Chapter 54
Chapter 54
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 54
Chapter Title: I Came to Report
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“Did you cause trouble?”
“No, but what if I did…….”
“What kind of trouble are you thinking of causing?”
“Um, the kind that might be a bit too much for me to handle on my own, since I’m still a minor?”
“…….”
“I know it’s funny coming from someone who just boasted about living her own life from now on, but still.”
I fidgeted with the doorknob, stealing glances at Dad’s expression.
He stared at me with an inscrutable look for a moment before closing the book he’d had open on his lap with a snap.
Then he asked,
“Theft? Arson? Murder?”
“……Pardon?”
“I’m asking what level of trouble you’re planning.”
“Um…….”
A little flustered, I scratched my cheek before answering.
“For example, something that seriously violates Imperial Law? The kind where you could even get sentenced to death if things go wrong? Like threatening the life of a member of the imperial family…….”
“Hmm.”
Dad crossed his legs with a click and slowly closed his eyes, tilting his head back.
“You wouldn’t cause that kind of trouble without reason.”
“Of course not. I have no intention of becoming a criminal, but if I did something deserving punishment, I’d accept it willingly. The trouble I’m talking about is more like…….”
“…….”
“When I unintentionally cause a problem. No malice, no planning, but an unexpected situation arises, and I end up half-unjustly shouldering the blame—”
“Rubette.”
“Yes.”
Dad rose from his seat and strode toward me.
Up close, his gaze burned fierce as a beast’s as he looked down at me. I shrank back a little.
“Saying this might disappoint you.”
“No, no. Please, speak freely. I wasn’t exactly expecting much anyway…….”
“After having you kids, I realized I’m not all that moral of a person.”
“Pardon?”
What’s he on about? Before I could puzzle it out, Dad continued.
“When I was around your age, there were always those reckless noble young masters causing trouble at that level—bordering on criminal.”
“…….”
“Even when their kids stirred up that much chaos, I never once saw parents who disciplined them strictly. If you really care for your child, you have to scold them when it’s necessary.”
“Y-Yes, exactly.”
“So I thought, when I have kids someday, I’ll never be weak like those parents, never let myself be swayed or lenient.”
“Yeah. I think that’s the right way to raise them too…….”
“But when I actually had kids, it didn’t work out that way.”
“…….”
Dad chuckled lightly and pinched my cheek.
“It was when Viego was seven. Back when your mother was still alive.”
“…….”
“One day, he came home with a massive black eye. He’d fought with a brother five years older than him. I lost it and stormed over to that guy’s house, but he was already beaten to a pulp, half-dead.”
“……Looks like Brother Viego gave way worse than he got.”
“Yeah. But I couldn’t even see where that punk had landed hits. There might’ve been a reason for the fight, and Viego could’ve been at fault, but the circumstances didn’t matter to me.”
“…….”
“If your mother hadn’t stopped me, I might’ve torn that house apart.”
Not exactly something to brag about.
Catching my awkward expression, Dad chuckled again and added,
“Of course, it turned out the kid had it coming.”
“Brother Viego wouldn’t beat someone who didn’t deserve it.”
“Right. But even if he hadn’t deserved it, I would’ve lost it just the same. Realizing that made me understand something.”
“…….”
“A parent’s heart—it’s bound to go weak no matter what their kid does.”
Dad added casually,
“And I’m the worst of the bunch.”
“I can see that.”
“Even if one of my kids turned criminal overnight and ended up in prison, I couldn’t just ignore it. All I have is this family’s power, enough to pull strings even before the law.”
“You know that’s not something to boast about, right?”
“I know. That’s why I said I’m not that moral.”
“Yeah. So to make sure you don’t abuse your power, we’ll grow up without causing any trouble.”
“Well, that’d be best. But you asked what I’d do if you did cause trouble.”
“Yeah. Just in case. Later on…….”
Dad bent his knees to meet my eyes at eye level.
“In this empire right now, there’s nothing I can’t handle. Even if you committed a real crime, I’d find a way to fix it—but if it’s an unintentional accident, all the more so.”
“…….”
“You’re still young, and it’s natural to be lacking. And as your father, I have a duty to look after you and take responsibility.”
“…….”
“So you don’t need to worry that I’d pretend not to know if you caused trouble. I won’t.”
Dad ruffled my hair as he finished.
“I have no intention of being harsh over your little mistakes, nor do I expect you to be perfect.”
He was clearly answering the tantrum I’d thrown once upon a time.
“You didn’t think I was a disgrace to the family?”
