"You're an evil, cruel bitch!"
The Countess Phillies screamed furiously.
Artizea, the Marchioness Rosan, heard her words vaguely as she was being pulled by both arms.
On her way here, she was hit in the face several times with metal gloves.
Her mouth was torn, broken, and swollen, making it difficult for her to speak.
Even though she tried to walk at her own pace, the knights were forcibly carrying her.
Then, at one point, she injured her ankle. She didn't know if it was broken or sprained, but it hurt anyway.
She could no longer walk, so now she had no choice but to be dragged.
Her broken arm hurt, too. The wrist that the knight twisted was swollen.
When the knights threw her to the floor, Artizea rolled on the cold floor.
"How could you kill Abe!"
The Countess Phillies screamed so loudly, she could vomit blood.
After shaking the arm of the maid who was holding her, she ran up to Artizea and slapped her on the cheek.
Needless to say, the pain was unbearable because her mouth was so badly treated.
Artizea rolled back onto the floor, feeling her gaze fade.
"What did Abe do to deserve that?! How could you kill your own nephew?! You're a bitch, you must suffer the same fate!"
Artizea looked at the Countess Phillies with a blurred vision.
The Countess Phillies sobbing ran out the other side of the room. She intended to stab Artizea with anything she could find, whether it was a knife or a candlestick.
Emperor Lawrence, who had been watching the situation closely, approached her. He grabbed her lovingly by the shoulder and said.
"Calm down, Emma."
"How can I be calm? She killed my child! How can Your Majesty be so calm? Abe is your son too!"
"Tia is my sister, Emma. There must be a misunderstanding."
"I'm going to get revenge! I'm going to avenge my son!"
The Countess Phillies fell to her knees and began to cry loudly.
'I see, Abe has been murdered.'
Artizea now knew what was going on.
She looked at Lawrence. He looked sad and downcast,
However, Artizea noticed a small sense of triumph in his eyes.
It was clear that a conspiracy had been prepared against her.
'First, I will be blamed for murdering your son, making me a criminal. And then a series of accusations will follow one after another.'
In fact, she had actually committed many crimes, and Lawrence knew most of them.
So there was no need for him to create false accusations against her.
Clearly, the person who hatched this conspiracy was Emperor Lawrence himself.
The Emperor said.
"I can't believe you committed such a crime, Tia. Did you really kill Abe?"
One could hear a certain joy in his voice.
Artizea tried to speak.
But before she could open his mouth, the Countess Phillies screamed loudly.
"After that bitch's maid went to visit him, Abe suddenly vomited black blood and died!"
Lawrence raised his hand and the knights brought in another woman. She was Artizea's maid.
The maid knelt down in silence, and Lawrence asked her.
"Is it true that the Marchioness Rosan ordered you to poison Abe?"
"Yes."
The maid answered politely.
"The plan of the Marchioness Rosan was to kill Abe first, and then to kill His Majesty. That way, she would be able to take control of the empire.
Everyone in this room buzzed with shock.
Lawrence asked with a sad expression.
"Do you have anything to say about this?"
Artizea showed a dry smile.
What the hell was he thinking?
She had no intention of denying that she was evil. But being treated like a dumb person made her laugh.
"His Majesty the Emperor, you know what kind of person I am, don't you? If I had wanted to take over the empire, I would have killed His Majesty, not Abe."
What good would it do to kill Abe in such a careless way as to make everyone realize if Lawrence were still on the throne? It would only make him more careful.
If she had come up with a plan, she would have killed Lawrence first without anyone knowing.
"Tia, such words are useless. You'll have to clear up what happened."
What good are excuses and explanations at this point? Lawrence had already decided to kill me.
It was too late, no matter what I did, I had no way of surviving, since the emperor himself had decided to kill me for treason.
"I cannot believe it. Tia, how could you do such a thing?"
"Your Majesty the Emperor, you are the only authority in this Empire."
Said Artizea.
Her mouth was full of blood, and her tongue was ripped apart by her teeth.
Still, if she could bear the pain, she could say a few more words.
"You now carry the empire on your shoulders, so you should kick the habit of blaming others for everything. That's my last piece of advice."
"Insolence!"
The knight hit her in the face again.
"Take the traitor away from here and lock her up!"
She exclaimed.
Artizea looked at Lawrence with her puffy eyes. However, he did not interfere.
Artizea did not clearly remember what happened after that.
She was tortured and forced to sign some documents.
She was then taken to court, which was attended only by the emperor, a handful of nobles and officials.
The accusers and witnesses presented one set of evidence after another.
Some were truly evil acts committed by Artizea.
Others were fabricated scandals, with horrible and perverse stories.
