TVLT 01

Chapter 1

0.

“You wicked, heartless woman!”

Countess Phyllis screamed and sobbed at the top of her lungs.

Artizea Rosan, Marchioness of Rosan, was being dragged along by both arms as she stared blankly at the woman.

She had been struck in the face several times with steel gauntlets on the way here.

The inside of her mouth was torn and swollen, making it impossible for her to speak.

Even when she tried to walk on her own, the knights forcibly dragged her along.

At some point, her ankle twisted. She could not tell whether it was broken or sprained, but either way, it hurt.

Since she could no longer walk, she had no choice but to be dragged.

Her twisted arms hurt as well. The wrist the knight had been gripping and twisting was badly swollen.

The knights threw her onto the floor.

Artizea rolled across the ground.

“How could you do this? How could you kill even Ave?!”

Countess Phyllis screamed as if she were vomiting blood.

She shook off the maid who had been supporting her and rushed over to slap Artizea across the face.

Her mouth was already torn, so the pain was unbearable.

Artizea felt her vision turn white as she rolled across the floor again.

“What did Ave ever do to deserve this?! I may be a lowly woman, but she isn’t! How could you do such a thing to your own blood relative?”

Artizea raised her blurred eyes and looked at Countess Phyllis.

Phyllis sobbed before turning away and rushing toward the other side.

She intended to stab Artizea to death with a knife, a candlestick, or anything else she could get her hands on.

Until then, Emperor Lawrence had merely watched the situation in silence.

He approached her, gently placing an arm around her shoulders.

“Calm down, Emma.”

“How can I calm down? You killed my child! How can Your Majesty look so calm? Ave was my child, but he was your son too!”

“Tia is my sister, Emma. There must have been some misunderstanding.”

“I’ll have revenge! I swear I’ll have revenge!”

Countess Phyllis collapsed onto the floor and burst into tears.

‘Ave was murdered.’

Artizea only realized it then.

She looked at Lawrence.

He wore a sorrowful, devastated expression.

But Artizea saw the sense of triumph in his eyes.

It was obvious what kind of scheme had been set against her.

First, they would accuse her of murdering a child and make her a criminal. Then, one accusation after another would follow.

She had indeed committed many crimes, and Lawrence knew most of them.

There was no need to fabricate the charges.

The person behind this plot was none other than Emperor Lawrence himself.

The Emperor spoke.

“I can’t believe you committed such a crime, Tia. Did you really kill Ave?”

There it was.

Even his voice carried a hint of delight.

Artizea tried to speak, but before she could open her mouth, Countess Phyllis shouted.

“Ave suddenly vomited black blood and died after that woman’s maid visited him!”

Lawrence raised his hand.

The knights brought another woman forward.

It was Artizea’s maid.

The maid quietly knelt before him.

Lawrence asked,

“Did the Marchioness of Rosan tell you to give Ave poison?”

“Yes.”

The maid answered politely.

“The Marchioness of Rosan intended to kill His Highness Ave first and then assassinate His Majesty. That way, she could take control of the Empire as the young Imperial Prince’s regent.”

Everyone present began murmuring in shock.

Lawrence asked with a sorrowful expression,

“Do you have anything to say in your defense?”

Artizea gave a dry laugh.

What did they take her for?

She had no intention of denying that she was ruthless.

But being treated as though she were this foolish was almost laughable.

“Your Majesty, you know what kind of person I am, don’t you? If I wanted to take control of the Empire, I would have assassinated Your Majesty first, not Ave.”

What would she gain by killing Ave, who had no claim to the throne, so carelessly and publicly?

It would only put Lawrence on his guard.

If she had actually plotted such a scheme, she would have killed Lawrence first without letting anyone know.

“Tia, that doesn’t help you. You need to explain yourself.”

Artizea shook her head.

What good would an excuse or explanation do?

Lawrence had already decided to kill her.

The Emperor himself had decided to accuse her of treason and have her executed.

There was no way for her to survive.

Not unless she had actually plotted a rebellion and somehow succeeded.

And it was already too late for that.

“I truly can’t believe this. Tia, you were such a good girl.”

“Your Majesty, you are the sole authority of the Empire.”

Artizea spoke.

Her mouth was full of blood, and her tongue had been torn against her teeth.

Still, if she endured the pain, she could manage a few more words.

“Now that you bear the Empire upon your shoulders, please stop making a habit of placing the blame for everything on others. This is my final piece of advice.”

“How dare you!”

A knight struck her across the face again.

“Take the traitor away and lock her up!”

A courtier shouted.

Artizea raised her swollen eyes and glanced at Lawrence.

He did not stop them.

After that, Artizea could not remember everything clearly.

She was tortured and forced to sign several documents.

Then she was dragged before a tribunal composed only of the Emperor and a small number of nobles and officials.

One accuser and witness after another appeared and presented evidence.

Some of it was made up of actual atrocities Artizea had committed.

Others were vile and obscene scandals that had been fabricated.

Artizea possessed a sharp mind and an iron will.

