Episode 58
Will everyone become as mature as Edgar when they turn seven?
Since coming to the Empire, it had been nearly three months, and Alice had never seen Edgar cry.
He was quick-witted and used words far beyond what children his age would normally say.
Because Edgar was like that, his frightened appearance over the cookie had lingered in her mind.
“Your Majesty the Empress. We searched every place Master Edgar visited that day, but the rabbit doll was nowhere to be found.”
At the maid’s report, Alice couldn’t hide her regret.
Though Regina would surely comfort him well, Alice, as an adult, had tried to find Edgar to buy him another doll…
“A hearing?”
“Yes! Lady Regina was taken to a hearing!”
She had sensed a hearing aimed at her was being prepared behind the scenes, so it wasn’t surprising when it finally came.
She immediately gathered the documents and headed for the Assembly.
‘I hope Regina isn’t too hurt…’
Upon arriving at the Assembly, the doors to the chamber opened, and Leopold rushed out, holding Regina in his arms.
When he met Alice’s gaze, Leopold bowed his head deeply, as if ashamed.
“I’m sorry. This was my negligence.”
“…You overused your ability. Just lay her on the bed, and when she wakes, give her a headache pill.”
A flash went before her eyes. Rage coursed through her veins.
Hooo.
Alice took a deep breath and slowly exhaled.
Bang!
She slammed the door open and entered. Seeing the blood left on the table made her head go cold.
“What brings Your Majesty the Empress here?”
“This matter concerns me and my sister. Of course I had to come in person.”
“Ahem. Ahem. Today’s incident was all a misunderstanding.”
“This hearing was convened over suspicions that I am Lilliana’s birth mother.”
“H-How did you…!”
One step. Then another.
As she moved forward, the distance to Count Ruman closed.
Count Ruman’s face grew increasingly pale.
Even without using her ability, the aura Alice exuded couldn’t be ignored.
‘Just a rat.’
Marius is her equal.
So it’s okay to threaten him with force.
But not these people. A lion doesn’t need to unsheathe its claws to hunt a rat.
It just needs to raise its paw and press down—with weight.
“I intend to formally pursue this issue through my home country.”
“E-Excuse me? You’re dragging Trovancha into a personal matter?”
“Wasn’t this hearing convened because it wasn’t a personal matter?”
“It’s just a, a baseless rumor.”
“If it were truly baseless, you wouldn’t have gathered like this.”
Count Ruman’s breathing grew heavy.
It was no different for the other assembly members.
“Trovancha has a peace treaty with us!”
“To maintain that treaty, we must resolve issues that threaten harmony between the Empire and Trovancha. And you saw blood, didn’t you?”
“B-Blood?”
“You detained an ordinary Trovanchain citizen, Regina, and tormented her to the point that she collapsed from overusing her ability and was carried out bleeding? This can only be seen as contempt or political retaliation toward Trovancha.”
Count Ruman’s mind went blank.
If the Empress expanded this matter beyond the Empire’s borders, it would become a national disgrace and international conflict.
Then the Emperor would surely eliminate him.
Even the mighty Duke of Berg couldn’t protect him from the Emperor.
‘I have to fix this somehow, or I’ll lose my head!’
His body trembled, and cold sweat trickled down.
It was Count Ruman who had ordered the assembly to be convened.
And it was also he who had used Hans Ovitz to stir things up.
‘I’ll grovel if I have to!’
Loyalty to the Duke of Berg and any benefits that came with it no longer mattered.
From another seat, Viscount Gressley watched with fearful eyes.
Count Ruman barely restrained himself from dropping to his knees on the spot.
“Actually… Your Majesty is misunderstanding something. I convened this hearing today to quell the baseless rumors about Your Majesty!”
A sigh came from somewhere.
He could feel someone thinking how pathetic he was.
And someone else exhaled in relief.
“We tried to handle it quietly on our end. Had we known you were already aware, we would have acted sooner.”
Tch.
Alice let out a mocking snort.
Count Ruman wanted to cry from the shame.
But if he really cried, he’d have to move to the countryside in embarrassment.
“Is that so?”
“Y-Yes… You must be tired from coming all the way from a distant land…”
“Then what about Regina? Why did you hound her when she did nothing wrong? Go ahead, make an excuse.”
Count Ruman, head bowed, bit his cheek hard.
It was all that damned Hans Ovitz’s fault.
That bastard blew things up with lies and brought the Empress all the way to the Assembly.
If only it had been confirmed that Regina Berchio used her ability, he could have stood his ground even before the Emperor…
Grit.
