Chapter 20
“….”
—Then that works out! I can’t leave the forest anyway, so I’ll clean the house every day too! Isn’t that a great idea? Right?
“It’s not great at all.”
—What? Why? You don’t like it? Do you want to come with me? But I can’t leave the forest.
Joohee moved her lips slightly before speaking briefly.
“I don’t want to leave here.”
—You don’t want to see Rowen?
“Rowen isn’t someone who belongs here anyway.”
—Why? He’s always been here though?
Joohee didn’t answer and instead said firmly to Mel.
“Mel, don’t bring up Rowen anymore.”
—…Okay. I can’t leave the forest anyway.
At her cold tone, Mel flinched slightly, then nodded with a dejected expression.
After a moment of hesitation, Joohee tried to comfort her.
“Thank you for thinking of me.”
—Really?
“Yes. But I don’t intend to leave here.”
—Then let’s live here forever!
“Yes.”
At Mel’s bright words, Joohee faintly smiled and nodded.
And so a day passed, then a month, and after some unknown stretch of time, a delayed piece of news reached the village.
It was the news that the First Prince, Rowen Green, had ascended to the throne as Emperor.
After returning to the imperial palace, Rowen began making preparations step by step.
First, he held the late emperor’s funeral properly, then buried him in the exclusive royal tomb reserved for the imperial family.
Without resting, he immediately began reviewing the documents that Arsene had been handling.
“Tch. To think this was processed like this.”
Rowen uncovered every sloppy part of Arsene’s work and corrected it cleanly and perfectly, causing his support among the nobles to rise rapidly.
Even in the daily morning meetings, Rowen picked apart Arsene’s proposals point by point.
However, they weren’t baseless objections—he pointed out real flaws, so Arsene was constantly left speechless.
Whenever Arsene stammered, Rowen would present an even better alternative.
Arsene ground his teeth in rage.
And Rowen, as if waiting for it, would sneer at him.
Disdainful eyes came as a bonus.
“Damn it… damn it… AHHH!!”
Ever since Rowen’s return, Arsene’s furious screams echoed daily through his room.
Everything he had built up was being effortlessly stolen by Rowen, and it drove him insane.
“Chamberlain, how should we deal with Rowen this time? Huh?”
“If Your Highness the Prince dies suddenly now, the first person to be suspected will be you.”
“Damn it! Useless fool!”
When the chamberlain opposed him, Arsene frowned.
But the chamberlain’s expression didn’t change.
That only irritated Arsene more, and in a fit of rage he grabbed a crystal ashtray and hurled it at him.
The ashtray, which should have missed, struck the chamberlain’s head and fell to the floor.
Arsene flinched, as if he hadn’t expected it to actually hit.
The chamberlain wiped away the blood without a word and bowed deeply.
“Please rest early today. I will have a maid burn sleep herb incense.”
He then stepped backward out of the room.
Since that day, after the chamberlain delivered the documents to Rowen, Rowen had shown no obvious reaction.
But the chamberlain waited patiently.
After leaving, a maid waiting outside spoke in alarm.
“Chamberlain, your head is bleeding so much. Please get it treated…”
“It’s fine.”
“But, sir—”
“Don’t mind me. Go prepare the sleep herb incense for the prince’s room.”
“…Yes, understood.”
As the maid hurried off, the chamberlain took out a white handkerchief and wiped his forehead.
For something struck by an ashtray, the wound wasn’t serious.
But as he wiped the blood away, the white handkerchief quickly turned red.
Somehow, it felt like Arsene’s future, so it didn’t feel unpleasant.
Meanwhile, Rowen worked late into the night reviewing documents.
His private investigation confirmed that everything in the chamberlain’s report—verified through secretly deployed agents—was true.
Arsene could be imprisoned as early as tomorrow, and no one would be able to object.
So Rowen proceeded without hesitation.
Arsene, who had fallen into a deep sleep from the sleep herb burned the previous night, slowly opened his eyes at the commotion outside.
“What… is all this… noise…?”
His head throbbed violently from the effects of the sleep herb.
“What is the meaning of this! This is the prince! How dare you—! Eek!”
At a maid’s scream, Arsene slowly pushed himself up despite his heavy body.
At that moment, the door was violently thrown open.
Frowning, Arsene turned his head toward it.
He was about to shout at the lack of manners—when armored knights entered instead.
