HPBUY Chapter 138

“I pay my respects to Her Majesty the Empress.”

A distinctively low voice flowed calmly. As Sienna elegantly showed her respect, the nobles who had been staring at her in shock finally jumped up and started pointing fingers.

“How dare you set foot here!”

“This cannot be allowed, Your Majesty. The princess should also face punishment immediately in this place…”

“Silence.”

When the nobles raised their voices in outrage, the Empress spoke coldly.

Since entering this place, Sienna’s gaze had not once been directed towards the nobles. Moreover, she didn’t even look at Declan, who was gradually turning pale not far from her.

“I asked the princess to be a witness as I believed she would know the most about this matter besides the Grand Duke. However, is there anyone here who thinks the presence of a witness is not justified?”

No sooner had the Empress finished her question than a noble sprang to his feet as if he had been waiting for this moment.

“A witness? That’s absurd, Your Majesty. The princess should not be standing at the witness stand but should be facing consequences alongside the Grand Duke.”

“The Grand Duke has confessed that this whole affair was planned by him alone, so for now, shouldn’t we prioritize the Grand Duke’s punishment?”

The Empress asked brazenly, as if they knew the facts better than she did.

In truth, the nobles’ opinions were extremely reasonable, given that the princess’s belongings had already been found at the scene. If the Empress hadn’t already burned Sienna’s button in the furnace, Sienna would have been implicated as a suspect without question.

“Even if it was a false statement. I believe the matter concerning the princess can be discussed anew after the Grand Duke’s case is concluded.”

“But the relationship between the princess and the Grand Duke is already a well-known fact to everyone in the Kralto continent. Even if she comes as a witness, there is no credibility.”

Everyone urged for Sienna’s arrest. Some even angrily asked the guards why they were standing still. In the midst of the chaotic hall, Sienna, who had been standing quietly, calmly opened her mouth.

“It is true that I had an argument with His Majesty the Emperor regarding His Late Majesty’s will during the Hunting Festival.”

The Empress’s brow slightly wrinkled at her attitude of admitting without making excuses.

“But how could I possibly harm His Majesty? By any measure, he is a man far stronger than I am.”

“So you claim that you are innocent, Princess?”

“It was clearly the Emperor who tried to harm me first.”

Once again, angry voices erupted from various corners. Amidst the commotion, Sienna’s gaze turned toward Declan for the first time.

“The Emperor’s incident was purely an accidental mishap, Your Majesty the Empress.”

The intense gaze that had briefly locked was withdrawn along with her calm voice.

“But if you wish to assign blame, it would be more appropriate to question me rather than the Grand Duke. Because I am the only person who witnessed the situation.”

When days of effort crumbled before his eyes, Declan’s composure also shattered completely. Turning away from his face, now filled with terrible despair, the Empress spoke again.

“But Princess. Do you have any evidence that it was an accidental incident?”

Sienna’s lips sealed shut at the Empress’s question.

How could there be any? Whether it was accidental or intentional, in the end, it was merely a matter of her own decision.

“…There is none.”

“If there is no evidence, then such a trite excuse is quite meaningless, isn’t it, Your Highness?”

A sharp mockery was returned as soon as she answered.

“The crime of regicide is the most heavily regarded matter in the Empire. Moreover, it is right to severely punish the crime of attempting to harm one’s own family.”

“Since there are no witnesses, no one can prove it. Isn’t it a clear fact that because of the princess, His Majesty the Emperor suffered severe injuries?”

“As you said, it only resulted in severe injury.”

Declan sharply refuted. In stark contrast to his earlier detached demeanor, his voice was urgent.

“Whatever it is, regicide or not, it ultimately ended in an attempt.”

The crime of attempting to harm a member of the imperial family that the nobles were so adamantly clinging to was, after all, only an attempt. But his defense was like pouring oil on the fire for the nobles.

“Even if it ended in an attempt, His Majesty has already sustained fatal injuries beyond help, and you dare say such things?”

“With His Majesty the Emperor in such a state, do you think you can escape with such words? The fact that he is merely alive does not in any way lessen Your Highness’s crime!”

