Chapter 42
“Irene.”
“…Why are you saying that?”
“It was you, wasn’t it?”
Gasp.
Everyone held their breath. The burning stares shifted from me to Irene.
“What are you talking about? Now that you’re cornered, you’re trying to pin this on me? What a useless tactic.”
Irene scoffed and folded her arms, turning her head. It was clearly a move to hide her trembling hands and flickering gaze.
“You’re the one trying to deflect, Irene. Feeling guilty?”
When I calmly fired back, Irene abandoned all pretense of politeness and shouted.
“Ha! Why would I? Do you think I’m impulsive like you? And who hated and bullied Daphne more than you ever did?”
“I might’ve hated her, but I never stooped to poisoning.”
“Maybe you didn’t before. But after the marquis broke off the engagement with you, what else did you have to lose?”
At that, the onlookers all nodded in agreement like a single entity.
I couldn’t even laugh anymore.
So the rumors had spread this far, and neither Rio nor Daphne said a thing? Just pretended not to know until the end?
I clenched my jaw and glared at Rio.
“Rio Maze. Tell them. Tell everyone who really ended the engagement first.”
“What? Is that really important right now?”
Watching Rio scoff and exhale in disbelief, I pushed my hair back.
“What, embarrassed because you got dumped after cheating? Too ashamed to admit I left you?”
“Oh my!”
“Heavens!”
The crowd gasped on cue as I tilted my chin up at them.
“Everyone listen up. I dumped him. He’s the one who got dumped. I threw him away because I didn’t need him anymore. So why would I kill Daphne? Whether they get married and have ten kids or not—what does that have to do with me?”
Irene was at a loss for words, clearly caught off guard. Her mouth just opened and closed, soundless.
I leaned in close to whisper, just loud enough for only her to hear.
“It’s you who has a problem with Daphne. Because His Highness the Crown Prince still has overflowing feelings for her.”
“You…!”
Irene didn’t care a whit about Rio. The reason she started the Daphne Anti-Fan Club and crowned herself president was entirely because of the Crown Prince, Kaiden.
She liked him. She wanted to be Crown Princess.
So imagine how infuriating it must’ve been to see Kaiden only have eyes for Daphne.
“Sienna Winter!”
I raised a finger and tapped her on the shoulder.
“Don’t pretend otherwise. You bullied Daphne just as much as I did—no, even more cruelly and disgustingly.”
And she did it all without getting her own hands dirty, cleverly using others instead.
“When did I ever—!”
“You know that better than anyone!”
As I raised my voice to overpower hers, Irene’s shoulders shrank at the sound.
“Silence, all of you.”
The emperor, who had been quietly listening to the quarrel, raised his hand.
The entire room fell instantly quiet.
The emperor’s gaze swept across the now-silent hall before settling on me.
“Lady Winter. Once again, you’re at the center of trouble.”
He looked at me as if to say, Again? Really?—so I obediently lowered my head.
Act out now, and I’d really die.
“My apologies, Your Majesty. It’s most regrettable that such an unfortunate event occurred on a day of celebration. I am truly shocked, as I had no knowledge of this incident.”
To everyone’s surprise, I responded with perfect decorum—fluent and poised. The sudden eloquence made the others sneak glances at me.
“However, it is true that my name was mentioned. I offer my sincerest apologies for disturbing the coming-of-age ceremony of Her Highness, the jewel of the Empire.”
The emperor, briefly surprised by my unfamiliar tone, stroked his beard with a pleased expression.
“Hm, very well…”
His gaze shifted to the attendant.
“When did Lady Winter give you the poison?”
“I-I can’t quite remember…”
“You’d best remember. Otherwise, it’ll be your neck.”
At his chilling tone, the trembling attendant hurriedly replied.
“T-Twenty minutes ago!”
Flustered by the emperor’s pressure, he’d just guessed based on when I’d left briefly—which turned out to be a grave mistake.
“At that time, she was with me. The lady, her partner, and I were conversing in the garden.”
Kaiden, having regained his composure after Daphne’s condition stabilized, confirmed my alibi.
