Chapter 111
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111.
Gillard's sudden accusation made the First Concubine's eyes widen in surprise.
"Me? Surely not."
Unlike Gillard's carefully measured tone of indignation, the First Concubine's voice was bright and cheerful.
"I've never even heard of such a thing. I've never laid eyes on this person before."
She even proceeded to casually tear into her croissant, eating it with complete composure.
"Still, given his insistence, perhaps we should conduct an investigation, Your Majesty?"
At the First Concubine's lighthearted suggestion, the Emperor's expression grew troubled.
Cassian Artez and I exchanged hollow laughs.
"What do you expect an investigation to uncover, speaking with such confidence!"
The only one failing to read the room was Gillard Basmarh.
His brother, the King of Basmarh, seemed to have grasped the truth from observing the First Concubine's composure and our reactions.
But Gillard, oblivious to how events were unfolding, had earned his status as a deposed prince.
"I'm not particularly worried because there's nothing to find."
The First Empress responded to Gillard in her characteristically unhurried manner.
She wiped her sticky hands on the napkin the Countess Attendant had brought, then smiled sweetly.
"And besides, if you're going to make such claims, shouldn't you at least have some letter we exchanged or something similar to present?"
At the First Concubine's words, Gillard Basmarh's face brightened with confidence.
"Of course I do!"
"My goodness."
Of course, despite his assured tone, the First Concubine maintained her usual demeanor.
"So that's how it is, Your Imperial Majesty. What shall we do?"
She even smiled at the Emperor as though delighted to be entangled in such an affair.
"It seems I must submit to an investigation after all?"
"...First Concubine."
"Hehe, do ask him at once. He claims to have a letter I sent, so Salice Advisor, would you?"
It was the Emperor who seemed startled by her words.
"I'm not the one asking?"
The First Concubine tilted her head with apparent confusion.
"You've always had Salice Advisor or the Winter Palace Administration handle such matters. I do have ears, after all."
Then, as though she'd realized something, she straightened her head and spoke to the Emperor.
"Ah, were you planning to entrust this matter to Cassian Artez? If so, please forgive my presumption and overlook my hasty assumption."
She spoke to the Emperor in a melodious voice, her laughter clear and bright.
I suddenly understood much better how the First Concubine had survived in this jungle of the Imperial Family.
"No, well...."
The Emperor shook his head for a moment, then regarded her with a bitter gaze.
"It's not particularly complicated, and since there's much to handle at the Winter Palace, I was thinking of personally overseeing it."
Besides, it concerns my First Concubine as well.
As the Emperor trailed off with that murmur, the First Concubine regarded him with an expression of genuine astonishment.
"Please proceed as usual, Your Majesty. I trust Salice Advisor deeply. Entrusting her with this is actually a greater consideration for me."
"...So I shouldn't handle it personally?"
"You do say amusing things."
The First Concubine let out an elegant laugh.
"His Majesty occasionally makes such jests."
Then she ventured a remark that left others uncertain whether they should join in, creating an awkward moment instead.
The weight of being a married couple for over twenty years was palpable.
The Emperor exhaled a short, familiar sigh before turning his gaze toward me.
"Well, since the matter isn't of critical importance, might I entrust it to you?"
"Yes, that's acceptable."
That cunning Emperor was willing to investigate and resolve it within his own purview—proving the First Concubine's innocence would be far from difficult.
As the conversation progressed, only Gilad Basmarh remained bewildered.
"This man was hired to assassinate the Emperor's own First Concubine, so why are you all allowing him such freedom!"
"Silence, will you!"
Unlike his brother, the King of Basmarh, who had grasped how the situation was unfolding appropriately, let out a heavy sigh of embarrassment and rebuked his sibling sharply.
Soon after, he addressed the Emperor and me.
"However you investigate this wretch, Basmarh will not interfere. We ask only that you honor the promise you made regarding the resumption of trade."
"You mean the surrender of Gillard's person."
At Duke Lopez's confirmatory words, the King nodded in agreement.
"Precisely. To be frank, given how often I've witnessed this wretch spouting absurd lies whenever circumstances turn against him...."
The King then exhaled a short sigh of embarrassment.
"Truthfully, observing the atmosphere among you all now, it seems an investigation may be unnecessary."
"Appearances matter regardless, so we shall proceed. It is the Empire's way."
At the Emperor's words, the King nodded in understanding.
I sometimes found his emphasis on propriety irksome.
Yet the First Concubine herself, the actual subject of the matter, showed not a trace of anxiety, maintaining a smile throughout.
