Like every morning, Camille was woken up by a soft knock on the door. After that, it was quiet, which allowed her to slowly sit up as she glanced out of the window. It seemed like the sun had risen a short while ago, which meant that it was the perfect time to rise. Cedar was as punctual as always. Camille made sure to sit somewhat gracefully and straightened her hair a bit before speaking. “You may enter.”

Cedar took exactly one second to open the door after. He came in slowly and showed his mother a bright smile. “Good morning, Mother. Did you sleep well?”

Camille turned to him as she slowly put her feet onto the slippers standing beside her bed. “I cannot complain. I had a good sleep tonight. You seem to have been up for a while already too.” It looked like Cedar had just washed his hair. Camille could still see that it was a little damp, which usually announced one thing. “Did you already train?”

It wasn't a surprise that her son, who had always loved training, immediately affirmed that. “Yes, I did. I happened to work earlier and just itched to pick up a sword.” Of course. Cedar was probably the best sword-fighter in this nation thanks to his hard training. This was the one skill he had that could surpass Theodore without any effort while the brothers usually had been quite fierce in their competition regarding anything else. Cedar could crush his brother with this, so he would never let go of it.

Camille couldn't be prouder of her son. “It is wonderful that training fulfills you that much. You picked up an important skill, so you should refine it as much as possible. But don't neglect your other studies.”

As Cedar replied, he already walked over to the dresser and opened a drawer to retrieve his mother's hairbrush. “Naturally. I would never forget what my duties entail. I already took care of anything urgent.” He returned to his mother and lifted his hand to gently pull her hair over her shoulder.

Camille turned her head to let Cedar brush her hair more easily. As usual, her son did it quite slowly but carefully. It didn't ache nor did he tear out any hairs, in contrast to any of the stupid maids she had had before. That thought soured Camille's mood again. “It is quite depressing that you are the only one capable of doing this properly in the palace. One would think that royal maids would be able to brush their mistress' hair, but they are completely useless. Theodore must have sent all the trash he wanted to be rid of.” That wasn't unlikely. Her oldest son was certainly hateful enough to do things like that no matter how much he disrespected the dowager empress.

“It is quite disappointing that none of our servants met your standards, Mother. I shall try to find a better attendant for you as soon as I get the chance.” Cedar finished brushing her hair while responding. He immediately picked up the thick fur robe Camille usually wore in the morning and lifted it for his mother.

Camille stood up and let him hang the robe onto her shoulders. She pulled the fur around her body while slowly walking over to the breakfast table in the mediocre room she was stuck in for a while. “I trust that you will know how to find capable candidates. Be careful not to pick any traitors or arrogant people that think they can reach something bigger by getting close to the royal family.” She had met far too many young maids that had dared to believe that they could impress Cedar. Luckily, her son had been too intelligent to fall for any of those games, but both his brother and father had let such a harlot fool them. So, Camille made sure to get rid of any insects that got too close for comfort. Since most other maids were completely useless, that made it hard to hire new staff members.

Cedar seemed optimistic anyway. “I will pick them carefully when the time comes. Do not worry. Let us enjoy breakfast first.” He led her to the table and pulled back the chair for his mother to sit down. Then he took a seat across from her.

Camille lifted the small bell that was waiting next to her and shook it. The quiet signal was enough to inform the servants in front of the room. Even the arrogant staff members had been beaten into shape by now, so they obeyed without any complaints and silently placed the food on the table before leaving. Camille didn't even glance at them while addressing her son. “What is your plan for today?”

As usual, Cedar had many things he wished to focus on and had prepared his schedule already. “I will start by managing some of my businesses and go through the documents I picked up yesterday. After that, I will find out some more about political happenings in the capital while hearing about what our acquaintances are doing. After we eat lunch together, I will train again.” That wasn't a surprise. Most of his days were similar.

Camille showed her son a little smile. “I see. What a diligent son I have. I am so proud of you.” She would have liked to reach over and pinch his cheek, but the table separated them, so she could just look at her son. It was good if Cedar put in a lot of effort, but she was quite alone when he was busy running around and doing so many things. A small hint should be enough to make him understand. “But don't forget your mother in the meantime.”

