26 – 26. Syrup
Abdication of the imperial succession rights and sober reflection.
3rd Princess Anais thought it best to tidy up to this extent.
It wasn’t about harboring personal ill feelings towards him.
If it weren’t for me, Anais would probably be happily living as a character forming the main couple in the romance novel world by now. Occasionally, villains appear, minor conflicts arise, but in the end, everything is neatly resolved, and it’s a world where they can live happily.
It was Anais’s choice to step out of that comfortable world.
“I should have endured it.”
By enduring and enduring in a prostrate position, she might have had a chance to make a comeback.
The Emperor is still in his forties. It was an age where he didn’t need to rush the succession to the throne.
He was even a doting father with a tendency to overlook Siena’s misdeeds over the years. Probably, his affection for Anais is no less than that. I heard that his relationship with her mother, Yeonhwa, is also very good.
Ultimately, Anais herself discarded the opportunity.
Of course, I wasn’t the only one thinking like this.
“Alan. Why do you think Anais dropped out? Oh, just in case, I’m advising you not to approach her without sincerity.”
Siena’s question blatantly showing off. There was no intention to approach her in the first place.
“I cut off my own way.”
“Maybe she left because she wanted to resign and live quietly?”
“If she had thought that way, she would have maintained her student status. Who would dare gossip if she stopped all external activities and confined herself to school? She might eat a bit of hardship, but she could have graduated with determination.”
“Indeed, you think the same way.”
Sienna’s eyes rounded. An expression that resonated remarkably with my thoughts. It was a look she often showed these days.
However, there was one difference between us.
While I provided an estimate and finished, Sienna expected Anais’s resistance. She had the look of a younger sister who wanted to see her sister’s mischief fueled by evil.
She had already been observing Anais from a distance.
“Do you know Downshire Viscount? He’s a person who is heavily involved in the art world.”
“I was originally an aide to Lady Anais. What about him?”
“He recently became my dog… He came today and reported something interesting. Anais is suddenly disposing of her collection. Unless she’s planning something, why would she do that in such a hurry?”
“…”
News that Anais was hastily disposing of her collection.
It was different from ordinary people selling collectibles for money.
She was the imperial princess and at the same time, the granddaughter of the emperor who ruled the Eastern Empire. She claimed to receive rare gifts on her birthday (sometimes for no apparent reason).
Screens made of jade, fans made of gold, ancient dolls that had aged a thousand years. Things like that.
These were treasures that wealthy people fascinated by the mysteries of the East would eagerly rush to snatch up. Moreover, considering that they were gifts from that imperial family, they carried a premium.
As a woman named Princess, she probably didn’t need to accumulate wealth on her own. Why would she suddenly dispose of such precious things?
‘It’s not for no reason.’
Sienna was convinced that the reason was revenge.
“By now, they must be out of their mind because of the morphine business.”
“Do you think they will interfere with our business?”
“I have a rough idea of how it will unfold.”
Sienna mentioned two possible scenarios.
Anais secretly orchestrating a plot by stealing some of the morphine to cause a scandal. Or contaminating the morphine stored by the military.
It was evident that Sienna was convinced that Anais’s goal was to tarnish the reputation of morphine, which is highly regarded by the soldiers.
“So, you’ve arranged the funds for this? Because you’ll need money to bribe the military.”
“Well, Your Highness Sienna, in my opinion…”
“Oh, never mind. I’ve already taken measures.”
“What kind of measures… do you mean?”
“I warned my sister. I told her that there are many people trying to take advantage of the morphine supply, and soon there might be attempts to undermine it. So, I advised her to be vigilant. …That’s why they are increasing the manpower dedicated to morphine management and assigning responsible officers, right?”
“If it’s Your Highness Victoria, then yes.”
It meant that the sisters had set a trap for the youngest sibling.
Of course, Victoria wouldn’t consider Anais, her youngest sister, as an enemy.
At most, she might suspect the herbalists or op*ium plantation owners who lost their privileges due to morphine. There must be more than a few people who suffered losses because their customers (the military) suddenly switched from op*ium to morphine.
“If Anais gets caught doing something foolish with morphine as the target, even you will be surprised, won’t you? But… will you show leniency towards your sister as your opponent?”
“On the contrary, I believe I should set an example. Strictly imposing sanctions might be the path for the Third Princess.”
“That’s right. You are that kind of person, Your Highness.”
Sienna raised a bright smile. It seemed like she couldn’t wait for Anais to make a foolish move.
Either by bribing soldiers or military officials to seize the morphine.
Mixing something strange into the morphine supply stored in the arsenal.
Or maybe releasing counterfeit products that are only named morphine to the public.
