Chapter 87
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87.
The Second Empress proceeded to voice what the First Empress could not bring herself to say.
"So you must issue a confinement order now, First Empress. Why do you hesitate?"
At those words, the First Empress's golden eyes fixed upon me with razor-sharp intensity.
She ground her teeth lightly, then opened her mouth with an air of complete composure.
"Confine the Second Empress, the Head Maidservant, and all attendants on duty in the Tea Service Room at that hour."
She seemed deeply displeased with the targets of confinement.
'If I can't uncover the truth even after the Second Empress has laid it out so plainly for me, I'd be nothing but a fool.'
The Second Empress trusted me and had willingly positioned herself as a shield, granting me freedom to move as I needed.
To fail to meet such expectations would make me utterly incompetent.
*
After all the people the Second Empress had identified were confined, the First Empress was about to declare that she would investigate this poisoning incident herself.
And it nearly came to pass.
Had Cassian not arrived with the Imperial Knight Commander at precisely that moment.
"I understand the First Empress's concern for His Imperial Majesty, but investigations and inquiries into any irregularities concerning His Imperial Majesty's person are designated to fall under the Imperial Knight Commander's authority."
"That cannot be—!"
Even the First Empress, who had lived in the Imperial Palace for so long, seemed unaware of this law, her expression betraying genuine surprise.
"It is not a matter of distrust in you. It is simply that, until now, major incidents have always been overseen by one of the Royal Family."
"That is true, but matters concerning His Imperial Majesty are an exception. Admittedly, this law has faded considerably over the centuries, but His Imperial Majesty reemphasized it to our Imperial Knight Order upon his ascension. Of course...."
The Knight Commander hesitated apologetically before continuing.
"Among the current Royal Family, only Cassian holds a senior position within the Imperial Knight Order, so it appears Your Highness was unaware—but...."
His tone was exceedingly courteous, conveying facts with utmost precision.
Yet the First Empress could not hide the humiliation of being overlooked.
'Among the noble families close to the Empress, none hold senior positions in the Imperial Knight Order....'
Though Cassian and I had often cursed inwardly about it, the Imperial Knight Order was the institution through which the Emperor could exercise his greatest authority.
The Empress had desperately sought to place her own people there.
Yet it was Cassian who wielded true power in that organization.
He held the position of First Training Director of the Imperial Knight Order.
Thus he oversaw the training not only of the Winter Palace knights but of all Imperial knights.
'Though the Winter Palace is admittedly a special case.'
Originally, the knights assigned to the Winter Palace, like all others, answered not to the Palace's master but strictly to His Imperial Majesty.
It was simply that the Winter Palace had developed an independent character, having campaigned alongside him since his childhood.
First Prince Charlie did oversee the training of the Summer Palace knights, though such occasions were more ceremonial in nature.
In any case, though this law had existed since the Empire's founding and persisted through countless generations, it was hardly surprising that the First Empress had been unaware of it.
After enduring so much, it would be rare to find many in the Empire who had memorized even the tiniest characters in the legal code.
'But our Emperor must have revived those laws that were fading into obscurity because of his past.'
That's why the current Imperial Knight Commander had even drunk poison for the first time in centuries.
The very poison that successive Knight Commanders were originally meant to drink.
"Please trust me, Your Majesty. My heart will stop the instant I cause harm to the Emperor."
"What did you just...?"
"I must now proceed with the investigation, so I beg your pardon, First Empress. Should you require further explanation, you may ask First Prince Charlie or Salice Advisor."
After the Imperial Knight Commander hastily withdrew, the First Empress glared at me and Cassian.
We were prepared to explain everything for her sake, but she merely feigned composure over her roiling fury before departing.
She knew all too well that laying further obstacles in our path would only cast suspicion upon herself.
*
"It's been a long time since I've felt so caught off guard."
"Mm."
To be thorough, I designated a female knight to conduct a complete body search of me.
