The Abandoned Empress Will Not Return - Chapter 62
“Rodelia Florence, Empress of Thebes. You will immediately be transferred to the investigation room for the poisoning of Emperor Kane Bayard.
Expressionless faces crowded her field of vision. Kane was nowhere to be seen. Then, little by little, reality began to reach her. Her breath caught in her throat.
“Where is His Majesty? If I go to the interrogation room, will I see His Majesty the Emperor?”
Her words were muffled by the feeling that something was stuck in her throat but she managed to squeeze her mouth open. Her trembling voice barely leaked out.
They didn’t answer, instead, they opened the prison door with a bundle of keys in their hand. The sound of clattering metal meshing was horrifying.
The rusty metal scratched into her ears and the door slowly opened. They stepped into the prison cell and grabbed Rodelia’s arm.
“What are you doing!”
Rodelia shouted, shaking off their arms. But they didn’t budge. They only looked forward with a neutral face.
“…..You will go to the interrogation room.”
“I did nothing wrong.”
When Rodelia protested against them once more, the taller one of them snorted at her as if it were nonsense, then frowned and sarcastically sneered at her.
“Follow quietly while you’re still being treated well. Your accomplice has already admitted all the charges and confessed to the fact that you were behind it all.”
“What……?”
Rodelia asked back as if that couldn’t be the case. Her blue eyes widened.
“You are finished, Rodelia Florence. There will be no room for escape.”
They were convinced that she was the perfect culprit. No investigation was made. Who the hell gave what kind of testimony that they’d give such a bold remark?
While Rodelia was perplexed, he spoke coldly to her.
“You’ve been trying hard to pretend to be a wise empress. If your dream was to become an empress who would go down in history, you’ve succeeded. You dared to poison the emperor.”
*
Rodelia was taken to the interrogation room.
A place where people were driven to insanity, it only had a table and chairs.
There, she finally met Kane. With a cold expression on his face and his black hair swept neatly, he was sitting on the chair across from her.
“Go inside.”
The man who brought her pushed her back. His attitude towards the empress was not the slightest bit polite.
Thanks to that, she almost fell over but Kane didn’t react much to the attitude he displayed. He just looked on and smiled faintly.
Shame came over her.
She felt the same not so long ago; those who had been polite to her turned their backs on her in an instant……
It was truly miserable.
Rodelia trembled and sat across from Kane. An endless silence lingered between the two for a long time.
“So, how does it feel to try and fail to poison me?”
Kane spoke first.
He was sitting with a firm posture, as if he was certain that Rodelia was the culprit. The cold stares surrounding her also heavily weighed on her.
“I really did not. Don’t you already know…… what Your Majesty meant to me?”
Not now, of course but it certainly was the case until the end of the season. It hasn’t been long, yet a lot has changed in that short amount of time.
Rodelia bit her lip but she didn’t avert her eyes. It was because if she averted her eyes, she would really seem like she was admitting she did it.
Kane smiled at Rodelia’s words.
“Of course I know. I just had no idea that it was all an act.”
“What do you mean……?”
“How does it feel to have deceived me for three years? Do you feel like you’ve reigned over an emperor? How dare you, a mere Florence bloodline?”
She was speechless. Kane leaned back in his chair with legs crossed, as if asking her to answer. The treatment of an empress was not visible in the slightest, an obvious disregard.
Rodelia couldn’t say anything.
What the hell could she say? The listeners were covering their ears and were only saying what they wanted.
“Yes, what’s wrong with you? It’s all your father’s fault for raising his daughter wrong. Daring to poison the Emperor of Thebes, how dare he raise his one and only daughter so wonderfully. You deserve an award for such outstanding acting skills that you could be sent as a spy to an enemy country.”
“Never. Your Majesty’s poisoned state seems to impair your judgment but I’ve never done anything like that. If you drive me away like this without looking into it properly, you will regret it later.”
“That’s ridiculous. Saying that it’s the poison……. it was the same that day. The day your fever suddenly went down as if it washed away.”
“What do you mean……?”
“They say that the member of the Grand Duke of Aizen’s family have the ability to cure poison.”
Kane continues with a snort.
“A man’s coat was found in your room. It wasn’t mine.”
“That’s…….”
“I’ll ask you straightforwardly. Did you sleep with Cerdian Aizen?”
“I beg your pardon?”
Rodelia’s cheeks flushed red with shame. It wasn’t just the two of them alone, it was an investigation room. There were many observers.
But how could he insult the empress in a place like this?
She didn’t even know that members of the Aizen family had the ability to detoxify poison. She had only vaguely guessed that Cerdian had special ability.
However, when she heard it, embarrassment came first and she did not know what kind of reaction to make.
It is true that she had physical contact with him, but it was inevitable as it was something she had to do in order to live. They didn’t have skinship further than that.
