Celebrity Lady - Chapter 143

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Celebrity Lady
143
“What do you mean by that……?”
“The truth is, His Majesty has already consented.”
Leonard flinched.
“Truly.”
“Then.”
“Is it true?”
“Of course. Shall I send you the proposal?”
“It’s written in that centuries-old founding legal code.”
“That’s what I’m telling you.”
Leonard stood in a daze, silently cursing his own reckless tongue.
So that’s why. That girl Rubetria, that law of hers never changed, and yet she was singing about a May bride and all that…….
‘She knew the whole time and was making a fool of me.’
Leonard exhaled sharply, then spoke.
“Let us forget this ever happened.”
“No, how can that be? Why do you speak one way and then another?”
“Your Majesty is quite the one yourself. Treating such a weighty matter like roasting beans over lightning.”
As Leonard ground his teeth, Lark smiled with bitter amusement.
“The truth is, His Majesty gave his consent in a half-lucid state.”
“Pardon?”
“Well, you know our plan too.”
The plan to send the Second Prince to the scaffold.
To have him poison the Emperor’s tea cup with his own hands.
“Needless to say, the shock was considerable.”
“I imagine so. What father would remain clearheaded when his own son is about to poison his cup?”
The Second Prince would poison the Emperor’s tea cup, and the Emperor would drink from it knowing full well it held poison.
Only then could they sentence the Second Prince to death on the charge of threatening the Emperor’s life.
“His Majesty the Emperor, being a cold man, said he would do it. But I never could.”
“Is that so? Are you not cold?”
“Not toward my own children, at least.”
Leonard answered matter-of-factly, his mind drifting to Rubetria’s face.
“Even if the Second Prince deserves death alongside his brother and father……. If our daughter were to commit something worse than that.”
…….
“I still could not kill her with my own hands. Never.”
At Leonard’s resolute words, Lark blinked slowly.
His expression grew confused as he murmured.
“Ah, I see…….”
* * *
Watching from the window as the Military Police escort column departed the Diolus Duchy Mansion with Molga, I tilted my head in confusion.
“Why am I like this? Why am I so uneasy?”
I paced back and forth in the room, chewing my nails anxiously.
If Wishit had seen me, they would surely have complained that I was fidgeting too much.
“Did I make a mistake somewhere?”
Two months ago, when I was dragged before the Second Prince after Victor was stabbed.
I went over that meeting with him countless times.
“Not at all. The plan was absolutely perfect, and my acting was flawless. I was so meticulous, even keeping in mind that his spirit was watching from his side.”
The Second Prince, having fallen into the trap, would surely poison the Emperor’s tea cup.
And the Emperor, who knows of our plan, has agreed to drink that poison willingly.
After Lark showed the Emperor the evidence of the crimes, His Majesty said the Second Prince’s guilt was grave, and that his life was not one that could be overlooked by a loophole in the law.
So everything proceeded according to plan.
Then why…….
“Am I so anxious?”
* * *
Two months ago.
Inside the Imperial Court, at the Second Prince’s hideout.
“The Crown Prince intends to poison His Majesty the Emperor. Please, Second Prince, save His Majesty.”
“……What are you saying? My brother would poison Father?”
Naysen, who saw the powdered poison Rubetria had produced, was seized with shock.
“Of course, a swift succession would be advantageous for the Crown Prince as Emperor. Before the Second Prince can grow his power further.”
“Your Highness, when you’re playing a game with a time limit, you can’t help but feel psychological pressure. A panicked human makes hasty decisions.”
“It’s a deadly poison imported from abroad. Death comes within twenty-four hours of ingestion. The Crown Prince plans to use this poison on His Majesty and frame the Second Prince for it.”
“What? Me?”
“Immediately review and dispose of all transaction records from your current business dealings. The Crown Prince has fabricated evidence to make it appear you brought in the poison.”
“If it’s merely said in words that the Emperor was poisoned, no one will believe it. You must lay the groundwork as if the Crown Prince truly intends to frame you.”
“Before the matter comes to light, he’ll surely have attendants smuggle evidence into your chambers. Since we don’t know when, have people check your room every day for planted evidence.”
“I will do so. But for my brother to face justice——”
“Unfortunately, there’s no evidence that the Crown Prince brought in the poison. He used his own business channels to avoid leaving a trail.”
“What do you mean?”
“In last month’s transaction ledger of Blanc de Rubis, there’s an import record for leather with no documented source. That’s the poison. I’ll have it sent to you.”
“All evidence that could taint me has been removed. But the evidence to taint my enemy has come into my hands. From this very moment, the Second Prince will have doubts. Wait——wouldn’t this give me the means to send the Crown Prince away instead?”
“Was Blanc de Rubis the Duke’s daughter’s business? No, wait. Then what about you? If the Crown Prince’s plan to frame me fails, won’t you be the one held responsible?”
“Yes, that’s right. I want to live too. So please, tell His Majesty the Emperor this truth beforehand.”
“It needs to appear calculated. I suspect the spirit at the Second Prince’s side is the real mastermind, not the Prince himself. That spirit won’t be certain whether I’m being used by the Prince or am actually his ally.”
“So rather than crudely presenting ‘evidence that the Crown Prince brought in the poison,’ it’s more convincing to say I was tricked by the Duke’s daughter into using her.”
“But this is really just clever wordplay. Since everyone knows the connection between the spirit and me, the evidence I provide will be enough for the Second Prince to sever the Crown Prince’s political lifeline.”
