Chapter 6

The carriage carrying Siena and me left Temseugung Palace and sped toward the Imperial Palace where the Emperor and Empress resided.

In fact, each palace where the royals resided had a high-level wizard capable of teleportation stationed there.

However, the reason we specifically took a carriage to the Imperial Palace was to give the Third Princess Anais time to prepare. Time to prepare for the filial daughter’s reception.

“Will Anais come out?”

“That honored person… I’ve heard she has many connections with the nobles. Especially influential nobles involved in banking and trade.”

“They move for their interests, after all.”

“There will undoubtedly be nobles who will advise a proactive response in order to curry favor with the Third Princess.”

Siena nodded, anticipating a meeting with her half-sister.

If I hadn’t intervened, Siena would have charged alone into the Imperial Chambers with opium.

If the Empress appeared cautious, Siena was prepared to flash a smile and gulp down a sip of opium-laced wine while declaring, “I see you don’t trust me.” Such audacity would’ve pressured the Empress into drinking the opium herself, quickly leading her to ruin.

‘This is definitely the better option.’

I glanced at the luxurious medicinal chest, silently rehearsing the prepared scenario.

A while passed in silence.

Only when the view of the Imperial Palace began to appear through the window did Siena glance at me, a smile still gracing her lips.

“Alan.”

“Speak, Your Highness.”

“If this goes awry, responsibilities must be shouldered. If the Empress… consumes psilocybin and any mishap occurs, I’ll pretend to be confused and deny responsibility. You will have to handle it appropriately.”

“Yes. If anything goes wrong, I shall relinquish my knighthood.”

“Don’t worry. No one’s going to die. Ideally, I’ll merely have your title stripped, and you’ll continue working under me unofficially.”

“…”

“How about managing the arena?”

It was a favor even if the plan failed—an offer to secure my livelihood. Though it involved working under her in the underground arena and dealing with lowlifes watching dogfights, that life was far better than being pushed into the narcotics trade.

With some motivation regained by avoiding the worst-case scenario, I affirmed my position.

“I’m willing to accept it.”

“Relax your expression. If we succeed, I’ll keep my promise. Not just the 1 million talers you requested… but an equivalent value of goods will be given to you.”

Goods instead of cash? It was curious but not worth pressing for clarification. After all, dealing with the immediate task came first.

“Your Highness, the Imperial Princess, we have arrived.”

The carriage had finally reached the Imperial Palace grounds.

The Royal Guard, clad in red uniforms, lined up to welcome the Emperor’s immediate family, and even the Chief Steward awaited our arrival. Seemingly judging that a larger audience suited her purpose, Siena nodded with a brightened expression.

“Second Princess, would you like to meet His Majesty? He is currently in the Audience Chamber.”

“I wish to see Her Majesty the Empress first. Please lead the way.”

Siena’s visage had now lost its smile.

She was dressed in a dress that somewhat aligned with the Imperial Court’s protocol—a flowing gown in white and red.

Even her neatly styled silver hair was adorned with a cute tiara.

At a glance, she appeared to be the perfect, concerned princess ready to visit her unwell mother. To me, she was simply a target that needed to be distanced from as soon as possible.

Tension filled the air as we made our way to the Empress’s chambers.

It wasn’t just my mood; the palace attendants all looked down as they observed us, and the Royal Guard held their weapons at the ready, their expressions hardened. They clearly sensed that something was about to occur.

We confirmed the reason for the tension upon arriving at the audience chamber.

“It’s been a while, sister.”

Third Princess Anais had personally come to greet us.

Of mixed heritage, she had black hair. Perhaps because she was one of the protagonist candidates from the original work, she was naturally beautiful. Though I wasn’t in a position to appreciate such things at the moment.

The fact that she was here, where she should’ve been at the Academy receiving classes, likely meant that she had obtained intelligence about her half-sister Siena.

Supportive nobles stood around her like a protective wall.

‘She judged that witnesses were necessary.’

This was a clear indication that she had decided to confront outright.

From the corner of my eye, I noticed Siena suppressing a smile, biting her lips instead. She seemed to be restraining herself for a greater pleasure to come.

From here, it was all about acting.

After a brief standoff, Siena stepped forward as per our prearranged plan.

“Anais, I didn’t expect to see you here.”

Siena’s greeting was delivered in a trembling voice. Her lips carried an awkward smile, and her hands gripping the hem of her dress were tense, as if she had something to hide.

‘That level of acting is appropriate. If she trembled too obviously, it might arouse suspicion.’

