The Poisonous Princess Who Successfully Infiltrated the Enemy as an Employee - Chapter 62

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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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Chapter 62.

Varcan looked down at me then.
“…What are you thinking?”
I lowered my voice.
“I have something to tell His Majesty.”
Varcan’s brow furrowed slightly.
“His Majesty may seize and imprison you on the spot.”
At Varcan’s warning, I looked up at him and blinked rapidly.
“Then, you’d just let the princess leave like that? I could end up being framed as the culprit?”
“…That wasn’t what I meant.”
As Varcan frowned in evident discomfort, I let out a soft, breathy laugh.
“Besides… the princess is my only friend. If it were you, could you stand by and do nothing while your friend might be dying?”
“…”
Varcan didn’t answer readily either. If I knew anything, it was that Varcan would have rolled up his sleeves and stepped in to save his friend just the same.
“And.”
I glanced sideways at Varcan and continued in measured fragments.
“So if something like that really were to happen…”
“…”
Varcan stared down at me blankly, as though waiting to hear what else I had to say.
I met his gaze and smiled brightly, tilting my head slightly.
“The Grand Duke would save me anyway, wouldn’t he?”
Like today.
“…”
“Even if I were locked in a cell, you’d uncover the truth. So what would I have to worry about?”
I drew my head a little closer to him, speaking in a whisper.
“I’m only doing this because I have something I trust.”
And that something I trust is you, the Grand Duke.
In that instant, Varcan’s dark eyes wavered ever so slightly.
At the same time, the Dark Purple Aura rippled across his shoulders before fading slowly away.
I offered him a reassuring look with a playful expression, winking at him with one eye.
For some reason, Varcan flinched and tilted his head back just a little.
A faint bewilderment flickered across his otherwise cool expression, though it didn’t seem to carry any disgust.
‘Oh, he’s actually enduring this?’
Does this mean we’re getting closer still?
I closed my eyes and smiled warmly.