"It's fine. I trust that Salice Advisor will handle it wonderfully."
As if there were anything to handle in a matter already resolved....
Having discovered the true reason the First Concubine had survived so long, I murmured inwardly.
"The work will be finished quickly, and Roselita's reputation will rise further—a favorable outcome."
Of course, my superior seemed delighted, as though receiving a windfall.
Meanwhile, Gilad Basmarh attempted to create a disturbance over the situation not unfolding as he wished, but was quickly suppressed.
*
"Did what I did today prove of any use to you?"
The First Concubine, who had invited me to Pansy Palace claiming she needed to be investigated, spoke pleasantly while sorting through tea leaves.
"Except that His Majesty seemed somewhat displeased."
At my words, the First Concubine turned her head with a puzzled expression.
"Does Salice Advisor fear the Emperor?"
Well, it wasn't quite just that emotion.
When I remained silent and merely gestured with my expression, the First Concubine nodded knowingly as she opened two tea cases and began blending the leaves together in small portions.
"I understand. He does have his troublesome aspects—acting cunning while refusing to make decisions unless the evidence is crystal clear."
"...Is it alright to speak of him that way?"
"Why wouldn't it be? His Majesty has known of my nature for far longer than a day or two."
After selecting all the tea leaves, she warmed the tea set with practiced ease, then carefully poured hot water and brewed the tea with hands that were both familiar and meticulous.
"I thought it would be nice if this incident could serve as a pretext to give Salice Advisor at least some time to rest."
"I thought you were going to ask for something else."
"I do have some sense of propriety, after all."
What the First Concubine offered me was a fragrant blend of herbs and dried fruit, with a subtle sweetness woven through it.
She had prepared it knowing that I did not enjoy ordinary tea.
"You've always been too busy rushing forward, with only Cassian Artez and the Winter Palace to help you."
She placed small desserts before me with a smile.
"While it seems to suit your nature, someone still needs to give you room to breathe."
Despite myself, my lips curved upward at the First Concubine's words.
I had thought she summoned me to Pansy Palace to ask for something regarding this incident.
"As for my innocence, His Majesty knows it better than anyone, and the evidence that this Gillard—the deposed prince—seeks is quite clear."
The First Concubine shrugged and gestured toward the half-open doorway.
Beyond it, a stern-faced Palace Attendant was ceaselessly writing something down.
During my previous confrontation with the Fourth Concubine, the Reception Room door had also remained slightly ajar for the same reason.
The First Concubine had attached a monitor to herself not long after entering the Imperial Palace.
Someone to record her every movement and action.
She had petitioned the Emperor directly, saying that the attendants and administrative officials in her service would be meaningless for this purpose.
'Please assign someone most stubborn and inflexible, someone His Majesty can trust.'
Using demands that could have tightened the noose around her neck, she survived the Imperial Palace where Scaletti ran rampant.
Moreover, whenever she grew comfortable with her duties, she would request a change of personnel, preventing Scaletti from ever buying her loyalty.
And all those meticulous records remained safely preserved in the Imperial Palace Archives.
This was why the First Concubine felt no surprise whatsoever at being implicated in such ancient matters.
After a brief silence, she spoke with measured calm.
"I was never particularly clever, and having grown up in the relaxed atmosphere of the Grand Duchy, I hardly understood how the Fourth Concubine's schemes might torment me."
Her face, weathered by years in the Imperial Palace, seemed at once that of a mature woman and yet still bore the innocence of a debutante from her earliest days.
"So this was the best choice I could make. Shortly after becoming a concubine, I was certain there would be no sweet affection between His Majesty and myself, so I thought—I must earn his trust if I am to survive."
In that gentle smile, I glimpsed the fierce determination she had quietly harbored all along.
*
Gilad Basmarh's claims were naturally proven false not long after.
Though we found a rather aged letter at the location he mentioned, the seal of the First Concubine stamped at the bottom was a forgery.
Most importantly, brief summaries of all letters the First Concubine had exchanged during that period remained on record, thus proving her innocence as well.
"Do you still have more to say, Gilad?"
At my words, Gilad Basmarh ground his teeth audibly.
As a criminal with irrefutable evidence against him, he seemed intent on exercising his right to silence, so I myself spoke the words he wished to keep hidden.
"Is the Fourth Concubine still so precious to you?"
"Ha, what nonsense!"
"The evidence of your affection has already surfaced."
I spoke with an impassive expression.
"The evidence regarding the fact that your mother and the Fourth Concubine's parents arranged a betrothal between your children while still in the womb."
Gilad stared at me with an expression as though something impossible had come to pass.
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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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