Her son was truly clever. He understood immediately. “How could I? My main priority will always be you. Do you wish to take a walk after lunch, Mother?”

“That is a wonderful idea. It has been a while since we had the chance for that. Maybe we should also visit some events again soon.” That thought already ruined Camille's mood again though. Her expression soured as she narrowed her eyes a little. “Thanks to that worthless murderer, we were locked in for years after all. We should use some time getting used to the capital again before we move into the palace properly.”

Cedar, who had just been pouring her coffee, put down her cup carefully to reply. “Naturally. We received a few invitations. We should go through them later and decide which events to attend. Maybe it would be good to invite some of our allies more often as well. But that is a bit...unfitting at the moment due to our surroundings...” He made a subtle motion to the house they were currently stuck in before resuming. “So, maybe we should meet in their mansions for now.” Normally, it would be unheard of that the dowager empress and the prince had to visit anyone when others were expected to come to them. But Cedar was right.

Camille wrinkled her nose at the thought of letting anyone see in which miserable circumstances they were living at the moment. She couldn't allow their allies to mock them for being confined in such an ugly, small house. That would prove that Theodore had won this little battle, and she would never let that happen. So, she would rather accept the smaller insult and be forced to let their allies be the hosts. She drank from her cup and slowly swallowed before meeting her son's gaze and replying. “That would be for the better. Does your plan to visit Selena tomorrow still stand?”

Cedar had sipped on his tea once again and quickly lowered the cup while responding. “Yes. Though, I will not speak to Aunt much. I shall discuss with the duke a bit. I feel like he has become a little arrogant recently. We need to correct that.” As he said that, his smile became a bit less bright. He seemed like he was already planning something Claude wouldn't like.

Camille certainly wouldn't complain. Thanks to that foolish moron, she had been troubled quite a few times recently. He had not only begged for her to bring him to the tea party with Prince Linden, which had ended with the tyrant emperor chasing him away while insulting all present nobles, but Claude had also insisted that revealing the background of Theodore's whore would crush the emperor. That had been a great misjudgment. Theodore was far too delusional to understand that his oh-so-innocent lover had once bet her stakes on his death. He lied to himself now and had twisted the truth enough to make all gullible aristocrats believe that his whore hadn't done anything wrong.

Claude had not only not expected that, he had also assured that Camille that things like this wouldn't occur. Since he had lied to her, it was only right for him to be punished now. Cedar would gladly take care of that, and he would do his job well.

The dowager empress was content with that solution. She just nodded to herself and decided to let Cedar handle this. “I agree. I believe you will take care of that, so I shall leave it to you. Do well.”

Of course, Cedar wasn't intimidated by that task. He gladly accepted it instead. “Naturally. Do you wish to join me to share some tea with Aunt and Luciano in the meantime? You could have them entertain you while I deal with the duke.” What he truly meant was that he needed to be alone with Claude to really make him understand what situation he had brought himself into. Selena and her son had to be taken care of in the meantime.

Camille would usually agree. She didn't mind meeting her sister, and speaking to her and the oldest son wouldn't ruin her mood, so it was mostly helpful to travel all the way. But the last few times had been quite unpleasant, so Camille had to change her mind. “I believe I will pass on that opportunity. Selena's new child is a bit too unruly for my taste.”

That comment alone made Cedar understand, which proved that he had noticed that the baby was far too frustrating to deal with too. Despite that, he tried to be more forgiving than most people would be. “Rebecca is a bit loud, is she not? But I presume it will get better with time. Most babies scream often, so give her half a year, and she will calm down. She is quite adorable to look at, so we shall forgive her for now.”

