The Former Empress Roughly Hides Her Abilities - Chapter 143

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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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【Episode 143】

Frederick had his reasons for recommending Rude to the Empress Dowager.

‘Fix that arrogant attitude of yours!’

To make a name as a scholar, it was as important to know how not to offend the nobles as it was to build academic knowledge.

Frederick hoped Rude would learn imperial palace etiquette while serving the Princess, not that he would cause trouble.

‘This fool?’

Frederick was holding a flyer that had made its way to the Academy.

His breathing gradually became rougher, and his beard, unkempt due to his busy schedule, swayed with his breath.

The relationship between master and student wasn’t simply about exchanging knowledge. They shared values and habits with each other.

That’s why Frederick could recognize at a glance that Rude was the author as soon as he saw the flyer.

Frederick thought it wasn’t bad that his student had made an attempt to win the favor of the Princess who would become the next Emperor. A young scholar’s success would be good motivation for ambitious juniors.

‘But still, to do such a thing without consulting me first?’

Frederick, who had been waiting in Rude’s dormitory room while clutching the flyer, turned around as soon as he heard the door opening.

“Why is the Professor here…”

He thrust the flyer in front of his bewildered student’s face.

“You’re the one who caused this incident, aren’t you?”

“That is,”

“Don’t deny it. I came here having figured it all out.”

Rude rolled his eyes around before giving up and hanging his head low.

He was a scholar before being a student, and in front of his respected master, he was nothing more than a docile sheep.

“I’m sorry, Professor. But when I heard that woman would become Empress, I just couldn’t stand it—”

“This should have been carried out simultaneously across the entire Empire!”

Rude, who had been thinking about how to appease his master’s anger, raised his head at the unexpected words.

“Excuse me?”

“To distribute only in the Imperial Capital. Isn’t the scale far too narrow? The religious order is spread widely throughout the entire Empire.”

“…Was that the problem?”

Even after hearing his master’s words, Rude asked back as he couldn’t quite understand.

So the problem wasn’t manipulating the Saint’s flyers, but distributing too few of them?

“You shouldn’t call it ‘just that.'”

Frederick clicked his tongue and put down the flyer. The thin paper grazed the edge of Rude’s desk and fell to the floor.

“In this case, the possibility of identifying the culprit among the people in the Imperial Capital becomes higher.”

The Saint probably wouldn’t suspect the Academy student Rude, but it never hurt to be careful.

‘Right, that’s true.’

As expected, there was nothing wrong with his master’s words.

Rude nervously fidgeted with his fingers.

‘Will the Saint retaliate?’

The Saint had exposed the temple’s secrets with her own hands.

It was to justify the cause for establishing the National Church, restore her fallen image, and shift all blame to the temple.

However, all her plans were ruined by the flyers Rude had switched. By now, the Saint must be desperately searching for the culprit.

‘I should have been more careful after all.’

Then Frederick’s hand touched Rude’s shoulder. A few rough pats followed.

“But your creativity and quick thinking deserve high praise.”

He meant he gave high marks for obtaining information in advance that the Saint was preparing flyers, and for the judgment and execution to switch the items in such a short time.

“So I’ll give you a B+.”

The tension left Rude’s body as he finally understood the meaning of the hand on his shoulder.

“Thank you, Professor. I will work even harder.”

Compared to being prepared for a scolding, it wasn’t a bad result.

However, rather than being completely relieved, Rude was more concerned about something else.

‘I wonder if the Princess is alright?’

In the current situation, there was only one person who would be suspected as the culprit first.

‘I hope she’s not suffering at the hands of the Saint?’

* * *

After the National Church founding announcement ended in disaster.

‘Right, what good would it do to seek out the Emperor?’

Even if they met face to face, he would just make excuses that this matter wasn’t his responsibility.

Yuna decided to solve the problem herself.

‘There’s only one way to solve this problem.’

To reveal that all of this was fabricated and someone’s manipulation.

‘For that, I have no choice but to find the culprit.’

Yuna eliminated the suspect candidates one by one in her mind. Then one name remained.

The Princess.

‘It’s not Asil.’

The actions were too childish and the scale too small to be his doing.

Yuna had personally produced the flyers and only entrusted their storage to a maid.

