Chapter 54

Chapter 54

“How frustrating.”

There was only so much she could do alone.

Even if she knew something, it would become complicated if she could do something in her current position.

And of course, all this stress would naturally turn into resentment.

“Why on earth is everyone here living so dishonestly?”

And in particular, she was resentful of the very wicked Empress.

Being tired of people’s scattered emotions, she carefully made a resolution for herself.

‘I must live in honesty.’

It was also for the sake of her family.

Since she sees all their emotions and thoughts, it would be fair if she could be honest with her feelings at least.

“Princess?”

She was tossing and turning as she slept, but because of that, Ellie woke up as well. Naturally, she got up to soothe Siervian.

She hurriedly touched Siervian’s head as she smiled brightly with her gaze only on her.

With a little bit of a caring face, Siervian’s eyes were almost about to go all teary.

“Thank you Ellie.”

She was already being honest with her feelings.

* * *

“The Empress will be held accountable for her sins.”

The atmosphere of the Imperial Palace, which had always teemed with activity, was chaotic this day.

A duke protested the Emperor’s sudden words.

“Your Majesty! What are you talking about so suddenly!”

And of course, the other nobles did not just sit still.

There were a number of nobles in the Palace, but it would be unprecedented to purge the Empress without clear evidence.

“Take a look at this. The ingredients of the Princess’ harmin tea were modified.”

Emperor Alderuan hurriedly threw a crystal in the middle of the table surrounded by the nobles.

“The Chief lady-in-waiting of the Empress’ Palace and the harmin specialist of the duchy brought the Princess’ harmin tea, and afterward ingredients of mana disruption were found in the tea.”

After slowly flying in the groove of the table’s center, light issued from the crystal.

“No.”

“What is this nonsense? Is this true? Duke!”

“…”

The light soon became letters that flew before the nobles.

It was a specific method of the empire of making documents by the crystal light if there was data needed to be seen together at a meeting.

“In spite of all that, the harmin tea…?”

“How, how could this happen?”

The nobles soon became uneasy and recalled the unpleasant incident that occurred a while ago.

Because presented before them was clear evidence.

“Your Majesty! There must be a mistake, someone might be plotting against us!”

At that moment, the duke, who was astonished by the people, was still in denial.

Alderuan looked at him with cold eyes and made a serious declaration.

“Yes. I believe that this is a conspiracy planned by the Duchy.”

As he spoke, Alderuan felt a strange sense of incongruity in the Duke’s attitude.

The nobles were enveloped in silence one by one.

The Duke planned the sabotaging of the Princess’ tea, and the Imperial family invaded the Duke’s power.

“The study of harmin tea is prohibited. But what can I do?!”

Naturally, the Duke cried out again fiercely.

He had suffered from headaches ever since receiving the Empress’ secret summons, but he did not expect that the Emperor would charge something like this.

“Um, but the Duke’s authority is a sacred right guaranteed by the first Emperor…”

Those who were in the harmin garden were arrested on the spot and banned from ever visiting again. Moreover, even the Empress who was confined in her palace did not know that the first tea was left.

“If you had at least told me beforehand, we could’ve discussed…”

The nobles gave their opinions, but ultimately were only left with their expressions, which had become progressively more austere.

Even nobles belonging to the Imperial sect could not speak in the current atmosphere.

And that new atmosphere was harshly criticized by Emperor Alderuan.

“That sacred authority of yours only applied up until now, when the harmin tea was used to assassinate member of the Imperial family.”

“Assassinate. You mean to say…!”

The Duke’s reaction was obscured by other voices. They were obviously too preoccupied with the importance of harmin tea.

In the first place, it was the right choice to be wary of the tea for it could be a weapon to be abused and attempt to assassinate an Imperial, which just happened.

“However, to say that the Princess would be assassinated with that level of drug is too…”

“You’re going too far! And having to make up with such thoughtless excuses all the time…!”

“Destroying the mana in a body is no different from murder! You’re saying it’s not poison but it would kill them in the future!”

In the end, the Duke took his breath over a glass of warm water.

Then suddenly, one of the nobles took a swipe at the Duke.

“I heard that the chief maid from the duchy grabbed the Princess’ face against her will to force the tea in her mouth, but the Duke’s indulgence was not too much!

“It’s…!”

As if all of the nobles were gossiping about the Duke; but while they were at it, the lieutenant confirmed that the rumors were real.

After hearing the lieutenant’s confirmation, the atmosphere quickly became bitter.

It was no different to describe the person who had already become the Empress’ maid as “from a Duke.”

