The next morning, news arrived that destroyed my hope.

It was another gloomy day. An injured carrier pigeon arrived from the west after we noted the ominous black smoke from the nearby mountaintop.

Chancellor Cornelius brought me the dead pigeon and informed me.

“Your highness, a rebellion has occurred.”

Until now, every time I saw the chancellor, he had always been calm.

However, today, he looked tense and anxious. He looked decades older.

My voice trembled as I asked him, “What does that mean exactly?”

“All of the provinces were asked to join his highness during his hunting event and part of the southern military group attacked the emperor.”

I was familiar with the southern province because Lucretius was concerned about it. This was where Marquis Galisia worked as the chief of the military for a very long time.

Since Lucretius didn’t trust him, he moved Marquis Galisia to another province recently and placed his own trusted man in the southern military base.

However, it was this very army that attacked Lucretius. What did this mean then? Did the man Lucretius trusted betray him? Were the southern men still loyal to Marquis Galisia because he led them for so long?

Suddenly, it clicked.

“Southern province, Marquis Galisia… The dowager empress…!”

The chancellor nodded. “That’s the only possible explanation.”

I clenched my teeth and asked, “How is the emperor? Did anything happen to him? Any other news?”

Cornelius shook his head. “Other than this message, we received nothing else. I am not even sure if the battle has ended or if it is still going on.”

I couldn’t think. My eyes became blurry in shock.

Lucretius? Was he safe?

He had to be!

Could he be… Dead?

He left with a promise that he would return to me safely.

He said he would come back in three days.

The dead pigeon in the chancellor’s hands looked gruesome. It was covered in its own blood.

Was Lucretius hurt as well?

No! It can’t be!

“NO!”

“… ness!”

“It can’t be…”

“Your highness!”

At the chancellor’s firm voice, I managed to regain my thoughts. He looked at me steadily. His hand was on my shoulder. He must have been shaking me, and I haven’t even noticed it.

“You need to snap out of it!”

I nodded slowly. “Yes, I know. Thank you.”

The chancellor looked relieved.

“Did his highness by chance leave you something before he left?”

For a second, I hesitated. Could I trust the chancellor?

I tried to think hard and remember what Lucretius had told me. The chancellor lost his beloved granddaughter because of the dowager empress. This made him Lucretius’ greatest ally and, therefore, the dowager empress’ enemy. I had already seen Cornelius and Katleyanira go head to head a few times.

If I had to beware of the chancellor, Lucretius would have warned me already.

As long as the dowager empress remained as our common enemy, I decided I could trust the chancellor.

I nodded carefully.

“… Yes.”

“Thank god.” He looked tense as he continued, “There is nothing we can do about the emperor’s situation in the field, but your highness needs to do what you must before the rebellion spreads to the city.”

My hands shook and they felt numb, but I couldn’t let my fear take over me. I had to be strong. I had no time to waste.

“The item his highness left you… Does it give you the authority over our military?”

I nodded and showed him the royal seal. He looked relieved.

“Good. Firstly, your highness, you need to call for a Senate meeting.”

“Senate meeting? I thought only the emperor could call it.”

“As the only wife to the emperor, you are considered the acting empress. Without the emperor present, the empress becomes the acting ruler. So… at this point, your highness is the head of this kingdom.”

The Senate was the agency that had the authority over any major decisions involving Cransia. Even the emperor, who was considered to have absolute power, still couldn’t disregard the senate members. The group was made of the most powerful noble family members in the kingdom.

Before Emperor Kentius, the Senate didn’t have much power, but Kentius changed this. He made sure the Senate gained more authority during his reign.

Lucretius explained to me that Emperor Kentius didn’t trust his only son and that was why he did this. Knowing the former emperor, I could understand why. Before he died, Emperor Kentius’ last words for his son was to always follow the senate’s decisions.

The Senate had the most power it ever had in history and the chancellor was now asking me to command them.

I felt overwhelmed.

“Sir… Wouldn’t it be better for you to do call the meeting?”

Cornelius shook his head. “His highness gave you the royal seal, which means he wants you to represent him. You are the only one who can do this.”

The chancellor picked up a pen and started to write the order for the Senate meeting. He also wrote out other orders at the same time.

“One of the Cransian armies started the rebellion, which means we need to quickly assess which of the generals we can trust. The first thing is to command the castle defense team and the royal guards.”

The chancellor handed me one of the orders that called for all the royal guards and the defense team. The defense team was to be deployed to help the emperor fight against the rebels and the royal guards were to stay and protect the castle. It was a standard procedure and I quickly stamped it with the royal seal.

The messengers were called in, and they each left with the orders.

Suddenly, I realized I missed something.

This all started with the dowager empress. I needed to address the route of all these problems.

I shouted, “Royal guards! Get me all the royal guards in the castle!”

***

I had the royal seal in my hand. Lucretius placed it with me to keep it safe.

It represented power.

In addition, I was the acting empress at the moment. With the emperor missing, I had the authority to do anything I saw fit. This was an unusual case, but it didn’t matter.

With every available royal guards, I headed towards the dowager empress’ quarters. I sent some of the guards to princesses Liliana, Roselia, and Margaret as well.

I was certain the rebels were connected to the dowager empress. This meant she most likely planned on placing Princess Liliana on the throne. If I arrested the dowager empress and the princesses were in my hand, we would still have a chance even if the rebels captured Lucretius.

The dowager empress’ principle maid in waiting stopped me at the door.

“What do you think you are doing?!”

I ordered coldly, “Arrest her! Everyone in this quarters who work for the dowager empress is a rebel who committed treason.”

The guards grabbed any maids and servants who tried to stop me from entering the room.

“How dare you…?!”

“This is the dowager empress’s chamber!”

They protested and screamed, but it was easy to ignore them. The only thing I could think of was Lucretius. The maids were dragged away quickly.

Slam!

The door to the dowager empress’ bedroom opened.

The guards and I ran in like a tidal wave, but the room was empty.

“Dammit!”

We were too late. The guards I sent to get the princesses also came back empty handed.

My anxiety increased drastically, but there was nothing I could do about the dowager empress at this point.

Now, it was time to attend the Senate meeting.