‘But how can you say that…….?’
Rodelia fixed her quivering eyes on Kane, and he added, her expression hardening.
“How was it? Was it good? Was it insane? Is that why you moved on?”
“I’m the Empress of Thebes. I never did such a thing like that.”
“Lies!”
Kane’s high-pitched voice rang loudly throughout the interrogation room. All the observers standing there held their breaths and closed their eyes tightly.
“The slave trade too. You were conspiring with Grand Duke Aizen to support him.”
Kane now began to talk down to her without caring about the surroundings. However, no one showed signs of discomfort about it. The Empress has now been reduced to a felon who attempted to poison the Emperor.
Kane said, towards Rodelia who said nothing.
“Revlon also revealed everything.”
“Revlon…?”
Rodelia made a puzzled face.
Why is his name coming up here? She had nothing to do with him.
She was just suspicious of Revlon and asked Ferna to investigate.
“It’s already been revealed, so do you need to pretend you don’t know?”
“I really don’t know. What does Revlon have to do with me?”
“Funny. Alright, if you don’t know, let me remind you.”
As Rodelia listened to Kane’s words, her expression hardened even more.
The story was that the man named Revlon, the last heir to the fallen Count of Hart, entered the imperial palace due to his grudge against Kane for annihilating the Hart family.
And it was the Marquis of Florence and Rodelia Florence that gave him a chance to take revenge.
[T/N: Wow..]
“Ferna also said that there seems to be something between you and Revlon….. Not too long ago, I heard you told him to keep an eye on Revlon .”
Rodelia’s jaw hardened at the unexpected words.
Ferna, that cunning man, she didn’t trust him. It was a mistake to believe that he would follow her words just because he had ill feelings towards Revlon.
She never thought that he would testify by changing her ‘order’ so subtly. With that testimony, Ferna protected the emperor’s trust in him and even his position.
Laughter flowed out. A lot of things happened at once so she was confused, but now was not the time to be overwhelmed.
Clearly, all the evidence was pointing to her. She had to stay calm to get out of this situation. Rodelia tried to clear her mind and calmly organized her thoughts.
She was sure that everyone from the Count of Hart’s family was dead. Didn’t Viscountess Cohen tell her that?
Yes, Viscountess Cohen’s testimony will clear up all the misunderstandings.
“Please call Viscountess Cohen.”
With the madam, I’m sure…….
“She already gave her testimony as well.”
At that moment, the sound coming out of Kane’s mouth came faintly like a dream.
“She said you orchestrated everything.”
“What…?”
She couldn’t believe it. Why would Viscountess Cohen do such nonsense?
Rodelia blinked blankly in bewilderment. It was so unexpected that it made her feel more calm. It didn’t feel very real.
As she stared into space with a look that said it was incomprehensible, Kane, who was frustrated, rested his chin on his hand and smirked.
“Even if she tried to hide it, it’s clear that you would’ve eventually gotten caught, so she must have decided that telling the truth would be beneficial to her life. She’s a wise person.”
“…….”
“Are you that shocked that the Madam betrayed you?”
Kane continued talking to Rodelia who remained silent. It was because she was disgusted.
He, of course, had no intention of killing her. However, as for Marquis Florence, Kane had no intention of letting him live. It was to set an example for Rodelia.
A warning for her to never betray him again.
If Marquis Florence was left alone, he might one day use Rodelia to kill him. If possible, it would be better to uncover the truth about the rumor that the late emperor has a hidden child.
Dethroning her was also a matter for consideration. Of course, if Rodelia were to get down on her knees and beg for mercy beneath him, he might reconsider.
She will definitely do everything to keep her position as empress.
Kane chuckled to himself as he imagined Rodelia on her knees. Then he turned his attention to Rodelia, whose lips were quivering in shock.
“Ha! I feel more betrayed by you, Rodelia Florence.”
“I really did not do it, Your Majesty. It may sound ridiculous, but…… someone’s conspiring behind this. Why would I use poison on Your Majesty?”
“It must have been the intention to kill me and make Grand Duke Aizen emperor.”
Kane ignored her words and only said what he wanted to say.
When he recalled that fact, his anger rose. Of course, Rodelia wouldn’t have given her heart to Cerdian. It was Kane whom she loved.
Kane was absolutely certain.
Rodelia loves him but she was forced to poison him because of Marquis Florence. Of course, she probably didn’t love him in the beginning but she must have gradually fallen for him.
There was no way that the blue eyes looking at him were a lie. He was angry right after he found out that he was poisoned but it couldn’t be helped because she has been educated like that since childhood.
But he couldn’t forgive her blindly, so she had to pay a price.
Kane rose from his chair and approached Rodelia, who was staring at him. Her eyes rippled like waves.
“Do you want to keep your position as Empress?”
________\____________\_________\______