Chapter 54: Chapter 4. The Empress's Worries

A crash reverberated through the room as the Empress hurled one ceramic figure after another.

— Damn that sly, vicious bitch! — The woman screamed curses, beside herself with rage.

The Empress huffed and pouted as anger boiled up inside her, and then she started biting her nails.

"Why... Why didn't she die?!"

At that moment, when all the stars finally came together and the cherished dream of the empress to make her daughter the crown princess was closer than ever, everything collapsed overnight, like a house of cards. The hated stepdaughter, who was supposed to rest in the rotten earth, returned from the dead and ruined everything.

No, disrupting the inauguration ceremony wasn't even her worst act.

The prosperity of the empire was shaken in just one night.

All the officials were dead. All those who held vital government posts were mercilessly slaughtered by the Crown Princess and her people overnight. The crazy girl did not spare even the family members of the founders of the empire, who made a significant contribution to the development of the country. It's like crushing a flock of ants without distinguishing between them.

Based on this, there were many vacant positions in the main government positions in the Imperial Palace right now. The Parliament of the aristocrats, of which there was also almost nothing left, was in an extremely precarious position. No, the whole empire was in a precarious position.

And it was all the work of the Crown Princess.

The Empress's eyes flew open fiercely, and she whispered:

— If I could, I would have torn that brat apart right there and then...

However, she had to admit that she was completely powerless in this situation. The mission to kill the Crown Princess surpassed the most difficult of impossible tasks. Not only did Kaena have eyes and ears everywhere, but it was also incredibly difficult to get close to her.

All the mercenaries that the emperor and Empress sent to their daughter's soul did not return. Even simple spies, whose duties included only surveillance, risked their lives greatly. The Empress was on the verge of despair. But what made her even more nervous was that she couldn't predict this girl's intentions at all.

On that day, Kaena de Ronan left her family members alive for some reason. Although all government officials, priests, and others were killed, members of the imperial family received only injuries of varying severity. This made it difficult for the Empress to close her eyes every night.

She couldn't figure out what she was up to.

The Empress felt her heart being torn apart, but she restrained her emotions and only exhaled heavily. Her heart had been hurting a lot lately, and her blood pressure was unstable. However, she didn't have time to worry about such things. "Now that this fiend has returned, I don't have time to think about my health..."

— Don't worry, Your Majesty, — the servant timidly addressed her, — Sooner or later we will have a chance to turn everything around again...

Hearing this, a woman in a luxurious jewel-studded dress turned around. Soon, her anxious gaze fell on the man in dark clothes, who was still kneeling in front of her.

— You... — She indignantly stuck out a trembling finger, — All you're doing right now is standing here! How can you turn the tide?

The woman's clear voice rang loudly through the magnificent gilded room.

— Your Majesty, I'm... sorry... — The subordinate swallowed and lowered his head low.

When the woman heard these words, her beautiful face distorted with anger, and she raised her voice.

— You should be sorry! Do you think you did a good job? Was it really that difficult to complete just one assignment? Useless trash!

While the Empress was throwing accusing words at her subordinate, her blood pressure jumped again. In the end, she couldn't stand it anymore and sank down on the sofa.

"What a headache."

Of course, such a crime as the unauthorized invasion of the palace and the murder of government officials could not go unpunished. Even the Crown Princess couldn't leave without consequences. If the Empress couldn't handle her physically, the woman hoped she could at least punish her legally.

However, the problem was that in order to appear in court, the princess had to receive a summons beforehand.

But since that day, Kaena has not appeared in the palace. As for delivering the summons in person... None of the messengers who worked in the imperial palace agreed to do this. Each of them would rather lose their position or be punished for disobedience than voluntarily enter the lair of the Crown Princess.

Well, these people were understandable.

But that didn't change the main thing. Since no one dared to go out to carry out the order, the Empress was once again in a desperate situation. Because of this, the woman had been restless for days.

The Emperor, who was experiencing health problems due to the recent incident, was temporarily suspended from his duties. Because of this, the Empress, acting regent, temporarily took his place.

