The Former Empress Roughly Hides Her Abilities - Chapter 134

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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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【Chapter 134】

“That person would never have framed me.”

Princess Tiren knew that speaking rashly while driven by emotion would only cause trouble.

But she wanted to speak out, so she came to the Special Tax Bureau, where more people understood her than anywhere else.

“Your Highness?”

Even if they were familiar with her, royalty was still royalty.

Tiren’s unexpected visit caused a stir throughout the entire Tax Bureau, and the Head Maid followed behind her restlessly. It was clear she had tried but failed to stop the Princess.

“I know what kind of person she was.”

Though Tiren was agitated, she tried to explain calmly.

Tiren had first seen that maid at the Imperial Palace.

Elder Maid Linda, who had served long enough to be counted among the top five in the Imperial Palace, was like a shadow.

She would quietly maintain her position in inconspicuous places, then silently brew tea or prepare refreshments whenever Tiren visited.

[These are items left behind by the Former Empress.]

Linda’s face, which had been just one among countless faces in the Imperial Palace, became clearly etched in her mind because she had delivered Ensilen’s keepsakes.

Inside the box were a teacup that Tiren had said was pretty, handkerchiefs, and other items, with a note placed on top.

-There were no specific instructions, but this old woman took the liberty of delivering these to you.

“She was someone who left that note out of consideration for me.”

Linda had left the note while being extremely careful, worried that Tiren might be displeased about her touching the deceased’s belongings.

She was someone who had made contemplation and hesitation a habit in every word and gesture.

Such a person would never frame anyone.

Mel, who had been flustered and didn’t know what to do when the Princess, younger than his own sister, came bursting in while crying, began searching through the document storage.

When he heard the phrase “flowing, elegant handwriting,” something came to mind.

“Um, perhaps…”

Mel held out the paper that an anonymous public informant had left behind toward Tiren.

“That’s her handwriting.”

The Princess bit her lower lip hard.

Even without a name written on it, she could tell.

That Linda was the one who had written this.

“Because she revealed this… she revealed this…”

She died.

Unable to bear her emotions, Tiren’s eyes began to moisten.

She carefully set down the paper with her last bit of patience, then suddenly raised her head.

“It’s the Saint.”

A storm of emotions mixed with anger and resentment shook Tiren.

“The Saint killed her. Isn’t that right?”

The Saint, who had been creating counterfeit gold and circulating it in the market, was no longer able to produce gold and faced taking all responsibility as a person involved in the case, so she must have killed the informant.

“That seems like too emotional an assumption-“

“That’s probably right.”

Mel and Rianel’s words conflicted.

“Huh?”

“R-really?”

The Tax Bureau people looked at Rianel in shock.

“The timing matches up perfectly, doesn’t it.”

The time when counterfeit gold began flooding the market in large quantities coincided with when the Temple’s situation rapidly deteriorated.

‘It’s too perfect to be a coincidence.’

Moreover.

“To circulate this amount of gold in the market in a short period while not exposing the mastermind would require a force with considerable secrecy and organization. The places that could meet those conditions are extremely limited.”

It was either the organization with Martan as boss, or about the Temple.

Tiren clenched her teeth to contain her indignation.

Rianel’s words continued.

“The place that purchased tungsten was a shell company. Since buying large quantities of metal under individual names would look suspicious, the Temple established multiple corporate entities to purchase tungsten in a distributed manner.”

That much was what Til had also investigated.

Since he had suffered direct losses from the counterfeit gold, he had persistently dug into the truth.

“But how are those corporations connected to the Temple?”

“Through tracking, I confirmed that those corporations were established under the names of relatives of priests.”

Moreover, they were all corporations established under the names of relatives of priests who had recently received ordination.

Since they were people who hadn’t been religious for long, it took time to confirm their connection to the Temple, but Rianel had tracked down the truth.

“Team Leader… you figured all that out in such a short time?”

Mel’s mouth fell open.

Rianel’s processing speed was amazing, but weaving together that vast amount of data to derive causal relationships was astounding.

The Tax Bureau people glanced at Princess Tiren.

‘Team Leader is originally like that, so that’s understandable, but how did the young Princess figure that out?’

