Chapter 5 - Volume 01; Act 03 (1/2)
Volume 01; Act 03
Act 03: The Prince’s Uncontested Position
“Irene Parcas, and your father, Viscount Parcas. He was arrested on charges of injuring and attempting to assassinate Miss Elianna Bernstein. ――― Guards!”
Miss Irene screamed. The Viscount had already been restrained, so they were able to restrain her too.
“That’s impossible, Your Highness. There must be some mistake. I am the one who was harassed by Miss Elianna. Please open your eyes. Please…! The person who spent time with me is you. Please go back to the intelligent you!”
My heart sank painfully, but His Highness reacted to the vivid accusations clearly and honestly, “These are words that are worthy of lese majeste, but it’s my job to correct you if you’re under any misconceptions. ――― Miss Irene. Let me explain your point in a fair and just way.”
Then he said in a clear voice without muttering as if to let others hear him, “First, the incident at the inner palace. ――― Right now, Elianna doesn’t have the official authority to order those in the inner palace. The person who manages the inner palace right now is the present Queen, my mother. Young ladies who come to the inner palace to learn mannerism through apprenticeship are also her responsibility, and they are under her command. If you had been harassed like you had stated, then that problem would be attributed to Her Majesty the Queen’s management, and I will investigate this in the name of the Crown Prince.
But… if this is a false accusation, then it would be lese majeste against the royal family… and would be treason for undermining their authority. Miss Irene. Is it true that you were harassed at the inner palace?”
“Wh-! Th-that’s…”
Miss Irene’s momentum from before flew off somewhere, she became flustered, and her eyes swam.
She was pinning a crime on me, but I never imagined that it would develop into her questioning the Queen… and even committing treason.
“There’s a witness…”
Miss Irene looked at the young man as if relying on him, but she already knew the answer, and there wasn’t much hope. An inappropriate sweet smile was given to her in return.
“Yeah, sorry? I can testify to all the damage you’ve done. Oh, by the way, we know who all the maids and soldiers are that you’ve bribed, so you can’t expect anything else.”
“Alan, you betrayed me…!”
“Umm, I’ll tell you this, so you don’t misunderstand. ――― I am His Highness’s hidden pawn for times like this. I am here to see if anyone is harming Miss Elianna at tea parties or evening parties. So, I thought that your movements were suspicious this time and observed you.”
“No way,” the voice that muttered this was full of despair. I frowned a little.
If you’re going to convict me, shouldn’t you choose a better place? I sympathise with Miss Irene a little, and I also questioned whether her past actions would be mentioned since the hidden pawn had brought it up.
His Highness also seemed to have thought of this and sighed lightly, “Next, Miss Irene. About what you said before…”
Miss Irene was taken aback and energy restored in her eyes. She looked up at the reassuring Prince Christopher and I.
“Your Highness…! My statements were because I seem to have misunderstood Miss Elianna. But please believe me! I have never plotted to assassinate Miss Elianna!”
She put off her apology and asserted her innocence. She made a stunning fast recovery and took the offensive. She didn’t look like a feeble lady. This is probably her true nature. She must be snorting at my sympathies.
His Highness replied coldly, “We have all the evidence for that… But, I can’t ignore what you said earlier. You said it yourself. The incident with the water hose at the rose garden. The incident involving the ladder in the palace archives. And the incident when a foreign item was mixed into your refreshments.”
The Viscount, who was near Miss Irene, was also quivering in surprise. He couldn’t stay calm, and his gaze was wandering around everywhere.
“The other day, the pipes in the rose garden were damaged and water sprayed everywhere. At that time, there was an unfortunate incident where an unidentified intruder entered the royal palace. ――― Do you know anything about this incident, Viscount Parcas?”
“I, I don’t know anything! Nothing at all!”
“I see. The intruder was fortunately captured by the guards, as well as Glenn. It turns out that his purpose was to assassinate Elianna.”
The witnesses raised their voice noisily in surprise. My eyes also flickered with astonishment and summarised that Sir Glenn must have acted that way at that time because of this.
“Also, the damage on the ladder and the poison found on the books in the archives. The contamination of foreign items mixed in the tea leaves. ――― All these were aimed at Elianna, and Uncle Theodore reported that these incidents happened right after you entered the palace archives, Miss Irene.”
Furthermore, I learnt the reason why I was barred from the palace archives. Prince Theodore was also probably busy because of this. It seems like the chip in the ladder wasn’t caused by ageing.
“That’s a false accusation! Aren’t those just circumstantial evidence? Someone… suspicious, like a witch, set all this up. I didn’t do anything like that!”
For the first time, Miss Irene glared at me with disgust and hatred.
“Isn’t it strange for Princess Bibliophile to continue sitting in a position beyond her means?! People are even saying that she used a suspicious drug on His Highness. Do you think such a person is worthy of being Queen of this kingdom?! Prince Chris, you’re being deceived by Princess Bibliophile…!” Miss Irene vividly accused me, trying to appeal to those around her.
The witnesses became bewildered. Even I knew that this wasn’t the result that she had wished for.
“――― I see.”
A chill ran down my spine. I wanted to distance myself from His Highness, but I somehow managed to bear with it because I thought it would be rude.
His Highness Christopher was smiling, but he alluded cold anger.
“I understand that your motives are different from those of your father’s.”
“What motive…?”
His Highness paid no attention to the bewildered Miss Irene and turned his sky-blue eyes at the witnesses downstairs. “I don’t want to brag about my fiancée’s achievements and worth. I will allow you to speak. Answer if you know what they are.”
Everyone, who were gathered here, seemed puzzled as they looked at each other.
I was as puzzled as Miss Irene. This may be a situation where one might be overshadowed by His Highness. I am 『Princess Bibliophile』. Not all of Miss Irene’s remarks are wrong.
“Excuse me…” A man, who looked like a civil official timidly asked to speak. He was encouraged by His Highness’s gaze and turned towards Miss Irene.
“Women might not know much about this… But, Miss Elianna was the one who discovered the collusive relationship, corruption and embezzlement of the Weimar feudal lord and consul. Since then, the seafood from Weimar’s fishing harbour has livened up the market.”
“Speaking of Weimar…” The person who babbled looked like he worked in the kitchen. He looked frightened by his own remark but spoke when prompted by His Highness’s gaze.
“The cookbooks from that fief containing seafood recipes are ground-breaking… Um, we chefs have learnt a lot from them.”
A female court lady agreed, “A book published around the same time depicting the daily lives of housewives in Weimar has become extremely popular. The Queen also loves reading it. It is said that housewives and the Queen face similar hardships and worries. ――― I heard that Miss Elianna had published this through her family-owned publishing company.”
“Speaking of books…” an old man, who was one of the court doctors, began as he rushed to the front. He happily stroked his beard.
“A new type of medicinal herb was discovered from the eastern information document that Miss Elianna had ordered. This herb is effective in diseases aimed at woman, and Your Highness, it shouldn’t work on men, but… Oh, I wonder how this got distorted.”
“Please forgive me for speaking,” a middle-aged man, who seemed like a squad leader, honestly requested.
“I heard that Miss Elianna was the first to anticipate last year’s cold wave in Maldura Kingdom and advised them to double their reserves. Thanks to that, we were able to gain the militant kingdom, Maldura’s gratitude by providing them with food and giving them aid supplies. Their people probably won’t allow it if they try to start a war with our kingdom in the future.”
“Oh my ―――.” A few ladies raised their voices. They probably came here with their husbands.