Chapter 56
It had been the same in the past. Because his mother, who lived in Spirenda territory, was a hostage, he had no choice. The hazy memory of a face sobbing uncontrollably, begging to spare his life and claiming his elderly mother couldn’t survive without him, flashed through Blair’s mind.
The physician could have wiggled his way out by insisting he had only prescribed painkillers upon request for a patient in need. But for the maid who had directly poisoned the Imperial Princess’s food, it was a different story. Her entire family could potentially be massacred.
Blair wasn’t particularly sentimental or compassionate. He had spent too many years on battlefields and weathered too many storms for that. For someone who had lived half a lifetime in places where it was kill or be killed, cheap sympathy was a luxury.
But having gone to such lengths as to travel back in time, he didn’t want to stain his hands with more innocent blood. He no longer wanted to participate in wars or start them. Though he couldn’t resurrect those he had killed in the past, he had no desire to now take the life of someone he had once spared.
“Alright. I’ll put in a word separately. If it’s your request, the Princess will reconsider.”
“Yes. Thank you, Noona.”
“Regarding the Yureho matter, let’s discuss it again after finding someone with military connections.”
“Yes. Understood.”
“The imperial affairs will begin to unfold starting next week or the week after. Since Empress Spirenda is currently in the final stage of pregnancy, she might try to delay things until after childbirth, so it could drag on. But our goal is to wrap everything up by the end of this year. Oh, and Princess Adriana has become much healthier, so you don’t need to worry.”
“I understand. Brother, you, and the Princess are all working so hard.”
“What hardship? I’m just helping our brother a little. As for our brother… well, he’s just doing what he has to do.”
Clara winked one eye. Would Theodore, who had been in unrequited love for so long, finally see his feelings bear fruit? Clara had also taken a step back, watching the entire process with fascination. Blair smiled back at her. It was always exciting to hold leverage over Theodore, who appeared so mature and flawless, seemingly without a single fault. Clara and Blair grinned like mischievous children plotting some prank.
“Then I’ll await your contact. I’ll probably hear about it anyway.”
“Yes. I should head back now. See you next time, Blair.”
The restaurant bill had already been neatly settled. After confirming that Clara had boarded her carriage guarded by several escorts, Blair saw her off. After the carriage disappeared into the deep darkness, Blair, wearing a black robe, returned to the Academy.
When Blair opened the door to his dormitory room, an envelope wedged in the door crack fell with a soft thud. Blair bent down to pick it up. After entering his room, Blair opened the envelope. Inside was a neatly folded letter. Upon unfolding it, he saw a familiar handwriting. It was Kyle’s.
It was a letter that Kyle, who had been wallowing in self-loathing since leaving Blair’s room, had finally completed after discarding dozens of sheets of paper. Kyle could no longer tell what emotions he felt toward Blair. Whenever he saw Blair, his heart pounded, and he wanted to touch him. He wanted to hold Blair’s gaze on himself alone.
Recently, he had been startled by his desire to kiss those well-shaped lips. Did that mean he truly liked Blair? Or was it an illusion caused by the transfer of the deep, intense emotions his dream self harbored? While there was nothing wrong with him liking Blair, it would be problematic if those feelings originated from his dream self.
His feelings for Blair needed to be entirely his own.
He didn’t want to hastily conclude that he liked Blair just because he was swept up in his dream emotions. It was true that he felt attraction toward Blair. If he were to come to like Blair, he wanted it to remain purely his own emotion. The fool in his dreams who let Blair go despite receiving such deep affection was none of his concern.
Blair, holding the card, smiled without even realizing it. After entering his room, removing his robe, and changing into comfortable clothes, he lay on his bed clutching the letter. It contained an apologetic message for not knowing his birthday, promising to never forget it next time, and earnestly seeking forgiveness.
When someone makes such a fuss over something so trivial, it often makes the recipient more embarrassed. Aaron had casually brushed it off, which would have been fine. For Blair, who felt little excitement about birthdays, this approach was actually more refreshing. In any case, young Kyle’s actions were endearing in their own way. Blair carefully stored the letter away with a gentle smile, then turned off the lights.
* * *
A bloody storm began to sweep through the imperial court.
As a result, the entire empire was in turmoil. The Academy was no exception. In fact, with many students being of noble birth, they reacted more sensitively to rumors circulating in social circles and the palace. Aaron, having lunch with Blair after swordsmanship class, brought up the imperial affairs.
It was obvious that he was exhausted after swordsmanship class, still not accustomed to it even after a year, but his mouth simply wouldn’t stop. Aaron seemed like the type who would keep talking even if thrown into a river.
