“…Have you been well, Sister.”

Nocturne Lavernia clenched his fist once, then slowly raised his head and greeted her politely.

“…Ah, yes. I’m glad to see you seem to be doing well too.”

Serena, who had hesitated for a moment at the polite greeting, quickly responded after remembering that this was a banquet hall.

Nocturne Lavernia’s eyes widened at the greeting she returned, then he slowly nodded.

“By the way, His Highness the Crown Prince and Her Highness the Crown Princess seem to be late today.”

Marquis Lavernia changed the subject like he was trying to refresh the atmosphere.

“That’s right… the banquet time has already passed by quite a bit.”

“If something had happened, there would have been a notice, but there’s none of that either.”

Marquis Lavernia nodded at Magnus’s words.

He took out a pocket watch from his inner pocket, checked the time, and then put it back.

“It’s concerning, I should go and check.”

Just as Marquis Lavernia was about to turn around, looking at the banquet hall where the murmuring was growing louder,

The doors of the banquet hall swung open wide, and there was a clanking sound of armor colliding.

Marquis Lavernia’s steps, who was about to leave the banquet hall, came to an awkward halt.

What entered was the imperial guard.

They were the most honorable knight order among the imperial knight orders, directly under the Emperor, who rarely moved unless absolutely necessary.

Those who entered the center of the banquet hall, wearing helmets as if going to war, stopped their steps with discipline.

The sound of clashing metal was fierce.

They slowly looked around the banquet hall as if searching for someone.

“……”

Serena inhaled.

Somehow, her heart was pounding.

For every 100 happinesses, there follows an equal amount of unhappiness.

Eventually, the leader of the direct knight order strode towards Serena.

At that ominous momentum, Magnus and Marquis Lavernia blocked in front of Serena.

“Serena Kelahinum, you are under arrest on suspicion of attempted assassination of the imperial family.”

“……”

Thud–.

Serena’s heart sank to the floor.

As if announcing the arrival of a jinx that would never be broken.

“Attempted assassination?”

“Surely not His Majesty the Emperor…?”

“Come to think of it, His Highness the Crown Prince and Her Highness the Crown Princess haven’t arrived.”

Murmurs began to grow louder here and there.

In fact, the Emperor’s direct guard only served the Emperor and didn’t move unless something happened to the Emperor or a major problem occurred in the empire.

“I don’t understand the situation, what are you doing now?”

“Duke Kelahinum, Marquis Lavernia, please step aside.”

“I asked what you’re doing.”

Magnus revealed a fierce and ominous aura.

The shoulders of the one who appeared to be the leader of the imperial guard visibly trembled.

Even Marquis Lavernia hesitated for a moment at the fiercely menacing aura.

“…His Majesty the Emperor has fallen into a state of unconsciousness. After taking the medicine prepared by Duchess Serena Kelahinum.”

“…Are you saying His Majesty has collapsed?”

Magnus’s voice softened a bit as he asked again. Marquis Lavernia’s face hardened.

‘…Serena’s medicine?’

Marquis Lavernia had already confirmed that his wife had been completely cured by that medicine.

If it was prescribed the same way for the same symptoms, there shouldn’t have been anything wrong with the medicine.

“His condition should have been continuously improving until now, it’s strange that he suddenly fell unconscious after taking that medicine.”

“That’s right, my wife’s symptoms completely disappeared with that medicine. Above all, there’s no definitive evidence… Someone else could have tampered with the prepared medicine in the first place.”

Marquis Lavernia added to Magnus’s words.

With the two biggest power holders in the empire blocking the way, even the commander of the imperial guard couldn’t move easily.

Moreover, one of them was a man overwhelmingly superior in martial prowess.

Honestly, if he intended to subdue the imperial guard, there was no one in here who could stop him.

“That will be investigated in the future. However, currently, the most likely suspect is Duchess Serena Kelahinum. Above all… there’s no guarantee that the Duchess used the same medicine on His Majesty as she used on the Marchioness.”

At those words, anger clouded Marquis Lavernia’s face.

Just as he clenched his fist and took a step forward.

“It seems you want to die, wagging your tongue so carelessly.”

Kuguuu–!

An enormous killing intent descended upon the banquet hall.

A storm of magical power, barely suppressed due to anger, swirled roughly around Magnus.

