Chapter 225
“The Chancellor?”
Kazhan froze awkwardly, unable to properly express the joy of seeing Ysaris after nearly ten days. He wanted to voice his concern at her visibly thinner frame—just as the maids had reported—but swallowed the words with a sigh. Now wasn’t the time.
“At least sit down. Why do you need the Chancellor? If you tell me, I can grant any—”
“I said I have matters to discuss with him, Your Majesty.”
Her words, sharp and unyielding, made his fingers twitch.
The formal tone, the icy expression, the deliberate distance—all of it was Ysaris as she had been during the year of their forced marriage. Familiar, yet somehow foreign now.
That gentle reply, offered just half a year ago with a pale smile, already felt like a relic. He missed the warmth she’d shown since their academy days.
But Kazhan had no right to complain. He was the one who’d reduced her to this.
“…I’ll summon him now. If you wish to speak privately, you may use my receiving room.”
“No. Have him come here. If I wanted to meet alone, I’d have invited him to the Empress’s palace myself.”
“So it’s something I must hear too.”
“Yes.”
With that clipped reply, Ysaris fell silent, her posture making it clear she wouldn’t entertain further conversation until Duke Barilio arrived.
Kazhan studied her for a long moment before raking a hand through his hair and ringing the bell on his desk.
Ding!
“You called, Your Majesty?”
“Fetch the Chancellor. Immediately.”
“At once, Your Majesty.”
Silence settled over the study as the attendant withdrew—just Ysaris, arms crossed as she stared out the window, and Kazhan, staring at her.
The fragile peace shattered sooner than expected.
Knock knock.
“Your Majesty, Duke Barilio—”
“Send him in.”
No one acknowledged the flustered attendant, cut off mid-sentence just as before. Instead, all attention shifted to the gray-clad man who entered with practiced elegance.
“Greetings to the sun and moon of the Empire.”
“Spare the pleasantries, Duke. The Empress has words for you.”
‘The Empress?’
Jebiken’s gaze flicked to Ysaris, standing rigid several paces away. Her face was gaunter than he remembered, her eyes scanning him like a blade.
‘Ah. She’s recovered her memories of Uzephia. How… inconvenient.’
His detached amusement vanished when she spoke.
“Why did you steal my memories?”
“Pardon?”
“What?”
Ignoring both men’s reactions, Ysaris continued calmly.
“Was it because of Chernian’s ‘barbarian blood’? Did you fear the Tennilath line’s power would break if I became the Emperor’s sole consort?”
“What nonsense—”
Kazhan’s crimson eyes locked onto Jebiken, who barely kept his composure.
“Why would you accuse me of such a thing, Your Majesty? My abilities aren’t nearly potent enough.”
“Funny. They felt potent enough when used against me. Despite all the ‘conditions’ required.”
“…!”
‘Damn it.’
Jebiken realized with dawning horror that she wasn’t speculating—she knew. He’d expected the blood covenant’s effects to fade, but not for his own subtle manipulations to unravel completely. Let alone for her to pinpoint him so swiftly.
‘She was blindfolded. It happened years ago. Even with restored memories, why would she suspect me instead of begging for help?’
This wasn’t a probe. It was an execution.
But admitting it now would unravel everything he’d built in the shadows.
“A misunderstanding, surely. You’ve confused me with someone else. Allow me to help uncover the true culprit—”
“Even considering my precarious position, it’s strange in hindsight—a mere physician daring to pressure the Empress into terminating her pregnancy. Was that your doing too?”
“What?”
“Preposterous, Your Majesty! I would never commit such an atrocity!”
Ysaris ignored both Kazhan’s agitation and Jebiken’s denials.
“Once I recognized your hostility, everything else fell into place. There’s simply too much that reeks of your interference.”
She hadn’t wasted those days in idle brooding. Every waking moment had been spent dissecting the past until her head throbbed.
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