Chapter 117
Chapter 117
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 117
Chapter Title: The Empire's Worst Criminal
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After gaining certainty, Erewin continued her investigation into Elgana.
‘This is it! This is it!’
The more the evidence piled up, the more her hypothesis solidified into conviction.
Every piece of evidence pointing her way proved that Dallas's butler was Elgana.
There was no need to keep it to herself any longer.
Erewin shared the information with her most reliable confidants.
‘Sorry, Damian. This isn’t something I can share with you yet.’
It wasn’t a matter that involved Damian.
It wasn’t a lack of trust—it was because he was far too precious to her.
Of course, she wanted to lay everything bare before him, but she had to account for any possibilities.
Damian would understand. Besides, wasn’t he keeping things from her out of consideration too?
“This... how can this be...”
A petite woman sat across from Erewin, scanning the evidence she had gathered. She was Rosie Beletta of the Imperial Special Corps.
“If we handle this right, landing the captain’s position won’t be a pipe dream. Right? How long are you going to keep cleaning up after those old fogeys?”
“That’s...”
Rosie was nobility, but her family’s lineage wasn’t long. That was why she couldn’t hold a key post in the Special Corps.
Her skills weren’t lacking, though. Erewin had recognized that and been backing her for years.
“But...”
“Why? This is solid evidence.”
“It’s just... too massive a scandal, Your Highness. Legally, Elgana is dead under imperial law. Reviving his charges would require a convoluted process...”
“That’s not the issue! A criminal like that is strutting around on palace grounds. Don’t you feel any duty as part of the Imperial Special Corps?”
“For something this big, my career’s on the line too... Uh, anyway, I’ll look into it more on my end and report back.”
Erewin’s expression didn’t soften at Rosie’s reply.
There was nothing for it. She couldn’t speak her mind in front of Erewin, but this was like kicking a hornet’s nest.
“Whew, new perfume? It suits you perfectly, Your Highness.”
“...It’s from the south. Feels like it goes well with me, so I’ve been liking it.”
She visited her other confidants afterward, but they all gave half-hearted responses.
‘Useless lot.’
She’d invested in them precisely for times like this, yet they weren’t pulling their weight. Once this was over, it was time for a purge.
“See? This has to be airtight proof, right?”
“......”
In the end, she even went to Boris.
“Dallas’s bro’s butler is the empire’s worst criminal, Elgana...”
“Doesn’t it make your mouth water?”
Boris was different. Twins born the same day or not, she’d never felt any fondness for him.
If anything, he was the one who’d stolen half of what rightfully belonged to her.
‘He still underestimates me.’
Boris still thought she was fixated only on capturing Damian’s heart.
He figured he wouldn’t be in her way when she claimed the throne later. That was why he’d flaunted his relationship with Ciel so openly.
Fool. The throne wasn’t his. It was the seat she and Damian would share one day.
Still, he had his uses.
Taking down Dallas and Rubia via Elgana wouldn’t be straightforward. Things could go sideways, putting Erewin at risk.
She needed to spread the danger. Boris was ideal for that.
He’d even led the ambush on Rubia at the Magic Tower. Now, after beating Michael, he was gearing up to target Dallas.
Elgana could deal them both serious blows if handled right. Boris wouldn’t stay on the sidelines.
“You’ve got Ciel, the one you love. If she gets involved, we’ll nail down ironclad evidence.”
“......”
“You’re not seriously fretting over Ciel’s safety now, are you? After siccing her on Rubia? Snap out of it. She’s way tougher than you give her credit for.”
“This reeks of your handiwork.”
Boris’s face hardened. It caught Erewin off guard.
She’d figured the twin with his bizarre loyalties would leap at the chance.
“What, scared? You’re the one who threatened me last time to pick my side wisely. You think you’ll beat Michael or Dallas bro like that?”
“You dimwit twin sister. Use your head for once!”
Boris tapped his temple, looking exasperated with her.
“You think Mother doesn’t know he’s Elgana? You think the Special Corps are blind enough to miss him!?”
“What are you saying?”
“Mother’s letting it slide. Sure, Elgana’s the empire’s worst criminal and all that, but the crimes go way back. She sees value in Dallas, and as long as his cover holds, we lose nothing. So she lets him stick around the palace.”
No, no, no. That couldn’t be right. There was no way Mother would tolerate a monster like that roaming free in the palace.
“But drag him into the open after she’s hidden him so well, and whose head do you think her wrath falls on? Think, would you? Stop obsessing over tumbling with Damian.”
“Watch your mouth. What do you know about us to stick your nose in?”
Tch. Boris clicked his tongue and shook his head, utterly fed up with his foolish twin.
“Elgana’s got ties to Rubia. You think Mother would greenlight that?”
“You think Mother gives a damn like you do? You flip out over the slightest link to Rubia.”
“You...!”
Tensions flared. Boris’s attitude grated more than usual today.
‘The scent’s bugging me extra today too...’
It was the perfume Paruzan used.
She’d sent someone to the annex for it, and lately scored an even stronger batch.
It had lifted her spirits just moments ago, but now it only stoked her rage.
“No, wait—you’re not trying to screw me over, are you? Aha, you’ve thrown in with Dallas bro?”
Boris nodded like he’d cracked the case.
Delusions had their limits. What kind of scheme could a pushover like him pull, someone Damian could flatten with one swing?
“If that was my play, I’d have blabbed about you and Ciel by now instead of dealing with this mess. Think.”
“...Fair point. Do it, and I’d spill about you and Damian.”
In any case, Boris washed his hands of it.
