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Chapter 39
Like a Mirage
“His Majesty ordered this personally?”
Tanasis looked at the man who had been appointed to lead the investigation under the Emperor’s command. He had been planning to get introduced to him through Baron Officie, but now here they were, face-to-face like this.
“Yes. His Majesty has ordered you to investigate together with the Second Prince.”
Arsene answered, his face hardened and worn from the past few days.
“For someone who has been living in seclusion to suddenly take such interest… truly, a praiseworthy imperial decree.”
Tanasis spoke in a mocking tone. He found it galling that the Emperor, who had always ignored the troubles of the imperial family, was now acting like a doting father. When the Third Princess collapsed at the banquet, vomiting blood, the palace had been thrown into chaos.
The princess showed no sign of waking and grew paler by the hour. The closing ceremony was postponed, and the Emperor launched a full investigation into the incident. The task was handed to the Remigis Knights, and no one questioned the decision.
After all, their position had just recently been confirmed beyond doubt. Marquis Lafayette, newly invested with imperial authority, was prowling through the palace like a lion risen from hell, tearing into every lead day and night. His aura was so fierce that people in the palace moved about holding their breath. With his dark complexion made even more gaunt and his eyes sunken, he looked as though he hadn’t slept at all.
“Have you examined the glass?”
“Yes. It was clean.”
The princess was suspected of poisoning, but no toxins were found in her glass or in the spilled champagne.
“Is there no possibility it wasn’t poison?”
“That’s impossible. Her Highness had no chronic lung disease, and that amount of bleeding can’t be explained by anything other than poison.”
Even though the investigation focused on poison, the case stalled.
“No one saw who handed the princess the glass? You were the closest one to her.”
“…I have no excuse.”
The glass had simply been taken from the table. Arsene’s as well. Yet he was perfectly fine. If only he had drunk from the princess’s glass instead.
Arsene shut his eyes tight. He hadn’t even managed to keep his promise to protect her. The memory of that crimson liquid spreading across the floor made him clench his fists until they shook. That frail body collapsing without strength—he feared she might vanish into nothing.
Seeing the knight wracked with guilt, Tanasis refrained from pressing further. Arsene was hurting more than anyone—whether as her knight, or as her lover.
“So. No evidence. No leads at all.”
In two days, the only thing they had discovered was that the champagne in Rose’s glass had oxidized unusually fast. Tanasis rubbed his eyes roughly. The situation reminded him too much of the past—the mysterious death of his elder brother, the First Prince, David de Calon. A death without a trace.
“Like a mirage.”
Tanasis muttered softly. Then something struck him, and his eyes gleamed.
“Yes… that’s right. We do know of miracles that defy cause or logic.”
Not poison, but a power that could cause the same effect. The blood of a fairy. And such a person existed in the palace.
“…No way.”
Arsene too realized what he meant. Tanasis gave a cold command.
“Restrict the movements of the Second Princess immediately and pursue the investigation. I will ask my master to test whether ‘acid’ can be detected in the glass.”
“Acid” was the blessing of Aracne de Calon. Anything that touched her blood corroded in short time. If her blood had mixed into Rose’s champagne, it explained everything. Fairy blessings were not poison, so the knights’ examinations had revealed nothing.
Arsene hurried from the office, striding toward the princess’s palace. His orders were sharp and swift.
“Station guards at Princess Aracne’s quarters. Restrict all comings and goings. She is to remain confined to her chambers.”
“Is the Second Princess the culprit?”
Hagen, waiting outside, quickly caught up and asked.
“That will be investigated now. Gawain, trace the princess’s movements before the pre-banquet.”
“Yes, Captain.”
“I’ll handle the Second Princess myself.”
Hagen had been waiting for this moment. Once Arsene gave permission, he charged off with a group of knights.
“He’s quite eager.”
“Hagen’s had a lot bottled up.”
Gawain could see even their captain’s attitude toward the Second Princess had changed. Before, at least, Arsene had treated her with the dignity of a royal. But now, after what she had done to “her,” his temper was sharpened like a blade.
“If it really was Princess Aracne… what will you do?”
“What else?”
Arsene’s eyes blazed like a pirate steering through a storm.
“She must be punished.”
—
A few days later, Tanasis’s guess proved correct. The Second Princess was found to be constantly swapping out thick leather gloves to hide wounds on her hands. Discarded gloves, secretly thrown away, were discovered corroded and ruined—melted by her blood.
When the knights barged in, Aracne claimed the wounds were from paper cuts. She denied everything, until the champagne tested positive for “acid.”
“…Fine. It was me. So what, will you kill me for it?”
