Chapter 13 Part 6

“Should your feelings ever change, let me know. It seems unlikely, but you never know.”

Why did that conversation with the Empress come back to me just now? I thought she understood that I had no desire for the throne.

“…What if it wasn’t that?”

What if she thought I rejected it because I was in love with someone else?

Anyone with even a slight interest in society would know about the scandal involving Halo Carte, Daisy Queenie, and me.

Suddenly, Halo, who was engaged to me, started appearing at parties with Daisy as his partner and never announced our breakup himself. It was clearly a love triangle scandal, and I was the one who lost.

And besides, Her Majesty the Empress must be aware of the ‘Seduction Perfume.’

Given that it’s a magical item, despite its discovery in Daisy Queenie’s room, there was no leak of information about it. I suspected this was because the higher echelons of the palace, possibly even His Majesty the Emperor, suppressed the discussion.

If so, Her Majesty the Empress would certainly be privy to these discussions, and I could easily guess what she might think of the perfume’s effects on my relationship with Halo Carte.

“Thank you, but I have been adequately informed of the trial’s outcome through my servants. There’s no need for the prince to relay it personally.”

“However, it is a royal command. While I empathize with your position, lady, I hope you can appreciate mine.”

Surprisingly, Halo Carte presented his case calmly. He must have considered his options given that he doesn’t know the Empress’s intentions. From my perspective, already aware of much, it felt like an unwelcome burden had suddenly fallen into my lap.

“…I see.”

Reluctantly, I conceded and listened to the story he unfolded.

Daisy Queenie had been referred to a noble court due to accusations made by Duke Knight. The witnesses were many nobles present at that day’s party. If it had been one or two, perhaps she could have attempted to bribe them, but there were over twenty nobles at the party. Even the Queenie ducal house couldn’t sway such a mixed group of Imperial, noble, and neutral factions.

But their testimonies were merely ‘circumstantial.’ They lacked concrete evidence, only enough to suggest her as a suspect.

That’s why I had Locus secretly place the prepared poison and the Seduction Perfume deep within her drawers, making it only discoverable by the palace’s investigators after an extensive search of her room. Naturally, these became the ‘physical evidence’ needed to substantiate the suspicions against her.

Once the evidence was sufficiently assembled, everything was left to the Emperor’s judgment. At that point, the Queenie ducal family, through their hired lawyers, revealed that Daisy Queenie was not the legitimate heir of the ducal line. They stated that Remia Queenie, the current duchess, had been poisoned before Daisy was even born and had been rendered infertile after receiving treatment from a grand healer.

Thus, Daisy Queenie was not the biological daughter of Duchess Remia Queenie but a bastard of the current duke. They argued that her crimes had tarnished the family’s name and simultaneously sought to annul her parents’ marriage.

Halo Carte relayed all this to me, his eyes flickering with an indecipherable emotion. I had no interest in deciphering that look, nor was I curious, but I distinctly felt the urge to escape his burdensome gaze.

“…I think you’ve given me more than enough information

“…Is that so.”

As he barely managed to move his lips, a stifled sound emerged from his throat. His voice seemed a tone lower than usual, and a faint smile formed on his lips as I flinched slightly. I blinked several times, wondering if I was seeing things, but the smile remained firmly in place.

“After today…”

“…?”

“There will be no reason for you to look my way again.”

His voice had a self-deprecating tone that left me bewildered as he stared at me with those intense eyes, burning with unwavering emotion.

“I don’t understand what you mean…”

“…No, it was nothing. I should be leaving now.”

I couldn’t fully decipher the emotion in his gaze or the self-deprecating murmur, but one thing seemed vaguely clear. If I held him back now, the fragile peace we were experiencing might shatter. This moment seemed like the first and last act of consideration he would offer me.

“…Thank you for delivering the message. I apologize for the inadequate hospitality; I haven’t been well.”

“No, I thank you for your hospitality despite my abrupt visit.”

I didn’t offer to see him out as a formality. Standing up to match his departure and offering a polite farewell felt like fulfilling my duty. Watching his retreating figure, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of bitterness, the reasons for which were beyond me.

***

“I’m not, I’m not like that!!”

“Keep it down. I hear you’re nothing but a bastard of the Queenje dukedom. Hm? No, since you don’t share any direct blood, you’re as common as me now, aren’t you?”

“How dare you speak to a lady like me…!”

