SLDS 45

“No matter how much His Majesty has granted you full authority, is this not crossing the line?”

Empress Elizabeth, who had entered the interrogation room, did not hide her displeasure.

And with good reason, as Alexis had summoned her to the tribunal under the pretext of a witness statement. It was a deeply insulting treatment for the Empress of the Empire.

“There are no exceptions in an investigation. Mother.”

However, Alexis replied as if it were a matter of course. He even used the special title, but his expression as he looked at the empress was as cold as ever.

“We both wish to avoid seeing each other, so please have a seat. Wouldn’t it be more beneficial for Your Majesty the Empress to get this over with quickly? It’s not as if we have a relationship where we need to face each other for long anyway.”

“Alexis, you speak in a way that others might misunderstand.”

“In any case, conversations other than the testimony will not be recorded. Don’t worry and act as you please.”

Alexis gazed at the empress with his arms crossed. He looked like a man who had been waiting for this fight.

After a brief standoff, the empress determined that it would be difficult to break Alexis’s will. Having come this far, there was no way to avoid it.

The heavy hem of her dress swished and swept the floor as the empress sat down in the prepared chair, holding her exceptionally high nose in the air.

“Fine, have it your way. I don’t know what you’re plotting, stirring things up like this.”

“This was nothing less than an attempted assassination of a royal family member. It is not something that can be easily overlooked. Shouldn’t it be proper to investigate everyone who attended the hunting competition, with the exception of His Majesty the Emperor?”

“I heard you caught the culprit.”

“Baron Rowen was merely a pawn. Even he has become a corpse, so we can no longer question him. It’s a regrettable turn of events.”

As expected of a master of controlling her expression, the empress’s face did not change color one bit. She simply stared at the crown prince with her wide, green eyes.

In that face, Alexis saw an overlap of Cecil’s features and let out a small, cynical laugh. It seemed blood really couldn’t be denied. The crown prince then uncrossed his arms, shoved his hands into his pants pockets, and began the interrogation.

“You do not look very surprised. Weren’t you quite close with the baron?”

“I have already heard the news.”

“I wonder who could have killed the baron. One would have to be extraordinarily bold to plan a murder within the imperial palace. Whoever is behind it must have considerable influence.”

“…That sounds as if you are suspecting me.”

“Is that how it feels to you?”

Alexis’s eyes curved as he smiled brightly. It was a charming smile, but the empress could not smile back. Instead, she glared at Alexis with an even fiercer gaze.

In contrast, Alexis was calm. He had no intention of interrogating the empress from the beginning. Wiping the artificial smile from his face, he continued in a placid tone.

“Actually, the investigation is almost complete. The assassins are all dead, and there is no evidence left at the scene. Since the only clue, the baron, was also murdered, we have no choice but to close this case here.”

“Are you saying you called me to this place just to tell me that?”

“Yes. There is something I must ask of you.”

Alexis took a step. It was only two steps to the chair where the empress was sitting. He grabbed both armrests and bent down.

“Your Majesty the Empress, have you enjoyed yourself until now?”

The empress’s shoulders flinched at the low voice that suddenly whispered in her ear. But she couldn’t move because Alexis was pressing down on her arms and the armrests together.

The crown prince, his face close, whispered in a very small voice that only the empress could hear.

“I know this was your doing. You seem to covet my position very much… but what to do? I have absolutely no intention of having it taken away.”

“Get away from me! How dare you… ugh!”

“You may have been lucky enough to get away with it this time, but from now on, things will not go as you wish. Because I will be watching with my eyes wide open.”

“……”

“I warn you, if you wish to live gracefully as the Empress of the Empire, take my words to heart. Do not touch me or the people around me again. If you ever pull a stunt like this again, I will repay you several times over.”

Empress Elizabeth glared with all her might. Her smooth lower jaw twitched as she tried to suppress her agitation and trembling. The empress swallowed her boiling anger and forced a derisive smile.

“Are you threatening me right now? Are you in a position to do so?”

“If you don’t believe me, then by all means, give it a try. But you had better be prepared. The position of Empress of the Empire is not eternal, is it?”

Alexis briskly stepped back. No one else in the interrogation room had heard the words he had said to the empress. But judging from the empress’s reaction, trembling as if she were about to faint, it was clear that some unpleasant words had been exchanged.