“I mean, trying to live up to an amazing dad like you, I’m lacking in all sorts of ways.”
How much had we misunderstood each other?
“Yes.”
“…….”
“Thank you, Dad.”
My chest grew a little tight.
* * *
The imperial family was in an uproar.
The 1st Princess, Bella van Rashma Decard, had fallen into an unwakable sleep.
What had reduced the already frail Bella to a state where she couldn’t even wake was the tea gifted by her younger sister, the 5th Princess Lizbet.
The substance in the tea was a drug called Palegro.
A type of poison that inflicted fatal damage to the brain, leaving the consumer in a coma.
“Until the council decides on an appropriate punishment, confine the 5th Princess to the Tower of Silence on a provisional basis.”
The Emperor declared it himself.
With dozens of imperial children, the Decard Empire—where succession struggles were fierce—dealt harshly with acts threatening the life of a sibling by blood.
Killing a sibling with clear evidence meant paying with one’s life, imperial or not.
Lizbet being the child of the Empress, the primary wife, or her youth offered no pardon.
The imperial family buzzed daily with speculation on what punishment Lizbet would receive.
“They won’t sentence her to death, right?”
“Her Highness the 1st Princess didn’t die, after all…….”
The silver lining was that 1st Princess Bella hadn’t died.
So the young Lizbet wouldn’t pay with her life.
However.
“Then Her Highness the 5th Princess will be deposed.”
“Deposition is a given, probably. Even if she claims innocence…….”
“With no mitigating evidence at all.”
Lizbet claimed innocence, but nothing backed her up.
“There’s a sorcerer’s shop in the capital. I’ll tell you where. I got it from that woman. I really, truly thought it was…… medicine that would cure Sister Bella.”
Sorcerer.
Sorcerer’s shop.
Nothing in Lizbet’s claims existed in reality.
If someone could just confirm the existence of this ‘sorcerer’?
The imperial family might investigate the suspicious case more actively……
Unfortunately, all of Lizbet’s words were a mirage.
“If she only gets deposed, that’d be fortunate. Hopefully she avoids lifelong confinement on Baden Island.”
The council nobles gathered at the palace daily to debate Lizbet’s punishment.
But no matter how long their discussions dragged, without even a shred of evidence for her innocence……
She faced deposition at minimum—or, in the worst case, confinement, the harshest penalty reserved for imperial kin.
* * *
Scratch, scratch.
The feeble nib scraped across blank paper.
Crown Prince Lark van Rashumah Decard set down his pen after a long while and slowly tilted his head back.
His face was gaunt from sleepless nights.
“Damn it…….”
A weary voice slipped from his lips.
By the Emperor’s order, Lark headed the investigation into the incident.
“If you can’t prove Lizbet’s innocence, at least clear any suspicion on you. Investigate the case yourself, and personally carry out whatever punishment is decided for Lizbet.”
Coincidentally, the suspect Lizbet was Lark’s full younger sister, while the victim Bella held the next imperial succession right after him.
It was a situation ripe for suspicions that the Crown Prince Lark had orchestrated it, and the Emperor had handed him the reins to quash that.
To coldly decide and execute punishment on his own full sister.
“I’m going mad.”
Muttering through gritted teeth, Lark straightened and scanned his packed schedule calendar.
He paused.
10:00 AM, Rubettria Diorus.
Perhaps because it was hard to meet the busy Lark privately.
Just the other day, Rubette had formally requested a private audience through the palace, and it was scheduled.
‘Ten o’clock…….’
Five minutes ago.
“Your Highness, Duchess Rubettria Diorus has arrived for today’s private audience.”
“Yeah, send her in.”
Right on cue, an attendant announced from outside the office, and soon Rubette peeked her face in.
She entered the office carrying a leather bag slung over her side—hardly matching her pretty dress—and greeted him.
“Hello, Your Highness the Crown Prince.”
“Yes, it’s been a while.”
Rubette let out a deep sigh at the sight of Lark, who plastered on a full smile despite clearly not being in the mood.
She slowly approached him.
“What brings you here?”
“Well, it’s nothing major.”
Rubette glanced at one corner of Lark’s desk. A video crystal was installed, recording constantly.
She sat across from him so her face was clearly visible to the crystal, then opened her bag and pulled something out.
“……?”
A small vial. Lark’s eyes widened in recognition.
It looked exactly like the one Lizbet claimed she’d gotten from the sorcerer—the same type submitted as evidence to the investigation team.
Staring straight at the stunned Lark, Rubette said,
“I came to report it.”