Chapter 86………………………………….
Terrence led the Emperor, two attendants who served him, and Jack along the shortest route to their destination.
Along the way, several palace servants who caught sight of the Emperor and the Crown Prince hurriedly bowed low. Terrence ordered each of them to remain exactly where they were for half an hour. He did not forget to add that if anyone moved and was discovered, they would be severely punished.
“What on earth is the reason for this? They’re all trembling and can’t even rise.”
Whenever the Emperor asked, Terrence simply replied that he would understand once they arrived. When a dull, unadorned building began to appear within the imperial palace grounds, the Emperor realized where they were headed.
“Are we going to the imperial palace prison?”
The imperial palace prison. Those confined there were special cases. Most would later be transferred to external prisons like ordinary criminals, but if the imperial family considered the crime significant, the offender was first detained in the palace prison.
And among those currently held there, one person immediately came to mind.
“Are we going to see Liena Cassius?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
In the Emperor’s mind, Liena Cassius’s release had already been decided. Whatever Terrence’s purpose was, it certainly could not be anything beneficial to her.
“Father, for the sake of my face, would you please come?”
“……”
When the son he had long ignored spoke like that, he could not press further as a father. The Emperor quietly followed behind him.
After they entered the palace prison, a similar situation unfolded. The imperial guard was in charge of the prison, and Terrence ordered every guard he encountered to remain where they were.
It was when they approached the nobles’ section where Liena was confined.
“I clearly told you not to move, did I not?”
“A-ah… I-I’m sorry!”
The guard with a sword pointed at his throat stammered, his face drained of color. Though he had received the Crown Prince’s order, he had tried to run toward the staircase once they were out of sight. Jack, who had been following some distance behind, had seized him by the collar.
Only then did the Emperor take a closer look at the guards’ faces. Pale. Something was odd. Even considering the shock of seeing the Emperor appear without warning, their reaction was excessive.
“Y-Your Maj—mmph!”
The guard acting as gatekeeper in front of Liena’s cell widened his eyes and opened his mouth, only to have it covered by Terrence.
“Shh. There’s no need to report anything.”
Terrence handed the guard over to Jack and placed his hand on the doorknob. Then he carefully pushed the door open a crack. The prison door, which should have been firmly locked, opened with ease.
“…We humbly request your favor.”
Voices drifted from inside. Even the Emperor held his breath and listened.
“Please be sure to tell them that we treated you well while you were here, my lady.”
The one pleading with clasped hands was the chief officer in charge of the palace prison. By chance, he was standing where his face was visible through the slightly opened door.
“Hmm, I’ll think about it.”
A young woman’s voice followed. Needless to say, it was Liena Cassius.
“Oh, my lady, please show mercy.”
The chief officer fidgeted anxiously.
“If we fail to serve you properly, we are doomed.”
“Well, what should I do~?”
“Is the fanning not cool enough for you?”
“It is a little warm.”
“Hey! You there! Can’t you fan harder?!”
From the sound of it, there was someone else in the room besides the two of them—someone fanning Liena.
“My apologies. There’s no heating or cooling magic installed here.”
“Well, it is a prison, after all.”
“How could someone as precious as you end up in such a shabby place… Would you like another glass of chilled strawberry juice?”
“I’m not particularly thirsty.”
“Then how about this delicious mille-feuille made by the imperial palace pâtissier? We also have macarons and éclairs.”
“Don’t you have anything else?”
“If you just name it, I’ll have my subordinates procure it at once.”
“I’d like a plain chocolate muffin for a change.”
“Ah, a chocolate muffin! Please wait just a moment!”
Without suspicion, the chief flung the slightly opened door wide and called out toward the hallway.
“Someone fetch a chocolate muff—”
Or rather, he tried to.
“Chocolate muffin?”
If only the person standing before him, tilting his head, were not the Emperor himself.
“Y-Your Maj—”
Would the face of someone who had just seen a demon in hell look like that? Terrence guessed that at this moment, the Emperor was more terrifying to that man than any demon.
“Are you telling me to fetch a chocolate muffin?”