‘Fine by me. The evidence is rock-solid anyway.’
On reflection, there was no point dragging her feet. She could grill Elgana with it right now.
That lunatic mage dare defy a princess?
‘Yes, yes. I’ll handle it myself. Damian will look at me with even more awe.’
Mind settled, her mood lifted again. The perfume soothed her further.
She moved at once, leaving Boris’s yammering behind as she headed for Dallas’s residence.
Clang! Clang! Thump! Thump!
“Hah!”
“Die!!”
Dallas’s mansion still clashed with the palace’s refined air. Erewin couldn’t fathom why Mother tolerated the racket.
‘These degenerates dare...!’
The empire’s one and only princess arrives, and no one bats an eye. Burly meatheads like them knew nothing of decorum.
Bodies like that belonged under wraps. Next to Damian’s chiseled muscle, they were just clay blobs.
“Princess Erewin?”
“Good. You walk out on your own two feet.”
Dallas’s butler, Elgana, approached with brazen effrontery.
“To what do we owe the unannounced visit? Apologies, but Prince Dallas has engagements today...”
“You insolent wretch!”
Erewin’s shout drew the eyes of the training brutes.
“Princess Erewin? Have I been discourteous in word or deed?”
“Hah. Still clinging to that vile mask, criminal?”
Fwoosh! Erewin thrust out her hand, and the amassed evidence hovered in the air.
“Empire’s worst criminal, Elgana. In the name of the empire’s sole Princess Erewin von Edbalt, you are under arrest. What are you idiots gawking at? Bind him now!”
For all her proclamation, they just stood there dumbly.
Have they lost their minds? Defying a princess’s command?
What if they’re Elgana’s accomplices too? Then condemn them all...
“Sigh...”
Snap. Elgana exhaled deeply and flicked his fingers. Everything around him but him drained to gray.
‘What...!’
The color-stripped froze like statues, immobile.
“......!!”
Only Erewin’s lips grayed. Her eyes could still dart, her mind race.
“Is this your handiwork?”
Elgana swiped across his face, shedding the aged butler guise for his true visage.
By looks alone, he could pass for Erewin’s age.
“No.”
Elgana’s shadow wavered, birthing a man from its depths.
Sky-blue hair, mark of a traitor’s bloodline.
“I caught wind of the fuss over me and assigned a watcher. No real threat, so I left it.”
“Odd. Sloppy instincts like that, yet you pierced my disguise... Damian Renekht’s work?”
Damian’s name dropped out of nowhere. Had he known Elgana’s secret too?
“Her state’s off. Looks drugged. Your orders?”
The man’s voice sent a chill stiffening her neck.
Looking back, her own actions lately made no sense.
Her foe was the empire’s archfiend Elgana—the man who’d once clashed with Ariella for Mage Tower mastery.
‘How did I think I could take on scum like that...’
Someone’s trap? Who? Boris? Dallas? Or...
‘That whore Rubia...’
No clue how, but she’d surely goaded Erewin into this.
Only Rubia stooped to such filth.
“Plans need tweaking.”
“Now?”
“Groundwork’s laid. We have to wrap before Dallas returns anyway. Ariella’s holed up in her annex with no stir, so speeding up hurts nothing. And...”
Elgana grazed Erewin’s chin. No sensation from the color theft. Fear swelled in the void.
“Wondering what face Lucas makes when the princess is the sacrifice.”
“...That’s really it?”
“Why explain to you?”
Elgana’s retort twisted the man’s features. Seemed less subordinate, more uneasy ally.
“Then I’ll stick to our prior arrangement.”
“Best of luck. It’s the only way your aims pan out.”
The sky-blue man melted back into shadow.
Elgana drew a metal ticket from his pocket and clapped a hand on Erewin’s shoulder.
‘What’s that?’
No time for questions. Golden flames wreathed them, whisking to new environs.
‘...Enricasil?’
Bustling strangers, hissing arcane devices—but the vibe rang familiar.
‘How’s that monster in Enricasil?’
The bastion of tradition and prestige, harboring the empire’s top felon.
Even with past bad blood, expulsion would’ve followed the scandal.
“Lord Elgana? That’s definitely...”
“Our sacrifice for the op.”
“P-Princess as sacrifice? Isn’t that too risky...”
Splatter! The dissenter’s head burst, blood painting the area.
Workers startled but knuckled down harder. No one wanted that end.
“You brainless cur. Spare your pathetic life, and you repay the debt—not question the greater cause.”
Elgana jerked his chin. A few hoisted Erewin and trailed him.
Touched by lowborn filth—grounds for shuddering—but no bandwidth now.
‘Sacrifice? Greater cause? What the hell!’
Eyes her only tool, Erewin’s terror ballooned at the cryptic talk.
“All of you, out.”
Gloom-shrouded chamber. No gadgets here—just an ornate ancient altar.
“Curious about a great deal, I’d wager, Princess.”
Elgana’s hand cloaked her face. Something slithered up from her toes.
Unlike the graying. This was peril beyond compare.
“But nurse no grudge. It’s all for the greater...”
Thump. Thump. Thump. His words choked off. Ground quaked beneath.
“...Sooner than expected.”
Wrinkles creased the veteran mage’s brow.
Quakes swelled till a massive fissure spidered the wall.
“Greater cause, huh? Curious what that bastard’s spiel is.”
Drip. Drip. A silhouette pierced the dust. Tears welled in Erewin’s eyes at the sight.
“Damian Renekht.”
Elgana intoned the name.
A man he’d never pegged as foe till lately.
Now it was clear. He was the greatest roadblock to Elgana’s grand design.