Trying to suppress his boiling anger, Henri made an effort to sit down.

“There are rumors, but there is no substantial evidence that Leopold Gongja incited the soldiers.”

“Just rumors won’t be enough, right?”

“Of course not. Although Leopold Gongja is the son of the empress, with the empress absent, the real power in the Valius Empire, now, is the empress’s right arm, the princess. Without decisive evidence, we cannot charge him with treason. Moreover, considering the suspicious movements in the Frantion border zone, we can’t afford to deal with Valius as well.”

“What should we do, then? Should we just watch, whether that bastard is really aiming for the throne or not? Should we draw a clear red line visible around his neck?”

It seemed like an unrealistic idea that he could live comfortably once he became the emperor.

“For now, I’ve placed spies around his residence. We will also strengthen the security around the capital. We plan to tighten the security further. We will try to capture convincing evidence as soon as possible and directly request extradition to the Valius Empire.”

“Fine. Fine. But if it goes wrong…”

“That’s not an option. Your Majesty, even if Her Majesty the Empress uses her curse, can we just trust her to handle such a dangerous matter? Even with Fertant present, there are tens of attendants traveling with Leopold. There’s no guarantee that the news won’t leak out.”

A dilemma.

Trapped in an unknowable swamp, with no way out.

A feeling of thick mud slowly rising into the mouth.

A behavior Henri would never have done under normal circumstances.

He felt like he was losing his mind due to anxiety.

“Huk, hooeak… hooeak…”

As soon as the Investiture ended, Ermedelin forgot about rushing to Pellio and immediately locked herself in her bedroom.

“Here, where could it be?”

Immediately going down to the basement, she found the seal she had stored a while ago.

Indeed, it was the unique golden seal she saw earlier.

Although she couldn’t confirm if it was exactly the same, how common would it be for someone to use a seal of this color?

When Ermedelin confirmed that the person who sent the letter was the same as Leopold Gongja, she felt her stomach crumbling.

‘Why is he suddenly appearing now? Why did a character who didn’t even appear in the original suddenly show up?’

Even Fertant’s appearance was shocking enough, but now the father of the child had also appeared.
The emergence of characters not mentioned at all in the original story one by one felt unusual to Ermedelin.

“Indeed, it’s strange. Just because I built an orphanage and did some sewer construction, does the story have to change this much?”

Even if one doesn’t want to die and struggles, what’s the use if unfavorable and uncertain factors keep appearing? However, momentarily despairing at the fate leading her deeper into the labyrinth, Ermedelin recalled the conversation she had with Louise just before the Investiture.

Ermedelin hurriedly scanned through the list of customers as if possessed by something. “Bastian… Bastian… Impossible. I checked it earlier.” Disappointed for a moment, she sat down, and suddenly, the original name of the Baroness Baptiste, whom she heard from Louise, passed through her mind.

“Veronian, Veronian, there it is! Veronian Salamonde! The one who ordered the curse potion, isn’t she Pellio’s mom?”

Although she had looked up the name Veronian out of curiosity, the name that appeared was that of the person who had died after taking the potion.

“What is this? Could it be suicide… But here…”

Thorough Ermedelin had meticulously recorded not only the names of the customers but also detailed information on where the curse potion would be used.

“A magic that turns hatred into a curse. The curse potion that only works when there is intense hatred towards the target. The target is Marquess Obilian Bastian…”

Reading up to this point, Ermedelin sighed heavily, searching the underground room with an anxious gaze as if she were a person in shock.

“Why would she curse her husband… Why such a terrible curse…”

Suddenly, without hesitation, the terrifying face of Marquess Bastian, who disdainfully struck Pellio, flashed in Ermedelin’s mind.

“No way… Did he hit his wife too?”

As Ermedelin read more carefully, she noticed small comments as if she had left them separately. “It seems to be related to Marquess Lavienta, who died not long ago. Could there have been some kind of relationship between the two? I will look into it in detail. It could be important information in obtaining Prince Pellio.”

As Ermedelin read this far, it seemed like a very unpleasant puzzle was about to be completed in her mind.

“No. Don’t think that far. They are all deceased. Regardless of the circumstances of Pellio’s mother, in the end, it was I who created the potion to kill his father, and she died from that cursed potion, right?”

Ermedelin, unknowingly, moved her hand to touch the brooch hanging on her shoulder.