“Y-Your Majesty, th-that is—”
“Move.”
The Emperor was simmering like a volcano about to erupt. Yet there was something he needed to confirm before it did.
Pushing the chief aside, the Emperor stepped into the room. Something dropped to the floor with a thud. Terrence, who entered right after, quickly realized it was a fan.
“Y-Your Majesty…”
“Why is Your Majesty here…?”
There were three guards inside. One had been fanning Liena moments ago; another stood awkwardly beside her holding a tray piled high with desserts; the last had been massaging her shoulders until he saw the Emperor and froze.
“Your Majesty!”
Liena sprang to her feet from a luxurious, plush chair. Naturally, such furniture did not originally belong here.
“You’ve brought quite a lot.”
The Emperor muttered to himself. As the one who decided who was confined here, he knew roughly what the facilities were like.
The nobles’ section. It boasted the best conditions within the palace prison, and not every noble was placed here. Only those who, despite committing grave crimes worthy of imprisonment in the palace prison, were still deemed deserving of noble treatment by the Emperor were granted this room.
The Emperor looked around the room with hollow eyes. For a prison, it had no iron bars, was clean, and even had a window. It had originally been furnished with basic items, but now it was filled with lavish furniture.
“Did you place these here?”
The Emperor pointed at the enormous bed—large enough for four people—and asked the guards.
“Th-that is, in truth…”
“Do not make me ask twice.”
The guard holding the tray barely managed to answer.
“Y-Yes, we did.”
“Why?”
“……”
“Did you not hear me?”
At that moment, Liena Cassius stepped forward.
“Your Majesty, it is all my fault. Please blame me, not them.”
The Emperor pressed a hand to his forehead, grimacing as if dizzy.
“Stay out of this.”
“Your Majesty! They are not at fault!”
“You, you… how dare you—”
The Emperor was truly about to explode. Thud! Suddenly, the chief officer threw himself to the floor, smashing his forehead against it.
“Please, execute me!”
“You could not have dared do this alone. Tell me who stands behind you.”
“There is no one. I merely wished to curry favor with the House of Cassius, so I ordered my subordinates…”
“With one word, you determine not only your subordinates’ lives, but your family’s as well. Do not lie to me any longer.”
The man trembled violently. After a while, he raised his head, thick tears streaming down his face.
“Th-The Crown Prince…”
As expected, the Emperor squeezed his eyes shut.
“His Highness the Crown Prince ordered that Lady Liena be served without the slightest discomfort.”
Several minutes passed before the Emperor opened his eyes. The volcano that had been simmering finally erupted.
“Mikhail! Where is that bastard?!”
Scalding lava seemed to engulf the palace prison. Later, one of the Emperor’s attendants who had been present that day said that in over twenty years of service, he had never seen the Emperor so enraged.
The terrified guards rushed off to find the Crown Prince. Liena approached the Emperor, who stood seething alone.
“Your Majesty, as I have said repeatedly, it is my fault. Please quell your anger.”
She dropped to her knees. Terrence thought she truly had no sense of when to involve herself and when not to.
“Lady Cassius, please step out—”
He moved to stand between her and the Emperor to lead her away. Their eyes met.
The moment he saw the woman slumped there, Terrence doubted his own sight.
‘A rabbit?’
Strangely, over Liena’s figure he saw the image of a rabbit soaked in rain, shivering pitifully.
Even stranger, in all his life he had never once looked at a person and vividly imagined an animal. He had never thought Liena resembled a small creature, either.
‘Is this why she has so many supporters?’
As Terrence pondered, the Crown Prince burst into the nobles’ section.
“Your Majesty, I heard you were looking for me—”
Though the guards had gone to fetch him, he arrived far sooner than expected. He must already have been on his way here. The purpose was obvious.
“Liena!”
Seeing Liena kneeling, the Crown Prince was horrified. His shock quickly turned to anger.
“What are you doing!”
He rushed forward, shoved Terrence aside roughly, and wrapped around his beloved as if to shield her. For Terrence, who had not laid a single finger on Liena, it was utterly absurd.
