Your Highness!

Hearing the urgent voice calling out with a knock, Carlo glanced at me as if I were a stranger and braced his hand against the desk.

“What is it?”

At his response, the door opened to reveal a group of people standing at attention.

They wore familiar purple uniforms I had seen before.

The Grandis Imperial Police Investigation Bureau…

They were the same people who had come to St. Berte Castle with my summons.

“The culprit has confessed!”

Carlo’s eyes paused momentarily before turning to look at me.

“You’ve arrived.”

Marcel was a commissioner who stood ramrod straight even from a distance.

After spotting the Grand Duke and me, Marcel approached, exchanged brief greetings, and explained the situation in a heavy, rigid tone.

“The man is Merverly O’Toole, one of the servants assigned to Rishelt Island. He was on duty today. He swam across the Conz River and hid near Longmeadow, but decided he was essentially surrounded as the search continued.”

His face showed unmistakable dismay, almost to the point of displeasure.

Marcel glanced sharply at the culprit before continuing.

“He came forward thinking confession would be better than trembling all night with no chance of escape.”

“His statement.”

At Carlo’s calm response, Marcel handed over the documents he received from his subordinate.

“Here’s the statement based on O’Toole’s confession. The circumstances do match, but…”

When Marcel trailed off as if something didn’t sit right with him, Carlo’s gaze, which had been scanning the statement, turned toward him.

Marcel seemed lost in thought as he stared at the documents, then suddenly shook his head when he noticed Carlo’s eyes on him.

“No, all the circumstances match. Her Majesty the Empress said she needed to verify the incident directly with the Grand Duke and Duchess, which is why we had to contact you at this hour.”

After finishing, Marcel stepped aside as if clearing the way.

The reception room contained Genevieve and Aiden, all the nobles who had hosted or attended the party, the servants who had been at the party, the imperial guard commander and his soldiers, and finally, members of the Grandis Imperial Police Investigation Bureau.

They said it was the Empress’s intention to reveal the culprit fairly in front of everyone.

“……”

Dillan was standing among them.

Upon seeing me, Dillan hesitated momentarily before composing his expression and standing at attention.

“You’ve arrived just in time.”

Genevieve, seated beside Aiden on the imperial throne, gestured for us to come forward before returning to her serious expression.

I had heard the Emperor had regained consciousness, but he must have lost it again as he wasn’t visible beside them.

“……”

As Carlo and I approached, everyone parted like the Red Sea, creating a path.

Simultaneously, the man called Merverly O’Toole, previously hidden among the crowd, came clearly into view.

O’Toole was hunched over, his head almost touching the floor.

With each step forward, a chill washed over my entire body.

I forced myself to straighten my shrinking posture and lift my head, feeling Carlo watching me carefully.

“Verify it,” Aiden said in a notably heavy tone.

Merverly O’Toole, who appeared middle-aged, was kneeling on the marble floor.

His hands were bound, wrapped in cloth.

“You confessed,” Carlo’s low voice resonated quietly throughout the reception room.

O’Toole stared at the floor as if nailed in place.

“She was a woman trying to assassinate the Grand Duke who created Grandis’s glory.”

The man’s voice trembled as he spoke rapidly, filled with anger.

“As an imperial citizen, I was merely delivering punishment.”

My heart sank at his voice, causing a slight twitch in my eyelid.

“I did it for the respected Grand Duke.”

Genevieve, seated on the imperial throne, squeezed her eyes shut as if in pain.

“…Claiming it was the right thing to do.”

As Genevieve muttered while touching her forehead, the chief chamberlain standing nearby quickly offered water.

She raised her hand as if to say it wasn’t necessary, then resumed her dignified posture and looked at O’Toole.

“Since verification is needed, tell us what you did in front of everyone gathered here.”

Genevieve’s gaze keenly observed Carlo as she mentioned the need for verification.

It seemed due to Carlo’s complete lack of reaction as he calmly looked down at O’Toole.

Carlo stood quietly with his hands behind his back, his face expressionless.

O’Toole, with his head bowed to the floor, began speaking.

“I had previously installed ladders in various places on the ship and was monitoring the Grand Duchess’s position from the river. Ladders and boats are always installed on ships in case of accidents. I used these.”

“Did you wait for the Grand Duchess to be left alone?”