But if someone could monitor the movements of palace maids, they could have easily switched the flyers.

‘Moreover, the Princess knew in advance that the Emperor was planning to announce the National Church.’

If so, there was a high possibility she had some idea of when Yuna would establish the National Church.

The decisive factor was the content of the flyers.

The Former Empress’s will, which only the Imperial Family could access, was quoted accurately.

Not only did it present evidence that Yuna had been with the Emperor who skipped national events when the Former Empress was alive, but it even detailed the location of the hideout they frequently used.

These were pieces of information that couldn’t be known without being well-versed in palace affairs.

‘Then that’s right. Isn’t this enough to be certain?’

Unable to hide her anger, Yuna stomped toward the Princess Palace. Her steps were so rough it looked like she was running.

“You cannot do this—”

The Head Maid standing at the entrance tried to block her, but Yuna roughly pushed her aside and entered.

“Move aside.”

Yuna crossed straight through the Princess Palace corridor and threw open the door to a room where she could hear murmuring voices.

“You’re there, right? Let’s have a talk.”

She didn’t care that there was a guest sitting across from the Princess.

The whispers and mockery from the moment her shame was exposed in front of everyone still seemed to echo in her ears.

“What do you want to talk about—”

“Don’t think about denying it. I came here knowing everything.”

Before the Princess could even speak, Yuna poured out her words aggressively.

“Among the people who know palace affairs this well, you’re the only one who could pull off something like this, Your Highness.”

“Your explanation is scattered and lacks coherence, making it difficult to understand the point. Could you organize your main points?”

Only then did Yuna notice that Rianel was sitting across from the Princess and hesitated.

‘Why is this annoying woman here…!’

But she didn’t have the luxury of getting into an argument with this woman right now.

Yuna ignored Rianel. She threw the flyer onto the table so the Princess could see it clearly.

“If you’re going to keep denying it, let me explain why Your Highness must be the culprit.”

Yuna quickly rattled off her reasons for thinking so.

Her words were agitated and fast, but the general gist could be understood.

“So you’re saying—”

At that moment.

A gentle but irresistibly strong force grabbed Yuna’s arm and pulled her down.

It was Rianel.

“That is merely circumstantial evidence. Do you have direct proof that the Princess committed such an act?”

Forced to face Rianel, Yuna tried to free her captured hand. When she failed, she twisted her lips instead.

“Wh-what does that matter? This much is almost certain—”

“The Saint is pressuring a member of the Imperial Family without clear evidence. This is outrageous and inappropriate behavior.”

“So what if you’re royalty? Does that give you some kind of indulgence?”

Besides, she was soon to become Empress. She would rank higher than a Princess.

‘Right, let’s be patient. She’s just a child. What’s the point of getting angry at a child’s prank?’

Yuna turned her head toward the Princess, trying to force a gentle expression.

However, only the corners of her mouth were forcibly raised, unable to hide the madness gleaming in her eyes.

“I’m not asking for anything grand. Just do one thing for me.”

That all of this is fabricated.

“Tell people honestly in front of everyone.”

Save me like that.

Rianel set down her teacup.

Her gaze looking down at Yuna’s face reflected in the cold tea water, no longer even steaming, was beyond cold—it was expressionless.

“Does the Saint believe this situation can be resolved through such methods?”

“Of, of course,”

“If the new Empress-to-be puts a young Princess forward to deny the charges, people will interpret this as false testimony under coercion.”

Given Yuna’s originally poor image, this would only lead to further damaging her reputation.

Yuna hesitated, then flared up in irritation again.

“Then what am I supposed to—”

“Before suggesting alternatives, let me confirm one thing. Are the contents recorded in these documents true?”

“Wh-what are you saying? Of course not!”

Yuna responded loudly, her voice rising in proportion to how much she felt exposed.

“If this differs from the facts, it would be more rational for the Saint to focus on proving your innocence rather than pressuring innocent people.”

Release the original will of the Former Empress to prove you didn’t forge the will. Transparently present the usage details of the charitable foundation funds to clarify there was no embezzlement.

Make it clear through Temple Leadership documents that the various unsavory experiments at the Temple happened secretly without Yuna’s knowledge, and that you had no authority to intervene.

Prove through service records and testimony from Temple insiders that you were faithful to your duties as Saint, thereby demonstrating you had no affair with the Emperor.

