Chapter 22
The scattered pieces were starting to fit together. What had been mere speculation was now transforming into certainty. Count Letir’s gambling den in his territory. The harvesting of Soledina. The alibi created by a mage. The magical resonance felt at the gambling house.
“Ayla, I believe the person who killed both the mage and Gilrota is one and the same.”
Her eyes widened at his words. “You… you think so too?”
“You as well?”
“Yes. After hearing your thoughts, I suspected there might be a mastermind behind all this. And I wondered if it could be just one person.”
Damian blinked, momentarily dazed. Noticing his expression, she gave him a dismissive look.
“What is it?”
“No, nothing.”
“Don’t tell me you thought the Academy’s second-best student couldn’t make such a basic deduction?”
Rather than that, he was surprised—and pleased—that their thoughts aligned, but now wasn’t the time to show it. Composing his expression quickly, he posed his question:
“Then, assuming it’s just one mage—why choose Soledina? It’s a forbidden herb now, and harvesting it requires entering the king’s tomb. That’s quite a risk for a mage. Why choose Soledina when there must have been other options?”
Setting aside her suspicion, she fell into deep thought at his stream of reasoning.
“You have a point.”
Soledina only grows in the king’s tomb. It’s dangerous and now forbidden. Would someone really risk breaking into the king’s tomb just for money? As he said, there were plenty of other addictive herbs available.
She stared at the word “Soledina” written in her notebook. The case had shifted from Gilrota to Soledina. The mage must have had a reason for choosing it—something beyond mere profit. They needed to find that reason.
For that, they needed more information about Soledina. She hadn’t had time to research it these past few days. While she naturally thought of looking into it at Caelum, his next words shattered that plan.
“We need to go to the king’s tomb,” he stated with unshakeable calm.
“What?”
It was like a bombshell. She stared at him as if he’d lost his mind, but he continued undeterred.
“They say the intruder left no traces, but to distribute this much of the drug, they must have harvested large quantities of Soledina, meaning multiple break-ins. Could there really be no traces at all?”
“So you’re suggesting we break in too?”
“No. We’ll enter legally.”
“How?”
He just smiled mysteriously—that smile meant he wouldn’t give her an answer. She considered pressing further but quickly gave up. There was another major issue to address.
“What about the Count?”
“The best option would be to enter his mansion.”
She couldn’t disagree. If the Count was planning treason, there would be evidence somewhere in his mansion. But it wasn’t a place they could easily enter. Would the Count simply allow an unexpected visit? Even crafting a reason for the visit would be difficult. True, their status carried weight, but they were still Academy students—not even military cadets.
She looked at Damian with skeptical eyes as he exuded confidence as if it would be no challenge at all. Something flickered in her mind—a sense of déjà vu. Yes, it was like when he had shown her the entry records for the king’s tomb.
“Surely not… you can’t mean…”
“Ayla, I can go anywhere.”
“…”
A sudden headache struck her. She pressed her fingers to her forehead.
“…It’s a crime.”
“Not if we don’t get caught.”
“What?”
“Like today.”
Right, she remembered he was a mage. He could certainly avoid detection. But she found herself torn between concerns about the Crown Prince’s moral integrity and the gravity of the situation. Was this acceptable behavior for a Crown Prince? Was it really okay as long as they didn’t get caught?
Noticing her internal struggle, he offered his reasoning in a gentle tone.
“Ayla, think about it. What’s more problematic—me committing an undetectable break-in, or uncovering Count Letir’s plans?”
If the Count was truly plotting treason, the latter was obviously more important. Her resolve wavered wildly.
“Ayla, do you think we’ll get caught? Don’t you trust me?”
“…”
The scales in her mind tipped decisively. She squeezed her eyes shut before opening them with determination.
“…Alright. Let’s go with entering the mansion.”
“See? That’s the better choice, isn’t it?”
Though she felt manipulated again, she decided to ignore the feeling. He was right. As a mage, he would never be caught.
“When are we doing this?”
