By Zephyria 
Cecile immediately ran to Peridot Palace. The first thing he did upon arrival was to search through the study. As he rummaged through the place in a frenzy, sighs began to escape him.
The ‘Sword of Luminous’ had truly disappeared. With the possibility of the evidence being fake also gone, he felt all the strength drain from his body, and the world around him became hazy.
Cecile rubbed his face roughly. He considered the possibility that someone from the Empress’s side had secretly infiltrated and taken the sword. No matter how he thought about it, it didn’t make sense.
They had enough motive to harm Yuria, but there was no reason to frame Cecile’s attendants. What could they possibly gain from that!
“Damn it.”
Cecile held his head in his hands, thinking and thinking again.
Just then, Johannes knocked on the door and entered. He seemed to notice the disheveled state of the study and cautiously approached to speak.
“…I heard all the attendants have been captured.”
“Johannes, I’m sorry, but I don’t have time to talk to you right now.”
“What’s going to happen to them? They’re not going to be executed, are they?”
Cecile sighed and raked his fingers through his hair. With Johannes adding to his already chaotic thoughts, he felt irritation rising. Unintentionally, he glared at Johannes with fierce eyes.
Seeing Cecile’s sharp gaze, Johannes flinched, lowering his head and avoiding eye contact.
Gripping his sleeves tightly enough to create wrinkles, Johannes fidgeted like a guilty person before finally speaking up.
“Actually… it was me.”
“What?”
“I’m sorry, Cecile.”
“…That’s impossible.”
Cecile turned pale upon hearing Johannes’s confession. His already pale face lost all color, to the point where it wouldn’t be strange if he collapsed at any moment.
Cecile grabbed Johannes’s shoulder tightly.
“You tried to kill Yuria?”
“I’m sorry.”
“Are you insane? Why would you do that!”
“Ugh, huff.”
Johannes burst into tears. How could he possibly feel at ease in this situation?
He was a cowardly and weak person who couldn’t even kill a bug. In a moment of greed, he committed an unforgivable act, and it had caused a massive uproar.
“I thought that if I could obtain the holy blood, maybe my illness would be healed a little.”
Johannes trembled as he revealed the truth. He explained how he had come to commit such an act, from sneaking into Peridot Palace late at night to steal a robe and a sword, to infiltrating Yuria’s quarters. He even detailed how he had attacked her.
“Johannes!”
“I swear I didn’t intend to kill her! I just wanted to take a little blood. But the saint screamed so loudly that I panicked!”
“Did you really think that kind of lowly superstition would help? You knew it wouldn’t work!”
Johannes cried out desperately.
“What do you know! I just wanted to live! I wanted to live so badly that I was willing to grasp at straws!”
“Because of what you did, my attendants are all going to die!”
Cecile firmly grabbed Johannes by the collar. He was so angry that he felt tears welling up in his own eyes.
He bit down hard on his teeth, struggling to swallow the harsh words that were trying to escape his throat. Still gripping Johannes’s collar, he pulled him closer.
“Go right now. You need to go and tell the truth yourself.”
“Ah, Cecile. No! Please!”
Johannes clung to Cecile’s arm desperately. He even knelt down, begging earnestly.
“If it’s revealed that I did it, I’m really finished. I’ll probably be investigated for a long time in the Berka Empire, and even if I return to the Temion Kingdom, I’ll be scorned by many. I can’t spend the little life I have left like that!”
“So what do you want me to do? Should my attendants take the blame for your crime? Should they suffer in your place?”
“Cecile, please!”
Johannes clutched Cecile’s ankle, pleading.
“Just this once… please let it go. For a friend who is about to die. Okay?”
It was a pitiful request, but to Cecile, it felt burdensome and overwhelming. He covered his eyes with his palm, trying to turn away from his friend’s pitiful state.
“Johannes. Everyone dies eventually. You, me.”
“…….”
“You will pay for the sins you’ve committed. There’s no reason for my innocent attendants to suffer in your place.”
As Johannes sniffled and cried, a sudden thought crossed his mind. He lay flat on the ground, lifting his head to look up at Cecile.
“Then can you just say it was you…?”
“Ha, are you serious?”
