TEWMDD30

Episode 30

No one would have noticed—not even my lord or his so-called “granddaughter.”

But Logan Anderson had always been quietly at their side.

When that child was first granted an audience with His Majesty, Logan had been there. When His Majesty called her into his study for the first time, Logan had been there. When the unthinkable happened—the Emperor himself seating the girl upon his knee—or even when he set aside his work to fetch her a gift from the laboratory… Logan had borne silent witness.

How is that even possible?

Halfway down the corridor toward the lab, Logan found himself lost in thought.

As far as he knew, his liege—the Emperor himself—was not the sort to keep a child near. The man had never once spoken a word of warmth even to his own children.

And yet in so short a time, he’s let her steal his heart.

To be fair, there was something undeniably unusual about the child.

She assessed her surroundings with startling speed, showed not the slightest fear before the Emperor, and neither cried nor threw tantrums like other children her age.

Above all… she is impossibly endearing.

Logan’s lips curved faintly as he recalled Cecilia’s bright little face.

The pink hair, in truth, felt like cheating. Two long braids of rose-colored silk magnified her charm to unbearable levels.

Still… why would His Majesty entrust this to me of all people?

Of all men in the palace, Logan was known for his severe, icy features—so much so that servants had nicknamed him “the man most likely to give you a heart attack if you run into him suddenly.”

And yet he handed me this?

Unable to resist, Logan unfolded the crumpled note in his hand. The handwriting was unmistakably childish, each letter pressed with stubborn care.

***

This is something I made yesterday.
Please don’t tell my mom or dad!
I’ll be in so much trouble!

P.S. Grandpa said it has to be a secret too.

***

…Strangely enough, the postscript read more like the main point.

All right, good!

She had even entrusted the delivery to the “scary secretary uncle.” That part should be safe, then.

As for why she had chosen him among so many… the answer was simple.

Because he looks scary.

He probably had no idea, but the truth was plain: Logan looked frightening. So frightening, in fact, that even a polite request sounded like a threat when it came from him.

Curiously, when he’s beside His Majesty, his presence all but disappears.

That, perhaps, was because the Emperor’s own presence was overwhelming.

The girl tilted her head, then offered a silent apology to the researchers who were now, no doubt, receiving her “request.”

Sorry, brothers and sisters. Getting a scary note out of nowhere must have startled you.

But it couldn’t be helped. If the ingredients for the glitter powder leaked back to her parents, she’d be finished.

After all, her “special laboratory” was supposed to be nothing more than a place for “playing Kyle Blake.”

Anyway, that problem was… more or less solved.

Now comes the real one.

Resting her chin in her palm, she heaved a long sigh.

How in the world am I supposed to find the one who wants to kill Mom?

That was certainly important. But even more pressing was—

Even if I do find them, how do I convince anyone else?

The simplest, most straightforward method would be to reveal the existence and effect of her “sneeze powder.”

But after much thought, she had decided it must remain a secret for now.

It wasn’t only because her parents would confiscate it.

Berthold must never learn it exists.

Imagine announcing: “This powder reveals who bears malice toward me!”

At first everyone would gape, then—backed by her parents’ testimony—people would believe. Even Berthold.

And once he knew, his schemes would only grow more cunning. Then whether she could stop him at all would become uncertain, and her mother’s life would hang in the balance.

From there, the family would collapse, society would crumble, the world itself would end…

No, no, no! Absolutely not!

She shook her head violently to cast away the bleak visions.

Better to bury it deep.

The researchers and Grandpa already knew the ingredients, but not the powder’s effect.

Grandpa would never bother experimenting—such things didn’t interest him. As for the researchers, even if they figured it out, well…

They don’t seem the type to go gossiping anyway.

They hadn’t even known the most famous rumors about her parents, the current darlings of the imperial court.

Satisfied with her reasoning, she nodded.

No friends. Therefore safe.

Still…

“Ugh.”

How on earth was she supposed to prove someone’s guilt beyond question?

Her sigh drew her grandfather’s attention from across the sitting room, where he was leafing through documents.

“Is something troubling you?” he asked.

She let out another long breath before replying.

“Why won’t bad people ever admit they’ve done bad things?”

“Has someone treated you cruelly?”

“Well… not exactly. More like they plan to…”

Strictly speaking, they probably already had.

She traced the grain of the table with one finger as her thoughts wandered.

The Empress had collapsed from a sudden surge of lethal mana. And when she awoke—her maid had looked upon her savior, Mother, with naked hostility.

Suspicious doesn’t even begin to cover it.

It might be a leap to say the maid had tried to kill the Empress… but leaving the matter alone felt impossible.

Not just because the woman posed a threat to Mother—though that was reason enough.

But more than that—

She’s someone Mom cares about.

The night before they came to the palace, Mother had told her that just as Cecilia wished for her to live a long life, so too there were people Mother hoped would live long lives.

How could Cecilia turn a blind eye, knowing someone might harm that precious person?

“If only there were a way for everyone to see instantly that someone was guilty,” she murmured. “Then I wouldn’t have to worry like this.”

Maybe I should ask Dad to invent something like that…

She was still pouting over the thought when her grandfather set his papers aside and spoke, voice calm and even.

“It isn’t as if no such method exists. That is why Verbium was created, after all.”

Her eyes widened.

“Verbium? What’s that?”

“A potion that compels truth. One must answer any question honestly. In short, a confession draught.”

“Whoa.”

So such a wondrous elixir existed? Well, it made sense. In a world of endless wars, a great power was bound to have something like that.

Wait—does that mean… could we use it on Berthold too?

But her hopes were dashed an instant later.