Overview of the Incident
Count Ludvi Silanda had been indicted for murder.
The investigation fell to Illid, who oversaw the capital’s security. Under normal circumstances the matter should have fallen to Yulian, the knight commander.
Yet His Majesty had deliberately assigned the case to Illid instead. He seemed conscious of the tangled relationships among the Regentera, Lilche, and Silanda families. No doubt he believed Yulian—long close to the Count—could not remain objective.
“At first I thought it was nothing more than a bizarre rumor, but the situation appears far more serious than I imagined.”
Yulian had come to my chambers and made no effort to hide the unease in his eyes.
“I’m in complete chaos, Ishtel. Nobles are rarely arrested on the spot, yet this time the Noble Special Crime Act was invoked and he was transferred directly to the capital prison.”
“To be caught by the very law his own family created…”
During the Regentera family’s internal conflict, nobles had exploited the kingdom’s turmoil to treat commoners with appalling cruelty. In the postwar confusion, many had beaten them—or worse.
The Regentera and Lilche houses had offered various measures to restore public trust, one of which was the Noble Special Crime Act proposed by the Silanda family.
If a noble committed a grave offense—murder or assault—against a commoner, they were to be sent at once to the capital prison to prevent any tampering with evidence.
Once the law took effect and proved its worth, the Regentera and Lilche families, along with the Silandas themselves, earned fervent support from the common people. And now the very Count whose father had drafted that law stood accused under it.
“Still, it was wise of you not to visit him. The three families have upheld this law for years; we cannot be the ones to undermine it. The Lilche Marquisate has also decided against issuing any public statement.”
“Of course. If I stepped forward it would only add fuel to the rumors.”
In another month the current prime minister would step down. No matter how aggressively Ebony Bladin was rising, she was still too young. Moreover, the Bladin family had lost power for so long that she possessed almost no political foundation.
Barring any unforeseen events, the position should have gone to Ludvi Silanda. So why had this happened at precisely this moment?
“In any case, I cannot believe Ludvi Silanda committed murder. You and I both know him, Ishtel. He is not the sort of man who would harm another lightly.”
“True. He has always been so meticulous. I cannot imagine him doing anything that would stain his own honor…”
My throat kept burning. I lifted the teacup and wet my lips. Though the words left my mouth, Yulian continued to frown, clearly troubled. After draining the cup I asked him,
“Then who exactly is the person Count Silanda is accused of killing?”
“The dancer from Pleco Square. A woman who died three years ago.”
“A dancer?”
The image that flashed through my mind was Karina as I had seen her months earlier in the square—dancing beneath a crimson sunset. Then came the pickpocket’s words from that day.
The moment those words resurfaced, an inexplicable sense of dread washed over me. I pushed the discomfort down and asked Yulian again.
“Who is the one who brought charges against Count Silanda?”
“Karina Linton. The maid who serves His Majesty’s tea.”
Of course it was the one name I least wanted to hear.
I remembered what she had told me. I even recalled the thought I’d had that day—that a bloody wind would soon sweep through one of the great houses.
But why would Count Silanda do such a thing?
He had no reason to kill Karina’s sister.
The sisters had lived in hiding. To the world they were nothing more than a poor dancer and a humble apothecary. What possible motive could the master of a prestigious count family have for murdering a dancer?
“What is her grounds for the accusation? Why in the world would the Count have killed a dancer?”
Frustration sharpened my voice before I could stop it. Yulian rubbed his face wearily. Then he delivered a blow that struck like lightning from a clear sky.
“They say the dancer was carrying the Count’s child.”
“Child…? Are you telling me the Count and the dead dancer were lovers?”
“It appears so.”
The unexpected answer drained every ounce of strength from my body. My mind went blank, unable to process the reality before me.
Among the whirlwind of thoughts, the first to surface was the child. If the mother was dead, who was raising her now?
“Where is the child?”
“That’s…”
Once again Yulian struggled to continue. Though frustration welled inside me, I could not bring myself to press him. He, too, had suffered a terrible shock concerning his longtime friend. After a long pause he spoke in a voice thick with bitterness.