‘Pure coincidence? No, even if she stumbled backward and accidentally caught a frog, it’s possible because she’s fundamentally intelligent.’

‘Is this what it means to be royalty?’

While everyone was inwardly admiring.

“I definitely can’t let this go.”

Tiren stepped forward with her fists clenched tight.

Because of her young age, her face showed she couldn’t yet control her youthful emotions.

“The Saint killed someone.”

And an innocent person at that, simply because they were in her way.

‘Then she’s a murderer.’

How could she let someone who killed a person take her sister-in-law’s place?

Mel hurriedly blocked Tiren’s path as she tried to rush out.

“W-wait a moment, Your Highness.”

Other Tax Bureau people also stepped forward behind him.

“Aren’t you acting too emotionally?”

Rianel also spoke.

“You need to think realistically. This case was one where the Emperor intervened and investigators concluded it as suicide. As long as upper management’s will is firm, the investigators won’t cooperate.”

Evidence of murder would have already been erased.

Tiren clenched her teeth.

She was young, but not stupid.

However, her tearful voice still carried unextinguished anger.

“I heard that person had no family. So there’s no one to claim her body… So if I don’t step forward, no one will question this person’s death.”

With no one to remember her or get angry on her behalf.

“It’s too cruel to let her remain as a meaningless death that no one knows about.”

And everyone fell silent.

Among the Special Tax Bureau people, few had harmonious family relationships.

Their situation of having no one to care for them if they died unexpectedly was the same as Linda’s.

“Death is merely a biological result that all living beings inevitably reach.”

Rianel’s calm voice rang out.

Assigning meaning or duty to it is the role of the living.

“However, if Your Highness acts emotionally as you are now, you’ll make her death meaningless.”

“Why is that?”

Tiren stared at Rianel with reddened eyes.

“She didn’t want to see Your Highness angry on her behalf.”

Tiren couldn’t contain her surging emotions.

She knew Rianel was originally like this, but seeing her act emotionlessly even in the face of someone’s death made her want to rebel.

“Then what did she want? How do you know what a dead person wished for in the first place-“

“Maid Linda wanted Your Highness to become Emperor.”

“That’s… baseless speculation. It’s all just your thoughts anyway-“

“The truth she revealed was something that brought her no benefit whatsoever.”

“…!”

Tiren momentarily stopped breathing.

When the location of the counterfeit gold production was revealed, only one person benefited.

Princess Tiren.

So that she could attend the Administrative Council, so that no blemish would remain on her path to becoming Emperor.

“Maid Linda chose to clear Your Highness’s false accusations instead of her own survival.”

“….”

“Therefore, realizing Maid Linda’s goal is the only way for Your Highness to not let her death be in vain.”

Tiren’s gaze wavered greatly.

Unable to endure any longer, she collapsed to the floor.

Tears fell drop by drop from her wide-open eyes.

“I’m an-angry.”

With a voice choked with emotion, she barely managed to spit out that lump of feelings.

The powerlessness of knowing everything yet being unable to change reality.

The fact that nothing had changed between when she was a worthless princess and now was unbearably bitter.

‘But… you’re right.’

She could no longer turn away from the painfully scratching truth.

Tiren gritted her teeth.

“I won’t forget.”

Though she was sobbing, Tiren’s voice was clearly audible.

“Then that death will not be in vain.”

Even at this moment, Rianel’s voice showed no emotional fluctuation.

However, that calm voice had the power to comfort and lift up the other person.

Tiren sat there for a long time, sobbing.

* * *

“Something… feels a bit strange.”

Mel was positioned a little distance away from the Princess.

Since the Princess was in an overly agitated state, it was difficult to intervene carelessly.

‘I don’t even know how to comfort a child in that state.’

The comfort Mel had known until now was understanding and soothing the other person’s sadness.

But Rianel was taking the completely opposite approach.

Removing emotions and making her face reality.

In some ways, it could be called an excessively inhuman method.

But rather, the Princess was calming down.

“Perhaps that’s also a form of comfort?”

“Maybe?”

Til scratched the back of his head.

“I’m not sure… but it’s somewhat touching.”

That composure.

The consistent attitude toward the other person.

The way of enabling the other person to stand up on their own could also be comfort to someone.

The two stood there maintaining silence for a long time.

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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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