The Villainess Lives Twice

Grand Duke Roygar entered the Palace on the third day after arriving in the Capital.

He had been urged by the Emperor to enter the Palace at once. However, to keep Garnet’s sickbed served as a good excuse.

Anyway, Cadriol’s second letter would have already entered the Imperial Palace.

Even if he hastily made excuses here, the Emperor would not dispel his doubts.

If that’s the case, it’s better to prepare enough before going in.

“May you be blessed with infinite glory. Roygar meets the Sun of the Empire.”

“You worked hard to travel a long way.”

“This is an important task entrusted by Your Majesty. How can I say that the road is a bit rough?”

Grand Duke Roygar answered without hesitation.

And he sat down on the chair the attendant had brought to the other side of the office desk.

The Emperor twisted his lips and smiled.

“You have been to a foreign country as an envoy, so it would be right to meet in the audience room, but this is not an official report, so I called you to the office. I wouldn’t want you to say that you failed your mission in the presence of many officials.”

“I’m overwhelmed by your grace.”

It wasn’t a good feeling.

However, he could not deny that he had failed, as he could not finish the agreement at the end, and the King, the target of the negotiations, was captured in a rebellion and he was also forcibly repatriated.

“Did the Eimmel Kingdom go through hardships, too?”

“It is true that the royal family has suffered a bit of trouble.”

“Your wife must have been surprised.”

“Thank you for your concern, but nothing happened. Prince Cadriol may be radical, but how could he dare to threaten the Grand Duke of the Empire when the sun is illuminating the sky?”

Grand Duke Roygar said politely.

The Emperor tapped his armrest with his fingertips.

Grand Duke Roygar thought, ‘What was written in Cadriol’s letter?’

There is no doubt that he must have obtained the pact that the King had agreed on.

He had to respond differently depending on whether the Emperor was informed or not.

‘He did not dwell on anger. This time he launched a coup to defend himself, but in the end it was a domestic issue of Eimmel.’

He did not have any feelings for Cadriol personally, although he himself tried to help the King to blame Cadriol for the sin.

Cadriol would know that.

It is unwise to meddle in internal conflicts within the Empire. He has limitations in attacking other countries. Then, even if he succeeds in taking the throne without being overthrown, he is literally accumulating resentment.

Even if he wasn’t, there was a possibility that the Emperor would be angry if he dared to attack the imperial family as a small country.

So, wouldn’t it be the reason why Cadriol took care of him and sent him back without touching even a single hair?

‘If he tries to dismiss me because of this grudge, he would shift the focus to trying to get me involved in the affairs of the Eimmel Kingdom or something.’

Grand Duke Roygar made up his mind.

The Emperor tapped his armrest with his finger. Even though it was only past lunchtime, the corners of his eyes were sunken and he looked very tired.

“Right. It’s impossible for the Eimmel Kingdom to threaten my brother.”

“Yes.”

“The royal family’s internal strife……. Prince Cadriol claimed that King Eimmel was the one who killed Queen Eimmel, but I don’t know if it’s right to use the death of his stepmother as an excuse to raise an army and detain his biological father. Isn’t that still a rebellion?”

The Emperor spoke slowly,

“What do you think? Was it really the King who killed his Queen?”

Grand Duke Roygar took in a small breath that was barely noticeable. It was to relax.

“I’m overwhelmed, Your Majesty. I don’t want to make excuses for my incompetence, but it was on the very day I arrived in the Eimmel Kingdom that the Prince raised an army. We have not been able to determine who was behind the assassination of the Queen.”

“Hmm.”

“But even if the King liked the Queen and the relationship was good, I think it was a political gesture to keep the Prince in check.”

Queen Eimmel was eighteen years younger than the King. She was rather at the age to hang out with Cadriol.

It would not be a lie that the King loved the Queen. Because there was no way he could have been a greedy, snobbish man who didn’t like his young, pretty, wealthy wife.

In addition, the Queen has been faithful to her role as the King wants her to.

But aside from whether the affection was true, did it last long?

The probability of that happening was low. The Queen was capable, and the King hated even his son for being capable.

Had he continued to show affection, it would have only been because she was helping in threatening Cadriol.

“I think it will be either the Prince, the King, or both.”

The man standing behind the Emperor moved. His name was Ferguson. He was one of the few known identities of the Emperor’s investigators.

Grand Duke Roygar glanced at him and said before he opened his mouth.

“But it is true that Queen Eimmel and the Duchy of Riagan smuggled South Sea salt, but the King was the actual influencer.”

Grand Duke Roygar struck first before being questioned.

It was also a sign that he had no intention of antagonizing Cadriol. This is what justified Cadriol beating King Eimmel.

In addition, it was a sign that he had no intention of hiding the incident from the Emperor.

“Well…….”

The Emperor made an ambiguous sound.

Ferguson said,

“I am sorry that a lowly investigator would dare to speak about foreign affairs, but if Queen Eimmel is involved in a big problem such as coarse salt, then it cannot be said for certain that she was assassinated because of the internal affairs, right?”

