Marina had come across a golden opportunity to put Franz on the throne, but she didn’t know how to remove the obstacle that was Carl.

It was right before her eyes now, with Maximilian gone and the throne finally vacant, she could place her son on it, but there were still obstacles in her path until the very end.

Moreover, this obstacle was truly difficult to deal with. Carl’s legitimacy was too strong to confront and defeat head-on.

A prince born from the emperor’s legitimate line, and that prince’s son. On the other hand, her son was born from the emperor’s mistress, a lowborn woman at that. It was clear her son would have no chance if they fought on equal footing.

She had barely removed the crown prince, only for his son to appear, and after removing that son, yet another prince emerged to block her son’s path.

Unable to even contemplate how to remove this stronger than ever obstacle, the news of Carl’s ‘child’ appearing felt like a gift from heaven to her as she rotted away.

Remove Carl through that child? It was a perfect opportunity to achieve two goals at once.

Marina immediately ordered Isaac to kidnap Carl’s child. She permitted killing if necessary.

What she needed now was a child. A child of royal blood at that. If only that child fell into her hands… Marina began to cackle out loud.

No matter how I think about it, heaven must be helping me! Soon that child will be in my hands, and then my son will ascend to the throne.

Oh God! You answer my prayers like this, making my son emperor. Marina’s tearful cries of joy echoed hollowly.

The feeling of encountering an unexpected person in an unexpected place. Carl stroked his chin.

“Name. Say it properly. Vague answers and deception won’t work here.”

It had been exactly ten days since he’d come down to the interrogation room. Though countless criminals needing investigation were brought in daily, it wasn’t Carl’s job to be involved with all of that.

It was for the imperial investigation team members to handle, and he had many other tasks to deal with as well.

Yet the reason he had come down here in person now was because the people before him were the criminals they had been waiting for.

“Oh my, I’ve told you several times already. Name, age, place of origin.”

“These bastards are acting up again. You think we don’t know the identity you’ve made up and told us? Speak properly!”

“Who says it’s fake? Why are you calling someone else’s proper identity fake or whatever? It’s real, who’s lying?”

“One drop of your blood will reveal it all. Whether those words are true or not.”

“Well then, why didn’t you just take our blood and test it from the start? Why are you asking us?”

“You won’t shut up? Do you know where you are?”

A meaningless argument broke out between the investigator and the criminals. This level of pointless conversation was a daily occurrence.

Carl let out a frustrated sigh. These were the prime suspects believed to have sold the dessert cursed with black magic to Celeste at the south-central train station.

At first, they were arrested for crimes unrelated to black magic or sorcery, but during the investigation other suspicious points were discovered, so they were urgently transferred here to the imperial investigation team’s interrogation room.

“Keep obstructing the investigation like this and you’ll only add to your crimes, remember that.”

“Why do you keep saying we’re obstructing? Just hurry up and finish interrogating us about what we did wrong. I’m a busy person too.”

Despite being brought here for committing crimes, there wasn’t even a speck of remorse. To sit there and so shamelessly answer while pretending someone else’s identity was their own. Clovis let out a derisive laugh.

“How is it that guys like this always say the exact same things? I’ve never seen them admit anything willingly.”

Even when shown the facts right before their eyes, they cover their eyes and ears and consistently play dumb.

The reason these guys were first caught by the Rahart capital guards was for smuggling and selling prohibited items. As if breaking the law and getting caught wasn’t a new experience, they skillfully gave someone else’s name and tried to get through the interrogation perfunctorily before easily slipping away.

But Carl, who had already left investigation team members at the south-central train station and ordered a thorough investigation into Celeste’s case, had put those who sold her food on the list of suspects and obtained composite sketches of suspicious individuals.

Thanks to that, although it was a formality, they were in the process of comparing the faces of all criminals caught entering and leaving the capital to the composite sketches when these guys happened to be caught.

“At this rate it’ll take quite a while. Should I go break those bastards’ legs or something?”

It seems Clovis was just as frustrated. He rolled up his sleeves, saying he’d go beat them up himself to get proper answers, though he rarely interfered with the investigators’ interrogations.

“Look here. This, it’s you guys, isn’t it?”

The investigator held up a paper with the composite sketch drawn on it and thrust it in front of the guys. Even seeing the paper with their faces drawn on it, the guys just brazenly continued to deny it.

“Huh? You’re saying this is me? No way. It doesn’t look anything like me.”

“That’s right, it doesn’t look like us at all. We brought these items not knowing they weren’t allowed to be sold. If we’d known, we wouldn’t have brought them. Is it a crime to do something without knowing?”

The two of them were quite good at lying in tandem. At this point, Carl really felt like handing Clovis the key to the truth room and telling him to do as he pleased.

“Not knowing is also a crime.”

It was too difficult to just keep watching. Whether or not he was aware that he was particularly emotional when it came to matters related to Celeste, Carl stepped forward in front of the investigator, uncharacteristically not calmly observing.

“Because we can’t distinguish whether you really didn’t know, or are just pretending not to know.”

“Who are you?”

At Carl’s calm explanation, one of the captured men who seemed to be the leader took an insolent tone.

“You bastard… Show some respect to His Highness the Grand Duke.”

“Excuse me? Who did you say?”

Hiiik. Not realizing the person he was dealing with was royalty, the man quickly got up from his seat and then prostrated himself on the floor. Or rather, he tried to prostrate himself. With his hands tied, he tried to bend at the waist but ended up falling and hitting his head on the floor with a thud.

“Y-Your Highness the Grand Duke. I greet you. My rudeness just now was truly because I didn’t know it was Your Highness the Grand Duke, please f-forgive me.”

“Didn’t I just say? Whether you knew or didn’t know, a crime is equally a crime.”

“I-I was wrong!”

The man banged his head on the floor again. It was a completely different attitude from when he was being haughty and evasive in front of the investigators.

Carl was probably the highest-ranking person the man had ever met in his life. So of course he was shocked.

“If you answer honestly, I may forgive your previous rudeness.”

“I-I am answering honestly.”

“I believe I said I would forgive you if you answer honestly. Do you not know the meaning of the word ‘honest’? The truth without even a hint of falsehood. That is honesty.”

“I really…”

“Deceiving royalty is a very serious crime. It’s incomparable to the smuggling and illegal sales that got you caught here.”

At that, the word ‘honest’ that had been repeatedly coming from the man’s mouth finally stopped.

He had tried to get by with convenient lies, but lying in front of royalty could result in greater punishment under imperial law for ‘deceiving the imperial family’.

While smuggling and illegal sales could result in a minimum fine or maximum 3-year prison sentence depending on the items and quantity, if the crime of deceiving the imperial family was added, the punishment could increase indefinitely.

The terrifying yet unique aspect of the crime of deceiving the imperial family was that the punishment could be reduced or increased based on the opinion of the deceived royal.

Moreover, the royal before him was His Highness the Grand Duke, said to be second only to the emperor. He couldn’t even imagine how high the level of punishment would be if he was caught lying in front of His Highness the Grand Duke.

“I have done wrong. I did not intend to deceive from the beginning.”

“It seems you’ve finally decided to answer honestly.”

Carl made a gesture with his chin, and the investigator nodded. Now they could finally begin a proper investigation into these guys’ real identities and whoever was behind them.

“The only way for you to receive leniency is through voluntary cooperation with the investigation. Understand?”

“Y-Yes. I understand well.”

“If you lie again this time… There will be no more chances. If our investigation results don’t match your statement, we’ll immediately give you the maximum legal punishment, so be prepared.”

“I’m sorry. I was wrong. I will answer honestly.”