Daisy Queenie’s voice was hoarse from days without proper food or water, and her fury did not subside easily as she vehemently insisted on her innocence day after day.

“Ah, if only you had kept up your pretense of kindness, my lady. You could have lived nobly as befits a lady, instead of resorting to such frightful deeds.”

Eric Dever, a royal investigator supported by the Knight family, should not have been involved in the investigation given that he was a close ally of the victimized Knight family. However, the unusual circumstances of an attempted noble murder and the Queenie dukedom’s decision to sever ties with Daisy made his involvement possible.

“You, once I get out of here…”

“Ah, really, how many times must I explain it for you to understand? The Queenje dukedom has thrown you away, don’t you get it? You heard what the lawyer said that day, right? Face reality. You are no longer a noble nor a commoner; you’re a criminal who tried to kill a noble.”

“That can’t be. My family wouldn’t abandon me… I am a lady! The second most noble woman in this empire. You of all people have no right to…”

“Second most noble? Where are you hearing these barks from? You really are slow to grasp your situation. Or maybe you just refuse to believe it and are escaping reality?”

“I am…”

“Shall I recount your favorite story again?”

“……”

“A letter arrived for the investigative team before the trial verdict was out, you know? That letter from your biological father! Still remember what it said? Should I recite it again? ‘Daisy Queenje is hereby disowned by the Queenje dukedom, let the investigative team deliver their judgment as they see fit.’ Even your own father could be so cold, it’s baffling sometimes.”

Daisy Queenie clamped her mouth shut. Every time this story was brought up, she reacted the same way. That’s why it was used repeatedly whenever the jail became too noisy due to her screaming—it always quieted her down. After hearing this, she would retreat into a corner and stay quiet for a while, a remarkably effective method indeed. Once again, he watched the now-silent Daisy Queenie with a peculiar gaze.

No one in the Queenje dukedom truly cared to help her or sought to save her. Her own father, fearing she might threaten his position, had covertly tried to cut her off, and her stepmother seemed to have been indifferent toward both her husband and her daughter from the start. It was as if they had been waiting to get rid of both the duke and Daisy Queenie to clean up the dukedom.

“It can’t be… It just can’t be…”

“Yeah, keep escaping from reality if it helps. You’re going to rot here for life anyway, might as well make a lifelong escape from reality.”

Eric whistled as he walked out of the prison, while Daisy Queenie’s murmuring continued unabated.

“It can’t be true… You got everything you wanted… Father, I did everything you asked…”

“Then why am I abandoned here?”

There was no one left to answer her question.

***

“Is this the last page of the report?”

“Yes, miss. Eric mentioned that there hasn’t been anything noteworthy to report since. She just keeps muttering ‘it can’t be’ like a mad person.”

“Hmm…”

The initial thrill of victory was short-lived as I listened to the account of her rapid downfall, leaving a lingering discomfort. I hadn’t imagined she would give up everything so easily. I had been terrified and withdrawn, thinking she was the protagonist of this world, an all-powerful entity. In reality, she was just as fragile as anyone else of her age.

“It must be because she was betrayed by her own father.”

“Yes, being abandoned like that by her only blood relative.”

I had always had a strong sense that family was unconditionally on my side—people who loved me more than anyone else and trusted me more than anyone else. That’s why I could love and trust them in return. They had taught me that, and the comfort and stability that came from that relationship shaped who I am today.

What must it feel like to lose such perfect affection all at once? Or, what if she never had it in the first place and could only envy the affection others had? Maybe…

“Maybe Daisy Queenie was never more than a castle built on sand.”

Driven by greed to steal others’ affection, she might have built a castle that looked substantial, but upon closer inspection, was just a structure of sand, ready to collapse at any moment.

“That’s right. Miss, the master asked if you could stop by his office.”

“Huh? When?”

The thoughts filling my head evaporated in an instant. Time spent dwelling on Daisy Queenie was far too precious to waste. There was no point in dedicating my attention to someone like her anymore.

“Perhaps it was when you were having your late lunch…? He mentioned he wanted to have tea with you.”

“Oh, really? Then I guess now’s a good time.”

I decided to shake off the unpleasant thoughts and get moving. The day was sunny, so having tea in the garden seemed like a delightful idea. If Father wasn’t too busy, I would suggest we head to the garden’s tea table, I thought, as I walked through the sunlit hallway.