Not out of kindness to me—more to avoid confusing the investigation.
“I-I must have been mistaken. It was earlier—before that…”
“She was with me before you met my brother.”
Estella now came to my defense.
“Lady Winter has a solid alibi.”
“And it’s not just anyone backing her—it’s His Highness the Crown Prince and Her Highness the Princess.”
“Then…”
With the two of them testifying, suspicion quickly shifted from me to Irene.
“I—I was in the banquet hall the whole time! These ladies were with me—they can testify!”
Irene pointed to her followers, and they nodded.
“Indeed, Your Majesty. Lady Clasio was with us the entire time.”
“And I haven’t stepped outside once since entering the hall, Your Majesty!”
Irene was smug with confidence—but I quietly interjected.
“You don’t have to leave to poison someone.”
“…What?”
“Because it wasn’t you who did it. It was your maid.”
Looking at the collapsed Daphne and the uneasy Irene, a memory flashed in my mind.
I remembered who that maid belonged to.
She was always by Irene’s side—her shadow.
At my accusation, Irene stammered, unable to hide her panic.
“T-That’s ridiculous…!”
“Irene, I saw it. Your maid handing something to that attendant.”
The attendant, lying face down on the floor, flinched and trembled.
“It looked exactly like that vial rolling on the ground over there.”
“Stop framing me!”
“Silence!”
The emperor calmed the room again and ordered a knight.
“Bring me that maid.”
And just like that, my battle with Irene entered a temporary lull.
But Daphne was still unconscious, and everyone was buzzing over who the real culprit was.
Worried someone might come after me, Noah stayed close by my side.
“Sienna. You’re sure about the evidence?”
“Of course. Just trust me.”
I tapped the necklace around my neck. Seeing that, Noah finally smiled with relief.
But Heraith didn’t seem too thrilled about my methods.
“Sis. Let me know if it gets ugly. I’ll burn everything to the ground.”
“I said I’m fine.”
With Noah on my left and Heraith on my right, I waited for the maid to be brought in.
Soon after, she was dragged in, trembling and slamming her head on the marble floor.
“Your Majesty! I’ve never seen this lady before!”
“Same here, Your Majesty! I don’t know this maid!”
Playing dumb, are we? Let’s see how long you can deny it after this.
Anticipating their lies, I unclasped my necklace.
Then I activated the projection crystal and shot it into the air.
“I recorded what I saw, Your Majesty.”
The footage clearly showed Irene’s maid handing something to the attendant.
It was undeniable. Perfect evidence.
Cornered, Irene stumbled back, pointing furiously at her maid.
“No… I-I was tricked…! It wasn’t me! She did it on her own!”
“M-Milady! What are you saying? You asked me to do it!”
“No! You—you said it was a way to get rid of both Daphne and Sienna at once!”
“That’s not true! Please, Your Majesty! Why would I hold any grudge against Lady Daphne? I only did what my mistress ordered!”
What started as a battle between Irene and me quickly shifted to Irene versus her maid.
They began slinging accusations at each other, each blaming the other for everything—and quickly fell apart.
“Lady Irene said she’d pin it all on Lady Sienna! I heard her with my own ears. That attendant was also bribed by her!”
“Shut your mouth! When did I ever say that?!”
Smack!
A sharp crack echoed, and the room fell silent.
Irene had slapped her maid across the face and now knelt before the emperor, pleading her innocence.
“Your Majesty! I’ve been framed! I swear I’m innocent!”
“You’re always like this, Milady! Every time something happens, you blame someone else! You’ve falsely accused noble ladies more times than I can count—how easy must it be to frame a lowly servant like me?!”
Their shrieking match turned the banquet hall into utter chaos.
The emperor, enraged that his daughter’s coming-of-age ceremony had been ruined, couldn’t hold back his fury.
“Whether it was the maid acting alone or not will be determined in court. Take them away!”
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
The knights seized Irene, her maid, and the attendant, dragging them out by force.
“Your Majesty! Please listen to me!”
Irene cried out, but no one answered.
And so, Estella’s grand coming-of-age ceremony ended in a mess—ruined by an attempted murder.
