At first glance, she appeared to be standing at attention, but upon closer inspection, Baroness Oppenheimer’s arms were lifelessly drooping to the floor.

“Surely… Did they break her arms too?”

“……”

As Baroness Oppenheimer nodded her head, Count Frederick muttered a curse.

“Really……”

Jieselgrante closed her eyes tightly at the excessively cruel treatment.

[This is the timeline separator]

“Your Grace, I have something to report.”

Cabelased looked up from his documents to observe Count Preston walking into the office.

“It seems Count Frederick visited the underground prison where Baroness Oppenheimer is held last night.”

Jieselgrante, whom he had encountered on the way to the imperial capital, had said that Count Frederick was one of the individuals who had aided the late Princess Trinity.

Whether that information was true or not, Cabelased was also interested in this princess murder case.

So he had stationed someone near the underground prison where Baroness Oppenheimer was imprisoned.

To find out who had visited there.

And as Jieselgrante had said, Count Frederick came to see Baroness Oppenheimer.

This was as good as proof that Count Frederick had a great interest in Princess Trinity’s murder case.

“How bold.”

Especially when someone else like Cabelased might be watching the underground prison.

Cabelased narrowed his eyes as he put down the documents he was holding on the desk.

If he could uncover the mastermind behind Princess Trinity’s murder case, Cabelased would gain a significant advantage.

It was too early to jump to conclusions, but he had a suspicion about a certain individual.

As the one who orchestrated Princess Trinity’s murder.

If Cabelased’s suspicions were correct, and if this incident became known to the world, Joshua, who was soon to become the Crown Prince, would lose a major power base.

“However, an unexpected person was with him.”

“Who was it?”

“It seems Duke Amaterasu’s daughter personally met with Baroness Oppenheimer along with Count Frederick.”

Cabelased’s eyebrows rose at Count Preston’s words.

“One more thing, it appears Baroness Oppenheimer was completely unable to express herself to anyone else.”

Unable to express herself…

Cabelased voiced his suspicion.

“Did they cut out her tongue?”

Count Preston wrinkled his nose and nodded.

“Yes.”

The mastermind behind this incident was meticulous and cruel enough to make even Count Preston, who had been through thick and thin, frown.

“Keep watching until the end.”

Though he said that, Cabelased actually judged that continuing to watch Baroness Oppenheimer wouldn’t be of much significance.

But he was grasping at straws.

The imperial family had quickly moved to dispose of Princess Trinity’s body, and had tidied up the bedroom to leave not a speck of dust behind.

And that wasn’t all.

Princess Trinity’s knight order had been disbanded, and the knights guarding her bedroom that day had each been killed in accidents of unknown causes.

Given such treatment of the knights, some of whom were children of noble families, it was impossible that the maids would have survived.

So it was right to assume that now, Baroness Oppenheimer was the only survivor who had been in that bedroom on the night Princess Trinity was murdered.

As Cabelased was about to lower his gaze back to the documents, he noticed Count Preston’s steps slowing as he was leaving the office and spoke up.

“Do you have something more to say?”

Count Preston turned towards Cabelased.

“Well, Your Grace. I wonder why they went to such lengths when there could have been other ways to eliminate evidence. Wouldn’t it have been easier to simply kill those involved to destroy evidence?”

Indeed, keeping Baroness Oppenheimer alive would undoubtedly be quite troublesome and risky at the same time.

“It’s for the symbolism.”

“Ah……”

An exclamation escaped Count Preston’s lips.

“Indeed, this incident has not only angered some nobles but also enraged the majority of the empire’s citizens……”

Count Preston nodded as if understanding the implication.

There was a high possibility that Baroness Oppenheimer was kept alive because they needed a target for people to vent their anger on.

For that reason, Baroness Oppenheimer would be kept alive until she had served her purpose.

It wasn’t a method Cabelased particularly liked, but he couldn’t say it was wrong either.

If Cabelased were the Emperor, he would have handled things in the same way.

“Is that all you have to report?”

“Yes. I’ll take my leave now.”

As Count Preston left the office, Cabelased lowered his gaze back to the documents.

At that moment, he suddenly recalled Jieselgrante’s face, which was calm yet audacious, and slightly challenging.

Followed by the image of Count Frederick.

‘……They don’t seem to match very well.’

[This is the timeline separator]

After returning from the underground prison of the imperial palace, Jieselgrante lay on her side in bed, simply gazing at the rising morning sun.

Although the wretched image of Baroness Oppenheimer kept spinning in her mind, she forcibly pushed away those memories.

And instead, she focused on the situation ahead.

‘First, I need someone who can act as my hands and feet……”

Count Frederick was able to avoid trouble because he wasn’t openly associated with Trinity.