Her subsequent actions were equally natural. After gauging the situation, Siena muttered, “I guess we’ll have to set a time for another meeting,” and began to step back, subtly nodding to me to act. To onlookers, she appeared desperate to flee.

Her performance seemed to bolster the Third Princess’s confidence.

“There’s no need, Sister. We shouldn’t inconvenience someone with the same errand twice.”

“Anyway, it’s not an important task.”

“Not important? I heard you found a medicine to heal our mother. I was so delighted upon hearing that I rushed over here.”

“You… no, what do you even intend to do?”

Siena paused briefly, her eyes widening as she growled.

Anais chuckled warmly at her reaction.

“Nothing specific, just have a question for you.”

“What is it?”

“I find it odd how cautious you’re being, Sister. If the remedy is so wonderful, shouldn’t you have offered it immediately?”

This was an attitude one wouldn’t display unless assuming that Siena had brought poisonous herbs.

It was also proof that our bait, Bono, dispatched earlier, had done a stellar job—perhaps pretending to be a morally upright whistleblower while crying.

“Sister, since the remedy is so great, could you give me an opportunity to broaden my knowledge?”

“I don’t understand your intentions.”

“I’m not implying distrust, but it’s the first I’ve heard of a medicine for homesickness, so I even asked the professor who teaches herbal studies.”

“And?”

“The professor said there’s no such medicine. But in the process, I heard something intriguing… Sister, do you know what happens when someone with a mental illness appears in a busy, impoverished area?”

“I don’t. Enlighten me.”

As the two princesses escalated their confrontation, the atmosphere in the hall grew colder.

Unlike Siena, who was acting, Anais appeared genuinely tense. Beads of sweat formed on her forehead, and she hesitated before releasing her next attack.

Even with her familial ties, openly challenging her half-sister wasn’t easy. But it was too late to pull back—she had already spoken too much.

Finally, Anais slowly spoke.

“Patients are often given a plant called poisonous herbs to subdue them, even administered to infants. While prolonged use can lead to blindness or wasting disease, impoverished people don’t have the luxury to be picky.”

Silence followed this declaration.

‘She believes we brought the actual poisonous herbs.’

Through this statement, her words were tantamount to accusing another princess: “Are you planning to feed our mother poisonous herbs?” This took place in front of dozens of witnesses. A direct confrontation between the two princesses might’ve caused fewer controversies.

Though not entirely anticipated, Anais had cleared the way. Rejecting her accusations wasn’t an option.

“Third Princess, may I offer a comment?”

I interjected, breaking the silence.

“A mere knight…”

“I deeply apologize, but I couldn’t bear witnessing the disruption of the harmony among esteemed members. With your permission, I have just one question: are you suggesting this medicine contains poisonous herbs?”

“Not exactly.”

“I trust you wouldn’t make wild accusations without basis.”

The Third Princess pursed her lips, as if to say, “Why is this kid acting this way?”

Typically, this would have been the moment for her supporters to interject and escalate the situation, but Anais’s followers watched in silence with strained expressions. Perhaps they were either important bankers or securities exchange chairpersons whose statuses made them reluctant to act, or they were merely reading the situation.

“I am appalled, Your Highness, for bringing up accusations of poisoning.”

“When did I…!”

Anais protested but was ignored.

It was time to enlighten the Third Princess, who was swayed by a baseless conspiracy theory.

She would have tough times ahead once this event concluded, but it was unavoidable—my circumstances weren’t easy either.

“Alan Medoff? I’ve heard your name. How do you intend to handle the consequences of your actions toward me?”

“I can’t confidently handle the repercussions—truthfully, I’m afraid. But as a knight, I must preserve my lord’s honor, so I’m stepping forward despite my fear.”

“…”

I briefly wore a pensive smile, then opened the medicinal chest.

Inside were white pills made from hallucinogenic mushrooms, though more than half were mere fakes, carefully crafted to look similar.

Naturally, they were prepared as part of our deception.

I immediately ate one of those pills.

“Sir Alan, what are you doing!”

“There’s only one way to demonstrate their harmlessness. As someone without nostalgia disorder, I won’t feel any effect. But if my mere tasting is insufficient for your satisfaction then… unfortunately, I have no choice. Princess Siena?”

Upon my signal, Siena picked up one of the fake pills with a resigned smile.

“Eventually, I’m subjected to this humiliation. I won’t forget this, Anais.”

While glaring straight at the Third Princess, she swallowed the pill.

“Huh?”

“Now are your suspicions cleared?”

The Third Princess Anais’s face contorted drastically.

She realized something had gone wrong but it was too late.