Selina stepped forward.

“Just a moment, Your Majesty.”

Viola wasn’t particularly surprised by this scene.

She knew from the start that Selina was someone who could interrupt the Emperor.

“No matter how much of an Emperor you are, principles must be upheld.”

Selina glanced at Viola.

“Lady Viola may appoint a defense team if necessary. Everything said here could be detrimental to Lady Viola. If she chooses to appoint a defense team, we can afford to wait.”

Viola snapped back to her senses.

‘Can’t get help from a defense team…’

Selina spoke kindly, but this was a test from Selina.

‘Selina inherently believes in people.’

She doesn’t just trust without reason.

Selina has trust in those who display confidence and honesty.

‘Her insight and intuition are remarkable.’

Thus, Selina could grasp the truth just by observing and testing others.

‘Fumbling around to appoint a defense team would work against me.’

Moreover, Viola was Bellatu.

Would Bellatu appoint a defense team because she couldn’t solve her own problems?

That would be a terrible decision.

“Whatever…!”

This was what she had been dealing with for the past five years.

She had grown quite accustomed to this act, and now the opponents had merely shifted to Nelak and Selina.

“I don’t need help from a defense team.”

“Why not?”

“Because I haven’t committed any wrongdoing that warrants questioning.”

“That’s a matter for His Majesty the Emperor to judge.”

“I believe Selina knows what I am aware of.”

“What does Lady Viola know?”

“Yes. The ‘Heat Wind’ that has been operating covertly for years.”

Selina had known about the Heat Wind for a long time, as described in the novel.

However, the exact timeframe of when “long ago” was had never been mentioned.

‘I hope she knows.’

That’s the first key.

She looked around, but she couldn’t read anything from Selina’s expression or gaze.

‘No, it’s fine if she doesn’t know.’

She thought quickly.

It would be favorable to lead the situation such that even if Selina didn’t know, it wouldn’t matter.

“I knew about the Heat Wind five years ago.”

She made eye contact with Selina again.

It seemed as if she was waiting for Selina’s response.

“At that time, I was seven years old.”

In other words, the implication was that Selina, the chancellor, shouldn’t have known something that seven-year-old Viola did.

Viola didn’t stop there.

“I was only seven, but I think it’s unlikely that Selina didn’t know.”

She subtly revealed trust.

Selina needed to respond.

“Lady Viola is compelling me to answer. My answer must be that I knew.”

Selina smiled cheerfully.

While not providing a precise answer, she had accurately read Viola’s intentions.

Viola smiled back easily—though her heart was trembling internally—and replied.

“Please call it assurance and expectation rather than coercion.”

“I understand the assurance, but what sort of expectation?”

“The Selina I have seen is wiser and greater than anyone else. She even suggested the Golden Road to the Emperor.”

This statement was sincere.

Selina was a character who worked solely for the prosperity and advancement of the Empire rather than political power or profit struggles.

Han Ah-rin liked Selina for that.

“I genuinely liked that side of you, Selina.”

In addition to her acting, she infused sincerity into her words.

The perceptive Selina grasped that sincerity.

“It’s a pleasant thing to receive trust and love from someone. Very well. I knew about the Heat Wind. Was that the response Lady Viola wanted to hear?”

“Yes.”

Viola nodded.

Her tension eased a bit.

Nevertheless, Selina was relatively sensible compared to the utterly nonsensical Bellatu and was not someone like Duke Heron who had to be cautious about everything.

It was far easier to deal with her than with Heron.

“I’ve been investigating the Heat Wind for a long time.”

“Few know about the Heat Wind. It hasn’t even been reported to His Majesty. How did you learn about it?”

“People who have a deep connection with me are involved with the Heat Wind.”

Viola listed their names in succession.

“Tundra, Sir Hixson, Sir Jackal, and even Butler Ersa. They share a common thread.”

“Tundra is Viola’s Partner Sword, Sir Hixson is a comrade of Duke Heron and a former ‘Black Whale,’ Sir Jackal is the Storm Blade, and Butler Ersa… would refer to the Sword Demon of the South?”

“Yes.”

“What commonality do they share?”

“Tundra was kidnapped, and I rescued him. The others had their loved ones abducted as well. Sir Hixson and Butler Ersa lost daughters, while Sir Jackal lost a son.”

Viola steadied her breath and continued calmly.

“While Tundra might be understandable, I thought the others were strong enough that they wouldn’t get kidnapped. Yet they were, and they acted irrationally.”

Hixson had been a recluse, Jackal suddenly opposed Bellatu, and Ersa had made a name as a Sword Demon.

