Chapter 48

Luigi’s Sudden Realization

Luigi had visited Asher several times a day.

Until now, Asher had been buried in a mountain of paperwork, unable to lift his head, so she had passed by silently.

“No need to announce it. If there are guests, it’s only right for me to step aside.”

Today, when Asher was having a conversation with Laura, Luigi had planned to leave.

“I’m grateful to Her Highness, the Princess.”

Although no one had stopped her, those words made Luigi’s feet stop.

What she heard was something completely unexpected—the other person’s sincerity.

‘Has she really thought of me like this?’

Luigi had always assumed that Laura would dislike her.

Every time their faces met, Laura would give her a cold reception, even showing clear signs of distaste.

‘But, she understands me?’

Luigi’s world was narrow. Few people ever crossed the boundaries she set.

Even her husband merely said she had high standards, but he never truly understood the reasons behind them.

‘…So you understood after all.’

Luigi’s actions had been for the empire and for Asher, after all.

Her inner lake, which had been calm since adulthood, suddenly rippled. She didn’t even know whether it was happiness or gratitude that she felt.

The strongest emotion that surfaced from the mixed feelings was guilt.

‘That child, I…’

She took a moment to reflect on what she had been doing since coming to the empire.

She had distanced herself from Laura based on just a few words and her own prejudices.

It was her own distorted views that needed to be corrected.

‘If I had thought about it, there must have been a reason Asher chose Laura.’

She had never even considered that.

She had lived decades longer than her niece, yet couldn’t come to that simple conclusion.

‘I really wasted my life.’

Luigi looked at Asher, sitting across from Laura. His usual expression was stiff, but upon closer inspection, his eyes were relaxed.

Asher genuinely felt at ease in that place.

‘I shouldn’t interfere anymore.’

They were a young couple who had finally managed to find a moment for themselves. She shouldn’t ruin it with her old person’s misunderstandings.

As she quietly moved to leave without making a sound, the next words caught her attention.

“You already know who the culprit is?”

The words that followed made Luigi bite her lower lip and glare back at the office.

Her face flushed with intense anger.

‘Who is it?’

Who would dare commit such a crime during a royal event?

In order to maintain the dignity of the royal family, she could not let this go unpunished.

‘I’ll make sure they pay for this in the hell of repentance.’

Of course, she needed to know the identity of the culprit first.

Luigi was sure that Laura wouldn’t make things up.

“Of course, she’s the kind of child who speaks the truth even behind closed doors.”

Laura must have had her own reasoning and theory for suspecting someone.

‘She’ll just tell me who it is.’

Luigi carefully approached the door, focusing on making no noise.

However, in her attempt to be too quiet, she didn’t notice the bust of the Emperor at waist height.

Crash!

“….”

“…Ah.”

The silence that followed was hellish.

The dense air filled the corridor, and Luigi lowered her head, unable to face Asher, but was instead confronted with the shattered pieces of the bust scattered all the way down the hallway.

Her skin felt like it was burning with embarrassment.

“It’s no big deal, we can continue the conversation.”

Although it sounded like a dismissal, it was impossible to ignore what had just happened.

“I cannot leave such a distinguished guest standing in the corridor. Please, come inside.”

Laura suggested, and soon a teacup was placed in front of Luigi.

The steam rising from the tea tickled her nose, but she couldn’t bring herself to look at either of them. Instead, she repeatedly grasped and released the teacup’s handle, too embarrassed to speak.

However, the awkwardness didn’t last long.

Having already been caught, Luigi decided to satisfy her curiosity.

“Why is it not important to reveal the person who destroyed the refrigeration unit?”

Asher turned his head.

“Wait, what?”

Laura simply smiled, and with that, Asher seemed to piece things together, muttering in a grim tone.

“As soon as the wound on the foot heals, I will arrange for the return to the kingdom.”

Though Luigi couldn’t deduce the culprit just from that, she was still confused.