An attack on the duchy was the same as an indirect attack on the Empress.

“If rumor has it…”

“Huh, if it’s really true, then the Empress was…”

The Duke burst in anger as he saw the nobles whispering noisily as if they intentionally wanted him to listen.

“Your Majesty, with all due respect, it’s quite surprising that there was something more in the tea in the first place.”

“Do you dare claim that I fabricated the evidence?”

“I do not dare, Your Majesty, it’s just that the study of harmin tea has only been done by the Duchy. The question arises whether non-professionals can properly analyze the tea.”

They could not make a big mistake with evidence like this of course. He rolled his head as he absorbed the insults toward the Empress, who did her work prematurely.

Just then, something strange made the anxious eyes of the Duke change.

“Your Majesty, the Empress was just genuinely concerned and made a horrible mistake.”

“It does not seem like a mistake from the ingredients found in the tea.”

“Weren’t the ingredients of the tea only examined by your specialist?”

With those words, the lieutenant carefully stated the accident in detail again.

Indeed, it was only in the first harmin tea that the drugs were found.

“You’re playing with words.”

“…”

“The loyal specialist must have made a mistake.”

The Emperor’s face was angered by the same excuse, and yet the Duke still desperately clung to that fact.

“Give me a chance to change your mind!”

“You are forbidden, the one who dared to hurt a child, the Empress, is from the duchy, so I do not trust any of you”

The fact that the Empress laid a finger on the Princess was openly declared as it was.

The ministers’ eyes glazed over as they realized the conclusive facts and calculated the gains.

The Emperor suddenly realized the Duke’s strange behavior.

“With my own hands, I will reveal every detail of the specialist’s evil deeds.”

“I forbid that idea, and further, only under the presence of the Captain of the Guard will the Duke be able to move.”

The Duke’s attitude in the matter had been bothering Emperor Alderuan for some time.

This was because he had a sense that the Duke’s objection was strangely not to protect the Empress.

“…I see. The Duke’s intentions seemed honorable, so I will accept them.”

It was a remark that was thrown to stab the Empress’ wickedness.

Nevertheless, doesn’t the duke act as if his innocence is more important than the rumors of the Empress?

“The Captain of the Guards has entered.”

Is it useless to use power in front of a family’s own flesh and blood?

Of course, there were some things that were inexplicable regarding the event.

And Alderuan decided not to ignore his strange hunch.

* * *

As Siervian regained her strength, the palace once again regained its colors. Now, she will be able to go for a walk again in the front yard of the Princess’ Palace as she was recovered enough.

But Ellie was not entirely relieved by that fact.

“Hmm, I think the Princess is strangely despondent.”

While Siervian was out for a while, Ellie cleaned the Princess’ room.

Now that she was the chief lady-in-waiting, she had authority over the other maids, but was greedy to take care of the place where the Princess sleeps.

At the moment, at the edge of Ellie’s gaze, a doll captured her eye, the doll that Siervian cherished.

“I should bring this to her.”

The Princess would often run around the garden, forgetting her doll.

However, after going out for a while, she would come back to get the doll.

So Ellie thought it would be the same situation this time.

“Oh, what’s this?”

However, something strange touched Ellie’s fingertips as she picked up the doll.

“Is this…?”

* * *

Siervian had been leisurely looking around the garden, specifically the flowers, for a long time now, and suddenly looked at the people gathered at the palace.

“Siervian, how are you?”

“Sebi is okaayy.”

The Crown Prince carefully stroked Siervian’s head with a somewhat tense expression. And the Emperor next to him just looked down at Siervian with a serious expression on his face.

‘What’s wrong with everyone?’

Ellie had been working hard to express her feelings about what to do.

Somewhat, she felt tension crawling up her back.

That’s when her father asked in a very dark voice.

“Siervy, something strange was found in your doll.”

Her heart dropped, pounding.

Siervian unconsciously recalled her past life when the Captain of the Guard came in.

The same day she found the strange black magic that she didn’t even know of inside the palace.

‘It’s not.’

She was sure the doll head was properly attached to the body and wouldn’t break off.

It opened when she was sick?

Or when she forgot for a moment while going to the garden?

Whatever it was, she needed to answer, but still, her tongue was stiff.

“What?”

As if announcing her death sentence, her father finally held out his palm.

It was hard to look up, so she reflexively closed her eyes.

“I don’t mean to reproach you, Siervy, but why was this hiding in your doll?”

The voice heard was very low. But, what’s next was more of a concern than that.

Eventually, she opened her eyes slowly, and there was the object she had forgotten held in the palm of her father’s hand.

────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────