“That’s…”

Yuna hesitated.

The contents of the fabricated flyers were all true, and she held no evidence to refute them.

Moreover, the Temple wouldn’t help prove her innocence.

‘By now they must have confirmed that I stole the sacred relic.’

“Is it impossible?”

Rianel simply asked, but it sounded different to Yuna.

Scared?

Yuna glared at Rianel.

The cool gaze from which she couldn’t read even a fragment of emotion seemed to be intentionally mocking her.

‘This makes it look like I’m the only one going crazy and throwing a tantrum!’

“Just wait and see. I’ll find proper evidence that Your Highness is the real culprit!”

Yuna growled out the words, then turned and stormed out of the room.

The door slammed shut violently, trembling, and rough footsteps echoed through the corridor before fading away.

Rianel only spoke after those sounds had disappeared.

“Why did you do that?”

“Pardon?”

The Princess widened her eyes innocently, pretending not to know. However, her shallow acting didn’t work on Rianel.

“Your Highness is not the real culprit. But I know you assisted to some extent.”

Tiren realized there was no point in pretending otherwise.

She had been gripping her dress so tightly it was wrinkling, but now she exhaled deeply and relaxed her hands.

“Because I was frustrated.”

Tiren had suspected her identity from before.

However, seeing how she had protected her by standing up to Yuna just moments ago finally solidified her certainty, allowing her to be a bit more honest.

“The Former Empress.”

Yes, you.

“I didn’t want to watch that woman destroy the Empire you protected.”

Even while saying this, she pulled up a chair to sit, wanting to gain certainty.

“You are… right?”

The Princess carefully pulled Rianel’s hand toward her and wrote letters on it.

—Ensilen.

Rianel looked at the fragment of sincerity the Princess had left behind.

After a moment of silence.

“How did you know this fact?”

Tiren’s eyes reddened as she had been waiting, barely breathing properly while Rianel remained silent.

“Who else in this Imperial Palace would treat me as an equal without pitying or looking down on me?”

An emotion that was neither laughter nor tears spread across her trembling pale lips.

You showed consideration for my inexperience while simultaneously respecting me.

I liked that about you.

“I wanted to carry on your will.”

After you died, most people pretended to forget you while watching the Saint and Emperor’s reactions.

I hated that.

“I tried not to forget you.”

I was afraid that if even I forgot you, no one would remember that you had been here.

Tiren’s lower lip trembled.

She tried to calm her emotions but failed, so she squeezed her eyes shut.

“Am I doing well?”

Sometimes she had such thoughts.

Whether she was trying to become Emperor not for the Empire’s sake, but to satisfy her own selfish desires.

Even in this situation, Rianel’s voice remained as calm as a water’s surface.

“I have no authority to evaluate another person’s life.”

Even when she was a professor, she evaluated students’ grades, not their lives.

However.

“Thank you for not forgetting.”

Stroke, stroke.

When careful warmth settled on her head, Tiren looked up in surprise.

Rianel was stroking her head.

A gentle, tickling, somewhat proud sensation.

“I will remember this and live with constant gratitude.”

Tiren’s face turned red.

“…I like it.”

With this one memory, I will endure the countless days that lie ahead.

“That’s enough.”

Tiren closed her eyes gently.

Please let this moment last forever.

* * *

The next day.

“Her Majesty the Empress, you said?”

Rude had rushed over after hearing that the Princess had been mistreated by Yuna, but froze upon hearing this new information.

Regardless of Rude’s frivolous behavior, she knew he was tight-lipped and wouldn’t leak conversations with the Princess to outsiders, so she had told him the situation.

Rude remained motionless for a while, as if he had died standing up.

“Perhaps we should call a funeral director—”

Just then.

Rude’s eyes snapped open, and he turned his head toward Rianel with such awkward creaking sounds.

“So you’re saying you are Lady Ensilen?”

‘Is that such a shocking fact?’

Other people just accepted it casually, saying ‘I figured as much.’

When Rianel was about to reassure him once more, thinking Rude was trying to use Reality Denial.

“Yes, that’s righ-“

“I should have gotten an autograph!”

As expected, the professor’s words were never wrong.

Rude sat down in despair, deeply regretting his mistake.

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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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