36 – 36. Confession
It would be nice if time could stop like this.
Princess Sienna felt her heart fluttering as she muttered inwardly.
The muscles around her lips kept twitching beyond the control of her brain, a heart beating crazily fast, and a flushed face as if she had not had a sip of wine.
Sienna was intoxicated with an indescribable sense of accomplishment. It could be expressed as a sense of gratitude or ecstasy; it didn’t matter.
One thing was certain. She hadn’t experienced a moment this joyous in her entire life.
“Still, I need to calm down.”
Sienna took a long breath to control her emotions.
If she continued like this, she might end up sobbing like a drunk empress. To enjoy this important moment, she needed to hold onto her composure.
“Um, I really didn’t know… uh.”
The whimpering face of Anais caught her eye.
Searching for her mother with watery eyes. Despite her rigid posture, it somehow seemed adorable.
Just 20 minutes ago, she was dismissive and mocking, and now she couldn’t even speak properly on the previously scorned topic.
Although it was entertaining just to watch her, Sienna had another reason for not intervening.
The reason was the Emperor standing right beside her.
“What on earth is going on? What on earth.”
The emperor seemed equally disheartened, not unlike Anais.
Originally, he was a person with an intense love for his daughters.
When Victoria was first appointed as a commanding officer and stationed near the Grand Forest, he even forced the military to clean up, making her submit status reports three times a day. There was a time at a banquet when, in a drunken stupor, he struck the Madin Kingdom’s ambassador, calling Anais a mongrel.
“I’ve also not been without benefits. Now that I think about it.”
When Siena had an accident, it was the emperor who covered for her. Six months ago, Siena had taken one of the emperor’s hunting dogs without permission and engaged in dog racing at an underground gambling den.
An act even the nobility found hard to tolerate.
At that time, the emperor was busy monitoring Siena to prevent her reputation from worsening. After things settled down a bit, he called Siena and sternly told her to get her act together.
But now, the emperor didn’t seem inclined to embrace Anais.
Did his affection for the youngest suddenly disappear? Unlikely.
“It’s because it’s something I can’t embrace; it’s more depressing that way.”
The emperor, who ruled the most powerful nation on the continent, and the ruthless ruler who manipulated the seeds of the nobility to seize that power.
However, even such an emperor had his limits.
Anais not only indiscriminately distributed dangerous dru*gs within the system but also turned a blind eye to her birth mother’s crisis – a reckless daughter.
Knowing that he couldn’t embrace her, she probably sat there with a world-shattered expression.
Siena was also cautiously observing. Mocking Anais in front of the emperor right now could lead to tears.
Fortunately, instead of Siena, there was someone there to enlighten the emperor.
“Your Majesty, gather yourself.”
Naturally, it was Empress Yeonhwa. Gently raising her hand to the emperor’s broad shoulder, she began to softly admonish him.
“How disappointed you must be.”
“Of course, I was disappointed. I had high expectations for that child until the very end, but in the end, it felt like a betrayal. However, in times like this, we must strengthen our resolve.”
“….”
“What if we do this? Even if we discuss the disposal later… for now, let’s have that child stay in the main palace. We should supervise to prevent any further mistakes, shouldn’t we?”
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For someone who just severed ties with their daughter, their composure was remarkable.
Sienna thought to herself, “Impressive,” but suddenly felt a sense of discomfort.
It was the late realization that the Empress referring to her own daughter as “that child” bothered her.
It might not be a big deal, but given the circumstances, it felt strange. How strong must one’s heart be to remain so calm? It was hard to believe that just a few months ago, this person had suffered from a mental illness.
“We should do that. Let’s find our way together.”
“You’ve thought well.”
The Emperor nodded slowly while firmly holding the Empress’s hand. Then, with a calm expression, he turned to Anais.
“Dad, I…!”
Although Anais muttered something with a pathetic smile, the Emperor interrupted,
“For now, Anais, stay in the East Wing of the palace. All forms of external activities and exercise of your privileges as a member of the royal family are prohibited until a decision is made. Do nothing without my permission.”
The Emperor seemed to have already made up his mind.
“Huh?”
“Let’s go.”
Finally, the Emperor left the dining room with the Empress. Before leaving, he glanced at Victoria and Sienna, but there were no further instructions. It was because the Empress quietly pulled him aside and advised, “The children will need time to talk.”
Shortly after the Emperor and Empress disappeared,
Victoria, who hesitated for a moment, followed the Emperor. It seemed to be due to her obsession with comforting her parents as their eldest daughter.
“I should be grateful instead.”
Now, only two princesses and palace servants remained at the scene.
With the tension eased, Sienna finally smiled widely and looked at Anais.
“Anais, we have a lot to talk about, don’t we? I’ll call Alan soon.”
Anais glared at Sienna, opening her eyes in response to those words.
Sienna was relieved that her younger sister still had some energy left.
**
It seemed that the situation had finally come to an end.
“Sir Alan, Princess Sienna requests your presence.”
