“Your Majesty!”

Momentarily stunned by the Emperor’s sudden appearance, those present quickly regained their senses and hurriedly began to greet him.

The red eyes briefly lingered on the small brown crown standing guard next to the maid with bound hands, then dropped as he said,

“My, grandmother and aunt are here as well. It seems the Imperial Competition Committee’s notice requesting direct family members of candidates to refrain from visiting the annex wasn’t properly conveyed.”

As the Emperor spoke with one corner of his mouth turned up, Empress Dowager Natalie and Duchess Caroline emerged from the crowd with awkward smiles.

“I’m not sure how often the Duchess visits the annex, but I haven’t set foot here for the sake of fairness in the competition. I rushed over after receiving word that Princess Lilibet had fallen victim to a terrible theft.”

“As for me, I was simply going to hand over some books at the main gate for my niece who loves reading so much, but when I heard something unthinkable had happened in the annex, I couldn’t just pass by as an elder of the imperial family. It’s been so long since I’ve been here that I even got lost on the way.”

The Emperor showed a benevolent expression towards the two women as they made excuses while checking each other.

As the Empress Dowager and Duchess, who visited the annex almost daily, lied without changing their expressions, the other ladies and maids smiled while observing the situation.

Every time these two powerful imperial women came to the annex, Princess Lilibet and Lady Grace’s arrogance soared to new heights.

The other eight ladies were irritated by their rudeness but knew they had to stay on good terms with the two most likely candidates.

While becoming Empress was everyone’s ultimate goal, they knew that even if they failed, having a connection with the Empress would prevent disadvantages for themselves and their families.

“With grandmother and aunt personally setting an example for the gathered candidates, there’s no need to worry about discipline in the imperial household.”

The two women, their shoulders puffed up at the Emperor’s praise, bowed their heads and missed the cold light that passed over his red eyes.

“Your Majesty, if you had sent word, we would have prepared to receive you. I apologize for showing you this chaotic scene.”

Head maid Bridget walked forward and bowed deeply before the Emperor, her hands folded respectfully. The Emperor turned his gaze to the ladies and spoke with a still dazzling smile on his lips.

“I dropped by to have some tea with the ladies, as I felt bad about not being able to dance with them yesterday. I thought the annex was a very quiet place, but it seems it’s quite lively and interesting in its own way. If I had known, I would have visited more often.”

“We were in the process of arresting a maid who tried to steal Princess Lilibet’s jewelry and sending her to prison, Your Majesty.”

As the captain of the annex guards reported with his head bowed, Empress Dowager Natalie interjected, wearing a dignified mask.

“Your Majesty, I hear that Lady Arabel’s maid was caught trying to steal an expensive jewel from Princess Lilibet’s bedroom this morning. The jewel the maid tried to steal is a golden egg made from the egg of the Red Chaos bird, the pride of our Sevils Kingdom.”

The golden egg crafted from the egg of the Red Chaos bird of Sevils was one of the finest jewels on the entire continent.

It was the only egg that wouldn’t break even when molten pure gold was poured into it, and the ruby-colored waves in the gold created during this process were a unique characteristic of the Red Chaos bird’s golden eggs.

It was especially popular as a wedding gift among many royal and noble families because its color didn’t change even after hundreds of years and it wasn’t easily broken.

At that moment, Princess Lilibet came forward before the Emperor, supported by her maid as if she were the heroine of a tragic tale. Blinking her beautiful blue eyes pitifully, she spoke in a trembling voice, still seemingly unable to overcome the shock.

“My maids witnessed Lady Arabel’s maid sneaking into my bedroom and rummaging through my wardrobe to steal the jeweled egg……”

“Oh my, the princess must have been very frightened.”

“Sob, my heart is still pounding furiously.”

Princess Lilibet replied, running her fingers down her luscious cleavage and biting her plump lower lip gently.

The heavens must be helping me. This is a golden opportunity to drive out that thorn in my side from the annex for good.

Her lowered blue eyes filled with joy. She felt a refreshing release of the anger that had built up from Arabel daring to meet her gaze without flinching just moments ago.

