Title Bestowal Ceremony (2)
The murmuring stopped dead at those words. The nobles clamped their mouths shut, terrified they might become the next target.
“Countess Tellen, why are you keeping so quiet? I saw you step forward first and fill Duchess Lockfelt’s glass to the brim with my own eyes.”
Baroness Turen pressed her sharply. The countess shook her head violently.
“It wasn’t me! Duchess Lockfelt drank from my glass and went into convulsions almost immediately. No poison spreads that fast. It must have come from the glass she drank earlier!”
“My wife is right. Even the strongest poison couldn’t act that instantly.”
Count Tellen shouted in defense of his wife.
“Knight Tecela!”
“Y-yes?!”
Knight Tecela’s eyes widened in shock at the sudden summons.
“You shared a drink with the duchess as well. Why are you pretending ignorance and trying to wash your hands of it?”
Count Tellen looked half-mad with the desperate need to pass this explosive situation to someone else.
The suddenly burdened Knight Tecela and the southern retainers huffed with indignation. Tecela’s face flushed crimson as he lifted the glass that sat before him.
“Duchess Lockfelt only touched her lips to the glass I offered because the other noblewomen were calling for her, then immediately changed seats. Look at this lipstick mark. Only the mark remains—the wine hasn’t lost a single drop.”
As he claimed, Karina’s vivid red lipstick clearly stained the rim. Yet there was no sign the wine had been drunk.
“Surely there can’t be a poison that makes someone faint from merely touching it to their lips? If such a thing existed, none of us nobles would still be alive!”
People nodded in agreement with Knight Tecela’s words.
Then who in the world had done this? And right before His Majesty the Emperor, no less.
I scanned the faces of everyone gathered in the banquet hall, one by one. Each wore an expression of wronged innocence, avoiding everyone else’s eyes in the hope the arrow wouldn’t swing their way.
With a flicker of suspicion, I glanced at Hellion. When our eyes met, he frowned deeply and gave a firm shake of his head. He jerked his chin toward me. I shook my head in return—no, not me either.
“Hmm… There is one more person…”
Ebony, who had been quietly observing, interjected once more.
“Duchess Regentra.”
At Ebony’s call, Sylvia slowly lifted her head from where she sat.
“Didn’t you also pour wine for Duchess Lockfelt?”
“What? Are you accusing my wife now?!”
Zarr shot up from his chair, kicking it back as his voice rose in fury.
“Who do you think you’re speaking to? Can you take responsibility for those words?!”
“Your Grace, do not forget that His Majesty the Emperor is present.”
Ebony’s gentle tone made Zarr bite down hard on his lip, swallowing his rage. Sylvia eased her husband back into his seat and rose from her own.
“Count Bladin, I did nothing. Had Duchess Lockfelt not requested it herself, I would never have offered her any wine.”
“Yet everyone knows the relationship between Duchess Regentra and Duchess Lockfelt has been less than friendly.”
“How unpleasant. Do not corner me with mere speculation.”
“Then would you consent to a body search? If nothing is found, I will offer a formal apology for tarnishing Regentra’s honor.”
To suspect a high noble of poisoning was bad enough; suggesting a body search was outright humiliating. Zarr’s face burned red with mortification. Sylvia calmly gripped her husband’s shoulder and shook her head, urging him to stay silent.
“Summon a maid for the search.”
“Sylvia.”
I moved to her side in concern, but she spoke with firm resolve.
“I’m all right. I’ll return shortly.”
Sylvia offered a faint smile and followed the imperial maids toward the rear of the banquet hall.
And a short while later.
“Your Majesty, inside Duchess Regentra’s clothing…!”
The maid’s hand held a small pouch filled with herbal powder.
“Well, it seems I won’t need to apologize after all?”
Ebony Bladin bared her teeth in a sharp grin.
“This is absurd! It’s a conspiracy, Your Majesty! Someone clearly orchestrated this to frame us!”
Zarr shouted toward the Emperor. His Majesty then questioned the three maids who had conducted the search.
“Was this poisonous herb powder truly discovered inside Duchess Regentra’s clothes?”
“Y-yes, Your Majesty. We found it tucked inside her underskirt.”
The maids trembled, barely able to raise their heads.
“Your Majesty, I swear on my life that pouch does not belong to me.”
Sylvia, face drained of color, stood before the Emperor with Baroness Turen’s support.