He ground his teeth audibly.
Then, using that force, he grabbed Hans Ovitz by the collar and forced him to his knees.
“We were all deceived by these men’s lies! We will take responsibility and punish them!”
Though he had doubted Hans’s claims, the truth didn’t matter.
What mattered was what could be gained from lies, and now, punishing Hans was vital for his own survival.
Realizing how things were turning, Hans and his group fell to their knees and begged Alice.
“Y-Your Majesty the Empress. I was foolish. Please forgive me!”
They had been abandoned by Count Ruman.
Even the fathers attending the assembly remained silent, mouths shut.
Some even turned their gazes away, deliberately ignoring them.
‘They’re throwing us away!’
They were trying to cut off their sons to at least save the family name.
Drip. Drop.
Hans’s tears fell onto the marble floor.
“Please have mercy! We made a terrible mistake. Please forgive us!”
Alice looked down on them with a cold gaze.
“Your apology shouldn’t be directed at me.”
“I-I’ll kneel before Miss Regina and beg for forgiveness. Please, just once… just this once…”
“I don’t know if Regina will forgive you. And I’m not a judge. What I hold is the authority to appoint and punish court members. Above all else…”
As she stepped forward, her shoe came to a stop just in front of Hans’s head, which was nearly touching the floor.
Alice fought the urge to stomp on the back of his head.
This is why she hated dealing with the elite.
Too many rules, too much etiquette to uphold.
She was a rough sailor.
A warrior of the sea, chasing down pirates and seizing smuggled drugs to bring justice.
‘Hold it in.’
If she acted on her true feelings, she’d be branded a savage.
In truth, even by Trovancian standards, the way she wanted to handle things was quite problematic.
“Edgar’s guardian is Marius. …What do you think? Will you forgive these people?”
Swish.
As the nobles’ eyes shifted, so did the heads of the others in the room.
Marius stood by the door, silently watching Alice.
Gasp!
Hans and his group swallowed hard.
With no political experience, they only now realized their gamble of dragging this to a hearing through lies had failed from the start.
“Haha. Alice, even you ask foolish questions sometimes.”
“It was just a formality.”
“What would you have done?”
“Well… Trovancha has strict laws in this area… Child abuse alone results in prison. Social ruin is a given.”
“Is that so? The Empire can’t lose to Trovancha.”
At Marius’s nod, Leopold’s knights appeared and seized Hans’s group.
“Huuuuh! Please, just spare us! Please…”
“Father! It’s me, Patrick!”
The sight of grown men crying in fear was disgraceful beyond words.
Marius frowned, and the knights dragged them out of the chamber.
Alice didn’t ask what he planned to do with them.
With someone like Marius, his decisions were predictable.
“Count Ruman. I didn’t know you were working so hard for the Empress.”
“I-It was merely my duty.”
“Indeed. Don’t forget that mindset from now on.”
After bowing to Marius and Alice, Count Ruman fled the chamber.
The other nobles were no different.
Soon, only Marius and Alice remained.
“Embarrassed?”
“To the point I want to kill them all.”
“Don’t be embarrassed. Just be sorry.”
“…I do have pride, you know.”
“You play absurd games with Lilliana every day, so I didn’t think you had any.”
“Ha… How did you know there’d be a hearing?”
Even though Alice was rapidly gaining control of the palace, she hadn’t yet placed people in the Assembly.
To embed someone there, one had to build strong ties with well-known nobles.
“Ah. That.”
“I’m curious. Tell me quickly.”
“Lilliana asked me.”
“Lilliana?”
A while back, as Alice was braiding her hair, Lilliana had asked.
— Big sister. What’s a hearing?
— A hearing? Where did you hear that word?
— From Chris.
— Chris Ruman?
— Yeah. We were playing house earlier, and Chris said there would be a hearing. But he doesn’t know what it means either.
The subject of any hearing the Assembly held was obvious.
The rumors about her had long since reached Regina through the noblewomen.
“So that’s how it was.”
“How’s Edgar?”
“He seems fine. I guess finding Cookie made him excited—he’s playing happily.”
“Where was it?”
“Well, about that…”
Marius gave a wry smile and explained Cookie’s whereabouts to Alice.
The shame Regina had felt from the ridiculous accusation quickly faded when Marius mentioned Max’s dazzling needlework.
While the two of them were engrossed in talking about the children, Regina regained consciousness.
• ❁ • ❁ • ❁ •By Esraa• ❁ • ❁ • ❁ •
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