Chapter 82
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 82
Madame Toten looked ready to defend me, but I caught her eye and shook my head, silently warning her to stop. They were already treating Gabriel—a man of unparalleled credibility—with such hostility. If Madame Toten, my chaperone, so much as opened her mouth, they would surely brand her an accomplice.
“Dame Musetta, the important thing is this,” I said, cutting to the heart of the matter. “Regardless of whether there was a blade or not, I had already presented the sword to His Highness as a gift. It had left my hands. How could I have possibly stabbed him with it?”
I pointed out the fundamental flaw in their premise. Even if the murder weapon truly was the sword I had brought, that alone wasn't proof that I was the culprit.
“And yet, far from apologizing for daring to bring a potential weapon into the hall, you have the audacity to turn this around on us…!”
“Dame Musetta, I suggest you calm yourself.”
As Dame Musetta shouted in fury, a new voice cut in, dousing the heated argument with cold water.
“Bishop Marik… I thought you had already returned.”
What? Who? Bishop Marik? The famous exorcist bishop I’d heard so much about?
But Gabriel had definitely said Bishop Marik returned to the temple. Why on earth was she back?
“I felt an ominous energy and rushed back,” she said, her gentle voice lamenting as she offered a prayer. “Though I never dreamed such a gruesome sight would be waiting for me.”
A white veil draped over her neatly pressed priestly robes, completely obscuring her face. How did she feel an ominous energy?! If I wasn’t careful, I’d be branded not just as the Crown Prince’s assassin, but as an evil spirit, earning me a double sentence of torture and execution.
“It is deeply regrettable that we must meet under such circumstances. I am Marik, a servant of God.”
“I am Evangeline Rohanson.”
Since Bishop Marik had greeted me, I introduced myself in turn. Hearing she was an exorcist, I had vaguely imagined someone sharp and fierce. But perhaps because of the veil, the woman before me had the gentle bearing of a nun. I could see why Raphaella had described her as a merciful figure to the faithful. She probably wouldn't show me any of that mercy, though.
“This is an assassination of His Highness the Crown Prince that occurred within the Imperial Palace,” Dame Musetta said sharply. “It is not for you to interfere in, Bishop Marik. Please refrain from meddling.”
I didn’t know what bad blood existed between them, but Dame Musetta’s hostility toward the bishop was palpable. In response, Bishop Marik simply extended a finger and pointed toward the ceiling. Her hand was covered in scars, as if she had once suffered severe burns.
“Not something to interfere in? Dame Musetta, do you truly believe a mere human could hang His Highness from the ceiling with physical strength alone?”
Her finger shifted, now pointing down at the floor.
“This is…”
I had been so distracted by the corpse hanging above that I hadn’t noticed the pattern drawn on the floor. As I stepped back to avoid the streaks of blood, its full shape was revealed.
“Since an unholy force is involved,” Bishop Marik declared, “surely I have the right to intervene now.”
Drawn on the floor was, unmistakably, a summoning circle. No, my summoning circle! Who the hell plagiarized it this time?!
“Is that not so, young lady?” Bishop Marik asked, turning to me as if seeking my agreement.
Calling it an unholy force… That’s a bit harsh, Bishop. The spirits would be hurt if they heard you. Still, considering spirits weren’t common knowledge in this world, it was understandable why any supernatural phenomenon was treated as wicked.
The fact that my summoning circle was drawn here meant that spirits were involved in the blackout and the Crown Prince’s murder. No wonder people called them wicked. If you’re going to use spirits for something like this, just give them to me!
But hadn’t Gabriel said my spirit affinity was rock bottom, and that any summoning circle would be neutralized if I was nearby? Why did it work this time? Could my affinity be slowly developing? For a moment, I got excited at the thought of finally being able to summon spirits, but my mood immediately plummeted. What’s the point of gaining spirit affinity now when my head is about to roll?!
“You will surely need assistance,” Bishop Marik continued. “Therefore, custody of Lady Rohanson should be handed over to our temple…”
“That is out of the question!” Dame Musetta snapped. “She is a suspect in the assassination of His Highness the Crown Prince, and you dare ask for her to be handed over to the temple? Even if she is a fiend or a demon, her punishment will be delivered by the Imperial Palace.”
She glared at Bishop Marik with bloodshot eyes. But I’m neither a fiend nor a demon… I’m just a villainess trying to repent, okay? And I’m not the culprit!
“It seems you are being particularly hostile toward me,” Bishop Marik observed calmly.
“Yes. You saw correctly,” Dame Musetta retorted. “Didn’t your temple consider His Highness a thorn in its side? For all we know, you’re raising a glass in celebration behind closed doors. How could we possibly trust you?”
The power struggle between the Imperial Palace and the temple must have been intense for a long time.
What an unnerving battle of wills. Please don’t fight over me… I never thought I’d have to say those words in a situation like this. If I had to choose, though, I hoped Dame Musetta would win. I’d rather die from one clean stroke than be tortured by an exorcist.
Perhaps my wish was granted, because Bishop Marik backed down. Since the victim was the Crown Prince, Dame Musetta’s authority naturally carried more weight.
“Then escort Evangeline Rohanson to the dungeon!”
“Understood!”
At Dame Musetta’s command, the Imperial knights surrounded me in perfect unison.
