Chapter 83 ………………………………………………
After hearing the chief attendant’s report, the Emperor asked in bewilderment,
“What? Elliot Rood? Who in the world is that?”
Since the attendant himself seemed unsure, Terence answered instead.
“He is the vice guild master of the Iver Merchant Guild. When he attended the Imperial Academy, he was famous as a genius.”
“And he is said to have orchestrated this entire affair?”
The chief attendant replied cautiously.
“That is what a man who served directly under Elliot Rood has confessed.”
“Hoh… Then are you saying Riena Cassius bears no guilt at all?”
This was the situation: just moments ago, a man who had served Elliot most closely had been interrogated. After persistent questioning, he confessed. All the crimes had been carried out at Elliot’s direction, and Riena had known nothing about them.
The Emperor voiced the obvious doubt.
“Does that make any sense? How could the owner of the guild not know?”
“It is said that the young lady was merely the source of funds, while Elliot handled the actual operations.”
“Well, I never truly believed the absurd story that a child not even ten years old built the guild into such a powerhouse…”
“And there is something else I intended to verify personally before reporting, but…”
The chief attendant hesitated, gauging the Emperor’s reaction.
“This morning, a letter arrived at my estate.”
“A letter?”
“The writer claims to have been one of Elliot Rood’s close aides. Though not officially affiliated with the Iver Guild, he assisted Elliot externally in committing various corrupt acts.”
“Is that true?!”
“According to the letter, he possesses evidence—such as written instructions Elliot sent him. He was ordered to destroy them but kept them just in case.”
“Have you confirmed this with your own eyes?”
“It only arrived this morning, so not yet… I considered reporting to Your Majesty immediately, but thought it best to verify its authenticity first and report once I deemed it credible.”
“Hm. Two accusations pointing at the same man at nearly the same time…”
“The letter also states that the writer long ago grew sick of Elliot’s misdeeds and temperament but remained silent out of fear.”
“So now that Elliot appears unable to escape punishment, he chooses to reveal the truth? Very well. Who wrote the letter?”
“There is a name written, but would you like to meet him directly?”
“I am curious about this evidence. Bring him in.”
“I obey, Your Majesty.”
The attendant bowed deeply and withdrew. The Emperor turned to Terence.
“Where is Elliot Rood being held?”
“In the custody of the guard. Shall I have him brought here?”
“If there is a possibility he is the ringleader, I ought to confront him personally at least once.”
“Then I will send word at once to transfer him to the palace.”
“First, I shall review the evidence the letter-writer claims to possess. Schedule it after that.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Leaving the Emperor’s office, Terence strode swiftly down the palace corridor, his thoughts tracing backward.
The subordinate who had confessed—Terence had likely seen him before. On the day they raided the Iver Guild.
“D-Do you have a warrant?!”
“Then at least a lawyer—!”
Yes. He was probably the one who had protested when Terence came to take Elliot away.
‘So Elliot must have given him instructions at that very moment.’
“That’s enough. I suppose I have no choice but to go.”
“Vice Guild Master!”
“I’ll be away for a while, so make sure to water the flowerpot beside my desk.”
That mention of the flowerpot had been the key. It was a signal to activate the contingency plan Elliot had prepared in case of an emergency.
That had been the only opportunity. Until then, Elliot had been certain Terence did not know the cipher to the secret chamber.
‘Elliot orchestrated all of this, and Riena Cassius knew nothing?’
Impossible. Terence had faced her directly and heard enough from Idel to know that Riena was no fool.
This entire development was Elliot’s design—to shoulder all the blame alone and protect his master. It was an astonishing display of loyalty.
‘From the start, he must have prepared a failsafe to extract Riena even in the worst-case scenario.’
Framing Cecil Iver might have been a better option for Elliot—but he could not deceive Riena herself. In a situation where Elliot was already suspected of colluding with Terence, if Cecil took all the blame, Riena would surely believe Elliot a traitor.
Thus, Elliot sacrificed himself to prove his unwavering loyalty, allowing Riena to eliminate Cecil and focus on saving him.
He was not a ducal family member like Riena. If deemed the mastermind, he faced life imprisonment at best—execution at worst.