“Besides, like everyone else here, I had my belongings inspected by the maids before entering the banquet hall. Would I really be foolish enough to poison Duchess Lockfelt’s glass in the Emperor’s own presence?”
“Yet the poisonous herb powder was found on Duchess Regentra’s person. That is a fact, is it not?”
Ebony shook the pouch for all to see.
“Your Majesty, I humbly request confirmation that this powder matches the poison used on Duchess Lockfelt.”
When the Emperor nodded, a nearby knight took the pouch. Once the knight had departed, His Majesty rose from his seat and declared,
“Deliver the pouch to the temple priests for examination. Furthermore, from this moment until the investigation concludes, the Regentra ducal couple is forbidden from returning to their residence. Knights, escort them both to the imperial annex.”
“Your Majesty!”
Alarmed, I rushed forward as the Emperor descended the stairs.
Something had gone terribly wrong. I wanted to proclaim my brother and sister-in-law’s innocence, but the discovery of such damning evidence left the words stuck in my throat.
Behind the Emperor, I caught sight of Ebony Bladin and Illid. Ebony stood with arms crossed, head tilted dismissively, while Illid deliberately avoided looking in our direction.
“Your Majesty… surely you…”
I wanted to ask whether he had any part in this. But the Emperor averted his gaze and swept past me without a word.
“What are you waiting for? Escort the duke and duchess at once.”
At Ebony’s prompting, the knights approached Zarr and Sylvia. Zarr clenched his jaw and tended to his wife first.
Sylvia pressed a hand to her forehead as though dizzy, asked the knights for a moment, then came to me.
“Ishtel, listen carefully to what I say next.”
She whispered softly against my ear.
“Madame Fleur’s atelier in the southern bustling district of Pleco Square. This dress came from there. I saw Ebony Bladin at the shop. So……”
Sylvia suddenly fell silent. She slowly lowered her head to look at her feet. Beneath the hem of her dress, water was spreading across the floor.
It took a full day and a half before news of Sylvia’s delivery finally reached us.
The child was a daughter, just as everyone had hoped. Yet the life that should have entered the world surrounded by interest and love was instead born amid deep anxiety rather than celebration.
I was told Karina remained unconscious. But I refused to believe it. This was the woman who had restored the Emperor’s health when even the palace physicians had given up. Skilled in herbalism as she was, there was no chance she would have failed to notice poison spreading through her body.
“The investigation confirmed that the poison used on Karina matches the herb found on Sylvia.”
Yulian’s report, when it came, was exactly as I had feared.
Ebony Bladin, who had steered the mood as though she had been waiting for Karina to collapse. The Emperor, whose complexion had remained dark throughout the entire title bestowal ceremony. And though he hid it well, Illid—who had joined hands with Ebony—must also be deeply entangled in this affair.
“What about the dress shop? Did you look into the one Sylvia mentioned?”
“The owner and all the staff have vanished without a trace. It seems the perpetrators prepared the ground in advance. We’ve issued warrants, but there are almost no clues left… Fortunately, Archduke Hellion acted quickly, so northern soldiers have joined the search.”
Yulian and I, seated across from each other at the desk, let out heavy sighs in unison. Finding the atelier staff would prove Ebony’s involvement, but they had remained missing for days.
If we could not locate them, Sylvia would never clear her name. The first trial was fast approaching. This was no time to cling to pointless pride.
“For now, Sylvia will remain at Count Silanda’s estate until she recovers. Zarr is being held in isolation at the annex.”
“And Rosien and Enrique?”
“Baroness Turen took them. The Silanda household is also under surveillance, so it wasn’t safe to bring the children there.”
Yulian pressed a hand to his forehead and continued.
“Ishtel, perhaps it would be best to use it after all?”
“Use what?”
“The amnesty His Majesty granted you. Overcome this hurdle with it first, then search for witnesses.”
“No. That would only play straight into their hands.”
It wasn’t that the thought hadn’t occurred to me. But invoking the amnesty would amount to admitting our family carried guilt.
That was precisely what they wanted. First remove the troublesome amnesty, then weaken Regentra’s power, and finally push Illid forward as crown prince.
It was the worst possible scenario. Far better to offer them something else from our side and secure the release of Zarr and Sylvia.
“I need to go.”
I shot up from my chair and grabbed my outdoor cloak. Yulian asked, worry clear in his voice.
“Where are you going?”
“To see Ebony Bladin. She’s where we start.”
I pulled my hat low over my eyes and stepped out of the room.