In the emperor’s hand, the golden egg shattered into pieces, and white smoke rose like a mirage before dispersing into the air.

“The Red Chaos bird’s golden egg has broken! It’s supposed to be unbreakable even when struck with a stone, what’s going on?”

As one of the candidates shouted in undisguised surprise, the other candidates began to whisper one by one.

“Then, that egg must be fake… hic, hiccup.”

The princess of Shatel, who voiced the thought lingering in everyone’s mind, started hiccuping when she met the empress dowager’s venomous gaze.

“Well, well, the Red Chaos bird’s golden egg has broken so easily. Lady Arabel, can you explain?”

The red eyes that had been staring at the golden and red shards turned to Arabel in front, wavering with apparent amusement.

“Princess Lilibet’s golden egg was not made from a Red Chaos bird’s egg, but from a red-tailed moon bird’s egg.”

Arabel, uncomfortable with the attention focused on her, answered the emperor’s question with flushed cheeks.

The red-tailed moon bird’s egg, famous for being a counterfeit of the Red Chaos egg. It was an egg often used to make fake jewel eggs due to its similar color and size to the Red Chaos bird’s egg.

Especially recently, after the development of gilding techniques using impure gold mixed with copper, crimes involving fraud with red-tailed moon bird eggs had been rapidly increasing.

While these frauds typically involved transactions worth the price of an ordinary commoner’s house, there was no particular way to distinguish them, causing headaches for the enforcement department.

“How did you know this jewel was made from a red-tailed moon bird’s egg?”

“Red Chaos birds lay their eggs and leave the nest without incubating them. So if you look closely, the top of the bird’s egg is slightly more pointed than usual eggs. This is because there are no marks from being pressed by the mother’s weight. And like ordinary bird eggs, when placed on a flat surface like a palm, it can’t stand upright and tilts to the side.”

Arabel slowly explained, looking at the shattered egg in the emperor’s hand.

“In contrast, the red-tailed moon bird doesn’t leave the nest after laying eggs until they hatch, incubating them. However, it takes three times longer for red-tailed moon bird eggs to hatch than ordinary eggs, so when placed on a flat surface, the egg can stand properly due to the center of gravity being at the bottom from bearing the mother’s weight.”

Arabel looked up at the emperor’s red eyes briefly and added.

“Just as it stood upright without losing balance when Your Majesty placed it on your palm.”

“You… knew about this difference?”

Like the emperor who asked with raised eyebrows in surprise, everyone gathered there had their mouths agape in astonishment. Arabel nodded slightly, her eyes reddening.

In the continent, the process of making jewel eggs from bird eggs began just before the eggs were about to hatch, when they were taken from the nest at their most mature. Unlike the heartless Red Chaos mother, this was a very cruel act for birds like the red-tailed moon bird.

Arabel approached closer to the emperor and cupped her two palms, showing them to him. It was a gesture asking for the powder fragments in his hand. The emperor tilted his palm downward, letting the powder fall into Arabel’s cupped hands.

“The red-tailed moon bird, with its strong maternal instinct, covers its egg with red tears when it’s taken away. This is to not lose hope of finding it no matter how the egg changes. When the egg is exposed to sunlight, it’s covered in bright red spots. Just as when Your Majesty held the egg under the sunlight, faint red dots were visible among the golden red waves. In fact, the mother of this egg probably hovered around it for a while.”

How heartbroken must the mother bird have been? Thinking of the baby bird dying inside the egg, unable to hatch due to the gilding. Arabel’s voice trailed off as her throat tightened, and she crouched down again, sprinkling the powder into the pond.

Somehow, this scene seemed almost sacred, and even those who had been mocking and attacking her until now watched Arabel silently. The quiet sobs of some maids and guards with misty eyes could be heard.

“Now fly freely and go to your mother’s side.”

As Arabel whispered gently, as if the pond understood her words, it suddenly created a small current, taking the powder into the water.

The emperor asked in a soft voice to Arabel, whose eyes had reddened.

“Did you know the egg would break if pond water was poured on it?”

“Yes… red-tailed moon bird eggs are weak against fire and water, especially acidic water like pond water can break them just by touching. If it had been crafted with pure gold, it wouldn’t have broken so easily, but an egg treated with fake gold containing impurities starts to crack from the inside the moment acidic water is poured, breaking instantly.”

Arabel turned to face Princess Lilibet, who was glaring at her viciously.

Unlike Lilibet, who stood trembling with rage and shame, biting her lips, Arabel, with her calm expression and graceful demeanor, looked like the true mistress of the annex palace.

