Asifalo Castle, southeast of the Valdina Castle.
It was a city located about two weeks' horse ride from the capital.
Anyone heading to the royal palace had to pass through this castle.
"Stand in line."
"Hey, over there! Don't be a jerk!"
There was a long line in front of the gate.
This time, in particular, there were a lot of people who loaded their carts with luggage and set out to sell their wares.
"Where is my pass?"
At the gatekeeper's words, a peddler wearing a robe turned inside out held out a piece of paper from his bosom.
The gatekeeper who received the pass immediately tilted his head.
"Hey? This branding is fake?"
The other gatekeepers also gathered at the commotion.
"Look at this. Do we look funny? The lord's seal that was stamped two months ago is so clear-kekeke!"
Before he could finish speaking, a bright day came.
At the same time, the peddlers took off their clothes and revealed their identities.
"Sweep it all away!"
They ran towards the guards who were running towards them with their swords drawn.
"There's a rebellion! There's a rebellion! Report it to your superiors!"
The gatekeeper rang the drum and shouted.
***
Valdina Palace.
A sharp and solemn atmosphere permeated the silent hall.
"What, what does all this mean? It's just speculation!"
The place where the Queen Dowager, Medea, high-ranking officials, and Katzen's delegation were all gathered.
In the center of the crowd surrounded by people was Jason.
He looked bewildered and shocked, having lost all of the composure he had boasted about.
"I let loose like this. How on earth did you conduct the investigation to catch a living person!"
Not long ago, the knights who had returned from their investigation of the royal hunting grounds identified the culprit as, incredibly, Jason Castullo, the Grand Duke of Katzen. Sissair stared coldly at Jason's back.
Then, the royal knight who had received the wink brought in a man.
A middle-aged man wearing imperial attire knelt down and bowed his head.
"Please, spare my life. My only sin is to do as His Highness the Grand Duke instructed."
"What are you talking about! I don't even know you!"
A man with a patch of white hair raised his head and stared at Jason with the same expression of disbelief on his face.
"What are you talking about? You clearly gave me the order. I went through so much trouble to smuggle those evil men from the Axel Peninsula to Valdina on His Highness' orders, and now you come here and pretend not to know me?"
"What nonsense, that's not me-!"
Jason looked at the fourth Princess with a dumbfounded face.
"Jason, what were you thinking when you committed such a cruel act?"
Angelique asked him back with a natural, innocent expression as if she was interrogating him.
"Did you want the Princess of Valdina to die and for the two countries to become enemies? Or did you want to make things difficult for me, the leader of the delegation?"
Jason's face turned pale. He glared at the witness as if he were going to kill him and threatened him ominously.
"You! You know that I'm not the real culprit, so you don't even fear God's punishment."
Then the sage asked,
"Your Highness, it seems you know the real culprit. If so, please tell us right here and now. The knights are preparing right now."
"...that..."
At that moment, the 4th Princess stepped forward and covered his mouth.
"The evidence is so clear, what's the point of denying it? The more you deny it, the more you'll tarnish Katzen's reputation."
She had long since regarded Jason as her enemy.
"Look, what you did to the Princess of Valdina."
The dozens of sheets of paper she handed over were full of fabricated evidence.
'Jason, you dare to toy with me. No matter what I do, your wish will never come true.'
Only then did Jason realize what had happened.
All the evidence she presented was something he had hidden to exploit the Fourth Princess' weaknesses.
Jason had no idea that Medea had intervened and turned Angelique's arrow in his direction.
So, he thought this accusation was just Angelique's revenge for finding out his true intentions.
'Damn it, I thought the evidence disappeared in the middle! Where did they find out? How did Angelique find out?'
If he had evidence, it would be different, but now that there is no evidence, it is too dangerous to rashly reveal that the 4th Princess is the culprit.
The 4th Princess, who was choleric and had a vicious personality, was by no means an easy opponent.
Originally, there was no chance of winning if he attacked head-on, so didn't he watch the situation from behind and wait for an opportunity to knock down the Princess?
Jason, who had come upon her trap without any preparation, was no match for the Fourth Princess.
