Chapter 125
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Chapter 125
Hildegard gnawed at her fingernails while gazing anxiously out the window.
'I wonder what His Majesty intends to do with the Abandoned Crown Prince's Palace.'
It had been several days since I was captured at the Research Facility and confined to the Princess Palace.
The rumors, presumed to have been spread by Vivian and Lahedis, rippled outward until they reached Orpen's ears, and Kaltz had suggested demolishing the Abandoned Crown Prince's Palace to resolve the matter.
Even in confinement, I wasn't completely cut off from outside information, so I heard the news, but my inability to directly intervene in the matter left me anxious.
'With rumors spreading this far, His Majesty would find it difficult to orchestrate such schemes anymore....'
And yet this unease persisted.
First, because he remained my father regardless.
Second, because a person cornered with nothing left to lose was precisely the kind one had to be most cautious of.
It was at that moment when Hildegard was gnawing at her nails in anxiety.
'...Did someone arrive?'
The entrance of the Princess Palace grew noisy.
Hildegard approached the window and her eyes widened in surprise as she recognized the visitor's face.
It was someone she had never expected to come seeking her out.
Moments later, the person who had come to visit Hildegard was.
"For a criminal, you certainly look well."
Her brother, Allen.
Allen sat leisurely on the sofa before the room's owner could even offer a greeting.
"Do you enjoy being an Imperial Princess? To think you provide a comfortable bedroom to a traitor who betrayed the father who gave you that noble blood."
"...."
"Unlike our cousin, who's likely rotting away in some dusty corner of the Abandoned Crown Prince's Palace."
At Allen's mention of Lahedis, Hildegard's pupils trembled.
'So he was captured that day after all....'
I could hear public rumors circulating outside through the servants who came and went.
But the fact that Lahedis had infiltrated the Abandoned Crown Prince's Palace and been captured was such a closely guarded secret that even the Imperial Knights didn't know—Hildegard only learned of it now from Allen's words.
Yet what shocked Hildegard more was that this information had come from Allen's mouth.
That Allen knew such a closely guarded secret meant....
"...How much do you know, brother?"
It meant Allen was involved to some degree in this incident, which had seemed unrelated to him.
Hildegard asked, forcing her trembling voice to steady.
"Do you know that His Majesty is attempting to start a war?"
Hoping desperately that her brother remained uninvolved in this matter.
Yet Allen's expression didn't change at the shocking revelation Hildegard had thrown at him.
Rather, on the contrary....
"That the reason is the Demon King's heart?"
His face bore the look of someone finding the topic thoroughly entertaining.
"So... he intends to destroy the Barrier of the Demon Realm as well?"
Allen, who had been listening silently to Hildegard's words, finally opened his mouth.
"So?"
"...What?"
"And what if I do know? So what?"
"..."
"Should I betray Father like you?"
At Allen's frigid retort, a bitter laugh escaped Hildegard's lips.
Though they had never been particularly close as siblings, she had at least hoped her older brother would remain untainted by this affair—a hope that now crumbled to dust.
"This isn't betrayal. It's correcting a wrong. So that Father doesn't create any more innocent victims."
"What does that have to do with me?"
"Why wouldn't it? They're people you'll have to care for as their future ruler! They'll be your subjects!"
"They'll become my subjects eventually, whether I do anything or not. Unlike you."
"...So you're saying you'll stand by and do nothing, even knowing everything?"
"No. I can't allow anything to threaten the authority of the throne I'm meant to inherit."
The weight behind Allen's words made Hildegard's heart plummet.
A terrible premonition seized her.
And unfortunately, that premonition proved all too accurate.
"So I'm going to burn the Abandoned Crown Prince's Palace to the ground."
"What do you mean—"
"Oh, and naturally, our cousin trapped inside as well."
Destroying the Abandoned Crown Prince's Palace was one thing, but to kill Lahedis too?
Hildegard let out a hollow laugh at the absurdity of the plan.
"You'd have someone of his standing die such a violent death? Surely people would—"
"The deceased Crown Prince was actually conducting research beneath the Imperial Palace."
"..."
"The Imperial Palace has only just discovered the research facility they'd been concealing."
"..."
"His son, terrified of his father's crimes being exposed, attempted to destroy the Abandoned Crown Prince's Palace but was caught by the Crown Prince and executed on the spot..."
"..."
"How's that? Quite a convincing story, wouldn't you say?"
At Allen's self-assured smile, Hildegard's body began to tremble uncontrollably.
In this moment, the fact that the same blood flowed through both their veins felt utterly abhorrent.
It was as though insects crawled beneath her skin.
Allen rose from his seat, savoring the exquisite sensation of watching his sister—who had always remained so composed before him—collapse into despair.
"I shall inform His Majesty that my foolish sister continues to conspire with the traitors."
Just as Allen turned to leave, Hildegard's voice reached him from behind.
"...Brother."
When he glanced back, Hildegard's eyes were devastated beyond measure, yet simultaneously burning with quiet rage.
"Truth concealed in blood will one day surface. The stench of blood never truly fades."
The words sounded like a curse.
Hearing them, the smugness that had filled Allen as he trampled his perpetually defiant sister drained from his expression, leaving it cold and rigid.
He approached his sister, who watched him with quiet menace, and whispered her name.
"Hilde. I think you're misunderstanding something."
"...."
"Truth doesn't triumph—the victor becomes the truth."
Just as history has always shown.
Allen tapped his sister's cheek lightly, then turned and left the room.
"...."
Hildegard stared at the door through which he'd departed, her gaze unwavering for a long moment.
* * *
By afternoon, I had located the Antique Shop where Hector was.
Ever since rumors spread that the Emperor intended to wage war, I'd been visiting this place as part of my daily routine.
"There's still been no movement from the Abandoned Crown Prince's Palace, correct?"
"Yes. It's suspiciously quiet."
Since the Duke advised the Emperor to demolish the Abandoned Crown Prince's Palace, the Guild members from Terrak had been monitoring the goods flowing in and out of the Imperial Palace and watching the movements at the Abandoned Crown Prince's Palace.
The reason was the Duke's so-called "setting fire to the rabbit hole" strategy.
[Whether he demolishes it or not, he'll try to clear out the Research Facility before things escalate further.]
The Duke's plan was simple: the moment an anxious Emperor attempted to smuggle the Research Facility's documents and materials out of the Abandoned Crown Prince's Palace, the Guild members planted within the Imperial Palace would seize that evidence.
'And if Lahedis is smuggled out in the process, that would be even better.'
Yet several days had passed, and the Emperor still left the Abandoned Crown Prince's Palace untouched.
"Something feels off...."
It was just as Hector and I were putting our heads together, trying to guess the Emperor's next move.
Jingle—
"Miss?"
The door to the Antique Shop opened, and a familiar face stepped inside.
"Lindsey? What brings you here?"
"Someone from the Princess Palace came by with an urgent message from the Imperial Princess, and they gave me this note. Here."
Lindsey approached me and handed over the note—not a formal letter, but something hastily smuggled out in secret.
"Thank you."
I'd been worried about the confined Imperial Princess anyway, so I gratefully unfolded the note she'd delivered.
But the moment I read its contents, my heart sank.
In two days, the Abandoned Crown Prince's Palace will be blown up. Along with that person trapped there.
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Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
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