***

The Emperor’s Audience Chamber.
A long, cool shadow stretched across the floor beneath the high ceiling, pressing down like a weight.
Emperor Tiberius sat in the throne, his chin tilted thoughtfully as he gazed down at me.
“So, you wanted to see me.”
The faint smile lingering at the corners of his mouth seemed almost gentle and benevolent at first glance.
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Yet that smile felt, somehow, like the casual confidence of a predator who had already known you would come—it was far from pleasant.
“Whether or not you know this.”
The Emperor tapped his fingertips lightly against the armrest of his chair.
“This is the first time I’ve brought a criminal before me who insisted on an audience with me.”
“…”
“A first, it would seem.”
It was an oppressive warning—don’t bother with flimsy excuses.
Instead of cowering, I lifted the corners of my mouth.
“I would call it an honor, Your Majesty, but I’m afraid that first honor must go to another criminal instead.”
I met the Emperor’s gaze directly without flinching.
“Because I am not a criminal.”
“…”
Tap. The Emperor’s fingers, which had been drumming against the armrest, went still.
“Not guilty?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
The Emperor let out a small laugh at my response.
“The Grand Duchess—the one who remained at the Princess’s side until the very end—was you. Delmar is said to be as versed in Poison Herb Studies as in Herbal Studies, is it not?”
“Yes, that is all true. However, I shared tea with Her Highness the Princess. If there had been anything wrong with the tea, I should have shown signs of poisoning as well. Having drunk the same tea, it would be natural for me to be suspected if only I remained unaffected.”
“Perhaps that very precaution was part of your calculation.”
At the Emperor’s pointed rebuttal, I simply shrugged my shoulders with composure.
“Why go through such troublesome measures? If it were me, I would have handled it quietly, making it impossible to know when, where, or how the poison was administered.”
“……What?”
“I may be called mad, but I’m not so clumsy as that. And I believed Your Majesty also knew this fact. Was my judgment mistaken?”
The Emperor’s eyes, which had been fixed and dull, suddenly took on a chill.
“What you’re saying is that you knew I was innocent, yet you issued the order for my arrest. Is that correct?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
A cold smile leaked from between the Emperor’s lips.
“Why do you think that?”
“I considered two reasons.”
I brought my fingertips together lightly and adopted the most respectful posture I could.
“First, if I am framed as the culprit, House of Escar will move directly to clear the Grand Duchess’s name and deliver the true perpetrator to you. There would be no need for Your Majesty to trouble the Imperial House.”
“…….”
The poisoning of a member of the Imperial family is a fatal disgrace—proof that the security of the Imperial Palace has been breached.
The investigation of such an incident would consume enormous resources and time, and if the true culprit is not apprehended, the Imperial House’s reputation would be dragged through the mud.
“And second. Even if House of Escar fails to find the true culprit and I am executed on suspicion of attempted regicide.”
“…….”
I tilted my chin up slightly and smiled faintly.
“It would serve as a perfect and intense warning to House of Escar that the Imperial House can take the Grand Duchess’s life whenever it wishes.”
By eliminating me, the Imperial House could also diminish the standing of House of Escar for failing to protect the Grand Duchess.
And by displaying the absolute power of the Imperial House before the people, it could sear an unforgettable terror into the heart of the Northern House of the Grand Duke.
“Either way, Your Majesty has nothing to lose.”
The Emperor slowly raised one eyebrow and nodded his head.
“Yes, by your logic.”
The Emperor’s expression became gentle.
“I could simply wait and do nothing.”
“…….”
“House of Escar would find the culprit and bring him to me.”
The Emperor’s eyes narrowed slowly.
“But then, what are you trying to change by requesting an audience with me? You must have anticipated that I would not move.”
I kept my smile and looked up at the Emperor as I spoke.
“I’m not trying to change anything. I’m trying to prevent it.”
“Prevent it?”
“Yes. I wish to prevent the relationship between the Imperial House and House of Escar from deteriorating further than it already has.”
A brief silence fell over the Audience Chamber.
The Emperor’s mouth was smiling, but his eyes were not.
“Does my position seem to you one that should concern itself with relations with House of Escar?”
I did not shy away from that gaze and continued.
“Of course, I understand perfectly well that you would not concern yourself with it. If you had, you would not have arrested me in the first place. But what if all of this is the scheme of someone else? Someone aiming at your throat?”
“……A scheme?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
I spoke calmly of the possibility that a third faction might be at work.
In truth, this novel contains a final villain—none other than the Black Mage, said to have vanished centuries ago.
They lurked in shadow until the latter half of the original work, quietly building their power, and ultimately brought about a terrible catastrophe.
They summoned the Evil God to the world—that which was sealed away and could never be destroyed.
The world in which the Evil God awakened was nothing short of hell.
The very foundation of the empire the Emperor took such pride in shattered, and countless high officials were revealed to have conspired with the Black Mage Faction. The Imperial House faced a fatal crisis.
The problem was that in the midst of that terrible calamity, Varcan lost his life trying to protect Floria, the heroine of the original work.
‘And House of Escar collapsed as well.’
Of course, thanks to the efforts of the two protagonists, the Evil God was sealed away once more after much hardship, the Black Mage Faction behind it all was destroyed, and the original work ended in a happy ending. But……
Ruined cities, villages consumed by flame, countless dead, and those who would carry their wounds forward from places scraped raw by Black Magic.
And a territory left without its master.
‘Happy ending for whom, exactly, built upon all those sacrifices?’
At least I am certain of this: I did not survive until now to witness an ending like that.
So then, what about the original work?
‘Damn it. How should I know? I’ve already made up my mind to save Varcan, so I’ll do my best to use the original story to survive.’