“Do you think I would have instructed Rosa to steal the jewel egg knowing that Princess Lilibet’s jewel was fake? A fake egg that can be bought even in the market?”

Her voice was still polite but had gained strength.

Arabel was right. Princess Lilibet’s claim had now become an unfounded accusation and slander against Arabel. The empress dowager’s lips twitched as if to retort, but unable to find words, she could only clench her fists until they turned white.

“Then…”

The Duchess of Le Sang stepped forward with a rotten smile. If she couldn’t strike Arabel… this was a golden opportunity to trample another competitor.

“Are you saying that Princess Lilibet framed an innocent charge on Lady Arabel? How could this be…!”

As the duchess deliberately raised her voice as if shocked, Lady Grace immediately grasped her aunt’s intention and chimed in.

“Lady Arabel’s words are correct. Why would Lady Arabel, who instantly recognized it as a red-tailed moon bird’s egg, try to steal such a cheap egg? It didn’t make sense from the beginning.”

Lady Grace elbowed the daughter of Baron Hawthorne beside her, and the baron’s daughter exclaimed dramatically.

“Honestly, it was suspicious. How could Lady Arabel’s maid enter Princess Lilibet’s bedroom without any permission? What were Princess Lilibet’s maids doing…?”

In an instant, the situation reversed faster than flipping a palm. Centered around Grace, the ladies who had taken her side began to rage, saying, ‘She tried to frame the innocent Lady Arabel and her maid with a fake jewel egg.’

Denying the fact that until just moments ago, they had silently supported Princess Lilibet from behind.

“No matter if she is the niece of the empress dowager, such a false accusation cannot be overlooked. This must be thoroughly investigated.”

The Duchess of Le Sang said with a vicious smile behind her unfolded fan.

Slap! A sharp sound of a slap echoed around the pond.

“Ah…!”

Princess Lilibet’s personal maid was slapped by the empress dowager and tumbled to the ground.

“You wicked thing! I knew all along that you would betray the princess! This was your doing, wasn’t it? You plotted this to put both the princess and Lady Arabel in trouble, didn’t you?”

“Your, Your Highness the Empress Dowager…”

As the maid stammered in shock, unable to get up from the floor, the empress dowager shouted in rage.

“How dare you try to blabber with that filthy mouth? Shut up before I tear your mouth apart! Didn’t you steal the real golden egg and try to frame Lady Arabel’s maid for the crime? And then you gave Princess Lilibet false information that Lady Arabel ordered it!”

As expected of the empress dowager. The owner of a cunning mind that could cover up her niece’s crime by pinning it on her maid.

The emperor raised one corner of his mouth as if amused, watching the performance of the empress dowager and her minions.

“That’s, that’s right, aunt. Now that I think about it, Lady Arabel’s maid came to my chambers to meet Annie, and Annie… yes, Annie took Rosa to my bedroom and plotted all this! Yes, that’s right, that Annie thing tried to frame Rosa and drive a wedge between my and Lady Arabel’s friendship!”

Lilibet, who was not very bright but well-versed in wrongdoing, caught on to the empress dowager’s intention and pointed her finger at her maid Annie. It was the moment she abandoned the maid who had cared for her since birth, without any guilt.

The empress dowager quickly gave a signal to the other two maids with her eyes, and the two maids knelt down and shouted.

“We’re sorry. We had been suspicious of Annie and were always watching her, but we failed to protect Princess Lilibet. Please punish us for our crime. Rosa came to the princess’s chambers because Annie called her, and it’s clear that Annie framed Rosa.”

“Yes, now that I think about it, I saw Annie taking something out of the princess’s bedroom closet a few days ago. I should have checked Annie’s pockets then, it’s my fault…”

Then Annie slowly stood up and spoke in a voice that seemed to have given up everything.

“Please kill me. I was bewitched by the rare golden egg… I committed an unforgivable sin against the princess. I stole the golden egg, brought a fake egg, and tried to frame Rosa for the crime. I also made Princess Lilibet suspect Lady Arabel.”

Annie added, closing her eyes.

“Princess Lilibet knew nothing. The princess is a victim just like Lady Arabel.”

At this point, no one believed the words of the empress dowager, Princess Lilibet, and her maids, but there was nothing that could be said. Since Annie had confessed to the crime, the incident was more or less concluded.

However, the eyes hidden under the eyebrows of the other ladies and maids looking at Princess Lilibet now flashed with hostility, unlike before.

