“You must hurry, sir.”

The servant presumptuously urged him to walk faster, but Kim Seon-Hyeok didn’t rebuke him. 

“Where should I go?”

“Th, the bedchamber, sir!”

Now that Seon-Hyeok was almost running, the servant didn’t dare to follow him any longer and shouted after him. 

He left the servant behind and raced down the hallway of the Imperial palace. 

But it was too late.

Ding Dong Ding Dong

Kim Seon-Hyeok stopped running and froze at the sound of the bells ringing heavily. 

He began to feel even more rushed at the ominous sound of the bell. Stone-faced, he began to race down the hallway again.

He finally reached Theodore’s bedchamber.

“His Majesty, has he...?!”

At his question, the servant waiting in front of the bedchamber dropped his head and quickly began to shed tears. 

“Ah…”

He closed his eyes at the sudden dizziness. 

Only then did he realize what the ominous bell he heard on the way meant. The bell had been announcing the death of the king. 

Ding Dong Ding Dong

The somber bells continued to ring regularly. 

“Where is the empress?”

Even Kim Seon-Hyeok was surprised at his hoarse voice. The servant pointed at the bedchamber as he wept. 

“Open the door.”

The door opened and the inside of the chamber was revealed.

“Ophelia…”

And there she was. 

Ophelia was sitting...