"Your Majesty! I apologize for being late, but Maximus wouldn't let me in." The Empress cried out in worry, her eyes fixed on the Emperor.
"Don't you see how I am?" the Emperor growled, his voice thick with anger. "If I'd known our son would make me see this day, I would have ripped you from the ground so he could never be born."
"It's not like that, Your Highness," the Empress pleaded. "Maximus has been misled by the Duke and that... so-called princess. He won't even acknowledge me anymore. I'm sure they've done something to him."
"I don't know anything about that. Just let me get out of here. That girl needs to be gone! If she dies, I'm free. And that Duchess! How did she even escape?" the Emperor shouted, his rage palpable.
