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Chapter 20
“……”
—Then that works! I can’t leave the forest anyway, so I’ll clean the house every day! Isn’t that a great idea? Right?
“It’s not great at all.”
—What? Why? You don’t like it? Do you want to stay with me? But I can’t leave the forest.
Joohee hesitated for a moment and then said shortly,
“I don’t want to leave here.”
—You don’t want to see Rowen?
“Rowen isn’t someone who belongs here anyway.”
—Why? He used to stay here all the time.
Joohee did not answer the question and instead said firmly to Mel,
“Mel, don’t talk about Rowen anymore.”
—…Okay. I can’t leave the forest anyway.
Mel flinched slightly at her firm tone, then nodded with a disappointed expression.
After a moment, Joohee softened and comforted her.
“Thank you for thinking of me.”
—Really?
“Yes. But I have no intention of leaving here.”
—Then let’s live here forever!
“Okay.”
At Mel’s cheerful words, Joohee faintly smiled and nodded.
And so a day passed, then a month, and an unknown amount of time later, late news arrived in the village.
It was the news that the First Prince, Rowen Green, had ascended the throne as Emperor.
After returning to the imperial palace, Rowen began making preparations step by step.
First, he held the funeral for his father properly, then buried him in the imperial tomb reserved only for royalty.
Without resting, he immediately began reviewing the documents processed by Arsene.
“Tsk. To think he handled things like this.”
Rowen found all the sloppy parts Arsene had left behind and corrected them perfectly, causing the nobles’ support for him to rise rapidly.
At the daily morning meetings, Rowen constantly picked apart Arsene’s proposals.
However, they were not baseless criticisms—he pointed out real flaws and missing details, leaving Arsene unable to respond.
Then Rowen would present an even better alternative.
Arsene ground his teeth in rage.
Rowen, as if waiting for that moment, would smirk at him.
His disdainful gaze was an added bonus.
“Damn it… damn it… Aaaagh!!”
Ever since Rowen’s return, Arsene had been screaming curses in his room every day.
Everything he had built was being taken over by Rowen, and he was boiling with frustration.
“Chamberlain, how should we deal with Rowen this time? Hm?”
“Please restrain yourself, Your Highness. If the First Prince suddenly dies, you will be the first suspect.”
“You useless bastard!”
When the chamberlain opposed him, Arsene frowned in anger.
But the chamberlain’s expression did not change at all.
That only made Arsene even more irritated, and in a fit of rage he grabbed a crystal ashtray and threw it at the chamberlain.
It struck the chamberlain’s head and fell to the floor.
Arsene flinched, as if not expecting it to actually hit.
The chamberlain wiped away the blood without a word and bowed deeply.
“Please rest early today. I will have a maid burn sleep herb for you.”
He then slowly backed out of the room.
Since delivering the documents to Rowen, nothing had happened yet.
But the chamberlain waited patiently.
After leaving, the maid waiting outside was startled.
“Chamberlain! You’re bleeding so much. Please get treatment—”
“It is nothing.”
“But—”
“Do not worry about me. Prepare the sleep herb in His Highness’s room.”
“Yes… understood.”
The maid hurried off, and the chamberlain wiped his forehead with a white handkerchief.
The wound from the ashtray was not severe.
As the blood soaked into the cloth, it quickly turned red.
Somehow, it reminded him of Arsene’s future, and he did not feel particularly bad.
Meanwhile, Rowen worked late into the night reviewing documents.
After secretly investigating the chamberlain’s reports, he confirmed everything was true.
Arsene could be imprisoned as early as tomorrow, and no one would object.
So Rowen proceeded without hesitation.
Arsene, who had fallen into a deep sleep from the sleep herb the night before, slowly opened his eyes at the commotion outside.
“What… is… all this… noise…?”
His head throbbed painfully from the herb.
“What is this behavior! This is His Highness the Prince! How dare you—kyaa!”
