Chapter 82
In Search of the Truth
The next day, as soon as her wounds were disinfected, Ellua, despite her still aching body, set off somewhere.
The person she intended to find was the one who had managed the horses for the riding competition.
Several people had already gathered at the stables. When Ellua appeared, one of them greeted her with a formal bow.
“It is an honor to meet you. I have come under the Marquis’ orders from the Endarin estate.”
He was a man from Herris’s side, while another was from the Imperial Palace. The man in the center was the very one who had handled the horses the day before.
He looked extremely troubled, caught between the two sides.
“I suppose you’ve come because of yesterday’s incident.”
“Yes. But unfortunately, we found nothing.”
At those words, Ellua’s gaze turned toward the horse manager, who strongly insisted on his innocence.
“As I’ve already told both of you, I found no unusual signs in the horse. It’s not unheard of for them to react violently to some unknown external stimulus—especially if the rider is inexperienced.”
“But even so, the horse wouldn’t have died.”
Ellua immediately countered his claim. Feeling there was nothing more to gain from him, she decided to examine the dead horse herself.
“Where’s the carcass? I need to see it.”
“Pardon? But decomposition has already begun.”
“I said I’ll check it myself.”
At her firm tone, the man led the group out of the stables toward a building set far apart.
As they neared, the stench of rot seeping through the sturdy wooden walls made everyone, Ellua included, frown and cover their noses and mouths with their sleeves.
When the locked wooden doors were opened, several massive shapes, covered with white sheets, lay in a row on the floor.
The moment the caretaker pulled away one of the cloths, an overpowering stench made it nearly impossible to breathe.
While others hesitated to approach, Ellua stepped forward first, unbothered by the reek, to examine the horse’s condition closely.
The day before, she had been too shaken by the accident to look properly.
As she inspected the horse, for some reason the caretaker’s nervousness was palpable—though no one noticed, as their attention was fixed on the carcass.
‘No visible external wounds.’
There was no sign of secret tampering or injury. That meant the cause likely lay inside the horse.
As she examined the decaying head, the man from the Endarin estate spoke from behind her.
“Before Your Highness arrived, both a palace caretaker and I inspected it, but we found no abnormalities.”
If even an expert had found nothing, then Ellua herself would hardly discover anything concrete.
Her suspicions were firm, but she had no proof. With a heavy heart, she looked down at the cold body of the horse before finally rising to her feet.
“I see nothing unusual either.”
But even in that brief moment, she caught the caretaker’s fleeting look of relief.
‘He’s definitely hiding something.’
As she prepared to leave, the man from the Marquis’s household approached her.
“The Marquis asked me to convey his gratitude for saving Herris. He is truly thankful.”
He bowed deeply, but Ellua waved it off. Instead, she felt guilty toward them.
“I should have paid more attention to Herris, since it was his first time riding. I can hardly face the Marquis.”
“Not at all. In fact, when he heard you were injured while saving Herris, he felt terribly sorry.”
“Please tell the Marquis not to worry. I’m fine.”
“Yes. Also, the Marquis said he would like to invite you to his estate at your convenience.”
It was a pleasant proposal, and Ellua immediately nodded.
Thankfully, contrary to her fears, Herris must have explained things well, because there was no sign of suspicion toward her.
“The Marquis is also extremely angry about what happened. If someone’s scheme is behind this, he intends to uncover it completely.”
“As he should.”
“The problem is, we still haven’t uncovered anything at all.”
“Hmm… If you could, please ask Herris whether he noticed anything strange while riding that day, and send me his response in a letter.”
At present, Herris’s testimony—he being the rider—was perhaps the most important clue.
“Of course. I’ll see to it.”
With that promise, the man left the palace.
Left alone, Ellua did not return to her quarters but headed elsewhere. To solve this riddle, she would need another approach.
Ellua’s destination was the Imperial Library. Since all the world’s knowledge was gathered there, she could only hope to find at least a thread of truth.
But just upon arrival, she was faced with an unexpected problem.
“Oh, right. I can’t use my arm and shoulder right now.”
Because of her injuries from the previous day, it was impossible to reach for the books placed high on the shelves. She tried anyway, but the sharp pain came instantly.
So she had no choice but to ask for the librarian’s help—only for another hand to grab the book first.
Startled, she turned to see Tervan standing there, holding the book. Unfazed by her gaze, he asked,
“Was this the one?”
“Yes… that’s correct.”
Flustered, Ellua nodded, and Tervan kept his eyes on her as if asking silently if she needed more.
Snapping back to her senses, she tried to take the book from him, but he immediately pulled it back, keeping it out of reach.
“I’ll carry it.”
‘No, wait—that’s not the point here!’
It was so natural she almost let it slide.
