The Male Lead Is Trying To Tame Me With Money - Chapter 86

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

86.

 

At the sudden turn of events, both the Second Consort and I momentarily froze, unable to give any instructions.

 

No, it wasn’t just us – the servants and knights waiting nearby were the same.

 

“Ah, Mother…?”

 

However, the moment I heard Prince Joel’s voice, I snapped back to my senses.

 

If I didn’t pull myself together, the situation would become even more chaotic.

 

“Call the palace physicians immediately, and Chamberlain, if you have any antidotes, bring them!”

 

I then instructed a knight known for his integrity to take the Sixth Prince and Coco to the Winter Palace.

 

‘In this situation, the Second Consort and I could be framed as the culprits.’

 

I felt somewhat ruthless for immediately thinking so calculatingly.

 

But I had to keep my wits about me.

 

Otherwise, we would be the ones devoured.

 

‘…This isn’t a trial.’

 

Of course, in the original story, the Emperor did meet a mysterious death.

 

However, it was publicly announced that he passed away after a long illness, so it wasn’t greatly mentioned in the original.

 

Though the political situation inevitably changed drastically because of it.

 

In the palace without the Emperor who had been putting brakes on the Empress, Casian and Rozelita had to endure with all their might.

 

‘Perhaps I relied too much on the original story.’

 

No, the situation was being orchestrated to make me think that way.

 

Just when I was focused only on trials, an unpublished, incomplete prophecy book was suddenly thrust upon me.

 

‘But this is also my reality.’

 

So, I had to solve this immediate reality with no hints using my own strength.

 

To do that, I first had to save the Emperor’s life.

 

At least my five senses warned me like an alarm that things shouldn’t go as they did in the original.

 

The Emperor surely held much more truth than we thought, befitting his position.

 

Neither I nor Casian could let him go without resolving our questions.

 

“He, he swallowed it!”

 

While I was organizing my thoughts, the Emperor barely managed to swallow the antidote the Chamberlain always carried.

 

“His pulse?”

 

“…It’s weak but still beating. Salice Advisor, from now on…”

 

“We must pray the palace physicians arrive quickly, and no one, including myself and the Second Consort, should move.”

 

After telling the Chamberlain to guard the Emperor firmly, I spoke with resolute eyes.

 

“If you don’t want to be suspected.”

 

Since so many people witnessed the Emperor collapse after drinking tea, this incident could no longer be covered up.

 

And a likely suspect had already come to mind.

 

Though it was only circumstantial evidence for now.

 

‘The Empress.’

 

She had made her move.

 

And as if to prove my hypothesis, shortly after the palace physicians arrived, the Empress reached the Sun Palace.

 

“What are the Imperial Guards all doing! Not catching the criminals!”

 

She pressed the knights faster than asking the palace physicians about the Emperor’s condition.

 

Naturally, I was about to speak up to defend against the Empress.

 

But then, the Second Consort stood up as if blocking my way.

 

“Who is the Empress pointing to as criminals, when no investigation has even begun yet?”

 

“Who else but you and Salice Advisor who were there when the Emperor collapsed.”

 

“That seems like too weak evidence to frame someone as criminals.”

 

The Second Consort’s voice carried firm strength.

 

“Then Second Consort, are you saying we should release the most suspicious individuals from this place? Those who harbored treacherous thoughts toward the Emperor!”

 

The Empress raised her voice loudly as if indignant.

 

“Release them just because there’s no immediate evidence?!”

 

“I didn’t say that, but I’m just getting a sense of déjà vu.”

 

“What?”

 

“When I was still the Fourth Concubine, there was a riding accident.”

 

“Why bring up old matters now?”

 

“Back then, the Empress said something similar. Was there a need to investigate, when only the knight who rode close to the horse could have caused the riding accident.”

 

“Second Consort!”

 

“That’s right, Empress. I’m no longer your subordinate Second Consort, as you well know, yet you treat me as if you’re my superior.”

 

The Second Consort looked at the Empress with a cold face.

 

At that heavy tone, the Empress’s face turned as red as her hair.

 

“Even if we’re both empresses, there’s clearly a difference between the First and Second Empress! There’s also a difference in the order we entered the palace!”

 

“To boldly reorganize the hierarchy of positions recognized by the Emperor in a place with so many ears, you must be confident you can handle it.”

 

The Second Consort slightly lowered her eyes, then pointed to the table to the palace physician who had finished urgent treatment.

 

“Among these, there will be tableware or food tainted with poison. Thanks to Salice Advisor’s quick instructions, no one has touched anything since the Emperor collapsed.”

 

“I, I’ll investigate immediately.”

