Chapter 40
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Chapter 40
Enya seemed to think she had helped me, but it was always she who had saved my life.
Her smile was as bright as sunlight whenever I saw it, and her very existence had become the space where I could breathe.
Enya hadn't changed at all. She was that same girl who smiled so radiantly in childhood, and she remained so now.
"...Your Majesty. Your Majesty?"
At that moment, Soho's breathing reached my ears in an unpleasant way.
Crackle.
I, who had been unconsciously speaking Enya's name, furrowed my brow.
"What are you thinking about so intently? I just asked for your opinion on whether we should hold off on the matter I reported or investigate it."
"..."
I hadn't heard him.
I was so preoccupied with thoughts of Enya that I sometimes lost focus.
'Is it starting again?'
'So you were drowning in love once more.'
All my aides understood why I was like this. Whenever the always-composed Emperor showed even the slightest smile, it was because I was thinking of 'her'.
But what Soho had been about to report...
The aides would have preferred to leave their posts. They were almost grateful that I hadn't heard it all at once.
"Then I shall report again, Your Majesty."
He looked at me while reading the documents.
"Recently, a noblewoman has been extorting vast sums of money by treating merchants and commoners alike as servants."
"..."
My eyebrows rose sharply.
It was the sort of disturbance I disliked. Yet it hardly seemed like a matter worthy of reporting to the Emperor himself.
There must be a reason, then.
I listened quietly to what Soho had to say.
"It involves illegal gambling dens—26 reported incidents alone. Damages totaling 280,000 crowns. 88 reports filed for dine-and-dash incidents. Three nobles claiming damages after she accepted bribes and disappeared. She also purchased goods on credit without payment."
Whoosh.
The list of crimes was so extensive it spilled onto another page.
"She also used lodging establishments without paying, using only her name, and combined, the total damages amount to 7 million crowns."
"The investigation was delayed."
I took the documents and scanned the dates when the incidents occurred.
These were incidents that had been happening gradually and consistently over time.
"Whose doing is this?"
"As written below, it is..."
Soho opened his mouth with an expression of righteous indignation.
"Adeline Lockhart."
In an instant, Dale's eyes wavered.
"Enya Lockhart."
Dale closed his eyes tightly.
The Aide pulled Soho down into a seat as the conference room froze over with tension. He knew full well what a lady of her status meant to The Emperor.
And she was none other than a Lockhart.
The precious daughter of Duke Lockhart, the current Prime Minister.
"Why hasn't this been reported until now?"
"Because she is Adeline."
Dale examined the past records and the case handling procedures.
The Aides must have been aware of this matter long ago. Looking at the processing records, it was unmistakably clear.
They had been covering it up all along.
"You covered up the incident because of the Lockhart Family."
Thud.
Dale threw the documents onto the desk.
"Pathetic. Soho, you must have known."
"I apologize, Your Majesty. It is my fault."
"Yes. You failed in your duty."
The Aides bowed their heads in silence at The Emperor's firm demeanor. He tapped the documents.
"Investigate further. Leave no room for doubt whatsoever."
"Yes? But..."
"I thought you were talented individuals selected through trials, yet you prove to be fools."
His low voice was chilling.
"Do not dare claim you did this for my sake, Soho. Are you my attendant, or do you serve as a public official of the Imperial Palace?"
"...I apologize."
Soho bowed deeply.
Dale, releasing a short sigh, pointed to the case log.
"This is the work of those who know that Enya Lockhart ran away from home. It's impersonation."
Damage reports had been filed from all corners of the Empire, convincing enough that anyone who knew her would suspect it was truly her.
There was a reason the Aides had only learned of this fact a month ago.
The Empire was vast, and the provincial Lords, fearful of the Lockhart Family, had not reported the incident to the Imperial Palace.
It was only discovered recently when the territories underwent surveying, and during the process of interrogating the Lords.
The Aides had attempted to suppress this matter.
But Soho could not do so.
Even if she was the lady designated as Empress.
"No damage reports have been filed recently. That period coincides with when Your Majesty met the lady."
Soho spoke carefully.
"I too wish to believe that the lady is not responsible..."
There were not only circumstantial evidence, but also ledgers of accounts recorded by merchants and testimonies.
Yet even Soho found something odd about the situation.
Though he had never met her directly, there was how she made The Emperor smile, how his mood brightened noticeably after visiting the countryside, and the fact that she had actually saved Grunvalt and now made the luminous stone trade possible.
Stepping back to observe her, she was the very embodiment of a perfect empress.
Soho was equally taken aback.
"My apologies. I intended to investigate more thoroughly before reporting to you."
"A human who knows that Adeline has run away."
Dale traced his sharp jawline with his fingers as he mused aloud.
"Myself."
Dale listed his own name.
"And you, my advisors."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"Furthermore, the members of the Lockhart Family."
Or perhaps...
The forces of the Old Nobility Faction watching over them.
Those who would have known this fact from the moment the runaway began. Those who would wish to tarnish Adeline's honor.
Those positioned to gather information from within.
"Is the Prime Minister in the palace?"
"Yes. He is currently in his office."
Dale, possessed of a lithe and elegant frame like a black panther, rose from his seat.
"I must see Duke Lockhart at once."
* * *
"Have I lost my mind...?"
The words tumbled from my lips unbidden.
But it was precisely the truth. Had I truly gone mad?
'Is that me?'
Did another version of me exist?
Since the impossible phenomenon of possession had already occurred, it was conceivable that my soul could split into two...
"Where are the clothes I set aside?"
"They have been prepared in a room reserved solely for you, my lady."
"Did you spray the perfume? If that carpet feels rough, I won't set foot on it. Do you have any idea how unpleasant it is when the soles of my shoes wear down on inferior carpeting?"
Apart from her taste in dresses, she shared nothing in common with me.
I watched the woman's retreating figure in silence.
Click.
As the door to the room she entered closed, the shop attendants released the breath they had been holding.
I asked quietly.
"Is that woman really Adeline?"
"Yes, Adeline. She is quite famous."
The attendant whispered in a hushed voice, as though afraid of being overheard.
"When Adeline visits, the entire shop must be on edge. She is as frightening as she is generous with her spending—our most valued customer."
"...Is that so?"
The boutique door opened once more.
This time, two women entered.
"Where did Adeline go?"
"The Rose Room."
"Ugh! You should have told me before I asked! My mouth is killing me."
"Tell me about it. Hehe."
The two women entered the same room and closed the door behind them.
'What is this?'
A hidden camera, perhaps?
"Those ladies are Adeline's maids."
"Maids?"
"They say Adeline treasures them dearly. They've been inseparable since childhood—there's nothing they don't know about each other. And Adeline adores them so much. One of their names is... I think it was..."
"Emma."
"Yes! That's it. Emma."
"What about the other one?"
"I'm not sure about that one, but she's probably another maid from Lockhart Mansion."
....
Suddenly, I felt as though I'd fallen into a parallel world I didn't recognize.
So that's Adeline, and that woman is Emma?
"My Emma is far more beautiful and intelligent than that. I have to tell Emma about this. She'll find it hilarious."
I clicked my tongue.
Even their impersonation was pathetically sloppy.
"I have quite the story to share with Emma now."
I'd been bothered by not seeing Emma since arriving in the Capital, but once I tell her this news, she'll be absolutely delighted.
"What could a noblewoman possibly do to help me? Such a precious young lady. If you pity me, just give me some bread. Or... heal me instead."
I first met Emma in a dark alley.
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