Episode 22
Floretta clutched at Kinesia’s dress and hesitated, stepping back uncertainly.
“Kinesha…”
Her trembling voice kept pulling Kinesia backward.
“It’s a lie, right? Who would poison her? Right, Kinesha?”
“It must be,” Kinesia replied.
Yes, who was she? Wasn’t she the Irane Emperor, notorious for being a tyrant?
Moreover, she had already detected and eliminated over ten assassins in advance.
So surely this couldn’t be true. There must be a plan. Even if she brought someone along like this, she wouldn’t leave them in real danger.
“Everything will be fine.”
Kinesia whispered to herself.
She struggled to calm her racing heart and steady her trembling legs.
“There seems to be a misunderstanding.”
“Please address that once you arrive. His Majesty the King awaits you.”
“I understand.”
Floretta held Kinesia’s hand tightly.
Kinesia returned the gesture briefly, then let go.
If she were really being accused, showing affection with Floretta could only cause trouble. Greedy nobles might even frame Floretta as an accomplice.
“Laura, go back to your room.”
“But… but, Kinesha…”
“Now.”
Floretta hesitated, then tearfully walked toward the door.
The knight watched her go for a moment before turning to his men.
“You will stay and search the room.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Princess Kinesia, let’s go.”
Only after Floretta had completely left did Kinesia rise.
The knight led her to the king’s audience chamber.
Inside, nobles in extravagant attire had already gathered.
Luxor sat at the head of the table, but his hunched posture, anxious gaze, and unkempt appearance made him look anything but a ruler.
Despair etched on his face made him seem even smaller.
Kinesia lowered her gaze and stood at the far end of the long table.
It was a distant seat from Luxor.
Their eyes met. Luxor closed his eyes deeply, his expression solemn.
Getelin glanced at Luxor, then took a seat to his right, twirling the tip of his mustache as he looked at Kinesia.
“Princess, you understand why you have been summoned here, correct?”
“…On the way, the knight told me that Ria had been poisoned. Is she… okay?”
Someone murmured.
“How shameless, pretending it wasn’t them.”
Kinesia inhaled shakily, her chest swelling with anxiety.
She looked around at the assembled faces.
In their eyes was not contempt or hatred, but mockery and amusement. They all seemed aware that Kinesia hadn’t poisoned anyone.
Kinesia was certain she had fallen into a trap.
She pressed her clenched fists tightly against her body.
She felt cornered.
If she could not prove her innocence, she might be executed.
Death was frightening, but the thought of her name being tarnished in front of her family was far worse.
“Focus,” she told herself.
Her legs threatened to give out.
“I didn’t do it.”
Kinesia was only fourteen. No matter how smart or thoughtful she was, being accused of murder was overwhelming.
And Luxor wasn’t likely to resolve the situation for her.
She instinctively glanced back. Perhaps the Irane Emperor would appear at the last moment and save her.
But nothing happened. Kinesia could only insist on her innocence.
“Father. I didn’t do it.”
“I know, darling. Papa will make—”
–Bang!
Getelin slammed his hand down on the table.
The thunderous sound cut off Luxor’s words.
Before Luxor could calm his surprise, Getelin launched into a tirade, spitting as he spoke.
“What is this, Your Majesty! A princess of a nation was nearly poisoned! And yet you would dismiss it simply because the suspect is also a princess?”
Other nobles, who had been smirking, now straightened their faces in feigned concern, echoing Getelin’s words.
“Exactly, Your Majesty. Princess Iraneeria is barely clinging to life.”
“The doctor said she might not survive the day.”
“Isn’t she also your daughter, Your Majesty? And yet you side with the culprit?”
Luxor protested desperately.
“Kinesia—no one else but Kinesia—would do such a thing. There must be a misunderstanding.”
But no one listened to him.
Kinesia absorbed it all with clear eyes.
Her powerless, weak father.
A king stripped of authority and dignity.
She inhaled and exhaled rapidly to hold back her rising sobs, finally finding the courage to speak.
“Please allow me to meet the servant who testified.”
Getelin, unable to hide his sneer, gestured to a courtier standing by the door.
“Bring them all in. Let the witnesses testify together.”
Arman soon entered.
Kinesia glared at him, her nostrils flaring with anger and hatred. Arman dared not meet her eyes.
Getelin rubbed his mustache tips with thumb and forefinger, clearing his throat to suppress laughter.
“Ahem, ahem. Servant of Princess Iraneeria, tell us what you saw.”
“At three in the morning, I saw Princess Kinesia enter the kitchen. It was so late that I followed her out of concern, and saw her applying something inside the macarons meant for Princess Iraneeria.”
“Princess Kinesia, what were you doing then?”
“I was asleep.”
“Is there anyone who can confirm this?”
Naturally, there was no one.
“She was alone. Who could verify that?”
“Doesn’t that mean the princess could have sneaked around at that hour?”
“And that someone could fabricate her actions to frame her.”
Getelin paused, stroking his mustache, then nodded to the maid.
“I delivered the macarons to Princess Iraneeria. I truly didn’t know they were poisoned.”
The maid broke into tears.
Unlike his usual impatience, Getelin waited for her to calm down.
“Who instructed you?”
“I received it from another maid. Princess Kinesia prepared it as a peace offering and told me to deliver it after finishing the cleaning.”
Luxor intervened urgently.
“Did you see her face?”
“I usually can’t focus on surroundings when concentrating… I don’t remember.”
“Then you can’t claim Kinesia ordered it!”
Getelin’s expression soured.
“But equally, you can’t say she didn’t order it, can you?”
Getelin mocked Luxor’s words with a sneer.
Luxor suppressed his anger and questioned the patissier.
“What did you witness?”
“I was asked in a note. Since Princess Iraneeria likes peaches, she requested peach macarons as a peace offering.”
It was common for royal instructions to be delivered by note or word of mouth.
Hence, the patissier knew the handwriting of the king and his family.
“From what I saw, it was indeed Princess Kinesia’s handwriting.”
“With such clear evidence, do you still deny it?”
Kinesia’s defense was surprisingly meticulous.
As the case didn’t resolve easily, Count Getelin’s face twisted in frustration.
If it continued, it seemed the two of them might even identify the real culprit. Another noble intervened between them.
“Until the truth is revealed, have the princess confined, Your Majesty.”
“What are you saying? There’s no proof she is the culprit. Confinement?”
“But there’s no proof she isn’t either. What if someone helps her escape out of excessive concern?”
All eyes turned to Luxor.
He looked as though he might faint from the pressure.
Kinesia listened to the voices demanding her imprisonment.
No solution came to mind.
She kept glancing back toward the entrance.
Even at this critical moment, Iraneeria had not appeared—not even her shadow. Kinesia despaired.
“The Irane Emperor won’t come.”
She turned her gaze back toward Arman.
Surely he had poisoned Iraneeria. Even if he showed mercy earlier, he ultimately betrayed her.
“Fear only breeds more fear.”
Her intuition proved correct.
No matter what mercy or pretense, fear always prevails.
The Irane Emperor had acted as if he could control Arman, as if all situations were under his command.
But what was the result?
He was exchanging glances with Getelin.
Iraneeria had been poisoned, and she was in danger.
“I overestimated her.”
Kinesia squeezed her eyes shut.
