Garnet couldn’t believe that the timid Frey had so skillfully overpowered him.
Even more surprising was that Frey’s offer was actually quite interesting.
“Her Majesty the Empress and the Crown Prince are so proud of being part of Gelon that they don’t involve others in important matters.”
“… … .”
“So Your Highness, the Crown Princess, would not have directly participated in the murder of Lady Roselia, is that correct?”
Garnet couldn’t argue with Frey’s words.
‘It’s always been just him, his mother, and the Duke of Gelon to make plans.’
Garnet had never objected to being marginalized from the big business.
In the first place, the crown prince, the empress, and the Duke of Gelon have chosen a mere family daughter as the crown princess.
As Frey said, Garnet was incapable of killing Lady Roselia. She was not trusted enough to engage in such a thing.
‘But…wouldn’t Frey know that I attended the party held at the empress’ palace right after Roselia’s death.’
And that was that. Although she knew of the plan to take Roselia’s life, she kept silent.
‘If I didn’t stop the murder plan even though I knew it, I would be charged with guilt.’
“Even if Your Highness, the Crown Princess, objected, my mother would still be dead.”
As if reading her mind, Frey spoke the words Garnet had been waiting for.
Saying that, Frey’s heart was hardened like ice.
‘Even though Garnet knew of my mother’s death, she didn’t stop it and did as the prince and empress told her to do.’
It was Frey who knew full well that the bystander was just as bad as the main culprit.
But she also knew it would be better to approach Garnet in a slightly different way.
‘Because Garnet has only been defeated in the logic of power because in reality, she has no power.’
‘I’m sure you know the best.’
The husband whose image he has built up so far is falling to the ground, is only thinking about using his daughter.
To make matters worse, the empress and her family are imprisoned.
It was clear that if she stayed still, even she, the Crown Princess, would end up in detention.
‘I have no intention of forgiving Garnet just for telling the truth….’
To Frey, Garnet was just a trap to catch the culprit. She deserved it for turning a blind eye to her mother’s death.
‘If you’re not going to be buried alive with Gelon, you’ll accept my offer.’
Frey was no longer foolish enough to pass up an opportunity to bring Tahar and the Empress down by quelling her vengeance.
It is unknown whether she came here on a whim or if she was serious about getting medicine for her daughter, Lydia.
But the fact that Garnet was in a state where she was willing to take risks for Lydia’s sake was something Frey could take advantage of.
Tuk–
Frey put the medicine that Prause’s doctor made in Garnett’s hand.
“Inside are small pills made of herbs. If swallowed three times a day within an hour after eating, the fever will drop within two days.”
“Ah… thank you.”
“You have to burn the note that the doctor wrote down the dosage. You have to hide it from His Highness Tahar that you came here and took the medicine.”
“….”
Garnet nodded slightly.
She couldn’t shake the feeling that Frey knew her condition better than she thought.
‘I didn’t expect this offer when I got an invitation to the party through a maid I’ve been with since childhood.’
“I will go to see the Emperor this week. If you have something to say to me, please send it through the maid.”
“Yes.”
“Duke Gelon is under detention and is under investigation, so if you give us a clue, we can search the duke’s mansion and find physical evidence.”
Frey turned around and Luke politely opened the door.
She added a word before she left the room.
“Please bear in mind. Now that the Duke of Gelon is under detention and we can search the Duke of Gelon’s mansion at will, this is the opportunity for Her Highness to get out of the swamp.”
Garnet looked at Frey’s back as she walked away, then took a small pouch of pills in her arms.
‘As Frey said, it seemed like it was time to make a decision.’
* * *
A grocery store belonging to the Holt Top located in the capital city.
“Please count these things…Oh, can I take a copy of the Obelier Post, too?”
“The newspaper is free, so feel free to take it. These things cost 5 coopers.”
Rubel, a man with a basket full of groceries, readily handed over 5 coppers, thinking that the price was low compared to the quality.
“Did the price go down because the harvest was bountiful this year?”
He couldn’t pass my curiosity and asked slightly, but the answer that came back was full of pride.
“Recently, a new movement magic circle dedicated to logistics transportation was established in the Sacred Tower. Thanks to this, merchants belonging to the Holt Top can travel around the country to pick up goods faster.”
“Well, previously, half of the crops rotted while transporting them.”
“I don’t even charge a fee to get such a good item from the Holt top. How grateful I am.”
The shopkeeper looked out of the window at Prause’s mansion with a respectful gaze.
“Her Highness, the Grand Duchess, did revolutionize transportation. Then I’ll come back later again.”
Rubel left the store with a copy of the Obelir Post that was provided to take away free of charge.
Suddenly he noticed that new shops had opened all over the shopping district.
‘Wait, the shop owner hasn’t changed, right?’
Previously, it seemed that the retail stores belonging to the Vliette or
Gelon Top had closed the existing stores and opened new ones in the same place.
[Holt Dressing Room]
[Prause food ingredient store (Kaunak Tea ingredients are on sale!)]
‘I heard that Karuna, who was a member of the Vliette Merchants, was running around until her feet were on fire trying to recruit other stores.’
Well, considering the fees that the Gelon and Vliette Top were demanding, it might have been a good thing.
Rubel was disturbed for another reason.
The merchants must be happy. They can calculate quickly and then transfer.’
Rubel was the chairman of the imperial council located in the capital.
He was clever, hardworking, and interested in caring for the marginalized, but his status was a problem.
He had traced his ancestry back to his adopted family and found no one with noble blood.
The academy professor, who knew the reality, cautiously advised him.
[“Rubel. It’s wrong to be a central bureaucrat, so why don’t you join the Council? You will do well.”]
How upset was he when he heard that?
The Council is an institution that exists for a reason.’
It was said that without power, only the lowest nobles, those who had made small mistakes, or the sons who hated work, were thrown into the Council.
It was in the same context that Rubel became the chairman.
Aristocrats wanted the title of Member of Council because they did not like paperwork and petty work.
In such an atmosphere, it was almost impossible for commoners to speak out.
however.
“Most of the scholarship students want to join the Council.”
“That’s great. In ten years, all the lawmakers who only pay taxes will disappear.”
Rubel thought to himself as he overheard the conversation among the merchants.
They would be going crazy right now, not in ten years….’
The Holt family, Grand Duchess Prause, and scholarship students.
The purpose of the recent actions of the Grand Duchess was so simple that even the merchants noticed.
‘She’s trying to take control of the council.’
She seemed to know exactly how enthusiastic the commoners were lately for things related to Grand Duchess Prause.
An instinctive realization hit him.
‘I had to get in line now if I wanted to stay.’
The problem was that commoners like Rubel had only one life.
‘A family with a certain name can slowly stand in an advantageous line.’
‘Even if Frey Prause is rapidly changing the world, isn’t the crown prince still Tahar Obelir?’
It was clear that even a dying crown prince would be able to easily crush an insignificant lawmaker. Chairman of the common people.
It meant that even one look of dislike could send your hair flying far away.
“Huft…”
Rubel sighed deeply and sat down on the bench for a while, unfolding the obelir post he had brought.
His eyes, as lifeless as a dying fish, soon got stuck in a sentence.
[The High Priest has decided to re-investigate Lady Roselia’s death.]
* * *
