[Lea Azanie has awakened!]

The appearance of this brilliantly shining message confirmed that Lea was the one who had taken the medication. My heart sank even further.

“Even when taken at the recommended dosage, side effects can occur. Examples include becoming more irritable than before or showing impulsive tendencies.”

According to Carrisford, the medication was an antidepressant independently developed by Dr. Groot’s family.

It was supposed to be taken in very small amounts, but recalling the medication Lea had kept in her bedroom, the quantity had been substantial.

This meant she had been taking that medication for a very long time.

Odin’s statement that the past Lea had lived listlessly.

Jeanne saying Lea would frequently throw things and inflict injuries.

Medlin couldn’t bring herself to say it directly, but she didn’t deny that I had hit servants or taken out my anger on them.

[As a reward, we provide a clue for finding the secret of your birth.]

The next message snapped me back to attention.

[Garrison Spencer.]

And the clue that appeared was the name of someone I had never seen before.

“The Hedegen family always… threatens the Imperial Palace like this. As if they were the true masters of this palace.”

A slight spasm crossed Genevieve’s lips as she smiled.

“So I can only sit quietly and marvel. Carlo, whom I thought would die, has survived so brazenly and is now finally choking me.”

She gripped the armrest tightly, suppressing the anger rising to her throat.

Her reddened eyes even looked somewhat wronged.

The man standing before her deliberately sighed and bowed his head as if deeply sympathizing.

“This has always been the case. The Hedegen family has interfered in all aspects of Grandis for a very long time. That’s why we spent so much effort trying to destroy that wicked family…”

“Indeed. All that time was devoted to setting this empire right. How have you been, Count Azanie?”

At Genevieve’s question, Count Azanie hesitated, then smiled with an expressionless face as if at a loss for words.

After the failed attack on St. Berte, she had been the one who confined him to a sickbed, claiming he should be cautious, and prevented him from taking action. This hardly seemed like a question she should be asking.

“…Thanks to your consideration, my health has improved greatly, Your Majesty.”

He answered politely, hiding his desire to snort in derision.

“I may have summoned you, Count, but your face shows you have much to say.”

“How could that be?”

When he heard that his daughter Lea had nearly been murdered at the Conz River, he was surprised by the unexpected incident that occurred without prior consultation, but didn’t consider it a significant issue worth dwelling on.

It would have been fortunate if Lea had died then, as leaving evidence about the attack incident would have been troublesome.

However, for some reason, Carlo had found and saved her, and the situation was rapidly turning against him.

“I’m simply grateful that Your Majesty has summoned me after so long.”

Count Azanie spoke with feigned propriety, straightening his back and pushing out his thick belly.

Rumors were spreading throughout Grandis that the relationship between Lea and the Azanie family was poor, suggesting they might have attempted to kill her.

And that wasn’t all.

The December Center had been selected as the venue for the Imperial Palace charity event.

Wasn’t choosing the venue for the Imperial Palace charity event the exclusive right of the imperial family?

How could the Empress, who had devoted so much time to eliminating the Hedegen family, support the Hedegen family—specifically, the business Lea was running?

Moreover, that detestable Lea had even sent him an abominable letter demanding the return of the money he had embezzled from her!

Trembling with humiliation and betrayal, he had spent the night sleepless, then rushed to answer Genevieve’s summons.

“What threats has Grand Duke Carlo made this time…?”

“Can you not understand even after seeing that I selected December as the venue for the Imperial Palace charity party?”

How could he not understand? He had come running to learn the reason.

Genevieve had promised to invest in the Azanie family’s business this year.

She had said that if Lea successfully completed the attack incident and was executed, she would select the Azanie family’s Fabre Center as the charity event venue to appease the Grandis Empire citizens who would inevitably see the Azanie household as having contributed to the destruction of the Hedegen family, thus resolving the conflict.

But December?

Count Azanie suppressed his rising anger and asked:

“…Are you saying this all happened because of the Grand Duke’s threats?”

“Isn’t that obvious? Otherwise, how could I have broken my promise to you and selected December as the event venue?”

That young Grand Duke had once again blocked his path.

Count Azanie clenched his teeth, closing and opening his eyes.

“What did Grand Duke Carlo dare to do to Your Majesty?”

“It was because of the Conz River incident.”

Was she referring to Lea’s near-murder?

Count Azanie, who had been about to express anger toward Carlo, quickly composed his expression.

“…Ah, is that so?”

That incident was completely unrelated to him, and he felt uneasy about Genevieve bringing up this topic.

Though they were in the same boat, the Empress was not one to simply cut ties; like a spider, she would weave events together to place responsibility on others and devour them. Count Azanie deliberately tried not to ask further questions, attempting to distance himself from her trap.

However, Genevieve, seemingly unwilling to let him go, scrutinized his demeanor carefully before continuing casually.

“You probably know through Dillan, but the Conz River incident was something I did for all of us. For your family and me, for all of us.”

Her intention in deliberately adding “all” was obvious.

The matter had grown too large for her to handle alone, so she was trying to mobilize him.

Though he could read her intentions, Count Azanie had indeed conspired with her to kill Grand Duke Carlo, and they both held ample evidence against each other. In other words, they each had leverage over the other.

With a bitter taste on his tongue, Count Azanie spoke as if resigned.

“Please tell me.”

“Actually, I’ve been keeping the perpetrator of the Conz River incident in one of the Imperial Palace’s underground storerooms.”

