“Proceed.”
The nobles, who thought the meeting had concluded, stirred at Sys’s sudden declaration.
With the emperor’s permission, Sys signaled to the attendants, and two figures—a man and a woman—were dragged into the hall by knights. It happened so swiftly, it seemed rehearsed.
“Let me go! Do you know who I am?”
The woman, her arms firmly held by knights, thrashed and screeched.
“Isn’t she the First Prince’s concubine?”
“Yes, Your Majesty,” Sys confirmed.
Recognized by the emperor, the concubine brightened and began pleading.
“Your Majesty, I am wronged!”
“What is this about?”
The emperor feigned ignorance, though he likely knew everything. Emboldened, the concubine raised her voice.
“These brutes dragged me here! Please redress my grievances, Your Majesty!”
“Why is the First Prince’s concubine here, Crown Prince?”
Mistaking the emperor’s question for support, the concubine sobbed dramatically, her delicate weeping designed to evoke pity—at least from those unaware of the truth.
“As you all know, I was on the brink of death due to an accident deliberately caused at the recent hunting tournament,” Sys said,
emphasizing “deliberately.”
Those who had been warily observing since his entrance shrank back as he took control. They sensed what was coming and moved to protect themselves.
Though most, including the First Consort, likely realized Sys’s illness was a ruse, no one dared call it out. They lacked evidence to challenge him.
My reasons for escalating this matter were twofold: to expose the mastermind behind the malicious rumors and to divert the First Consort’s attention to me.
Though we could have arrested the concubine for attempting to assassinate the crown prince right after the tournament, I staged this drama to expose my vulnerabilities. It lured the First Consort into focusing her attack on me, leaving her defenses vulnerable.
Had the meeting’s agenda been about the assassination attempt from the start, it wouldn’t have proceeded so smoothly.
“The culprit behind that accident is the First Prince’s concubine,” Sys declared.
“No!”
She screamed as if having a fit.
“No, Your Majesty! His Highness is mistaken!”
“You wouldn’t claim not to know this man,” Sys said, pointing to the man dragged in beside her.
Unlike the frantic concubine, the man knelt with a look of resignation.
“I don’t know him! He’s a stranger!”
“Has Lady Eliant seen this man before?”
Sys’s cold tone toward the concubine softened into springlike warmth when addressing me. The stark contrast drew awkward coughs from some nobles, masking their discomfort.
Don’t get any ideas.
Sys was attacking the First Consort while warning the nobles.
“I saw him at the hunting tournament. He said he managed the imperial horses and was tending to mine instead of my family’s servant,” I replied.
“He’s a servant of the First Prince’s palace, specifically one of the concubine’s attendants. He tampered with Lady Eliant’s horse.”
“No! I’ve never seen him before!”
The concubine shook her head vehemently, but Sys ignored her, continuing coldly.
“These are the imperial personnel records, detailing his information.”
Her face turned ashen as an attendant presented the documents. Sys pressed the man without pause.
“Speak the truth to His Majesty, not a word out of place.”
“I was sent to assist with the horses due to a staff shortage. While working, the concubine summoned me,” the man said.
“Lies! You dare slander me?”
“Silence, concubine,” the emperor commanded sharply.
She flinched, closing her mouth, tears streaming down her face, but the emperor showed no pity.
“Continue,” he said.
The man spoke calmly, as if he’d forsaken everything, including his life.
“She ordered me to cut the reins’ stitching so Lady Eliant would fall. To ensure the horse went wild, she told me to use a poisoned arrow from the tournament.”
“How can we trust you?”
“She gave me this bracelet as a down payment, promising wealth to live idly if I obeyed, but death for me and my family if I refused.”
“Just a common bracelet,” the emperor said, frowning as he examined the gold-and-diamond piece handed to him. Though distinctive, it was something wealthy nobles might own.
“I can explain,” I said, stepping forward. “Please look inside the bracelet.”
The man claimed it came from the concubine, and it was a product of Luasha. I was better suited to explain than Sys.
