[CHAPTER 74]
According to the peace treaty concluded after the Third Continental War, ambassadors of both nations were granted comprehensive rights.
The Arasas Embassy residence was officially treated as Arasas territory.
Even the Emperor could not step inside at will.
Not only the ambassadorial couple, but also their aides were guaranteed extensive diplomatic immunity.
Unless it was a serious crime such as murder, any crime committed by embassy personnel was, in principle, punished under Arasas law.
That meant arresting someone equivalent to an ambassador’s aide without authorization would immediately become a diplomatic issue.
Perhaps thinking he had gained the upper hand, Ambassador Nixandor’s aide acted smug.
Even though he was forced to kneel on the floor of the carriage, puffing out his chest only made him look ridiculous.
“Release me, and I will pretend all your rudeness until now never happened.”
Sir Roysen looked down at him with cold eyes, arms crossed.
“Be quiet.”
“The ambassador, His Excellency the ambassador, will never forgive such outrageous—!”
“His Excellency the ambassador may also never learn that such an outrageous act occurred at all.”
“Be quiet.”
It was a warning that they could simply silence him permanently.
The aide wisely shut his mouth.
While Sir Roysen considered how to handle the situation, Dianu was lost in her own thoughts.
The Catalos Emperor could neither arrest nor interrogate Arasas embassy personnel at will.
Crimes committed by Arasas representatives were judged under Arasas law.
“Sir Roysen.”
“Yes?”
“Let’s go to the Erbinjel Grand Ducal residence.”
Sir Roysen raised his eyebrows as if asking what she meant.
Then, as realization dawned, he let out an admiring sound.
“That will work.”
“Yes.”
“Understood.”
The aide, who had been looking up at them nervously, hurriedly cut in.
“T-the Erbinjel Grand Duchess has no right to interrogate me either!”
Sir Roysen looked down at him with contempt.
Dianu bent slightly to meet the aide’s eyes.
Taking over from Sir Roysen, who was issuing instructions to the coachman, she explained kindly.
“Don’t worry.”
“We’ll take you to someone who does have the right to interrogate you.”
* * *
“It’s cramped.”
“My apologies.”
“I thought this would be better than dragging him out.”
Ravelan Arasas climbed into the carriage wearing only comfortable trousers and a single shirt.
His curly hair stuck out in all directions, as if he had been enjoying a nap before being dragged out against his will.
The aide, who had boasted that no one in this land could force him, turned deathly pale the moment the carriage door opened and Ravelan appeared.
The one who could command Arasas embassy personnel.
The Arasas Crown Prince scratched his head as he looked down at the man flattened before him.
“Who is he?”
When the culprit only trembled and failed to answer, Sir Roysen stepped in.
“He is Ambassador Nixandor’s aide.”
“We caught him following Lady Ortensa.”
“I see……”
The drawn-out ending carried a heavy implication.
Sensing it more keenly than anyone, the aide flinched.
Ravelan nudged the aide’s hand with his foot, forcing him to lift his head.
“Name.”
“P-Petor Gaiha, Your Highness.”
“Affiliation.”
Petor Gaiha rattled off a string of Arasas administrative terms that Dianu could not understand.
Grasping his position with ease, Ravelan spoke lazily.
“Very well.”
“Third-rank diplomat Petor Gaiha.”
“Why were you following this lady?”
Petor hesitated.
Ravelan kicked him without losing his smile.
This time, there was real force behind it, and Petor stifled a scream.
“Do not make me ask twice.”
“I-I’m sorry…….”
“Why were you following this lady?”
“It was on the ambassador’s orders.”
Petor was kicked once again.
Ravelan’s smile grew deeper.
Unable even to clutch the spot where he had been struck, Petor groaned with the expression of someone who had seen a demon.
Ravelan spoke gently.
“I believe I told you not to make me ask repeatedly.”
Dianu and Sir Roysen abandoned the dazed Petor by a deserted roadside and returned to the Imperial Palace.
From there, they went straight to see Rision.
After hearing what had happened, Rision took Dianu’s hand and asked with concern.
“Were you startled?”
“Ah, I’m fine…….”
If anything, Dianu felt more pity than fear for Petor.
But that was not what Rision was worried about.
“Ravelan is purpose-driven.”
“He must have seemed rather rough to you.”
“Pardon?”
“Wasn’t it frightening?”
Watching him cheerfully plunge Petor into hell and pull him back out was interesting, but not frightening.
When Dianu shook her head, Rision finally seemed reassured and sat down.
“This confirms it.”
“The one who searched Miss Dianu’s drawers is either Ambassador Nixandor’s agent or the Belua Duke’s spy.”
“Most likely…….”
“Suspicion toward our relationship is unavoidable, but if we leave it alone, who knows what they might try next.”
Rision and Sir Roysen discussed ways to identify the culprit.
Dianu did not join the conversation.
She was deep in thought.
‘It could be an agent planted by Ambassador Nixandor or the Belua Duke, but…….’
In Dianu’s mind, the most likely culprit was someone much closer.
Still, she did not voice her suspicion.
The moment she did, this matter would leave her hands.
‘I’ll resolve it myself as much as possible.’
She did not want a thoughtless young lady to bear the full weight of Rision’s anger.
* * *
“Miss Aldebaron.”
“May I have a moment?”
Bertona, chatting with fellow maids, ignored Dianu’s call.
Normally, Dianu would have let it slide, but today she could not.
She strode over, grabbed Bertona’s shoulder, and turned her around.
“Eek!”
“Oh my.”
“Are you all right, Miss Bertona?”
“What are you doing, Miss Ortensa?”
The exaggerated reaction, despite Dianu barely using any force, and the maid rushing to support her, were both utterly repulsive.
“The check.”
Bertona’s eyes widened.
Glancing between her confused colleague and Dianu, she finally forced an awkward smile.
“Could you leave us alone for a moment?”
The other maid left the room with a displeased expression.
The moment the door closed, Bertona’s smile vanished.
She glared at Dianu, anger blazing in her eyes.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
“That’s what I’d like to ask.”
“I had no idea you had such a nasty hobby as rummaging through other people’s rooms, Miss Aldebaron.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Whose room do you claim I searched?”
Avoiding her gaze while flatly denying it, Bertona clearly had no intention of admitting anything.
‘As expected.’
Dianu took a small breath to steady herself.
“Miss Aldebaron, listen carefully.”
“I know more than you think.”
“You were the one who ruined my dress on Saint Lusanna’s feast day, weren’t you?”
Bertona flinched, her arms crossed defensively as she looked away.
Dianu continued patiently.
“I endured it then, thinking it was a childish prank.”
“But searching through my drawers crosses the line, doesn’t it?”
Bertona could act so boldly only because she did not understand the gravity of her actions.
She had already reported the matter of Elpenlira and Sir Edric to Baron Aldebaron, and ultimately to the Belua Duke.
Though Bertona did not yet realize it, she was destined to be punished in some form once everything concluded.
Still, Dianu believed there was hope for her.
If the young and immature lady tearfully claimed she had only followed her father’s orders, Rision might show mercy and look the other way.
This indirect reminder of that possibility was Dianu’s final goodwill toward the foolish noblewoman.
“Stop harassing me.”
“Reflect on whether you have been disloyal, and if you sincerely repent, then surely—”
Slap.
With a sharp sound, Dianu’s head snapped to the side.
For a brief moment, she could not comprehend what had happened.
The shock was so great she did not even feel pain.
Bertona, her face flushed red, shouted through clenched teeth.
Her hand, which had struck Dianu, still hung in the air.
“A filthy woman who sells her body for money dares to lecture me?”