But the princess’s exclusive knight order and maids weren’t so fortunate.

Last night, through Count Frederick, she had learned that the knight order she had personally selected one by one had been disbanded.

Even the maids who weren’t present on the day Princess Trinity was murdered couldn’t escape some level of punishment.

‘There must have been traitors among them.’

Jieselgrante’s hand gripping the pillow tightened with force.

‘No, perhaps they approached me from the beginning with the purpose of surveillance.’

It seemed certain that among the maids who survived, albeit not escaping punishment, there were spies for the Empress.

She had a rough idea of who it might be.

After a long period of contemplation, Jieselgrante finally sat up.

And she pulled the bell rope.

“My lady, did you call?”

“Lindsey, where did you put the souvenirs we brought from the Grand Temple?”

“……If you mean the priest’s robes, I’ve stored them carefully in my room. Why do you ask?”

Lindsey tilted her head with a puzzled expression.

“Just curious. More importantly, I didn’t get to drink the spring water at the Grand Temple before.”

“Ah! That’s right. Shall I go to the Grand Temple today and fetch some spring water for you?”

“Would you do that?”

“I’ll bring plenty so you can drink it for a few days.”

Lindsey clenched her fists, burning with enthusiasm.

“No, just enough for one day’s worth of drinking water will do.”

Lindsey blinked for a moment before nodding in understanding.

“Alright!”

She seemed to have judged that drinking the spring water fetched that day would be better for freshness.

Seeing Lindsey’s look that asked if there was anything else, Jieselgrante spoke again.

“Lindsey, didn’t you say you have a sibling?”

“Yes, I have a younger sister two years apart from me.”

“How is she doing?”

“Right now, she’s helping our mother in Duke Amaterasu’s domain. She’s looking into working as a maid for a noble family.”

This works out well.

Jieselgrante continued with a faint smile.

“Write a letter to your younger sister. Tell her to come here.”

Lindsey’s eyes widened as she understood the hidden intention in those words.

“Does this mean my sister can work here with me too?”

“That’s right.”

“Really? I, I would be so grateful if you did that.”

Jieselgrante said to the delighted Lindsey.

“Then I’ll wait for the fresh spring water. I need to get some rest now.”

“Understood! I’ll make sure you can quench your thirst with fresh spring water when you wake up.”

Jieselgrante watched Lindsey’s departing figure as she bounced out of the bedroom, then sat down at her desk.

And she wrote a letter.

To the Emperor’s mistress, Countess Tarel.

[This is the timeline separator]

When she woke up, the first thing she felt was the hard surface of the mahogany desk.

It seemed she had dozed off without realizing when she had fallen asleep.

Jieselgrante blinked her sleepy eyelids and looked at the envelope placed on one side of the desk.

As she was about to pull the bell rope, she suddenly paused.

She remembered that she had sent Lindsey on an errand to the Grand Temple.

‘I guess I have no choice but to move myself.’

To shake off the sleep, Jieselgrante left her bedroom. After taking a few steps, she turned her head at a sound she heard.

Clatter.

A maid was quickly crossing the corridor, pushing a trolley.

On the trolley were a teapot, two teacups, and dessert.

“Wait.”

At her call, the maid stopped the trolley and hurried to Jieselgrante’s side, bowing deeply.

“Yes, my lady. Did you call?”

“A guest?”

“Ah… Duke Cardia has come to visit. It seems he had an appointment with young master Mikhail. He said not to let anyone into the reception room…”

The maid, who had been looking at Jieselgrante with an uneasy gaze, soon lowered her eyes and continued speaking.

“…Perhaps I should tell them that you wish to see them?”

The maid spoke while observing Jieselgrante’s reaction, but she shook her head.

“No. There’s no need for that.”

“…Pardon?”

“After you serve tea to the guest, could you prepare something light for me to eat?”

“Eh? Yes…”

Perhaps finding her attitude strange for not easily yielding even to Cabelased’s visit, the maid answered with a bewildered expression.

Jieselgrante gave the maid a gentle smile before turning around.

And just as she was about to return to her bedroom, she heard Mikhail’s voice from behind.

“Then I’ll keep that in mind.”

Seeing Cabelased and Mikhail just leaving the reception room, Jieselgrante hurriedly moved towards her bedroom.

Given what she had said before, she intended to avoid encountering Cabelased if possible.

And the sight of her quickly moving to her bedroom entered Cabelased’s view.

“…?”

For a moment, Cabelased’s steps slowed. Mikhail asked with a puzzled face.

“Cabel? What’s wrong?”

Mikhail soon turned his head following Cabelased’s gaze.

But Jieselgrante had already disappeared around the corner.

“It’s nothing. Let’s continue our conversation.”

Mikhail tilted his head for a moment before speaking again.