The Empress Tames the Tyrant - Chapter 25

Emma’s eyes were already glistening with tears.

“It seems Lady Dianne had a premonition of her approaching death.”

Recalling that time still broke her heart. The image of that beautiful woman calmly accepting her death and worrying about her son’s future alone was vivid in her mind.

“It was almost a year after she was attacked by the assassin.”

Alicia blinked slowly. As Emma said, there was a surprisingly long time between the incident and Dianne’s death.

“Then, it really had nothing to do with the assassin.”

“It couldn’t have been completely unrelated. Lady Dianne was a very fragile person. Of course, the wound she suffered from the assassin at the time was not fatal, and after the royal physician’s efforts, the wound had almost healed.”

Even after living as Empress for 10 years in her past life as Alicia, this was the first time she had heard this. She used to think the world wasn’t kind to her, but perhaps she was too passive and confined herself too much.

“His Majesty the late Emperor never left Lady Dianne’s side for a moment. His current Majesty, who was still a prince at the time, was also able to see Lady Dianne often.”

Listening only to this point, it was impossible to know what caused the problem.

“At the time, Lady Dianne was taking various medications to treat her injuries. Some of them were potent, so the royal physician advised Lady Dianne not to be too close to the late Emperor.”

That probably meant avoiding sleeping together. But, Dianne had a miscarriage just before she died, didn’t she?

“His Majesty the late Emperor also knew that fact. The royal physician told him separately. But, he ignored that warning.”

A sigh of pity escaped from Alicia’s lips.

“No one knew Lady Dianne was pregnant. I’m ashamed to say that even I, as the head maid, didn’t notice at all.”

Alicia’s eyes widened in bewilderment. Even if others didn’t know, it was impossible for the head maid not to know.

“How could the head maid not know?”

“Her period stopped after she was injured and started taking medication so we didn’t even suspect it. Besides, there was the royal physician’s earnest request.”

“Ah!”

“There are several reasons why Lady Dianne passed away, but the miscarriage was the biggest blow.”

Emma’s face clouded over as if a terrible memory had surfaced.

“The labor pains suddenly started at night, and the bleeding didn’t stop until the next morning. In the end, the baby was stillborn, and Lady Dianne’s life began to fade away.”

The more Alicia heard, the more she felt that Cayenne was not to blame for Dianne’s death, and she felt resentful.

“While the ladies-in-waiting were taking care of the bleeding, Lady Dianne gestured for me to come to her bedside and gave me her last request. That became her will.”

“Tell me that will.”

“Yes, that’s why I brought it up.”

Dianne, who was as white as a sheet due to the excessive bleeding, uttered her last will while pouring out her remaining life. Emma had finally found someone to convey that will to.

“Lady Dianne told me to leave the reason for her death unmentioned. That it was no one’s fault. And she was especially worried about His Majesty, who was then a prince.”

But Dianne’s wish was not fulfilled.

“She ordered that it be recorded that she simply died of a weak constitution, and that there was something to be conveyed to the prince when he grew up strong in the future.”

“What is it?”

Emma hesitated for a moment, then took out a necklace from her clothes and handed it to Alicia. It was a key that showed signs of age.

“The letters engraved on this key indicate a location. I have never dared to look for it or open it. This is something Lady Dianne left for her only child.”

“Why are you giving it to me instead of His Majesty?”

No answer came. Only a bitter smile lingered on Emma’s lips.

“His Majesty the late Emperor did not keep Lady Dianne’s will. Rather, he distorted it and made it seem as if she had died because of the prince.”

Perhaps the late Emperor didn’t want to admit it. He couldn’t possibly admit that he had disobeyed the royal physician’s request and embraced Dianne, resulting in a miscarriage and hastening her death.

“His Majesty is not at fault at all. He is just a pitiful person who lost his mother at a young age.”

The late Emperor’s guilt and hatred for fate soon turned into madness, making him see his own son as an enemy. That was when Cayenne’s life began to twist.

“Can I really have this?”

Alicia asked, caressing the key in her hand.

“I believe you are the one who will deliver this to His Majesty at the right time and in the right way.”