“It’s strange that warriors of that caliber would lose their loved ones, yet they all displayed similarly irrational behavior. Is it not peculiar that three of them would experience such coincidence?”

Separately, any of them might not seem odd, but when connected, it appeared strange.

“So, I deduced that there exists a group that conducts such actions systematically and planned, and I learned that this group is called the Heat Wind.

I request Sir Hixson as a witness to back my claims.”

“You’ve done quite a bit of research on the Heat Wind. I don’t think we need to summon Sir Hixson. I know about the Heat Wind too. So, how did Lady Viola know that a Mana Bomb would explode using humans as intermediaries?”

Viola swallowed silently.

This was the real deal.

“I possess the ‘Killing Star.’”

She glanced at Nelak.

“If it pleases His Majesty and you, Selina, may I show it?”

Nelak nodded.

Viola summoned her killing intent.

The body of protagonist Viola in the novel easily responded to her will.

Viola’s eyes flushed red, starting to emit tremendous killing intent.

Nelak looked at Viola’s eyes.

‘It feels prickly on my skin.’

Never had he seen someone emit such killing intent at the age of twelve.

‘If just counting the killing intent, she’s at least a third-tier knight or higher.

She certainly possessed a natural talent for killing intent that is born once every few hundred years.

He was not hugely surprised.

He hadn’t been ignorant that Viola was born with killing intent.

He was merely confirming what he had known intellectually with his eyes.

“I was born with killing intent and am more sensitive to it than anyone else.”

It’s far easier to raise killing intent than to diminish it.

It usually is.

However, this body was a bit unusual.

The body and mind acted separately, and so if her concentration faltered even slightly, the killing intent that resided within disappeared.

That was what surprised Nelak.

‘She just got rid of her killing intent in an instant?’

She was manipulating killing intent freely.

This signified one thing.

‘I have perfect control over my killing intent.’

Viola was demonstrating this in front of the Emperor of Swords, Nelak.

Those born with killing intent throughout generations are deemed exceedingly dangerous.

Viola was both revealing her killing intent and showcasing her control over it in front of the Emperor.

‘In this situation, she doesn’t exhibit any disarray.’

Not just lacking disarray; she was reaping all possible benefits from this situation.

Truly the demeanor and composure of an Iron-Blooded Princess.

“Being sensitive to killing intent, I could tell that the boy’s condition was abnormal.”

This was, indeed, a lie.

However, thanks to Viola’s previous remarks and confident demeanor, Selina held no doubts.

“And I’ve had similar experiences before, in my beloved store, Azulegia.”

This time, she turned her gaze to Selina.

Selina surely knew about that incident.

It was too significant of a matter.

The beheading incident of Zelton, the first son of the Seaal Viscount House, who had visited Winter Castle.

“I know it well. It was when Lady Viola was dispatched as a special envoy, right? I suspected there was something behind it…”

“Yes. Zelton was under the influence of black magic, and had he been left alone, a massive explosion was likely. Someone was trying to turn Prince Zelton into a living bomb.”

“So, that’s what happened.”

Selina wasn’t particularly shocked.

She was also finished with her inquiries.

While she hadn’t realized the Viscountess’s infidelity, she had found out that Zelton was under the influence of black magic.

Selina nodded her head.

“Seeing that you recognized the existence of the wicked group known as the Heat Wind, and could infer that distinguished warriors acted irrationally, which leads to the understanding that the Heat Wind utilizes black magic, and through the deceased Prince Zelton, you discerned the possibility of a Mana explosion, correct?”

“Yes. And with the power of my Killing Star, I sensed something was wrong with that boy, and I was certain it was a Mana Bomb designed by the Heat Wind. And as you can see, the result speaks for itself.”

Viola intentionally shrugged her shoulders.

Everything was revealed through the results.

There was not a single flaw in Viola’s words, and her demeanor was confident.

Even the Emperor of the Sword was impressed.

‘What a remarkable child.’

No matter how confident she was, it was the first time he’d seen a young noblewoman speak so in front of Nelak and Selina.

However, in truth, Viola felt like crying.

‘Why me!’

It was right to do this to assert her innocence, but Nelak and Selina’s gazes weighed heavily on her.

‘Please don’t look at me so favorably.’

They might scout me for the Empire!

She felt as if she were hearing echoes.

This unfolding situation was not advantageous for Viola at all.

It was akin to escaping the worst and leading into the lesser evil.

‘I just hope there won’t be any problems in my long, slender, and happy life. Please—no. This won’t do.

I need to create a diversion so they don’t scout me.

Viola decided to add one more line.