At the maid’s scream, Arsene slowly pushed himself up.
At that moment, the door was violently thrown open.
Frowning, Arsene turned toward the entrance.
He was about to shout about etiquette when he saw armored knights entering.
They strode toward him and bowed slightly.
“Your Highness, please come with us.”
“What? What are you talking about? Chamberlain! Chamberlain!”
But there was no answer.
No matter how many times he called, the outside remained silent.
Only then did Arsene realize something was wrong.
The knights grabbed his arms and forced him up.
“Let go! How dare you touch me!”
He struggled, but his body had no strength due to the sleep herb.
He was dragged away in a humiliating manner.
The maids gathered and whispered as they watched him.
Arsene felt humiliated beyond belief.
And so he was thrown into the imperial prison.
“Ugh!”
Even more so, it was the filthiest cell in the entire prison, filled with a foul stench.
Arsene recoiled in disgust and stood up.
He immediately grabbed the iron bars and began threatening the knight.
“How dare you lay hands on me and expect to keep your head?! If I get out of here, I’ll have all your heads cut off! Do you hear me?!”
No matter how much he shouted, the knight remained silent.
Eventually, Arsene’s voice gave out and he collapsed to the floor, coughing.
Then he saw rats crawling nearby and jumped up in disgust, pressing himself against the wall.
“Damn it… I’ll stay quiet, so move me somewhere better! Somewhere bigger and cleaner!”
The knight ignored him.
Arsene kept banging the bars, but received no response.
With no windows, he had no idea what time it was.
After several hours, faint footsteps approached.
Arsene quickly stood and rushed to the bars.
The footsteps stopped right in front of his cell.
Seeing who it was, he shouted,
“You! What is this?! Open this immediately!”
“Calling your brother ‘you’? That’s rude, little brother.”
Rowen smiled casually.
“Open this now!”
“I can’t. There are clear crimes involved.”
“What? Crimes?”
Arsene’s eyes wavered for a moment, but he quickly composed himself.
“You’ll explain yourself in court. Prepare your excuses.”
“What? Trial? Don’t be ridiculous! Put me on trial? Me? Arsene de Alexio?”
“See you then, little brother.”
Rowen waved and turned away.
Behind him, Arsene’s furious banging echoed, but Rowen only smiled.
At the emergency council meeting that followed, the nobles supporting Arsene strongly protested.
“How outrageous! To arrest His Highness without any explanation!”
“Proper procedure must be followed!”
The chamber erupted into chaos.
Seated at the center, Rowen rested his chin on his hand and silently observed.
Then he slammed his fist on the table.
The loud sound instantly silenced the room.
Only then did Rowen smile in satisfaction.
“Finally, it’s quiet.”
“Your Highness!”
“As for why I arrested Arsene… the list is long.”
He began counting on his fingers.
“Embezzlement, prostitution, poisoning the former emperor, attempted murder conspiracy… there are too many to even remember.”
“What nonsense is this!”
A noble slammed the table and stood up, veins bulging in his neck.
Rowen narrowed his eyes and stared at him.
It was Count Zarde, a major supporter of Arsene.
If Arsene fell, so would he.
“You’re acting emotionally without evidence, Your Highness! Since when were you like this? You’ve always been rational!”
“Who said I was being emotional?”
“…What?”
A chill ran down the count’s spine.
“Well… you don’t actually have evidence—”
“Who said I don’t?”
The count froze.
He realized Rowen had never once said there was no evidence.
Rowen snapped his fingers, and the chamberlain entered carrying thick stacks of documents.
The nobles murmured at the sight.
Rowen placed the documents on the table.
“This enough?”
The stack was enormous.
The nobles fell silent.
Rowen continued,
“We’ll confirm whether these are real or fake at the upcoming trial.”
Before anyone could object, Rowen stood up, gathered the documents, and left the room.
He handed them to the chamberlain waiting outside and headed back toward the palace—when a knight rushed toward him from a distance.
