ITIF Chapter 17

To Countess Tarel

At first glance, it appeared she was standing at attention, but upon closer inspection, Baron Oppenheimer’s daughter’s arm was hanging limply toward the floor.

“Don’t tell me… they broke her arm too?”

“…….”

When Baron Oppenheimer’s daughter nodded, Count Frederick muttered a curse under his breath.

“Really…”

Giselle Grante squeezed her eyes shut at such cruel treatment.

****

“Your Grace, I have something to report.”

Kavelaseth looked up from his documents at Count Preston walking into the office.

“Count Frederick visited the underground prison where Baron Oppenheimer’s daughter is being held last night.”

Giselle Grante, whom he had encountered on the way to the imperial capital, had said that Count Frederick was one of those who had helped the late Princess Trinity.

Whether that information was true or not, Kavelaseth had also been interested in this imperial princess murder case.

So he had stationed someone near the underground prison where Baron Oppenheimer’s daughter was imprisoned.

To find out who had visited there.

And just as Giselle Grante had said, Count Frederick had come to see Baron Oppenheimer’s daughter.

This was virtually proof that Count Frederick had great interest in Princess Trinity’s murder case.

“How bold of him.”

Especially when someone else like Kavelaseth might be watching the underground prison.

Kavelaseth narrowed his eyes as he set down the documents he was holding onto the desk.

If he could uncover the mastermind behind Princess Trinity’s murder, Kavelaseth would gain a major advantage.

Though it was too early to conclude, he had someone in mind as the person who orchestrated Princess Trinity’s assassination.

If the person Kavelaseth suspected was indeed behind this, and if this case became known to the world, Joshua, who was about to become crown prince, would lose a major power base.

“But an unexpected person was with him.”

“Who was that?”

“Duke Amaterasu’s daughter reportedly met Baron Oppenheimer’s daughter directly alongside Count Frederick.”

Count Preston’s words made Kavelaseth’s eyebrows rise.

“One more thing – Baron Oppenheimer’s daughter was completely unable to express herself to anyone else.”

Unable to express herself…

Kavelaseth voiced his question.

“Did they cut out her tongue?”

Count Preston wrinkled his nose and nodded.

“Yes.”

The mastermind behind this case was meticulous and cruel enough to make even Count Preston, who had been through all manner of hardships, frown.

“Continue the surveillance.”

Though he said that, Kavelaseth actually judged that continuing to watch Baron Oppenheimer’s daughter wouldn’t be very meaningful.

But he was grasping at straws.

The imperial family had quickly moved to dispose of Princess Trinity’s body and had thoroughly cleaned her bedroom, leaving not a speck of dust behind.

And that wasn’t all.

Princess Trinity’s knight order had been disbanded, and the knights who had guarded her bedroom that day had each been killed in accidents of unknown causes.

When even the knights, some of whom were from noble families, had been disposed of in such a manner, there was no way the maids could have survived.

So it was reasonable to assume that Baron Oppenheimer’s daughter was now the only survivor who had visited Princess Trinity’s bedroom on the night she was murdered.

Kavelaseth, who was about to lower his gaze back to the documents, noticed Count Preston’s steps slowing as he left the office and spoke up.

“Do you have more to say?”

Count Preston turned toward Kavelaseth.

“Well, Your Grace, if it was to eliminate evidence, there would have been other methods. I wonder why they went to such lengths. Wouldn’t it have been easier to simply kill those involved to destroy evidence?”

Indeed, keeping Baron Oppenheimer’s daughter alive would certainly be both troublesome and risky.

“It’s probably for symbolic purposes.”

“Ah…”

An exclamation escaped Count Preston’s lips.

“Indeed, this incident has greatly angered not only some nobles but also the majority of the empire’s citizens…”

Count Preston nodded as if he understood what this meant.

Keeping Baron Oppenheimer’s daughter alive was likely because they needed a target for people’s anger.

For that reason, Baron Oppenheimer’s daughter would remain alive until she had served her purpose.

Though he didn’t particularly like it, it wasn’t a method he could call wrong.

If Kavelaseth had been emperor, he too would have handled things the same way.

“Is that all you have to report?”

“Yes. I’ll take my leave now.”

After Count Preston left the office, Kavelaseth lowered his gaze back to the documents.

Then suddenly, Giselle Grante’s face came to mind – quiet yet bold, and somewhat challenging.

Followed by Count Frederick’s appearance.

‘…They don’t seem like they’d suit each other very well.’

****

Returning from the imperial palace’s underground prison, Giselle Grante lay on her side on the bed, simply gazing at the rising morning sun.

Though Baron Oppenheimer’s daughter’s wretched state kept spinning in her mind, she forced herself to shake off those memories.

And focused on the future situation she needed to navigate.