“Certainly. She might be a bit too attached to her mother though. I cannot fault Selena for wishing to take care of her child, but she is indulging Rebecca too much. She should ensure that this little girl gets used to spending time with her maids as well. After all, you should not raise a dependent brat.” Camille herself had been tempted to indulge her son as well, and she was glad that she hadn't done that. She had seen what would happen to children that weren't disciplined properly at a young age. Theodore had turned out to be a tyrant who had murdered his own father before locking away his mother and brother just to secure his power. Of course, that had been the fault of the people that had raised him. His cowardly father and his disgusting whore had messed up the first prince fully. Camille had made sure to avoid those mistakes with her second son, and the difference was quite obvious. She smiled at Cedar while adding the rest. “You were always quite independent and clever, Cedar. You stopped crying as soon as you could sit and merely had some small temper tantrums after that. We fixed that quickly too though. That is what good education looks like.”

Cedar understood that too. His smile only became brighter as he replied. “I am happy to hear your praise, Mother. But wasn't I a quite stressful child? I remember causing quite a lot of trouble.” Oh, how modest he was. That deserved some more praise.

Camille lifted her spoon to carefully put it into her cup as she replied. “When you were young, that was true. But as you got older, you became a polite young boy. I will not say that no accidents happened since you remember your breakdowns as well...” She made eye contact for a moment. “But you did not trouble me anymore at that point. You did put some people in their place when they acted out, but that was their fault. They shouldn't have argued with the prince of Artias anyway. As the future emperor, it was always good for you to command obedience. And judging by how skilled you are with the sword and the bow now, letting you pick a few fights when you were young did not harm you. It gave you a chance to understand how important it is to be stronger. Being nice is not always the best option. If you don't make your own position clear, others will try to push you down. And pain is the easiest way to teach someone where they belong.”

Her son just beamed at her in response. “Naturally. My position was never questioned anymore after that. But I am still ashamed remembering my childish temper tantrums. I will make sure that something like that will never happen again. You do not have to worry.”

Camille sipped on her coffee again before replying. “I did not believe I would have to either. You are a well-behaved young man. I cannot complain about my dear son.” At least not as long as Cedar didn't have one of his stubborn phases again. He had had some recently, but those had thankfully ended by now. It seemed like her son would listen to her properly again. She might have to make sure that it stayed like that though. Maybe a test would suffice to prove that he wouldn't question her words no matter what. “Say, Cedar-”

Just at that moment, she was interrupted by a knock.

Camille furrowed her brows. It was rare that servants dared to chime in while the members of the royal family were eating. Either someone had forgotten their place, or they had something truly important to share. For their sake, Camille hoped that it was the second case. “You may enter.” She spoke up in a cold voice without even a hint of warmth.

Still, the person outside dared to open the door. The one who entered was a young man Camille quickly recognized. That wasn't one of Theodore's puppets. It was Cedar's new guard, someone that wasn't very helpful but quite loyal. At the moment, that man was rather focused on smuggling letters in and out of the royal mansion. Thus, it wasn't surprising that he swiftly brought a big envelope. “A letter just arrived, Your Majesty.”

Camille wordlessly held a hand toward him. As soon as she received the envelope, she tore it open. Inside, she found a small letter and a few articles from the daily newspaper in the capital. Camille only skimmed the text on the letter, which just wished her a nice day and said that the capital had been peaceful. It was clear that the actual message was hidden in the newspaper. Camille didn't have to search for long. She quickly found the article she had been waiting for.

Reading the few lines announcing the death of Evelyn Lemares in the prison she had been stuck in was quite satisfying. It had taken much longer than expected, but at least that woman had been punished for her disrespect.

A smile spread on Camille's lips as she folded the newspaper again and shared the news. “It seems that today is a good day. That insolent woman is finally dead.”

Cedar paused eating to meet her gaze. “Which one are you referring to? There are a lot of people that act out far too easily.” That was true. They had a long list of enemies.

Camille would have been much happier about the death of some others, but this was good enough for now. “I am referring to the one that was stuck in prison after trying to kill a child in the royal palace.”

The mention of that case made Cedar understand. As expected, his expression didn't budge. “I see. It is certain that no one will cry for her, so I believe there is no need to even send her family a letter with our condolences. I take everything is cleaned up and finished in that regard?” He wanted to ask whether he should send someone else to get rid of the evidence.