“Anyway, Empress Spirenda must be truly insane, right? How could she think of poisoning the Imperial Princess?”
Kyle flinched at Aaron’s disparaging remarks. Kyle himself had never been free from such threats. Originally, members of the imperial family built up immunity by consuming small amounts of poison from a young age. In any case, Aaron, not considerate enough to mind Kyle’s feelings, continued.
“Fortunately, Princess Adriana was clever enough to notice it, but to think someone would try to kill an imperial descendant! She must be mentally deranged. Even if she wants to make her own child emperor, isn’t that too much greed? Excluding the Princess, there are already two sons! Prince Joshua and even Kyle here. Come to think of it, maybe she was planning to kill all three?”
“Haha.”
Kyle laughed awkwardly at Aaron’s dramatic reaction.
“This is no time for that feeble laugh. You should check if you’ve been poisoned too. Someone as crazy as her might have tried to kill you even here at the Academy.”
While it was unlikely that Empress Spirenda would target the powerless Second Prince so vigilantly, Aaron continued to make a fuss. Only after Kyle promised to get a proper medical examination could the three resume their meal. This conversation wasn’t unique to their table. Everyone was gossiping about the major scandal that had erupted in the imperial court.
It all began when Adriana threw a bloodied maid and a physician before the Emperor and Empress Spirenda. Adriana and the Emperor were never particularly close as father and daughter. The Emperor erupted in anger, asking what this improper behavior was about, but Adriana, who had prepared thoroughly, had nothing to fear.
The imperial court was turned upside down. The Emperor’s favored empress—a heavily pregnant empress at that—had attempted to poison the empire’s only Imperial Princess. The evidence Adriana presented was too detailed to dismiss as a simple frame-up. It was a perfectly woven net with no escape route.
They had thought Princess Adriana was practically a walking corpse, just waiting for her death date. But this “corpse” had walked out of her grave on her own feet and stabbed them in the back. Empress Spirenda had no way out.
The physician who had purchased large quantities of Karpen confessed to prescribing the medicine to House Spirenda in exchange for a substantial sum, while the maid created a scene, crying and wailing that she had been threatened and had no choice. When the sobbing maid fainted and was dragged out of the courtroom, all arrows of blame pointed to Baron Spirenda’s family. The baron’s account book—not a copy, but the original—was in Princess Adriana’s hands.
Empress Spirenda tried to evade responsibility by citing her advanced pregnancy, but such public relations tactics only worked when there were people to support her. Her backers were all being dragged to other courts on bribery charges. That side was in complete disarray as well. The noble world was disturbed for a while, shocked that a mere baron, not someone holding a particularly high official position, had been buying and selling high offices and titles.
Empress Spirenda, who had been relaxed thinking she had already won the game, could not withstand Adriana, who was fueled by resentment and had prepared meticulously. Theodore began to take down the people who had acted as Spirenda’s hands and feet. There was no reason to show mercy to those who had obtained titles and positions through unjust means.
When Adriana, determined to see this through to the end, launched her attack with full preparation, the opposition had no choice but to fall helplessly. All Empress Spirenda could do was use her heavily pregnant belly as an excuse to delay proceedings.
Baron Spirenda was brought to court on charges of bribery and manipulating state affairs by arbitrarily buying and selling official positions. The Emperor wanted to protect his beloved consort’s father, but they had gone too far. The Emperor had no choice but to strip the Spirenda family of their baron title and demote them to commoners. The baron was sentenced to forced labor building walls at the border.
Empress Spirenda had continuously delayed the proceedings by using her advanced pregnancy as an excuse. Her stalling seemed to pay off as she soon entered the birthing chamber. After giving birth to a healthy prince, it seemed like she might receive another chance at salvation. However, the result was separation from her newborn child.
Forced to appear in court without having properly recovered after being separated from her child, Empress Spirenda had no chance of a positive outcome. Adriana, who looked as if she could dismember the empress with just her gaze, had entered the courtroom. Though attempting to assassinate a member of the imperial family was typically punished by death regardless of who committed it, because she had given birth to a prince, the final verdict was that she would be deposed and banished from the imperial court to live as a commoner for the rest of her life.
Since the charges were so evident, there was no room for counterargument. The trial, which had dragged on for nearly three months, finally concluded when deep winter arrived.
The turbulent empire slowly began to settle down after the new year. Theodore and Clara were so preoccupied that all they did was send someone to inform Blair of developments. While Blair was paying close attention to the imperial situation, he no longer intervened actively. Theodore was doing much better than expected.
[To be continued in the next installment…]
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
