Chapter 115 – First Princess Stephania

“Who do you suppose would benefit the most from framing me…?”

Rosemary crossed her arms and began pacing with clicking footsteps. A smile played on her expression, giving off an air of someone enjoying themselves.

“Would asking if you have any suspicions be tactless?”

“That’s right. I have many enemies and have earned plenty of resentment.”

But—well. Regardless of who did it, what would happen if they spread bad rumors about Rosemary? It would likely serve as interference if she were to seek the throne.

Interference, huh. Targeting a princess’s life for something at that level seems too high-risk. In that case, it wouldn’t be strange if there were preparations to make it a more powerful card.

“If they’re going to use such a strategy, they’d probably set things up so they could bring up Marlene’s incident again later.”

“Ah… So they’d fabricate evidence that I or someone from my faction was involved, then wait for the most damaging moment to play that card.”

And they’d likely prefer it to be ambiguous rather than clear-cut. Just having suspicion alone can make supporters turn away. Or they might assassinate her while the bad reputation remains.

…This is connected to the royal succession.

The royal family, their close aides. Or perhaps maternal relatives or important national figures. This is a picture painted by someone close to the center of power.

“But in that case, wouldn’t that be good for you and Marlene?”

“…Because it essentially confirms Marlene’s safety?”

“That’s right. Once she’s married off, even if her voice returns, she’ll be removed from the succession dispute.”

Well… that’s how it works in theory, I suppose. Similarly, Prince Albert who’s somewhat dropped out of the succession race, and Helfried who isn’t seriously considered—their assassination risk should be low.

“I’d like to say I’m excluded from the succession too… but well, in my case there are other matters.”

Saying this, Rosemary laughed.

…Assassination risk. I should probably take some measures on my side.

“Are you going to be alright?”

“There aren’t many ways to attack the Northern Tower. The gargoyles here serve as my escorts as long as I don’t try to escape.”

Not just inside the floating stone shaft, but in the corridors and this room too—gargoyles are stationed everywhere.

“So as you said earlier, that would be the only way… but do they really think they can kill me with poison?”

Rosemary grinned fearlessly.

“Well, I’m satisfied. What about the type of poison given to Marlene?”

“There are several candidates… but judging from the symptoms if the dosage is wrong—”

Rosemary swiftly wrote on paper with a quill and handed it to me.

“The leading candidate would be Mermaid’s Lament, wouldn’t it?”

Again—a magic potion? If that’s the case, it wouldn’t be strange if the Amulet of Evil Repulsion could dispel the curse, but…

“This is a secret potion of the sea witches. It works in conjunction with a spell formula and is said to steal the voice of whoever drinks it. There’s no way to dispel the curse unless the voice is recovered.”

I see. So we need to release Marlene’s voice from whatever it’s sealed in.

Whether Marlene would want to speak even if she got her voice back is another matter… but that voice belongs to Marlene. There’s no reason to keep it from her.

“Quite some time has passed though. Do you have any leads to pursue?”

“To some extent.”

The perpetrator was probably silenced in some way after the incident, and the Magic Inquisitors similarly so. If someone was moved during that period, there should be traces of that movement.

The source of the poison and the method of coercion. Well, I’ll investigate various things. The recipe for this Mermaid’s Lament… doesn’t seem as special as Alraune’s Kiss. It can be made entirely with materials from the labyrinth.

“I see. Well then, if you find the culprit, I’d like you to settle the score for me being framed too.”

Rosemary covered her mouth with her feather fan and narrowed her eyes.

“I have something to discuss. Do you have a moment?”

After finishing my conversation with Rosemary and descending from the Northern Tower, Prince Helfried called out to me. It seemed he had been waiting for me to come out.

He didn’t seem to be making small talk either… it would probably be best to move to the King’s Tower salon to hear what he had to say.

“What would you like to discuss?”

When I broached the subject after we sat facing each other in the salon, Prince Helfried spoke with a somewhat awkward expression.

“The other day… I’m sorry for saying things that questioned you without even knowing you properly. Normally, I should have apologized before asking you to arrange a meeting with my sister.”

“No, it’s fine. You didn’t really do anything to me.”

“…No.”

Helfried shook his head.

“I did do something. That is… because I wasn’t satisfied, I had you investigated. In the process—I ended up hearing about your mother, so to speak.”

He told me this with apparent difficulty.

So he investigated my mother too. The Silvatoria matter wouldn’t come up since that’s just the Guild Master’s speculation… but the details of her battle with the King of Deathly Slumber would be easy to find if you looked.

Prince Helfried bowed his head deeply and said:

“So—considering that, I think I behaved quite rudely. Please forgive me for suspecting you.”

When Prince Helfried raised his head, he looked like he was tearing up.

Um. Well… I’m not sure about that reaction.

But I see. The reason his attitude was so different from before was because hearing about my mother made him feel something about my circumstances.

That part makes sense, but I can also understand Rosemary’s assessment of him. Emotional and straightforward in his reactions. Indeed, people would probably say he’s not suited to be king. From Rosemary’s perspective, even more so. Well… it’s not really my concern though.

“Understood. I accept your apology.”

“That’s… good.”

Prince Helfried breathed a sigh of relief. It’s appreciated that he would say that after learning about my mother. But when he comes at me so directly like that, it makes me feel somewhat uncomfortable.

“Ah, Helfried. So this is where you were.”

As I was sipping my tea, a young woman peeked into the salon. A white dress. Her attire and demeanor suggested she was of quite high status.

“Your Highness Stephania.”

“Oh, that’s fine. Please remain at ease.”

She gestured for us to stay seated with a familiar air and joined us.

The First Princess Stephania. So now I’ve met all the princes and princesses.

“You are… Theodore-kun, right? …Yes. You resemble Lady Lisa quite a bit in your hair and eye color.”

“Lady Auria from the Adventurer Guild told me the same thing.”

“Fufu.”

At this, Princess Stephania broke into a smile. It seems Princess Stephania was also acquainted with my mother.

“From the looks of it, have you two made up, Helfried?”

“…Yes.”

Helfried nodded with a deferential air.

“I see. That’s good then. It seems I didn’t need to come looking for you after all.”

She took a sip from the teacup a servant had brought.

So Prince Helfried consulted Princess Stephania, I see. From her tone, she was probably the one who advised him about my mother…

“I met Lady Lisa quite some time ago. It was on a ship.”

“On a ship?”

“Yes. That was on our return from a goodwill visit to Silvatoria.”

Oh. Doesn’t this provide some corroboration for Auria’s speculation? Well, just because she came from Silvatoria doesn’t necessarily mean we should connect it to political upheaval talk.

“I heard she was hired as a ship guard, but she was more like a ship doctor. She was using magic to treat an illness that had spread among the crew. I thought she was beautiful and wonderful even back then.”

…A ship doctor. Well, that sounds like my mother as usual.

“She continued to be active as an adventurer afterward. I’ve been collecting various stories about Lady Lisa. I told Helfried about those things too. I’m sorry if I upset you by speaking about it without permission.”

“No.”

I gave a wry smile at Princess Stephania’s words. It’s not that I have any reason to be upset.