But in the end, Camille hadn't gotten involved too much. She had just ordered someone to poison that foolish woman. No one would care enough to find out why such a murderer had been killed in the first place, so it would be fine to leave it be. Surely, the tyrant would find out, but that didn't matter. He could know that they were able to kill anyone they wanted dead. “Of course. That arrogant whore is better off dead, so even her family won't care. Don't worry.” Camille reached for one of the fruit plates that had been placed on the table. She slowly ate one of the grapes before speaking again, her eyes narrowing a bit. “To think that she was foolish enough to accuse us of treason in public. Did she truly think we wouldn't get back at her for this?”

Cedar leaned back on his chair a bit while he tilted his cup a bit. “She might have been foolish enough to think that we would forget. But as you can see, she learned her lesson.” With that, he turned his head to the guard next to them and addressed him. “You may retreat, Reeve.”

The young man immediately backed away. “Yes, Your Royal Highness.” With that, he left the room.

Camille looked after him for a moment, only to scan him with skepticism. Upon presenting Cedar a group of capable knights, she had expected him to pick a more ambitious one. Now he had gotten himself a quiet man with barely any presence. She wasn't sure whether this one would do. In the end, her son had certainly chosen him for a reason though. “What do you think about your new guard?”

Cedar turned back to her and greeted her with a bright smile. “I would say that he isn't a gem, but he can at least do what I ask of him. Reeve carries around letters well. He is worthless when it comes to fighting though. I could defeat him within a minute.” He let out a quiet chuckle before setting down his cup. “But then again, I could probably defeat everyone in this nation. I don't need him as a guard anyway. So, I'd like to keep him as my messenger.” He wasn't wrong. Cedar didn't need a guard after all. He could defend himself well.

Camille still felt like they were currently stuck in the same position for far too long. She was getting impatient by now. “Good. Then we shall do that. How is your puppet in the palace doing?”

Again, Cedar didn't react with too much excitement. He just gave the typical summary. “He seems to be well, Mother. He wasn't found out and keeps gathering information while steadily spreading the rumors we need.”

Camille wasn't convinced. She had only met that servant, whose name she had already forgotten, a few times, but she knew that he wasn't as loyal as he could be. She was getting tired of waiting too. “That isn't enough, and you know it, Cedar. Will you finally use him to do something useful?”

Her son just put on an apologetic smile in return. “I am as eager to do that as you are, Mother, but this is quite risky. Theodore keeps a close eye on all of his people. My puppet would be found out immediately if I made him do anything special, so I will hold back for a bit and only use him when the time is right.”

Anything related to politics was a complicated field, where one had to be patient. But as far as Camille was concerned, she had waited for long enough. She just narrowed her eyes at her son. “I am aware. But we cannot delay all of our work, Cedar. We need to do something for our reign. Every day we stay still is another day that tyrant reigns.” They couldn't just forget what crime they had to pay back. Camille could never be still while her traitorous son, who had killed his own father, was sitting on the throne. The last time she had thought that being patient and acting kind would give Cedar enough time to finally end this, Theodore had suddenly put them on trial and pushed them into confinement. She was still furious with her son for telling her that she should be nice to that traitor for a few weeks when it had only ended with them being locked away.

But Cedar seemingly hadn't learned and wanted to be patient for even longer. “Of course. I just wish to lay a stable groundwork so that we will not have to worry about success later. If we move too early, we will lose everything, and we can't let that happen.”

“I'm well aware. But there has to be something we can do even now.” Camille didn't have too many ideas that didn't involve just killing Theodore directly, but there was something she knew could help. “We need to take away your brother's will to live. The best way to ruin him would be to take away what he cares about most.”

This time, Cedar understood immediately. Though, he didn't even give this a thought and instead talked back. “I see why you would choose that approach, but I would avoid that for now, Mother. Theodore is quite attached to his lover, and I believe that she may become his weakness, but we cannot try to hurt her as that would make Theodore snap.” He wasn't wrong. Getting rid of Lady Blanche would bring Theodore to his limit. But that didn't matter.