“The child is Rubia. The one the Count’s wife presented to us three years ago as a blessing from heaven. They say Rubia is the daughter the dead dancer bore.”
“That’s absurd!”
Rubia had been a long-awaited miracle for a couple who had remained childless for years. She was loved not only by her parents but by both the Regentera and Lilche families as well.
To me, Rubia was especially precious. Though we shared no blood, I had cherished her like my own niece. She, in turn, had always run to me without shyness, and my heart had melted each time.
And now I was being told that Rubia was not the Count’s wife’s child at all. Which meant she was Karina’s niece.
So that was why she entered the palace. To take revenge on the Count and reclaim her sister’s child!
Everything fell into place. The reason she had revealed her identity to me and forced her way into the palace. The person whose heart she needed to win in order to borrow the Emperor’s power. Karina’s blade had been aimed at Count Silanda all along.
“What is the Count’s current condition?”
“He is imprisoned in the capital jail. He denies every charge.”
“What evidence did Karina Linton submit?”
“The autopsy report on the body.”
“That’s all?”
“Yes.”
“She intends to challenge the entire Silanda family with nothing but an autopsy report?”
Something felt wrong. Knowing Karina’s nature, she would never have brought charges without a flawless plan. Even though she currently enjoyed the Emperor’s full favor, this was difficult to accept.
“According to the autopsy, a rare drug was found in the deceased’s body. It causes no side effects in ordinary people, but when ingested by someone suffering from bleeding, it prevents the blood from clotting.”
“So Karina claims the Count forced that drug on her dead sister?”
“Exactly.”
“But that alone is hardly enough evidence. Even if Count Silanda truly did it, he could easily be cleared with false testimony. With their only child’s legitimacy at stake, the Silanda family will not sit idle.”
“Which is why Ebony Bladin is fiercely insisting on a paternity test at the temple.”
“Ebony Bladin? What does she have to do with any of this?”
“She has agreed to appear in court as Karina Linton’s legal representative.”
Ebony and Karina? The pairing was so bizarre I doubted my own ears. Then I remembered the recent rumor that Ebony Bladin had been receiving treatment for her scar from Karina.
Karina approached Ebony Bladin. Their common enemy was Count Silanda!
I bit my lip until I tasted blood. To think such schemes had been unfolding inside the palace without my knowledge.
“It seems Ebony Bladin intends to involve herself deeply in this case. She has already obtained His Majesty’s permission and formally requested the paternity test at the temple. She has even secured witnesses.”
“Witnesses?”
“The troupe of clowns who saw Count Silanda and the dancer together as lovers. The maid who witnessed the dancer inside the Count’s residence. And the merchant who sold the drug later found in the dead woman’s body.”
“Even a maid from the Count’s own house?”
I recoiled in shock. Servants in noble households were expected to guard their master’s secrets. Turning against one’s lord for the sake of a woman dead three years was unthinkable.
“Ishtel, this matter appears to have been prepared far longer and far more meticulously than we realized.”
Yulian’s hand tightened around the glass before him.
“On my way here I happened to encounter the tea maid in the western corridor. Even though she must now wage a legal battle against the Count, she showed not the slightest anxiety. She actually smiled at me.”
“She smiled…?”
“Yes. As if she had been waiting for this moment all along. At first I didn’t believe her. I assumed Ebony Bladin was using the maid to spread lies in her bid for the prime ministership. But the instant our eyes met, I understood.”
Yulian’s lips were trembling. I dreaded whatever he would say next.
I had been thinking the same thing—that this was all a scheme by the Bladin family, a dirty political maneuver that exploited Karina and her sister.
Some other noble must have killed Karina’s sister. Count Silanda had simply become the target of a misunderstanding, and Ebony Bladin had lured a revenge-crazed Karina into creating this nightmare.
But if that was not the case… I did not know how to accept the horror of what might follow.
And the words Yulian spoke next snatched away even that fragile sliver of hope.
“You know it too, Ishtel. The color of that maid’s eyes. They are the same golden hue as Rubia’s.”