“Really?”
“Yes. Upon hearing the news, His Majesty immediately convened a summary trial in the banquet hall of the detached palace to verify the facts… And to hear testimony regarding the incident, he sent servants to fetch a physician right away.”
At Mela’s words, Red nodded grimly and rose to his feet.
“I understand. Let’s go immediately.”
“Wait.”
At that moment, Daniela grabbed Red’s collar. Then, as he turned to her with a puzzled expression, she said,
“I want to come, too. I need to see with my own eyes who did this to me, and why. And my testimony might be needed as well, right?”
“No, my lady! You need to rest!”
“Take me with you. That’s an order, Mela.”
Daniela insisted firmly, her face set. Mela sighed, clearly unsure what to do. Red gave a bitter smile and said to her,
“Could you please inform His Majesty’s servants that the Grand Duchess needs her antidote prepared, and ask them to wait just a little longer?”
Upon receiving word from the Empress, the Emperor immediately called off the hunt and summoned all the royals and nobles to the banquet hall of the detached palace.
Before long, what was originally intended to be a grand celebration for the hunting festival was turned into a courtroom to judge the crimes of Emily Linburton and her maid.
The Emperor looked down coldly at the kneeling pair below the imperial throne and questioned sternly.
“Is this maid’s testimony true, Lady Emily Linburton?”
“…No, Your Majesty. I am innocent. That maid is falsely accusing me of her own crime.”
Emily bit her lower lip. The moment she admitted the truth, everything would be over. She had to find a way to survive this situation.
‘No one knows yet that I tried to harm that girl with the Flower of Saint Polana. So I have to deny it until the end.’
From the looks of it, the Grand Duke had failed to catch the assassin who attacked Daniela. He was tenacious—if he was still alive, he’d be hiding well.
She just had to get through this moment.
In half a day, the remaining traces of the Flower of Saint Polana would vanish from Daniela’s body.
In the meantime, Emily only needed to get rid of that item she had used to control Daniela. Then no one would be able to point to her as the culprit.
Confident in that, Emily spun her lie with a brazen face.
‘I should’ve killed her the moment they dragged her out of that tent.’
Ashid clenched the sword at his waist tightly, his gaze murderous as he glared at her.
While he was busy scouring the forest for the man who had attacked Daniela, the Emperor had summoned this sudden trial upon receiving word from the Empress—and had taken Emily with him.
Because of that, he had given Emily time to come up with her excuses. He cursed himself for not taking action sooner.
Adrian looked between Emily and Ashid with a confused gaze.
He found it hard to believe Emily would attempt to poison Daniela. But at the same time, Ashid wasn’t the kind of man who would make accusations without solid evidence.
The Emperor frowned, tapping the armrest of the throne with his fingers.
“There’s still no word from the servant sent to bring the physician?”
“I’ll go myself.”
Ashid rose to his feet in response. He planned to check on Daniela’s condition as well while he was at it.
“Forgive me for the delay, Your Majesty.”
At that moment, the banquet hall doors opened and Daniela entered, supported by Red. Everyone gathered gasped in shock at the sight of her.
Ashid let out a brief, bitter laugh and jumped down from the platform. With a growl in his voice, he demanded,
“What do you think you’re doing, Daniela? You should still be in bed!”
“I’m sorry. But I wanted to see for myself who tried to kill me. I thought it might be necessary for me to testify as well.”
“And so you drag yourself here before you’ve even recovered? Do you have two lives or something?”
“I value my life, too, so don’t worry. I drank the antidote the physician prepared, so I’ll be fine soon.”
Daniela gestured toward Red as she spoke. Then she glared at Emily, who was still kneeling, with eyes full of contempt. This was unforgivable.
Ashid, looking at her pale face, seethed inwardly.
‘She doesn’t even realize I’m saying this out of worry.’
Seeing her act as if nothing was wrong only made him angrier.
But just as much, the way she looked so fragile in that moment made it impossible to leave her alone.
In an impulsive move, Ashid bent down, lifted Daniela into his arms, and started walking toward the platform. Startled, Daniela tapped his shoulder.
“W-what are you doing?!”
“You said you wanted to see who tried to kill you. I’ll bring you somewhere you can see clearly, so sit still.”
With that, Ashid sat down on the chair prepared on the platform. Daniela, now inadvertently seated on his lap, flushed bright red and lowered her head.
Adrian stared at the two blankly. He was relieved Daniela was safe, but the affectionate scene between the two pricked at his heart for some reason.
The other nobles stole glances at the Grand Duke and Duchess, whispering quietly at the slightly scandalous posture.
Ashid, unbothered by their stares, found a strange sense of relief in the way her heart thumped against him as he whispered lowly,
“If you don’t like this, I can put you down now.”
“N-no, it’s fine.”
If she tried to escape his arms now, people would stare even more and whisper louder. Daniela shook her head.
The Emperor cleared his throat awkwardly a few times and then addressed the hall.
“Let us continue the trial. We’ll hear the Grand Duchess’s testimony later. First, let the physician who treated her step forward.”
As Red bowed before the platform, the Emperor questioned him in a grave tone.
“According to Grand Duke Albrecht, Lady Emily Linburton ordered the maid to poison the Grand Duchess. Is this true?”
“I cannot confirm that Lady Linburton is the culprit. However, it is true that the Grand Duchess nearly lost her life.”
A murmur of shock rippled through the nobles. Adrian also gasped in disbelief. The Emperor, his expression stiff, asked again.
“What kind of poison was used?”
“It was made from the Flower of Saint Polana.”
Emily flinched and trembled at Red’s words. The Emperor continued.
“Isn’t that used as an ingredient in tea to help with sleep? Can someone be killed with it?”
“If you dry the petals and brew them into tea, yes, it aids sleep. But when the fresh flower is pressed into a pure extract, its effects are entirely different.”
“What happens when someone drinks the extract?”
“They gradually lose consciousness and fall into a deep sleep. Then, they lose their sense of self and blindly obey commands from whoever possesses a ‘certain item’… even if that command is to take their own life.”
“And what is this ‘certain item’?”
Red looked at the pearl ring on Emily’s finger and answered,
“It is the seed of the Flower of Saint Polana.”
“…!”
“Because the seed is as beautiful as a pearl, it’s also called the ‘fairy’s tear.’”
Emily hurriedly tried to hide her hand, but it was no use. The royal guards grabbed her wrist and forcibly removed the ring.
After quickly inspecting the pearl set in the ring, Red spoke with certainty.
“It is as I suspected, Your Majesty. Lady Emily Linburton used this seed to manipulate the Grand Duchess while she was drugged.”
“No, Your Majesty! I never did that! This is a setup! I had no idea the gem in my ring was a seed from the Flower of Saint Polana!”
Emily screamed, pleading desperately. Watching the situation spiral, Duke Rodion’s face turned pale.
At this rate, not only Emily, but he himself—who had recommended her as crown princess—might be in danger. Maintaining a calm facade, he said to the Emperor,
“Lady Linburton’s words also make some sense. From what I understand, the extract of the Flower of Saint Polana is only available through a few underground assassin guilds in our empire. Those without connections can’t even approach them. How could a future crown princess be involved with such foul and lowly scoundrels?”
At those words, the Emperor paused, frowning. Rodion’s argument sounded plausible enough that several nobles and royals showed signs of hesitation.
