The Cooking Princess - Chapter 82

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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The Princess Who Cooks

Episode 82

Shurya looked with fascination at the Empress, who seemed ready to throw a tantrum, asking if she was being suspected right now.

‘How can a person be so shameless?’

There was no physical evidence, but to anyone watching, the Empress was clearly the culprit.

Chloe Garnet, standing in the courtroom, could only look around with a pale face at the Empress’s brazen attitude, unable to say anything.

Shuel observed Chloe’s complexion and then calmly refuted the Empress’s words.

“Of course I’m not suspecting Your Majesty the Empress, but if you’re going to frame Chloe as the culprit, then Your Majesty has equal suspicion upon you.”

Because the ‘tail’ that Shuel had caught was clearly the Empress’s person.

“Moreover, there was also an incident involving poison during the cooking competition.”

At Shuel’s words, the Empress immediately retorted without missing a beat.

“Ha! Then it’s even clearer. Chloe Garnet wanted to win so badly that she was willing to use poison, wasn’t she?”

Of course that wasn’t the case.

In the cooking competition, Chloe had also suffered damage to her own ingredients.

Yet she insisted on such nonsense.

Shuel finally couldn’t contain his anger and spoke to the Empress in a voice full of rage.

“In the first place, wasn’t it Your Majesty the Empress who organized the previous cooking competition and forced Chloe to cook this time? If we’re going to suspect someone, we should suspect Your Majesty, not Chloe.”

People couldn’t bring themselves to say it, but they agreed with Shuel in their hearts.

“Isn’t the situation quite convenient?”

“Prince!”

The Empress shrieked sharply, but the Prince’s words were unstoppable.

“Therefore, unless Your Majesty the Empress is investigated or punished, no one can punish my fiancée.”

It was an incredibly efficient way of holding his ground.

The Empress finally couldn’t contain her anger and completely contorted her face.

The original order had been to put it in the food, but since Chloe’s servants were always watching the food, they had to resort to putting it on the utensils as a temporary measure.

That had ruined everything.

‘That incompetent fool!’

While the Empress cursed her subordinate inwardly, Shuel spoke calmly in front of the courtroom.

“The culprit’s original purpose was probably not to put poison on my utensils, but to put poison in the milk porridge.”

The Empress momentarily wondered if her true intentions had been discovered and kept her mouth shut.

“But to put poison in the food, the servants of the Garnet Estate were guarding Chloe’s food, so that wasn’t possible. So ultimately, just before giving me the food, they completed their purpose by secretly switching the utensils.”

Upon hearing this fact, Chloe’s eyes welled up with tears.

The Chef and the Maid, and even Pierre… Because all of them had worked diligently with sincere hearts for Chloe, everyone including Chloe was able to prove their innocence.

Various arguments went back and forth, but the Papacy, which had investigated the case together with the Saint, gave the same opinion.

Chloe was innocent.

At this, the Empress trembled with rage but seemed unable to object for fear it might be considered blasphemy.

“Then now we just need to bring that maid who tried to poison His Highness the Prince and interrogate her, don’t we?”

But then the Emperor stepped forward.

“Now I understand. The rest will be resolved by the Imperial Court.”

“Pardon?”

People murmured at this statement that threw ashes on cooked rice.

The Emperor clearly blocked them from investigating further and added:

“Even if we interrogate that maid here, there won’t be any more facts to come out. She received secret orders and says she doesn’t know who her superior is.”

“But with just a little more investigation, we could find that out.”

At the investigator’s words, the Emperor’s eyes turned cold.

“Today’s gathering was to determine whether Chloe Garnet is guilty or innocent. Revealing whether someone else committed a crime should be done at another venue.”

Everyone present knew that if they acted according to the Emperor’s words, the culprit would never be caught.

And the fact that the culprit the Emperor was so desperately protecting was indeed the Empress was also imprinted in everyone’s minds.

“Anyway, until the heir to the crown prince position is confirmed, I need to pursue balance. My son would understand, wouldn’t he?”

It was nonsense to say he would openly protect the Empress because it would be troublesome for Claude if she disappeared.

It was also an excessively heartless thing to say to a son who had recently been on the brink of death from poison.

Shuel neither said he understood nor that he couldn’t understand.

He simply looked quietly at his father.

Shurya seemed like she wanted to step forward, but the Papacy led by the Pope seemed to be restraining her.

They probably didn’t want to antagonize the Emperor of Luzhiere Empire, the most powerful nation.

Suppose they succeeded in exposing the real culprit here and bringing down the Empress, who was Claude’s mother.

And then what if Claude ascended to the throne?

The Papacy chose to quietly let things pass rather than make unnecessary enemies.

Thus, the unprecedented poisoning incident that attempted to assassinate the Prince was buried.

On the way back after the trial ended, Shuel spoke to Chloe in a hoarse voice.

“I’m sorry.”

He rubbed his eyes repeatedly as if tired and said to Chloe.

“I got you involved in this kind of trouble when we haven’t even been engaged for long.”

Shuel’s clear face showed no resentment or blame for being careless about safety.

He only conveyed an apology for making her suffer innocently.

“The reason the Empress acted so hastily was… even if she became suspected herself, she thought she had to somehow check one of us two.”

My bloodline is the problem, Shuel said self-deprecatingly and continued.

“As long as she could harm either you or me in the process, it would be a success.”

Shuel glanced at Chloe and added:

“She probably tried to act hastily before I could properly establish my position. So it’s not your fault. Really.”

Still, when Chloe remained silent with a pale face and pursed lips, he seemed worried and spoke to Chloe again in a gentle tone.

“You always said you were fine. It’s okay to… not be fine. You’re purely a victim who got caught up in this.”

“…Actually, the truth is.”

Chloe spoke in a very hesitant, small voice.

“I didn’t want to die.”

Chloe felt immense gratitude and love for Shuel, who had ultimately proven her innocence despite his ailing body when many people turned away from her.

Even if she were to lose her life by loving Shuel just like in the original story, what would it matter now?

From now on, I’m alive because of his efforts.

She had thought it would be okay since she knew that reincarnation and next lives really existed. But.

The truth was, it really wasn’t okay at all.

Shuel who stood up for Chloe despite his own precarious situation, Shurya who ran around for her, and even Eshir who subtly applied pressure from the Magic Tower behind the scenes.

Chloe was moved by Shuel’s love and thrilled by her friends’ friendship.

‘But if I confess now, wouldn’t it seem too obvious?’

When she could show more sincerity.

After she had given him help that could serve as repayment, she would confess to him proudly, Chloe resolved repeatedly.

“Um, we couldn’t meet until the trial results came out. So I couldn’t ask directly.”

“Yeah.”

“Shuel… is your body okay now? You were in a lot of pain.”

Even as she spoke, Chloe thought her own face was quite thick-skinned.

Although Shuel had been considerate of Chloe and kept telling her it wasn’t her fault, she had been careless nonetheless.

How would it be received if she, who had put Shuel in danger, directly asked about his well-being? Thinking about it only brought endless negative thoughts.

She sweated in her palms and waited only for Shuel’s answer.

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