Chapter 136
A gaze without the slightest wavering.
The Emperor bit his lip with a helpless expression, then spoke to the head attendant as if he had no choice. To bring a mage.
And not long after, a mage arrived at the courtroom. The mage immediately examined the blood fingerprint on the contract.
As soon as the mage finished the examination and turned toward the Emperor, the Emperor urgently asked:
“Is that fingerprint’s blood truly from the imperial family?”
“…Yes. It is, Your Majesty.”
As the mage’s weighty voice echoed through the courtroom, the Second Prince screamed:
“No! It wasn’t me! I never dealt with a black mage! This is all slander! Your Majesty! It’s not me! Really, really, it’s not me!”
The Second Prince shouted intensely. He pounded his chest roughly as if he would go mad from the injustice.
Naturally, he felt wronged and indignant.
The true culprit of the assassination attempt truly wasn’t the Second Prince.
Indeed. All the evidence and witnesses presented by Kylus had been fabricated to make the Second Prince appear as the true culprit of the assassination attempt.
He had said he would cover up the black magic incident to protect Alice, but while preparing for the Second Prince’s trial, he changed his mind.
He decided not to completely cover up the black magic, but to cleverly twist it to catch both the Second Prince and the Empress.
He changed the use of black magic from an attack to erasing evidence of assassination, and created a fake contract stamped with the Third Prince’s blood.
It was possible as long as there was imperial blood.
Neither the Emperor nor the nobles thought for a moment that the blood on the contract was the Third Prince’s.
This was because Kylus had already sufficiently framed the Second Prince as the culprit with two other testimonies.
Kylus observed the Emperor, who seemed to have lost his words from shock, then looked at the Empress, who had somehow straightened her knees and sat back in her seat.
The Empress was watching the Second Prince with an uncharacteristically rigid face. Then suddenly, she turned her gaze toward Kylus.
A gaze flashing with murderous intent.
Kylus smiled a smooth, scornful smile at the Empress, as if showing off.
As if to say, know that all this was orchestrated by me.
And he turned his head from the Empress to where Alice was.
He gazed with loving eyes at Alice, who was watching the courtroom with an expression that couldn’t hide her excitement.
To end the trial, Kylus opened his mouth to the Emperor:
“Your Majesty, since this continent was created by the god of light, Lord Helios, all nations worship Lord Helios as the state religion. Therefore, severe punishment is imposed on those who use black magic, the power of darkness.”
Kylus paused briefly.
“The Pentaum Empire is the same. Whenever incidents related to black magic occurred, all those involved were always given the severe punishment of execution.”
At the word “execution,” the atmosphere in the courtroom grew dramatically heavier.
Because the subject of execution was the Second Prince.
But never in the history of the Empire had there been the dishonor of an imperial family member being executed for black magic.
“However, Your Highness is a member of the imperial family who cannot be executed unless you plot treason. Therefore, I dare not ask for the same punishment as others.”
Kylus looked at the Emperor, who couldn’t continue speaking, and lowered his voice:
“But now that we know His Highness is connected to black magic, we must thoroughly investigate whether he has plotted anything else.”
“I will order the Second Prince’s palace to be searched immediately for anything related to black magic!”
The Emperor exclaimed quickly.
Searching an imperial family member’s palace was humiliating, but far better than executing the Second Prince.
However, Kylus’s target wasn’t the Second Prince.
Kylus spoke to the Emperor, who was about to give orders to his knights:
“Your Majesty. The Second Prince’s palace is a given, but please also permit the search of Her Majesty the Empress’s palace, as she is His Highness the Second Prince’s birth mother.”
“…A search of the Empress’s palace? What nonsense is this!? Duke!”
The Emperor, momentarily showing signs of bewilderment, raised his voice at Kylus. It was unlike the Emperor who usually feared Kylus.
But it was certainly understandable. Putting a prince on trial and searching his palace was already unprecedented in imperial history, but to search the palace of the Empress, who was on the same level as the Emperor?
It was no different from throwing the imperial dignity to the ground.
Well, the imperial honor had no further to fall at this point.
Still, the Empress was publicly praised in the Empire, so the Emperor’s reaction was even more intense.
It wasn’t just the Emperor.
Even the nobles who had strongly agreed with punishing the Second Prince showed noticeably confused reactions to the request to search the Empress’s palace.
As if to say that involving the Empress was going too far.
“Your Majesty, His Highness the Second Prince didn’t simply attempt assassination.”
But Kylus spoke to the Emperor without the slightest wavering:
“He dabbled in black magic, the taboo of the entire continent. Therefore, everything related to His Highness must be thoroughly investigated.”
“No matter what, there’s no need to… investigate the Empress as well. The Empress is absolutely not someone who would dabble in black magic!”
“I too do not wish to suspect Her Majesty the Empress.”
Kylus again expressed his opinion in a serious voice:
“But Her Majesty the Empress, before being the most revered person in the Empire, is His Highness the Second Prince’s birth mother. Even the most rational mother can waver when it comes to matters related to her child.”
Kylus turned his gaze from the Emperor to the Empress.
