Lian couldn’t hold back and jabbed Decan in the side.

“What did you say? Huh?”

“Ah… he said we should consult the Knights of the Malik Temple.”

“Hmm? Does that make sense?”

At first, Lian blinked as if incredulous.

“The guys who obviously did it? If we ask for advice, they’ll just talk nonsense… No, it might work.”

Decan nodded.

“Exactly. We might even find evidence through consulting them. As long as they formally belong to the temple, they have no grounds to refuse His Majesty’s summons.”

“Right. Wow, did Phoenix know all this? That’s amazing.”

“PiPi.”

To be precise, PiPi didn’t know this; he simply mentioned that there were guys who knew about ancient magic.

“Call them right now.”

At Rascal’s words, Lian responded promptly.

“Yes, Your Majesty! If you permit, I will go myself.”

“Do that. Take ample guard with you.”

“Understood.”

If Lian went, there wouldn’t be a lack of force. The Maliks would have no choice but to be dragged along.

Rascal unclasped a gemstone pendant symbolizing his name and tossed it to Lian.

Lian politely caught the pendant with both hands.

“Take this instead of a warrant.”

“Ah, I will return it promptly. Then, I’ll depart now… Ah, may I ask one thing before that?”

“Quickly.”

Lian asked swiftly after rolling his eyes once.

“What will you tell the royal chef?”

“Nothing.”

“Huh? Why is that?”

“The Empress once said the taste was worth eating.”

“Ah… too much is also not good, I see. Then I’ll go right away.”

Having resolved his curiosity, Lian swiftly turned around.

Rascal had been worried ever since he ordered all kinds of ginger dishes.

Even if the royal chef had extraordinary skills, becoming fixated on one ingredient would naturally spoil the taste.

‘I should ask the Empress what she really likes to eat when I come back.’

That’s what he planned to inform her. Lian firmly believed the Empress had changed; she could not be the vicious and cruel person she was before, especially after having prevented Serben’s punishment.

The court officials were being somewhat annoying now, but after resolving minor issues, the Emperor and the Empress would be a pictureperfect couple.

Rascal would subdue his blood entirely before turning thirty and would remain a great emperor for a long time.

It was a wishful outcome.

“……?”

But dreaming that already was too hasty.

Decan suddenly changed his expression and began mumbling something, a spell.

Moments later, Decan pulled out a letter from his billowy sleeve.

“Contact has… arrived, Your Majesty.”

The fact that the letter came from Decan’s sleeve meant he intercepted it through magic.

“That’s the temple’s seal!”

Upon confirming the seal on the envelope, Lian shouted.

Decan had preemptively intercepted a letter sent from the temple to the palace using a spell he had in place.

Rascal roughly tore the seal and read the letter.

“……What does it say?”

Lian asked, swallowing hard.

It didn’t feel good. The temple was timing this as if spying on what was happening in the Emperor’s office right now.

“……It’s too late.”

“Excuse me?”

Thud!

Rascal tossed the letter he had read. Veins were popping on his temples.

“The Empress has been accused of committing seventeen murders over the past four years to conceal the absence of her mark. The temple says they need to confirm the mark.”

“……What? What did you say?”

When he heard that the Empress had amnesia, Lian thought it was the most absurd thing he had heard all year.

But it wasn’t. This was many times more ridiculous.

(Time Separator)

The place that sent the letter accusing the Empress was not only the royal family. It was sent to all the noble families belonging to the five ducal families and the High Nobles’ Council.

The matter had become too big to quietly resolve within the palace.
The formal indictment in the name of the Viceroy was officially submitted to the House of Nobles and the Chief Justice for trial.

It was as if a spell had been cast by a ghost.

Even before the royal family could intervene, everyone hastily arranged the trial date and jury. There had never been an instance where a single indictment had been processed so rapidly since the founding of the Eliarden Empire.

“Beep beep!”

Pipi frantically flapped its wings and flew around the room.

Half of the curses were aimed at Lescar, and the other half targeted the temple and the priests.

While I understood the anger, it was becoming burdensome to keep listening.

The contents of the indictment were probably true, after all.

“Beep! Peep!”

“Pipi, stop and come here.”

Rasilia extended her palm towards Pipi. Pipi flew to her and buried its head in her palm, chirping softly.

“Beep. Peep?”

“……No, I get that you’re angry, but don’t talk about killing all the priests.”

“Beep!”

“There’s no one who should be killed. And I can’t add more murders to the seventeen I’ve already committed.”

“Peep.”

“Whether you kill or I kill, it’s the same. Besides, the palace servants weren’t killed by me.”

“Peep…….”

Pipi drooped its wings, visibly deflated.