"Count Kensington, don't you know? I didn't do it!"
Jason looked around anxiously, then saw the Count of Kensington standing next to him and asked for help.
Kensington just stared at him silently, expressionless.
'Apart from the Fourth Princess' pitiful behavior, it would be better for the Grand Duke to collapse here. His ambitions will only cause confusion in Katzen.'
Even though an unofficial imperial order to return to the home country has already been issued, the fact that the Grand Duke has not left yet means that he has something to gain from Valdina.
On the one hand, he couldn't hide his admiration and shock. Kensington's eyes glanced at Medea.
'Was it all three of those I thought the Princess of Valdina was after?'
Meanwhile, Jason was going crazy when he saw the Count of Kensington, whom he had trusted, turn around.
It was difficult to escape this huge trap that had him trapped, and no one from the Katzen delegation stepped forward for him.
"Grand Duke Castullo, you are truly thick-skinned! How can you still have the face to see Her Highness?"
Jason unconsciously stared at Medea at the shout of Count Montega, who could not control his anger.
'Surely the Princess believes that too? That I tried to harm her? Is that why she has been pushing me away so cruelly?'
"Oh, no, Princess. It's a lie."
Jason was filled with desperation to assert his innocence.
He really wanted to protect her.
He was prepared to risk his life to rescue the Princess from the 4th Princess, and he searched for her desperately after that.
Jason hoped that even if he had started off wrong, she would recognize his efforts.
"No, Princess. Do you not believe me? Do you believe that I intended to harm you...?"
Jason looked at Medea with longing eyes.
'Just trust what I say, Princess. Then, there is room for improvement.'
But Medea just looked down at him as if trampling on his hopes. No emotion could be read from her eyes. Jason was confused.
"Grand Duke Castullo, you are not good at lying."
The still calm voice was either disappointed or angry. He couldn't be sure.
All he realized was that an even thicker wall had been built over that curtain-like curtain.
'Am I just going to be pushed away like this without ever touching that woman?"
Medea, the Princess's existence seemed to be slipping through his fingers like sand.
Meanwhile, the Queen Mother did not hide her displeased look.
'It wasn't the 4th Princess but the Grand Duke who did this. I've seriously misjudged him.'
The Grand Duke stood up for Medea both in the last duel and on the hunting grounds.
Except for the fact that he was a Katzen, she thought his nature was just and upright. For a moment, she even thought he would be a good match for Medea.
'You didn't know that a bigger monster was right in front of you.'
As the Queen Mother's heart sank, he felt equally angry.
How can all the Katzen people be so cunning?
The gazes of the other Valdinians were no different from those of the Queen Mother.
"They say you can't know what's inside a person's stomach until you cut it open. You pretend to be righteous, pretend to be good-hearted, and hypocritical in every word you say, but you're after our Princess!"
"Castullo, that sinister cruelty is clearly your father's! He is an enemy of Valdina!"
Jason has exposed his true face.
Jason's heart became anxious as he noticed the sudden change in the atmosphere.
"I, I can explain everything. This is a scheme by those who want to frame me. The wise Queen Valdina-"
"Grand Duke Castullo."
At that moment, a heavy sound as if someone was trying to suppress their anger, rang out.
"This old woman has eyes and ears, so there is no need to explain."
The Queen Mother spat out coldly and turned her back.
"I won't speak at length. I hope that from today onwards I will never see the Grand Duke again."
The Queen Mother had no intention of listening to any more excuses as greasy as Jason's shiny face.
If she could, she would whip him right now, but my opponent is the Grand Duke of Katzen.
Even though she was the Queen Mother, she could not bring about a bigger disaster by venting her anger.
"Leave Valdina. This palace is too narrow to be even large enough to be left to the wolf that is after my back."
"Your Majesty the Queen Mother!"
Jason, who was desperately making excuses, stopped as if struck by lightning.
How dare you kick me out like a dog rolling in the street?!
"I will lodge a formal complaint with the Empire, Grand Duke Castullo. Regardless of Her Majesty the Queen's orders, you will be held accountable for this incident."
Sissair spoke to Jason in a dry voice.
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