Artizea had a sharp mind and a strong will.
However, she did not have the physical strength to overcome torture.
When she was tried, instead of defending herself, she did nothing, she was half-conscious and dazed.
By the time the trial was over, she had become the worst villain in history, who had made a pact with the devil, in an attempt to rule the empire.
Lawrence lamented with a false sigh.
"Even though you are my sister, the crimes you have committed are too great to be forgiven."
"You have harmed our country with your words, your tongue will be cut out so that you do not commit the same crimes again, and your hands stained with innocent blood will also be cut out as an example to others. But I will spare your life."
As a result, Artizea was taken to the dungeon.
The punishment executed was more severe than the established ones.
Instead of being locked up in her house with her tongue and hands cut off, all her limbs were cut off and she was shackled in a deep, unfamiliar dungeon.
***
「 If your brother's doing well, you'll do well too.」
That's what Artizea Rosan had been hearing all her life.
Her mother was the Marchioness Miraila Rosan, and her father was Marquis Michael.
Miraila was the lover of Emperor Gregor. All the aristocrats knew this.
The imperial laws were against polygamy and required that chastity be maintained before marriage.
Married men and women were forbidden to have love affairs with unmarried men and women.
The Emperor was a man who was exposed to everyone's gaze. That said, it would be strange if such a powerful man was really a strict defender of monogamy.
It was simply impossible for him to hide the fact that he had a relationship with the Marchioness Miraila Rosan.
Michael Rosan was in a sorry state, old and dying. He had decided to exchange his own wife with the Emperor for a sapphire mine.
The Marchioness Miraila became the Emperor's mistress and gave birth to a son.
That was Lawrence.
Everyone knew he was the Emperor's son. However, no one called him a prince, but neither did they call him the son of the Marquis Rosan.
Miraila loved him, and so did Emperor Gregor.
On the other hand, given the time of the relationship, it was clear that Artizea was not the emperor's daughter.
Artizea did not resemble the emperor, nor even Miraila.
Interestingly enough, she looked very much like Marquis Michael in his youth.
「 Be good to your brother. It's all thanks to him that you're still alive. 」
Miraila also told her.
「 How could we continue to live as the Marquisate Family if not for your brother? Since you were born, unpleasant rumors have spread about you being the daughter of Marquis Rosan. 」
Miraila's words always ended like this.
「 You must live for your brother. We can only survive if your brother becomes the emperor. Do you think your brother will treat you badly once he ascends the throne? Your brother's success is the way our family will be happy. 」
Artizea could not remember being loved by Miraila. Nor did she remember being happy.
Artizea was only praised when she did something that benefited her brother Lawrence.
From something trivial, like when Lawrence said the tea she made tasted good, to something bigger, like when Marquis Rosan's wealth was beneficial to Lawrence.
Artizea was no fool.
She knew that her mother's kindness would never be to her.
But the desire to be loved that had been planted in her since her childhood was hard to control.
She found it easy to invent reasons to justify it.
Lawrence, Miraila, and Artizea were linked by blood ties.
If Lawrence lost, they would all die. There has never been a case where someone, after winning the fight for the throne, left the family of his rivals alive.
To survive.
With that in mind, Artizea did anything.
She had a talent for evil acts and conspiracies.
She had falsely framed loyal subjects to provoke their death and ruined the state policy of the empire. She was also the one who made the citizens suffer and massacred countless people.
She committed many more evil and trivial acts in the palace, including a series of murders.
She was also the one who used the Saintess Licia, who was the hope of the people of the country, the hope of the empire, besides Artizea was guilty of her death.
It was all for the sake of Lawrence so that he could ascend the throne. Even though she knew it was an excuse, she committed many crimes with ease.
And so, at last, Lawrence was able to wear the emperor's crown.
'I knew this day would come.'
Artizea thought vaguely.
Although she was the one who contributed most to making Lawrence the Emperor, she stood by in silence, expecting nothing. The reason, she was afraid.
That's why she also dissolved the intelligence organization she had spent so much time and money on.
She felt that after all she had done for Lawrence, at least he would let her live in peace.
But Artizea knew too much. She had committed many crimes for him.
So Lawrence cut out her tongue so she couldn't speak and he cut off her hands so she couldn't leave any records.
That's how I must die for all the crimes I've committed.
When the hunt is over, the dog is boiled.
Artizea was Lawrence's dog and this prison was her saucepan.
"Hn…"
After all, this is what I deserve. What other ending could I expect?
Considering everything I've done so far, I shouldn't hold Lawrence or Miraila responsible for my actions.
Artizea laughed. Even without my tongue, I can still laugh.