‘Perhaps he believes Cassius influence can prevent execution. Or maybe he plans to escape later with their help, even from a life sentence.’
Whether escape was truly possible was uncertain. But considering the genius Idel had described, it did not seem entirely implausible.
Outside the palace, Terence met his attendant, Jack, and instructed him to inform Idel at the guard annex about Elliot’s transfer. Then he proceeded to the investigation unit.
After reviewing the confession of Elliot’s subordinate, he asked one of the investigators,
“Did the executives change their testimony while I was away?”
By “executives,” he meant the six highest-ranking members of Iver besides Riena, Cecil, and Elliot.
“No, all six have maintained their statements.”
“I see…”
From the investigation, it had become clear that lower-level employees who committed crimes only knew the superior who directly ordered them. They were unaware how far up the chain the wrongdoing extended. Following their accusations led ultimately to the executives.
Four of the six remained tight-lipped despite threats and interrogation. The remaining two, after initial silence, eventually named Elliot as the culprit.
‘Did all six coordinate in advance? No—even if not as clever as Elliot, they were arrested quickly, from separate locations.’
Physically and temporally, prior coordination seemed unlikely. More likely, four remained loyal to the guild to the end, while two chose to sacrifice Elliot to protect Riena and Cecil.
Riena possessed an almost unreal ability to inspire goodwill, and Cecil had shared a table with these executives for over a decade. If someone had to be sacrificed, Elliot was the obvious choice.
‘Did you even account for the executives’ actions in your failsafe, Elliot Rood?’
Terence couldn’t help but admire him. Even among the seized documents and ledgers from the secret chamber, there was no trace that Riena had ordered the crimes.
‘And the evidence the attendant will bring—surely fabricated by Elliot.’
Most likely a written directive instructing certain actions to be carried out without Riena’s knowledge.
It was insurance. A safeguard in case Elliot’s subordinate’s confession was suppressed.
There was also a reason he had chosen the chief attendant as recipient. The attendant was the quickest route to the Emperor. Though neutral in stance, he subtly favored the Crown Prince.
‘If it had gone to someone from the Crown Prince’s or Cassius’s faction, Father would have suspected manipulation.’
Yet choosing just anyone risked the letter being buried.
In that sense, the chief attendant was ideal. The Emperor would trust him. And given his fondness for the Crown Prince, he would likely present information beneficial to Riena.
Terence considered what would happen next.
‘With both evidence and witness pointing to Elliot, Father will likely release Riena as innocent.’
The Emperor disliked Cassius—but he did not rule by personal grudge. Cassius was necessary to the Empire. What he wanted was to rein them in, not turn them into enemies.
Punishing Riena without sufficient evidence would be risky. Still, as guild master, she bore responsibility, even if not criminal guilt.
‘Smuggled goods passed through Cassius territory. There are plenty of hooks to hold over them.’
The Emperor would use such leverage to put a bridle on Cassius—not punish Riena and provoke them unnecessarily.
Events were unfolding exactly as Elliot intended.
And at the same time, in a direction favorable to Terence.
One corner of the prince’s lips curved upward.
After confirming Terence’s message brought by Jack, I returned to Elliot’s room.
“They’ll be coming soon to take you to the Imperial Palace.”
“How tragic, how tragic. The time has come for me to confess my sins before His Majesty.”
Elliot replied with a face not the least bit sorrowful. Before Jack arrived, I had been listening to what was hardly a confession.
“Aren’t you afraid? You could be sentenced to death.”
“If my luck runs foul enough, perhaps. But even so, there are things I value more than my life.”
“You like Riena that much?”
“Of course. I won’t let villains like you or the Second Prince lay a finger on that noble lady.”
“Ah. I see…”
I tried to look deeply disappointed and frustrated.
But inwardly, my thoughts were entirely different.
‘You’re mistaken, as I thought.’
He believed our ultimate goal was Riena’s downfall.
But the reason Terence and I started all this was Elliot himself.
‘I wanted to eliminate Elliot, who posed a grave risk to my future. Terence wanted to remove an obstacle on his path to the throne.’
And now Elliot had stepped willingly onto a thorn-covered road leading, at minimum, to life imprisonment.
