CH 12

“I don’t love you! Divorce me! It’s not joke.”

He laughed, but his stomach was still twisted with bitterness.

Raymond furrowed his brows to keep his feelings from fading.

“Your Majesty, I will come back and bring tea to soothe your mind and body.”

“It’s ikay. I don’t need it.”

The heavy-faced servant opened his mouth carefully.

“Your Majesty, will you really imprison Her Majesty in the Empress’s palace?”

“Imprison? What do you mean?”

Raymond blurted out his last words and darkened. He forbade her to leave the palace and sent knights to accompany him.

For him, they only had to guard the palace, but this was no different from preventing the empress from escaping from the palace.

“…Your Majesty, if you keep the Empress in the palace without any excuse, not only nobles, but common people will be outraged. Please change your mind.”

The chancellor shook his head. He was right, but if Raymond didn’t lock Ellie in the palace… She seemed to run away immediately.

While he was thinking, a voice rang out outside:

“Your Majesty, they say that the empress’s palace will be guarded by knights.”

“Come in.”

The door opened, a knight entered and bowed to him.

“Hail His Majesty, the Sun of the Empire.”

“What’s going on in the empress’s palace?”

“The Empress’s head maid was secretly trying to escape through the back door, so we tried to interrogate her and intercepted the letter.”

“Letter?”

Raymond’s eyes turned ferocious.

He glanced at the knight for the letter.

After reading its contents, Raymond’s face became tense.

The letter said that Ellie was asking for help from Duke Croft.

It didn’t say what kind of help it was, but he already understood everything.

Divorce.

Ellie asks the Duke to help her divorce him.

He felt like someone hit him hard on the head.

Raymond looked at the candle on the table and, without hesitation, set fire to the letter. The paper that touched the fire quickly turned to ash and fell on the table.

He burned the last piece and stared at the knight.

“No one can leave the Empress’s palace without my permission.”

After the knight left, he ordered the adjutant to enter the office.

“Tell the chancellor to appoint the Duke of Croft as head of the eastern mission. I order the Duke to leave immediately for the Eastern Country.”

“Yes, Your Majesty…”

“I repeat once again, you must follow the conversations of the servants so that rumors about the empress’s palace do not go beyond it.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

The adjutant and steward also left the office, and Raymond sighed heavily, seething with anger.

She asked the duke for help. He thought she was just talking nonsense, but she was not. Ellie really wanted to divorce him.

Why are you doing this to me?

A sense of betrayal condemned his entire body.

She never disappeared from his field of vision. She has always been by his side for a long time.

Why are you doing this to me?

Raymond thought it was nonsense, but the alarm didn’t go away immediately.

I can’t believe she wants a divorce. It can’t be true.

I’m sure it’s because of Edmund. This is just a small crack in our relationship, so in time everything will be fine.

Trying to calm down, he looked at the empress’s palace.

* * *

“Your Majesty the Empress, would you like a cup of warm tea?”

“No I don’t. Go to sleep.”

“How can I leave now when the Empress is in such a condition?”

“I’m fine, Helen.”

I was already well past midnight. And even if I lie down, I won’t be able to sleep because I’m still upset.

The letter that I was about to send to my father was intercepted by the knight and fell into the hands of Raymond.

I didn’t know you would do that.

I thought you said that because you were angry at that moment. I thought he would calm down soon.

But even late at night, the knights didn’t retreat.

After a visit to the administration, the head maid said that she was forbidden to conduct the empress’s affairs in the palace.

In addition, he appointed his father head of the mission to the East.

Under this pretext, Raymond is going to send my father to another country and lock me up in the palace.

What if my father doesn’t notice anything wrong and goes?

Over time, it will become more and more difficult for me to hide my pregnancy.

Pregnancy of the empress and the first heir to the empire, Edmund.

The factions will be split between the two who support my unborn child and the aristocrats trying to line up with Edmund.

What if someone tries to kill my unborn child?

These thoughts made my heart go cold.

“Your Majesty, you don’t look good. You have not quite recovered yet, and I am afraid that you will feel bad again.”

Helen’s words flashed in her head.

I was afraid that the baby in my belly would get hurt.

“Please bring some warm tea.”

Helen nodded and left the room. I tried to take control of my worried mind.

I already told my father that I was going to divorce. And my father knew that I was expecting a child.

However, in this situation, I cannot allow him to go to the East.

“Everything will be fine.”

I gently stroked my stomach.

When I imagined a happy future with my child, my heart calmed down.

I hope that Raymond, trying to keep my father away from me, will fail and my future will be bright.

* * *

Raymond, who had not slept all night at work and thought about Ellie, went to his office early in the morning.

Even though I was looking at the documents I had to deal with, all I could think of was Ellie.

“Chancellor.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“And what does the empress do? Does she eat well?”

“She has breakfast and, as usual, spends time in the garden of the imperial palace.”

“What?”

Raymond’s eyebrows shot up when he heard what the chancellor said.

When she mentioned the divorce, he couldn’t sleep, eat, or even work normally. But she behaved exactly the same as always.

Raymond felt everything inside him turn over.

Why are you so indifferent to divorce?

Crunch.

Raymond squeezed the handle hard, and it broke, the sharp part cut his hand.

“Your Majesty, blood! I will immediately call the imperial doctor…”

Red blood dripped onto the table, but there was no pain.

As he pressed a handkerchief to his palm, the servant’s voice came from outside the door:

“Your Majesty, Duke Croft requests an audience.”

“Duke Croft?”

Raymond’s eyebrows went up sharply.

The news of the closure of the imperial palace was carefully checked by the censors, so that she could never leave the palace. It wouldn’t have leaked out overnight.

If so, is it about the mission of the eastern countries?

I didn’t want to meet Duke Croft right now, but I had no excuse.

“Bring him here.”

The door opened and Duke Croft entered with a frozen face. Raymond felt it intuitively.

This Duke Croft did not come here to inquire about the mission.

“Hail His Majesty, the Sun of the Empire.”

The Duke bowed deeply.

“Rise up, Duke.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty.”

The duke, who politely rose, handed the letter to the emperor.

Raymond raised his eyebrows furiously when he saw the letter with the Duke’s seal.

“What is this, Duke?”

“The Duchess Croft is formally asking His Majesty to divorce Her Majesty.”

“…”

And again, his intuition wasn’t wrong.

Raymond suppressed his wry smile.

“The Empress has already expressed her wish to me.”

“…What happened to the Empress?”

Duke Croft’s eyes sharpened.

“It looks like you planned this in advance with the Empress, since the day you didn’t let me into her palace.”

The duke had the same look as the day he stopped him at the empress’s palace.

Raymond was stern, but the duke asked again with a resolute face:

“Your Majesty, where is the Empress now?”

“Do you think I put the Empress somewhere in a prison?”

“Your Majesty!”

At that moment, Duke Croft raised his voice, and the steward flinched. At the same time, the standing knight naturally extended his hand to the sword.

Raymond told the knight to put the sword aside.

“Everyone get out.”

The servants and knights hesitated and quietly left under the Emperor’s determined gaze.

The door closed and Raymond looked at the duke’s face.

“Duke, do you think I would treat her like that?”

“…I crossed the line. Sorry.”

The Duke bowed his head and took a step back. It is his fault that he lost his temper at the moment when he was worried of his daughter.

“The head of the mission to the Eastern country is a very honorary title. Besides, I’ll pretend I haven’t seen this letter, so go away.”

“Your Majesty, I can’t leave.”