“What are you doing here?”
“Isn’t the reason anyone comes to a library the same? To find a book they need.”
With such a response, she couldn’t argue, but his calm expression left her oddly deflated.
She had lost sleep because of him, yet he acted as though nothing at all had happened.
“Your shoulder’s injured. Isn’t this too much for you alone?”
The way he said it irritated her, and uncharacteristically, she withdrew her hand from the book and said,
“Then may I take this to mean you’ll help me?”
“Of course.”
The moment he agreed, Ellua quickly pointed to the relevant section.
As time passed, more and more heavy tomes piled into Tervan’s arms.
She saw his expression harden under the weight, but pretended not to notice.
Finally, unable to endure, he muttered,
“This many books hardly seem necessary.”
“My, when did it become so many? They must be heavy.”
It was obvious she was teasing, and so Tervan, out of pride, maintained a straight face.
“They’re not heavy. I only meant it’s inefficient to fetch more than you can read.”
“Is that so?”
Her playful tone implied she didn’t believe him, so he shifted the stack to one hand as if to prove it.
“Even for Your Majesty, isn’t that too much to carry with one hand?”
“Not at all.”
Watching him stubbornly insist, Ellua gave in, taking a few of the books from his pile.
“There, isn’t that better? We’ll share the load.”
Smiling brightly, she slipped past the rows of desks. For a moment, Tervan simply stared at that smile before hastily following.
“For the record, it truly wasn’t heavy.”
“Yes, yes. I believe you.”
He was convinced she thought he couldn’t handle a mere few books.
“I’m telling the truth.”
He trailed her relentlessly, insisting he hadn’t struggled, until Ellua, exhausted by his persistence, finally promised to believe him if only he’d stop.
“This should be enough. Thank you for your help.”
Having gathered the necessary materials, Ellua sat at a desk in a quiet corner of the library.
To her surprise, Tervan didn’t leave after setting the books down but sat directly across from her.
She paused, staring at him.
“Your Majesty isn’t leaving?”
“You sound like you want me gone.”
“No, it’s just… I don’t need more help.”
Her words clearly carried the wish that he would leave, but he only opened the top book in the stack.
Ellua couldn’t hide her exasperation.
“Forgive my curiosity, but aren’t you busy?”
“And why are you so sure I am?”
“Isn’t it obvious? You’re the Emperor. And since the rains have been scarce, you must strengthen defenses everywhere.”
“You know my schedule quite well.”
“That’s not what I meant…”
Ellua hesitated, then shrugged as if it were common knowledge.
“Everyone in the Empire knows that much. And yet, you have time for this?”
“There are plenty of people working besides me. It’s no great problem.”
“Those people would be thrilled to hear that.”
Ellua sighed, giving up, and opened her book. She knew she could never win a battle of words with him.
Since her right shoulder was badly injured, she turned the pages a little awkwardly with her left hand.
Watching her, Tervan soon noticed all the books she had chosen dealt with horses.
“You’re investigating yesterday’s incident.”
“Yes. As you’ve already heard, no clues were found, so I’m searching here.”
Her firm reply came without her eyes leaving the book.
He had indeed heard about it from his aide. Yet she clearly had no intention of letting it go.
“Even so, you’ll keep digging?”
“There’s no doubt something suspicious happened. If I search, I may find even a small clue. After all, only Herris and I were there that day.”
“It won’t be easy. Not even the experts found anything.”
Looking at the pile of tomes, Tervan thought it nearly impossible. What she sought might not even be within them.
In short, it seemed reckless. But Ellua’s expression was unwavering.
“This is hardly trouble. If I can just learn the truth of that day… Every word I said then, I meant. Perhaps if only I had been hurt, I wouldn’t go this far. But…”
“You have a strong sense of justice.”
“No. I just believe it’s what must be done. I only want to make it clear—beyond doubt—that there’s a heavy price for treating someone’s life so carelessly.”
With that, she bent her head and continued flipping page after page.
As she swiftly scanned the dense lines of text, Tervan also began turning the pages of his own book.
The library soon fell into deep silence, broken only by the sound of pages rustling.
By the time the sky outside was painted with sunset, the desks around them were stacked high with read books.
Then, from across the table, Tervan spoke.
“This seems the most likely.”
“What is it?”
At once, Ellua rose and came to his side.
For a moment, Tervan was disconcerted by her nearness, but she was only focused on what he had found.
“Where?”
“Here, this section.”
He steadied his voice as he pointed to a page. Ellua quickly read through the text he indicated.
The description of symptoms was strikingly similar to what the horse had shown that day.
Overjoyed at the discovery, she unconsciously placed her hand on his shoulder.
“This could be it, Your Majesty.”
When she turned her head toward him, their eyes met at close distance.
