SWWYV CHAPTER 168

Chapter 168

Mikhail wanted to hear Beatrice’s excuses.

Though his mother’s crimes couldn’t be erased, he thought he might understand her if he knew the reasons behind her actions.

He believed that someone as wise and benevolent as his mother must have had a purpose for what she did.

Beatrice realized she could no longer hide the truth from Mikhail’s piercing gaze.

“I did it all for you.”

“For me? You sent a carriage to Lady Sophia?”

Mikhail shook his head in denial. How could threatening Sophia be for his benefit?

“Do you know what kind of woman Sophia is?”

Beatrice asked her naive son.

Mikhail froze at hearing the word ‘woman’ from his noble mother’s lips.

“Sophia is the illegitimate child of the Emperor.”

Beatrice gripped Mikhail’s shoulder tightly as if trying to bring him to his senses.

She revealed everything about Sophia—whose daughter she was, and how the Emperor would protect her once he knew about her.

“…That’s impossible.”

If Sophia were the Emperor’s illegitimate child, she would be his half-sister.

“Yes, it’s unbelievable. But it’s true. That’s why, for your sake, I tried to kill that woman.”

Beatrice thought Mikhail would understand her words, but he shook his head, removing her hand from his shoulder.

“No… That wasn’t for me.”

“What do you mean it wasn’t! That woman’s daughter is still alive…!”

“Would it change anything for me if Lady Sophia is the Emperor’s illegitimate child?”

Mikhail looked Beatrice in the eye and asked rationally.

“Of course it would…”

“Do you think Lady Sophia would try to usurp the throne from me?”

“Yes. And if she joins forces with Killian, then…”

“Lady Sophia and Killian have no such intentions, Your Majesty!”

Mikhail shouted at Beatrice, his frustration spilling over.

The loud sound of rain against the carriage windows momentarily receded, filling the silence with tension.

Beatrice, exasperated by her son’s innocence, spoke again.

“Mikhail, the future is uncertain. If the Emperor begins to actively protect her, people will…”

“Do you not trust me that much?”

Mikhail pleaded with her.

He hadn’t lived a life so flawed that his position as Crown Prince could be threatened just by the revelation of an illegitimate sibling.

He had fulfilled his duties as Crown Prince, and the Emperor had acknowledged his capabilities and legitimacy.

No one in the Empire had ever contested his status as Crown Prince.

Yet Beatrice trembled at the mere appearance of an illegitimate child.

“Ultimately, it’s all for… your own sake, isn’t it?”

Mikhail lowered his head.

“I remember how much you hated that woman.”

As a child, he recalled the black smoke spreading across the crimson sky during a fire in the palace. It was a shocking event for a five-year-old, but what stuck with him even more was the smile on his mother’s lips.

He didn’t understand it then, but later realized the burning palace was where the Emperor’s mistress, Gwendolyn, stayed.

Beatrice had always feared the influence of that woman, and now, she extended that fear to the powerless Lady Sophia.

“You’re projecting your fear of that woman onto Lady Sophia, who has no power.”

Mikhail told Beatrice to face reality instead of blaming him.

Beatrice trembled at the unexpected advice from her usually obedient son.

“If there’s one thing I regret about raising you, it’s that I made you too innocent and kind.”

She had raised him gently, hoping he wouldn’t live as ruthlessly as she did.

She thought it was enough if only she got her hands dirty.

But she realized she was wrong.

She should have taught him how to handle dirty work so that he could wisely eliminate his enemies when he became Emperor.

At that moment, the carriage stopped.

They had arrived at the palace.

The door opened, and Beatrice elegantly dismounted after releasing Mikhail.

Knights of Orhelin, who had followed the carriage, were just passing through the palace gates. Beatrice turned to them and spoke.

“Block the entry of Grand Duke Rivelon and Sir Ian and close the palace gates.”

She ordered the palace guards and Orhelin knights.

“Close the gates and defend them strictly so that the traitors cannot enter.”
Mikhail, who had followed behind her, grabbed Beatrice’s hand.

“Your Majesty, what are you doing!”

“Mikhail, when the enemy draws their sword, you must counter and strike them down to win.”

Beatrice’s eyes gleamed fiercely, like a predator.

She had spent years meticulously maneuvering Orhelin to be at her command.

Her father had been a revered commander in Orhelin, which gave her leverage, and her exceptional skills in managing people extended her influence over a long period.

Putting a name tag on a dog’s collar doesn’t make you its master.

It’s about who feeds the dog and whose commands it follows.

“Remember, Mikhail, the only person who can kill me must be me alone.”

Thus, those around me must either be tamed so they can’t bite me or completely crushed as enemies.

After imparting this lesson to her son, Beatrice addressed the knights beside her.

“Escort the Crown Prince to a safe place.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

The knights stood beside Mikhail and grabbed his arms.

“Your Majesty!”

Mikhail roughly pushed them away, causing the servants accompanying him to drop their umbrellas. Raindrops splashed onto Mikhail’s cheeks.

“Mother, you must not cross this line any further!”

Mikhail shouted at Beatrice.

He wished this situation were just a dream.

The unbearable circumstances that unfolded within hours made his head pound and his stomach churn.

His mind and heart struggled to digest the sudden, harsh truths.

Beatrice clicked her tongue at the knights who couldn’t subdue one Mikhail.

She signaled to other knights, and half a dozen of them rushed at Mikhail.

“Take him to a warm place to avoid catching a cold. I must see the Emperor.”

Beatrice left Mikhail to the knights and began to walk away.

* * *

“Your Grace, the palace gates are…!”

Following Beatrice, a member of the military police shouted as they saw the gates closing. Killian and Ian noticed this and sped up their horses.

However, arrows landed in front of them, startling their horses to a stop as the soldiers fully closed the palace gates.

Soon, flags were raised, and Orhelin knights took positions on the walls.

“Ha, have they lost their minds…”

Ian drew his sword at the sight. Killian, too, clenched his teeth at the flags on the walls.

‘Even after the last courtesy…’

They had maintained minimal decorum and respect for the royal family and Mikhail, but this ultimate betrayal of kindness was infuriating.

Killian acknowledged Beatrice’s audacity.

“What… Your Grace, what should we do…?”

The knights following Killian and Ian stared blankly at the palace walls.

Even though Killian had the Emperor’s edict, it was now useless.

The Emperor was inside, and the gates were shut. Fighting here would mean attacking the palace.

“…We’ll retreat from the palace for now. Gather the other absent military police officers.”

Killian instructed Nicholas and the military police.

Attacking the palace first would give them no justification.

Though they didn’t know what was happening inside, waiting for the Emperor and Mikhail to open the gates was the priority.

‘And if things don’t go well then…’

Ian, reading Killian’s intentions, gritted his teeth and glared at the Orhelin knights on the walls.
Most of Ruchtainer had been dispatched to hunt demons, and there weren’t many knights in the capital that Ian could command on his own.

‘I wish I could draw my bow and take down those on the walls right now…’

But he didn’t want to give an excuse that ‘Ruchtainer aimed their bows at the royal family.’

“We’ll retreat for now and observe the situation.”

Ian also backed away from the palace, maintaining some distance.