CHAPTER 48……………………………………………
“Do you have something to say to me?”
The emperor’s gaze flickered from Edwin to Trisha for a moment.
“Does your husband think the same?”
“No, this is just my own opinion.”
At Trisha’s words, the emperor stroked his chin.
“I don’t know what’s going on, but come see me later.”
He meant to end the matter for now.
Edwin heaved a huge sigh of relief and tried to lift her, but Trisha didn’t move an inch.
“That won’t do.”
“……What?”
Everyone was shocked at her outright defiance of the emperor.
Trisha, however, remained in the same posture, bowing her head without a twitch.
“Trisha, are you out of your mind? Get up immediately!”
Edwin grabbed her arm, determined to drag her off the floor.
Trisha struggled to resist but was on the verge of being pulled along by him.
“Stop.”
For the first time, Millard, the person directly involved in the matter, stepped forward.
He stared intently at Edwin, who was gripping Trisha’s arm.
“Your wife might get hurt, brother.”
“……What’s it to you?”
“It matters.”
Millard stepped closer.
“Because your wife seems to know something about this situation.”
He removed Edwin’s hand from Trisha’s arm.
“If a rope drops from the sky, shouldn’t one at least try to grab it?”
“…….”
“Even if it’s a rotten rope.”
Edwin closed his mouth.
If Trisha knew something, it was highly likely to work in Millard’s favor. Otherwise, there would have been no reason to intervene at this timing.
Hestia, watching the situation unfold, spoke urgently.
“That’s right, Your Majesty. You should at least hear what Duchess Mason has to say.”
Hearing this, the emperor seemed to see no reason to refuse and nodded.
“Very well.”
“Thank you for your grace, Your Majesty.”
Trisha slowly stood, still keeping her gaze lowered as she continued.
“First, please dismiss everyone except those attending the banquet.”
“Do as she says.”
The emperor complied with her confident request without hesitation.
Edwin, unable to calm himself, watched the situation nervously.
If Trisha failed to give an answer that would move the emperor, he would bear the full consequences.
“Now, speak. Tell me what you wanted to say to me.”
Trisha bowed her head as if in greeting.
“His Grace, Duke Winchester, is not the culprit in this incident.”
“Trisha!”
Edwin was shocked.
He never expected Trisha to defend Millard.
“That’s an interesting claim.”
The emperor bared his teeth in a smile. It was anything but pleasant, and both Edwin and Hestia tensed.
“Are you saying I made the wrong judgment?”
The emperor deliberately framed it as a question about his judgment, not the truth.
“Do you think I was misled by false evidence and accused the wrong person?”
Denying this would be a direct challenge to the emperor’s authority.
“That’s impossible.”
Trisha, quietly listening to the emperor, bowed her head.
“Your Majesty, you already knew about the evidence.”
“You knew there was evidence?”
“Yes. Edwin, could you bring the trolley over, please?”
“Uh? Uh…….”
Edwin, looking bewildered, brought the trolley in front of the emperor.
The smile on the emperor’s face vanished.
Edwin trembled inwardly at the sight of his father’s genuinely angry expression.
“I don’t understand what you’re trying to do.”
Trisha opened the lid of the dessert tray Edwin had brought.
The sweet scent of peaches wafted out, and the emperor frowned.
“Why bring me the dessert I ordered cleared away?”
“Because this is the most accurate evidence of the incident.”
Trisha placed the lid back on the peach tart, likely laced with poison.
“Nothing I say from now on must leak outside. That’s why I had people leave the room.”
She glanced around, seeking silent agreement.
Seeing no objections, she continued.
“Princess Hestia is allergic to peaches.”
“……Hestia?”
“An allergy?”
Count Bourbon and Edwin looked shocked.
Millard and the emperor remained silent, as if already aware.
“I often had tea with Princess Hestia, so I knew about it.”
It was a lie.
Trisha had learned about Hestia’s allergy long ago, back when Millard had been her tutor. But she couldn’t say that, so she mixed in a believable falsehood.
“I brought tea containing peaches, but she didn’t touch it. That’s when I found out.”
“Fine, let’s say she’s allergic. So what?”
Edwin asked incredulously. Trisha raised her head.
“His Grace, Duke Winchester, already knew about the princess’s allergy. He was present at the time.”
“So what does that prove……?”
“If I were the real culprit, I wouldn’t have done the foolish thing of poisoning a dessert the princess can’t even eat.”
Millard continued explaining with a faint smile.
“I wouldn’t have gone through the trouble of interacting with the chef to raise suspicion either.”
“Th-then why did you meet the chef?”
“They approached me first, worrying about which fruits to include in the banquet dessert.”
“You’re saying you just humored a mere chef? That’s absurd!”
“I’m more at ease with the Winchester household staff than you are, brother.”
“Then why peaches?”
Count Bourbon, who had been quietly listening, spoke.
“Princess Hestia is allergic to peaches. Isn’t it strange that a peach dessert was chosen? Perhaps the peach dessert was a decoy while some other scheme was planned.”
“Count Bourbon, speak carefully.”
Hestia cut him off coldly.
“Count Bourbon is right.”
Then the emperor spoke.
“Knowing the princess’s peach allergy alone isn’t enough to say Duke Winchester isn’t the culprit. There’s still a suspicious element.”
“Your Majesty……”
Hestia’s expression twisted.
She realized in that moment that the emperor wanted to punish Millard more than reveal the real culprit.
Hestia clenched her fists.
Both her mother, the empress, and now her father, the emperor, were cruel to Millard.
Meanwhile, the emperor seemed to have made his decision and called the knights outside to give orders.
“Take Duke Winchester for questioning. As for Duchess Mason……”
He paused, stroking his chin, staring at Trisha.
“She will be under house arrest for a week. I shouldn’t need to concern myself with this, right, Edwin?”
“Of, of course!”
Edwin exhaled in relief.
He feared that Trisha’s defiance of the emperor might backfire onto him.
If Trisha’s house arrest could calm the emperor’s anger, a week or even two years would have been worth it.
“My story isn’t finished yet, Your Majesty.”
Trisha stepped forward again.
“I know who the real culprit is in this matter.”