“The act of disappearing with His Late Majesty’s will, which should have been kept confidential, also constitutes the crime of treason that must be severely punished, Your Majesty the Empress.”

“Enough. Calm down and speak one by one.”

The Empress tried to quell the commotion by pounding the table, but the atmosphere that had once become heated did not easily subside. Even as they closed their mouths at the Empress’s warning tone, their faces toward Sienna remained hostile, as if they would devour her alive.

“The princess must not be allowed to leave alive, Your Majesty the Empress. It is right to impose an appropriate punishment for audaciously reducing His Majesty the Emperor to such a state.”

That’s right. She must be executed! The other nobles showered their votes of agreement as if not to be outdone.

The Empress exhaled a silent sigh and looked in the direction of the Grand Duke. His face had been completely drained of blood since Sienna’s entrance.

In contrast, Sienna showed little emotion throughout. Even as the nobles’ behavior grew increasingly aggressive, Sienna showed no signs of being moved.

It wasn’t particularly difficult for her to endure someone’s anger, and since her original purpose for standing here wasn’t to explain her charges, there was no need to pay attention to the insults others were hurling at her.

When the nobles’ fervor had subsided somewhat, the Empress suddenly asked.

“Where have you been since the Hunting Festival, Princess?”

Sienna slowly raised her head at the question that came from above. Since they had met at the border not long ago, the Empress should already know the answer, so it was puzzling why she would ask such a question.

Seeming momentarily confused as she rolled her eyes, Sienna, after brief consideration, told the truth.

“I sought temporary refuge in the palace of Parma, Your Majesty.”

“Does the King of Parma know about this matter?”

At the follow-up question, Sienna finally realized the Empress’s intention, but again she couldn’t answer immediately.

No matter how much Jeremiah held the Empire’s weaknesses in his hands, if his involvement in this matter became known, it would only cause unnecessary trouble.

Biting her lips indecisively, Sienna didn’t even notice the subtle change in the nobles’ atmosphere.

“He did not know from the beginning. However…”

Having barely opened her mouth, she couldn’t continue properly. At this, the Empress, whose patience had worn thin, concluded without even hearing the rest of the answer.

“Whatever the case. You’re saying that the King of Parma is aware of His Late Majesty’s will.”

Sienna reluctantly affirmed. As the nobles began to stir, the Empress muttered loud enough for them to hear.

“Then there’s no choice.”

“Your Majesty the Empress, this is not something that can be concluded so simply.”

Declan urgently tried to stop the Empress as the situation seemed to be flowing in an increasingly unfavorable direction for Sienna. The Empress’s ambiguous soliloquy further fueled his anxiety.

Once a judgment is passed, that’s the end. Given the gravity of the charges, there could be no hope of a retrial.

The nobles intended to completely destroy Sienna with this momentum.

The Empress’s face, looking at Declan who uncharacteristically couldn’t even properly hide his emotions, was simply emotionless.

“Even if it was an accidental incident, without evidence, the princess’s words have no justification.”

The Empress concluded the situation as if there was no need to hear anything more.

“Then let us render judgment at this point.”

The nobles, who had been watching her with anxious eyes, finally looked satisfied.

Although their momentum had faltered briefly at the mention that Parma was aware of the Empire’s current situation, when the Empress did not delve deeper, they seemed to believe that the situation was turning in their favor.

The hall, which had been noisy with all kinds of shouting, regained a calm atmosphere.

At the Empress’s gesture, Baron Vermont, who had been standing awkwardly nearby, picked up a pen. As preparations to write the judgment document were made, the Empress looked at Sienna and slowly parted her lips.

“Sienna Rosamund Mel Maloney is hereby permanently expelled from the imperial family, effective today.”

At the Empress’s judgment, the area where the nobles were seated fell silent as if cold water had been poured over it.

For imperial nobles, being stripped of one’s family name was no different from social death, so it was by no means a light punishment.

This was especially true considering the fact that most people who had suffered the same punishment had lost their wealth and honor, wandered the streets, and met miserable deaths.

It was quite severe for a decision made by the Empress, who usually showed a soft demeanor.

“The princess can no longer use the Maloney family name.”

At these words, which once again drove home the point, the nobles held their breath and focused on the princess’s reaction.