Madeline waited at a small pub that sells food. A hooded figure enters the pub. She removed her hood and spotted Madeline at the far end of the shop.

Madeline glared at the figure approaching her. The lady sat down opposite Madeline.

"You told Amelia about my plan, did you?" She asked the lady. It was the maid she assigned to kill Amelia. The lady doesn't say a thing.

 "Answer me!" Madeline grew pissed and slammed her hand on the table.

"I didn't tell her where you got the powder from!" The lady trembled in her seat. "I felt guilty, but I didn't say everything I knew!"

 "Anyways," Madeline grinned at her, maliciously. "I guess selling your parents' organs might console me for your stupidity!"

 "No!" The lady got on her knees and begged her, "Please, I will do anything! I am sorry!"

"You seemed to have forgotten your priorities. But I will forgive you." Madeline tapped her chin. "Only if you help me testify against Amelia."

 "What!" The lady screamed, and Madeline smiled. "I don't know."

"Well, I heard a heart cost 15000 Luminae." Madeline laughed. "Now imagine the cost of two kidneys and a liver multiplied by two people!"

 "I will," The lady said weakly. "I will do it!" She started crying. Madeline rolled her eyes.

 "Good now, where is the poison? We need it as evidence," Madeline asked. The lady felt her chest tighten as she remembered that she had given Amelia the bottle.

 'I am so sorry!' She thought. Madeline became annoyed with her silence.

 "Where is it?" She snapped at her, "Did you lose it?" The lady looked reluctant to speak.

 'If it isn't with her, she should be able to say so, unless...!' Madeline's smile became wider.

 "Did Amelia take it from you?" The lady flinched. Madeline knew she had hit the jackpot. She laughed until tears fell from her eyes. She just needed to capitalize on the situation.

 "Good job!" She bent down to pat the lady's shoulder. "Let's head to the palace then."

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Madeline and her maid arrived at the palace. She paid the coachman who took her down and walked towards the palace gates. The lady wore her hood in shame and guilt, as if covering her face would make the guilt lessen.

 "State your business!" They stopped Madeline. Madeline curtsied and introduced herself.

 "I am Madeline Hawthorne, daughter of Duke Hawthorne and Duchess Hawthorne. I am here to see the Emperor."

 "Why, we can't allow you unless you have an appointment with him."

 "But it's for the safety of the Empire; it is about the black magic users." She whispered to the guards. The guards looked at her and whispered to themselves.
..................................................................

A few moments later~

Madeline was escorted, together with her maid, to the Emperor's reception by the Imperial Guards. The Imperial Palace was huge and magnificent. The hallways were decorated with Veridian murals. They stopped at the reception and opened the door for Madeline and her maid.

 The Emperor was already seated in the reception, waiting for them. Madeline couldn't help but be stunned by the Emperor's appearance. He had bright red hair and enchanting gold eyes. He sat casually with one leg draped over the other. He had a poker expression on his face. He was incredibly good-looking; she almost forgot about what she came for.

She almost forgot.

"Greetings to his imperial majesty!" She curtsied, as did her maid.

"Well then, come in." The Emperor gestured to the seat opposite him.

 "Sure!" Madeline quickly made her way to the seat and sat down while her maid stood. "Your highness is doing a great job protecting the Empire; it would become complete if the subjects also contributed."

"Go on." The Emperor nodded. Madeline brought out the empty potion bottle she used on her parents in the carriage. The Emperor raised his eyebrow.

"I found this in my sister's room," Madeline said, pretending to be frightened. "I found it after I heard she was arrested when his Majesty's imperial guards raided the Darklane district. I don't know what it is for."

"You found this in your sister's room." The Emperor took the bottle and examined it. "Is she also Duke Hawthorne's daughter?"

 "Yes! Unfortunately, when my parents found out about it, their hearts could not take it, so they both collapsed simultaneously! Sadly, I am the only one who can accept this reality," Madeline said sadly. The maid looked at lying Madeline and felt disgusted, both with herself and with Madeline.

