The Emperor's Judgment
"It is an allergic reaction caused by the consumption of nuts."
The physician could not help thinking that misfortune had taken up permanent residence in his life. Everything had begun the day Princess Cayena drank poison. Had he failed to save her, his head would have rolled. Fortunately the poison had not been lethal and the dose small; with the right medicine, she had recovered well.
Then came the sudden burn from a maid's carelessness. He had expected the princess to fly into a rage, yet she remained strangely calm while Rezef had nearly caused an uproar.
And now she had collapsed alone in her chambers with no maids in attendance—after eating cookies that contained nuts, no less. An allergy was no trivial matter; in severe cases it could kill.
What sort of fool puts nut cookies on a tray without checking? he thought, glancing at the plate of refreshments beside the bed and sighing inwardly.
Still, her condition does not seem dire enough to warrant collapse. No rash, either. Could her body simply be weakened from recent events?
For someone who had fainted from an allergic reaction, she looked remarkably healthy. Yet the suffocating atmosphere in the room warned him against voicing any doubts. He examined the broken edge of the cookie. There were no teeth marks; it had been snapped apart, and only a small amount had been eaten.
At least it did not become a catastrophe.
With that dismissive thought, he spoke aloud.
"The amount ingested was small. She should recover quickly."
The physician stole a glance at Rezef, who had remained eerily silent, then gathered his instruments. All of Cayena's maids lay prostrated on the floor nearby.
Rezef sat on the sofa beside the bed, face utterly blank. The air felt one spark away from explosion.
"Get out."
At Rezef's curt order the physician snatched up his bag and fled. A frigid silence settled over the bedchamber.
"You."
Rezef pointed at Vera.
"Stand and explain what happened."
Vera rose carefully and spoke with measured deference.
"While I was delivering a snack to Your Highness, nut cookies found their way onto the refreshments meant for Her Highness the Princess. This worthless servant abandoned her post—please execute me for my negligence."
"You did not inspect the princess's refreshments..."
It was the most elementary of a maid's duties. Yet lately their discipline had collapsed entirely. They had grown careless, cutting corners wherever they could. That was how they had failed to notice the lower maid Dona adding the nut cookies to the tray.
"Yes, nut cookies could have been mixed in by mistake. But why, then, was my sister lying collapsed and alone in her bedroom?"
Rezef's calm question met only silence. How could they admit they had all slipped away to spy on the princess?
"Why does no one answer?"
"...We beg your forgiveness, Your Highness."
Rezef seized the glass vase beside him and hurled it against the wall.
Crash!
A maid screamed.
He raked a hand through his hair in irritation and demanded again, "I will ask one more time. Why was my sister alone and unconscious in her chambers? Had no one found her, the situation could have turned fatal."
The maids pressed their lips shut.
"There was once a similar incident in the imperial family. A royal was murdered by exploiting a nut allergy."
Rezef laughed, a wild, unsettling sound.
"And the culprit was none other than Her Majesty the Empress!"
The maids blanched in horror. At this rate they would be branded traitors and their houses razed to the ground. Desperate to survive, they cried out.
"Spare us, Your Highness! We never harbored any such intent!"
Lydia immediately pointed at Dona.
"That lowly maid must be responsible. She is framing us!"
Dona dropped to her knees at once.
"I only carried the tray I was given. The kitchen servants will vouch for my innocence."
Then she jerked her head up, eyes blazing with indignation.
"I saw it clearly—Maid Lydia took those cookies from the gift box sent by the Heinrich ducal house!"
"...The Heinrich ducal house?"
"That's absurd!"
The other maids shrieked in protest. Then another, tears clinging to her lashes, pointed at Lydia.
"None of this would have happened if Lydia Benzeman hadn't claimed the princess's behavior was suspicious and demanded we search the tributes! She threatened us—if we didn't obey her, she would make sure we regretted it, Your Highness!"
At her colleague's betrayal, Lydia's face drained of all color. She could not allow herself to be painted as the mastermind. After all, she was a Benzeman; her word should carry more weight than theirs.
She shouted at once, "It is a false accusation! Your Highness, do not listen to these fools. This is a conspiracy to undermine your power. One of them must be a spy!"
Rezef watched the maids accuse one another without a shred of evidence and burst into mad laughter. The sight was both pathetic and revolting.
"To think you would keep deceiving me without end—there must indeed be a spy among you."
He rose from the sofa and stalked toward the maids. Grabbing one of the trembling women, he yanked her forward.
"Aaaah!"
"Was it you? Are you the spy Duke Heinrich sent?"
"Your Highness! This servant is no spy!"
"Then who? You?"
"Kyaaaah!"
Rezef seized another maid's hairpin and tore it free.
"So all of you dared to mock me!"
"Mercy, please!"
"We are innocent, Your Highness!"
He had just snatched the iron poker from beside the fireplace and raised it when—
"His Majesty the Emperor arrives!"
The attendant's cry sliced through the chaos. The bedroom doors flew open, and the Emperor entered, his face ashen, leaning heavily on Chief Chamberlain Luden.
"We greet Your Majesty the Emperor!"
Rezef dropped the poker and sank to one knee.
"We greet Your Majesty the Emperor."
The Emperor's gaze swept across the room: Cayena lying in the bed, the maids sprawled in disarray across the floor, and finally Rezef himself. He uttered a single word.
"Pathetic."
He did not grant Rezef permission to rise. Instead he addressed Luden, who supported him.
"Luden."
"Please issue your command, Your Majesty."
"Flog every one of these maids, expel them from the imperial palace, and issue an edict forbidding them from ever setting foot in the capital again."
Sobbing rose from the cluster of maids.
The knights moved to drag them away when the Emperor spoke once more.
"Leave that one."
He pointed at Vera. She bowed her head at once.
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
"I am told you acted wisely. Reward her with suitable jewelry."
"I shall obey Your Majesty's command."
At last the Emperor turned his gaze on Rezef, who remained kneeling.
"Did you truly believe I was ignorant of what happens beyond these walls simply because I chose to overlook it?"
He knew Rezef was the one who had poisoned Cayena. He had let it pass only because Cayena had seized the crisis and turned it to her advantage.
Rezef's jaw tightened until his teeth ground together.
"Prince Rezef will not leave his palace until he has reflected upon his sins."
Rezef slowly lowered his head.
"...I shall obey Your Majesty's command."
"I will select the princess's new attendants myself. Keep that in mind and remove yourself from my sight."
Rezef bowed once more and withdrew. The others could not suppress their quiet gasps at his insolent bearing.
The Emperor paid them no heed and spoke to Vera.
"I will send new maids shortly. Until then, manage the princess's palace as you see fit. Should you require it, I will grant you an appropriate position."
"It is an honor to my house, Your Majesty."
The Emperor gave a curt nod and left with his retinue.
Only Cayena and Vera remained in the silent bedchamber. Vera straightened and said softly, "Everyone has gone, Your Highness."
With her eyes still closed, Cayena smiled.