Chapter 293

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Episode 293. Approximately 2 Months (1)

August 13th.

[The Second Prince still missing after disappearing in a rocky canyon in the Principality of Ga’an. Presumed dead.

- Will the allegations against the Second Prince and his planned military coup be buried forever?

Members of the 'Awakened Young Gentleman’s Club’ led a non-violent protest after discovering a plot devised by the Second Prince, Kyle Amure, and the army of the Principality of Ga’an, who then attempted to overthrow the Empire..

However, the Prince of Ga'an framed the peaceful protests as 'rebellion' and requested military intervention from the Empire.

As if he had been anticipating this, the military's supreme commander, Second Prince, Kyle Amure, entered the Principality with his personal forces, the Phoenix Knights, instead of the Imperial army.

Upon entering the Principality, The Second Prince branded the peaceful protesters as rebels and suppressed them with indiscriminate violence. He claimed the lives of over 150 protestors, including over 30 preeminent Imperial nobles who participated in the resistance.

The Prince of Ga'an's army and the Second Prince's knights marched back towards the Empire after suppressing the protests. The brave knights of House Toulouse, who happened to be training in the area, were urgently deployed to stop them.

This led to a life-and-death battle in Rock Gorge.

As a result, the Second Princes' numerically inferior forces were overwhelmed and suffered a crushing defeat. The Principality’s military, facing a similar loss, abandoned their weapons and surrendered. Many members of the Phoenix Knights scattered and fled following the battle. Both the Second Prince and the Prince of Ga'an fell victim to the Toulouse Commander's sword and plummeted to their deaths in the gorge below.

With this, the forces seeking to overthrow the Empire were completely eradicated. The Empire can finally once again rest in peace.' - Monthly Aristocrat]

Interestingly, every newspaper in the Empire had published articles with nearly identical editorial stances as the Monthly Aristocrat.

Those articles ran for an entire week, and the Second Prince's attempted rebellion and death naturally became a deeply ingrained fact in the minds of the Empire’s citizenry. Even though his body had never been found, they accepted his death as a foregone conclusion.

***

The same day.

Elias Mansion Tara's Room. Morning.

Alex, my attorney, was a capable man. He was the head of the 'Scales of Justice and Fairness' legal guild, and it was thanks to Father's investment that he had been able to establish his practice in the Capital.

From that point on, he'd been providing legal advice and defending the Elias Trading Company in all of our major and minor cases. In this case, he was also taking on my personal legal defense.

“The Internal Affairs Division of the Security Bureau has finally authorized sharing information and sent over the files. Take a look.”

I examined the documents the lawyer handed me and asked.

“Was it as we expected?”

“Yes. The Internal Affairs Division was under a special order from His Highness the Second Prince to root out spies within the palace before the young lady was captured. As a result, over ten spies were identified. Most of them had family members held hostage in settlements called Black Crown villages, that an unknown mastermind was using to force their compliance.”

"Then should we steer the defense in that direction?.... Wait, most of them? So, you're saying some had different circumstances?"

"Yes. There were two additional individuals who acted as spies despite not having a family member held hostage. They were administrators from the Finance and Foreign Affairs departments. Noblemen who were members of the 'Awakened Young Gentleman’s Club'."

As I examined the documents, I pointed to an underlined section and asked the lawyer about it. "Since there’s a record of me attending that club, it's going to put me at a disadvantage. Unless they catch the main culprit, or the real spy, that is. I see here they suspected there was a spy within the Second Prince's Palace?"

Having already reviewed the contents he nodded.

"Yes, as you'll see later, there are detailed investigations of those affiliated to the Second Prince's Palace."

"Then it could be someone from the Second Prince's entourage who leaked information about Reese Castle."

"It's a possibility, but nothing is certain. What is certain is that the spy planted in the Second Prince's Palace hasn't been caught. The whereabouts of those who were living in the Black Crown villages are also unknown. I sent an official request to the Internal Affairs Department to question them as witnesses, but they refused, stating that exposure must be avoided. Still, we've assembled a team to search for them."

“Yes. I'll leave it to you.”

After we exchanged a few more words, the lawyer gathered his documents and stood up. As he headed for the door, he abruptly stopped and muttered blankly.

"What could this mean, My Lady?"

“Hm?”

Following the lawyer's gaze out the window, an unexpected scene unfolded beyond.

Imperial Guards, fully armed and on horseback entered the driveway, their banners fluttering as they rode towards the mansion.

Behind them, soldiers followed in droves.

"Could it be that they've found Master Logan?"

"This is too large-scale for that. This indicates a more serious situation..."

I couldn't bring myself to finish the sentence. As we hurried to leave the room, the door burst open.

Beth stood there, her face flushed crimson.

"Miss, did you know?"

"Know what?"

"The entire Empire is in chaos right now. The Second Prince went to the Principality of Ga'an... He's dead!"

“.....!”

Beth's words didn't register immediately. I just stared blankly at her when Chloe, passing by my room, saw me through the open doorway and urgently shouted.

"They're going to arrest Father for collaborating with the Second Prince, Tara. They say he died trying to foment a rebellion. Do you know anything about this?"

“That... can't be...”

My chest tightened, it felt like my heart had been ripped from it. My vision went white and I slumped to the floor.

***

September 13th.

Another month had slipped by since Kyle's death. The Empire's version of early autumn was stunning.

Along the banks of the Ria river, which cut through the capital, children splashed about , searching for fish and enjoying the crisp, early autumn air.