The Emperor took the bottle and opened it. A small black wisp came from the bottle. "That's black magic, alright! The bottle is empty. I originally planned on letting the prisoners go after a thorough investigation, but you coming to tell me this, means you are implicating those other people too, not only your sister, you know?"

The Emperor observed Madeline for a change in her demeanor. He didn't fully trust her. Besides that, who is brave enough to turn in their own family?

 "I know you won't believe me, so I brought a witness to also testify." Madeline turned to the maid, who looked down.

 "Is this true?" The Emperor asked her. She nodded, not keen on saying anything.

"How do you know?" The Emperor asked her. The maid didn't feel like saying a word, but she knew if she didn't testify, Madeline would kill her parents and probably kill her too.

"I caught the young lady sneaking out at night once, and then I noticed that she does that twice a week. Then the night she got arrested, I saw her sneak out with a similar bottle!" She focused on the floor.

Madeline felt her testimony was mediocre, so she continued from where the maid stopped in her explanation.

"Who knows what heinous and devious things she wanted to commit." The maid glanced at Madeline as she continued, cutting her off.

 "She wanted to murder me. She wanted to be the only daughter of the Hawthorne  family."The Emperor nodded, still skeptical about her explanations.

"So she wanted to murder you?" He asked Madeline. She nodded. "Did she have, like, accomplices, or was she part of a cult of something? There are rumors about a cult of people that practiced black magic and sold evil products to people."

 Madeline flinched but quickly acted normal. Of course, Madeline knew about the cult; that was where she got all her potions and hexes. She didn't know the Emperor knew about the cult either.

 "Well, I do see her with two people; they aren't nobles, and I haven't seen them anywhere else." Madeline lied. The maid glanced at Madeline.

"Describe them, please?" The Emperor took out a notebook to write down the description of the people Madeline mentioned.

"Huh?" She said confused.

"Describe them!" The Emperor repeated himself. Madeline frowned.

 "Well... They are both women; one had tan skin and black eyes, and the other had green eyes. The tan skin looks masculine, while the other has a huge scar on her face. Right." Madeline told the Emperor, who just wrote everything she said down in his notebook.

'What's his deal? At least he won't be able to find a tan-skinned woman who looks masculine and a green-eyed lady with a huge scar on her face just walking about in Veridian's mind. The maid looked at Madeline with incredulity.

 "Well then?" The Emperor looked at Madeline. "Any other thing, I should note it down. How about your sister's appearance?"

"She looks like me but with blue eyes." Madeline answered, and the Emperor wrote that down too.

"Thank you. You may leave now. I will start the  investigations."He said that, and Madeline and her maid walked out of the reception. Madeline wasn't satisfied with her session with the Emperor. It seemed like the Emperor didn't believe her.

She thought to herself, 'Starting the investigations? I expect a sudden death sentence! I hope Amelia is currently with that bottle; only then will he believe me.'

She turned to the maid behind her; the maid flinched when she turned.

 "You! You weren't convincing enough. If this goes wrong, I am selling your parents!" She threatened the poor maid and stormed off. The maid quietly followed her behind.

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"Greetings to his imperial majesty!" The guards announced this as the Emperor entered the prison. He walked to Amelia, Victoria, and Eliza's cell.

 "Amelia Hawthorne?" He called. Amelia looked at him, then looked away. The Emperor gestured to the guard to open the cell. The cell door was open, and the Emperor stepped into the cell. Then he noticed the other two women in the cell.

 "Is this some kind of coincidence?" He chuckled darkly at a brown-skinned woman with brown skin and black eyes wearing masculine clothes and a green-skinned woman with a huge slash on her face. It bears a great resemblance to the description Madeline gave him.

 "Guards take these women for questioning; Amelia stays here with me." The Emperor ordered

 A guard remained with the Emperor while the other two dragged the two women out of the cell, leaving Amelia alone with the Emperor. Amelia, in fear, hid her face on her knees, about to start crying.