A fierce wind swept through the banquet hall as if a storm had hit.

Magnus’s voice was calm. However, his pupils were vertically split wide enough to tear a person apart with just a glance.

A monster…

No, faced with what seemed like a monster that one couldn’t even dare to handle, the commander of the imperial guard couldn’t even open his mouth.

He too was one of the top ten skilled individuals in the empire.

There were times when he thought, even if the opponent was stronger than him, how much stronger could they be?

But this wasn’t a matter of being strong or not. It was a question of whether this could be seen as the same species.

‘Can this be considered the same human?’

This fierce and ferocious aura was something he had only felt when facing giant demonic beasts or monsters.

The knight commander barely managed to clench his fist and open his mouth.

“Du-Duke Kelahinum. If you cause trouble here now… it will only make things more difficult for the Duchess.”

“Magnus von Kelahinum.”

A voice was heard from the entrance of the banquet hall.

It was a small and low voice, but it had enough charisma to overwhelm the audience.

“What are you doing in the imperial palace right now?”

The Crown Prince, who was entering, said as he surveyed the banquet hall.

Some people could be seen fainting, unable to withstand Magnus’s magical power and killing intent.

The Crown Prince frowned at the sight of their eyes rolling back.

“I should be the one asking what you’re doing, Your Highness.”

“Didn’t the commander of the imperial guard relay the message?”

“There’s no way Serena would have done that.”

The Crown Prince slightly frowned.

He looked once at Serena Kelahinum, who was standing behind Magnus and Marquis Lavernia with her head bowed, pale as a sheet, and then tightly closed his mouth.

He pressed his forehead, which was throbbing. He knew there was a high chance she hadn’t done it, but somehow he kept feeling provoked.

‘…If it’s not her, there’s no one else who would do it. She hated me and Rosia from the beginning, so she could take revenge like this.’

As he shook his head trying to shake off unnecessary thoughts, suddenly such a thought crept into his mind.

‘…Right, if it’s not her, who else would harm Father?’

The Crown Prince thought.

After all, the current Emperor, his father, had such good public sentiment that he was close to being a sage king.

“I only ordered to secure the custody of the person who attempted to assassinate His Majesty the Emperor.”

“She is not someone who would do that.”

“She has a record of trying to poison my wife, Rosia… to death! Where is the guarantee that she wouldn’t do it again?!”

The Crown Prince raised his voice at Magnus, his eyes flashing fiercely.

“…Poisoning the Crown Princess?”

“Then perhaps what Viscount Lavie said earlier……”

“Was it really true?”

“Well, didn’t a servant who worked at the Duke’s mansion say they saw it directly?”

Voices began to grow louder from all directions. Once public opinion is formed, it’s not easy to reverse.

‘This is troublesome.’

But what’s this talk about poisoning the Crown Princess?

Marquis Lavernia frowned and glanced back.

His daughter was standing there without saying a word, her mouth tightly shut and her head turned away.

Her tightly clenched fist was pale white, which made him unnecessarily worried.

“His Majesty was clearly recovering. Your Highness the Crown Prince should know that best.”

The Crown Prince, who had strode over, stood in front of Magnus and raised his head.

“She could have done it on purpose! Torture by hope¹refers to a situation where someone is given false hope or is made to experience alternating periods of hope and despair, I mean. She hated me, so she could have made it look like he was getting better, then tried to poison him again… Ugh.”

“Duke Kelahinum! What disrespectful act are you…!”

The commander of the imperial guard drew his sword. Marquis Lavernia’s eyes widened.

It was because Magnus had grabbed the Crown Prince’s collar.

“Ugh… you, this… is a crime of insulting the imperial family……”

“Was the Serena you saw that kind of person? Someone who would deliberately heal a person just to torture you with hope and then poison them again?”

Magnus, who had pulled the Crown Prince’s collar, murmured in a subdued voice.

The Crown Prince’s eyes, which had widened and shaken for a moment, soon twisted again, frowning painfully.

“Ugh… let go of me! Imperial guard! Immediately… Duke Kelahinum…!”

“That’s enough now, Magnus.”

Serena said, lightly tapping Magnus’s arm. At that, the strength instantly drained from Magnus’s body.

“…Serena.”

Magnus, whose fierce atmosphere had disappeared somewhere, immediately frowned and turned to look at Serena.

“I’ll just go with them.”