“In any case, don’t dare to raise your voice so recklessly.”

“I-I’m sorry. But it’s true. I was no fool! You must believe me at least as much as trusting an eye that can see a flute. It was a brand new one! I thought it was strange!”

Using a flute properly and bringing it to a banquet when you don’t even know how to play it is an unbelievable act. It was suspicious enough.

“Leo. If you turn the flute into a dart shape and shoot it.”

“It will become a projectile?”

“Yeah.”

If Terion was the culprit, he was close enough to make a lethal jab.
However, if the attack occurred in the main palace, I wondered how the dart was shot. If the flute had a special hydraulic device, it made sense.

‘Even if I try to retrieve the flute now, it’s likely hidden or destroyed somewhere.’

After contemplating for a moment, I opened my mouth to Sukrel.

“I’ll spare your life.”

“T-Thank you!”

“But, you’re not satisfied with just that, and you don’t want to return to being a commoner, right?”

If he understood my words, I could offer more than just sparing his life. However, he had to comprehend it very cleverly.

As soon as I finished speaking, Sukrel didn’t hesitate for even a second and deeply bowed his head to the ground.

“I confess everything! What I gave to Empress was poison, all under the orders of the Empress’s enemy.”

“I see. Gallahan, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, intended to create a big scandal to put my daughter on the Empress’s seat, right? So, he gave you that poison to make you run away with me, didn’t he?”

“Yes. Sukrel will confess everything!”

Looking down at his burgundy hair, I smoothly brushed aside my lips.

A sacrifice was needed for mourning. Gallahan was the first sacrifice to be scattered on Charlotte’s way.

On the day of Charlotte’s funeral, held modestly within the Empress’s palace, rumors spread throughout the palace.

The Empress’s governess, Sukrel, was an assassin, and soon, he would face public execution.

With the culprit exposed, the other officials who were detained were released, returning to the Empress’s palace. The death of the Empress’s closest maid was quickly forgotten.

In reality, no one had been interested in the maid’s death.

“She liked flowers, so she should be surrounded by flowers when she leaves.”

I attended only the front part of the funeral, leaving right after placing a single flower in the coffin. The reason Merem and I left early was to allow those who cherished Charlotte to mourn more comfortably.

I didn’t want everyone to suppress their tears just because I was there.

“Now, Merem.”

“I’ll be ready.”

“Please.”

Then Merem moved away from my side to the pre-arranged location.

Left alone, I waited for the afternoon when the funeral would end in the bedroom. As Charlotte’s coffin was loaded onto the carriage leaving the Empress’s palace, I called Terion.

Unbeknownst to me, the sky had turned into dusk.

“There’s somewhere we need to go together.”

“…Yes, Your Majesty.”

I didn’t explain the plan to Terion, but he followed me nonetheless.

“You experienced hardship in the main palace.”

“No. It was a natural thing.”

Although he had a pale complexion, Terion’s response was free of any hesitation.

I patted his shoulder and walked along the back road of the Empress’s palace together. Soon, we reached a deserted path.

There was a high tower on the nearby path, now unused.

“Nevertheless, you still have the intention of working as the Empress’s scribe, right?”
“If you permit… Yes. I would like that.”

“Honesty is good. I’ve also found it inconvenient when the scribe is gone.”

In response to my gentle words, Terion’s tense and stiff expression eased a bit.

Intentionally, I approached Terion, placing my arms around his neck.

Although Terion stiffened again, he hesitated before wrapping his arms around my waist. Still, there was a lot of uncertainty in his pale blue eyes as he stared at me.

“Uh, Your Majesty?”

“Hush. Pretend we’re kissing. Quickly.”