Chapter 165

Two days later.

Contrary to my expectations, there were no rumors of Matthias being dead or missing. Although he refused invitations and visits from others and spent the entire day with the Empress, it was said that many people witnessed him wandering around with her.

Among the nobles, there was a consensus that since the prince was still a boy and had reunited with his mother after five years, it was understandable…

“It is indeed suspicious that he even refused my request for an audience,” Lacey said with a hardened expression.

Well, even though Matthias is a priest of the rival Shaulite Order, the two orders are not enemies. It’s just a matter of power competition, but refusing to meet the saint candidate of the opposing order at all is undeniably suspicious.

“So, what was it… the Secret Martyr Apostles? Have you decided to contact them?”

“For now, I plan to wait and see a bit more. There must be a limit to unconditionally refusing others’ requests for an audience, so he will likely show a different move soon. I want to confirm that.”

—

It only took two days for Lacey’s words to be proven true.

On the evening of the third day, Matthias headed to the Rose Pavilion outside the capital to meet his sister Leonor.

On the morning of the fourth day, he was found in pieces, a mutilated corpse.

The capital was in an uproar. Following the disappearance of the 5th Prince Joseph, another royal tragedy had occurred.

—

…So, he really died.

The smoke I exhaled was bitter. Although I had already anticipated it, I couldn’t completely shake off the creeping sense of unease.

That morning, I headed to the 1st Prince’s Palace at Leopold’s invitation. I wonder how long it had been since my last visit.

The office door was wide open. Strangely, the royal guard I had seen before… what was his name, Hector? Anyway, that guy was nowhere to be seen.

Leopold was sitting in a chair inside the office, seemingly unable to hide his anxiety, tapping the desk repeatedly with his fingers. His other hand was clutching his forehead.

I knocked on the open door to announce my presence. Only then did Leopold notice me and raise his head.

“Ah, Princess. Thank you for coming. Please, come in.”

After stepping into the office, I placed a hand on my chest, bowed, and greeted him.

“It’s been a while, Your Highness Leopold. Is this the first time we’ve met since the Einfeldt battle? Have your injuries from that time healed?”

“The injuries were healed quickly thanks to the priests. It must have been a sudden invitation, so thank you for coming so promptly.”

Up close, Leopold’s complexion was unusually pale. His neatly combed hair was slightly disheveled, and traces of cold sweat still lingered on one cheek.

Even for him, Matthias’s death must have been an unexpected turn of events.

“Given the circumstances, I had to come. I heard that Prince Matthias was murdered. Is it true? How did it happen…?”

I already knew he was dead, but I feigned ignorance and asked. It would be good to hear how the royal family was informed.

“Unfortunately, it is true. He was found in a gruesome state, with only his lower half remaining, buried under the wreckage of a carriage on the way to Leonor’s villa. The paladin in charge of his escort also died in the line of duty.”

“Regret, is it? I would have thought it was something you’d welcome, Your Highness Leopold.”

As I sat on the sofa in the office, I let out a remark. It must have been too blunt, as Leopold awkwardly stroked his chin.

“Princess, you might need to relearn the Imperial language. Just using honorifics isn’t enough…”

What’s this? He seems more serious than I thought. Wouldn’t Leopold benefit from the severed close ties between the Ernst faction and the church due to Matthias’s death?

“Of course, if it had been Isabella or Ernst, I would have raised a toast of joy. But Matthias was still a child.”

“Weren’t you planning to eliminate him once you ascended the throne? You wouldn’t want to leave any loose ends.”

After all, Matthias, who lost his mother and brother, might harbor a desire for revenge against Leopold. No, it’s only natural to seek revenge.

“Good heavens, did you think of me as that much of a cold-blooded person…? I had no such intentions. If he had quietly left for the Holy Kingdom and never returned to the Empire, I would have let him be.”

“Is that so? My apologies.”

Well, what’s the difference? Saying you’d let him be if he stayed quiet means you’d have disposed of him at the slightest suspicious move.