Camille wanted that tyrant to suffer. She wanted to push him to his breaking point and watch as he lost the will to live. Taking the crown from him would be one thing, but ensuring that the woman he claimed to love lost her life in front of him would be even better. It would also have the nice side effect of getting rid of that arrogant whore, who dared to act like she was in the right to humiliate the dowager empress whenever she could. Camille couldn't contain her anger when thinking about her. “That woman upsets me greatly. She reminds me of your father's whore.”

Cedar knew how much his mother despised his deceased father's mistress, so he didn't talk back. He didn't agree with her plans though. “I can imagine, Mother. But rest assured that this person will not obstruct what we prepared. She will quietly disappear alongside Theodore when it is time. That is the best course of action and will keep my brother from snapping fully.”

It seemed like he just told her the same thing over and over, but Camille didn't care. She got a bit louder. “Then we would have to endure that woman for over a year still. I want to get rid of her quicker so that I won't have to see her disgusting face again.”

Cedar did notice how upset his mother was, but even now, he didn't give in. As he reached over to gently reach for her hand, he softly rested his fingertips on the back of her hand while speaking to her. “That would be quite risky, Mother. Theodore protects her more than his own life. I believe it will be hard to even send someone close to her. Lady Blanche is always in the palace and surrounded by royal guards, and we can't give away our ace in the sleeve yet. We need to keep that hidden for a while longer, so we cannot attack her yet. You can imagine what my brother would do if we targeted her, right?”

Of course, Camille could imagine. But in the end, she didn't care. She let out a huff as she narrowed her eyes. “Theodore tried to protect that whore your father kept too. He failed miserably.” After all, that foolish witch had died as it had been intended. Theodore had only been able to cry about it after.

For some reason, Cedar insisted on expecting that his brother was more competent now though. “That is exactly why I fear that he may be more ruthless at the moment.” He squeezed his mother's hand and showed her a bright smile. “I promise that we will fulfill all of our goals, but let us move slowly. We should analyze every single step before taking it.” He always said that. That was why Cedar was so slow and never agreed to just send a few assassins and finish it. He only talked about the future consequences of violence or rash actions and seemed like he would avoid doing anything before finding out exactly what was happening.

Usually, it was somewhat understandable. But in their current situation, where they could barely keep Theodore from putting them on trial for treason again, they had to act quickly.

Also, Camille didn't like that Cedar kept repeating that it would be fine to leave everyone but Theodore alive. He didn't even seem to hate the people that supported that tyrant, not even Lady Blanche. That was quite suspicious. As a member of the royal family, Cedar should despise those clingy whores more than anyone else. Why was he defending Lady Blanche then? He always talked about not provoking Theodore, but what if that wasn't his only reason? Camille didn't want to believe that her clever son would be lured in by such a twisted vixen but then again, Cedar had once been kind to his father's concubine too. At least before his mother had corrected that behavior. He tended to be naive when it came to people that acted innocent.

The thought alone made Camille unwell. She didn't stay quiet about it. “What do you think about that girl?”

Cedar just kept smiling at her like before. “About Lady Blanche?” As his mother nodded, he thought about it for a moment, only to speak like nothing was wrong. “If I am honest, nothing much. Lady Blanche doesn't stand out. The most important thing about her is her relationship with Theodore. Aside from that, she is just a young noble woman living in the palace. She seems to be quite vocal about her thoughts and easily shows her emotions on her face as well. Politically, I think she only knows the basics and not much more. She would not be able to plot against anyone.”

Camille couldn't help but click her tongue. “If you are that gullible, you will be brought to an early grave by people like that. Whores like her often act. Most of them hold ulterior motives anyway.”

At least Cedar didn't seem to deny it. He still insisted on moving slowly though. “That is certainly an option. But whether that woman wishes to use Theodore or not, I think we can expect the same behavior from her. She will cling to him, do whatever he may demand and will do all she can to help him. If she doesn't happen to marry Theodore or carry a child, she won't be a big threat. Even then, we can deal with it somehow.” He searched for his mother's gaze before adding the rest. “But more than that, I would keep her a bit longer. That woman will be a great hostage. We can use her to threaten Theodore. If his beloved was in danger, he would certainly be willing to sign an official document handing over the throne to me.” He couldn't be serious. After all, Theodore had taken from them, a simple document wouldn't mean anything.

