Chapter 63: Banquet (2)

The maid trembled. It wasn't just Kaelin; the Empress and others could also sense her unease.

Kaelin quickly moved in.

Bending her wrist, she brought down the sword and struck the maid's chin with her elbow. *Thud*—the difference in strength was clear.

Seeing the maid faint with a single blow, Kaelin realized she wasn't a trained spy.

"Oh my...!"

When the shocked voices echoed from inside the banquet hall, Kaelin was already holding the floating bottle of wine.

Kaelin turned to the Empress.

"Her behavior was suspicious... I think we should check the contents of the wine."

"Y-Yes, do so."

The Empress stuttered. The maid's reaction was clearly abnormal, making her heart race and her insides chill.

Erendil took the Empress's hand. The Emperor, who had been watching the commotion, spoke.

"The mood is ruined."

It was a cold remark. The Emperor put down his glass and stood up.

"Ryudern, take responsibility and investigate. Finish the interrogation as well."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

The Emperor glanced around the room.

With his piercing gaze, the nobles turned their heads wherever his eyes landed.

Then, the Emperor headed towards the door he had entered from, and the crowd parted like the Red Sea.

Sword Master Ryudern approached Kaelin.

'If it were someone else, I might have insisted on checking it myself...'

Since it was the Emperor's order, there was no choice but to trust and hand over the bottle. Kaelin passed the bottle to Ryudern.

As the noise in the hall grew louder after the Emperor left, the Empress also stood up.

"I need to go first."

"I will follow you."

The Princess followed behind her.

* * *

"That... That woman, how dare she..."

The Empress, with one hand on her chest, couldn't continue speaking.

She seemed even more agitated after confirming the poison. Her confusion had turned into anger.

"I can't stand this. I need to send someone to her family immediately."

"Father has probably already sent troops."

Erendil tried to stop the Empress, who was about to stand up. The maid was a noble, not a servant.

The maid's family would be in ruins by the next morning.

"At least it's fortunate that Schurtaffen discovered it in advance."

Erendil, with a calm face, held the Empress's hand and said. The Empress finally turned her gaze to me.

"Oh, I was so flustered."

Her eyes were different from before. It was natural, given that I had saved her life.

"Thank you so much. You saved me. I almost became a guest who never returned."

The Empress took a deep breath again.

I bowed slightly.

"Are you feeling a bit better? You must have been very shocked."

The Empress nodded but didn't seem to have calmed down. She was pretending to be calm.

Erendil asked.

"But how did you know? I didn't notice anything. Neither did the Empress's guards."

The Empress nodded. I hoped the knights wouldn't be unjustly blamed.

"In fact, it was just luck. I stopped her because her eyes were trembling as she approached."

"Only because of that?"

"It wasn't certain, but as a guard, I had to do my duty. Her unease after I stopped her made me sure."

"That's right. When in doubt, it's best to check."

The Empress agreed and clenched her teeth.

"...It must be one of the princes."

It was a one-dimensional anger.

Given the Emperor's birthday, it was unlikely that an external force would act so easily, so the probability was high that it was an internal affair.

When I observed the princes while stopping the maid, they all seemed genuinely surprised.

Erendil, thinking similarly to me, remained silent. The Empress turned her head sharply towards the Princess.

"Will you just stand by and do nothing?"

"..."

"If you don't have ambitions, they won't leave us alone. I won't either. In the Empire, we either die, are exiled, or run away. One of the three."

The Empress's anger was close to bias, but her words were true.

A prince who becomes Emperor wouldn't leave his half-sister in the palace.

Even if she were used, it would only be for a political marriage to form an alliance.

Well, noble marriages are usually like that.

Erendil, who was asked, looked at me. His eyes seemed to be asking what I thought.

Was he asking if I wanted to become Emperor, or if I thought the princes were the culprits?

Erendil hadn't told the Empress about my true identity yet.

How should I respond?

"Speak up."

The Princess solved the dilemma for me. Whether it was a solution or not, I'm not sure.

With a lowered voice, I immediately created a breeze.

"In this situation, pretending to know nothing would be ridiculous. Do you know something?"

The Empress opened her eyes wide and alternated her gaze between me and Erendil. I maintained my calm.

The Princess continued.

"Mother, I am your daughter. Could I not notice the subtle hints in your words?"

The Empress closed her eyes tightly, realizing her mistake. It wasn't a wrong statement, though.

Seeing the Empress's silence, Erendil asked me.

"Is what she said wrong?"

Since he was suggesting I reveal it, I nodded.

"Since the Princess has guessed, I won't hide it. Yes, it's true."

The Empress let out a small sigh. Erendil urged me.

"Then speak. Do you know something?"

"All I know is that the nobles of the Second Prince's faction were busy last night. However..."

"Of course! I knew it would be like this."

The Empress interrupted. The Princess frowned slightly.

"However, it's not certain. If it was planned in advance, they wouldn't have been busy last night. It's possible that they only received the news and acted from another side. Or it could be something entirely different."

