Chapter 111
Setina trembled as she looked at the servant. The servant kept his head bowed. I stepped towards him. Suddenly, Setina, who had started to raise her hand, shook as she stared at .
Without saying a word, I picked up the fallen tray and handed it to the servant. “Take this tray away for now. Clean up the rest later.”
“What? But…”
I leaned in and whispered in his ear, “I’ll take care of things here. If you stick around, you’re not going to see anything pleasant.”
At that, the servant bowed repeatedly and backed away. I slowly stood up. Setina was still staring at .
“Your dress is a ss. Shouldn’t you go change quickly?”
At my words, the nobles nearby approached and looked at Setina, whispering in low voices.
“I think the dress looks worse than before.”
“Still, standing there like that, wouldn’t she be embarrassed?”
They were whispering, but I could hear them clearly. Evidently, so could Setina. Her face flushed even redder.
She quickly turned and walked past . She used to shriek at like a shrew, but now she couldn’t say a single word.
It really showed how much the situation had changed.
I watched her retreating figure for a mont, then looked around. Everything seed peaceful on the surface, but unease pounded in my chest. No matter where I looked, Rowell was nowhere to be seen.
“Your Highness, are you expecting soone?” Duchess Heverun asked.
I smiled and shook my head. “No.”
Just then, Derol cautiously poked his head out. People seed surprised at first, then quickly took interest in him.
“Isn’t that the mouse we saw at the wedding?”
“Ah, I think his na was Derol.”
They already knew his na. More people began to gather around. Derol looked at , and I gave him a nod. It ant it was safe to co out. There was no danger right now.
At first, he shyly tucked himself back into my pocket. But as admiration filled the air, he slowly peeked out again.
“He’s even cuter up close.”
So kept their distance, but most were drawn to him. Derol looked around, seemingly intrigued by the attention.
Then a bit of a commotion broke out. I turned my head to see Rowell entering the hall. As always, his knight commander was by his side, along with several nobles.
It seed this really was an unofficial celebration the day before his coronation. Even the nobles who’d been focused on Derol turned to murmur among themselves.
“I heard His Highness the Crown Prince was coming…”
“He must be here because of the coronation. It’s frowned upon to host a ball at the palace before then.”
“Well, I did hear crowds are already gathering outside the palace.”
“And even though His Highness is trying to arrest the ones causing trouble, soone keeps interfering. They’re hard to catch.”
Just then, I felt a gentle touch on my shoulder. I looked up to see that Ardion had co to my side. Our eyes t, and he spoke quietly.
“Laila, it’s ti to strike from behind.”
I nodded and followed him.
Rowell, surrounded by people, lifted the corner of his lips when he spotted . The sight disgusted .
“Your Highness, congratulations on your coronation tomorrow. Co to think of it, everyone here must have gathered to celebrate it, haven’t they?” said soone close to Rowell in a flattery-laced voice.
I laughed inwardly.
As Ardion and I approached, people moved aside.
“Congratulations on your coronation tomorrow, Your Highness.” Ardion smiled faintly.
Rowell stared at him for a mont before smiling back. “You’re finally speaking properly.”
“…”
“Mind your behavior. Since you're going to offer your mana at the temple tomorrow, you need to stay in one piece until then.”
“Don’t worry, brother. I’m already being cautious.” Ardion smiled.
Rowell’s face hardened, then he turned to , eyes sharp. “Don’t you have anything to say to ?”
“Congratulations,” I said, bowing slightly.
For now, I had no choice but to play along. I didn’t want to cause unnecessary trouble before the real show began.
When I lifted my head, Rowell was watching . “Still haven’t changed your mind?”
“No. I haven’t.”
“That’s unfortunate. Then I’ll just have to force you after the coronation.” Rowell smiled at .
Ardion stepped between us, blocking his view. “I knew you were out of your mind, brother, but I didn’t expect you to speak like that here.”
Rowell scoffed in disbelief. “What are you talking about?”