Ah… so they were fighting over who got to lock me up? Tears suddenly welled in my eyes. Gabriel had made such a dramatic, soap-opera-worthy entrance earlier, so where was he now? In terms of urgency, this moment was far more critical.
“Lady Rohanson!”
Instead of Gabriel, it was Madame Toten who stepped in front of me, as if to shield me. Keeping an eye on Dame Musetta and Bishop Marik, I gently took her arm, signaling that I was fine before making a quiet request.
“Madame Toten, please look after my maid. I’ll be fine. Just take Hena with you and pretend she’s your maid.”
As a noblewoman not yet proven guilty, I probably wouldn’t face summary execution. But Hena was a different story. They might take their frustration out on her. Fortunately, we had shared a carriage with Madame Toten on the way here. If she claimed Hena was her maid, Hena could return home safely.
“And don’t try to defend me, Madame. You have Ryder to think of, so it’s best to keep a low profile.” If she drew Bishop Marik’s attention, she might find both herself and Melek being exorcised in a two-for-one deal.
“You, too.”
Finally, my eyes met those of the handsome, blond servant. When I silently told him to stay put, his angelic expression crumpled instantly. My gaze lingered on the choker around his neck.
“Behave yourself until I call for you, Pudding.”
I didn’t know why he had smuggled himself in as an Imperial servant, but the beautiful blond boy was indeed Pudding. He was proudly wearing the necklace I had embroidered; there was no way I wouldn’t recognize him.
“When are you going to call for me?” Pudding replied, his face thoroughly grumpy.
Well, when would be a good time?
“When I start craving jelly?”
* * *
Dame Musetta personally escorted me to the dungeon. I wondered if they would put me in handcuffs or chains, but perhaps because I was still just a suspect, they didn’t restrain me.
The cell was incredibly cramped and desolate. At least they put me in a solitary cell instead of with other prisoners, which was a small relief.
“Dame Musetta, do you truly believe I assassinated His Highness?”
She paused while locking the cell door, glaring at me with sharp, icy eyes. I felt like I could be sliced to pieces by her gaze alone.
“There is blood on your dress, and you were the one who brought the murder weapon. Excluding you, Lady Rohanson, there is no other obvious suspect. At most, the pre— No, to be honest, I find Bishop Marik just as suspicious as you. However, when His Highness was killed, Bishop Marik was outside the banquet hall, just as I was.”
It seemed Dame Musetta had another suspect in mind. But Bishop Marik?
She must have read a few mystery novels. After all, the least likely person is always the culprit. The possibility of Bishop Marik being the one, despite her seemingly perfect alibi, couldn’t be ignored.
Dame Musetta seemed to have ruled her out because she was outside the hall, but in reality, location was irrelevant. Bishop Marik could have used a summoning circle to command a spirit to commit the crime from anywhere. Her alibi was completely meaningless.
However, since Dame Musetta was unaware of spirits, explaining that would be difficult. As I was pondering how to put it into words, she stood up.
“I don’t know why I’m telling you all this. I only hope there is a plausible reason for your confident demeanor, Lady Rohanson.”
With those final words, Dame Musetta left the dungeon. Was she saying she thought I was acting confident because I was innocent? Or was that a threat that she’d kill me herself if I turned out to be guilty?
Sigh… Right. An execution scene is the destiny of a villainess. If so, the male lead visiting the imprisoned villainess should also be part of the package.
Sure enough, the clichés never failed. A step too late, Gabriel arrived to visit me.
“I am sorry. I should have stayed by your side…”
Guilt-ridden that another major incident had occurred in his absence, Gabriel cast his eyes down and touched the iron bars. He was late. I’d half-thought he’d run off to make clothes again. Noticing my exposed shoulders, he took off his coat and passed it through the bars for me to cover myself.
“I am deeply sorry. It seems the promise you made with me has put you in this difficult position.”
What promise? The one where I swore to behave and not act like a villainess while he went to change?
“If I had caused a scene, it would have only made me look more suspicious,” I said. “It would have been no different from begging them to arrest me. Right now, I’m just a suspect. If I had resisted, I might have faced summary judgment on the spot. Walking quietly into this cell was the best option.”
That was why, at the very least, I was able to have this visit with him.
“Have you heard how things are unfolding?”
“Yes. Madame Toten explained everything. I spoke to Dame Musetta about the blade, but she refused to listen. Furthermore, the sword could not be found among the gifts His Highness the Crown Prince received.”
The sword lodged in the Crown Prince’s heart was clearly a sharp, lethal weapon. Because of this, Gabriel and I had both concluded that there must be two swords with identical hilts.
It would have been convenient if both blades had remained in the banquet hall, but things were never that simple. It seemed the harmless sword I had gifted the Crown Prince had been smuggled out immediately after the incident. They wouldn’t have framed me if they weren’t this thorough.
Even if I didn’t kill the Crown Prince, they seemed determined to charge me with smuggling a weapon into the banquet hall. Bringing a real sword inside was practically a declaration of intent to assassinate him. I had clearly gifted a sword that was nothing but a hilt, but the only witnesses were my own close associates. Because of that, Dame Musetta now found Gabriel suspicious as well and had assigned Imperial knights to keep him under surveillance.
“Sir Gabriel. I believe you are sharing far too much information with a prisoner.”
One of the Imperial knights interrupted our conversation.