In this Chaotic World, I Am Doing Fine

Arnold Hash glared intently at Acelia.

His piercing gaze was fierce, as if it would devour her.

“Don’t you think His Highness the Third Prince might be using Your Highness the Princess as an alibi?”

“No. If Gale had such intelligence, he wouldn’t have ended up in the interrogation room.”

“Are you making fun of me for being stupid?”

“No. I’m praising you for being the most honest person there is.”

“You’re treating me like a fool.”

Oh, wasn’t he a fool?

Acelia smiled with that meaning.

Gale, who was expected to throw a fit, just wrinkled his nose and remained quiet.

Why is he like this, was this incident so shocking?

Thinking that the case needed to be resolved quickly, Acelia requested to meet the witnesses.

But Arnold Hash spouted nonsense about having to protect their identities.

At this point, Acelia lost her composure.

“An imperial family member almost suffered a false accusation, and you’re saying such things? Bring them here immediately!”

“If it was a misunderstanding, it’s the Knight Order’s duty to apologize to His Highness the Third Prince. Your Highness the Princess, please return now.”

“Is this something that can be resolved with just an apology? After causing someone physical and mental suffering? Then why do we have laws and officers? Follow the law!”

Insulting the imperial family? You know, that law. We can handle it with that!

However, Arnold Hash remained unmoved.

He said seriously,

“Therefore, Your Highness the Princess is not a related party…”

“Why am I not a related party? I’m this person’s family. Are you ignoring me now?”

Everyone, including Gale, was surprised.

No one expected the Princess to vehemently defend the Third Prince, her veins popping out on her neck.

Arnold Hash, in particular, was greatly surprised.

While the Third Prince’s misdeeds were predictable, the Princess’s actions were far beyond his expectations.

When things went completely against his expectations, Arnold Hash felt both bewilderment and displeasure.

‘These nobodies dare to…’

As a seasoned knight, he didn’t show it on his face.

However, there was no way Acelia, who was sensitive to people’s negative emotions, wouldn’t notice this.

‘He thinks we’re ignorant newcomers.’

Acelia knew well how important it was to protect witness identities. After all, she had lived in modern times.

But isn’t this a world with a class system?

Isn’t she a member of the imperial family?

And whoever it was, they targeted Gale, which was unforgivable, right?

Acelia had her justification too. The justification of protecting family.

Ding!

[<Sickly> trait is activated!]

‘Why now…!’

Her sickly body was about to collapse, unable to withstand the anger. Gale hurriedly caught her as she staggered.

“Do as she wants, quickly! If not, I’ll report you to the Knight Order!”

“……”

Eventually, Acelia’s demands were partially accepted, and she was given full disclosure of the investigation process. Unfortunately, she couldn’t meet the witnesses directly.

It was said to be because it would infringe on the Knight Order’s authority, but Gale later tipped her off that the Red Hawk Knight Order was under the jurisdiction of the Second Prince, Diego Hedwig.

That’s why they’re so arrogant, he said. He said they had already conceded a lot by sharing the investigation process.

‘So that person stood by while his younger sibling was being humiliated?’

She lost respect for the older sibling she had never met. She should have seen firsthand how they treated Gale.

Well, in historical dramas, people would frame, exile, or poison their own blood relatives to become king, so ignoring a younger sibling being interrogated and pretending not to know isn’t surprising.

Even if a favorable investigation was impossible due to suspicions, he could have at least told them to conduct the questioning politely, but since he didn’t, it was clear that the Second Prince lacked compassion.

Given this context, the thought ‘Could the Second Prince be behind all this…?!’ briefly crossed her mind, but the investigation results showed that there was a separate culprit who stole the imperial family’s treasure.

The witnesses who claimed to have seen Gale stealing the treasure were three soldiers in charge of the western warehouse and one servant.

Having heard rumors about the ‘Frost Giant’s Quill’ that could turn drawings into reality, sold by a merchant who frequented the imperial palace, they became greedy and bribed one servant.

