Chapter 292

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Episode 292. About 5 months (15)

"Ever since I got involved with you, life has brought me to new heights. Tara Elias, you’re truly an amazing woman, stop this now. Please don't ever show up in front of me again. That's my personal favour. That's all I ask."

"... Don't say that."

Her voice shook from the tears.  

Her eyes trembled with hurt, but he wasn't fooled now.

"Walter!"

Walter, who had been breathlessly listening in on the conversation in the parlour, jumped at the sudden call. 

"Yes, Your Highness!"

"Please... I'll tell you everything because I understand why you're doing this...!"

He slapped away her small hand when she reached for his forearm. She flinched back at the angry gesture.  

"Don't disgrace yourself anymore! Take this woman to the detention center!"

"Yes, Your Highness!"

"Master!" Her arrogant knight shouted with a reddening face as soon as Walter moved.

He tried to enter the parlor but was stopped in his tracks by the guards.

***

I couldn't feel anything from Kyle.

My senses began failing me the moment he had said the words 'personal favour', my eyes blurred and my ears rang.  

The sight of him turning away without looking back and the commotion outside the door didn't seem real.

The image of Bernard struggling outside the parlor as he was grabbed by the guards was a blur, like a slow-motion scene. 

Walter, who had come over as soon as the order was given, spoke.

"I never would have expected this from you... And in my ignorance, I even gave you a birthday present... It's unbelievable, really."

"..."

I looked up at the disgust in Walter's voice and saw that his eyes were filled with disdain as well.

It might have been the words or the look on his face, but suddenly the fog in my head cleared.

"Master, hang in there. I'll be right there...!"

I slowly shook my head to stop Bernard from speaking.

"Bernard, stop. I'm fine!"

Bernard looked towards me at my quiet but determined voice with a difficult expression.

This damned Empire.

This damned life as a transmigrator, without a single buff.

And on top of that, I was living my life on thin ice as a secretary.

Was this what I'd been working so hard for?

For the man I was so sure I loved to completely turn away from me?

It wasn't that I didn't understand the betrayal he must feel. If I were the real spy, of course. But I wasn't the spy he thought I was.

If I was guilty of anything, it was of hiding an unspeakable secret.

"I'm..."

Walter grabbed my forearm, but I used every ounce of strength in my body to keep myself from moving.

I wouldn’t try to persuade him anymore.

All I needed was for him to be a bit more cool-headed., He needed to be calmer, so he could take a proper look at this case.

Surely he would see that wasn’t a spy.

I could feel Walter's questioning gaze on me. I looked past him, my gaze fixed on something beyond the open door.

I slowly opened my mouth, and threw a slap in the face to all of the hard work I had put in so far.

"I choose home detention," I said.

When an Imperial aristocrat was suspected of a crime, there were two options for detention. One was being detained within the Ministry of Security, and the other option was house arrest after posting bail.

However, home detention cost considerably more than detention in the Ministry of Security, and the investigation took about twice as long.

Moreover, with the constant presence of prison guards in front of the mansion and the detainee's room, it wasn't a method that noblewoman who valued their reputation tended to choose.

Walter looked at me with surprise, and Kyle, who was about to leave, turned back and stared at me.

A flash of cynicism crossed his expressionless face.

"... Stalling for time?"

"..."

I stared back into those cold, intense eyes without looking away or lowering my head, until Kyle spoke with such coldness that a chill ran down my spine.

"As you wish. Just drag her out!"

Walter pulled on my forearm, harder than before, and I shook off his grip.

"I can walk on my own!"

I strode towards the door. I could feel his eyes boring into me, but I held my head high and never once turned my gaze to the Second Prince.

***

That day, the Elias family was turned upside down.

The prison guards took turns in front of the mansion and my room.

'Suspected of participating in a coup against the Empire.' That was the label given to me.

My father was horrified when I was brought in by knights of the Ministry of Security that night. My mother was shaken, but she quickly regained her composure and assured me that nothing would happen.

My father asked only one question.

"Are the charges against you credible?"

"No, they aren't."

"Good. They're firmly mistaken about Logan, too, and I'm going to send a message to him to return at once."

That was the end of it. He didn't question me further, putting his full trust in me and Logan.

Chloe immediately sent a messenger to the officers at the Palace to get a handle on the situation, while Aria argued with the prison guards, demanding to be let into my room.

"Why are you stopping me from seeing my sister? She's not a criminal yet, so why are you treating her like one?"

“She's not allowed to see anyone but her lawyer and the Count.”

