The Empress’s Beast Selection

Chapter 6 Accusation

“Why did you come today when you were quiet yesterday?”

“It’s not easy to show yourself in front of someone who has tried to harm you. A herbivore.”

Sepia spat out the words.

The malice she’d felt in the carriage was still fresh in her mind.

Sepia returned the glare.

“I didn’t push Titian.”

It was only in hindsight.

Demios had kept his promise of breakfast for Titian’s sake.

Silence settled over the table.

As the soup cooled, Demios spoke with a heavy sigh.

“Speculation is not good, especially between us.”

Between us…?

Sepia’s pupils fluttered.

What was he talking about now?

A childhood memory. Or their relationship that had fizzled out before it even started?

Or maybe he was talking about a future relationship, she realized.

She squeezed her eyes shut and opened them.

“I don’t know what brought you here, but I can tell you this: I did not push Lady Titian.”

Her calm voice stated the truth.

Looking at her, Demios ran a hand roughly through his hair in a gesture of weariness.

“You misunderstand something, I didn’t come here to accuse you.”

“Then what is it?”

“We already had breakfast together one day during the week, I was just adding a caveat to that.”

He added, as if Sepia were being unnecessarily sensitive.

“Anyway, since Titian isn’t hurt, we’ll let this one slide.”

He meant to be careful next time.

As if to end the conversation, Demios picked up his cutlery.

The silver knife sliced smoothly through the steak.

Red gravy stained the pure white bowl as the rare meat split open.

Though only human in appearance, the beast preferred to eat meat, day or night.

Even as she watched him continue his meal with dignity, Sepia hadn’t the slightest inclination to join him.

“I said I didn’t, not that I didn’t.”

His supple fingertips halted in midair.

Setting down his plate, Demios warned her.

“Don’t escalate the problem here, Empress. If you continue to be so stubborn, I’ll have no choice but to pursue this matter.”

Stubborn.

What a wonderful word.

Sepia asked, her patience cracking.

“Do you have proof? Proof that I pushed Lady Titian?”

Demios fell silent at her question.

There was none.

Sepia and Titian were the only ones in the carriage that day.

That’s how she was able to frame Sepia for the accident when Titian wasn’t even there.

Across the silent table, Sepia drew her conclusions.

“So you’re accusing me of something you have no proof of, and you don’t even bother to listen to me.”

She chuckled to herself.

They are still husband and wife, even if their feelings have faded.

Even if it’s a woman with his name, it’s still a woman, and he is trying to push the other one around like this.

It’s all right at best, but it shakes the heart that was once in control.

But her long training in aristocratic etiquette kept her expression stoic.

A terrible silence ensued.

Demios’s brow furrowed as the confrontation continued.

To him, the whole situation was simply annoying and tiring.

“You seem overexcited, and there is no reason for Titian to lie to me like that.”

“And no reason for me to push her.”

It was the other who got the slap in the back.

Instead of getting excited, her head was growing cold as time passed.

They were both right.

There was no point in talking if it wasn’t going to be accepted.

Sepia chose to stand up.

“I must get up first. Enjoy your breakfast, Your Majesty.”

She bowed briefly, then turned and left. Without a second glance back.

Only the sound of her low heels echoed through the feast hall.

She didn’t realize her red eyes were following her retreating back.

***

A week had passed since breakfast.

In that time, she never saw Demios again.

Instead, she heard rumors about the Emperor and his name.

‘Better this way.’

It was better not to see him at all than to be treated like a criminal for something she hadn’t done.

After the carriage incident, Titian stayed at the Emperor palace.

She didn’t just stay there.

Sightings of the two had been reported all over the capital.

It was news that Sepia couldn’t help but notice.

The factions that had opposed her as Empress in the past were very much in favor of Titian.

They were even spreading rumors like this.

‘The Emperor has found his true love.’

It was very provocative, as if she was being told to listen to a Sepia.

This was to be expected, but not surprising.

Sepia buried her face in a stack of papers.

