Chapter 75
Translator: Wjin
Chapter: 75
Chapter Title: The Fall of Lady Manon
"What's all this commotion?"
Philomel muttered to herself upon spotting the gathered crowd.
She had stepped out to return a book she borrowed from the imperial palace library.
But the area near the entrance from the outer palace to the inner palace was abuzz with noise.
Curious, she drew closer and saw not just palace servants, but many others who didn't look like they belonged.
Philomel asked a nearby maid.
"What's going on?"
"Lady Philomel, good day. Lady Manon has entered the palace, and His Majesty the Emperor is granting her an audience right now."
Those two? Had Rozanne's obsession finally borne fruit?
"Who are all these people?"
"They're the ones who followed Lady Manon. They were protesting in front of the palace, claiming they had business with Viscount Manon's house and the lady herself. His Majesty heard and ordered them all brought in..."
The situation clicked into place at once.
The creditors of Viscount Manon's house had come to the palace to collect their debts.
Philomel had heard the rumors that House Manon was on the brink of bankruptcy.
They must be desperate too. It wasn't unreasonable for them to flock to the Emperor, whom they saw as the only source of money.
If the Emperor planned to make Rozanne his empress—no, at least his lover—he'd pay off their debts to save face.
Philomel's curiosity piqued, and she slipped inside the throng of people.
The Emperor and Rozanne were in the center, surrounded by the crowd in a circle.
Rozanne, prostrated on the ground, pleaded with the Emperor.
"Your Majesty, please take pity on me and my family."
"..."
"These insolent wretches are tormenting me. Punish them and protect me, I beg you."
Unable to stand it any longer, one man stepped boldly before the Emperor.
"Esteemed Emperor, Your Majesty!"
The man briefly introduced himself and got to the point.
"I lent Viscount Manon 100,000 bels, and I still haven't been repaid! The repayment date on the promissory note has long passed. Please don't believe this woman's lies. We are the true victims."
The Emperor scanned the crowd.
"Anyone else? If you have grievances against this woman or her family to report to Us, speak now."
Exchanging glances, they seemed to steel themselves and began speaking one by one.
"I run a small boutique, and Lady Manon bought goods worth 30,000 bels yesterday but hasn't paid."
Rozanne shouted.
"That's not true! I only bought them on credit!"
"I didn't want to sell on credit, but the lady threatened that she wouldn't let me off if I refused..."
The accusations continued.
"It was the same at our shop!"
"I haven't received about 140,000 bels in total!"
The maids by Rozanne's side also prostrated themselves and appealed.
"The salaries of the mansion's servants have been overdue for ages. And yet House Manon indulged in extravagance!"
"That's not all. Lady Manon would hurl vile insults and beat us for the slightest mistakes!"
What started as complaints about unpaid debts snowballed into every wicked deed Rozanne and her family had committed.
Even someone who appeared to be House Manon's coachman stepped forward.
"The viscount beat me for the death of a sick horse, blaming my negligence! He didn't even pay for medicine. I had to lie in bed for a week because of it!"
A testimony from a western palace maid revealed that Rozanne had caused a scene at Ellensia's tea party the day before.
The crowd couldn't hide their shock at Rozanne's audacity in being rude even to the princess. And by coincidence, Philomel happened to be right next to that western palace maid.
At some point, the accusations had shifted sideways, drawing all eyes naturally to Philomel.
They clearly assumed she had something to reveal as well.
...I just came to watch.
She'd gotten trapped as more people crowded in while she listened.
But admitting that outright wouldn't fly in this atmosphere.
Come to think of it, Rozanne still hadn't returned the Ring of Crimson Flame.
Justis gave her a look that said it was fine to speak.
In the end, Philomel raised her hand.
"Lady Manon stole a ring—a treasure of the imperial family—from me. And it's not that big a deal, but..."
The misdeeds they'd accused her of were so severe that mentioning just getting slapped once felt hesitant. Plus, she'd slapped back.
But Philomel thought, Eh, whatever, and spoke up.
"Lady Manon slapped my cheek."
At that moment, the atmosphere froze.
Everyone turned to the man radiating a bone-chilling aura.
"So, this woman... slapped... your cheek?"
The Emperor's voice was dozens of times colder than usual.
Rozanne, bearing the full brunt of that aura, was ghastly pale, like a corpse.
The Emperor ordered his secretary behind him.
"Imprison this woman and drag in her household. Polan, you handle the interrogation personally."
