mother and son

As the empress of the biggest human empire, Lilia Riea's chambers were nothing short of luxurious. Filled with the most expensive decorations in the world, with clothes so valuable that a commoner family can live a life of luxury just from selling a garment, and beautiful servants hand-chosen to serve the empress loyally.

But the peace of this beautiful room was disturbed by the entrance of a young man.

"Mother, something wrong happened." Crown prince Alan said immediately after entering his mother's room.

"Why so serious, my son. Come here, it had been a long time since you visited me last." A carefree voice answered from behind a curtain.

"Now is not the time for it, mother." Alan shook his head with a grave expression and walked towards his mother, only stopping when he reached the curtain. "It concerns my ascension to the throne."

Empress Lilia frowned. The next second, she clapped her hands once.

Instantly, all the maidservants with the exception of two young women left the room and closed the door. The empress then sat on the bed and removed the curtain, before activating a magic enchantment to soundproof the room and avoid having their conversation heard.

Finally, she looked at her eldest son and opened her lips.

"Do speak."

The prince looked at her mother for a moment before looking at the two maidservants behind her. Understanding his meaning, the empress waved her hands. "Don't worry, they are trustworthy."

The prince frowned, but knowing that the two of them were her mother's confidants, he stopped hesitating.

"I tried to assassinate Claus today."

"... Did it fail?"

"Yes. The [Numbers] have not returned yet, but my brother is back in the palace."

"Explain it to me." The empress ordered with a cold face. Prince Alan hesitated for a moment before deciding to tell her the entire truth. With his mother's means, he was sure that she could learn about the details anyway.

When the prince finished recounting the events, the empress fell silent.

The next second-

*Slap!*

Fool!" With an expression of rage, the empress slapped her son's cheek and bellowed. "What in the hell were you thinking!? Do you even understand the consequences of your actions!?"

"But mother, I thought the plan was foolproof. Nobody would have known anything!"

"Do you think everybody else is an idiot!? Even if you succeed and kill the four of them, an old fox like my brother would have suspected you instantly! Furthermore, one of them was your sister! Were you going to kill your sister too!?"

The prince fell silent. Different from his mother, he did not mind any sacrifice if he could obtain the throne. Even his mother and father were nothing more than tools he could use.

Moreover, he considered his mother's words as hypocrisy. After all, she was the one that wanted to kill his two half- siblings more than anyone. Were Claus and Dina not his siblings too? But even so, she taught him to be merciless against them.