With the Second Empress's clear testimony clearing the charges, the designated knight was somewhat flustered but dutifully completed the task, definitively proving my innocence.
Not a single suspicious item or poison was found among my possessions or anywhere on my person.
"It reminds me of when I first arrived at the Capital City."
"Before Roselita memorized the entire legal code?"
I nodded quietly.
The first three months after arriving at the Capital City were honestly hellish in many ways.
Poring over ledgers and handling basic documents posed no great difficulty.
It was the procedures and laws that were the problem.
Being part of the Imperial Family, everything was so convoluted that even examples from my past life or from the Salice Barony didn't match.
So before six months had passed, I reduced my sleep and memorized everything necessary for my duties—etiquette law, administrative law, tax law, criminal law, Imperial law—without exception.
Fortunately, my memory wasn't poor; I could retain things after reading them once or twice, and the legal code here wasn't as intricate as in my previous nation, making it possible.
I had read Imperial law especially carefully, so I even knew the obsolete laws that the Empress herself was unaware of.
"Thank you for bringing the Imperial Knight Commander so quickly, Ian."
"I'm grateful you don't resent me for not rushing to protect you immediately when you were in trouble."
"If you had just rushed over, you'd have gotten tangled up with the Second Empress while trying to shield me, which is exactly what the First Empress wanted."
That would have been the picture the First Empress was hoping for.
If Cassian had lost his mind and come running without thinking of a strategy, she would have suspected the original Cassian had surfaced instead.
"It's precisely because you're that kind of person that I'm by your side. Don't harbor any strange thoughts."
"That was very comforting to hear, Roselita."
Comforting about what?
I wondered briefly, but thought it fortunate that whatever it was had brought him solace.
The more dire our circumstances became, the more our reason surged forward to find solutions—we were simply composed, but truthfully, the situation had been quite desperate.
"What about Joel?"
"He cried himself out, then curled up beside Coco and fell asleep. I've also had the Snowland-born maidservants from Lilac Palace brought to Winter Palace, so don't worry."
I nodded to Cassian Artez and recounted the situation as clearly as I could manage.
"Therefore, there are two things we must accomplish."
"First, we need to prove Second Empress's innocence and find the true culprit—and we must also locate the clue she gave us through hand signals."
"Exactly, and second, we need to ensure the Emperor awakens safely."
As I spoke, I withdrew the scroll.
This incident had never appeared in the original work.
So it might prove utterly useless.
Yet part of me desperately hoped it would be.
I felt myself wavering, wondering if this was an intentional trap designed to lull me into carelessness.
But then.
"...There are changes here."
How frustrating—the original work truly was incomplete.
*
The Unconfirmed Prophecy section showed no alterations whatsoever.
However, the Unreleased section contained three significant changes.
First was a section detailing the younger days of First Empress Scarlett Jamoti and Second Empress Trisha Snick—a story we had never known.
The Emperor's character settings, which the original work had left unresolved, were also meticulously organized and recorded in the miscellaneous settings category.
And finally.
As if to excuse myself for never having solved it in the original work, there was a scene mentioned in the special side story I hadn't published—a scene that now haunted me with regret.
It gnawed at me.
While I scrolled through the text in frustration, Cassian gently covered my furrowed brow and eyes with his hand.
"Roselita, this isn't something you should feel responsible for."
"...But."
"Would this have never happened if you hadn't received the scroll? I don't believe so."
Cassian's tone wasn't his usual tenderness.
It was clipped and matter-of-fact, like when I'd first arrived in the Capital City and was still adjusting.
Yet somehow, it comforted me more.
Because his words weren't meant to console me.
"Rather, thanks to it, we were able to find the answer faster. You don't need to shoulder responsibility for circumstances beyond your control."
Cassian slowly withdrew his hand from my face and met my eyes.
"We couldn't have known about this before it happened either."
With that, he swept away the weight of guilt that had accumulated in my heart since the moment the Emperor collapsed.
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