"So... who was Tsar now?" Alexandra looked at the envoy. "Alexander?"
"Yes, Your Highness." Count Morkov lowered his head.
Alexandra waved it off with a smile. "Perhaps he should have done it long ago. Some of Father's actions truly were not very wise. Let him fish in the Moika River—it would be better than quarreling with his ministers every day..."
"Your Highness," Morkov cut her off through clenched teeth. "Emperor Paul... has returned his soul to Heaven."
The girl's smile froze. "What did you say?"
"Your father accidentally fell and was pierced through the chest by a candlestick... It happened half a month ago."
"You're not joking, are you?"
"It is the truth, Your Highness."
Alexandra suddenly turned her back to him, a low growl escaping her throat. "That greedy, cold-blooded vulture! He could not even wait for the time it took to sign the abdication decree before he pounced, eager to tear at his flesh! Even hell cannot contain his sins!"
She was a very clever girl. Naturally, she knew there had been no such thing as an "accidental fall." Her dear brother must have done something shameless.
Suppressing the storm of emotions within her, she asked, "Who did it? Zubov? Or some duke stripped of his hereditary privileges?"
"I... do not know what you mean, Your Highness. I shall take my leave."
Joseph had barely entered the gates of Versailles Palace when Camellia hurried to his side and whispered, "Your Highness, the Crown Princess Consort is not in a good state."
Joseph sighed and nodded. "I understand."
More than ten minutes later, Alexandra threw herself into Joseph's arms, sobbing softly. "Though he was very fierce, I still loved him...
"That demon, that viper—why did he do this? I will never forgive him..."
Joseph gently stroked her beautiful hair