Classified (UNDER CONSTRUCTION)

File 2, Part 10 - Her Imperial Majesty

I was supposed to resume my investigation after leaving my older sister's chambers with my bodyguard. However, as we headed toward the basement, I noticed groups of servants clustered together, whispering. Sensing trouble, I pulled my bodyguard aside and hid behind a wall to eavesdrop.

"...Is it true? One of the guards said he heard noises coming from the head gardener's room hours before his final scream."

The words sent a chill down my spine, and I froze momentarily. Composing myself, I strained to catch more.

How much do they know? Hopefully, not too much.

"Yes! The guard said he heard a man's and a woman's gasps, and some... smacking sounds. It seems the head gardener spent the night with someone! And wasn't he found naked in his room, with scratches and nail marks on his back?"

"My, my!" one servant stifled a giggle. "I never imagined him to be so scandalous! Imagine getting intimate with someone in Her Imperial Majesty's palace! He always had such an innocent face—so kind, obedient, soft-spoken, and respectful. I had no idea he even had a lover. He always seemed so lonely."

"Indeed, but the guard's account says otherwise. Honestly, I always found him too perfect—constantly bowing, apologizing at every turn, and helping anyone who asked him to. When he ate with us, he only nodded, smiled, and laughed, barely speaking, gossiping, or getting into disputes. Please, nobody is that modest!"

"Exactly! And if he had a lover, he clearly kept it a secret. Do you want to hear the most scandalous part of this story?"

"Do tell!"

"The guard said the woman sounded like Her Imperial Majesty."

A stunned silence fell over the group. Faces paled, and eyes darted nervously. It was a thought so outrageous, so unthinkable, that for a moment, no one dared to breathe it aloud.

Oh no. This doesn't look good.

"Oh, please!" one of them scoffed. "That's absurd! Surely the guard's imagination got the better of him."

"But-!"

"No! That's impossible! Her Imperial Majesty, the most beautiful, powerful, and skilled combatant in the empire? The monarch adored by all, who's so selective with suitors and distant with men? Why would she take a servant as a lover? And why would she sneak into his room instead of summoning him to hers? Preposterous!"

"I see your point, but... wouldn't you agree her reaction to his death was unusual? Yes, she's exhausted from the dragon campaign, but she looked horrified, frightened. She's no stranger to violence or corpses, but it seemed like she was about to cry. And let's not forget—she collapsed on her knees, grabbing her hair. She fainted afterwards."

"True," another servant agreed. "I also saw some purple marks on her neck. Sometime after she was carried away from the scene, I heard intense sobbing from upstairs. It lasted for quite a while. I'm certain it came from the Empress's room."

"I heard it too," another chimed in, sighing deeply. "She must have truly loved him. She had never cried like that before, and you don't break down like that over someone who doesn't matter to you."

"I feel terrible for Her Imperial Majesty. What do you think?"

The others nodded solemnly in agreement.

"And about the rumors," one added, lowering their voice. "Wasn't the head gardener given special treatment? He had a private room, even though his rank didn't warrant it. And did anyone notice the millefeiulle he was eating on his birthday—the kind the cooks never made for the other servants? And what about those whispered stories of him meeting her in the garden late in the evenings, long before she became Empress? They were dismissed back then, but... what if they were true? He was remarkably fine—on par with many nobles."