“But why was another lady’s maid in your quarters?”

“Pardon…?”

Lilibet’s lips quivered in surprise at the Emperor’s unexpected question.

You foolish thing. So eager to put Arabel in a difficult position that you rushed in without thinking it through. Grace, standing behind her, thought with a sneer.

“Rosa, Lady Arabel’s maid, has been coming to our princess regularly, begging to be employed by her. She said she couldn’t endure Lady Arabel’s verbal and physical abuse. Our kind-hearted princess couldn’t bring herself to turn her away, but we never imagined she would betray such kindness in this ungrateful manner.”

“This morning too, she came to the princess crying and making a fuss about taking her in. While we were briefly distracted, she snuck into the princess’s bedroom to steal the golden egg, Your Majesty.”

“I saw it with my own eyes. This is her taking the golden egg from the princess’s jewelry box in the wardrobe. To take advantage of the princess’s kind heart like this, she deserves divine punishment.”

Princess Lilibet’s maids rushed to answer on her behalf. As expected of the representative maids sent by the royal family, they were optimized for the greedy but not so bright princess.

“So that’s how it happened.”

As the Emperor nodded as if he understood, Rosa cried out.

“That’s not true! My lady knows nothing about this. I didn’t steal the golden egg! Princess Lilibet gave it to me and I was returning it… Ouch!”

Rosa couldn’t finish her sentence as she fell to the ground, clutching her cheek after a sharp hand struck her.

“How dare you shout and lie in front of His Majesty? Shameless thing!”

The Empress Dowager thundered as she lowered her hand.

“Aunt, please calm down. Rosa didn’t do this alone. She’s as much a victim as anyone. Please have pity on her.”

As Lilibet grabbed the Empress Dowager’s arm and spoke with a tearful voice, the Empress Dowager asked loudly so everyone could hear.

“What do you mean, Princess? Are you saying Rosa isn’t the real culprit?”

“Rosa didn’t even know I had the golden egg. The only people who knew about the Red Chaos bird’s golden egg in my wardrobe’s treasure box were my maids, my closest friend Lady Margaret who came from the kingdom with me, and……”

Lilibet turned her head to look at Arabel and said in a clear voice,

“Only Lady Arabel, whom I’ve recently become close with.”

“That’s right. Princess Lilibet, feeling sorry for Lady Arabel who had no friends, invited her over once… At that time, she showed her the golden egg in her bedroom. I remember Lady Arabel saying it was her first time seeing a Red Chaos bird’s golden egg, and she asked very detailed questions about its price and where it could be traded.”

Margaret, daughter of a count from the Sevils Kingdom, stood next to Princess Lilibet and added in a calm tone. The Empress Dowager’s eyes, which had been signaling Margaret to help the princess, narrowed in satisfaction.

At that moment, all the piercing gazes of those gathered by the pond were directed at Arabel. The Emperor’s jaw clenched tightly as he looked at Arabel.

Her brown eyes were fixed on the ground, not even daring to look in the Emperor’s direction for fear of causing him any harm. Her shoulders, trembling slightly as she stood among the crowd, seemed even more delicate than usual today.

“Are you saying that Lady Arabel ordered her maid Rosa to steal the golden egg? Oh my, how could she plot such a thing?”

“It’s so frightening. To think there’s a thief among us in the annex where we all live together. We each have valuable treasures brought from our families in our quarters, I must go check on mine.”

As the daughter of an imperial baron and the princess of the Le Couffe satellite state, who were aligned with Lilibet, made a fuss, the other ladies also frowned and nodded.

No one believed that Princess Lilibet, who had led the bullying against Arabel from the moment she arrived, would have invited her separately and taken her to her bedroom to show her the precious golden egg.

However, this was an opportunity to get rid of a candidate personally brought by the Emperor without having to dirty their own hands.

“If this is true, it’s not just a simple theft. If an empress candidate is involved in a theft, or worse, is the mastermind, she should naturally be disqualified.”

“Her Majesty the Empress Dowager is right. We shouldn’t conclude this incident with just the arrest of the maid. Lady Arabel must be taken in for questioning to reveal the truth. Please issue an arrest warrant for Lady Arabel.”