But she did not have the physical strength to endure torture.

By the time she was dragged before the tribunal, she was barely conscious.

Rather than defending herself, she simply let everything pass by in a daze.

When the trial ended, she had become the wickedest woman in the Empire, accused of making a pact with the devil and attempting to seize control of the Empire.

Lawrence pretended to sigh.

“Though she is my sister, her crimes are too grave to forgive. She ruined the country with her tongue, so cut it out so she can never commit the same crime again. Cut off the hands that have been stained with innocent blood and make an example of her. However, I shall spare her life.”

And so Artizea was dragged back to the underground prison.

The punishment carried out was even more brutal than the sentence.

Instead of having her tongue and hands cut off and being confined to her home, all four of her limbs were severed, and she was chained inside a deep prison where no one would ever find her.

「You have to make sure your brother succeeds. Only then can you succeed too.」

That was what Artizea Rosan had heard all her life.

Her mother was Milaera Rosan, Marchioness of Rosan, and her father was Michael Rosan, Marquis of Rosan.

Milaera was Emperor Gregor’s mistress.

Everyone in the Imperial Palace knew it.

The laws of the Empire required monogamy and demanded chastity before marriage.

A married person was forbidden from having an affair with an unmarried man or woman.

The Emperor was constantly in the public eye.

It was impossible for him to conduct a secret affair.

That did not mean, however, that a man with such power would actually adhere strictly to monogamy.

In the end, if the woman or man he favored was unmarried, they would simply be married off before being brought into the Imperial Palace.

Milaera was one such case.

Michael Rosan was old and nearing the end of his life.

He already had a grown heir.

He had no trouble lending the Emperor the title of Marchioness through his marriage to Milaera, and in return, he received a sapphire mine.

Milaera became the Emperor’s mistress as the Marchioness of Rosan and gave birth to a son.

That son was Lawrence.

Everyone knew he was the Emperor’s son.

Although he was never officially called an Imperial Prince, no one called him the young master of House Rosan, either.

Milaera loved him, and so did Emperor Gregor.

But Artizea was not the Emperor’s daughter.

Considering when Gregor and Milaera had been together, it was clear that Artizea could not be the Emperor’s daughter.

Artizea resembled neither the Emperor nor Milaera.

Ironically, she looked exactly like Michael had in his youth.

「Treat your brother well. You are alive because of him.」

Milaera used to say that, too.

「If it weren’t for your brother, how do you think we could live as the heads of a marquess family? When you were born, such filthy rumors spread that they would have refused to acknowledge you as a daughter of House Rosan and killed both you and me, then thrown our bodies into some back alley.」

Milaera’s words always ended the same way.

「You have to live for your brother. We can only survive if your brother becomes Emperor. Once your brother becomes Emperor, do you really think he would mistreat his only sister? Your brother’s success is the path to happiness for our family.」

Artizea had no memory of ever being loved by Milaera.

She had no memory of ever being happy, either.

The only time Artizea received praise was when she accomplished something for Lawrence.

Sometimes it was something as small as Lawrence saying that the tea she had brewed was delicious.

Other times, it was something as significant as the wealth of House Rosan being put to use for Lawrence’s benefit.

Artizea was not foolish.

She knew her mother’s affection would never be given to her.

But the desire to be loved, which had built up since childhood, was not easy to control.

And it was easy to create reasons to justify it.

Lawrence, Milaera, and Artizea were bound together by blood.

If Lawrence lost, they would all die together.

There was no precedent for sparing the family of an enemy who had fought for the throne.

It was for survival.

Thinking that way, Artizea did anything and everything.

She had a talent for evil and conspiracy.

She framed loyal subjects and had them killed, and she plunged the Empire’s politics into chaos.

She was also responsible for bringing the people into misery and massacring countless people.

There were countless more petty and minor acts of evil committed within the Imperial Court.

She had also arranged numerous assassinations.

She was the one who used Saint Lishia, the hope of the people of the Empire, and ultimately caused her death.

It was for Lawrence.

In a struggle for the throne, such things were only natural.

Even though she knew those were merely excuses, Artizea calmly committed countless atrocities.

And in the end, Lawrence wore the Emperor’s crown.

‘You knew this day would come.’

Artizea thought hazily.

Even though she had been the greatest contributor to making Lawrence Emperor, she quietly withdrew without asking for anything.

Because she was afraid.

That was also why she had all but dismantled the intelligence organization she had spent years and enormous amounts of money building.

She thought that perhaps, out of their bond as siblings, Lawrence would spare her life.

But Artizea knew too much.

She had committed too many crimes.

So Lawrence cut out her tongue so she could never speak and cut off her hands so she could never leave any records behind.

That was his way of making her die alone with all the crimes she had committed.

When the hunt is over, the hounds are boiled.

Artizea had been Lawrence’s hound.

And this prison was her cauldron.

“Ugh…”

In the end, it was simply the consequence of her own actions.

Considering everything she had done, she could not blame Lawrence or Milaera for what had happened.

Artizea smiled.

Even without a tongue, she could still smile.