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Chapter 22
It hurt since he was tightly bound, but Arsen vowed that after confirming the faces of those who came into the courtroom, he would kill them in the most painful way once he was freed.
However, when he saw the person who entered the courtroom, Arsen could only mutter in a dazed expression.
“…The chamberlain?”
The person walking into the courtroom was someone very familiar to Arsen.
It was the chamberlain who had always stayed by his side and handled all sorts of dirty work.
“Why is the chamberlain… here…?”
Rowen clicked his tongue briefly at Arsen’s dumbfounded expression.
He hadn’t expected Arsen to trust the chamberlain so much, and at the same time, he thought it was impressive that the chamberlain had managed to deceive Arsen until now.
The chamberlain stood beside Arsen.
“Everything you are about to say will be the truth, correct?”
“Yes, of course.”
The chamberlain spoke everything without hesitation.
When his long testimony ended and he closed his mouth tightly, the courtroom was engulfed in heavy silence, broken only by Arsen’s occasional ragged breathing.
Rowen glanced sideways at the nobles’ expressions.
Every single one of them looked shocked.
The nobles who had supported Arsen had faces mixed with disappointment and disbelief, as if realizing this was far worse than they had imagined.
Rowen nearly laughed at their expressions but suppressed it with inhuman effort before speaking again.
“For reference, I found quite a few spies planted in my palace by my younger brother. It took some effort to root them out.”
With a snap of Rowen’s fingers, the courtroom doors opened again, and a maid was dragged in by knights, tightly bound with ropes.
The maid trembled, scanning her surroundings with a frightened expression, until her eyes met Arsen’s.
Arsen’s eyes widened, and he quickly turned his head away, while the maid was forced to kneel beside him.
Before Rowen could even begin questioning her, Arsen shouted in panic.
“I didn’t do anything! I don’t even know this maid! I’m seeing her for the first time today!”
“…Ha!”
At his words, the maid let out a disbelieving laugh.
She had promised that if her actions were discovered, she would be protected at all costs—but now he was pretending not to know her.
With fury in her eyes, the maid spoke.
“First Prince, I am a spy planted by the Second Prince in your palace. I reported everything you did and said to the Second Prince. On the day you went missing, I also mixed the sleeping poison given by the Second Prince into your tea. I had no choice because my family was being held hostage.”
It was a clear confession.
Arsen shook his head violently.
“N-no… it wasn’t me… I didn’t do it… I didn’t do it, I tell you! I didn’t do it!”
Rowen smiled leisurely at him.
“It’s not over yet, little brother.”
This time, another maid entered the courtroom.
She kept her head bowed, trembling.
When she finally lifted her head, she looked at Rowen.
Rowen had promised her that if she told the truth, he would provide not only her sick younger sibling’s medical expenses but enough compensation to last a lifetime.
As if confirming the promise, he gave a small nod. The maid swallowed hard and began speaking haltingly.
“I-I… I am the one who poisoned the wine of the late Emperor.”
“Who ordered you to do it?”
“…The Second Prince.”
“Explain in more detail.”
The maid’s face turned deathly pale as she continued shakily.
“Right before the Second Prince had dinner with the late Emperor, he gave me a small vial of poison. He told me to just pour it into the wine. He said if I refused, he would harm my only younger sibling… sob…”
Tears streamed down her face.
With this, Arsen’s crimes were fully exposed.
Rowen looked directly at Arsen and said clearly:
“Illegal gambling, illegal slave auctions, attempted regicide, instigation of poisoning the former emperor… Arsen’s crimes are countless. He has also consistently denied everything and refused to admit guilt. Due to the severity of his crimes, the final verdict is…”
Arsen clenched his teeth.
“Execution by beheading.”
At Rowen’s words, Arsen screamed, and Rowen felt a refreshing sense of relief, as if a long-standing pain had finally been removed.
Arsen, once a royal prince, met a miserable end.
Though he was of royal blood, he was spared a public execution, but his death was no different.
His funeral was also extremely modest, as befitting a criminal.
The day after Arsen was taken by the guillotine, his mother, Empress Violleta, hanged herself in her palace at midnight.
She was discovered by the head maid the next morning.
However, the incident was not widely publicized, and her funeral was held quietly.
It was a truly miserable end.
Afterward, Rowen stayed busy.
He handled the overflowing paperwork and stabilized the chaotic imperial palace.