Leopold nodded lightly, as if it didn’t matter.

“Good. We don’t have time to waste, so let’s move past the mourning and get straight to the point.”

“The point?”

Leopold let out a deep sigh.

“Things are turning very serious. And not in my favor.”

—

The investigation team arrived at the scene.

They concluded that this incident was an attack by monsters.

The evidence was the carriage completely shattered, claw marks left on the wreckage, and bodies that were more than half gone as if they had been eaten.

Around the scene, faint traces of magic and strange footprints presumed to be from monsters were also found.

At the very least, since a paladin had been killed, the possibility of it being the work of mere monsters or thieves was nonexistent.

Of course, it was a story no one would believe.

What were the actual odds of Isabella’s children dying in a monster attack, not once but twice?

Monster traces could easily be fabricated, so anyone would suspect foul play.

And indeed, they did.

Upon hearing the investigation results, people began pouring out their own speculations about the true nature of the incident, as if they were investigators themselves.

Though they called it speculation, it was no different from spreading rumors.

Among them, there was even a rumor that Prince Leopold had ordered his subordinate to assassinate Matthias.

Though it was a conspiracy theory targeting a strong candidate for the throne, no one was foolish enough to openly claim it.

“Such nonsense, can’t you just dismiss it as slander?”

“It’s not that simple… The problem is, half of it is true…”

What?

It’s mixed with truth?

My mind snapped awake.

…What on earth does that mean?

“Wait, did you really order the assassination? Just a moment ago, you said it was regrettable?”

I thought Isabella was the one who killed him.

I didn’t think Leopold would do something so insane.

“I never gave such an order. However, the one who killed Matthias… was my knight, Sir Hector.”

Leopold gritted his teeth.

He seemed to have completely abandoned any sense of royal dignity.

“…I see. That’s why the knight was missing?”

“Exactly. He’s been missing since yesterday… He’s probably not even alive anymore.”

I could roughly guess what had happened.

Isabella must have framed Hector to make it look like he killed Matthias.

Whether Hector was a traitor from the start or if something happened to him because of Isabella, I couldn’t tell.

“That’s why we’re in a very difficult situation.”

Leopold let out a sigh.

======[Isabella]=======

“But, Your Majesty, do you think people will really believe that story?”

In Isabella’s bedroom.

Under the bed, unconscious boys were sprawled out, and on the bed, two naked women were entangled with each other.

One was voluptuous, the other youthful.

Both bore clear signs of passion, looking utterly indecent.

Isabella’s handmaiden, Silvia, wrapped her arms around the Empress’s waist and rubbed her flushed cheek against her.

The girl who was Kenneth Bernstein’s sister.

Her pupils were half-dilated, intoxicated by drugs and pleasure.

Isabella stroked Silvia’s hair and smiled.

“Silvia. When people hear an outrageous explanation, they naturally become suspicious. They’ll think there must be some hidden truth. If you subtly feed them a more plausible lie, as if the truth they were hiding was accidentally revealed, what do you think will happen?”

For that purpose, she deliberately left just enough traces of Hector.

Enough for someone investigating to stumble upon them if they were lucky.

“Some might still doubt it. But most people will say, ‘See! I knew my suspicions were right!’ and be satisfied. And once satisfied, they stop thinking. They don’t realize it’s a lie and believe it to be the truth.”

It wasn’t as simple as it sounded. Leaving traces intentionally but carefully gauging the right balance was crucial.

If Hector’s traces were too easy to find, people would suspect it was staged. But if they were too hard to find, they might not notice at all.

It had to be just the right level of difficulty—enough to give the discoverer a sense of self-satisfaction.

It had been a bit clumsy during Joseph’s time, but this time, even Isabella herself thought it was perfect.

“Is that so…?”

“That’s right. Now, enough of this headache-inducing talk. Come here.”

With a sweet smile, Isabella cupped Silvia’s face and gently lifted it.

“Yes…!”

Silvia giggled and kissed the Empress.