Chapter 96

* * *

Amidst the shattered glass and the ravaged banquet dishes, Cartia was breathing heavily with anger in the chaotic dining hall of the Empress's palace.

The mask she had perfectly hidden for 15 years was starting to slip.

Mateo clenched his fists.

It was all because of that damn woman.

Pretending to be scared, pretending to be pitiful, and then pulling such a dirty trick behind his back!

Grinding his teeth, Mateo said, "This is clearly a scheme to get me into trouble. She should be punished for mocking the royal family!"

Despite Mateo's strong assertion, Cartia's expression became peculiar.

She felt a strong sense of déjà vu.

"It's not true. I didn't steal this! Someone must have secretly put it in my room!"

Yes, that incident.

Before her marriage, when she was staying at the Latienel Manor, a small disturbance had occurred.

Someone had stolen a sacred stone.

Everyone was shocked and began searching for the culprit when a maid spoke up.

"Hey? I saw 'that person' coming out of the room. Could it be that they took it?"

At the manor, 'that person' clearly referred to her half-sister, Rayleigh.

The Duke of Latienel, her father, immediately interrogated Rayleigh, but all she had were a hard piece of bread and some spoiled cheese.

So, where did the sacred stone go?

Her father was furious, and the servants were trembling.

"…Hmm. Are you talking about the white stone?"

At that moment, Rayleigh stammered, "I saw Sara take it into the servants' quarters…"

Sara was the maid who had testified that she saw Rayleigh stealing.

Under normal circumstances, no one would have believed her, but her father, who was beside himself with rage, immediately searched Sara's room.

And there, the sacred stone was found in plain sight.

Servants often coveted their masters' possessions.

Her father immediately dealt with the maid, and Rayleigh was exonerated.

But Cartia knew.

Sara didn't steal the sacred stone.

It was Cartia herself who had instructed Sara to place the sacred stone in Rayleigh's room.

But that cunning little woman had quickly moved it again.

However, she couldn't tell her father about this plan, and she lost a valuable ally.

'But why is this incident coming to mind now?'

Why?

Cartia's gaze fell on the red necklace.

"Second Prince."

She gestured to the necklace without taking her eyes off it.

Mateo, who had been raging, felt puzzled by his mother's sudden calmness but obediently handed over the necklace.

The necklace, made of a clear and transparent mineral, didn't look like a gemstone.

But it was the first time she had seen such a mineral.

'Could it be…'

Cartia's face hardened.

She raised her gaze. Philip, who was cowering in a corner, trembling and unable to leave, met her eyes and shuddered.

"Summon the palace mage."

"Y-Yes…? Ah, yes!"

Philip quickly left to fetch the mage.

"Your Majesty. What is the matter?"

"Try infusing this with mana."

"Y-Yes…?"

The palace mage, who had been summoned suddenly, was taken aback by the chaotic dining hall but obediently followed the order.

He infused a tiny stone with mana.

'At this size, it should shatter from the mana…'

But the mana was perfectly absorbed.

Such a small stone had completely accepted the palace mage's mana.

The mage's eyes widened in disbelief.

Cartia watched the scene silently, then raised her gaze.

Her eyes met Philip's, who had been watching dumbfounded.

Whoosh!

Suddenly, a massive flame engulfed Philip's body.

"…!"

He didn't even have time to struggle in pain. Ashes fluttered down where Philip had been standing.

"Mother!"

"Your Majesty, how could you…!"

Mateo and the court mage looked at Cartia in shock.

But her gaze was fixed on the red stone.

'The light didn't fade.'

This isn't just a mana stone.

She bit her lip, which she usually curved into a gentle smile, and said quietly, "Unfortunately, the First Prince's sparring session will have to be postponed."

Her voice, devoid of inflection, carried a hidden anger.

"I need to inform the Emperor of this."

There's one more thing I need to ask the temple.

* * *

As the sun painted the sky red.

A carriage bearing the emblem of the Eastern Temple arrived at the palace.

The usually kind and smiling priests all wore uncomfortable expressions, as if they had a good idea why they were summoned.

Upon entering the palace, they were greeted by Emperor Ventus and Empress Cartia.