 "Amelia Hawthorne!" The Emperor called coldly, and Amelia trembled as he came closer. "Look at me!"

 Tears streamed down her cheeks as she shook with fear. The guard came over to Amelia and grabbed a handful of her hair and pulled it backward, making her look at the Emperor.

 "How disrespectful. Are you a Duke's daughter? Your manners" He clicked his tongue. "Such a disgrace."

 "I didn't do anything." She cried as the guard's grip on her hair tightened. She held his hand, hoping it would make the grip less tight.

 "I haven't asked yet; you are already talking." He frowned. "Where are your remaining members?"

"I have no idea what you are talking about!" Amelia cried, "Please, let me go!"

"Why are you denying it now?"

 "I am not denying anything; I don't know!" Amelia cried harder. "Please, let me go home!"

"If you don't want to talk, I will make you eventually talk." He looked at the guard. "You know what to do."

The guard dragged Amelia to her feet roughly. As soon as Amelia got to her feet, her knees buckled, and she fell to the floor, groaning.

The poison bottle rolled from Amelia's pocket with a sound. The guard picks up the bottle and shows it to the Emperor. The Emperor recognizes the bottle; it was the same as the bottle Amelia's sister showed him. He glared at her in contempt and disgust.

"Wait, that's mine!" Amelia reached out weakly to the Emperor, "That's my only chance to live!"

"So you are saying this bottle belongs to you?" The Emperor asked Amelia coldly.

"Please give it back!" Amelia cried, "I need it!" The Emperor chuckled and gave the bottle to the guard.

"So you are coming clean now?" He asked Amelia. Amelia tries to sit up and looks at the Emperor.

"I told you, I don't know anything!" She answered him. The Emperor laughed a bit.

"Bring the other women!" He ordered the guard. The guard went out of the cell and came back with the other guards as well as the two women.

"The women denied their involvement." The guards reported to the Emperor. Victoria saw Amelia crying profusely on the floor; she instantly got so angry that she snapped at the Emperor.

"That's because we know nothing about this; you are holding us captive for something we didn't do. Some Emperor you are. How dare you do that to...?" Victoria was slapped so hard across the face by a guard that she tore her bottom lip. The other two women gasped. She glowered at the Emperor, intense hatred evident in her eyes.

 After all, he was a man too. They take advantage of women because they think they are weaker.

"She already confessed to owning this!" The Emperor spoke, "This is black magic."

"No, that's my poison!" Amelia spoke up; she hated everything so far. She hated the Emperor and the guard for not believing her; she hated her experience in the cell; and she also hated the fact that her sister was the reason why she was experiencing this in the first place.

"So, are you denying it or what?" The Emperor shouted at Amelia. He felt disgusted with how she 'acted' weak. How would someone like her still keep denying it after all the evidence pointed to her and her companions? She cries on the floor, playing victim.

The Emperor felt enraged. "You must think I am a joke, right?" He paused for a while, and Amelia looked away from him.

"Three days from now, you three will be beheaded at the guillotine at sunset. Confess by then, and maybe you will get a lighter punishment!" The Emperor stormed out of the cell with his guards, closing the bars. They felt a huge bomb drop on them.

 "What the...!" Victoria starts screaming and cursing the Emperor. Eliza runs her hand through her hair and starts crying. Amelia felt her soul shatter.

"It seems like I was meant to die. I can't avoid it," Amelia said quietly.

 "How would my younger ones feel when they hear this? I am the only one they have. How would they survive after I am gone?" Eliza cried.

 "This is an abuse of power!" Victoria screamed in the cell, "The Emperor kills innocent people just because he can! So weak and pathetic." The guard came over to warn Victoria.

 "The Crown of Veridian is weak and corrupt!" Victoria screamed even louder.

The guard eventually left Victoria alone because He couldn't control her. The spirit of the three women was heavy and dejected.

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A/n: * Luminae is the currency of Veridian.