Amarince always thought of her mother when she sang. She couldn’t accept failure; after all, if she failed, it meant that her mother’s life was a failure as well. Amarince couldn’t let that happen, so she worked incredibly hard.

Finally, she stood on the biggest and the best stage in the world.

Yet when she sang her last note, a silence fell.

Was… this the end of her career? Her life?

Sudden fear and desperation were about to overwhelm her.

Just then!

Amarince was saved, and it was by the woman sitting up front and center. The lady smiled beautifully and stood up to give her a standing ovation.

She was sitting in the royal seat, which meant that it had to be Empress Sa Bina.

When she stood to applaud, everyone followed her. Even the emperor himself stood and clapped. It was the greatest honor anyone could receive from the royal family.

Amarince remembered that night very well. It was the best moment of her life.

“Y, your highness…!”

The empress saved her life. She was the one who made everything happen for Amarince.

She bowed deeply. “I… Thank you, your highness.”

The two women started to chat familiarly, and Lucretius looked at them in approval. He much preferred Bina looking at a woman than a man.

***

After the unexpected meeting, Amarince and Roberto walked away from the hallway. She looked pale and she was trembling in shock. Roberto needed to help her so she wouldn’t fall.

As she clung to him, Amarince mumbled, “Jusep… I mean Christian…”

“Hmm?”

His voice was sweet. “No, I mean… Roberto, right? Is that your real name?”

She finally learned this man’s real name.

“Yes.”

“So I finally got to know your name, and it only took five years.”

She met him when she was only sixteen and naïve. He acted maturely considering his young age at the time, and Amarince was helpless from falling for him.

And now…?

How did she feel? She didn’t know.

She did everything he asked tonight. She went to where he ordered her to and acted as he instructed. She was shocked to see the emperor and the empress; her voice trembled.

“Roberto… Is everything okay?”

“Why wouldn’t it be?”

“I don’t know what you are planning to do…”

Roberto caressed her cheek gently. “It’s better for you not to know. It will be safer for you.”

This… was a warning. He was telling her not to ask him any questions.

However, Amarince couldn’t let it go.

“You didn’t tell me that… you were plotting against the empress!”

Roberto smiled glowingly. “The bigger the prey, the more fun I could have.”

“Rober…!”

He placed his hands on Amarince’s neck. He was so strong that he could bend her neck easily. He squeezed slowly, making her suffocate.

“Ro… Rober…!”

Amarince felt true fear. It wasn’t a fear for her life, but for her vocal cord.

After a few seconds, he let her go, and she coughed loudly.

He whispered to her ear in a sickeningly sweet voice, “Now, let’s go, my prima donna. You still have to do something for me.”

Amarince trembled as he dragged her away with him.

***

It was very early in the morning when the ladies gathered around in a restroom to gossip. This was one of the biggest celebrations of the year, and often, most people enjoyed the party all night. There were rooms available for the guests, so they could rest and have a private time if they wished.

The rooms in the inner castle were designated to the most important guests, and tonight, they were the foreign ambassadors and diplomats. The local noble ladies of Cransia were unfortunately assigned to the rooms in the outer area of the castle.

“I have never been in these remote rooms of the castle before.”

“Oh well, during such a big event, the foreign diplomats get the best rooms so I guess we can’t help that.”

“I’m too tired to go home and come back, so I guess I’m staying here…”

Suddenly, the door burst opened.

“Who…”

The couple must have thought it was an empty room. When they realized it was occupied, they left in a hurry.

“…!”

The man and the woman, who clearly was a couple, ran away. The noble ladies looked shocked.

“W, what just happened?”

One of the three ladies exclaimed, “D, did you… see her…?That woman….”

“… So it wasn’t just me?”

As two of the women hesitated, the third woman said loudly, “I didn’t get to see her face clearly because they left so fast, but… that woman… She had black hair, right?”

“…”

“…”

They became silent, but they looked at each other knowingly. All three of them knew the approximate height and body type of the emperor and the empress.

The woman who walked in had obvious black hair and was about the empress’ height. The problem was the man who was with her. They didn’t get to see his face, but he clearly was much shorter than the emperor and had brown hair.

***

On the third night of the celebration.

A strange and disturbing rumor started to spread among the guests. It was about the Cransian empress having an affair with a brown-haired man.

“Oh my… Everyone thought the emperor and the empress had such a wonderful marriage.”

“You never know with people.”

“So her highness really is having an affair with another man? I can’t believe it.”

“My friend was one of the witnesses and she told me that the woman had black hair. In our entire kingdom, her highness is the only one with black hair, right?”

The rumor spread very fast.

***

Duchess Lonensia gasped in shock as she accused her son.

“Rob! Was this you?!”

Roberto smiled awkwardly. “I don’t understand what you are talking about, mother.”

Norma was normally very lenient on her son, but today, she continued sharply, “The rumor has spread everywhere. It’s about a black-haired woman having an extra-marital affair with a man.”

“Wow, that’s a surprise. What a rumor!”

“Rob!”

There was a reason why Norma was acting nervously. It was because she remembered what he said a few months ago.

When Duchess Lonensia failed in making Yulia the first wife, Roberto told his mother.

“If the emperor and the empress drifted apart, won’t your plan have a better chance, mother? For example… If the empress committed adultery…”

Norma became angry at him. “Don’t even say such nonsense! If you knew how the emperor and the empress felt about each other, you would never dare say something like that. The empress would never betray his highness.”

“What matters isn’t whether she really has an affair. It is all about the emperor becoming suspicious of it. Do you get it?”

“What?”

“I have done this successfully before, mother. I managed to spread a rumor about Grand Duke Kualin’s wife. He quickly became suspicious of her even though she was perfectly innocent.”

When the Grand Duchess was vulnerable, Roberto managed to get her heart.

“Once the jealous suspicion begins, it is so very easy, mother. A woman scorned by her own husband is the easiest prey.”

Norma became pale. “You… you can’t…!”

She quickly tried to stop him. “Even if you were successful once, don’t even think about trying the same thing here. It’s too dangerous! Besides, I… have no intention of committing treason against the royal family.”

Her son smiled. “Sure, mother. Don’t worry… I won’t do anything.”

However, Norma still couldn’t stop worrying. She didn’t trust her son.

“Roberto des Lonensia! Can you swear to me that this isn’t your doing?!”