“Huh?”
Turning his head to Pavenik’s words, Carl could see Sienna leading the knights and heading somewhere in a hurry. The violent energy she was exuding was too thick.
“Let’s follow her.”
Carl wondered where the murderous energy was headed. He thought of a ‘what if’, but he tried to ignore it. Then Sienna rushed to Empress Arya just as he realized that his premonition had been right.
Carl arrived at the knight holding Sienna’s arm.
“How dare you try to touch the Empress’ body?”
Surprised by the sudden appearance of Carl, the scared knights took their hands off Sienna and lined up to greet him. Sienna was strangling Arya in the meantime.
*Gasp Gasp
Arya’s face distorted with pain. With the way she drooled with her mouth open, he could not find any of the elegance she usually carried with her.
“Sienna! Get your mind together!”
Carl wrapped around her shoulder and said.
“Don’t stop me. I’m going to kill her! You devilish b*tch! How can you… How can you…”
It was the first time he had seen her like this. He didn’t think Sienna could lose her composure in anything, but Sienna lost her mind. Carl was very surprised.
Carl raised Sienna’s shoulder. Sienna repeated in a feeble voice about the poor children and that she should kill Arya. He held her tightly in his arms, hoping she’d calm down a little.
Sienna lost consciousness after a long cry in his arms. It was because she had not been able to eat and sleep for a long time due to stress. Carl held the unconscious Sienna and looked down at Empress Arya.
Arya was also lying on the floor without much consciousness.
Her hair was a mess and the top of her dress was torn. There were also nail marks on her face and neck. Above all, Sienna’s fingerprints, which remained red on her neck, was so clear.
She spits out saliva with a cough for a long time and then glared at Carl and Sienna, with a venomous face.
“I will never let this go.”
At her words, Carl gave off a violent aura.
“Are you threatening me, the emperor now?”
Even at his murderous aura, Arya didn’t back down.
“Are you taking this as a threat? The Empress just tried to assassinate me. She literally said she would kill me with her own mouth. You don’t think you can just cover this up, do you?”
Arya raised herself with the help of the knights. Despite her ugly appearance, she glared at Carl with a look of persistence. Carl also stared at her without losing.
“Sienna seems to think that you’re the culprit in the temple case.”
Arya’s lower lip trembled at the words. It was a very short moment, but Carl didn’t miss it.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. It’s just a delusion of a crazy empress with no evidence.”
He put his hand on Arya’s neck, who said Sienna was crazy. He wasn’t strangling her, but it was a threat enough. It was all the more so for her, who had just been almost strangled to death.
“You seem to be out of your mind. How dare you call the empress crazy?”
Carl pushed her neck forward. The move was very slow and without any force at all, but Arya fell on her hips.
If he had put a force on his hand, he could easily have taken Arya’s breath away. She was also aware of the fact.
“I’m sorry. I couldn’t stand my anger because you dared to call the empress crazy. Oh, my handprints are still there.”
Arya realized what Carl was doing and looked up at him with a frown. The knights around him looked at him blankly, unable to understand what Carl was trying to say.
“It’s true that I made a big excuse to Empress Arya, but she also insulted Empress Sienna with disrespectful words. Since both sides are at fault, shouldn’t we just pretend it never happened? Unless you’re trying to insult me as an emperor.”
“What…?”
Before Arya could stop him, Carl filled himself up with an air of violence. It was to warn all the knights here now.
“Don’t talk about this ever again.”
Carl spoke to Arya with a deadly look.
“Empress Arya, I don’t think you’ll go around in that shameful form and babble your mouth. You are clever enough.”
Carl left her with a heavy warning.
It was right that Sienna was wrong to strangle Arya because it created an excuse for an attack on Arya’s side. But as soon as Carl picked at Arya’s fault and said he had strangled her, it was no longer a matter between Sienna and Arya, but between Arya and Carl, the emperor.
Carl said it was the fault of both himself and Arya, but the weight of it was different depending on whether it was an Emperor’s fault or an Empress’s fault. It would never have had a good effect on Arya if this was to be publicized.
Furthermore, Carl defined it as each other’s fault and made it a thing that never happened. Eventually, Arya became miserably strangled and unable to reap any benefits of it toward Sienna.
“And if Sienna thinks you have anything to do with it, try to hide your tail as much as you can. Actually, I rather hope you have something to do with the case.”
Carl said to her with a smile. Carl’s laughter contained a threat that if Arya had any connection with the temple massacre, he would tie her up and cut her throat. Arya trembled and held her breath.
Sienna, who had lost her mind, woke up late at night. As soon as she opened my eyes, she saw Carl with a worried face.
“Carl…”
Carl did not say anything and gently looked down at her.
“I apologize.”
Sienna apologized to Carl.
“Then why did you do something that you would regret right away?”
“I could not hold myself back.”
Sienna replied as if she had finally calmed down.
Carl had heard about what Sienna was talking about through Kelly. So he understood Sienna’s anger. However, he was worried that she, who was always thinking rationally, was angry to the point of losing herself.
“I… …what will happen to me?”
Sienna thought that he would be upset about the incident, but as Carl stared at her with a face that wasn’t, Sienna became more anxious.
Earlier in the day, she was in a rage, unable to think through, and rushed to kill her, but this was not something to be easily forgiven. It was an attempt to assassinate a member of the Imperial Family. It was a big deal enough to be punished for, at minimum, losing her seat as the empress. Sienna was also a member of the imperial family, but she would not be dealt with lightly.
“What do you think will happen?”
Carl answered Sienna’s question with a question instead of an answer. Sienna smiled as if she had given up everything.
‘If this was going to happen, I should’ve just offered to divorce him when he got married to Bluebell.’
Sienna opened her mouth with difficulty.
“Am I going to be deposed?”
Her words hardened Carl’s face.
“Or has there been a bigger punishment than that? They’re going to put me to death for murder?”
Carl felt bad because if he said so here, Sienna would accept the matter calmly.
“What you have done has been considered nothing.”
At Carl’s words, Sienna asked back with an incredible look.
“No way. Empress Arya couldn’t have let it go.”
“Because I ordered her to let it go.”
But Sienna still looked at him with a face of distrust.
“You don’t believe me.”
“Because I know what Empress Arya is like.”
“You know the empress well, but you don’t know much about me. Even if I haven’t laid the foundation as the Emperor yet, I have enough power to cover up that situation. So relax.”
At Carl’s words, Sienna nodded. The anxiety still lingered, but she couldn’t argue with Carl when he said this. Instead, she hung on Carl’s arm and asked him for a favor.
“I know it’s Empress Arya! The culprit behind this. I can’t think of anyone else but her. So does Aunt Kelly. One of the criminals is a merchant connected to Empress Arya. Please make sure you catch the criminal.”
Carl nodded at Sienna’s earnest request and promised to do so. No matter how much Empress Arya and her lieutenants oppose it, he will take this on, even by using the power of the emperor’s name.