Heena trembled slightly. "I did NOT kill without reason!"
The Duchess looked at her. "Of course. I heard that you killed him because you were suspicious he tried to kill Emperor Consort Larus. And you killed him without presenting any evidence to the court."
"I HAVE evidence!" Heena protested. "The assassins confessed—"
"Uh-huh." The Duchess’s smile beca sharper. "Literally, my dear niece, whenever I think you’re ’not’ my brother’s daughter, you prove right."
Heena didn’t want to say anything more.
The Duchess continued, "But sotis you really do these foolish things, and then I rember: yes, you ’are’ the daughter of my idiotic brother."
Heena looked at her aunt indignantly. "Aunt! You cannot insult Father like that! It’s treason!"
The Duchess raised her eyebrows. "Oh? Treason? Then what about it? Should I go to the execution grounds and kill myself?"
She gestured dramatically toward the door.
"Here, Your Majesty—your old aunt will just go throw herself on the executioner’s block. How about that?"
Heena shook her head frantically. "No, no, Aunt! What are you saying? He’s your brother! You can beat him up if you want—what are you talking about killing yourself?!"
The Duchess’s expression beca completely dark—her face like a thundercloud.
"Your Majesty," she said, her voice dropping to sothing cold and furious, "this old woman is killing herself doing diplomatic work for you ALL THE TI. And there you are, just like your father, making an example of being a ’lawful’ ruler who executes people dramatically in open court. Very good. Very nice."
The Duchess looked at Heena with a serious expression and said, "Frederick, give us so space."
Secretary Chen—Frederick Chen—bowed and left imdiately, closing the door behind him.
As the door shut, the Duchess’s entire deanor changed. She looked at Heena directly and said, "What you did today was good. I liked it. The execution sent the right ssage."
Heena blinked in surprise.
"But," the Duchess continued firmly, "now is not the ti to waste opportunities. You have the dukes in your grasp. As for the consorts, they’re useless. I don’t even know why you’re dragging this out so long."
She fixed Heena with a penetrating stare.
"Celeste," she said, using the body’s original na deliberately, "finish this business as soon as possible. I don’t want any more wasted ti. What happened to Larus will happen again if you don’t beco clear and strong about eliminating threats."
She leaned forward slightly.
"If you’re always caught up in these household fights and political gas, what about the empire itself? What about governance? Do the people want to sit and watch your dostic disputes all the ti? I want you to clear everything as soon as possible. No longer delays."
Heena nodded seriously. "I understand. In three days, everything will be finished."
The Duchess sighed. "I hope so."
With that, she stood and left the room.
The System looked at Heena and asked nervously, "Host, are you going to close the net so soon?"
Heena nodded. "Yes. We don’t have much ti to waste anymore. Enough with these male leads and female lead gas. We need to clear all of this out completely."
---
The next day ca, and Heena was remarkably calm.
She sat in her throne room, listening to people present various petitions and disputes, handling routine governance with practiced efficiency.
Of course, the dukes had been able to present evidence that they hadn’t personally authorized the assassination attempt. They’d worked through the entire night, pulling records, finding alibis, demonstrating that soone else had used their joint account without authorization.
They’d proven their technical innocence.
But just because they’d proven innocence didn’t an they got off free.
Their reputations were already in tatters. Everyone now knew the Empress was in conflict with the ducal families. If another attack happened on Larus, the first suspicion would definitely fall on the ducal households again.
Not only that, due to this scandal, they’d lost many important business deals. Trade partners were pulling back. Political allies were distancing themselves.
And on top of everything—their wives had asked for divorces.
The dukes were shocked. They’d never thought their soft, obedient wives would ever make such a bold decision. They’d rejected the divorce requests imdiately, of course.
But they knew their wives wouldn’t stay silent about it.
---
Around noon, Heena was in her office reviewing docunts when a guard announced: "Your Majesty, the four duchesses have arrived and request an audience."
Heena nodded. "Let them in."
When the four won entered—Kieran’s mother, Adrian’s mother, Lucian’s mother, and Damien’s stepmother—their eyes showed determination and resolve.
Heena nodded at them and motioned toward the sofa. She walked over and sat across from them.
The four won looked at each other, nodded in silent agreent, then looked at Heena and said in unison:
"Your Majesty, we are ready for the divorce."
Heena paused, studying them. "Are you sure?"
They nodded. "Yes. But we have one condition."
This ti Heena raised her eyebrows, and coldness entered her eyes as she said sharply:
"Mother-in-law, I’m not marrying you or anything like that, so I don’t think I need to hear your opinions about what you want or don’t want. I don’t think I need to hear your conditions. If you don’t want to divorce, then don’t. Simple."
The won were slightly taken aback by the bluntness.
But Kieran’s mother—the forr princess—looked at Heena and spoke calmly:
"Your Majesty, yes, we are not your lovers, nor are we going to marry you. But perhaps you have forgotten, Your Majesty, that by our divorces, the one who benefits the most is ’you’."
Heena paused, looking at this woman carefully. ’She truly is a princess. Sharp and perceptive.’
Heena picked up her tea cup and took a sip while looking at them. "I don’t understand what you an. What would I even gain from this?"
Kieran’s mother said clearly, "Weakened ducal families. With these divorces, you would remove the biggest obstacles to the throne. Our husbands are the most powerful nobles in the empire, if we’re being honest."
Heena set down her cup and looked at them coldly. "So you’re sitting in front of the throne itself, saying that your husbands are powerful. Should I take that as treason?"
They shook their heads quickly. "Your Majesty, right now we are sitting in your private office. And we are discussing conditions for mutual benefit. I don’t think it’s wrong. Not just us—every guard, every person outside knows it. Our husbands are one of the biggest troubles standing in your way."
Heena looked at them critically. "Oh? If you know this, why are you even helping ?"
They paused, then spoke honestly:
"We know you sched to push us toward divorce because it benefits you. But Your Majesty, what you said was also true. After all these years, we literally didn’t get much from our marriages. And if we were to die tomorrow... really, our husbands would regret it for a day or two. But that regret—what use would it be for us when we’re dead?"
Heena looked at them and scoffed. "Why not just make them fall in love with you? Win their hearts?"
Heena paused. "What?"
She felt like she hadn’t heard clearly.
They looked at her and repeated: "Please don’t kill our sons."
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