I spoke honestly in front of the Princess. The Empress showed her dissatisfaction, but there was no choice.

"Even after today's incident?"

"I mean that it's highly likely."

From her reaction, it seemed she had been pushing this conclusion, perhaps to provoke the Princess.

The Empress reluctantly agreed.

"I understand. I'm not stupid. But your words imply that even if the Second Prince didn't plan it, the probability that he knew and did nothing is high, right?"

"...Yes."

The Empress turned to the Princess again.

"Erendil, you know I've never been harsh on my princes. Yet, they have always disliked me. Now, they are even willing to let me die."

There could be various reasons why the princes disliked the Empress, but the main one was the accusation of poisoning the first Empress.

Though there was no evidence, she had once been heavily suspected. The first Empress, who was in good health, suddenly fell ill and died.

Haisen, which had significant influence in the south, also suffered greatly.

'The princes and the first Empress's family must have made a fuss.'

A sudden question arose.

If I hadn't been there, would the Empress have died today? It was highly likely. In the game, there was no Empress.

If that were the case, what would have happened to the Princess?

She couldn't ignore the surrounding gazes. The princes would have been suspected, just like the Empress.

'Or the first Empress's family.'

The Princess would have been pushed into the imperial power struggle.

Perhaps, the reason she suddenly left the Empire was because of this. She might have been fed up with the unwanted competition.

It's not certain, but even that faint possibility was dangerous. I needed to make the Princess the Empress.

This method wouldn't work.

Even if it provided a little stimulation, the Princess's choice must be entirely her own.

"Your Majesty, I may be overstepping, but you shouldn't pressure her like this."

The Empress stared at me blankly, as if asking what I was talking about.

"Becoming the Emperor of the Empire is not easy. It requires personal resolve."

I deliberately made eye contact with the Princess.

"Even if the Empress and we Haisen move in the same direction, the Princess's choice must be her own decision."

I spoke hastily, unsure if my message was clear.

The Empress looked bewildered. I understood her feelings; Erendil had the same expression.

"Didn't you come here to make her the Empress?"

"Yes."

"I don't understand."

I don't understand.

The Princess repeated the same words, connecting this incident to our previous conversation.

"I am speaking for the Princess and all of us."

Silence followed. Erendil continued to look at me.

The Empress seemed to want to say something but couldn't form her thoughts.

"Your Majesty, Sir Ryudern requests an audience."

The silence was broken by a voice from outside. The Sword Master beside the Emperor, I immediately stopped the breeze.

The Empress glanced at the Princess and me before speaking.

"Let him in."

The middle-aged Sword Master entered and immediately looked at me. Our eyes met for a second.

Then, he bowed to the Empress.

"Sir Ryudern, what brings you here?"

"I have found the mastermind."

Already? I thought, but with the Empire's dogs everywhere, it was possible.

The maid wasn't a trained agent.

"Who is it?"

"First, as I mentioned earlier, the wine contained poison."

The Empress swallowed hard.

"The maid said she was hired by the House of Egne. We have captured Facia Egne, who attended the banquet, and the Royal Guard has been dispatched to the House of Egne."

The House of Egne.

One of the most powerful families in the Empire. It was also the family of the first Empress, who gave birth to the princes.

The suspicion I had briefly considered seemed to fit, but it felt strangely close. The situation was too smooth.

The circumstances were perfect, but a family as powerful as the House of Egne wouldn't act so carelessly.

They knew the Empire's dogs well.

If the Empress had died, the maid who served the wine would have been dragged away, and it was only a matter of time before the name was revealed.

'Maybe they planned to eliminate the maid?'

Even if I thought that, there were too many holes in the plan. There was something I was missing.

It felt like a well-designed scenario, raising doubts.

Wait. What if the real target wasn't the Empress but the House of Egne, which would be suspected?

Who would want that?

The Princess or the Empress? Two names immediately came to mind. They were powerful forces supporting the princes.

But it was impossible.

I would have known in advance. The Empress and Princess's reactions weren't strange, and they didn't have the power.

Suddenly, a thought flashed through my mind.

'Could it be... the Emperor?'

If one of the princes took the throne after the Emperor's death, the biggest obstacle would be the House of Egne.

A powerful noble family, the prince's maternal family, and even a meritorious family in the process of becoming Emperor.

Thinking about it, the Emperor had a valid reason to attack the House of Egne.

He wouldn't want an Empire controlled by another family. It was a necessary task.

While it might not have been necessary to kill the Empress, he was a cold-blooded person who didn't have affection for his family.

To create a pretext to attack the House of Egne, he would be willing to sacrifice the Empress's life.

"I will take my leave. Oh, Kael Schurtaffen, is that right?"

After a brief moment of thought, Ryudern called me.

"Yes."

"The Emperor wants to see you. Follow me."

I immediately looked at the Princess. Even if the Emperor called, my current master was the Princess.

Erendil gave his permission.

"Go and come back. When