“I think the Crown Prince will likely aim for the New Year Festival gratitude ceremony. It’s the moment when His Majesty’s spirit isn’t at his side——in other words, when the Second Prince can be certain to take His Majesty’s life.”
“……Ah, yes.”
Naysen pressed his temples and steadied his breathing.
To demonstrate that the spirit’s Blessing remains strong, the Emperor’s spirit is sent before countless imperial citizens during the New Year Festival.
This Emperor’s spirit is the Guardian.
To display its protective and defensive abilities, Imperial Palace knights were scheduled to hold real combat duels in the Imperial Court for spectacle.
In a duel accompanied by the Guardian’s protection, no blood would be spilled even with true weapons.
“I’ll even drop hints for the Second Prince in case his mind isn’t working. That he’ll have an opportunity to poison safely. During the New Year Festival gratitude ceremony.”
Observing Naysen’s bewildered expression, Rubetria recalled Lark’s final concern.
“All good, sure, but according to your plan, doesn’t Naysen not need to poison Father’s cup at all? If he just waits quietly, he’ll be framed, and when the evidence you give appears, he can prove his innocence.”
“Ah, don’t worry about that.”
“The Crown Prince hasn’t made a final decision yet.”
“What?”
“He’s blood kin, after all. He’s hesitating. I keep telling him he shouldn’t go this far, I do try to stop him…….”
“I see.”
“The ideal outcome would be if the Crown Prince changes his mind. I’ll keep trying to persuade him too. But I’m worried about one contingency.”
“When he thinks my betrayal has actually given him a chance. When he’s secretly thrilled about it. At the very end of every conversation.”
“If I plant the possibility that Your Highness might not move at all?”
“I hope something terrible doesn’t happen.”
“Yes, well. I’m hoping for that too.”
Contrary to his words, Naysen’s expression looked far from assured.
Rubetria smiled inwardly.
“When a lollipop that was right before your mouth——one you could swallow if you just opened your lips——suddenly moves one hand’s breadth away. A person will instinctively reach for it.”
“There’s only one way for the Second Prince to grasp the lollipop for certain.”
“For him to poison the Emperor’s cup himself.”
“I hope the Crown Prince’s plan comes to nothing……. That’s all I ask.”
“I won’t tell him to poison anything. I’ll just hand him the poison as evidence and ask for his help, that’s all.”
“But it’s a good opportunity, no matter how you look at it. Like cheese in a mousetrap……. If you just peel it away carefully, it looks like you can eat it.”
* * *
Lark agreed that Rubetria’s plan was flawless.
The only thing the two of them hesitated about until the end was this:
“We should inform His Majesty and ask for his help.”
“Yes, of course.”
“Hmm.”
“Um…….”
“Pfft. What? Does Your Highness also have something on your mind?”
“The ideal scenario would be if Father didn’t know about this plan at all. True, Naysen’s crimes are grave, but he’s still my blood son——I might be weak in resolve because of that.”
“I know what you mean. That’s exactly what I’m worried about too. What if I ask and he refuses?”
“Then we’ll have to abandon sending Naysen to the scaffold.”
“I suppose so.”
The two looked at each other regretfully, then shook their heads in unison.
“But if we proceed without His Majesty knowing, it becomes a crime. We’d be poisoning the Emperor to send the Second Prince to the scaffold.”
“True. We won’t tell Naysen outright to poison him, but we can’t deny we incited him.”
“His Majesty will be troubled in spirit as well.”
“That too.”
“I wish His Majesty would make a cold decision…….”
“I’ll speak to him carefully.”
That day, Lark went to the Emperor carrying all the evidence of Naysen’s crimes he had gathered.
The Emperor was shocked, and said that Naysen’s guilt was grave enough to warrant death.
Fortunately, he agreed to cooperate with the plan.
* * *
So the plan was a success. Ninety-nine percent of it, anyway.
But if there was that one percent, that one flaw Rubetria and Lark hadn’t accounted for…….
Perhaps it was simply that neither of them had ever become a parent.
“How peaceful.”
The Emperor Leonardo murmured, gazing out at the Imperial Palace grounds where the New Year Festival was in full swing.
“It is all thanks to Father’s grace.”
The Emperor slowly turned his head to look at the figure across from him.
A face smiling like an angel.
“Naysen.”
“Yes.”
The Emperor spoke, gazing into the mysterious, rippling surface of the tea cup.
“I wish for this empire to remain peaceful.”
“……So do I.”
“And I wish my beloved children would never lose sight of what truly matters, that they would never turn against one another.”
“Of course.”
Is there poison in this tea?
He could not know.
Whether time had stopped without his knowing, and what might have occurred in that frozen moment…….
The Emperor could not know.
He only hoped. That his son Naysen had not abandoned his humanity.
Even though the abundant evidence of the many crimes Naysen had already committed spoke to the futility of that hope.
‘If I drink it.’
He dies.
Naysen dies.
Not himself, who had already drunk the antidote, but plainly Naysen, who poisoned the cup with clear intent to assassinate the Emperor, would die.
‘Did he really go through with it?’
Even at this final moment, the Emperor continued to hesitate.
He was certainly not a tender-hearted father to his children…….
But that did not mean he was cold enough to sever a child’s breath as easily as a gesture of his hand.
“Naysen.”
“Yes, Father.”
As the Emperor stared at Naysen, whose eyes shone as if waiting for something, he ultimately made a choice.
“If I were to drink this now…….”
A choice different from what had been promised.
“Would you have no regrets?”
A falter.
Naysen’s rigid eyes turned toward the Emperor in confusion.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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