But she couldn’t immediately voice her doubts, because of what came next.

“Right now, there’s a more urgent matter to address than identifying the culprit, which is why I had to bring Her Highness here.”

“A problem?”

At the same time, Laura’s smile deepened.

“To put it bluntly, it’s because the Second Prince is a piece of garbage.”

What?

Luigi froze in shock at the crude and shocking words.

“It’s urgent, and I’m wondering if you can help?”

Luigi couldn’t move from her seat for a while, stunned by the revelation.

The Second Prince’s Calculations

The Second Prince, Malken, had carefully considered many factors before deciding to kill Princess Luigi.

The imperial banquet hall was the place chosen after a long deliberation.

‘When Princess Luigi dies, both nations will react immediately.’

Luigi was someone of high rank in both nations.

But if she were poisoned during an imperial banquet, and it was revealed that the person responsible was someone sent by the kingdom to attend her, what would happen?

‘Both nations will be in a difficult position.’

From the kingdom’s perspective, one of their own citizens killing the imperial princess would be a problem. From the empire’s perspective, it would be a scandal that a duchess from the kingdom had been killed at a banquet hosted by the empire.

In other words, it would become a matter neither nation would want to deal with.

‘As long as the culprit is found, the investigation will be closed quickly.’

Malken’s original plan was to start a civil war once the ensuing chaos had subsided.

‘Damn it!’

Malken restrained himself from slamming the table, clenching his fists in silence.

The problem arose because Luigi, who was supposed to be dead, was still alive and walking around. Additionally, the secret funds he had prepared for purchasing weapons had been frozen.

“Are you telling me my trading company is under suspicion of money laundering?”

Malken had carefully prepared for the smuggling operation.

He had laundered money through a ghost company and even taken illegal loans to fund the operation.

But now, the accounts had been frozen after being labeled suspicious.

“I need to secure those weapons by any means necessary. If I can’t get them all, I’ll offer a down payment and take what I can. Understood?”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

The smugglers were demanding payment, and Malken, in turn, was struggling to find funds from other sources. Everything had to be done discreetly, and his subordinates were moving quickly through the empire, as Malken, as a foreign dignitary, couldn’t act too suspiciously.

However, as night passed and dawn approached, his subordinates had not returned.

‘Where are they? Why is there no news?’

In the midst of his anxious thoughts, Luigi arrived the next day, bringing Malken the answer.

As he was walking around the garden to calm himself, Malken was greeted by his knights, who forcefully dragged a man in front of him.

“Last night, this man was caught passing through with forged identification. Upon investigation, he had repeatedly walked the same path and met with suspicious individuals. Do you know anything about this?”

The man was disheveled and clearly looked like he had endured harsh treatment. However, Malken instantly recognized him as Olen, one of his most trusted subordinates.

Luigi’s neutral tone didn’t seem like she was concerned, but Malken instinctively sensed that Olen was under suspicion.

‘He’s being suspected.’

The easiest thing would be to abandon Olen and avoid the immediate crisis, but…

‘Without Olen, there’s no throne.’

Olen was an essential part of Malken’s long-term rebellion plans. Without him, many things couldn’t move forward.

Malken took a deep breath, managing to calm himself, and forced a small smile.

“Actually, I happened to witness Lady Ruweiz’s misconduct by chance. I sent Olen to confirm this, nothing more.”

Malken handed over the recorder given to him by Marien. He had originally planned to use it more appropriately, but with the situation being urgent, he had no choice but to use it now.

However, Luigi crossed her arms and didn’t take the recorder.

“If that’s true, why didn’t you tell me immediately after learning about it?”

“Lady Ruweiz could one day become the empress, and if such rumors spread, it could harm the empire’s reputation. Moreover, this is your aunt’s country, and doesn’t your aunt still love the empire?”

It was a reasonable enough excuse, even in Malken’s own opinion.

“Is that all you have to say?”