“Even though I don’t know where this key leads to?”

“Since Lady Dianne left it for her beloved son, it will never lead to a bad place.”

Emma looked at Alicia for a moment.

“But you must be careful when and how you deliver it.”

The death of his mother was the most sensitive issue for Cayenne.

“There have been cases where those who merely mentioned the late Empress Dowager were beheaded on the spot.”

Now, no one dared to speak to the Emperor about his mother. That was the same even for the current Empress.

“Someday, if His Majesty ever truly opens his heart to someone, I thought it could only be Her Majesty the Empress.”

Cayenne’s recent changes were that significant. It all happened after the Empress changed.

“So, only Her Majesty the Empress should have this key.”

Emma gave a kind smile.

“I feel like I’ve finally fulfilled my duty. I can’t express in words how grateful I am to Her Majesty the Empress.”

Alicia shook her head at Emma’s tearful words.

“Thank you for being honest with me. Will you continue to tell me stories about His Majesty in the future?”

“If you wish, of course.”

Alicia nodded, still a little teary-eyed.

In that way, today’s meeting created another turning point different from her past life.

❖ ❖ ❖

After Emma left, Alicia was filled with complicated emotions. Originally, she had only expected to hear stories about the Emperor’s tastes and personality, but she had heard a much more enormous story than she had anticipated.

“There’s only unhappy people in this Imperial Palace.”

In her past life, when Alicia was fighting loneliness, she could only see herself. She thought that she was the most unhappy and lonely person in the world, and that Cayenne’s life was always free and carefree.

“It must have been the same back then.”

Alicia could now understand Cayenne’s situation a little, but she couldn’t in the past. She often resented Cayenne’s indifference, which seemed so comfortable, but she didn’t know that he had such unhappiness.

“For 10 years, we knew nothing about each other.”

She always thought that Cayenne’s indifference and her obsession with Rubeo made her life as Empress unhappy. Also, she resented Cayenne for not caring about the Empress’s well-being at all. But in fact, Alicia was the same in that she had no interest in Cayenne at all. The two had spent 10 years as a married couple, but they really knew nothing about each other.

“More than that can I really take on this responsibility?”

Alicia fiddled with the key. She still couldn’t claim to know Cayenne well. And to fulfill this heavy role, they had to be closer than they were now.

“Can I do it?”

Just mentioning the Empress Dowager’s affairs had resulted in someone being beheaded, so it was a daunting and intimidating task.

“But…”

Although she came from another world, Alicia had lived as Empress for 10 years in her past life, and after facing a lonely death, she became Empress again.

Even if she couldn’t fully understand Dianne’s heart, she couldn’t ignore that desperate feeling as a woman and as an Empress.

“If it were me, if I had someone so precious to me. I would have wanted to convey it no matter what.”

She couldn’t fully understand a mother’s heart, but she could imagine how painful it must have been for Dianne, who had to die leaving behind her young son. Even thinking about what Cayenne became after her death just made her heart ache.

“Anyway, I need to be closer to His Majesty than I am now to make my request to him. So, I can deliver this key then.”

Alicia carefully placed the key in the lower compartment of a small jewelry box in the bedside drawer of her bedroom. She couldn’t shake off Dianne’s heart contained in this key. Even though her own future was uncertain, she wanted to convey this heart as much as possible.

“Sigh, if His Majesty returns to Rubeo, I won’t have a chance.”

If the Emperor was always in the Imperial Palace, there would be more opportunities, but he hated this Imperial Palace terribly and had a great attachment to Rubeo, which he had protected since childhood.

“Even meeting him is not my intention.”

Even if she tried to do something, it was only possible if Cayenne met Alicia. That’s how the past 10 years had passed in vain. Of course, at the time, Alicia’s purpose was to convey Luhan’s teachings, so Cayenne, who hated it, had turned away.

“It’s different now, though.”

In her past life, she had been dropped into an unknown world and all she could do was survive, so she believed that the role of the Empress was to convey Luhan’s teachings, and she repeated that foolish act.

“Still, that level of change is not enough.”

Alicia’s blue eyes stared straight into the air. Now she had another important goal.