@Introvert This is the highlight of the chapter
Spoiler!
The happy mood returned. The twins brought out more bottles of expensive wine to celebrate. Tia even chose the better bottle for them to open because she knew which one tasted best. She also told Crenny that they would soon be able to see Laranne again. Crenny smiled brightly, not knowing that it would become Tia's last memory of him from that night. At the same time, Prince Perez walked down into the prison dungeon. After the guards led him to a cell, he stood before the imprisoned Empress and calmly asked in a mocking tone, "Are you having a peaceful night, Empress?" Empress Ravini was locked in the deepest cell of a dark prison. She looked completely different from before. Her hair was messy, her clothes were dirty, and she had not been sleeping because rats kept crawling around the dungeon. Perez came to see her and mocked her fear. Ravini asked if he had come to kill her, but Perez said not yet. She proudly claimed she had done nothing wrong and that she had already paid too high a price. Perez reminded her that she had caused his mother's suffering and that her punishment was far from over. Perez then ordered the guards to bring in Astana. Astana had also been imprisoned, and he looked dirty, bruised, and terrified. When he saw his mother, he cried and ran to her. Ravini was furious that the guards had treated the First Prince so badly, but Perez calmly replied that he had full authority to investigate everyone involved in the rebellion. Perez gave Astana a choice. He told him that if he confessed that Ravini had ordered him to attack the Emperor, he would be released from prison and even be given good food. Ravini believed Astana would never accept such an offer because it did not even promise to save his life. To Ravini's shock, Astana immediately betrayed her. He stepped away from his mother and said everything was her fault. He blamed Ravini and the Angenas family for their greed and insisted he had nothing to do with their plans. He even called Perez his brother and begged to cooperate with him. Perez ignored him, knowing Astana was foolish enough to believe he would truly be safe after giving his confession. Astana happily left the dungeon, already thinking about the food he would receive.
✕After Astana left, Ravini completely broke down. She laughed and cried at the same time, unable to believe her own son had abandoned her. Then she tried to hurt Perez by saying that even if he became Emperor, he would never be able to live happily with Tia because revenge had already consumed his life. Ravini begged Perez to execute her instead of leaving her alive. However, Perez refused. He gave her an official paper stating that she was no longer Empress. She would spend the rest of her life imprisoned, forgotten by everyone. Perez told her that every day she would wonder if that would be the day someone poisoned her, murdered her, or left her to die alone. He wanted her to live in constant fear instead of receiving the quick release of execution. When Ravini desperately tried to attack Perez so he would kill her, the guards stopped her. Perez ordered them to tie her up and stop her from killing herself. Then he left the prison without looking back, while Ravini's screams echoed behind him. Later, Tia and Clerivan left the Angenas mansion together. Tia mentioned that she had not seen Perez for several days. Clerivan explained that Perez was extremely busy because the sick Emperor had entrusted him with handling all the Empire's important work. Tia realized that both she and Perez would become busier in the future, and they would not be able to spend as much time together. Although she understood this, it still made her heart ache. During the carriage ride back to the Lombardi estate, Clerivan finally brought up something he had wanted to discuss for a long time. He handed Tia the life contract he had signed when he founded the Pellet Company. Then he shocked her by asking her to cancel the contract because he wanted to resign from the Pellet Company. Tia was completely stunned by his unexpected request.
I like to post spoilers for the stories I find interesting because I don't have much time to read novel due to busy schedule you will find me in most romantic historical manhwa comment sections