"Greetings to the blessings of the Sun and the World Tree."

The priests bowed respectfully.

"You've done quite a remarkable thing."

Instead of the usual formalities, the Empress's icy rebuke rang out.

"How dare you approve a noble's marriage without the royal family's permission?"

"…"

"To that mad killer, no less!"

Cartia shouted in anger.

"Is the Empress's statement true?"

Ventus frowned, repeating the question.

It hadn't been long since the lies of Cartia and Mateo were exposed. He couldn't easily believe her words.

'But the stone does possess some power.'

Moreover, the person who brought this stone was the daughter-in-law of the Duke of Schuetz.

If the temple had used this 'stone' as an excuse to approve the marriage of the Duke of Schuetz, and if this led to an alliance between Schuetz and the temple…

'I can no longer trust the temple.'

His frown deepened.

"Priest, is it true?"

The priests remained silent, even when asked again.

Their silence was an admission.

Approving a marriage without the royal family's permission was clearly the temple's fault.

But they, too, felt wronged.

It was revealed that Livia Porger, a fake priest, had infiltrated the Duke of Schuetz's household.

The temple's image of honesty and integrity was tarnished. In terms of damage, they were not far behind.

Not to mention the humiliation they had suffered at the hands of the Duke of Schuetz.

'But why are you placing all the blame on the temple?'

The cause was Porger, and their master was the royal family.

If a dog misbehaves, the owner should take responsibility.

Of course, he couldn't say this outright, so the priest said in a flat voice, "Everything was for the empire's well-being. Your Majesty knows what kind of person the Duke of Schuetz is. We were merely coerced."

"An excuse, if I ever heard one."

Cartia sneered.

"Did you think we wouldn't see through your lies?"

With a mocking smile, she threw something.

"Explain yourself."

Thud. A small necklace with a red stone fell in front of the priests.

Was she trying to start a pointless argument?

The exhausted priest looked at the necklace with bored eyes, then gasped.

"This…!"

The other priests began to murmur.

"Your Majesty, where did you get this?"

"Hmph."

Ventus laughed bitterly at the sight.

"You recognized it at a glance. So, you already knew."

"…"

"That small stone has the same power as a sacred stone. The Empress has proven this, and you've been hiding it. Can you still claim you were concerned for the empire's well-being?"

The priests were truly taken aback.

The temple had requested the collection of sacred stones in exchange for approving the Duke of Schuetz's marriage.

Of course, they didn't expect the Duke of Schuetz to comply easily, given their history of interfering under the pretense of purification… But to immediately report it to the Emperor!

'You damn killer!'

The priests gritted their teeth.

Just as the Emperor suspected collusion between the temple and Schuetz, they also believed Schuetz had allied with the royal family.

As the misunderstanding between the two factions deepened, Ventus said, "I will inform the Grand Temple of this matter."

"Your… Majesty…"

If the Grand Temple learned of this, the priests would have to resign.

"Dismissed."

But the Emperor's mind was already made up.

The priests had no choice but to turn and leave in despair.

"Didn't I tell you, Your Majesty? It was all a misunderstanding."

Cartia looked down and spoke in a sad voice.

"Can you believe me now?"

Ventus remained silent.

While her actions had given him a reason to keep the temple in check, he still found it hard to trust her completely.

'Is this another scheme by the temple?'

Her family, the Duke of Latienel, had been donating a portion of their diamond profits to the temple.

The two pillars of the empire were the temple and the royal family, so it was natural for the Empress to maintain good relations with the temple.

But a new diamond mine had been discovered, threatening Latienel's long-standing monopoly.

With reduced funding, maintaining the current relationship with the temple would be difficult.

'The new diamond mine was discovered by the Viscount of Welsh in the west, wasn't it?'

The Viscount of Welsh's territory, known for its harsh sunlight and high temperatures, had always struggled with low crop yields, and this year was particularly bad.

The cries of the people were growing louder, and the Viscount of Welsh had miraculously discovered a new diamond mine.

Not only would it help the territory, but it could also shift the flow of capital to the west.

'If I can bring the Viscount of Welsh into the fold, the temple and the Empress…'

Ventus's eyes deepened