In Zhao Li's memory, the emperor's tall figure began to gradually blur.

Inside the palace, bathed in the holy light from the rooftops, only the emperor in his golden robes and Zhao Li, whose abdomen was pierced by a broadsword and covered in bright red blood, remained in the center.

In Zhao Li's last memory, only the image of her deceased son remained. In the final moment before her consciousness faded, as if she had used all her strength, her blood-stained mouth slightly opened, uttering a sound that only she could hear.

"I'm sorry... Mother, I didn't avenge you, I couldn't even find the murderer for you..."

Finally, after saying these words, Zhao Li's head, which had been twisted in pain, drooped limply as she passed away.

Sensing the passing of the beauty before him, the emperor did not speak, but silently pulled the broadsword from her body.

Then, with a slight jerk of his arm, the bloodstains and fragments of internal organs on the blade fell into a pool of blood that had formed on the black tiles.

With the cleaned broadsword slung over his back, the emperor walked step by step toward the golden throne.

Until he sat down again on the golden throne, he took down the broadsword and placed it to one side of the throne.

He simply stared silently at the center of the hall, where Princess Zhao Li lay in a pool of blood, her body covered in blood, completely lifeless.

Without making any move or saying anything, the emperor simply sat on his golden throne, and didn't even send anyone to clean up the corpses in the hall.

...

Two hours after the emperor murdered Princess Zhao Li inside the imperial palace.

Inside the eerie research institute several thousand meters beneath the Imperial Palace in the capital.

In Marshal Maurice's office, Marshal Maurice, who was lying on his desk with a mature secretary's coat draped over his back, slowly opened his eyes.

He stood up from the table with a somewhat dazed look in his eyes, then rubbed his eyes with his calloused hands.

Did I take a nap?

Looking at the coat that belonged to his secretary draped over his back, Marshal Maurice muttered to himself.

Just as he took off the coat draped over his back and held it in his hand.

The experienced secretary, who had been waiting outside the door, heard the commotion inside and pushed open the door to come in.

She saw Marshal Maurice, who had just woken up, holding the coat that belonged to her in his hand, and her face flushed slightly.

Looking at the mature secretary who walked in, then at the coat in her hand, and the blush on her face, Marshal Maurice roughly understood the situation.

However, he didn't expose his secretary's thoughts, but simply asked her softly:

How long have I been asleep?

When Marshal Maurice asked her the question, the experienced secretary quickly glanced at her watch before replying:

"Marshal Maurice, you have been asleep for four hours and eighteen minutes. Would you like to rest a little longer? I can tell you haven't had a rest for several days."

Marshal Maurice simply shook his head slightly, indicating that he had slept enough. Then he slowly got up and stretched his somewhat stiff body.

After taking a nap, he felt much better.

After stretching his stiff body, Marshal Maurice, holding his mature secretary's coat, walked up to her, handed her the coat, and said:

"Thank you for your coat. You should be resting now, go and get some rest."

Taking the coat from Marshal Maurice, the secretary's face flushed even more after hearing his words of concern. After putting the coat back on, she whispered:

"Thank you for your concern, Marshal Maurice. I'll go and rest now."

After saying that, the mature secretary quickly left the room, making sure to close the door behind her.

Watching his secretary flee as if running away, Marshal Maurice simply smiled and shook his head. He then turned and picked up the communicator from the table, habitually checking for any new messages.

However, when he turned on the screen of his communicator and saw the message pinned to the top, his smile froze on his face.

After a long while, he sighed dejectedly and muttered to himself:

"Your Highness... have you still chosen to be an enemy of the Emperor?"

Marshal Maurice's smile had vanished. He simply walked back to his chair behind his desk and sat down, his expression suggesting a sense of loneliness.

“Your Highness…you are not only the emperor’s concubine, but also my sister.”

During his murmured conversation, Marshal Maurice revealed a secret that even Zhao Li herself was unaware of, but unfortunately, the deceased Zhao Li could no longer hear it.

As he spoke, he took out an old photograph from his pocket. It showed a somewhat dilapidated little house with an eleven or twelve-year-old boy in the center and a three or four-year-old girl next to him.

Marshal Maurice looked at the photograph in his hand with a hint of sadness in his eyes, and memories of his childhood with Princess Zhao Li surfaced in his mind.

"Why did you give your sister away to someone else!"

Inside a simple, old house, a little boy shouted at a man holding a girl in front of him.

“I’m sorry, Maurice, our family can no longer support three people. After your mother died, my job is not enough to support you and your sister.”

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