Still, Aria refused to back down and leave, until Father finally persuaded her to let it go.

Then came the early morning after a long, long night.

"The Second Prince... No, this isn’t like him. There must be a mistake. I don't know what happened to him that day, but he... No. No, I have to visit. There has to be some kind of misunderstanding."

"Don't go, Father. It's not like we can clear our names right away. We still need to hear from Logan when he gets back."

Despite my protests, Father unrelentingly set out for the Palace early in the morning to meet with the Second Prince.

Unsurprisingly, his hopes were dashed and he returned five hours later with a shocked expression.

"That bastard... stopped me at the iron gate. After four hours of waiting, I got nothing except for this letter."

[The Phoenix Knights will be breaking ties with House Elias due to loss of trust. Expect a formal letter soon. - Second Prince of the Ocerian Empire.]

My father breathlessly summoned his vassals and gave his first order to Chloe.

"I'll never be fooled by that bastard's tongue again. Chloe, no matter how much it costs, get the best lawyer in the Empire for Tara!"

However, the investigation, which was supposed to take place immediately, didn't even proceed after two days of waiting.

On the second day of my detention, news came that mass demonstrations had broken out in the Principality of Ga'an, calling for the abdication of their ruler.

The Empire was in turmoil because of it, and from that day on, ominous rumours spread that the children of prominent noble families in the Empire had been involved with the protests.

Furthermore, it was said that all of the young nobles were members of the 'Awakened Young Gentleman’s Club'. The nobles in the Capital immediately began to gossip about which families were associated with.

“Some of the participants of the club are known to the Ministry of Security.”

"I heard that some of them are the sons of important families."

"Hehe. This is going to cost these nobles big time."

There was also talk in the other Gentleman’s clubs in the Capital.

"I hear the protests are serious."

"Why is that?"

"Well, they're saying, 'Step down, Prince from a lowly bloodline, and accept the punishment for falsely claiming to be of Imperial blood.'"

"Oh, my! The Prince is a relative of our current Emperor. What's wrong with that?"

"That's the problem. I think it's because he's not of pure noble blood."

"Well, if that's the case, what will his extended relatives do now?"  

The noblewomen of the Capital spoke of it during tea parties.

"They were also chanting, 'Find and return to your rightful place, or else you'll be severely punished.'"

"What a frightful thought."

"According to them, if you're not of pure noble blood, you're in trouble."

"I know it's supposed to be a non-violent protest, but they say there are bloody clashes all over the place."

That particular story came from the fencing club that Theodore often attended, and was told to me by my father since I still couldn't leave.

On the fourth day of my confinement, knights from the Ministry of Security raided prominent noble families all over the Empire, including House Elias.

This meant that two of House Elias's children were now implicated in an Imperial coup.

The Elias family was in a panic.

Personal items from Logan's room, as well as the papers and business accounts he was in charge of, were confiscated by the Ministry of Security.

The messenger had followed reports of Logan’s travels, but his trail had gone cold near the border of the Principality of Ga'an.

The messenger’s travel companions searched everywhere for Logan, but he was nowhere to be found.

There was also no news from Victor, who was tailing him. Trapped in my room, all I could do was hope he had recognized Logan's situation as a 'client protection scenario' and taken care of it.

***

The protests in the Principality showed no signs of dying down. As the Emperor continued to take no action, multiple petitions were filed, led by the aristocratic faction.

"We must organize an emergency investigation team and dispatch them to the Principality."

"Young nobles are at risk of being framed."

"Peaceful protests are being brutally suppressed."

"The opinion that this is misconduct by bloodthirsty young nobles united by aristocratic purity is too harsh."

Interestingly, none of the petitions mentioned the wrongdoings of the protesters.

The Emperor gritted his teeth at the petitions, but he didn't respond until a few days later, when a formal request for reinforcements arrived at the Palace from the Principality.

As a result, Kyle Amure, Commander-in-Chief of the Military, was personally sent to the Principality.

For that reason, my investigation was put on hold, and the decision was made to suspend my detention. However, I was ordered to report all my movements until the investigation resumed.

The day my detention was suspended, an official letter arrived from the Palace's General Administration Office.

[Tara Elias, a Second Aide, is found to have engaged in unlawful conduct and is hereby dismissed for failure to perform her duties.]

Exactly two months later, the Empire was once again turned upside down by a wave of Imperial news headlines.

[Kyle Amure, the Second Prince of the Ocerian Empire, has died.]

But despite the big headlines about it, I didn't believe he was dead.

___

The first time I read this chapter I had to take a walk to calm down, that was how intense it was...

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