The fact that Sienna called me was evidence of that.
In fact, the reason I had followed all the way to the palace was for this moment. I couldn’t leave the decision regarding Anais only to the Empress and Sienna. Although I was grateful that influential women had listened to my request, I still had to take care of the final details myself.
“It’s a bit bothersome… but since I’ve already gotten involved, I should help resolve everything to have a legitimate reason.”
What punishment Anais would receive was not my concern. I wasn’t particularly interested.
I had created the conditions for her to at least preserve her life, so the rest would be taken care of by the imperial court.
She could be sent to a remote countryside and live off a pension, or if not, she could be secluded in a monastery close to the capital.
However, before the final decision was made, there was something Anais had to do.
To personally rectify the damage caused by her reckless actions. Even if she had to go, she intended to clean up the mess she had created.
Soon, she could face the princesses.
“The Empire’s,”
“Greet them and put on an act. We’re the only ones here.”
“Yes.”
After exchanging pleasantries, the two princesses with contrasting expressions stared at me intently.
Siena, with a satisfied face, perhaps due to the successful downfall of her younger sister, and Anais, extending her arm, glaring at me as if ready to kill.
Just by looking at the syrup bottle placed on the marble table, I could imagine what had transpired here.
“Princess Third, it seems you didn’t drink the fake health syrup.”
“Alan, your prediction was correct. …Imagine if she had closed her eyes and swallowed it. Father would have tried to protect her somehow, maybe only Chandelier Lady would have died.”
“I’ve informed Princess Third in detail about the side effects of the magic syrup. She probably didn’t have the courage to consume a significant amount.”
“Thanks to that, things were easily resolved.”
Whether it was the back-and-forth between us that bothered her, Anais muttered under her breath with a faint voice, “Little bastard…”
Calling me a little bastard didn’t bother me. What’s a bit of swearing in the grand scheme of things?
“Princess Third, did you summon me?”
“Is this all your doing?”
“Yes, it is. If you had stopped the health syrup business when I warned you earlier, such an incident would never have occurred. …Perhaps you would have been discussing with Her Majesty about me and Silocivin artificial cultivation by now.”
“You’re joking…!”
“I’m not joking, just presenting a possibility. It would be beneficial for Her Majesty if you answer.”
Anais seemed utterly perplexed by my reaction, even going so far as to thump her chest. Well, it’s understandable to be shocked by someone like me; that’s probably what she’s thinking.
I wasn’t afraid of the nobility. The reason I had aligned myself with Siena from the start was that she could be a constant threat to my safety whenever she pleased.
Dragging the empress into this incident was also because I couldn’t impeach Anais with my power alone.
However, the current Anais was not a fearsome presence.
“Come to think of it, yes. All of this, because of you, Alan Maydoff!”
“You can resent as much as you want. There will be plenty of time for that in the future. But for now, you must answer my question.”
“Why should I?”
“If you don’t want to answer, I’ll just take my leave with only Siena in my thoughts. Do you really want me to do that?”
I know there will be more trouble ahead.
At these words, Anais’ pupils momentarily flickered.
She was already in a fierce struggle. Of course, deep down, she might want to crush me and Siena. But she must have known that provoking us after the end of her political life was not a wise decision.
‘If she doesn’t know, there’s nothing I can do.’
After hesitating, Anais finally bowed deeply.
Soon, a faint sobbing sound was heard, but I decided not to pay attention.
“Third Princess. How many people know the recipe for the Health Elixir? No, let me ask more specifically. How many know that the crucial ingredient of the Health Elixir is ginseng? Please answer.”
This was the most important.
The sudden success of the Health Elixir was ultimately due to ginseng.
Even in the empire, there were few who knew about the clear efficacy of this naturally growing plant.
But if you knew that ginseng was the main ingredient, and you knew about its growing environment, making a substitute for the Health Elixir was easy.
Once made, you could sell it under names like Strengthening Syrup or Concentrated Syrup.
Or you could mix it with alcohol. Like wine or honey wine. It meant that this nonsense could repeat depending on the situation.
‘If she had any thoughts, she wouldn’t have openly spread them, right?’
However, Anais’ answer thoroughly disappointed my expectations.
“Investors.”
“What is it now?”
“I’ve had discussions with the investors about the supply of the magical elixir. It’s better to increase production for stable availability. …I mentioned the efficacy of the elixir at that time.”
She said she had already shared information about the elixir with the investors of Chandler Syrup. The number of investors was twenty-six.
“Your Highness, it means that there are humans who already know about the marketability of the syrup, and soon they will be investing a large sum of money. They even know the recipe for the health syrup. I don’t think I specifically ordered them to be monitored. Is that correct?”
Instead of answering the question, Anais just shook her head.
“It would have been a big problem if we hadn’t stopped it now.”
A more complicated situation than expected.
I tried to handle it quietly, but it seemed difficult.
To minimize the aftermath, I had no choice but to handle it a bit roughly.