“Escort Her Majesty to the empress’s palace at once. She seems to be in a very foul mood, so attend to her with the utmost care.”

After giving the order, Alexis left the interrogation room first with the scribe. The empress’s attendants who remained inside cautiously approached the empress.

“Get away from me!”

The empress refused the offered hands of help and rose from the chair on her own. The luxurious armchair toppled backward. Then, the empress let out the shriek she had been holding back and began to tear off and throw the necklace and precious jewelry she was wearing. Eventually, she began to laugh as if she had lost her mind.

“How dare you! Try to… bring me down?”

A scream that was close to a fit of rage flowed out of the door. Alexis heard it and walked on, looking straight ahead.

This was a tribunal, a place where all sorts of screams and cries were rampant anyway. Even if the sound leaked out, no one would think it was the empress’s.

His determined steps were filled with a grim resolve, and his eyes, looking forward, burned with a resolute light.

Although the attempted assassination case had to be left unresolved, it was not a complete loss.

He had been able to deliver a proper warning to the empress, and above all, he had gained a steadfast ally.

✽ ✽ ✽

In the dead of night, when everyone was asleep, an ordinary-looking carriage came to a quiet stop in front of a dark alley.

A moment later, the door opened, and people wearing black robes stepped out from inside the carriage. These individuals, with their gender and status carefully concealed, made their way into the back alley filled with filth.

The place they were headed for was a shabby inn. Because they had deliberately taken a roundabout way and entered through the back door, the bell announcing a visitor’s arrival did not ring. As if he had known they were coming, the innkeeper merely gave a wide yawn, pretending not to see the suspicious guests.

The figures, looking like shadowy masses, headed for the deepest part of the inn. When they opened the door, a musty, coppery smell wafted out. It was the unique body odor of an old gypsy woman.

The old woman, her back heavily stooped, straightened up and rose. She gave a deep bow to the guests who had come to see her in the middle of the night.

“Thank you for coming. I am honored to meet such a noble person.”

“Dispense with the formalities. What if someone hears?”

“Yes, yes, shall we begin right away then?”

The old woman moved with sluggish steps. Despite there being a perfectly good table and chairs, she squatted down on the bare floor in a corner. Below her were a black cloth and a blue crystal ball.

The night visitor also walked toward her. Unable to bring himself to sit on the dirty, bare floor, he simply stood with a stiff posture.

A short while later, a white hand extended from beneath the cloak and pushed back the hood of the robe. Lush, dark brown hair and emerald eyes revealed themselves completely.

Empress Elizabeth looked down at the old woman with a displeased expression.

“Are you truly the greatest sorcerer in the Vercan Empire?”

“That is what they call me.”

“I find that hard to believe.”

The empress spoke in a tone of disbelief.

The sorcerer was just an ordinary old woman. Her clothes were old and worn, black grime was under her fingernails, and her wrinkled skin bore the full traces of time. She was just a gypsy one could easily see anywhere.

However, when the sorcerer placed her hand on the crystal ball, the transparent sphere began to glow with a bluish light. At the sight, which seemed somewhat miraculous, the empress’s eyes sparkled as they followed the light of the ball.

“Not bad. You’re not entirely without talent.”

“What is it that you wish to know?”

The sorcerer was famous for her accurate predictions of the future. Moreover, as befitting her gypsy heritage, she possessed an outstanding talent for casting curses.

Rumors of her miraculous abilities had spread secretly among the high-ranking nobles of the empress’s faction, eventually reaching the empress’s ears and leading her to this wretched and dirty back-alley inn.

“There is only one thing I am curious about. Who do you think will become the next emperor of the Vercan Empire?”

When the empress asked in a whisper, the sorcerer focused, stroking the crystal ball. Her half-open eyelids trembled, and her cloudy irises were instantly covered in white. It was a grotesque and terrifying appearance, but the empress’s complexion did not change as she stared at the old woman.

“I see the brightest star of the empire preparing for the coronation. Ah, it is truly a solemn… and beautiful sight.”

“……”

“By his side is one who possesses the energy of the goddess Gaia. Is that correct?”

“It is.”

“This person will play a great role in turning the great star into the sun. However, their life will not be very long. They will fade away at the most beautiful age.”

The empress, who had been disheartened by the prophecy that Alexis would ascend the throne, brightened at the words that followed. Yuria dying early was nothing but good news