Episode 37: Hunting festival (5)
‘Why is he staring at me like that? It feels strange.’
Pressing down on my thumping heart, I tried to calm my emotions.
‘It’s really strange that such a man isn’t the protagonist.’
He always appears stiffly whenever I’m in danger, shielding me behind his back.
‘It’s strange not to fall in love.’
I took a deep breath. Meanwhile, Percy, who had shielded me, calmly countered the empress’s relentless defense.
“What exactly makes you claim that Sienna murdered Prince Julius?”
“At that moment, there were only Prince Julius and Sienna. Isn’t it clear who the culprit is?”
The heart that I had just calmed down started to flutter again with the empress’s relentless justification.
‘It’s ridiculous to conclude I’m the culprit just because we were alone. What nonsense.’
Not to mention, it wasn’t just the two of us. There were witnesses who saw culprit running away, and there were those who chased after him when I frantically asked them to.
‘But how did they conclude that I’m the culprit?’
It’s like they came here to make me the culprit from the beginning.
As Sienna and the empress faced off, and the emperor silently watched the scene, more eyes turned towards us.
The gazes felt like they were about to shrink away, but Percy calmly refuted the empress’s words without a hint of hesitation.
“Sienna had no weapons. Like every lady present here.”
“Weapons? She probably took Julius’s. Julius had a dagger, too.”
“You speak as if you saw it yourself.”
“W-What’s with this objection? Isn’t it an obvious deduction!”
For a deduction to be valid, there should be reasonable evidence to support the conclusion. Right now, her words were nothing more than baseless assumptions.
‘But the public will be easily swayed. This is a world inside a game, and Sienna is set as the villain.’
It was when I was trembling in fear and tightly grabbing Percy’s clothes. Percy’s gaze turned towards me once again. I stared at him blankly.
It was strange. Of course, I had never felt comfortable meeting his eyes from the beginning until now. However, today, it felt a bit different than usual.
‘Somehow, I feel like I can understand him. His emotions.’
He was asking me. Did I really do it?
I shook my head frantically and pulled Percy’s clothes tightly.
‘There’s a witness over there.’
Unable to freely speak due to the system’s control, I could only express my intentions through eye contact. Percy, who met my gaze, nodded slightly. Then he turned his head and stared at Beth.
“Excuse me, ma’am.”
Bess, who was sitting there dazed, trembled at Percy’s calm voice. Percy asked, “Did you happen to witness the situation?”
It was what I wanted to say. The moment Percy said those words, I felt so elated that I almost jumped up and down.
‘He really seems to understand my feelings!’
How does this person know what I’m feeling? My calm heart began to thump again.
Not only Percy but many people’s gazes turned towards Bess.
“I, I, I…”
Though Bess’s face was pale, she was incredibly beautiful. I bit my lower lip tightly.
Bess, looking flustered, stammered, “I was so startled. So…”
At that moment, the empress questioned Bess in a resentful voice, “Did this woman do it?”
“What?”
‘Wait, what is this lady talking about?’
Despite Percy’s clear refutation that it wasn’t me, the empress continued to pin the blame on me.
I looked at Bess. The Bess I knew was kind and gentle, but she was also the main character who knew how to raise her voice against injustice.
Certainly, at this moment, I hoped she wouldn’t distort what she saw out of fear.
When I looked at her with that hope, Bess unexpectedly shook her head and screamed loudly.
“I-I didn’t see anything! I don’t know anything!”
‘What did she say? Why is the heroine acting like that?’
In response to Bess’s unexpected behavior, my fingers clenched with so much force that they turned white.
‘Is that woman really the heroine?’
The woman who lowered her head and seemed unsure of what to do was the Bess I didn’t know.
‘Did the heroine change?’
It was when I stared at Bess with suspicious eyes.
Someone appeared who could change the situation. The knights brought in culprit, who had stabbed Julius and tried to escape.
“Your Majesty, we’ve captured the culprit.”
“The culprit!”
Upon the culprit’s entrance, the empress turned her eyes towards me with a resentful look. In her gaze, I read her true feelings.
‘Did she really think I’m the culprit? Why?’
The fact that she firmly believed I stabbed Julius felt strange to me.
‘Can she be so sure unless she planned the situation to make me stab him?’
Doubts about the empress deepened. It was when I stared at her with suspicious eyes.
culprit, kneeling in front of the emperor, trembled with fear, stammering out his words.