“What does that mean?”

Grand Duke Roygar looked at Ferguson. Ferguson said calmly,

“The salt business is a huge industry. The Duchy of Riagan insisted that there was no enmity between the Queen and them, so why would they kill her. However, it is not uncommon for conflicts of interest between business partners to escalate into fights. Sometimes, it even leads to murder.”

“If the Duchy of Riagan was really the culprit, would they have put their names with the assassin to meet the Queen?”

The Emperor said in a relaxed manner. Ferguson replied,

“Forgive me, Your Majesty, there are many foolish killers in the world. It may not have been an assassination planned by Duke Riagan himself, but rather an assassination carried out by his subordinates.”

Ferguson paused once, then smiled.

“If not, it could have been done by someone else who wanted to get involved in the salt business.”

Perhaps, the last sentence was Ferguson’s main point.

Grand Duke Roygar glared at him. But Ferguson spoke softly,

“Come to think of it, this is a personal question, but didn’t Duke Riagan petition the Grand Duke to clear the frame for the death of Queen Eimmel? By the way, are you saying that he didn’t tell Grand Duke, who is going to investigate the truth, the important information that could be the motive for the assassination of the Queen?”

“Shut up. You dare to look at me as a suspect and interrogate me?”

Grand Duke Roygar spat out.

The Emperor tapped the armrest.

“Ferguson, don’t argue over merit and say groundless things.”

“Forgive me. When I started an investigation, I often forgot myself, so I was disrespectful.”

Ferguson apologized.

The apology was not directed to Grand Duke Roygar. Even if he said it to the Emperor, it was only a formal word.

After all, Ferguson was the Emperor’s mouth and hands. He was here to represent the Emperor and to interrogate him.

Grand Duke Roygar stood up. Then, he placed his right hand on his left chest, bowed his head, and said to the Emperor,

“As I said before, Terry Ford has nothing to do with me.”

“Yes.”

“It is true that the gift received from the Duchy of Riagan contained salt. It is also true that I decided to save the Duchy of Riagan and share some of the salt business interests. However, what I was promised was the ability to give priority to the merchant alliance I designated in the East.”

Grand Duke Roygar insisted.

“I had no idea about the manipulation of the Treasury books. It was only when I went to the South that I found out that I had joined hands doing trafficking with the Eimmel Kingdom.”

There was a mixture of truth and lies.

It is true that he did not know about the books of the Treasury. He knew that Queen Eimmel was involved in coarse salt, but it was only when he went to the South that he knew exactly about the scale.

And the only evidence left was the right to trade and the salt that was given to him directly by the Duchy of Riagan.

This was not at a level that would be a major blow if raised as a problem.

It was up to the Duchy of Riagan to decide which wholesaler to hand over the salt to. It was more rare for a closed room contract of that magnitude to not exist.

It is enough to say that they believed that the received rights and goods were granted from within the authorities of the Duchy of Riagan.

There was no mention of salt in the agreement.

The petition of the Duchy of Riagan was granted, and an agreement was reached with King Eimmel, and such things will be judged by political logic.

The Emperor looked at him silently.

Grand Duke Roygar felt sweat welling up in his hands. However, he maintained a seemingly unshakable complexion.

The Emperor then spoke softly,

“I understand what you mean. Let’s talk about the rest after we receive an official report.”

“Yes.”

“Your wife must have been shocked by what happened to Marquis Luden so suddenly, so please comfort her.”

“Yes. Thank you.”

Grand Duke Roygar straightened his body.

The Emperor said,

“Charlotte is coming over for dinner tonight, what do you think? If your wife is okay with it, would you like to have a meal with your family after a long time? As a consolation.”

“I am sorry. Today, we have decided to hold a memorial service for Father-in-law, albeit informal.”

said Grand Duke Roygar.

“Because we couldn’t even attend the funeral, let alone stay on his deathbed. It’s not that the shock of my wife is usually a big deal, but I thought she’s going to need a farewell ceremony like this.”

“I see. Do it well.”

The Emperor just said so. There must be other things he wanted to say, but he couldn’t add other words to the memorial service for the father-in-law.

Grand Duke Roygar bowed to the Emperor and withdrew.

His secretary and his attendants followed.

Grand Duke Roygar didn’t say a word until he left the Palace. Ferguson’s humiliation spread through his body, making it unbearable.

He went straight to the memorial hall.

Hundreds of people gathered at the memorial hall for Marquis Luden. All were high-ranking nobles, their direct descendants, and most important aides.

In the reception area set aside outside, low-ranking aristocrats, merchants, and intellectuals who could not directly enter the memorial hall gathered.

Almost everyone who had been associated with Grand Duke Roygar had gathered here.

Marchioness Camellia, who played the role of the hostess, approached him and bowed her head.

“Time is running out, but you did a great job, Sister-in-law.”

Grand Duke Roygar said with a smile to Marchioness Camellia.

He had no intention of confronting the Emperor head-on.

But the people gathered here were his strength.

If there was no evidence and all that was left was political logic, the Emperor would never easily push him away.