Celebrity Lady - Chapter 57

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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
Chapter 57
‘Leonard Diolus, the Duke?’
‘What am I looking at right now?’
‘He was alive?’
A few nobles, perhaps forgetting themselves, rubbed their eyes.
No matter how many times they looked again, it was unmistakably him.
Leonard Diolus.
More than a decade had passed since he’d vanished so completely that people thought him dead, yet his appearance had not changed in the slightest.
Well, if anything had changed, it was the sharpness of his gaze.
Once softened somewhat by youth, his eyes had become so piercing that one could barely hold his stare for more than a minute without flinching.
He carried himself like a predator that might dispatch a man without a second thought.
Those sharp eyes—keen as a beast surveying prey—swept slowly and methodically across each noble in the hall before Leonard finally moved.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
His heavy footfalls echoed through the silent assembly.
Behind him came Viego, the younger Duke, who cleared his throat nervously and followed.
The leftmost seat of the high table—the first position.
“……It has been a long time, Duke Diolus.”
Seeing Leonard take the seat that had stood empty for over a decade, even Lark muttered his shock.
“I understand my daughter has caused trouble.”
Lark’s face stiffened. The nobles’ eyes widened at Leonard’s sudden words.
As the hall began to stir with murmurs, Leonard’s gaze cut across the tables sharply.
“Shall we not begin the session?”
The nobles looked taken aback.
Leonard’s air remained formidable.
Between them, Lark closed his eyes and pressed his lips together.
The oppressive silence did not last long. Soon Lark’s hoarse voice scattered into the empty hall.
“……Let us begin.”
* * *
The twins watched from a second-floor window as the carriage bearing Leonard and Viego returned, grumbling all the while.
“I don’t understand what Viego is thinking. Why on earth is he taking Father back?”
“You know how he is. I think Princess Lizbet’s situation bothered him. He probably asked Father to use his influence to keep her from being exiled to an island.”
“Ugh, how irritating!”
Ricky ran his hands through his hair in frustration.
“I was so hoping not to see that awful Lizbet’s face again!”
“Don’t be so upset, Ricky. Even if Father did everything he could, some things can’t be stopped. She essentially killed her own sister—there’s no preventing a demotion. She’ll never be called a princess again.”
“True enough. But really, isn’t Lizbet a terrifying girl? What possessed her to do something like that?”
“She probably didn’t know what she was doing. The Imperial Family’s succession struggle is vicious. She was just a fool being used.”
“I suppose…….”
“Wait. What’s that?”
Lilia pressed herself against the window.
Two carriages were approaching the mansion. Behind the House of Diolus carriage came another bearing the Imperial seal.
“Isn’t that the Military Police?”
Ricky’s eyes widened as he joined her at the window.
Two soldiers in crimson uniforms were descending from the Imperial carriage.
“What? This is frightening. Why have the Military Police come all of a sudden?”
“Who knows? Wait, wait.”
Lilia, catching sight of something else, tapped Ricky’s shoulder excitedly.
“Isn’t that Rubetria? Why is she out there?”
* * *
Once I’d finished preparing, the Military Police escort was naturally waiting as expected.
Father was already outside, as though he’d been waiting, and came toward me immediately.
“Did you complete the preparations?”
“…….”
Father stood before me in silence for a long moment.
His lips moved wordlessly, as though the words themselves were too difficult to speak.
At last, Viego, who had been standing behind him, gently pushed Father aside and stepped forward.
“Rubetria.”
“Yes, brother.”
“Sigh.”
Viego exhaled heavily, kneeling down to grip my shoulder firmly.
“Listen to me carefully.”
“Yes.”
“You will be going to the Tower of Silence from now on.”
“Yes?”
I was startled by this unexpected destination.
The Tower of Silence was where Lizbet was currently being held. It was a prison for members of the Royal Family awaiting trial—those not yet convicted.
‘I’d assumed I’d be thrown into some basement dungeon until the trial, but this is surprising. The Tower of Silence, reserved only for royalty, is practically a luxury resort, isn’t it?’
Though it was called a prison, it was nothing more than a luxurious bedroom—the only restriction being that one couldn’t leave freely, as it had been designed to treat members of the Royal Family with appropriate dignity.
“I know you must be frightened, but…….”
“Not a basement dungeon?”
At my words, Viego’s expression tightened.
“We would never confine a daughter of House of Diolus to such a place.”
“Oh…….”
“There will be a final session next week, and based on the sentence determined there, your trial will proceed the week after.”
“So I’ll only need to stay for about two weeks?”
“There will be interrogations by the investigative committee in the meantime. If they try to intimidate you or press you with aggressive questions, you need not answer at all.”
“Yes.”
“As for the trial……don’t worry.”
Viego’s face, trying to reassure me, looked only more troubled. His hand trembled on my shoulder.
“It will end without major incident.”
Father interjected suddenly from behind.
I nodded.
“Yes, Father. I’m sorry.”
“There’s nothing to apologize for.”
“Don’t cry. Visits are permitted once a day, so I’ll come by every day.”
It wasn’t as if I was being led to my execution.
While I remained calm, Father and Viego continued to drag out the moment with grim expressions.
The two Military Police officers stood behind us, unable to do anything but watch awkwardly.
Growing impatient, I brushed past Viego and headed toward the transfer carriage, whereupon one of the officers hurried forward.
“Listen here.”
At Father’s sharp voice, the officer flinched.
“Don’t use force in escorting the girl. She’s frightened.”
“Father, please.”
I felt a bit embarrassed and cleared my throat.