That’s why I needed to draw them out beforehand—those Black Mage bastards hiding in the shadows.
They say the enemy of my enemy is my ally.
As long as I remained in House of Escar, I needed to preempt the Black Mage Faction attempting to break the Evil God’s seal.
The Emperor wouldn’t simply stand by and let the Black Mages reduce the empire to rubble, no matter how perfect his rule appeared.
I couldn’t hunt down the Black Mages’ hideout myself, but I could make the Emperor suspicious of their existence.
The moment the Emperor’s gaze turned toward them, the Black Mages wouldn’t be able to spread their roots so carelessly as they did now.
I looked up at the Emperor quietly and continued.
“Your Majesty, if I am not the culprit, who do you think committed this act?”
“If I knew that, I wouldn’t have tried to arrest you in the first place.”
“Not the Imperial House, and not House of Escar either.”
…….
“Another faction.”
The Emperor’s gaze upon me narrowed.
“I am convinced that this incident is a picture drawn by yet another faction—one designed to incite division between the Imperial House and House of Escar.”
I dropped all pretense of amusement and opened my mouth.
“Your Majesty, the true culprit didn’t stop at poisoning Her Highness the Princess; they made me the criminal to move House of Escar. That means they threatened the Imperial family’s authority while simultaneously—”
The Emperor’s gaze grew sharper still, but I pressed on with measured words.
“—laying a double trap between the Imperial House and House of the Grand Duke Escar.”
The Imperial knights and the Northern knights.
The Emperor’s authority and House Escar’s honor.
The moment those two collide head-on, searching for the true culprit gets pushed to the background.
What remains is an irreversible rift.
The Emperor himself likely wants to keep House Escar docile and obedient, like a well-trained hound—not to annihilate them entirely.
I drew a slow breath.
“If Your Majesty attempts to trample House Escar, they won’t simply sit idle either.”
“Are you daring to threaten me?”
“Not a threat, sire—merely stating facts. You know the Grand Duke far better than I do.”
…….
“In the end, war will break out between the Imperial House and House Escar. Before the wounds from the war with Delmar have even healed. And the cost of that war will fall squarely upon your people—the very people you cherish so dearly.”
When I invoked the empire’s stability and the people’s peace, the Emperor’s brow twitched faintly.
“Moreover, is there any house that could contain the Magical Beasts pouring out of the North better than House Escar as it stands now?”
At my question, the Emperor let out a short, derisive snort.
“Do you know how many noble houses exist in the Castillo Empire? Among them, is there not even one as capable as House Escar?”
I shook my head.
“Even if House Escar were to disappear, it would be difficult for you to establish another house in their place that is both as capable and as obedient.”
“Why so?”
“Because that other faction I mentioned would surely sabotage things again, just as they have now.”
…….
“Your Majesty. They are your enemies. At the same time, they are the enemies of House Escar as well. Moreover, they are enemies who threaten this empire and this entire continent.”
With each word I spoke, the Emperor’s eyes grew colder.
“You speak as though you know them well.”
Rather than answer plainly, I offered a slight smile.
“Even now, I was once a princess of a kingdom. I’ve seen and heard quite a lot in my time.”
…….
I looked up at the Emperor with an unwavering gaze, determined to extract an answer.
“Will you allow this to unfold as the culprit wishes?”
…….
Silence fell once more.
The Emperor gazed down at me with a piercing stare.
“So? What is it you want from me?”
I swallowed dryly and placed a hand over my heart as I spoke.
“Your Majesty, I will save Her Highness the Princess and uncover the true culprit. And.”
…….
“I will find the threads leading to the mastermind behind this incident, the shadowy faction, and place them in your hands. Compared to the losses you would suffer in an all-out conflict with House Escar, isn’t that far the better choice?”
…….
The Emperor gave a low hum and gazed down at me intently.
A heavy silence settled over the Audience Chamber.
The Emperor simply looked at me for quite some time.
A moment of silence stretched longer, and finally the Emperor let out a low chuckle.
“One week.”
“…….”
“If you cannot bring me a lead on that faction within that time.”
The Emperor’s gaze drifted down across my neck.
“Then your chance to claim innocence will be at an end.”
I smiled brightly.
“That will never happen, Your Majesty.”
With the Emperor’s permission granted, I spent the next stretch of time explaining to him, in broad strokes, how I intended to investigate this matter.
Once my explanation concluded, the Emperor—after a moment’s reflection—provided me with several items necessary for the investigation.
A Magic Tool capable of altering appearance, a new Identity Pass, and garments befitting that new identity.
“You may withdraw.”
“Yes, Your Majesty! I shall return soon!”
“…….”
I turned to leave at his dismissal.
Just before the doors of the Audience Chamber opened, I stopped.
“One more thing, Your Majesty.”
“……Speak.”
I turned back to face the Emperor slowly.
“You never once asked.”
The Emperor’s gaze fell upon me.
“Asked what?”
“About the Antidote that will save the Princess.”
“…….”
“You calculated everything—my hidden intentions, how House of Escar would move, the true perpetrator and the mastermind behind this incident—and questioned me about it all. Yet about the Antidote or method to save the Princess, you never asked even once.”
I let a faint smile play at my lips.
“Not a single time.”
“…….”
The Emperor did not answer. I continued, watching that strange silence.
“There is one thing I failed to tell you. The greatest reason among all the reasons I staked my very life to stand before you was…….”
I curved my mouth into an elegant smile.
“To save the Princess—my only friend—not for the sake of the Imperial House or House of the Grand Duke.”
“…….”
“I naturally assumed that you, the Princess’s father, would make that your highest priority as well.”
I paused briefly, then tilted my head just slightly.
“It seems I was mistaken.”
“…….”
In the Audience Chamber, now filled with silence, I made my obeisance with utmost formality and respect.
“Then, Your Majesty. I shall return in one week.”
“…….”
The heavy doors of the Audience Chamber closed with a resonant thud.

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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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