Of course, it is possible that her behavior was different from former queens because she left in shame. However, it wasn't like Christa to turn everyone away. She would at least have accepted the visits of her followers.
The duke's fears were realized a few hours later.
The mercenary, who sneaked into the mansion in the middle of the night, returned to the inn before dawn and reported to the old duke.
"All the windows and doors in the mansion are blocked. There are some open windows that are situated too high and are so small that absolutely no one could get through there."
"What?"
"There was a small aperture at the bottom of the front door. It seems that food and drink are brought in through that space."
The old Duke understood the situation immediately.
'Heinley, that bloody Emperor has imprisoned my daughter!'
He shook his hands angrily.
Even after the mercenary left, he couldn't even sit up in bed. He felt distressed, disgusted, and indignant, as if his body would explode if he stayed still.
How could a brilliant girl, who cared about others, be imprisoned and isolated!?
He was angered by the way the cunning emperor acted behind the scenes as he pretended to cover up the scandal by sending Christa to Compshire.
Even now, there were those who were concerned because they felt that the measures taken by Emperor Heinley had been too soft.
But what made him angrier was that in this situation he did not have the power to get rid of the knights and free his daughter.
Unable to suppress his anger, the old duke threw a bottle of wine that was on the table to the floor.
When the bottle shattered with a crash, red wine flowed across the floor like blood.
"Emperor Heinley, I will not let this go..."
In that way, the old duke immediately left Compshire and returned to the capital.
What he did as soon as he returned to the capital was to get a food called 'Jesslen'.
That food tasted good and was healthy, but it had a negative effect on the fetus. It was a food that every pregnant woman should avoid.
"Will you give it to the Empress?" The subordinate asked the old duke in surprise, "Isn't it dangerous?"
If she was pregnant, she would not eat it even if he sent it to her. Instead, she might begin to doubt his intentions.
However, the old duke replied,
"No. Soon there will be a great prayer to be organized by the emperor. This food will also be an offering in the great prayer."
"Huh?"
The old duke smiled maliciously,
"She has to eat what is served there. Have someone make sure it's put on the altar."
***
In the Western Kingdom there was an event called 'Great Prayer' in which offerings were presented to the king and queen. The time had come to celebrate it.
It was expected that the event would still be held despite having become the Western Empire, so I asked my aides to explain the event to me and practiced a bit.
Overall, what I had to do was not difficult. I was just a little worried about having to eat at the event.
"... a total of six foods are presented as offerings. The priest checks that they are not poisoned. Then the foods are to be consumed by the Emperor and Empress."
