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28.

"Cassian Artez!!"
The Emperor's furious voice thundered through the chamber.
"The Sacred Stone stolen? Are you in your right mind? And you tried to conceal it?" ‌‌‌
"Your Majesty, please calm yourself."
"Calm myself? Do you think this is a matter for composure? First Empress, coddling Cassian Artez like this won't solve anything!"
"I understand, but Cassian Artez is still young—"
"Young? It's been years since his coming-of-age ceremony! How can you call him young? This could become a diplomatic incident. ‌‌‌A gift entrusted personally by Princess Alexis Periander, and you handle it like this!"
The Emperor, ‌‌‌seething with rage, leveled his accusations at Cassian Artez without restraint.
Yet Cassian Artez remained composed—far more so ‌‌‌than Duke Jamoti—and spoke with measured calm.
"Your Imperial Majesty."
He lowered himself before the throne without a tremor in his voice.
"It appears the First Empress and Duke Jamoti have misunderstood something."
"Misunderstood?" ‌‌
"Yes. The statue sent by the Anden Kingdom was indeed radiating brilliant light, exactly as you both described. I witnessed it myself, as ‌did my aide, Roselita Salice."
"Then..."
The Emperor's tone softened somewhat.
It was the First Empress who now appeared flustered.
I smirked inwardly, watching her confusion as the Emperor's fury inexplicably ‌‌subsided when it should have burned brighter.
'His Majesty has certainly suffered ‌‌enough at Cassian Artez's hands over the years.'
The marriage alliance negotiations, and all the administrative entanglements before that.
The First Empress knew nothing of any of it.
"Due to an unfortunate incident that occurred recently, I was delayed in reporting while hastily concluding an accord with Princess Alexis ‌‌Periander."
Cassian Artez spoke thus, producing a letter bearing the seal of the Anden Kingdom.
"An unfortunate incident? And what accord have you made?" ‌‌‌
"Given the urgency, I ‌‌regret not informing Your Majesty beforehand. However, since this is a matter you entrusted to me and authority you granted me, resolving it took precedence—"
"Spare ‌‌‌me the pleasantries. Explain yourself, Cassian Artez."
"Six days ago, an intruder broke into the Winter Palace Annex where the exhibition pieces were ‌stored."
"An intruder?"
"Yes. Coincidentally, the day before, Duke Jamoti questioned our knights with meticulous detail about the security arrangements—"
Cassian Artez fixed the Emperor with a meaningful gaze.
"So we reinforced security precisely in those areas and ‌‌managed without major incident. Though there was a theft."
"A theft occurred?"
"Rest assured, Your Majesty."
The Emperor, like a well-trained dog, refrained from erupting in anger and instead settled into attentive silence.
"What they stole was ‌‌‌‌a counterfeit. Surely we must apprehend whoever committed such an absurd crime."
"So ‌‌you laid a trap, is that what you're saying?"
"Yes, though I confess I was negligent in the manner the First Empress described."
Cassian Artez turned his gaze toward the First Empress and Duke Jamoti with that characteristically insufferable smile.
"Since the mineral is so rare, I thought today's inaugural exhibition would proceed without incident, so I refrained from giving advance notice."
Duke Jamoti's face had turned ashen.
"Given how much you concerned yourselves with me, I assumed you would overlook ‌this transgression for now and inquire about it later. It seems, however, that your worry for me was far greater than I anticipated."
In other words, it was the First Empress and Duke Jamoti who had hastily orchestrated this embarrassing spectacle.
The Emperor, naturally, was not one to miss ‌‌‌such an implication.
The First Empress, quick to sense the shift, opened her mouth ‌‌‌with an expression of contrition.
"Your Majesty, I was merely hasty. I feared the Anden Kingdom ‌‌might be showing disrespect toward the Crown ‌‌Prince and our Empire."
"Hmph, you should have exercised ‌‌‌more restraint!"
"I have erred, Your Majesty. Now that the misunderstanding has been cleared thanks to Crown Prince Cassian's explanation, please set your mind at ease."
At her gentle voice and demeanor, the Emperor's expression softened somewhat.
But Duke Jamoti, with fire now at his heels, apparently thought differently from the First Empress.
"Your, Your Majesty! What if Crown Prince Cassian is ‌‌‌merely speaking falsehoods to escape this situation?"
That fool!
Though I possessed no gift for reading minds, I could well ‌‌imagine what the First Empress was thinking.
For but a fleeting moment, her elegant countenance had transformed into something demonic.
"You say it's a falsehood, Duke Jamoti?"
The chill was not ‌‌confined to the First Empress alone.
Realizing that this gathering had become an occasion to expose the Imperial Family's shame, the Emperor transformed his anger into an icy question.
"You seem ‌‌remarkably certain of that claim."
"That is... well..."
Only then did Duke Jamoti comprehend what he had so carelessly uttered, and his face drained of all color, turning a sickly blue.
"To harbor such profound concern for the Imperial Family and this Empire—I am truly delighted. Truly."
The Emperor had grown so angry that he began to laugh.
In that oppressive atmosphere, no one dared make a sound.
The Emperor ‌‌‌‌swallowed his displeasure again and again before issuing a low command to Cassian.
"Prove your innocence to me."
Prove it so completely that no one could refute it.
Cassian could not have failed to understand what the Emperor had left unsaid.
He answered before the Emperor as though pronouncing a verdict, like a loyal subject swearing fealty.
"I shall gladly obey your command, Your Majesty."