“I-I tried to stab Princess Sienna. His Highness the Prince shielded Princess Sienna and got stabbed! I’m so unfairly accused!”
Huh? Me?
‘Why attack me?’
Attacking a princess like me, who has no noticeable presence, what could be the gain in that? Percy furrowed his brows and asked culprit, “Why did you attack Princess Sienna?”
“That, um…”
culprit’s body shook as if vibrating. Not knowing what to do, he kept glancing at the emperor, closed his eyes tightly, and opened his mouth.
“Yo-Your Majesty… cough!”
It was precisely at that moment. culprit vomited blood from his mouth and collapsed.
“Huh.”
“What’s going on?”
Everyone, who had been waiting for culprit’s words, looked at him in surprise. He collapsed, foaming at the mouth, even though no one attacked him. In the midst of this phenomenon, Percy alone remained calm.
He casually lowered his head and said to the emperor, “Daring to attempt to disgrace the royal family, the sin of this author is very severe, Your Majesty.”
Only then did the emperor realize what Percy had done and awkwardly admonished Percy with a forced smile.
“Well, it is indeed Duke Stewart.”
“And.”
Interrupting with a calculated pause to add tension, Percy continued with a slow but firm tone.
“It seems we cannot afford to be unsettled. Please allow Princess Sienna to stay with Duke Stewart, so that she can find a safe haven.”
* * *
In response to Percy’s abrupt request, the emperor nodded hesitantly.
“Do… do as you say.”
The marriage negotiation, which had been without an answer for several days, thus came to an end. Percy respectfully bowed his head and replied.
“Thank you, Your Majesty. I will discuss the wedding arrangements with Your Majesty and the Empress, ensuring that Princess Sienna can stay at Duke Stewart’s residence.”
“Well, then.”
Though the words sounded gentle, it meant he would not intervene in the wedding. Despite being unfavorable to me, the emperor nodded his head and spoke. In this situation, anyone would have no choice but to nod their head.
“Then, Sienna, since Your Majesty has also given permission, come this way.”
Without giving the emperor a chance to change his mind, Percy gently took my hand and led me. While it was gentle towards me, his demeanor turned incredibly dignified when he turned away, making it seem like no one could easily summon him.
Following behind Percy, I let out a quiet sigh.
‘Wow, this is truly extraordinary. No one can compete with this.’
There’s no one who could refute such a statement. Even dealing with me amiably feels burdensome. I blinked my eyes. It still didn’t feel real. That I could escape the palace so easily.
‘Now, I’ll be staying at Duke Stewart’s residence, right? For my safety. What an exquisite timing for the proposal.’
Following behind Percy, I bowed my head. The sight of the still vivid blood was still in front of my eyes. Witnessing someone being stabbed was a first for me. The situation was incredibly chilling, and to think it was actually aimed at me.
‘Shedding blood and falling like that could have been me.’
Thinking about it sent shivers down my spine. The person who attempted to stab me and I had locked eyes for a long time. The bewildered expression, which was actually an attempt to attack me but missed, was etched in my memory.
‘Clearly, that culprit intended to say ‘Your Majesty.’’
Just before vomiting blood and collapsing, he whispered ‘Your Majesty’ to me. Percy said he was trying to stir up trouble among the royal family, but I knew it wasn’t just that. Before the incident, the emperor whispered to me during the Hunt Festival.
‘I’d rather lose somewhere in a remote area and have all the rumors disappear. Then you could spend your life at the palace.’
Before the incident, I thought it was just a creepy remark. But now, after what happened, it didn’t seem like a mere coincidence. I bit my lip.
‘Could he really have intended to harm me?’
And all for the sake of keeping me by his side?
‘This is really creepy.’
What kind of obsession was that? When the emperor whispered such a sticky and dreadful conspiracy to me, I shuddered.
“Princess, are you okay?”
“What?”
“You seem quite surprised.”
I was indeed surprised, but not for that reason. It wasn’t because I was startled; I wanted to express my frustration to him. It happened when I tightly grasped his robe.
Percy, patting my back with his large hand, said in a gentle voice, “You don’t need to worry about Prince Julius. Healing magic may not be very helpful for fractures or severe injuries, but it’s effective for minor wounds.”
“Oh.”
So, the empress didn’t need to worry either.