She admitted she had pricked her hand and let a few drops of blood fall into Rose’s glass.
“She was brazen about it. Are all royals that shameless?”
“Hagen.”
After interrogating Aracne, Hagen reported back with a scowl. Arsene admonished him for his words in front of the prince, but Tanasis simply sat in thought, showing no reaction. The silence dragged until his aide, Dian, spoke up.
“Your Highness?”
“Ah… well done. Is that the full report?”
“Yes. What will become of the Second Princess?”
“Her punishment will be decreed by His Majesty.”
“House arrest?”
Ordinarily, attempting to kill a royal was high treason, punishable by death. But when the culprit was herself a royal, things became complicated. The Second Princess was still dearly cherished blood of the imperial family. At most, she would be confined or exiled.
Arsene could not accept that Rose’s would-be killer would get off so lightly.
“No doubt. Our loving sovereign will probably send her off to some remote countryside.”
His words dripped with open mockery. The knights were shocked—he had just insulted the Emperor, the rightful ruler. Dian cleared his throat and whispered in warning.
“Your Highness, please watch your words in front of others.”
“The Remigis Knights aren’t ‘others’ anymore.”
Even Dian looked startled. Tanasis continued calmly.
“You will be working with me on many matters. This is only the beginning.”
Arsene frowned. Tanasis went on.
“Ordinarily, I would have waited until after the closing ceremony to propose this. But given the circumstances, I’ll say it now.”
“…Propose what?”
“Sir Lafayette, I want you to become Captain of the Imperial Knights.”
“……!”
“And serve me.”
The unexpected proposal left Hagen gaping, looking between Arsene and Tanasis. Dian explained.
“Baron Officie will retire after this incident is concluded. Marquis Lafayette will be appointed Captain of the Imperial Knights in his place.”
“What—wait! You’re stealing our captain? What about the Remigis Knights!”
Hagen stammered, forgetting all formality.
“No need to worry. The Remigis Knights will simply become the Remigis Imperial Knights.”
“Imperial… Knights…”
Hagen mouthed the words in awe, while Arsene remained calm.
“So it will be one system with the current Imperial Knights?”
“Yes. There’s no need to maintain two separate corps. And there’s no other man fit to be captain.”
“….”
“I’ve had my eye on you.”
Arsene met the prince’s piercingly cold blue eyes. The ones he remembered had not been so frigid.
“I know what you and your men have endured. The ignorant, slanderous words of fools—I’ll silence them all.”
The biting language, shocking from a royal’s mouth, made Hagen laugh heartily.
“Now that’s refreshing. I like a man who speaks plain.”
He threw an arm around Arsene’s shoulder.
“What’s there to think about, Captain? We’ll be the First Knight Order of the palace! Once we’re Imperial Knights, even our homeland will prosper.”
Arsene thought of the people of Lafayette’s domain, the isolated island of Dunstan sinking into decline. They had no choice but to live as mercenaries on the mainland. Now, at last, they were acknowledged by the Empire.
The position of Captain of the Imperial Knights, offered directly by the Second Prince, was a chance beyond measure. With it, he could restore the name of his land. He could repay his knights who had followed him without complaint.
“Unbelievable. We’ll be the Imperial Knights!”
“As you say in your homeland—comrades on the same boat.”
Hagen seemed utterly taken by the prince. Arsene, however, could not fully embrace Tanasis’s half-playful words. Why was it so hard? He had dreamed of this goal for so long. Wasn’t this why he had left the island? He forced his lips to move.
“…Very well. I accept.”
“Hah! I must go spread the news at once—Captain of the Imperial Knights!”
Hagen bolted out, so excited he forgot to bow, slamming the door wide open and leaving it rattling. Dian sighed and closed it gently.
“At this rate, that door will fall off its hinges. If I have to deal with men like him every day, I’ll age in no time.”
“Be glad we’re gaining strong allies.”
“Yes, yes, I’m so happy already,” Dian muttered dryly.
Tanasis, sparring lightly with his aide, seemed unlike any of the Calon princes before him. At least he appeared to value those who served him.
“I am Dian de Benoit. An honor to greet you formally, Marquis Lafayette.”
“Likewise.”
“Though I was born a Benoit, I’m nothing now but His Highness’s dog. Treat me as you will.”
Arsene shook his hand, puzzled by the self-deprecating remark. For such a noble lineage, why speak so lowly of himself? The prince and his aide were a curious pair.
“Well then. Let’s discuss the case in earnest.”
“This is the full account from our side.”
Dian handed him a neatly prepared file.
“What you’re about to read must remain secret.”
Arsene opened the file, expecting details about Aracne. But the pages overturned his expectations completely.
“This is…!”
