the Empress and dragged her by arms.

"Let go of me! Let go of me! Let go!"

Empress Lavigne struggled with blood on her neck as she screamed.

It was in an instant that her beautiful face became ugly and distorted. And her perfectly raised hair was messed up.

"Ah! Let go of me! Do you know who I am?! Let go!"

At one point, Empress Lavigne, who resisted so strongly that even the knights were Embarrassed, stared at the Emperor lying on the bed and began shouting.

"I resent it! I resent that it ended without killing you, Yovanes!"

There was madness in the blue eyes of the Empress.

"You're even more useless than a pig!"

Those ferocious eyes this time turned to Perez.

"Perez! The humble thing from the body of the filthy thing! I should have killed you with your mother!"

And she screams again.

"Why isn't heaven on my side!? Why do you keep intercepting me!? Why!?"

Her screaming empress' face continued to shed tears.

She was resentful and furious, releasing everything through her throat.

At that moment, the eyes of the Empress, with a glint of an evil, met mine.

The Empress's face, which had been crumpled and twisted like a devil, slowly unfolded and opened her mouth.

Her shaking blue eyes stared at me.

"It's you."

The empress mumbled somewhere in a weak voice.

"Everything, it was you."

I didn't answer.

But I didn't avoid the Empress's eyes.

"Ha....!"

The Empress laughed with her trembling lips.

And it quickly spread into a big laugh.

"Hahaha! Hahahahaha!"

The Empress smiled madly as she bent her back.

"...It's ugly. I don't want to see any more. Pull it out."

Emperor Yovanes frowned and ordered the Knights.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Despite the tough touch of the Knights, the Empress did not rebel as she did a while ago.

"I was deceived! Hahahaha! I'm stupid!"

She was just reeling and laughing out loud like a madman.

Tears began to flow again in the face of the Empress.

"Ha! Hahaha!"

The sound of the Empress' laughter being dragged echoed from afar.

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A/N: And that folks, is the end of the Empress. You will be forgotten.