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Before Sanchez could respond, Inés practically shoved Luciano's revolver at him. He instinctively took it from her as if he were her attendant, blinking in surprise.

"I will also be needing a physician," she added.

At this, Sanchez glanced over at the hallway behind them. "Mario over there happens to be a physician, my lady!"

"Bring him here." Inés continued to examine the duke intently without sparing a glance for the man she had killed, then briefly looked over at Luciano. Their gazes locked in a silent conversation.

As Sanchez raced down the hallway to fetch his friend, who was standing rooted to the spot in shock, Inés stepped into the room without a single emotion on her face.

Luciano rose upon confirming that Juan was still breathing, albeit faintly, then said, "His Grace is still alive. Barely... but alive."

She released a soft sigh and nodded. "Yes. I saw it while standing at the door." Indeed, she had been standing frozen to one spot even after killing the assassin because she was making out the slight movement of Juan's chest rising and falling weakly.

The physician hurried into the room. Inés gestured him toward Juan, and the man began to tend to him right away.

Luciano used the tip of his dress shoe to turn the assassin's head to the side so that his face was visible. "As for him..." he trailed off, his words lifting in an unvoiced question.

For a moment, Inés simply stared at the stiff, dead face. She remembered pulling the trigger and killing the man, but none of it felt real. Now that her frantic search for Juan was over, her thoughts were beginning to settle like a cold, silent lake, and she didn't feel an ounce of guilt. It had to be done, since Juan would have died if she hadn't killed the assassin. After a brief silence, she finally responded, "He was aiming at His Grace's chest with the dagger that you see on the floor over there. He was shaking too, poor thing..."

She had flung the door open right when the assassin finally steeled himself after a period of painful contemplation. It was quite fortunate that Oscar had decided to utilize such an indecisive and foolish attendant-if the man had not dawdled so long, she wouldn't have been able to stop him, and Juan would have died before she even had the chance to bring a physician into the room.

"It would have been better if he were alive," Luciano said with a hint of reproach.

Inés pressed her lips together regretfully. "I know. I was in such a hurry that I aimed to kill," she replied, turning her gaze back to Juan. He lay with his eyes closed as the physician treated him.

Why today? she wondered. Perhaps Oscar had wanted to burden Cárcel with the sudden death of his father, hoping that he would slip up and make a careless mistake in battle while mulling over the loss.

The emperor and Oscar, accompanied by several nobles, soon descended to the second floor-she had no doubt that the loud gunshot had been audible in the banquet hall. It appeared that one of the palace attendants had already communicated the situation, as knights stood at either end of the hallway like sentries. The only ones who were able to accompany the two members of the imperial family to the room were a select few of the Grandes de Ortega.

The wife of a man who had departed Mendoza only a couple hours ago like a war hero had dared to possess and fire a gun in the emperor's palace.

Furthermore, the man she had killed appeared to be an attendant of the emperor himself, and he had tried to assassinate Duke Escalante while he was lying on the floor after a heart attack. Even a fool could guess that this was a matter best kept under wraps, especially when it came to the emperor.

Under close scrutiny of the knights, the young noblemen and attendants who had aided Inés's search for Juan were ordered to line up against the wall of the corridor. The emperor seemed determined to treat the witnesses as criminals, even after hearing the testimonies regarding his dead attendant and what he had been trying to do. Inés thought the emperor's actions were simply laughable. Questioning the noblemen and attendants was equivalent to reprimanding herself and Luciano, who had moved them in the first place.

While it was technically forbidden for nobles to carry weapons in the emperor's presence, it was an open secret that the Grandes de Ortega were allowed to possess firearms-albeit discreetly-for the sake of self defense, as they were in greater danger of being assassinated. It only made sense that the emperor should thank Inés for saving his brother-in-law right before he was killed. However, even after seeing the body of his attendant on the floor, he simply said, "You dared to possess a weapon in my presence?"

Just as Luciano opened his mouth to confess that he was the owner of the revolver, Inés quickly responded, "I only had it for the purpose of protecting myself, Your Majesty."

"There is no place in all of Ortega that is safer than where I dwell," the emperor stated as he glanced over at Juan, ironically enough. He clicked his tongue as if trying to reprimand his brother-in-law for demonstrating the inaccuracy of his words. a Although Inés had already thwarted him once, Luciano stubbornly said, "Pardon me, Your Majesty, but / was the one who initially possessed the revolver, not my sister."

This only led to another wave of reproach as the emperor scolded Luciano for placing such a dangerous weapon in a woman's fragile hands. Also, he warned that Luciano would have to thoroughly explain himself afterward, regardless of the outcome. While the emperor rambled on and on about principles and formalities, the high aristocrats only stared at Juan with concern and suspicion on their faces. The emperor seemed to be addressing Luciano and Inés, but his attention was mostly focused on the other members of the Grandes de Ortega as well.

Although he truly had nothing to do with the incident, the emperor seemed so shocked that he was responding in a shameless manner that made him sound like the actual culprit. He was a man who couldn't bear to hear anyone making false accusations against him, yet he also believed an emperor should never try to prove his innocence to his subjects.