Looking at the Empress, who couldn’t hide her uncharacteristically rigid face, he continued:
“That’s why we must investigate more thoroughly. To prove that despite His Highness the Second Prince’s involvement with black magic, Her Majesty the Empress maintained her dignity as Empress without being swayed by personal affection.”
He swept his gaze over the nobles once, as if seeking agreement.
“Only then will not even the slightest blemish appear on Her Majesty the Empress’s honor. Also, I believe Her Majesty the Empress would want to proudly prove her innocence.”
Because the Empress had always been someone who adhered to laws humbly and perfectly.
Whenever the Second Prince committed wrongdoings, the Empress would first expose her vulnerabilities to the nobles and apologize.
Just as she had taken the initiative today in the courtroom, asking the Emperor to severely punish the Second Prince.
Of course, until now, matters could be concluded with just a few words of apology, so today was the first time she had knelt.
But nevertheless, she was never someone who would hide behind her son’s shortcomings.
Rather, she used her son’s shortcomings to gain sympathy and raised her own honor by apologizing for them.
That’s why he deliberately emphasized that she was the Second Prince’s birth mother before being the Empress.
So that her strength would instantly become a weakness.
If she refused to permit the search here, the nobles, though they might not say anything, would view the Empress differently than before.
She too eventually crumbles in front of her son.
Perhaps she really did know about the black magic?
Maybe the Empress was involved in the Second Prince’s assassination attempt.
The nobles’ suspicions would snowball, and the Empress’s honor would plummet.
People were always like that.
They would click their tongues once and ignore when a dog-like person did trash-like things, but when a previously perfect person made a small mistake, they would attack like a pack of dogs.
The cleaner the background, the more noticeable the blemish.
So in reality, the Empress’s honor would be tarnished whichever choice she made.
But in the current situation, the relatively better choice was…
Just as Kylus raised his head to gaze at the Empress, she relaxed her rigid face and opened her mouth:
“The Duke is right. Your Majesty, please grant permission to search the Empress’s palace so that I may prove my innocence.”
The Empress moved exactly as Kylus had predicted.
“No, Mother! Your Majesty! To search the palace of the nation’s Empress! You absolutely must not permit it!”
The Second Prince cried out as if wailing.
The Emperor hesitated at that cry, but the Empress grabbed the Emperor’s hand without even looking at the Second Prince. As if asking him to permit it. While wearing a bitter smile.
At this, the Emperor opened his mouth as if he had no choice:
“Very well. As the Duke says, I permit the search for the Empress’s honor. The search of the Empress’s palace…”
“Will be conducted today, immediately.”
Kylus quickly spoke to the Emperor, who was trailing off as if in contemplation.
“Today, immediately?”
“Yes. As there is concern about the destruction of evidence, I will personally direct the search of the Second Prince’s palace and the Empress’s palace today. The assassination attempt at the hunting competition has been under my jurisdiction from the beginning.”
Kylus spoke with resolute determination.
If it wasn’t done today, the search would be meaningless.
If the date was delayed even by one day, the Empress would cleanly erase all evidence related to black magic.
So she absolutely could not be given time.
Kylus saw the Empress’s expression, which had been feigning pathos, waver.
But she couldn’t change her words now.
“…Very well. Proceed as such. After searching the Second Prince’s and Empress’s palaces today, we will punish the Second Prince for his crimes tomorrow based on the results. But, Duke, if no evidence is found in the Empress’s palace, you will have to apologize to the imperial family for committing such an impious act.”
“Yes, if Her Majesty the Empress’s innocence is proven, I will personally request an apology to Her Majesty the Empress.”
Kylus spoke without wavering.
Finding this even more irritating, the Emperor called out sharply to the Second Prince with a contorted face:
“Second Prince!”
“Yes, yes?”
“Your crime is already evident, so regardless of tomorrow’s results, you cannot take a single step out of the palace from today.”
“Your Majesty!”
Though the Second Prince called out to the Emperor as if wronged, the Emperor coldly ignored the Second Prince for the first time.
No matter how foolish the Emperor was, he understood how significant this matter was.
Both the Empress and himself had been humiliated in front of numerous nobles because of the Second Prince.
“Then we conclude the trial with this.”
The Emperor left with the Empress as if he couldn’t bear to stay in the courtroom for even a moment longer.
Immediately after, imperial knights entered the courtroom.
“Your Highness, I will escort you.”
It was Hasis Winston, the Captain of the First Imperial Knights.
“I will never forget that you framed me with this filthy false accusation, Duke.”
The Second Prince left the courtroom with Hasis, grinding his teeth.
Kylus suppressed a laugh without even looking at their retreating figures. The Second Prince’s warning was utterly insignificant to him.
After the storm-like trial, the nobles couldn’t hide their excitement as they rose one by one from the gallery.
Kylus immediately left the courtroom and headed for the second-floor gallery.
Of course, he was going to Alice.
But Alice didn’t notice Kylus coming to her side at all. It was because her mind was filled with complex thoughts.
None other than because of Kylus.
