MEBD 42

Chapter 42

The Spring Banquet (5)

Before her regression, Berenice had suspected that the Empress was the one behind the deaths of the Crown Prince and Bleddin, as well as the downfall of the Marquis’ family.

Of course, she hadn’t doubted the Empress from the very beginning.

It was simply because Count Blaise, who had led the attack on the Marquis’ house, was not a man bold enough to carry out something so enormous on his own. There had to be someone pulling the strings behind him.

As she continued tracing the threads of the conspiracy, Berenice eventually discovered that there was one more person, besides Blaise, who had profited from the Crown Prince’s death and the fall of the Marquis’ house—

That person was the Empress.

Officially, it was said that the Blaise family had absorbed most of the Wiltiéra estate’s business networks and wealth. But in truth, the ones who had devoured everything were the Empress’s natal family—the Counts of Riche.

In exchange, Count Blaise was promised a marquisate and shared Wiltiéra’s hard-earned trade routes evenly with House Riche.

Of course, Blaise was never a man to be satisfied with just that.

He wanted more.

And for that, he needed Berenice—or rather, the key in her possession.

It was said that the key led to a hidden sanctuary containing treasures guarded by the Wiltiéra family for generations.

The rumor had originated from a few people who, after the Marquis’ fall, had noticed that certain precious items had disappeared without a trace. It was nothing more than idle gossip, but Blaise wanted to confirm whether it was true.

If the rumor was true, he could seize priceless treasures; if false, he could still gain symbolic merit by helping the Empress hunt down the last survivor of the “traitorous” family that had killed the Crown Prince.

That was why, before her regression, Blaise had gone to such desperate lengths to capture Berenice. His efforts were rewarded—shortly before her death, he had been elevated from Count to Marquis.

And as for the Empress—

“House Riche used the Wiltiéra fortune they had embezzled to strengthen the Third Prince’s faction, and poured enormous donations into the Temple to buy its support.”

The result had been the Third Prince’s ascension as Crown Prince, and his engagement to the Holy Maiden.

Berenice hadn’t lived to see what came after, but she could easily guess: the Third Prince likely married the Saintess without issue and ascended to the throne.

“And now, she’s probably still working behind the scenes for her son.”

As she followed behind the attendant down the corridor, that was what Berenice thought.

She had solid suspicions but no evidence.

That hadn’t changed before or after her regression.

The only possible path was to dig deeply into Count Blaise’s affairs and uncover proof—but as Kaiden had once put it, Blaise was a greedy pig but also a coward, too afraid to leave behind any traceable evidence.

“Starting from Blaise and working upward would take too long.”

From her memories of the past, she knew that soon, false rumors would start to spread—accusing Bleddin of being the true culprit behind the Crown Prince’s death.

This time, she had no intention of letting those rumors run unchecked. She had already asked Bronwen to prepare the groundwork.

“First, I’ll remove Blaise from the stage.”

If she couldn’t use the Blaise family as leverage against the Empress, then clearing him out early would only make her next moves easier.

And she had plenty of material to use against him—

Count Blaise was still secretly continuing his slave trade.

Which meant the one she had to focus on right now was the Empress.

When the attendant ahead of her stopped and carefully knocked on the door to the Empress’s parlor, Berenice relaxed the tension in her face and softened her expression.

At this point in time, Wiltiéra had chosen nothing.

Lowell had asked her what she thought of Kaiden, but the Marquis had yet to make any decision, so Berenice needed to appear as if she knew nothing.

“The young lady of Wiltiéra, who knows nothing, should consider meeting the Empress the greatest honor of her life.”

She recalled her happiest moments and let a faint blush rise to her cheeks—her expression one of pure anticipation.

“Please be careful not to offend Her Majesty,” the attendant whispered softly as he stepped aside.

Berenice offered a small nod of thanks and stepped into the Empress’s parlor.

“I greet the one and only glory of Egonid.”

“You may raise your head.”

The Empress’s voice was gentle and soft.

Berenice straightened, lifting her gaze to the woman seated before her.

With silver hair like moonlight and sky-blue eyes reminiscent of the spring heavens, the Empress was breathtakingly beautiful.

