Laila quickly approached as she noticed her pale complexion.
“Madam, are you alright?”
“I’m fine. By the way, did you receive any messages from Karl?”
“He said he would visit the palace around the time the family dinner ends.”
“Where was he that he had to visit the palace?”
“He mentioned staying at the Earl’s last night. It seems something important happened there.”
“No, what happened to the child?”
“I didn’t hear the details, but early in the morning, Commander Kasell led the troops to the Earl’s estate. It seems urgent, madam.”
“What could be so urgent that the army…”
Pulcheria stopped speaking and closed her eyes tightly. The headache was getting worse.
“Madam, madam?”
It was hard to respond to Laila’s worried calls. Seeing Pulcheria with her eyes closed, Laila quickly unbuttoned a few buttons on her dress to help her breathe more comfortably.
***
On the right side of the entrance in the middle, there was a peculiarly protruding rock, and when we placed our palm on it, surprisingly, with a rumble, a door opened. It feels like one must shout, “Open sesame,” in such an atmosphere.
As we hesitantly entered, a completely different interior unfolded compared to what we saw from outside. The inside, which we thought was an abandoned cave, turned out to be a well-organized warehouse.
How long has it been left neglected? Dust had piled up white on everything. Despite being well-organized without the touch of human hands, there was an inexplicable feeling of desolation.
A magical cave only accessible to those who inherit the family line. I wondered if they had hidden precious treasures, but no glamorous or glittering items were in sight.
At first glance, it looked like an old study. I casually browsed through the books densely stacked on the shelves.
“It’s too dark in here.”
The structure did not allow any light in, shrouding the surroundings in darkness. I groped around, searching for something to light up and found a lamp hanging on the stone wall in the middle.
Scratch. I struck a match and lit the lamp, gradually gaining a bit of visibility. Holding the lamp, I took steps forward, deeper into the cave, where the space narrowed.
“Is there anything peculiar here?”
Apart from a few books, there was nothing particularly noteworthy. Yet, why build an entrance with magical stones to block outsiders from entering?
As I pondered this thought, a worn-out desk caught my eye. A desk that seemed perfect for a child of around eighteen to sit at.
This place seemed more like a storage room for odds and ends rather than a secret vault. I raised the lamp and scanned the top of the desk. Among the dust, there was a doll carelessly tossed, and beside it neatly placed, a necklace that had lost its sparkle.
“Ah, dust.”
It seemed to resemble an animal but was unidentifiable, whether a tiger or a bear.
Wondering why it was here, I moved the lamp to the side.
“This is…”
As I waved away the dust with a sigh, it revealed a worn necklace with a round pendant on a rough chain, neatly placed next to the doll.
“Huh?”
The uppercase letter A is written on the back of the pendant. Can it be anyone’s initial?
Is there anyone among the aristocrats with a name starting with A? I tried to think, but no one came to mind.
It’s just a necklace that’s not particularly unique, but somehow it sparked my curiosity. Instead of putting it back where it was, I chose to take it with me.
After dusting it off completely, I tucked the necklace inside my sleeve. When I go out, I’ll have to ask Leev if she has ever seen this necklace. And also, who among the aristocrats has a name starting with A?
At that moment, I had no idea what kind of repercussions this necklace, brought along out of sheer curiosity, would bring in the future.
***
In the end, the luncheon meeting ended without narrowing down each other’s opinions. As of now, there were sharp opposing views between those suggesting to use the system of proactive succession to determine the next emperor and those who vehemently opposed giving the emperor election rights to the officials.
Never did I think that the differences in opinions would be resolved in just one meeting, and the conflicts turned out to be more severe than anticipated. A deep sense of exhaustion weighed heavily on me. I slumped in my chair, feeling drained as if all energy had left my body.
“Dear.”
The awaited person arrived. It was Karl. A fleeting smile crossed Pulcheria’s tired face.
“Did you manage to conclude the luncheon meeting well?”
“Don’t even mention it. How adamant everyone was in their arguments.”
“It seems like there was no reconciliation.”
As Karl took his seat, Laila promptly prepared a cup of tea for him as well. After exchanging a brief eye contact, Karl leaned back comfortably in his chair.
“By the way, what was last night’s discussion all about? Why did Cassel get called in to move the army?”
“It seemed like additional protection was necessary. Dear aunt.”
“The Marquis himself, you mean?”
“Yes.”
“Look at this. Already causing a fuss to protect my own flesh and blood. Pulcheria chuckled lightly.
“Aren’t you causing unnecessary trouble? The Marquis surely has his own trained soldiers, why…”
“There seemed to be a threat to Marquis Louisette’s safety.”
“What? What nonsense is this? A threat, who dares to do such a reckless thing?”
“It’s still under investigation.”
Karl did not mention anything related to Franz. Pulcheria easily loses her temper at the mention of Franz’s name. There was no need to stir up trouble by suggesting that Franz intended harm to Celeste, Karl thought.
“It seems there are some suspicions.”
Karl answered with a smile.
“By the way, what about the investigation into the Schwaben Viscount incident?”
“There haven’t been any significant developments yet.”
The fact that while investigating the successor of Viscount Schwaben, information concerning the relationship with Marquis Louisette had only been shared internally within the investigative team.
Initially, the investigation focused on the possibility that the suspect who murdered Viscount Schwaben could be his successor, but since it was revealed to be Celeste, that hypothesis lost its credibility.
“It’s unsettling. It seems like people are dying too easily these days.”
Pulcheria let out a deep sigh. It felt like whispers of someone from a distant family passing away or news of someone’s death were reaching her ears. Hearing about someone’s death was something she could never get used to, no matter how many times she heard it.
Perhaps it was due to the experience of losing someone closest to her, Pulcheria genuinely felt sad whenever she came across news of death, even if the deceased had no personal connection to her.
Knowing that someone’s death could be a tremendous tragedy for someone else, she deeply empathized with the sorrow of the ones left behind.
“We need to quickly find a successor for Count Schwaben, Karl.”
“Is Count Schwaben one of the potential successors?”
“Yes. Schwaben, Loam, Duke, and Folker are the four noble families listed as potential successors.”
“Isn’t the position of Count Schwaben currently vacant? Who would take his place if the potential successors vote?”
The fact about Schwaben’s successor, Celeste, had not been made public yet. Only the members of the imperial investigative team investigating the Count’s death knew about it and were instructed to keep it secret until further orders.
“It’s said they will leave it vacant for voting.”
“Are you saying only four people will participate in the vote?”
“Yes. Schwaben was quite favorably disposed toward you, so he must be feeling quite unsettled about the situation. Nevertheless, deploying the army to the Marquisate of Louisette was a wise decision. We must prepare for any threats in advance, in any way possible.”
Something was off. As Pulcheria pointed out, Count Schwaben was very friendly with Duke Albrecht. If he had participated in the vote for the successor to the empire rather than dying as a potential successor, he would have undoubtedly voted for Karl.
However, for reasons unknown, he died suddenly. Following his death, the Emperor also unexpectedly passed away for unknown reasons.
Did the one who killed the Count know that Louisette Viscount was the successor of the Schwaben family? If so, could the killer have planned harm to Celeste for the same reason?
Two people related to the succession have already died or suffered harm. It might be a far-fetched speculation, but the two incidents could simply be connected by coincidence.