“…Why haven’t you released him?”

Genevieve, displeased with Count Azanie’s pretense of propriety, glared at him with raised eyes.

“Because your daughter Lea identified the perpetrator’s physical characteristics, making it impossible to release him from that very day! The Grand Duke finally led me to publicly declare my intention to cooperate in catching the culprit in front of all nobles of the Imperial Palace!”

“…If it’s the Grand Duke, he must have already planted several loyal subjects in the Imperial Palace. Are you saying the Grand Duke took that perpetrator?”

“Not only did he take him, but didn’t I say he threatened me?”

So that was the threat she mentioned earlier…

When Genevieve struck the armrest forcefully and shouted accusingly, Count Azanie snapped to attention.

His judgment had been clouded after spending the night trembling and cursing the Empress.

He should never show discontent to the fiery Empress, no matter what.

“I apologize, Your Majesty…”

“The perpetrator who should have been in the storeroom disappeared, and do you know what was left there instead?”

“…I wonder.”

“An invitation to the last charity event with your family crest and my seal stamped on it.”

Count Azanie froze at Genevieve’s words.

His family crest had been left there.

This meant Grand Duke Carlo was certain that he and Genevieve were the culprits.

He rolled his large eyes, appearing anxious.

“……”

There was something he hadn’t reported to the Empress. Feeling pressured because Genevieve was creating an atmosphere that framed his family as suspects in the St. Berte attack, he had sent Lea’s letter—one piece of evidence that she was the culprit—to Grand Duke Carlo.

He had done so because he thought Lea needed to be eliminated quickly.

He had expected that when the Grand Duke received the letter, he would clearly understand who the perpetrator of the attack was and would kill Lea.

With his reputation for cruelty, it seemed like something Grand Duke Carlo would readily do.

However, no matter how long he waited, news of Lea’s death at the Grand Duke’s hands never came.

Instead, threats had flown into the Imperial Palace from an unexpected direction.

To think he would be mistaken as the culprit in the Conz River attempted murder case, which had nothing to do with him, and become Grand Duke Carlo’s target!

Anyone familiar with his meticulous and brutal nature would inevitably fear this situation.

“Wh-what should we do now, Your Majesty?”

Unable to mention that he had sent Lea’s letter to Carlo, which would only fuel the Empress’s anger, Count Azanie asked as if willing to participate in her affairs.

He believed the brilliant Empress must have a plan.

Genevieve’s raspberry-red eyes sparkled as if she had heard a welcome question.

“Didn’t we already discuss this? If the St. Berte attack failed, there needed to be someone to take the blame.”

“……!”

Count Azanie hesitated at Genevieve’s response, then suddenly widened his eyes.

Yes, that was right.

He had nearly lost his mind over Lea’s failure and forgotten, but they had indeed had such a conversation in passing.

“Th-that’s right! That’s why I’ve been openly revealing that Dillan is my adopted son since then!”

It was a conversation they had on the day Lea entered the Azanie family, preparing for the possibility of things going wrong with the Empress.

That Dillan, his adopted son, and Lea had secretly fallen in love against their parents’ wishes, and the two had been meticulously plotting to kill Grand Duke Carlo for a long time to seize his assets.

“……”

However… the problem was that the Grand Duke seemed to care for Lea, strangely enough.

Considering how dull and gloomy Lea was, he had thought it impossible that the Grand Duke would come to cherish his wife.

Count Azanie reflected on Grand Duke Carlo’s recent behavior and hesitantly continued.

“Lea has already lost her memory, and the Grand Duke is protecting her, so perhaps we shouldn’t directly touch the Grand Duke. I think it would be best to exclude Lea and frame Dillan as the sole perpetrator of the St. Berte incident. What do you think?”

Though Dillan was quite a valuable talent to discard, what other option was there… Given the current situation, this was the only way for him to survive.

Besides, isn’t it natural for a child to die in place of his father?

However, Genevieve stared at Count Azanie as if his question displeased her.

“…Exclude Lea?”

“Wouldn’t that be necessary?”

At Count Azanie’s answer, Genevieve showed an inscrutable look before calmly nodding.

“Yes… Getting us all off the Grand Duke’s list of suspects should come first. That would be good.”

“That’s right, Your Majesty.”

Count Azanie replied, believing that Genevieve also agreed that making Grand Duke Carlo lower his guard was the priority.

“So could you designate Dillan as the charity event coordinator so he can naturally be close to Lea? If the Grand Duke misunderstands due to rumors about Dillan and Lea, wouldn’t that be welcome for us? If Lea is abandoned, the final evidence disappears. Well, that girl would be utterly useless then anyway…”

“I’ll make Dillan the coordinator.”

Count Azanie quickly said he would form public opinion and gather evidence to frame Dillan, then hastily left the audience chamber.

As the door closed, Genevieve’s deep sigh echoed quietly through the chamber.

“…How unfortunate.”

She stared blankly at the vast audience chamber with nobly downcast eyes, then leaned back against the backrest.

“In the end, even Count Azanie couldn’t kill that child.”

Why couldn’t anyone kill her?

“Despite trying to kill her through others so many times.”

She rose sluggishly from her chair, looking down at empty space with hollow eyes.

“What I want is…”

Seizing the Hedegen family’s vast wealth was actually secondary.

“…that child’s life.”

Just like she had killed her mother.

So, she had to finish it before that man returned.