“There’s an inscription,” the emperor noted.
“All Luasha products are custom-made, with the buyer’s initials engraved. According to the guild’s ledgers, this bracelet was part of a jewelry set purchased by the concubine three months ago.”
Luasha’s products fueled noblewomen’s vanity, and the First Prince’s concubine was no exception. Engraving initials wasn’t a secret, but nobles, dazzled by lavish designs, rarely thought deeply about it.
She likely never imagined her bracelet would incriminate her.
“It’s a lie! He stole it! I know nothing—”
“I personally witnessed him shoot the arrow at Lady Eliant’s horse,” Sys interrupted, approaching her slowly, his lips curving elegantly. “And I saved him from assassins.”
“You were desperate enough to give your seal to assassins.”
A dull thud echoed as the concubine’s seal rolled across the floor.
Punished with confinement by the First Consort because of me, the concubine acted impulsively, ordering a familiar servant to harm me.
Though impulsive, she was cunning enough to eliminate loose ends by hiring assassins to kill the servant. As a mere concubine, not even a consort, she struggled to secure their services. Lacking funds, she offered her seal as collateral.
“Everyone knew I’d be with my fiancée, Lady Eliant, during the tournament. Harming her meant harming me. Her horse’s rampage caused me to fall, nearly killing me. This was a clear plot to assassinate the crown prince.”
“I-I only meant to…”
Pale as a ghost, the concubine trembled, her eyes darting in panic. She crawled toward the First Consort.
“Please, save me, Your Highness! I only meant to teach that wretched Lady Eliant a lesson, not harm His Highness! Believe me!”
The First Consort remained motionless, her face impassive. The tide had turned in our favor.
With the concubine’s guilt clear, the First Consort had few options: sink with her or cut her loose. Her choice was obvious.
“Imprison this woman for attempting to assassinate the Crown Prince,” she declared.
“No! Summon the First Prince! He’ll save me!”
“Silence! How dare a traitor speak his name? Knights, take her away!”
The First Consort’s voice thundered. As expected, she was cutting her losses, like a lizard shedding its tail.
Sys and I exchanged a glance. His faint smile confirmed he’d anticipated this.
Failing to prepare for the expected is a fool’s mistake.
At Sys’s signal, attendants placed thick stacks of documents before the emperor and nobles.
“These list the spies planted in House Eliant, their contacts, and those who ultimately gave them orders,” Sys said.
Nobles who found their names were found in the documents paled. I’d allowed spies to operate in my household to deceive them, but also to trace their connections and gather evidence to ensnare them.
While the First Consort focused on me, Sys monitored the nobles, tracking their movements, finances, and information sources in a frantic effort to uncover as much as possible.
“This isn’t something a mere concubine could orchestrate. There must be a mastermind,” Sys said, his gaze sweeping the room.
Faces that had been pale turned ashen under his scrutiny.
“According to these documents, it all points to one person,” the emperor said, tossing the papers down.
“Marquis Moiton, do you have anything to say?”
“I-I…”
Marquis Moiton stammered, his face flushed. He hadn’t anticipated this.
Tracing the spies’ connections led to him. Some acted independently to curry his favor, and others followed his direct orders.
They’d all been sniffing around for scraps, but Moiton provided the perfect pretext for us to exploit.
“The number of knights reported is far lower than the actual count,” the emperor noted.
“P-Please, spare me, Your Majesty!”
Moiton threw himself at the emperor’s feet.
No one is free of dirt, but Moiton’s was far filthier than expected. The most damning was his unreported knights.
Nobles were limited in the number of knights they could maintain to prevent rebellion, and they had to report their numbers regularly. Some, including Moiton, falsified reports by passing knights off as soldiers. His arrogance led him to conceal far more than others, enough to be accused of treason.
“The concubine who plotted to assassinate the crown prince and Marquis Moiton, who planted spies in a noble house and falsified knight counts…”
The emperor’s gaze turned to the First Consort.