Since many already supported Rowen, things were stabilized quickly.
Although he had ascended the throne, he had not yet held an official coronation.
He moved his residence to the Emperor’s Palace, and his mother, Empress Laviole, moved to the Empress Dowager’s residence.
“Ha…”
Rowen rubbed his eyes tiredly in his office and sighed.
Finally, the paperwork had been reduced by half.
He was overworking himself, trying to finish as much as possible before leaving.
“Your Majesty, wouldn’t it be better to rest a little? You may collapse like this.”
“Chamberlain.”
“Yes?”
Rocks, the newly appointed aide, looked at him.
Without changing his tone, Rowen said while signing documents:
“I plan to leave the palace soon.”
“…Yes. Wait—what?!”
Rocks shot up in shock, eyes wide.
“Your Majesty, what do you mean?”
“It seems your hearing has worsened.”
“So I didn’t mishear you?”
Rowen nodded slowly.
Rocks strongly objected.
“Absolutely not. The palace is still in chaos. Your Majesty must remain…”
“I’m not leaving tomorrow.”
“Then…?”
Rowen smiled faintly.
“I’ll leave in a week.”
“….”
Rocks was speechless at his superior’s shamelessness.
“Th-that’s not the issue!”
“You talk a lot, chamberlain.”
Rocks could only clutch his chest in frustration.
“Don’t worry. I’ll prepare things so that even if I’m gone for a month, nothing will go wrong.”
No matter how much work he did, more would pile up the next day.
Even if Rowen worked like this, the paperwork would surely become a mountain again within a week.
But having worked with him, Rocks had realized something—once Rowen decided something, he never changed his mind.
So arguing was pointless.
“Please return as quickly as possible…”
“I will.”
Rowen replied indifferently while continuing his work.
In the end, Rocks gave up and sat back down, organizing documents.
He sighed deeply, already dreading the palace after Rowen’s departure.
Rowen worked like a madman for a full week.
He barely ate and looked like a man possessed by work.
Even Rocks begged him to stop.
A week later, Rowen finally put down his pen.
“It’s a miracle you didn’t get sick.”
“I think so too.”
“I’m the one who’s going to die from exhaustion.”
Rocks had pushed himself to match Rowen’s speed and ended up collapsing from fatigue.
Rowen clicked his tongue at him.
“I told you to exercise.”
“You’re the abnormal one, Your Majesty.”
Rocks thought Rowen was a monster who felt no fatigue.
But in reality, Rowen was also exhausted.
Still, he endured by thinking only of Juhee.
He wondered how she would react when she saw him after he regained his memories.
Would she be surprised? Or act indifferent?
After Rocks left on sick leave, Rowen called the chamberlain.
“You called for me?”
“Is the room next to mine empty?”
“Yes, it is.”
“Clean it thoroughly. Replace all the furniture as well.”
At those words, the chamberlain hesitated before asking carefully:
“May I ask who will be staying there?”
“Someone very important and precious.”
The chamberlain’s eyes widened.
He quickly composed himself and bowed.
“Yes, understood.”
“I’ll be leaving the palace for a month, so take care of things.”
“Yes. Winter is approaching soon, so please take care on your journey. I hope you return before winter fully sets in.”
Though surprised, the chamberlain remained calm.
He was already used to Rowen.
While Rowen generally followed routines, he occasionally made sudden decisions.
At first, the chamberlain had tried to stop him, but over time he learned to adapt.
Rowen left the palace at dawn with only two knights.
He had originally intended to go alone, but the chamberlain refused to allow it.
He dressed lightly, fastened the food prepared by the chamberlain at his waist, and departed before the sun rose.
Meanwhile…
Today, Juhee had nothing to do.
She had gathered enough firewood, picked enough fruit, and collected plenty of medicinal herbs.
So she stayed inside all day.
“Juhee, aren’t you going outside?”
“Today is a rest day.”
At Mel’s question, Juhee answered briefly and flopped back onto the bed.
Since Rowen had left, Juhee had barely been eating properly, and the weight she had barely regained had dropped again.
Lying in bed, her body grew drowsy, and she yawned without meaning to.
After yawning, she felt even sleepier.
Since she had no pending work anyway, she drifted off.
When she woke again, it was deep in the night.
The house was dark with no lights on.
Juhee slowly got up and lit a lamp.
Something felt empty—but she realized Mel was nowhere to be seen.
