As long as Lina had not officially been crowned empress, she could not afford to relax. Although everyone had already accepted that she was the rightful successor to the imperial throne, the reality was that she remained merely the Queen of Lorraine, a ruler whose status was no higher than that of her two uncles. Until the Pope placed the imperial crown on her head, everything remained uncertain.
Now, with fresh questions arising about her mother's origins and a possible connection to the mysterious man in black, Lina's unease had grown considerably. She couldn't be certain that the old man's story was true, but her instincts warned her that something dangerous was lurking beneath the surface. She needed to investigate the matter quickly and close every possible loophole before it developed into a threat she could no longer control.