For once, the usually growling Empress Dowager and Duchess spoke with one voice in presenting their opinion to the Emperor.

With clear evidence and witnesses, even the Emperor would be powerless. It would be easy to torture Rosa until she falsely confessed that Arabel had ordered her to do it, just to save her own life.

And the prey had been caught far too easily.

Arabel, who stood there unable to make even a single excuse while listening to the accusations against her, looked infinitely weak and stupid in their eyes.

Tsk, where did the Emperor find such a thing? It was shameful to think they had worried and put their heads together before meeting Arabel.

“Is this the famous golden egg?”

The Emperor’s voice, devoid of emotion, spread softly across the pond.

“Yes? Yes……”

The maid holding the box containing the golden egg brought it forward and presented it to the Emperor.

As the Emperor took the golden egg out of the box and placed it in his palm, the late morning sunlight made it sparkle brilliantly. While everyone was holding their breath, focused on the beautiful jeweled egg, the Empress Dowager boasted proudly.

“The shell of the Red Chaos bird’s egg is incredibly delicate, yet it never breaks. Unlike other jeweled eggs, it won’t break even if Your Majesty drops it on the ground. It remains unaffected in the midst of sea storms or heavy snow on mountaintops.”

“Let’s set aside the talk of the golden egg since His Majesty has kindly visited us. Why don’t we prepare a lunch picnic? We should quickly take Lady Arabel and Rosa, who need to be investigated, to the interrogation room.”

At the Duchess’s words, the guards stood awkwardly, unsure of what to do, looking to the Emperor for guidance.

“If a crime has been committed, punishment must follow. However, we haven’t heard a single word from the one at the center of this incident.”

The Emperor rolled the golden egg in his palm with his other hand,

“Lady Arabel, do you truly have nothing to say?”

The Emperor asked calmly, suppressing his anxiety in his throat.

Silence is very disadvantageous in this situation. Even if she’s too flustered to think, she should at least loudly proclaim her innocence, but the woman before him seemed to have no such intention. No, she appeared to lack the confidence to do so.

If words won’t come out, she should burst into tears, or somehow convey her feelings of injustice, but she’s just standing there without any reaction.

Standing like this amidst everyone’s accusations truly made her look like someone who had committed a crime. If she would just say something, anything, he could somehow help her. The Emperor unknowingly swallowed dry saliva as he looked at Arabel, who had lowered her gaze.

“When the crime is so clearly evident, what more needs to be said? Please don’t ruin this good day when Your Majesty has personally visited the annex any further. Order her to be taken to the interrogation room. Please consider the other ladies waiting for Your Majesty.”

As the Empress Dowager finished speaking with a victorious smile,

“Rosa did not steal Princess Lilibet’s Red Chaos bird’s golden egg. I… did not order Rosa to steal the princess’s jewel.”

Arabel’s voice, though small, was heard clearly in everyone’s ears. The Emperor’s red eyes flickered with a bright light.

“Would a thief say ‘I stole’? How can we believe those words? There are so many witnesses here.”

As the ladies who sided with Princess Lilibet sneered, the other ladies nodded in agreement.

“Do you have any evidence that you’re not a thief? Princess Lilibet has evidence and witnesses that you are.”

The Empress Dowager asked coldly, glaring at Arabel. No matter how much she protests alone, it’s useless.

Receiving the silent mockery of the women gathered by the pond, Arabel slowly approached the Emperor.

As the Emperor was about to say, “Since the lady claims she’s innocent, I’ll take her and question her myself,” and move to take Arabel away… the Emperor’s eyes widened in surprise.

Arabel, who had come before him, knelt by the pond, folded her knees, and stretched out her arms towards the water. Then she carefully cupped some pond water in her hands.

‘Has she gone mad?’

As the women were shocked by Arabel’s unexpected action, Arabel, undisturbed, brought her hands over the Emperor’s hand where the golden egg rested.

Splash.

As she poured the pond water over the golden egg,

Crack.

The golden egg began to crack and then, unbelievably, shattered into pieces in an instant.