Her delicate smile gave her an air of fragility, as though she might shatter at the slightest touch—but Berenice, who knew just how far the Empress would go for her son, was not deceived by that impression.

“I have long heard that the young lady of Wiltiéra is most beautiful—but seeing you now, I find the rumors have fallen short.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty.”

“Come, sit beside me.”

The Empress patted the seat next to her, and Berenice, after expressing her gratitude again, carefully sat down.

“You must have been startled earlier, weren’t you?”

“Pardon? I’m not sure what Your Majesty refers to…”

“I heard there was some unpleasantness between you and the son of Count Blaise.”

“Ah…”

“So, thinking to help you, I sent the Second Prince—but later, I wondered if I had been meddling too much.”

“Oh, not at all. I was truly grateful. It was… a difficult situation.”

Her tone was subtle—just ambiguous enough to be polite while concealing meaning.

Had Berenice not already known the Empress’s true nature, she might have missed the nuance.

But she simply smiled brightly, pretending not to notice the undertone.

“I heard the engagement was annulled. The Blaise heir committed quite the offense, didn’t he?”

“I am ashamed.”

“The one at fault was not you, my dear. You’ve no reason to feel shame.”

The Empress took Berenice’s hands, patting them tenderly—radiating the image of maternal benevolence itself.

“And I heard the Second Prince served as witness to the annulment?”

“Yes. By divine providence, His Highness happened to be present. Without Prince Kaiden’s help, things could not have been resolved so cleanly.”

Each time Kaiden’s name was mentioned, Berenice could feel a flicker of sharpness in the Empress’s tone—clear evidence that she viewed him as a threat.

“I hadn’t had the chance to thank him personally, but thanks to Your Majesty, I was able to express my gratitude to Prince Kaiden earlier today.”

“Did you not have time to speak with him further?”

“No. It was a formal meeting between our houses—there was little place for me to intervene.”

The Empress’s sky-blue eyes studied Berenice’s amber ones, as if trying to read her thoughts.

Any ordinary young noblewoman, newly of age, would have crumbled under that piercing gaze.

But Berenice only smiled brightly, meeting it head-on.

“…You are quite an interesting young lady.”

“Am I, Your Majesty?”

“You don’t seem afraid of him.”

“He was the one who helped me, after all.”

“Most people find even looking into the Second Prince’s eyes intimidating…”

The Empress’s gaze seemed to ask silently: Could it be you harbor feelings for him?

Berenice gave a soft, slightly awkward laugh.

“I only meant to express gratitude—please, do not misunderstand.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes.”

Perhaps pleased by her firm tone, the Empress smiled warmly and offered her tea.

The conversation that followed was light and meandering—nothing of substance, only trivial small talk.

If the purpose of this meeting had been to gauge her relationship with Kaiden, the Empress wasn’t pressing hard enough.

Just as Berenice began to wonder what exactly the woman was after—

There came a knock on the door.

“Come in,” the Empress said brightly, already knowing who it was.

A smile lit her face as she greeted the new arrival.

“Ashad, do come in.”

…What?

For a moment, Berenice recalled Kaiden’s teasing words—

[In that case, what about Ashad? It could be your chance to become a princess.]

It hadn’t been a joke?

Caught completely off guard, Berenice hurriedly rose and curtsied to the newcomer.

“I greet His Highness, the Third Prince.”

“Ah—pleased to, um, meet you. I… didn’t realize there was a guest…”

Judging from his startled expression, Ashad hadn’t expected this meeting either.

The same sky-blue eyes as his mother’s flickered nervously—confirming what the rumors said: the Third Prince was timid and weak-willed.

Lowering her gaze, Berenice waited.

“Actually,” said the Empress with a fond smile, “Ashad had a favor to ask of the young lady of Wiltiéra. That is why I arranged this meeting.”

“Mother?”

“Ashad, you remember what you told me before.”

“Ah… ah, yes. I did say that.”

No matter how much effort the Empress put into grooming him, would it ever amount to anything if he couldn’t even follow her lead properly?

Such a hopeless mama’s boy.

Recalling Lowell’s words about the Third Prince, Berenice watched in silence—waiting to hear what he would say next.