A man who appeared to be Marcel’s subordinate asked with sharp eyes.

“I waited for the shipboard party to begin. When the fireworks festival started, the noise would be so loud that no one would hear someone falling into the water and screaming.”

“What did you do with the ladder?”

“I confirmed where the Grand Duchess was standing, climbed up a nearby ladder, and grabbed her neck from behind, pulling her down.”

Sighs erupted from all around.

My limbs seemed to stiffen as the damp sensation from that moment vividly returned.

“Fortunately, I was able to make her fall easily.”

“What did you do after that?”

“I swam while pulling her away from the ship, keeping my arm around her neck.”

“What were you planning to do?”

“Naturally, I intended to drown her. But she resisted fiercely, so I had no choice but to push her head down and shove her under however I could.”

The nobles who had worked on the shipboard party looked aghast, either rubbing their faces dry or busy wiping the cold sweat from their foreheads with handkerchiefs.

Carlo twisted his head to look down at me.

Unable to know what expression I was making, I lowered my head to avoid his gaze.

The rough hands that had scratched and pulled at my body seemed to dig into my skin once more.

“I had some trouble because she was desperately struggling to survive.”

Ha. Looking at O’Toole, who was almost pressing his head to the floor with his back hunched, I forced myself to take a breath that wouldn’t come easily.

Marcel’s subordinate glanced at me cautiously before continuing his questions.

“…Did you truly intend to kill her?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“You won’t escape severe punishment.”

“If killing a wicked woman who tried to murder her husband is a crime, then so be it.”

“……”

“I’d prefer to be executed quickly.”

Genevieve, listening to O’Toole’s words, stroked her neck as if feeling a slight chill.

Aiden, seated beside her, slumped further into his chair like someone whose strength had completely drained.

O’Toole affirmed all the deputy commissioner’s questions, admitting his guilt.

I couldn’t tell if I was still standing on my own two feet or in the process of collapsing.

“Yes, yes. I did it all.”

Only O’Toole’s voice echoed in my ears.

“The Grand Duchess is an evil and detestable woman. She deserves punishment. Her amnesia is nothing but a false act. I believed what people were saying was right. Didn’t everyone say so!”

O’Toole shouted at the floor as if speaking for everyone present.

I stared at O’Toole, who was trembling like an aspen tree after finishing his words.

“……”

I couldn’t shake the feeling of being dropped in the middle of the world.

I had thought hostile forces were simply trying to kill me to pin the blame for the attack incident on me, but perhaps it was because I heard a confession that beautifully missed my expectations.

Or it could have been the shock of explicitly learning about the ill feelings most people in the empire harbored toward me.

Above all, it might have been because I couldn’t forget the Grand Duke’s words that he would have saved even a passing dog.

“Ha…”

As I exhaled a silent sigh while looking at O’Toole, I felt Dillan’s gaze from far away, watching me with surprised eyes.

When I raised my head, I couldn’t tell what had surprised him, but he seemed frozen in shock.

“Lea.”

Carlo’s voice reached me then.

“What do you think?”

Though he seemed indifferent, he was looking at me with unwavering eyes, as if rooted in place.

“Do you agree?”

Do I agree? O’Toole’s confession matched all the circumstances, and he admitted it was intentional, making it clear he was the culprit.

If I just answered, he would be taken away and punished, and this whole incident would be concluded.

“……”

But was it because his clothes were still damp? O’Toole continued to tremble.

I looked at Carlo once more, then stared blankly at O’Toole, who couldn’t bring himself to lift his head and kept looking at the floor.

I felt drained, feeling alone in this place because of O’Toole’s insulting words and the gazes of people filled with various emotions.

…But I couldn’t just accept everything as it unfolded.

Right. What was it I thought I needed to verify?

After taking a deep breath, I approached step by step and stopped in front of O’Toole, who was now trembling almost pitifully.

“I can’t agree yet. Please untie Merverly O’Toole’s hands.”

“What? But that’s… As everyone has confirmed…”

As Marcel’s subordinate flinched and tried to speak again, I somehow felt the trapped feeling dissipate completely.

“There’s something I need to verify with my own eyes.”

I had to do what I needed to do.

With everyone’s attention focused on me, I gazed at him resolutely.

“Untie O’Toole’s bound hands. Right now.”