Trees lined a roadside next to a carriage undergoing repairs, their leaves a deep vibrant green, as if jealous of the clear blue sky.

Beneath the shade of the trees, vendors spread out their wares, selling late summer fruits at bargain prices.

Among them, two merchants sat side by side, swatting away flies while deep in conversation.

Over the past month, the Empire had been overflowing with gossip.

"It's one thing to see such a thing befall the Kezak family, but what's going to happen to the Elias family now that all their wealth has been confiscated?"

"Ugh, the world's such a mess these days, you need to watch your back. What can they do? They just happened to be on the Second Prince's side. On top of that, since their son was the only one from the unit that survived the protests in the Principality of Ga’an, they must be firmly branded as traitors by now. From that family's perspective, they're probably just grateful to be alive, don't you think? It's all thanks to the current Emperor anyway."

"True enough. I heard the Emperor promised to abdicate, confiscating only their assets while sparing the lives of the heads of both families. Really! To think that even in his weakened state, the Emperor sought to save their lives. What a profound gesture, don't you agree?"

"Maybe it's because he's benefited so much from the heart medication. Or maybe it's because the Imperialist Faction are completely pushed to the brink...?"

The topic quickly shifted to the Imperial Succession.

"But it seems that the Emperor can't do anything about the First Prince."

"What can be done? The First Prince is the true culprit behind the horrific mass murder of those servants. Ugh. It's truly horrible. They say that out of the 20 servants who were killed, more than 10 were children. To think the First Prince would commit such an act. I naturally assumed he would become the next Emperor."

"He'll be exiled, right? But he's still part of the Imperial family..."

"He's fortunate just to be exiled. What future Emperor would keep such a murderer alive after he's been pushed out of the line of succession?"The plump, prosperous-looking grape seller said.

Then the young man selling watermelons chimed in, "Exactly. The Third Prince, born from the same womb, is so upright and benevolent by comparison..."

"I thought the Second Prince was as stalwart as an oak tree, but to think that he would fall off a cliff to his death while attempting treason..."

"Was it really treason? Doesn't it seem really strange that someone like him would suddenly do something like that? Plus, no body was found, and... well... he was the greatest knight among them... he was... A Master, wasn't he?!"

"Shh.... Keep it down. Don't you know they're quietly rounding up anyone who's been questioning the Second Prince's alleged treason?"

"Ugh... Who'd listen to people like us, huh?"

The stout man's hand clamped over the young one's mouth, his eyes darting around.

Then he whispered in the young man's ear in a low voice.

"Those new rat-like administrators are everywhere! Be careful!"

At those words, the young man’s eyes widened; he covered his mouth and hurried back to his stall.

Autumn in the Empire was as peaceful as ever. Carefree children splashed about in the water, enjoying the cool autumn breeze, while the capital’s streets were being spruced up in preparation for the upcoming coronation ceremony.

***

September 22nd, Elias Estate Driveway/Afternoon.

I was clearing the driveway to the mansion. It had been blocked by trees that had fallen during the heavy early-autumn rains that had lasted all week.

Fortunately, Father had been released one week after being arrested.

The current Emperor had abdicated and proclaimed the Third Prince, Joseph Amure, as his successor. To commemorate this event, special amnesty was granted, releasing many prisoners, including Baron Kezak and my father.

Out of habit, I turned my gaze to the window, looking at the entrance to the Elias Mansion and, once again, thought of the last day I saw him.

Though it was unfair, I wasn't angry at him for driving me away so harshly.

It had been my fault, after all.

And soon enough, once Hans was captured – No, once the real spy who came looking for the logbook and the map left behind by the masseuse was caught— he would surely clear up this misunderstanding.

But what if they never caught him?

What if Hans made statements incriminating me even after his capture?

What if Hans couldn't remember every low-level spy and had assigned another subordinate to command the true perpetrator?

And, on top of that, what if the real spy was never caught?

Whenever such thoughts suddenly struck me, I felt suffocated and tormented, a sensation of bitterness rising in my throat. But now, even that didn't matter.

I just wanted to break free from all these yokes.

It felt as though everything was coming to an end.

I did everything I could. I did my utmost to prevent my family from being wiped out, and now there was nothing left for me to do.

Given that he was the most capable person in the Empire, he would surely capture Hans.

So, I believed that if he ever had the chance to confront Hans and me, being the level-headed person he was, he would make a perfectly rational judgment.

But at the same time, I realized that my utterly unreasonable argument might only serve to convince a cold-hearted rationalist like him even more firmly that I was the true culprit. Although I constantly felt anxious about it, I still trusted him to catch Hans.

I had decided to wait for that confrontation.

Then, once my name was truly cleared, I'd shake it all off and retreat to the countryside. That's how I got through each day.

But I then learned of his death.

[The Aurore you have was given to you by someone else, my lady. If a person who receives Aurore from another cannot generate his or her own, that power cannot integrate with them and will simply circulate within them. Furthermore, if the person who gave their Aurore to another dies, the gifted Aurore will vanish from the recipient’s body.]

I still remembered what Bernard had told me about using Aurore during our training.

So, while the whole Empire was in uproar over his death, I realized— thanks to the Aurore that still lived in me — that he was still alive.

It left only one possibility, Kyle had faked his death.

He was alive.

Editor's Note -

Yay! A new chapter for you guys after some time... Had a fight with Big Cousin D again...Sigh... Anyway enjoy the chapter!

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