After Navier and Grand Duke Kapmen left, Heinley sat back in his desk chair and asked McKenna.

  “Are you sure?”
“Yes, the knights confirmed it.”
“Why so suddenly? I thought she might get bored, so I added an entertainment area. I also let some of her friends in to keep her company. She was given all the food she liked. Why did she commit suicide? It’s a large mansion, right?”
“Maybe it’s because of the letter you sent her?”
Heinley let out an “Ahh,” at McKenna’s words. Although he knew why McKenna said it, he didn’t agree.

  “Because of the letter in which I said that old Duke Zemensia decided to abandon her for the sake of her nephews?”
“It must have been very shocking. Even on the day of the council of state, she seemed very disappointed in the old Duke.”
“That’s why I don’t understand.”
“Huh?”
“Did she think her father, who abandoned her once, would not abandon her again?”
“Well, each person thinks differently.”
McKenna clicked his tongue as if a little sorry and asked,

  “In any case, the dead can’t be revived. It’s over. What do you plan to do now?”
“She didn’t leave a will before she committed suicide?”
“No, Your Majesty.”
“Make one up and bring it.”
“!”
“In it she must blame her father.”
After a moment’s reflection, Heinley added as if a good idea had occurred to him,

  “The ladies-in-waiting who were incarcerated with my sister-in-law will be given one last chance.”
***

  “What the hell are you saying?! Christa committed suicide!”
Old Duke Zemensia jumped to his feet. The plan he was working on right now flew off the desk.

  The subordinate, who brought the news, looked down in sorrow. Old Duke Zemensia shook his head as his hands trembled.

  “It can not be, it’s a lie! My daughter is so strong she would never take her own life!”
Soon after, his shocked eyes turned menacing with a fiery fury.

  “Heinley, that damned emperor killed my daughter and disguised it as a suicide!”
Through the open window he could hear the voices of his two grandsons fighting over a little foal.

  “Brother, don’t touch what is mine.”
“You never want to share, you’re too greedy.”
Each one raised their voice to point out the injustice. The old duke walked over to the window to close it.

  Then, his subordinate said with a shrug.

  “Master, there has been found… a will.”
The old Duke, who was watching the two children run freely around the private fields, turned around.

  “A will?”
“That’s right…”
“What does the will say!?”
“Christa says in the will that being abandoned by the old Duke broke her heart. Of all people, she expected to receive support from the old Duke. She was so hurt that she had no reason to live anymore.”
The old Duke’s eyes twitched, feeling a stabbing pain deep in his chest. Tears clouded his eyes, he lost his balance and writhed.

  “Master!”
The subordinate quickly held up the old Duke.

  “Sit over here, over here.”
Once the old Duke sat down in the armchair, the subordinate shifted back and forth impatiently.

  The old Duke leaned back in the armchair in astonishment. After a moment, he shook his head.

  “Fake! It’s a fake will!”
“The ladies-in-waiting who went to Compshire with Christa claimed the will was true.”
“What!?”
“They also said that Christa held a grudge against you ever since she came to Compshire. When she was doing well, you stood by her side as a person willing to do anything for her, but as soon as she became useless, you abandoned her for the sake of your status and grandchildren.”
Duke Zemensia’s eyes twitched again.

  “No! Impossible! It’s a lie!”
The old Duke’s bellow stopped the laughter coming from the other side of the window. Then, he got up from the armchair, pulled his sword from the wall and shouted,

  “This was all done by Emperor Heinley.”
A fire burst from his eyes……

  Did he not warn me that he would hang my daughter? Even if Christa really had committed suicide, couldn’t she have been influenced by Heinley?’ He felt strongly that Heinley was behind this.

  ‘How else could Christa have found out that I had decided to abandon her again if she was confined?’ As far as the old Duke knew, only the two of them were aware.

  “Damned Emperor! I’ll never leave him alone! Never!”
The furious old duke’s blood pressure shot up, then he staggered and collapsed back into the armchair.

  “What about Ketron? What is he doing? His cousin is dead, but I haven’t even seen him!”
***

  “Although Marquis Ketron is despicable and a bit careless, he’s smart.”
Heinley casually sipped his tea and continued indifferently.

  “He didn’t even show his face when he spread the infertility rumor, just fanned the flames behind the scenes. Now that my sister-in-law died, he won’t step forward either.”
“Well. he’s stepping forward in another direction.”
“What do you mean?”
“I heard that Marquis Ketron sent the Empress a cradle imported from the Hwa continent.”
“What? Now?”
“Yes.”
“Huh? He’s changing sides faster than I expected.”
“It could be an arbitrary action by the Marquise Ketron. The time the Marquis tried to take advantage of Your Majesty’s alleged affair with Christa, it backfired on him. Since then, the relationship between the two has deteriorated.”
Heinley nodded, saying that might be the case.

  In any case, this incident produced a complete break with the old Duke.

  Since this was a family that had cemented its reputation over generations, it would not fall immediately. However, the relationship between Heinley and the old Duke had reached a point of no return.

  “How does Your Majesty intend to act now? The old Duke won’t believe that Christa has committed suicide.”