‘First, I need someone to serve as my hands and feet…’

Count Frederick could avoid disaster because he wasn’t openly known as one of Trinity’s people.

But the princess’s exclusive knight order and maids were not so fortunate.

Last night, through Count Frederick, she had learned that the knight order she had personally selected one by one had been disbanded.

Even the maids who weren’t present on the day Princess Trinity was murdered couldn’t escape some degree of punishment.

‘There must have been traitors among them too.’

Giselle Grante’s hand gripping the pillow tensed.

‘No, perhaps they approached me with the intention of surveillance from the beginning.’

Though they couldn’t escape punishment, it seemed certain that among the surviving maids were spies for the empress.

She had a rough idea of who that might be.

After pondering for a while, Giselle Grante finally sat up.

And pulled the bell cord.

“Miss, did you call for me?”

“Lindsey, where did you put the souvenir we brought from the Grand Temple?”

“…If you mean the priest’s robe, I’ve stored it carefully in my room. Why do you ask?”

Lindsey tilted her head with a puzzled expression.

“Just wondering. Also, I never got to drink the spring water at the Grand Temple before.”

“Ah! That’s right. Then shall I go to the Grand Temple today and fetch some spring water?”

“Would you do that?”

“I’ll bring back enough for you to drink for several days.”

Lindsey clenched both fists, burning with enthusiasm.

“No, just enough water to drink for today will do.”

After blinking for a moment, Lindsey soon nodded as if she understood.

“Yes!”

She seemed to think it would be better to drink spring water fetched that same day for freshness.

At Lindsey’s questioning look about whether that was all, Giselle Grante spoke again.

“Lindsey, didn’t you say you have a younger sister?”

“Yes, I have a sister who’s two years younger than me.”

“How is she doing?”

“She’s currently helping our mother in Duke Amaterasu’s territory. While looking for work as a maid in a noble house.”

Perfect timing.

Giselle Grante continued with a faint smile.

“Write a letter to your sister. Tell her to come here.”

Lindsey’s eyes widened as she understood the hidden intention in those words.

“Does that mean my sister will be able to work here with me?”

“That’s right.”

“Really? If you do that for us, I’ll be truly grateful.”

Giselle Grante said to the delighted Lindsey:

“Then I’ll wait for the fresh spring water. I need to get some more sleep.”

“Understood! By the time you wake up, Miss, I’ll have fresh spring water ready for you to quench your thirst.”

Watching Lindsey’s retreating figure as she skipped out of the bedroom, Giselle Grante sat down at the desk.

And wrote a letter.

To the emperor’s mistress, Countess Tarel.

****

When she woke up, the first thing she felt was the hard texture of the mahogany desk.

She must have dozed off without knowing when she had fallen asleep.

Giselle Grante blinked her drowsy eyelids and looked at the letter envelope placed on one side of the desk.

She was about to pull the bell cord but soon hesitated.

She remembered that she had sent Lindsey on an errand to the Grand Temple.

‘I have no choice but to move directly.’

To wake herself up, Giselle Grante left the bedroom. And after taking only a few steps, she turned her head at a sound she heard.

Clatter.

A maid was quickly crossing the corridor, pushing a trolley.

On the trolley were a teapot, two teacups, and desserts.

“Wait.”

When she called out, the maid stopped the trolley and hurried to Giselle Grante’s side, bowing deeply.

“Yes, Miss. Did you call me?”

“A guest?”

“Ah… Duke Cardia has come to visit. He seems to have made an appointment with Young Master Mikhail. He said not to let anyone into the reception room…”

The maid looked at Giselle Grante with an anxious gaze before lowering her eyes and continuing.

“…Should I still tell him that you’d like to see him, Miss?”

Though the maid asked while reading Giselle Grante’s expression, she shook her head.

“No. That’s not necessary.”

“…Pardon?”

“After you serve tea to the guest, could you prepare something light for me to eat?”

“Yes? Yes…”

The maid answered with a bewildered expression, seemingly puzzled by her attitude of easily backing down even at Kavelaseth’s visit.

Giselle Grante gave the maid a bright smile before turning around.

And just as she was about to return to her bedroom, she heard Mikhail’s voice from behind.

“Then I’ll keep that in mind.”

Seeing Kavelaseth and Mikhail just leaving the reception room, Giselle Grante hurriedly moved toward her bedroom.

Having made certain statements before, she intended to avoid encountering Kavelaseth if possible.

And her quick movement toward the bedroom caught Kavelaseth’s attention.

“…?”

Kavelaseth’s steps suddenly slowed. Mikhail asked with a puzzled face.

“Kavel? What’s wrong?”

Mikhail soon turned his head following Kavelaseth’s gaze.

But by then, Giselle Grante had already disappeared around the corner.

“It’s nothing. Let’s finish the conversation we were having.”

Mikhail tilted his head for a moment before speaking again.