The knights strode up to him, bowed slightly, and spoke.
“Your Highness, you must come with us.”
“What? What are you talking about? Chamberlain! Chamberlain!”
But there was no response from the chamberlain.
No matter how many times he called, the outside remained silent.
Only then did Arsene realize something was wrong.
The knights grabbed his arms and forcibly lifted him.
“Let go! How dare you touch me!”
He tried to struggle, but his strength wouldn’t return properly due to the sleep herb.
He was dragged away in a humiliating state.
Maidservants gathered, whispering as they watched him.
Arsene felt like he would die of shame.
And so he was thrown into the imperial prison.
“Ugh!”
It was the filthiest cell in the already foul-smelling imperial dungeon.
Arsene jumped up in disgust.
He immediately grabbed the iron bars and began threatening the knights.
“Do you think your heads will stay attached after touching me?! I don’t know what misunderstanding this is, but once I get out of here, I’ll have every one of you beheaded!”
No matter how much he screamed, the knights silently guarded the entrance.
Eventually, Arsene’s voice gave out and he collapsed onto the floor, coughing.
Then, seeing rats crawling nearby, he recoiled in horror and pressed himself against the wall.
“Hah… damn it. I’ll behave, so move me somewhere better. Somewhere larger and cleaner than this!”
The knights ignored him completely.
Arsene kept banging on the bars, shouting, but received no answer.
With no window, he couldn’t even tell what time it was.
After several hours, faint footsteps echoed.
Arsene shot up and rushed to the bars.
The footsteps grew closer, then stopped in front of his cell.
Seeing the person before him, Arsene shouted angrily.
“You! What is this?! Open it right now!”
“You’re being disrespectful to your older brother. That’s quite rude, little brother.”
Rowen smiled calmly.
“Open this immediately!”
“I can’t. There are clear crimes. How could I open it?”
“Crimes?”
Arsene’s eyes wavered slightly, but he quickly composed himself.
However, Rowen didn’t miss that fleeting moment.
“A trial will be held soon. Save your excuses for then.”
“A trial? What nonsense is this? You’re putting me on trial? Me? Arsene de Alexio?”
“See you then, brother.”
Rowen waved lightly and turned away.
Behind him, Arsene’s furious screams echoed as he pounded the bars, but Rowen only smiled.
At the emergency council meeting held later, the nobles supporting Arsene erupted in protest.
“How outrageous! To arrest a prince without any explanation!”
“Proper procedures must be followed and a formal request submitted!”
The hall grew noisy.
Seated at the center, Rowen watched silently, resting his chin on his hand.
Then he struck the table hard with his fist.
The loud sound instantly silenced the room.
Only then did Rowen, expressionless until now, show a satisfied smile.
“Finally, it’s quiet.”
“Your Highness!”
“As for why Arsene was arrested—there are more than enough reasons.”
Rowen began counting on his fingers.
“Embezzlement of funds, prostitution, poisoning the late emperor, attempted incitement of murder… there are so many I can’t even remember them all.”
“What, w-what nonsense is this!”
A noble slammed the table and stood up, veins bulging in his neck.
It was the Marquis Zarde, the man who had invested the most in Arsene.
If Arsene fell, his own investments would be ruined, so he was desperately denying everything.
“It is improper to accuse someone without solid evidence! Your Highness, since when have you become so emotional? You were always a rational man!”
“Who said I was being emotional?”
“…Pardon?”
Rowen smiled coldly, sending a chill down the Marquis’s spine.
“W-well, there’s no proof—!”
“Then…”
“….”
The Marquis swallowed hard under Rowen’s low voice.
“Who said there’s no evidence?”
“…That is…”
Come to think of it, Rowen had never once said there was no evidence.
Realizing his mistake, the Marquis looked around—but everyone avoided his gaze.
Rowen snapped his fingers, and the chamberlain entered with a stack of thick documents.
The nobles murmured as they saw them.
Rowen placed the documents on the table.
“Is this enough?”
The stack was enormous.
The nobles stared blankly, as if they had swallowed honey.
Rowen continued,
“Whether these documents are real or fake will be revealed at the upcoming trial.”
Before anyone could protest, Rowen stood, gathered the documents, and left the council hall.
Outside, he handed them to the waiting chamberlain and began walking back toward the palace—when a knight came running from afar.