Camille tore her hand away from Cedar's as she raised her voice. “That would make it far too painless. We could never let that murderer get away with something so lenient!”

Cedar hurriedly reached for her hand again and held it between his while he responded, his voice merely a soft whisper. “I didn't say that our revenge had to end there. But we could get a grasp on the throne like that. From then on, everything would be much easier. Especially since we might not even need to worry about any other heir by that time.” His smile slowly grew as a hint of complacent glee became quite obvious on his face. He only lowered his voice more, the last sentence barely reaching her ear. “After all, there is something I need to share with you. A little bird told me that Her Majesty will not be part of the royal family for much longer. My trustworthy pawn in the palace did tell me something interesting. Seemingly, Her Majesty is pregnant.”

Camille went rigid. Seraphina Estien was pregnant? Normally, she would expect that to be a problem they needed to get rid of, simply because Theodore couldn't have an heir that would obstruct Cedar. But with how content her son was, this didn't seem to be an issue. Instead, it was something that would solve their issues. Camille's expression darkened anyway as she put the pieces together. “And since you are so content, I assume it's not Theodore's child.”

Cedar let out a little laugh. “Of course not. It's Prince Linden's. Apparently, the empress got a tiny bit too close to him.”

It was true that this would now offer Camille a chance to ruin Theodore's life further, but she couldn't bring herself to be happy. Instead, she gritted her teeth. “What a foolish woman. To dirty the position of the empress like that.” She had thought that Seraphina Estien would be a capable successor that took care of the royal family, but it seemed like that woman was also just a whore that threw herself at the most powerful option she could even reach. Since Theodore had rejected her, she had gotten close to the prince of Northern Ocrea. Camille didn't find that funny at all. After she had worked so hard to become a diligent and elegant empress, it was ridiculous to see how a foolish woman threw away that holy position.

How she humiliated the emperor like his role meant nothing.

If Cedar had been the ruler, he wouldn't have let some stupid whore shame him like that. He would have paid back such humiliation tenfold, making sure to have the former empress and her family cower at his feet for daring to question his power. It seemed like Theodore was too weak to even take care of that though.

But even when his future role was dirtied, Cedar stayed optimistic and grinned at his mother while talking like this was a celebration. “Isn't this good for us? Theodore will have no choice but to divorce her now as soon as rumors spread. And due to some...careless words, rumors could spread quickly.” That alone gave away that he wanted to spread even more rumors, seemingly with a clear goal in mind. “And if the former empress happens to marry Prince Linden, which she will have to do to protect her child, our relationship with Northern Ocrea will be strengthened. At the same time, everyone will find out that Theodore cannot even keep his wife at his side. They will see him as weak and won't complain about the empress leaving or him being challenged by another.” That was the positive version of events.

Camille could also imagine it getting worse. “Theodore will need a new empress though. What if he gets another strong family onto his side by marrying their daughter?” Then they would have to get rid of another problem.

Cedar somehow approached this far too calmly though. “That is certainly an option, even if it seems highly unlikely. Theodore is so attached to his lover that he will certainly draw it out for as long as possible, if he even does it. Which means we have enough time to act before he appoints that new empress. Leave everything to me. I will prepare something that will push us in the right direction. We're in a good position, so we only need a few more months.” That would take far too long.

Camille had waited for over eight years now. She found herself wanting to end this quickly. But if she said that, her son would scold her for rushing forward without a plan again. So, she didn't reveal anything and merely nodded at him. “Of course. I trust that you can come up with something nice.” But Camille would come up with her own plot too. And in contrast to Cedar, she would actually move something now.

Using Rebecca's baby party would be fitting. Theodore would be quite busy, and if something unpleasant happened to be put into his lover's drink that day, it could lead to her disappearing and turning up dead in an ugly part of town. No one would have to know who had really been responsible.

Yes, that sounded like a good solution. Camille's assassins were quite good at mixing drugs, so she should probably use them cleverly.