In the Imperial City, there was a secret passage that led to a place few people knew about. It was an extremely damp and dark road, which made visiting this place even more problematic. Given the nature of this place, almost none of the noble residents of the Imperial City had ever been there.
However, this time, the visitors to this place were quite unusual.
The only light in the underground passage was the light of a torch held by a knight walking slowly in front of a woman. Although it was quite eerie and dark here, the woman, whose hair glowed bronze in the light of the torches, walked calmly and steadily, as if she could see the road clearly.
Her face was pale and hard as stone.
— Your Majesty, we have arrived.
The place where the empress now stood was in the basement of the imperial castle. In the prison, which was supposed to be strictly guarded by guards, there was not a single rat. The empress looked straight ahead and frowned involuntarily when a faint foul odour reached her nostrils.
As expected, the place was disgusting. The knight also showed concern and remarked:
— Your Majesty, this prison is so dirty. You don't belong here.
However, the woman said calmly:
— Leave me here for a while.
The knight was somewhat surprised by this order and tried to object:
— But Your Majesty...!
— I told you to leave.
The Empress gave the knight a clear instruction, and he could not object.
Finally, the knight of the imperial guard who was accompanying her bowed his head and attached the torch to the wall. He said humbly:
— I will wait for you at the entrance.
— All right.
The empress nodded, and the knight immediately disappeared.
After that, Julia turned around and looked straight ahead. She saw a figure appearing from around the corner of the prison.
— You... What are you doing here? — A hoarse voice escaped from the mouth of a man who had not had a sip of water for more than several days.
The man in the prison reacted faster than the empress. He stood up and approached the bars. It was Fred Harper, the former stableman of the imperial court. His face, like his entire appearance, was a mess, but at the same time it was full of hatred. Hatred for the woman standing in front of him.
— How could I not come to you in such a situation?
A faint smile spread across the empress's impassive face. In the dark prison, the man clung tighter to the bars.
— You came to mock me, didn't you? — the stable boy sneered softly.
— You're wrong. Would I have come to this miserable place just to see your face?
Listening to the woman's arrogant speech, a pale shadow fell across the prisoner's face.
— Then to what do I owe the visit of Her Majesty the Empress? — He smiled quietly.
— I just wanted to make sure that a rat like you would die quietly and not cause me any more trouble.
With these words, the empress headed for the iron bars before the man standing in front of her could change his expression.
Julia felt the wool shoes she had worn during her rest in her palace become wet from the sewage that had accumulated in the prison basement. However, she did not pay any attention to this at the moment, her violet eyes fixed on the man.
The stable boy continued to look at her with a smirk in his eyes.
— Your Majesty wants me to die quickly, — he grinned, 'but you know I'm not afraid of that at all.
— Of course, — the empress's lips curved into a smile, — fools like you are always so stupid or brave that you don't think about the consequences.
— Your Majesty, allow me to say that you are talking about a fool whom you once loved.
Julia raised her eyebrows.
— Loved? Don't make me laugh!
— But isn't it true? — asked the groom, — You once told me that I was the only one for you.
When the insignificant man standing before her suddenly started talking about the past, Julia felt irritated.
Now, after so much time had passed, she had no desire to bring up the subject. Especially since it had happened in those distant, terrible times when she was a low-ranking concubine and occupied an empty place in the imperial palace. And now that she had risen so high, she had no desire to look back.
— I don't even remember that, — Julia snorted. — The only idiot who's still trying to cling to old memories is you.
— Of course, — the groom smiled condescendingly, turning to the empress, — I knew from the beginning that this would happen. But still... I really loved you in those days.
Julia's face darkened, as she really didn't want to hear any of this. She had long since buried this insignificant connection in her heart.
And now it had long since ceased to have any meaning for her. Regrets about the past, like her supposed "feelings" for the man standing before her, were long gone.
Julia looked at him only as a pathetic servant, and now a prisoner who was not even worthy of her company.
— Even on the brink of death, you still have the nerve to talk so much, — she said contemptuously. — This time, I'll turn a blind eye only because you really don't have long to live.
Fred Harper smiled weakly.
— Your Majesty, if you think I'm going to go to the other world alone, you're mistaken.
After the man unexpectedly said this, Julia looked at him in surprise.