“You’re in the middle of official business. It’s alright. I’m not frightened.”
I turned to look at the sympathetic Military Police officers.
“Let’s go.”
“Yes, of course. We’ll escort you.”
Wait—what do you mean escort? Isn’t this supposed to be a suspect transport?
As I climbed into the luxurious, gleaming first-class carriage with what amounted to an escort rather than an arrest, I felt my cheeks burn with embarrassment.
‘Is this what it looks like when a wealthy heir commits a crime and gets a cushy detention? I’m afraid of what people might say, honestly.’
I even waved goodbye to Father and Viego, who were seeing me off with expressions of doom.
“I’ll be going then.”
* * *
The Tower of Silence, southwest of the Imperial Palace.
Upon arrival, I was handed over to an elderly administrator and a young knight who appeared to be his successor.
“Take the young lady to the Non-Spirit Mage tower.”
“Excuse me? But is not Rubetria Diolus a Spirit Mage over fifteen years of age? A Non-Spirit Mage tower?”
The Tower of Silence consisted of two separate buildings.
One was the Spirit Mage tower, the other the Non-Spirit Mage tower.
The Spirit Mage tower operated Control Stones around the clock to suppress the use of Spirit power.
Moreover, the rooms were designed to be extremely austere, preventing any sort of misconduct.
‘They’re being cautious in case the prisoners might use their Spirit powers to cause trouble.’
As such, any Royal Family member over fifteen had to be taken to the Spirit Mage tower.
They would all have Spirits, after all.
‘Younger royals without Spirit contracts would go to the much more comfortable Non-Spirit Mage tower. Children like Lizbet.’
And I, though not royalty, was over fifteen and came from a Spirit Mage family.
By all rights, I should have been going to the Spirit Mage tower.
“Listen. Why are you so—”
“Yes?”
The administrator, catching my meaningful glance, furrowed his wrinkled brow and communicated something to the knight through his expression.
The somewhat dull-looking knight cocked his head in confusion, then suddenly went pale.
“Oh! Oh, r-right…….”
He’d only just remembered that I was an idiot who hadn’t contracted with a Spirit.
“I, I apologize. I’ll show you to the tower right away.”
“It’s fine.”
As I headed toward the Non-Spirit Mage tower, I silently celebrated.
‘Nice!’
If I’d been sent to the Spirit Mage tower, I wouldn’t have been able to summon Wisht. I nearly would have spent two weeks with no one to talk to.
‘Once Wisht and I start chatting, the time will pass in a flash anyway.’
When I arrived and saw the state of the room, my jaw dropped.
There was a top-tier bed, a vanity, and windows—large ones at that, positioned on both sides—plus a fully open terrace.
“What? Is this what royal confinement looks like?”
I rushed over and sat on the bed first.
“Wow.”
The mattress was so soft I felt as though I were sitting on a cloud.
“How carefree of you.”
“You should try it too. It’s even softer than my bed at home.”
Wisht watched me fidgeting on the bed with a pitying gaze.
“Did you come here to play?”
“More or less. I was braced for two weeks in a basement dungeon, but this is practically a luxury. Cheer up.”
“Huh.”
“This is what power tastes like. They let me play in a princess’s chamber even after I caused trouble.”
I flopped backward onto the bed.
“Mmm. Now that I’ve had a taste of power, I’m starting to hope. Maybe a light fine……could that be possible?”
“Don’t be absurd.”
Wisht let out a derisive laugh.
“Then what will I get?”
“An Isolation Sentence, naturally.”
“Shit. That’s what I thought, isn’t it?”
An Isolation Sentence.
It was a punishment given to high-ranking nobles who committed serious crimes—a turn-a-blind-eye measure, so to speak.
In simpler terms, it was similar to exile as practiced in old kingdoms, though the treatment was considerably better.
“Where will they send me? Or better yet, how long will I have to stay? Maybe six months?”
Wisht, arms crossed, looked down at me with amusement.
“Six months, after conspiring against the Royal Family? That won’t happen even if your father came here, let alone six months. Six years, perhaps.”
“Oh, please. That can’t be right.”
I sat up sharply, suddenly frightened.
“If I rot in some rural backwater for six years, my life is ruined.”
“What do you want me to do about it? I warned you, but you went ahead anyway.”
“Don’t be so scary. Say something hopeful. I don’t have just Father’s backing, do I? I have the Crown Prince’s too?”
“What makes you think the Crown Prince will look out for you? He’s resolved his sister’s situation, and he’s already seen all the grand futures he needs through using you.”
Wisht laughed bitterly.
“Coldly put: you’re now used-up gum to the Crown Prince.”
At his blunt conclusion, I felt a chill.
“N-no way…… Lark isn’t that heartless. I trust him. I trust the Crown Prince.”
“Suit yourself.”
“I really do trust him. I r—”
Crash—
Bang!
“—ally do!”
My heart nearly stopped. Mid-sentence, the door burst open like lightning, and I found myself face-to-face with an unexpected visitor.
It’s said that speaking of the tiger summons it……
“Y-Your Highness?”
It was Lark, looking completely disheveled.
He’d rushed here to see me, only to stand there in silence for several minutes, unable to speak.
Then, slowly, he covered his eyes with one large hand and began to steady his breathing.
‘Surely he’s not……crying?’
Bewildered, I sat frozen as Lark slowly approached me.
His expression was melancholy.
His legs seemed to give out, and he sank down, burying his face in my lap.
“Y-Your Highness……?”
Seeing him like this—so unlike his usual self—I went rigid with shock.

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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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