And since the care of the state now rested on her shoulders, the Empress felt even more responsible.

As the Empress continued to wallow in her worries, her subordinate plucked up the courage to report the results of the recent surveillance, which was one of the few successful ones.

It wasn't easy to get any information because of the walls of the Heilos residence. However, some rumors still managed to reach him. Before the spy was exposed and killed, he managed to send a message to the headquarters.

— Your Majesty, if I may, we received a message not so long ago...

The Empress knitted her brows as she listened to her subordinate's report.

— what? Did the Crown Princess kidnap the girl?

— Yes, we have managed to establish that this is the daughter of the Duke de Walt.

Hearing this, the woman couldn't help but admit that she was a little surprised.

The Crown Princess wasn't the type to kidnap people. More often than not, she just killed the undesirables on the spot. However, if this happened, the victims were immediately taken to the torture chambers. But according to her subordinate, this lady was not put in jail, but was taken directly to the main residence where the princess lived. That was something new...

In addition, for some reason, the crown Princess had to invade the duke's own house, where she killed all its inhabitants. The stepdaughter's unpredictable behavior increasingly baffled the Empress.

Duke de Walt... The Empress only knew that a man with that surname held one of the positions in parliament, but it was so insignificant that she did not even remember this man.

Why would this crazy woman want to kill him? And then personally ambush his daughter, a person even more insignificant, in order to kidnap her?

The Empress really didn't understand this. She hesitated for a moment, and then opened her mouth.

— Did you learn anything else?

— Just her name... Camille de Walt, — stammered the servant. — We couldn't find any more information. She was previously unrelated to Her Highness. Moreover, she hardly attended social events, and they could not cross paths in any way.

The Empress' face, which showed confusion, continued to darken. And then the subordinate remembered that this was not all the information he had received.

— There's something else I need to tell you, — he added hastily.

— What is it? — she asked immediately.

— Rumor has it that Her Highness intends to pay a visit to the Duchess of the North in the near future.

The Empress was even more startled by this unexpected statement than by the previous one.

"Why is she going to go there so suddenly? What is she up to?"

The de Lung family was one of the most powerful families in the Rouven Empire, but they had never expressed any particular political views. Neutrality. The Duchy of de Lune has always maintained its neutrality.

The de Lung family could maintain their power without joining any party because they had made significant contributions to the empire. Since ancient times, they have never interfered in any political affairs.

However...

The Empress clenched her fists tightly, unable to suppress her anger.

"How could this happen?"

Knowing the nature of the Crown Princess, the woman was convinced that she had arranged all this to achieve her insidious goal. Most likely, Kaena is going to visit the northern duchy for that...

"Isn't it a good idea to enlist the support of the northern Duchess to force her to join the rebellion?"

The Empress pursed her lips as vague guesses swarmed through her mind.

No, just seizing the throne wasn't enough. The Crown Princess could easily have handled this task herself without resorting to outside help. So, probably, her ambitions were much broader.

"Really... Is she going to take over the entire continent?!"

Selina de Loon was known as the continent's most powerful enchantress. And if these two had joined forces, this goal would not have seemed so unattainable. Although it was still an unconfirmed fact, but the Empress could no longer remain calm.

"I should have taken more precautions," she lamented.

While her subordinate was silently waiting for the Empress' further orders, the woman bit her fingernail impatiently. Soon, she suppressed the rage that was boiling inside her with an effort of will.

"Someday I will definitely tear her to pieces and throw her to the dogs." — the woman's face twisted into a grim grimace as she mentally dealt with her stepdaughter in the most terrible ways.

Nevertheless, before it was too late, she had to prevent the implementation of this monstrous plan at all costs.

The Empress gave her subordinate the following order with a determined face:

— Tell me about all the rumors that are going around about the Crown Princess.

— Yes, Your Majesty, — he replied immediately.

At that moment, a faint rustle was heard in the hallway.

The second princess, who had been eavesdropping on this conversation from outside the door, turned around. A vague expression appeared on her beautiful face, which resembled that of an empress.

— Camille de Walt...? — she said softly.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay Read