🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 12
Until now, I had only been focused on the dangers threatening me, so it was only then that I was finally able to look at Davin’s situation objectively.
With assassins breaking into the mansion at all hours of the day and night, could Davin really have gotten any proper rest?
It wasn’t as if all the traps and mechanisms had been prepared from the beginning, and there were even nights when assassins stormed in during the middle of the night.
On one such night, Davin evacuated me first and then faced the assassins outside by himself before returning. It was obvious that he had been standing guard day and night the entire time.
I knew Davin was incredibly powerful, but nearly twenty days had already passed like this. No matter how strong someone was, was it really possible for a person to endure more than half a month without proper sleep?
I was horrified.
Thinking about it, a twenty-four-hour guard duty should naturally involve shifts, so why had I never even considered that?
I’ve been overworking Davin!
Startled, I examined him carefully.
Was his complexion pale from exhaustion? Were his eyes bloodshot? Was he secretly on the verge of collapsing from fatigue even now, forcing himself to endure it?
But as I observed him anxiously, my expression gradually became strange.
His beautiful violet eyes sparkled brilliantly, the whites of his eyes were perfectly clear without a single blood vessel showing, and his complexion looked fresh and healthy—nothing like someone who hadn’t slept. Staring at Davin’s fair, glowing face, I unconsciously furrowed my brows.
…He really hasn’t been sleeping, right?
Maybe the reason I never realized he was overworking himself was because he looked so perfectly fine. How could he still seem this normal?
Still, I felt guilty for not noticing how hard he had been pushing himself all this time.
Unlike me, the Emperor reacted coldly. In a dissatisfied tone, he muttered,
“So, from August 2nd until now, you’ve been protecting the Countess alone day and night?”
From his tone, it was obvious the Emperor did not believe Davin at face value. Davin seemed to notice the Emperor’s skepticism and briefly frowned before returning to his usual calm expression.
“The assassins who infiltrated the mansion were handed over to the police, but afterward the police never responded actively to the situation.”
“I already received Thomas’s report yesterday and ordered a thorough investigation into that matter.”
After replying, the Emperor looked at Davin and me with displeasure.
“…So, do you have any evidence left behind by those who tried to assassinate the Countess?”
“Poison was detected in a cup in the kitchen earlier. Would you like to see it yourself?”
“It hasn’t been cleaned up?”
“No. I instructed the maid not to touch it.”
“In that case, I’ll see it myself.”
The Emperor uncrossed his legs and rose from his chair.
The imperial knights moved in perfect unison. As they surrounded the Emperor, the once-quiet mansion lobby echoed with the sound of military boots. As if they already knew the entire layout of Count Miller’s estate, the imperial knights guided the Emperor toward the kitchen without hesitation.
I silently followed behind them, but as we neared the kitchen, I heard the clatter of dishes and the sound of running water from inside. My eyes widened.
There shouldn’t be anyone washing dishes right now.
No way…
Had the culprit come to destroy the evidence?
Sir Joshua, who had also heard the water, hurriedly opened the kitchen door without even knocking. The moment I saw who was inside washing dishes, my breath caught.
“Ah…”
As the kitchen door swung open, Lana—who had been bent over the sink—lifted her head to look at us. When the Emperor and the imperial knights suddenly flooded into the room, she looked startled. Behind her, dishes that had already been washed were neatly stacked on the side to dry.
Seeing that, the Emperor sneered at Davin.
“It seems the maid washed away all the evidence you mentioned.”
Davin stood there in silence, his face stiff.
“Didn’t you say you specifically instructed the maid not to touch anything?”
“…My apologies.”
Rather than making excuses in response to the Emperor’s mockery, Davin simply apologized. Realizing the situation from their exchange, Lana panicked.
Davin had indeed ordered her earlier not to touch the kitchen work, and now she seemed to realize the Emperor had come to inspect the poisoned cup. Turning pale, she stammered,
“U-Um… Sir Knight told me not to touch anything, but I thought the dishes should at least be washed so Milady could eat later…”
“It’s okay, Lana. You only did it because of my meal preparations.”
I smiled reassuringly at her. But seeing the cups that had once contained orange juice now washed clean and drying upside down made my heart feel heavy. Everyone else in the kitchen besides me glared at Lana with disapproval.
The Emperor turned back to Davin and me.
“Then there’s no more evidence? You claim you’ve suffered repeated attacks, so surely you’re not saying that’s all you have?”
The moment I heard that question, a chilling feeling swept over me.
…Why is he asking that?
I blinked while staring at the Emperor’s cold eyes.
There actually was more evidence besides the cup Lana had washed. We had carefully preserved the discolored dishes, the poisoned food, and even the flour and ingredients contaminated with poison.
But the Emperor had already been informed yesterday that assassins were arrested, so why was he pressuring us like this for more evidence?
I had been planning to use the collected evidence to bring down the Duke of Raphtan’s family. After breaking off my engagement with the Emperor, I had no intention of letting the Raphtan duke’s daughter become Empress like in the original story.
Besides, in the original story, the Emperor himself had destroyed all the evidence Davin presented. I still suspected he might be working with the enemies, so I had no desire to hand over the evidence we had gathered.
Come to think of it, what happened to Officer Thomas, whom I sent yesterday?
When I merely stared at him suspiciously without answering, the Emperor bluntly said,
“To me, it seems this entire situation is nothing more than the Countess staging a performance.”
What?
The Emperor’s unexpected words left me speechless.
“…You think I staged all this? You know about the people arrested yesterday, don’t you?”
“The people captured here claim they were simply passing by nearby when your knight attacked them unprovoked and tied them up. There is insufficient evidence to support your claim that you’re under assassination threats.”
I was so dumbfounded that I protested immediately.
“What? Didn’t you see how they were dressed? They were assassins who broke into this mansion to kill me!”
“According to them, your knight stripped them and dressed them that way.”
I stared at the Emperor in disbelief.
“Do you seriously think that makes sense?”
The Emperor looked at me as if I were pathetic.
“Haven’t you done all sorts of bizarre things before?”
At those words, my mouth fell open without me realizing it.
What is he even talking about?
Had Anise done strange things in the past to attract the Emperor’s attention?
Or was he deliberately provoking me like this to see whether I had more evidence hidden away?
Meeting the Emperor’s icy gaze, I felt my mind turn cold.
Close friends? This man? With Anise? Really?
He trusted the testimony of captured assassins more than my own words.
…
Thinking back, the Emperor had never treated me warmly since arriving here. Normally, when meeting someone close after a long time apart, wouldn’t you ask if they’d been well, or whether they had recovered after being sick? Instead, he immediately demanded to know what was going on.
The Emperor never cared about Anise in the first place.
At one point, I had wondered whether enemy interference had blocked the road to the imperial palace and prevented the Emperor’s letters from reaching me. But when Zenon arrived the other day, he carried an artifact capable of blocking any attack. So the Emperor’s letters hadn’t disappeared along the way.
The truth was simple: the Emperor had never intended to send Anise even a single letter asking after her well-being.
Close friends, my foot.
Wasn’t the Emperor simply pretending not to notice while the Raphtan ducal family tried to kill Anise? That would explain why, in the original story, he quietly buried the evidence even after Davin brought proof of Anise’s murder.
Maybe the Emperor crying and mourning his dead former fiancée in the original story had merely been an act for public appearances. Maybe later, when he used Anise’s death as an excuse to destroy the Raphtan ducal family, it was only because he wanted to cast aside the Empress Raniere, whom he disliked.
Either way, this Emperor can’t be trusted.
That was the conclusion I reached.
