Chapter 16

* * *

As Deborah looked at the queen’s hardened face, a proud sense of victory spread across her chest.

‘You must be pretty heated up, right?’

She wondered how this queen would turn out.

It would be fun to see her break that icy expression and get angry for a long time while losing composure.

Or, it would be interesting to see her barely suppressing her anger and trying to keep her dignity as a queen.

However, the question that Berylia posed casually was nowhere in her expectations.

“The position of the Empress has been vacant for a long time, so Bernard is in charge as the Prime Minister and you are the Empress?”

“……Yes?”

The empress’ job was to budget for each department, and to oversee and appoint several key positions and employees of the Imperial Palace.

Part of this budgetary and appointment power was shared between the Prime Minister Bernard and Deborah. Prime Minister Bernard was extorting money with his budgetary authority, and Deborah was using her appointment authority to wield power in the social world.

“If the Crown Prince is born in Aktoum, it will be appropriate for him to take over the work of the Empress.”

“!”

Deborah finally understood the queen’s intentions.

Towards the contorted face Deborah made in embarrassment, Berylia poured out words without blinking an eye.

“Like you said, a person who covets things that is not in his or her own power… will not be able to even ‘get away’.”

The queen’s inhuman right eye shone coolly. Every time she looked at her, the dazzling light in her eye penetrated Deborah’s heart mercilessly.

“When that time comes, I believe you will set an example for giving up power yourself.”

“……”

“Won’t it be a problem if you hold out in an ugly manner and your hair gets caught and dragged down?”

The tails of Berylia’s mouth rose slowly.

Ahh… Deborah grabbed her skirt with a flushed face upon the insult.

It was not enough to get back at what she had said, and her head went numb on hearing the queen’s bloody declaration of war.

Deborah trembled as she watched the queen’s back move away leisurely, having finished her words.

‘You dare to bring me down?’

Your position in Aktoum was not perfect yet, so how dare you…?

How did I survive!

How did I come this far… 

Deborah’s heart pounded wildly. The inside of her mouth was dry.

If at first she was angry that the queen tried to rise to a position that she was not worthy of, now there was a strong fear of losing her power.

‘Definitely, on the day of the high priest’s visit, I will destroy the queen no matter what.’

What sort of number should she do?

How could she disgrace her so that she couldn’t even make a sound that day, and then drive her out of Aktoum?

Deborah wandered around the garden, anxiously thinking. But she never came up with a good number.

Just when she was trying to soothe her frustrated heart, the private escort who was following her approached and bowed his body.

“Madam, you’d better go back. This is right in front of the palace where Her Majesty is staying.”

Deborah frowned and looked up at the queen’s room. It was an expression of no luck. 

When did she get here?

But soon, the look in her eyes that were gazing upwards changed.

“Where is that carrier pigeon from?”

Deborah pointed to the carrier pigeon by the window of Berylia’s room.

It was a small bird with bright yellow feathers and green patterns.

The escort checked the bird and spoke politely.

“This is a carrier pigeon that came from Spinel’s main palace.”

“Make that drop with a bow and bring it. It doesn’t matter if you kill it, bring that bird’s letter no matter what!”

“……Yes?”

A look of embarrassment spread across the guard’s face.

To kill the queen’s carrier pigeon. And intercepting the letter? If caught, it was a felony that would make it hard for one to keep his life.

“Madam, if you do that…”

Just as the escort soldier was about to persuade her, the sword around his waist fell out with a sharp sound.

Pointing his sword at him, Deborah gave a cold command.

“This is an order! If you disobey, your heart will be pierced instead of that bird.”

The maids who followed Deborah also shut their mouths as if they were nervous. They were accustomed to Deborah’s antics, and they were very good at keeping secrets.

Each one had a weakness, and that weakness was held by Deborah.

It was the same case for the escort enlisted.

After hesitating, he finally shot an arrow at the carrier pigeon.

Tak! The carrier pigeon fell with a small cry and trembled on the ground.

The little bird with bright yellow feathers died instantly.

Deborah drew a sharp arrow out from the bird’s still-warm body, grabbed the letter, and read it.

It was the letter Duke Orléans had sent to Berylia not long ago.

‘It’s a letter from the queen’s secretary!’

The letter contained a list of books and materials to help her understand Aktoum, along with concerns about the queen’s safety.

‘The advisor predicted it in advance… He knew I was going to throw some tough questions on the queen during the high priest’s visit.’

Then, wasn’t it fortunate that she found this first? Since that idiot who lived in that swamp wouldn’t be able to find these materials in advance and prepare for the high priest’s visit.

Shhh–aak!

Deborah tore the letter up on the spot. Then she turned around with a very relieved heart. She couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

“Take the letter and bird home and throw them into the trash.”

“……”

Upon hearing the order to dispose of the pitiful bird, the maids only glanced at each other. But they did not have the right to refuse.

* * *

I picked up a bright yellow feather.

“It looks like a bird came from Spinel… Why can’t I see it?”