Oscar didn't seem to care what the emperor was saying in a rash attempt to keep the incident under wraps. He stood right next to the physician and asked with grief dripping from his voice, "How is he? Is there a chance his heartbeats may return to normal?"

The sorrow in his face appeared quite genuine, but it only elicited disgust within her. Truly, he was even worse than his father-she knew that his "sorrow" only stemmed from knowing that Juan wasn't dead yet. Perhaps he was also grieving the fact that he couldn't be the one to kill the foolish attendant whose skills only lay in treason, not carrying out the orders he was given.

"I-I cannot make any definitive statements at the moment," the physician said, stuttering pitifully.

"Still... there must be something you can tell me."

"Well, it seems like His Grace has been suffering from heart trouble for quite some time, which can be quite unpredictable and disastrous. I did my best to treat him, but..." he trailed off. "I fear it may be too late. In fact, it's a miracle that he is still breathing at all, since the heart attack seems to have occurred quite a while ago..."

"A miracle," Oscar mused. "Yes, a miracle indeed. On such a joyous day, too... Do you think he will regain consciousness by the end of the day?"

"I-I cannot say for sure," the physician said as he massaged Juan's arms with trembling hands. "He is not in stable condition yet, so..."

Oscar's eyes, full of sadness and regret, brushed over his uncle's pale face.

Inés gazed at him steadily. Aside from why Oscar had chosen this particular day, she was wondering why he had selected the emperor's attendant to carry out his wish out of all people.

She knew that this was not Oscar's first assassination attempt against Juan, and she had always been aware that it would happen eventually. In fact, it was possible that Oscar was already planning the next attempt. But she couldn't quite put her finger on why he had ordered the emperor's attendant to kill the duke-there was already a gaping chasm between the emperor and House Escalante. Even if Oscar made it seem like his father had been behind the incident, Cárcel's suspicion would never be directed at him, and Oscar knew this as well.

Perhaps he wanted to plant a seed of suspicion in... Inés looked over at the members of the Imperial Council, who were staring at the duke with pale, serious faces. Not a single one of them would suspect that Oscar had tried to kill his beloved uncle. Furthermore, they were sick and tired of the emperor's selfish ways.

Indeed, Oscar was trying to show the Grandes de Ortega that his father was willing to cast away his most faithful subject. He wanted them to realize the emperor was so arrogant that he didn't place any value in the ancient noble houses that had built the very foundation of the empire. Now, anyone could easily imagine how the emperor would treat the other aristocrats, since he had already attacked the House that had helped him rise to the throne. This was a huge blow to the pride of the Grandes de Ortega, regardless of mutual interests.

The unfortunate truth was that there was no way to prove the emperor had not been involved, since the assassin was already dead. It was unclear if Juan would be able to link Oscar to the assassin even if he survived. Oscar was trying to widen the gap between his father and the Grandes de Ortega while getting rid of his uncle at the same time. Perhaps the emperor had been correct in suspecting that Oscar wished to seize the throne before it was supposed to be his.

"You have done your very best," Oscar told the physician, still wearing a mask of feigned concern. "Don't fret yourself. His Majesty's personal physician will be here soon."

"Th-thank you, Your Highness." The physician bowed so low that his head nearly brushed the floor.

Duke Valeztena, who had been standing behind the emperor and watching him reprimand Inés and Luciano, spoke up for the first time. "Pardon me, Your Majesty, but it seems like the young physician has managed to stabilize Duke Escalante to some degree. I believe it would be best if we transferred him to his own manor so he can be seen by his personal physician."

"His Majesty's physician shall tend to him. There is no reason to waste time," Oscar responded.

The implication in Duke Valeztena's voice was clear as he insisted unwaveringly, "The fact that it's going to be His Majesty's physician is what concerns me."

The air itself seemed to freeze. The emperor turned his head slightly toward the duke and growled, "The attendant who attempted to assassinate Duke Escalante allowed himself to be involved in some nefarious plot that I had no part in. How dare you suggest otherwise?"

"I would never dare to disrespect you, Your Majesty" Duke Valeztena replied, bowing politely. "However, the circumstances of this incident are clear to those who look upon them. It is impossible to deny that the man who tried to assassinate Duke Escalante is lying there, wearing a uniform that marks him as one of Your Majesty's own attendants. This is not an accusation, but a mere observation. If Duke Escalante happens to pass away while your physician is treating him..." He paused for a moment before continuing, "Surely, you can imagine the insidious rumors that would begin to circulate."

Although he was pretending to be vague, his words formed an honest, if not blatant, assumption-he meant to say that it would seem like the emperor had called upon his physician to finish the botched assassination. On one hand, he sounded like a loyal subject who was offering his advice despite the possible dangers. On the other hand, his words seemed like an insolent, brazen accusation.

The emperor glared at Duke Valeztena through narrowed eyes, then glanced at Inés meaningfully-it was a silent order for her to take her father-in-law away. With a polite bow, she quickly walked over to the door to ask the imperial knights for their assistance.

As she followed the knights carrying Duke Escalante out of the room, she could feel Oscar's piercing gaze on her back. Ignoring him completely, she made a point of turning toward Luciano and giving him a reassuring smile.