“The Count will be away from the mansion during fleet training three weeks from now—it’s a three-day exercise. His eldest and second sons are currently at military school, so they won’t be there either. That would be the ideal time.”
“How do you know all this? About the training schedule and everything?”
“Well… I am the Crown Prince, after all?”
His smile was impossibly bright as he said this. She belatedly remembered that the Emperor was the supreme commander of the military. Why hadn’t she thought of this earlier? Most emperors throughout history had attended military school. That meant Damian should have prepared for military school too. Yet he had chosen the Academy instead.
He had said the mage must have had a reason for choosing Soledina. Then what was his reason for choosing the Academy?
Moreover, he seemed remarkably calm about discussing such a serious crime against imperial authority. She had thought she knew him best, but now it seemed she knew nothing at all.
Suddenly, a long-buried memory surfaced—the imperial tragedy she had both heard about and witnessed.
The current Emperor wielded the strongest imperial authority in history, continuing his predecessor’s legacy. No one could challenge imperial power now. The roots of rebellion had been completely pulled out in the previous generation.
When the current Emperor Leopold was Crown Prince, his predecessor had chosen the Tivolet family—a minor baronial house from the provinces—to provide the Crown Princess. Though the family’s status was unsuitable for a Crown Princess, the previous Emperor had made his choice despite his courtiers’ opposition.
Then the Tivolet family was obliterated. The charge was conspiracy to commit treason. The Crown Princess’s family met their end at the execution ground. It was the previous Emperor’s will.
Only the Crown Princess was spared. She had been carrying a child then. The baby that had brought such joy to the couple vanished into formless blood. From that time on, the Crown Princess and Ayla’s mother Lilia became friends—by the Crown Prince’s wish.
When the previous Emperor died, Crown Prince Leopold ascended to the throne. The Crown Princess became Empress. Perhaps the palace had never been a suitable place for her from the start.
She ended her life, leaving behind a young Crown Prince. It rained in waves during her funeral. People said even the heavens mourned her passing. Ayla had been by Damian’s side that day. Had he cried then? She couldn’t remember clearly.
Even after the coffin was laid to rest and everyone had left, the rain continued to fall as the Emperor stood watching the Empress’s grave.
The Empress was buried in the Tivolet family tomb. It was entirely the Emperor’s decision.
Did the Emperor love the Empress? Everyone wondered, but no one could answer. However, having observed the Emperor, Empress, and Damian from close by, Ayla could give a definitive answer. The Emperor had only one wish: that the Empress, Brianne Epiphanes, could have remained simply Brianne Tivolet.
The former Empress’s portrait was never hung in the imperial gallery.
Not long after her funeral, the Emperor welcomed a new Empress—a princess from the Kingdom of Magrid. Though Magrid shared a border with the Empire, it was a small nation, and she was Empress in name only. She bore an imperial prince, but that was all. The Crown Prince’s authority remained absolute, and the Empress held no real power.
But the world is full of people, and naturally, there are those who wish to challenge authority and power. In truth, the previous Emperor hadn’t been able to completely eradicate such challenges.
Ayla had always wanted to ask Damian something: Did he want to be Emperor? She had fled because she couldn’t bear the weight, but could he?
Would he perhaps one day wither away like the former Empress?
Though she had been young, she remembered clearly. The former Empress, beautiful as a single flower, had seemed as if she might vanish at any moment.
On the day the Empress closed her eyes forever, she had spoken to Ayla:
“Ayla.”
“Stay close to Damian in the future.”
The Empress had smiled. Ayla had cried. Though preparing for the coming farewell, Damian had smiled.
“Mother.”
It was a memory long buried beneath pride and stubbornness.
“Were you happy?”
Yes, Damian had definitely asked that. The Empress gave no answer to his question. She just smiled at someone—at the person holding her hand. That day, Ayla saw the Emperor’s tears for the first time.
“Ayla, what are you thinking about?”
“Huh? Oh, nothing. Nothing at all.”
Gazing at the sparkling blue lake before her, Ayla wondered.
Damian, did you come to the Academy to become a flower that would never wither?