Originally, it was normal to see it peck at the window with its cute beak, but there was nothing at the window where I hung a flag calling for the bird. 

Just in case, I ordered Maribel to search the rooms, but she said that the bird did not arrive.

It was a bird that had been used for a long time as a front messenger in the royal family. There was no way I wouldn’t recognize this feather.

‘Strange, where did the bird go?’

I ordered the maids to look around just in case.

After a while…

Seryl’s face was pale when she approached.

“Your Majesty, here…! This, this was found!”

What Seryl pointed to as she cried out in a terrible way was an arrow stained with red blood.

There was an ominous feeling that the carrier pigeon had been murdered. And this hunch soon turned into certainty.

Because there was very little chance that a highly trained carrier pigeon would make a mistake. Someone discovered it and killed it on purpose.

“Your Majesty, it will be difficult to determine whose arrow it is. This is a common arrow used by the knights from noble families in Aktoum.”

Laura quickly added a word. I looked carefully at the arrow.

Yes, it was the arrow commonly used by Aktoum noblemen. But… 

‘The feathers of the arrows are finely painted with black.’

This was a special treatment made by extracting juice from macaw plants and mixing with special chemicals. 

It served to increase the acceleration of the bow, and this was one of the traditional methods of those in Breathbridge.

And among the nobles in Aktoum, only the Duke of Douglas hired a craftsman from Breathbridge.

This was Deborah’s work!

‘Deborah… In the end, you crossed the line by doing things like this.’

If the craftsman from Breathbridge had not been dealt with in the original work, I would have almost never known who did this.

With just a feather and a bloody arrow, it would be difficult to pinpoint the culprit, wouldn’t it? It was hard to even prove that the blood on the arrow belonged to the carrier pigeon.

The timid Maribel looked at me and asked.

“What if the lost letter contains important information? If it’s an urgent message from Spinel…”

“It’s probably a letter sent by my advisor.”

I passed the arrow to Maribel and continued.

“It’s clear without even looking at the contents. Duke Orléans must have been worried about my safety.”

Because that was his only concern.

“He must have sent a list of books and papers that could help me understand Aktoum better, because he was concerned that I might face a difficult question on the high priest’s day.”

Normally, one wouldn’t dare test the crown princess during the high priest’s visit, but… 

There were many enemies roaming here in Aktoum, so it was predictable.

My maids’ eyes widened as I recited the contents of a letter I didn’t receive. They had faces expressing ‘how do you know that.’

‘Because I read the secret book and I’m doing politics for the 8th time!’

The inside of Duke Orléans’ mind was transparent like the water of a first-class valley.

Seryl asked with tearful eyes.

“Your Majesty! Then what do you do since you can’t read it…?”

“…I’m worried about that part too.”

“Will I get the list of materials quickly if I use teleportation?”

As Maribel and Laura added, they seemed to wave their hands stiffly. Then Seryl asked.

“Your Majesty, have you ever read those materials?”

“No.”

“…Ah, then what should I do…!”

I calmly explained to Seryl, who became depressed.

“It’s not just that I read it once, I memorized it from the first page to the last.”

“!”

The three maids’ mouths opened wide, and exclamations flowed out all at once. Great respect was pouring down burdensomely from the eyes of the three chicks.

‘I can almost misunderstand their expressions, it’s like they are preparing for battle.’

…I felt guilty. Actually, I was not that thorough.

I just had an addiction to that due to boredom from living over and over again, but I just let the girls misunderstand. Since it was cumbersome to explain everything to them.

‘Anyway, dragging Deborah into this case is… It’s impossible right now.’

She must have already taken something that would prove to be evidence, such as the bird and letter.

I immediately dismissed the maids and entered my room.

There was another maid in the room tidying up my jewelry. It was Lucia.

“Lucia. May I ask you a favor?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

A simple-looking woman with brown hair and freckles approached me, but within her green eyes I could feel a river.

“Tell me anything.”

Lucia was the only maid I had personally chosen. Because I felt a different ‘atmosphere’ from her compared to the other maids who were bright and pure.

As soon as I saw her, I pulled her out. I believed she would be useful later.

‘I got to borrow her hand earlier than I expected.’

I took out a pair of earrings and waved them at Lucia.

It was earrings crafted from red magic stone.

“Find me a missing pair of these earrings.”

“It’s a magic stone.”

Lucia recognized it at a glance.

“Yes. It will be easy to find because it shines brightly at night.”

Her eyes had a clever glint at my answer.

“If Your Majesty tells me your route around the day you lost it, I will surely find it.”

I nodded and wrote down my route on a piece of paper.

At the end of the few places… Lucia wrote down a must-see place.

It was a garden. The secret flower garden where Deborah goes to pick ‘sweet and fresh fruit’ every night.

A place that no one would want to visit, and usually, no one would go to search, except Deborah and the Marquis of Kalen.

I thought as I looked at Lucia holding the paper.

‘If my prediction is correct… Lucia will move according to my will. Surely this.’

If so, Deborah would be hit hard.