"Understood!"
Count Polan responded and vanished.
For the Emperor's secretary to conduct the interrogation meant the Emperor would decide the punishments himself.
And in Emperor Justis's dictionary, there were no light punishments.
And so, House Viscount Manon spectacularly fell.
In the investigation of their crimes, evidence of Duke Muriel's house aiding them surfaced as well.
House Muriel barely avoided losing their title by surrendering a large portion of their territory to the imperial family.
But their decline was inevitable. Effectively, one pillar of the five great ducal houses that dominated the empire had crumbled.
The press, which had buzzed about Rozanne as the prospective empress, fell silent as if it had never happened, and the Emperor regained his reputation for loving only his late wife.
Several newspapers were shut down.
Compensation for the victims came from the confiscated assets of Viscount Manon's house, with shortfalls covered by House Muriel.
The household members were imprisoned with hefty sentences matching their individual crimes.
And Rozanne Manon, at the very epicenter of the scandal...
Philomel went to see the Emperor.
"No."
That was the Emperor's response to Philomel's request to release Rozanne.
"But hasn't she been tortured enough already? At this point, Lady Manon will live with lifelong aftereffects."
"Still no. That woman deserves death."
"Yes, she committed grave sins by impersonating the empress, but it's not a capital offense."
"Why are you so concerned about her? She hit you."
"That's..."
Philomel bit her lip for a moment before murmuring softly.
"...She somehow reminds me of myself."
More precisely, the 'Philomel' from the book.
A girl who loved luxury, full of vanity, and bullied others. For some reason, Rozanne overlapped with her in ways that hit close to home.
On top of that, it felt uncomfortable knowing she might die just for slapping her.
Justis raised his voice.
"She's nothing like you. How are you anything like that woman?"
"Not now, but doesn't she resemble me as a child a bit?"
"Not at all."
"Your Majesty..."
As Philomel persistently pleaded with her eyes, the Emperor finally raised the white flag.
"Fine. I'll spare her life, at least."
"Thank you."
Philomel smiled faintly, and Justis's lips softened too.
"Oh, by the way, what happened to the Ring of Crimson Flame?"
"We found it among her possessions."
"Good thing."
"Since it was tainted by impropriety, we've decided to dispose of it."
Philomel's eyes widened in surprise.
"Why dispose of it? That's such a waste!"
"Don't worry. I'll have a new one made for you."
Was he serious about making her a new one, like he said at the ball?
"No, the Ring of Crimson Flame is only for the Emperor and his heirs. Princess Ellensia should receive it."
"Ellensia's is already in production. And I'm giving this to you because I want to, so don't refuse."
"That's not the issue..."
She was getting tired of the back-and-forth.
Philomel decided to just accept it. She could compromise her conscience later.
"Alright. If you're disposing of it, give me the original ring."
And so, the Ring of Crimson Flame returned to Philomel's hand, brimming with Justis's divine power.
Having grown attached to the item over time, Philomel was secretly pleased. It was quite useful, too.
In any case, Rozanne was reportedly seen limping out of the palace that day.
House Muriel had agreed to take her in.
She might be the enemy who toppled their house, but they pitied her plight—broken body and nowhere else to go.
The prospective empress fiasco seemed to draw to a close like that.
But the next day, Jeremiah approached Philomel with a grave expression.
"That woman died."
"...Who?" Philomel blinked in confusion, not catching on right away.
"Rozanne or whatever her name was."
"What? How?"
Philomel's eyes flew wide.
"Stabbed by an assailant. By the time Lexion got there, she was already dead."
"No way..."
It was unbelievable news.
She gaped as she listened to Jeremiah continue.
"She'd gone to the old Manon mansion to retrieve her things, apparently. No witnesses, so the culprit's unknown."
"..."
Philomel clutched her warm teacup without a word.
Who could have killed her?
Though House Manon's debts were fully repaid, plenty might hold personal grudges, so it could be one of them.
Moreover, Rozanne and her family were known for being harsh to the weak.
In any case, a sliver of sympathy stirred.
Feels weird knowing someone I recognize is dead.
But a puzzling thought occurred to her, and Philomel spoke up.
"By the way, why did Lexion go to see Rozanne?"
"...There's something."
Jeremiah paused before answering.
"What is it? Can't you give me just a hint?"
Philomel pressed eagerly, hating being left out of the loop.
"Our values differ from yours quite a bit."
But Jeremiah only shut his mouth tight after that cryptic reply.