 

“I brewed the tea and we all held cups together.”

 

At those calm instructions, the Empress acted even more incredulous.

 

“You’re struggling to escape suspicion!”

 

“If I’m a criminal, I’ll pay the proper price, but Empress, I just think there shouldn’t be any unjust deaths like before.”

 

“What, what did you say?”

 

“The Empress may not know, but I, who was merely the Fourth Concubine then, was so scared and frightened, because the Third Concubine who lost both her life and child in the riding accident was originally very skilled at horseback riding.”

 

The Second Consort met the Empress’s gaze with unwavering eyes.

 

“So I wondered, was there really no other problem, why did such a faithful knight betray his precious master.”

 

“How long do you plan to waste time with old stories?”

 

“Empress, do you think I failed to reach the truth back then?”

 

For the first time, a faint smile appeared on the Second Consort’s lips.

 

“And, would there be no evidence either?”

 

At those confident words, the Empress’s lips briefly twitched.

 

But soon she asked back with an incredulous face.

 

“I ask again, what does that old story have to do with now? Evidence, investigation…”

 

The Empress clicked her tongue briefly.

 

“The investigation records and the knight’s confession statement from back then are all in the Records Office.”

 

At those words, the Second Consort muttered low enough for only me to hear.

 

“As expected, the person who came to destroy evidence back then was the Empress.”

 

After saying that, the Second Consort sent me a brief hand signal.

 

I memorized that gesture, and at perfect timing, the results of the palace physician’s hurried investigation came out.

 

“The, the silver needle only reacted to the Emperor’s teacup. But, however…”

 

“However what?”

 

The Second Consort calmly asked the palace physician.

 

“For now, we can’t tell if the poison was in the teacup itself, or if poison was added while pouring. It didn’t come from anywhere else.”

 

“Then let me ask one more thing, palace physician.”

 

“Yes, yes…!”

 

“I brewed the tea, and I also poured it into each teacup.”

 

The thought I’d had since she blocked my way became certainty the moment she asked the question.

 

“The tea set was brought by His Majesty’s longtime Head Maid standing over there. Salice Advisor just sat and conversed with the Emperor.”

 

“Second Consort, are you trying to protect Salice Advisor now?”

 

And the Empress wasn’t one to miss that intention.

 

Of course, the Second Consort answered without the slightest waver.

 

“What reason would I have to protect Salice Advisor here, when my precious son Joel was also playing in this place. Does the Empress have the ability to deceive all these people’s eyes and mouths in an instant?”

 

She was saying that while this side was stating facts, the Empress seemed to want to somehow implicate and deal with us.

 

“Even so, for you, a criminal, to question…”

 

“You’re being hasty, Empress. It hasn’t even been confirmed that I’m a criminal yet.”

 

The Second Empress clicked her tongue lightly.

 

Suddenly, it seemed as if fierce snow was falling behind her.

 

I could clearly feel that she was a princess from the Northern Snow Country who had survived and lived through harsh winters.

 

The Second Empress then continued to question the Palace Physician.

 

“Then let me ask, who in this place could have poisoned His Majesty the Emperor?”

 

The Palace Physician’s eyes wavered.

 

He looked at the Second Empress with a bewildered expression, then bowed his head and spoke.

 

“The Second Empress, and perhaps the Head Maid who brought the tea set.”

 

At those words, the Second Empress turned her gaze to the Head Maid.

 

Though the Head Maid showed some agitation, as someone who had long served in the Imperial Palace, she maintained her composure again.

 

“Head Maid, did you personally prepare the tea set?”

 

“No, I brought what the servants prepared from the Tea Room. Since the Tea Room is managed by the Chamberlain and his subordinate servants, I strictly observe the boundaries of my duties.”

 

The Head Maid then cast a look of trust, not suspicion, toward the Chamberlain as a longtime colleague.

 

“Today, His Majesty the Emperor called for the Chamberlain saying that a new toy for the cat Coco had been completed, so I simply went to the Tea Room.”

 

At the Head Maid’s words, the Chamberlain also spoke calmly.

 

“Do not worry. I brought the antidote and instructed all servants who enter and exit the Tea Room to stand by just in case. We can quickly find the list of those who worked during that time, and any who might have fled.”

 

Their composure was befitting of people who had served in the Imperial Court for decades.

 

When the summary was finished, the Second Empress walked slowly toward the Empress.

 

“So then, Empress. Wouldn’t it be sufficient to confine just myself, the Head Maid, and some of the servants?”

 

Though the Second Empress was clearly the one in danger, the confrontation seemed as if the positions of the Empress and the situation had been reversed.

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