— What are you talking about...? — she exclaimed indignantly.
— Aveline, — the man said quietly, and the name echoed through the prison basement, — she was your daughter, but you still treated her so cruelly. I can never forgive you for that. And if I am destined to die, I will not rest until I take you with me. Even as a ghost, I will continue to haunt you.
"...."
When Fred Harper mentioned her daughter's name, the empress shuddered. For a moment, she even lost her composure and clenched her knuckles until they turned white. For a moment, a deafening silence reigned in the prison, broken only by the drops of water falling from the ceiling.
— How presumptuous of you to say that, — Julia finally said.
— Your Majesty, the man to whom you once swore eternal love has many more surprises in store for you.
The groom smiled broadly. At that moment, through the bars, he looked at the woman who was full of life and as beautiful as a flower in the torchlight.
But few knew how poisonous that flower really was. And Fred Harper knew it too.
This time Julia Ravelia Ashelot lost her patience.
— Enough. I showed leniency when I came down to this godforsaken place, not to listen to your ravings, — she gritted her teeth.
"..."
— But since you're going to die soon anyway, I'll tell you something.
At that moment, the empress suddenly changed her anger to mercy and smiled. She moved even closer to the prison bars and whispered something to the man almost in his ear.
Then she stepped back, and a look of shock froze on the groom's face.
— I will prosper for many, many years, and you will die here a miserable death.
Julia spoke in a satisfied tone, while the pale face of the prisoner before her continued to darken. Finally, he remained silent as the empress uttered her final words:
— Our next meeting will be at your execution. And rest assured, I will not be late.
After these words, the empress stepped away from the bars and prepared to leave the prison. She did not look back, and eventually her bright silhouette disappeared from view.
Then Fred Harper, as if overcome by weakness, slowly sank to the floor.
When the sound of the empress's footsteps faded away, another sound rang out in the dark prison. It was the girl who had been hiding in the shadows all this time. Tears welled up in the eyes of Zoe, the former personal maid of the crown princess. She quickly ran to the bars and grabbed hold of them.
— Mr. Harper... — she called in a trembling voice.
The groom looked up, and a faint smile played on his lips.
— Thank you for coming to see me today, — he said hoarsely.
Although Fred Harper said this, Zoe felt that there was no need to thank him. Quite the contrary. She couldn't shake the overwhelming feeling of guilt at seeing the man in front of her in such a state.
— Mr. Harper. I'm so sorry, — she cried, — I'm sorry. Is there nothing I can do to help you?
Even though she had no other choice in the situation, the maid couldn't help feeling sorry for what she had done. Now that it was her fault, she just wanted to know if there was anything she could do to help the groom.
Fortunately, the man replied:
— There is one thing.
— What is it? — she asked quickly.
— This letter... — The stable boy suddenly reached out and took out a crumpled piece of paper that he had been hiding in his clothes all this time. — Please find a way to get this to the Princess of the North as soon as possible.
Zoe was surprised to hear this.
— What? The princess of the north?
A faint smile flashed across the stableman's lips.
— I know my daughter was very lonely and didn't have many friends, — he whispered. — However, I think the princess of the north is different from everyone else. Despite her reputation and all the rumours about the northern castle, Aveline was happy when she told me about her.
"...."
— I think Princess Rania is a good person, and she's the only one who can help us now.
Although this request was quite unexpected, the maid simply nodded, ready to fulfil Fred's wish without hesitation.
— All right... I understand. I'll do everything I can!
The groom's plain smile brightened a little.
— Thank you. And... take care of yourself, Zoe. It's not your fault.
Tears glistened in the maid's eyes again when she heard this. However, as they had little time, she took the letter without hesitation and hid it safely in the side pocket of her uniform.
Then she nodded slightly to the man before leaving him. Watching her receding silhouette, Fred Harper sighed heavily.
He raised his head and looked at the dark ceiling of the prison, from which dirty water was dripping. But at that moment, it seemed as if he saw something completely different. It was an endless blue sky, the very same sky where his beloved daughter had once counted the clouds.
At the thought of this, tears welled up in the man's eyes. He sighed quietly and tried to smile.
"Aveline, there's not much time left. Soon we'll be together again, and I'll be able to take you back to that hill."