It was the moment when the ladies confirmed that Princess Lilibet could frame anyone she disliked at any time, and that the empress dowager would do anything to help her.

All the maids, including her own, realized that Lilibet could instantly abandon a maid who had been loyal to her for twenty-one years.

The maids of the ladies who had been recruited to Princess Lilibet’s side noticed that the golden eggs they had received from the princess were fake. They also realized that they could end up in Rosa’s position at any time because of it.

On the other hand, the eyes around the lake that glanced at Arabel blinked with mixed emotions.

The ladies looked at the fallen noble’s daughter they had ignored and ostracized until now with somewhat fearful eyes, suspecting, ‘Has she been hiding her abilities all this time?’

Unlike their ladies, the maids looked at the small-bodied lady who protected her maid without fear of danger, as if they couldn’t believe it.

Especially Princess Lilibet’s maids, who knew about Rosa’s betrayal and all the truth, looked enviously at Arabel’s maids standing behind her.

Moreover, the imperial maids and soldiers who had witnessed all this commotion were amazed at Arabel’s calm attitude and deep knowledge, itching to spread the news of today’s events.

The empress dowager and the duchess thought simultaneously as they glared at Arabel. She is by no means an easy opponent.

“Your Majesty, please quickly drag that criminal out of the annex palace. The fact that she was chosen as the princess’s personal maid is a disgrace to me and the Sebilles Kingdom. Please order it quickly for my sake.”

As the empress dowager bowed her head and pleaded, the emperor nodded with a gentle smile.

At the emperor’s signal, the soldiers hurriedly untied Rosa’s hands and lifted Annie’s shoulders from the ground where she was kneeling.

“Wait.”

A firm baritone voice resonated softly around the pond.

“It seems you don’t know that the empress selection competition started with yesterday’s banquet.”

The emperor continued, slightly raising his chin.

“Today’s incident in the annex palace will also be included in the competition scores, so report the details of the incident to the competition committee.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Kyle, the assistant, bowed his head and answered.

“What… what do you mean by that?”

When the empress dowager asked with a pale face, the emperor calmly replied.

“You know well, don’t you? That the competition is not just made up of tests. The fact that everything that happens in the annex palace during the competition goes into the score. How are points calculated in a situation like this?”

To the emperor’s question, Assistant Kyle answered without hesitation.

“The committee will officially announce it, but according to the competition rules, Lady Arabel, who solved the incident in the annex palace, will be given a special score of 25 points. Although it was a misunderstanding, Princess Lilibet, who officially raised charges against Lady Arabel, will have 25 points deducted for false accusation and defamation of a candidate, and Lady Margaret, who cooperated with this, will have 15 points deducted.”

“What nonsense…! Lilibet is also a victim! This is unfair!”

As Lilibet’s sobbing voice broke through, the empress dowager raised her voice in protest, to which the emperor casually shrugged and replied.

“As you know, the competition is not under my jurisdiction. However.”

The emperor’s red eyes momentarily filled with a cold light as he warned each of the empress dowager and the ladies. The air around him, which had been gentle and benevolent, became so cold that it raised goosebumps on their arms, evoking a suffocating sense of fear.

“Those gathered here should be very grateful that this incident is not under my jurisdiction. I think your clever heads will have understood what I mean.”

Even the empress dowager and the duchess, overwhelmed by his charisma, could not say anything and bowed their heads, while the emperor showed his handsome face with a calm smile again and said.

“I was hoping to have a nice time having lunch with the young ladies for a change. Oh my, time has flown by. I must return to my office to attend to state affairs.”

At the emperor’s words, the young ladies glared at Princess Lilibet in unison.

If she hadn’t plotted this incident, they could have been dining with the emperor now and possibly winning his favor. The young ladies who missed the opportunity openly gnashed their teeth at Princess Lilibet.

As Arabel lowered her head regretfully, watching the emperor’s back as he turned away without a glance… The emperor paused while walking towards the main gate of the annex palace and instructed Arabel’s maid Vera in a dry voice.

“I will be going on a secret outing to the capital today. Prepare Lady Arabel to accompany me. Now that I know of her ability to discern fake jewel eggs, I must receive her help in arresting a group of fraudsters. Prepare as we may not return today.”

“Yes, Your Majesty! Do not worry! I will make the young lady look most beautiful for accompanying you… No, I mean, I will prepare her suitably for the secret outing!”

Vera answered vigorously, clenching her fists and vowing to dress Arabel even more beautifully than at the banquet. Of course, she firmly decided to also prepare the bridal nightgown brought from the former Count Laurel’s village boutique.