*

"So you were finally willing to offer up that neck of yours, brother?"
"Y-Your Majesty the ‌First Empress."
Duke Jamoti trembled with a fear unlike any he had known before.
The details of how today's exhibition ‌had concluded had already evaporated from his memory.
"Surely you heard how lavishly His Majesty praised that woman's son, ‌‌brother?"
"Y-yes, ‌of course...."
With each word the Emperor spoke, Duke Jamoti felt as though his breath was being stolen and his throat constricted.

"You've prepared this with such ‌‌‌‌meticulous care, Cassian. Despite the vast quantity of exhibits, there wasn't a single misstep in the arrangement...."
"You ‌‌‌are too kind, Your Majesty."
"One can see at a glance what treasures the Anden Kingdom possesses! It even helps me understand which artists our Empire should cultivate." ‌‌‌‌
"Princess Alexis Periander prepared the materials so thoroughly. And as you know, Your Majesty, my aide Roselita Salice is remarkably attentive to detail."
"Such modesty! But recognizing the worth of capable subordinates is itself a talent—do you think I don't see this in my own son?"
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
"For the Empire's sake, one ‌‌must always judge the character and usefulness of those we work alongside. Truly, you are my son."

Not merely ‌‌‌those final words, but the way he had praised Cassian at every turn—it was almost overwhelming to witness. ‌‌‌‌
The Emperor had elevated Cassian's standing to conceal the Imperial Family's shameful conduct today.
But for the First Empress, his own sister, it only added to her humiliation.
It was only natural that her fury should pour down upon Duke Jamoti, who ‌‌‌‌had failed to execute ‌his duties properly and had even ruined the First Empress's own arrangements.
"Can you not manage even this one thing? How much further must I guide you through every detail, brother?"
"I am deeply sorry, Your Majesty the First Empress."
It had not ‌‌always been this way.
Over ‌the decades, the balance of power between him and ‌‌‌‌his younger sister had inverted completely, leaving Duke Jamoti ‌‌‌‌with nothing but submission.
Or rather, dependence.
"I have fallen ‍‌short. Please, I beg you—show me how to survive this."
Duke Jamoti pleaded, lowering himself with pathetic desperation.
He and the First Empress knew better than anyone how devilishly perfect Prince ‌‌Cassian Artez was in executing his plans.
Now that he had begun gathering evidence, there ‌‌seemed no way to escape without the First Empress's intervention.
Though he had used intermediaries across multiple layers, he harbored ‌‌‌no illusions that this demon would ‌‌fail to find the thread.
"It should have died, yet it returned alive...."
Duke Jamoti caught his breath sharply.
Though he knew she meant Prince Cassian Artez and not ‌‌himself, the First Empress's words still felt like they were piercing and clawing at his skin.
'Was it about a decade ago when ‌‌‌Prince Cassian Artez began to change...?'
Probably after he returned from his ‌‌‌first expedition.
Though it might have been somewhat earlier.
The years Prince Cassian Artez had spent methodically counterattacking and tormenting them felt ‌‌‌like decades, so he often ‌‌‌lost track of time.
Crash—!
While Duke Jamoti had been lost in thought, tracing the wallpaper patterns with his eyes, the ‌‌‌First Empress finally shattered a teacup.
Yet strangely, the Duke felt somewhat relieved by the sight.
It meant the First Empress had finally composed her thoughts enough to regain her emotional equilibrium.
"Sigh... yes, I suppose so. I cannot allow my ‌‌‌‌‌brother's foolish blunder to destroy House of Jamoti, which I have ‌‌so carefully nurtured."
The First Empress exhaled heavily and opened her mouth.
"Prepare to cast out your second nephew. That cunning creature surely never imagined he could sever House of Jamoti over something so trivial."
With a desolate smile, the First Empress swept back her disheveled hair and composed herself.
"Since ‌‌‌‌the fault lies with us, we must offer what is due."
"Your Majesty, but... he is still your nephew!"
"Who said anything about killing him!"
The ‌‌‌First Empress's voice burned with intensity.
"Prepare to confine him for several years."
Duke Jamoti swallowed hard.
"I shall handle the cleanup myself, so you need only—"
The First Empress tapped Duke Jamoti's bowed forehead with her finger as ‌she spoke.
"—manage the fallout from the failed temple and sacred stone transaction."
"Y-yes, Your Majesty..."
"Surely you can manage something so simple."
At her words, dripping with contempt, Duke Jamoti could only bow his head deeper.

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