She’d been spending more time in her office lately.

At least here she was out of the public eye.

The preparations for the triumvirate had been completed, and now it was just a matter of checking for any other anomalies.

As Sepia’s eyes scanned the contents, another document came into view.

The attendance list for the winner-take-all.

Her hand reached for it, even though she’d already checked it several times.

Sepia flipped through it, page by page.

She looked again, but the man’s name was nowhere to be seen.

‘Wasn’t he the one who returned from the slaughter?’

She wondered if she’d been wrong, but then again, she didn’t think so.

Sometimes people had two names.

‘And if not that, then at least he’s at the party?’

But this wasn’t a very credible guess either.

Attendance was mandatory for the relevant nobles, and even more so for the higher-ups.

‘He didn’t seem like a commoner.’

A large, scar-covered hand loomed before her.

Hard flesh that the thin hem of his robe failed to conceal.

A carnivorous beast.

A cougar? Or something more…

Sepia shook her head in disbelief at the thought.

‘What are you thinking?’

She was too absorbed.

She will get the coat back someday, and if that’s not possible, so be it.

Sepia was about to finalize the list.

The top of the attendance list.

The name of the master of ceremonies caught her eye.

‘Duke Claude Leopard.’

She knew his name and age, but everything else was shrouded in mystery.

‘I wonder who he is.’

Of all the high nobles, the Duke was the only one Sepia hadn’t met.

A blood relative whom Demios openly hated.

Several attempts had been made to learn more about the Duke of Leopard, but all had been thwarted.

‘Not even I, the Empress, can confirm this.’

It’s also new to her that only the Emperor has access to information about him.

She wonders what’s involved in this, and why it’s so tightly guarded.

Sepia was lost in thought.

Knock.

There was a knock at the door, and a maid came in.

It was Madame Lemodie.

“Excuse me, Your Majesty.”

Her clear voice was tinged with distress.

Sepia asked, puzzled.

“What’s going on?”

“A servant has been sent from the Imperial Palace.”

The maids were well aware of what was going on, and they were very cautious about anything to do with the Emperor.

‘What’s going on?’

‘They’ve been quiet for so long.’

It was not something they could keep quiet about forever.

After all, he was the Emperor, and they were husband and wife.

“Tell him to come in.”

“Yes, Your Majesty. Please wait a moment.”

A short time later, Madame Lemodie brought in the Emperor’s servant.

He was the beast of the Raccoon, and he was quite a familiar face.

She wondered what he had brought that made him so uncomfortable.

The servant swallowed dryly and held out the papers to Sepia.

“This is a request from His Majesty himself.”

Sepia took the papers, puzzled.

The request was brief.

‘…You wish to lend the Palace of Leuven to Lady Titian?’

The Leuven Palace, the third largest in the Imperial and reputed to have the most beautiful camellias, was the most valuable after the Empress Palace.

It was currently being rented indefinitely by Swan, a close friend of the Empress.

The management and responsibility for all the palaces of the imperial court, with the exception of the Emperor’s Palace, were all under the Empress’s control.

It was up to her to rent it out or grant certain privileges, so it was only proper that the request should come to her.

But there it was.

“Viscountess Swan is currently residing at Leuven Palace.”

“I am well aware of that, Your Majesty. But…”

Demios’s servant wiped away a cold sweat.

As he turned pale, Sepia knew what was going on.

‘So… you’re saying that I have the authority to remove Madame Swan and put Lady Titian in her place?’

Viscountess Swan was a servant who served the previous Empress Yerdial throughout her life.

In recognition of her services, Swan continued to enjoy imperial privileges even after Yerdial’s death.

Of course, the current Empress was Sepia, so she had the power to remove her from the palace.

‘No matter what.’

If nothing else, there is a minimum of decency.

Moreover, Viscountess Swan was the one who had helped Sepia become Empress.

At that time, Yerdial, who had become the Empress Dowager, could not even utter a word due to her deteriorating condition, and two years later she had to attend the Empress Dowager’s funeral.