Around that time, the soldiers who were supposed to guard the warehouse often left their posts to gamble, as few people visited the area, and the servant took advantage of this to steal the treasure.

When the soldiers discovered the missing treasure, fearing their negligence would be exposed and their lives would be at stake, they remembered that Gale often passed by there and framed him for taking it.

The servant gladly agreed to corroborate the story.

They calculated that due to Gale’s reputation as a rogue, everyone would believe he took it, and being a member of the imperial family, he wouldn’t be severely punished.

Upon hearing this, Acelia couldn’t help but wonder why Gale’s reputation was so bad.

The Gale she knew, while somewhat frivolous in speech and behavior, was just a glutton with simple thoughts and easily distracted, not the type to cause trouble and harm others.

Was there a past of his that she didn’t know about? He should have at least messed up the imperial household finances to live up to the name of a rogue.

Judging by how the young ladies consistently showed interest in him at the banquet, he seemed to be good with women too.

‘But why?’

Anyway, Gale was cleared of suspicion, and those involved were given harsher punishments for framing a member of the imperial family.

It was a natural course of action.

Although the case was well resolved, Acelia had a headache.

‘With all this commotion, it must have reached the ears of the Emperor and Empress… I’m doomed.’

The Emperor would probably just say “Behave yourself” and leave it at that, but the Empress was the problem.

She had been warned, but now she had acted in a way that drew attention, so if caught, she’d be headed straight for a meeting.
And there was something else that bothered her.

Ding!

[You have slightly twisted the fate of <Gale Hedwig>! <Acelia Hedwig>’s damage level increases by 5. Current damage level: 21.]

This message had appeared earlier. Acelia furrowed her brow.

‘What does it mean to have twisted his fate? Does that mean I should have let Gale be punished? Is this good or bad?’

As always, the roulette gave no answer. It just floated there silently and then disappeared.

‘Oh well, I don’t know. Let’s just sleep.’

Acelia wasn’t the type to dwell long on problems she couldn’t solve immediately.

She flopped down on the bed.

***

‘How did this happen?’

Joachim couldn’t believe his ears when he heard the news that the Third Prince Gale Hedwig had been released.

According to the future he knew, Gale should have been severely punished by the Emperor and expelled from the capital for stealing and selling the imperial family’s treasure, along with the added charge of tarnishing the imperial family’s honor over the years.

Gale had a difficult life in the capital due to past incidents with the Second Prince Diego Hedwig. But the real hardships were supposed to begin after he left the capital.

This incident was a crucial turning point in Gale Hedwig’s life. Because of this, he was destined to wander miserably for the rest of his life and die in a foreign land.

But the wheel of fate that had been rolling smoothly made a creaking sound.

What got in between was just a tiny pebble, but Joachim could sense how big of a wave it would return as in Gale Hedwig’s future life.

The one who accomplished this was.

‘Princess Acelia…’

It was a name he had been hearing frequently lately.

The sickly, unnoticeable, and unloved forgotten princess.

But she was also one touched by the hand of God.

‘With what intention did she change Gale Hedwig’s fate?’

Joachim was suspicious of Acelia’s intentions. Did she do it knowingly or unknowingly?

He also questioned her existence.

Acelia is not the kind of person who can do such things.

At a glance, the surrounding circumstances seem to bind her limbs, but Acelia was a person who conformed to her environment and prioritized her own safety above all else.

She was not someone who could stand up for others.

After thinking for a moment, Joachim decided he needed to meet the princess.

He intended to ask her what she was thinking and why she saved Gale.

He also needed to question her about what happened at the First Prince’s birthday banquet.

Joachim was still convinced that it was Acelia who had done that to Liam.

‘What made the princess change?’

Right now, Princess Acelia was like a foggy forest to Joachim.

Whether what was inside was an unknown monster or lush greenery remained to be seen.

Joachim visited the Princess’s Palace after sending notice.

He had certainly maintained his composure until he entered the Princess’s Palace.

But then.

“Oh my! It really is High Priest Joachim.”