I grabbed Ardion’s arm. He looked back at . I gave him a silent signal. It was ti to hit Rowell where it hurt. He seed to understand, though his expression was tense. But when I kept looking at him, he calmly stepped aside.
Finally, I could see Rowell clearly. I took a deep breath. It was ti to enact everything I had planned in my head.
I stared straight at him and said, “What would you do if I were to die right here?”
Mana glimred around Ardion. I gently grabbed his arm. He frowned at . I shook my head slightly.
Ardion stared at Rowell for a mont, then let the mana dissipate. He gestured at Delzion, who nodded and walked towards the ballroom doors.
Rowell had been watching the whole ti and now wore a mocking smile.
I drew a dagger in front of his eyes and placed it against my wrist. Rowell reached to stop , but Ardion blocked him.
“Don’t touch her.”
“You’re out of your mind.”
“Then aren’t you just as insane? You gave Laila a magical drug, and you tried to pin the emperor’s poisoning on her.”
Gasps erupted around us.
“The emperor’s poisoning is still under investigation. Do you have any real evidence?”
Ardion signaled Delzion, who nodded and opened the door. Soon, a man barely able to stand was escorted in by two people.
“This man was the emperor’s forr healer. After His Majesty passed, he returned to his hotown. He’s just now co back.”
“Ardion, you’re wasting your ti. That man…”
Before Rowell could finish, Delzion stepped forward with a docunt. “Can you see this? It states he acted under your command. It says he mixed toxins into the emperor’s dicine for nearly twelve years under your orders.”
Shock swept through the room. Even the nobles by Rowell blinked in disbelief. Then more people entered through the door.
Starting with Duke Delit and followed by many others wrongfully imprisoned, people who had all been locked up together.
One stepped forward and said, “His Highness also gave orders to add a small amount of poison into His Majesty’s elixirs. Many of us ended up in prison because of this.”
“I was His Majesty’s personal healer. When Lady Laila was falsely accused, I simply said sothing seed strange, and they threw in prison.”
The nobles whispered with solemn expressions.
“What on earth is going on?”
“Wasn’t that healer by His Majesty’s side for a long ti?”
“Now that I think about it, it was strange how so many people from the palace were imprisoned right after the poisoning. So this is what happened.”
Rowell chuckled coldly. He glared at Ardion and said, “You’ve worked hard preparing all this. But what now? You still can’t take down.”
“Why would you think that, brother?”
“Because you won’t kill .” Rowell sneered.
Ardion stepped closer. “Do you really think so?”
“Then go ahead and kill .”
“Well, the list of your cris is too long to end you here. I plan to watch a little longer.”
Then Ardion flicked his fingers. Rowell clutched his chest, seemingly struggling to breathe.
Commander Trede rushed over. “Your Highness!”
Rowell, gasping, waved his hand at Ardion.
Trede quickly shouted to the nearby knights, “Arrest Ardion at once! He’s undermining the empire’s—”
Before he could finish, the commander dropped to his knees, mana swirling around him.
“You’re the ones truly defiling the empire. Instead of guiding a misguided ruler, you carried out vile acts without sha.” Ardion stood with arms crossed, looking down at them.
“This empire has laws. As a prince, I certainly don’t have to accept orders from scum like you.”
The knights’ faces twisted in suffocation.
I gently tugged Ardion’s arm. “Ardion, that’s enough. We should put them all in prison for now. We haven’t uncovered everything yet.”
Then the ballroom floor began to shake. I glanced around, confused—then saw Rowell laughing.
“Did you think I’d go down so easily?”
At the entrance stood Serina. Soone held a sword to her, and she was writing a magic array on the floor with a stiff expression.
Rowell glanced at her, then said, “This place will sink soon enough.”
In an instant, the ballroom turned into chaos. Screams echoed, and the exits were already clogged. Escaping looked almost impossible.
T/N: I knew letting Serina go was a bad choice 🤐
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