“Either way, it’s an exciting event for her. It must be itching her body.”
Sticking out her tongue just a little and flicking her lower lip. Whether it’s one way or another, if caught, she was ready to put a leash on Anais and give her a rough shake.
No, it would be fortunate if it ends with a shake. The competitor for the succession to the throne is trying to create a pretext for surgery, and she won’t tolerate that.
“It’s best for Anais if she gets caught quickly.”
If she keeps hesitating ambiguously and gets caught, an irreversible disaster could strike. If that happens, it could be difficult to end with giving up the right of succession.
“I hope you do better this time.”
It was Sienna who was cheering for her sister. I decided not to improve.
**
Anyway, it was difficult for Anais to not get caught no matter what she did.
She was in a situation where she had lost her faction and friends. From the moment she dropped out of school to get revenge on Sienna, Anais’s downfall was predictable.
“If she’s aiming for morphine, there’s no way she won’t get caught.”
But,
Even after throwing the net, there was no news at all.
Until rumors spread that she threw her resignation letter in the principal’s face, I thought she would turn around and run immediately. But she remained silent for three days. She seemed to have no interest in morphine, just stuck in her own palace.
“Is she trying to be cautious this time?”
Sienna still had a relaxed expression.
“She’s stalling a bit too much. Eventually, she’ll make a move, right?”
But as the fourth day approached, anxiety began to show.
“What on earth are we supposed to do?”
As the sixth day approached, the smile vanished from her face.
“Maybe she gave up because she thinks there’s no answer. I don’t know, but I don’t want to fight with Victoria Unni.”
After over a week, an atmosphere of almost resignation permeated.
Perhaps she felt dejected because Joo Bin didn’t come to the party she had prepared with care. She must have been disappointed at the thought of finally being able to argue with her sister. Were there any sisters in the world who wouldn’t be upset when their younger siblings didn’t pick a fight?
“Has Anais really given up?”
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If she gave up revenge or whatever, it would be a relief.
But no matter how much I think about it, it doesn’t seem like Anais has given up.
If that’s the case, why did she drop out, and why did she suddenly turn all her numerous collections into cash? It’s not just that she suddenly regretted it after selling everything.
So, what on earth is she trying to do?
What.
As I pondered, I suddenly had a suspicion and reported it to the villain.
“Your Excellency, it seems you may have misunderstood the Third Princess’s intentions.”
“Hmm?”
“The Third Princess probably has no intention of moving as we expected. In the end, she set a trap in the wrong place and is waiting.”
“Isn’t Anais targeting Morfin?”
“Of course, she might be targeting Morfin. It’s just not in the way we anticipated.”
“…”
Siena just grinned as if she couldn’t understand at all.
It’s not that she suddenly lost intelligence and is wandering. She just underestimated the teenager outside the academy who is only seventeen years old.
If it were Silovin’s previous Anais, she would have been caught immediately.
However, Anais had already experienced a desperate situation.
“Even the Third Princess knows that if I lose again this time, I will lose everything. It doesn’t mean that I can’t have any sense of reason just because I’m blinded by revenge.”
“Did someone who can make such judgment really drop out for revenge?”
“I don’t think that’s what Your Highness meant.”
“That… Alan, you’re right.”
It’s fortunate that she knows how to reflect on herself. Anais could sense that she could go beyond her own expectations.
Of course, she didn’t seem to be cheerful.
“In the end, I set a trap in the wrong place.”
“Yes.”
“Then what can Anais do, or rather, what did she do?”
“Now that she only has money, she just needs to understand the flow of money. You can find out if the recent Third Princess has acquired any assets by releasing people. She might have spent money in a place seemingly unrelated to Morphin.”
Sienna, who I released immediately upon my request, was the one who gathered information. They were nobles who were recently enslaved by Sienna for the purpose of collecting information. They were mostly engaged in commerce and originally followed Anais. They said that they accepted the mission of investigating the background of the person they served without any hesitation.
“They will ask something soon.”
This statement was true.
…
The result of the information gathering came back that afternoon.
If I had paid attention instead of casually flipping through it, it meant that I could have grasped the movements of the Third Princess long ago. It was too late to regret it.
“It is said that Her Highness Anais has acquired a factory near the capital. It is a factory that produces syrup… It was already acquired a week ago. They say that recently, there has been an increase in the number of herbalists visiting that factory.”
The third princess has acquired a syrup factory, or so it was said.
At first glance, even I couldn’t make sense of this seemingly out-of-context news.
However, soon enough, my head grew cold. I could guess what Anais was scheming specifically.
Syrup.
The situation seemed like it would get extremely messy.