“You’re of royal blood. I’ve heard that in the Berka Empire, as long as you don’t commit a serious crime, royals get a free pass. You’d just get a light punishment.”
Cecile swallowed a hollow laugh. Johannes’s words weren’t entirely wrong. Royals did enjoy certain privileges.
“I can’t, no, I won’t.”
But without thinking deeply, Cecile turned away coldly. The disheveled study was left with only Johannes, who was soaked in tears.
Not long after, the Emperor’s approval came down, and a full investigation began. The attendants who had been locked in the underground prison were all dragged out to stand before Crown Prince Alexis.
They claimed their innocence, but the evidence was too clear. In a situation where everyone denied it, a forceful investigation had to take place to identify the culprit.
Eventually, brutal torture followed. Even though Cecile was present, he couldn’t bear to witness the horrific scene. Having experienced it himself, he knew just how unbearable that pain was.
Cecile turned his head away, listening to the cries and screams of the attendants. His tightly shut eyelids trembled.
Johannes still showed no signs of confessing. As a representative of the delegation, it was difficult for him to face anyone while fulfilling his duties. Whether he was genuinely busy or intentionally avoiding Cecile was something only Johannes knew.
Yes, this was all his fault. He shouldn’t have revealed the future to Johannes.
The price of his arrogance was being paid by innocent attendants, while he merely watched their suffering. It was clearly wrong. He had to set things right, even now.
“Please… stop the investigation.”
Cecile struggled to speak. His voice was faint, but Alexis immediately recognized his plea, and when he raised his hand, all actions ceased.
“It was me.”
“What?”
“I am the one who attacked Yuria. I did it.”
Alexis stood up and strode toward Cecile. Just standing in front of him sent a chilling pressure through his entire body. Alexis’s anger was palpable.
“You couldn’t have done that.”
“No, I did.”
“…….”
“On the night before last, around 11 PM, I went to Yuria’s quarters and told the knight guarding the door that I had come to retrieve something sent from Peridot Palace, and I encountered Yuria, who was ready. She approached without suspicion, but when she saw the sword I drew, she screamed loudly. I intended to harm Yuria…”
“Stop!”
Alexis glared at Cecile with fierce eyes. If his gaze had a physical form, Cecile might have been torn to shreds.
He took a deep breath, puffing out his chest, but the tremors wouldn’t subside.
“If it were really you, the knight wouldn’t have failed to recognize you.”
“It was a dark night, and I was wearing a robe. I could easily alter my voice.”
“That’s nonsense. Do you think I would fall for such a crude lie?”
“I can provide more details if you’d like.”
Cecile continued to confess, merely changing the subject based on what Johannes had told him.
“Cecile Adrian. Shut your mouth.”
“Please release all the attendants. Since I’m the culprit, you need to detain me.”
“Didn’t I tell you to shut up!”
His voice, filled with rage, echoed once more in the interrogation room. Alexis was unusually agitated.
Since he had already confessed in front of everyone, Cecile’s words became an official statement.
Moreover, the details he confessed matched the incident perfectly. It contained specifics that only Yuria and the perpetrator would know.
But Alexis could not accept it until the end. He could not tolerate the thought that Cecile, who had sworn loyalty to him, had betrayed him.
“I’ll ask you one last time. Did you really intend to kill Yuria Beatrice?”
“Yes.”
Cecile answered as if he had been waiting for the question. His dry response contained no guilt whatsoever. He also never met Alexis’s gaze.
“…….”
A moment of silence passed.
As Alexis grew angrier, the temperature in the room dropped. The tension in the air was so thick that no one could breathe comfortably.
“I will investigate Cecile Adrian. Lock him in the underground prison and release all the attendants.”
“Yes, Your Highness!”
After giving the brief order, he kicked open the door to the interrogation room and left. Before the ominous energy dissipated, the knights hesitated and approached Cecile.
“Please… put your hands together in front of you.”
Cecile extended his hands as requested. Thick ropes were tightly wound around his wrists, and his arms were bound by the knights. He was treated like a criminal.
“Cecile!”
“Cecile! No! We’ll take the punishment instead!”
The attendants cried out as they watched Cecile being dragged away. Even if Cecile was the one who had committed the act, they were willing to endure the suffering in his place.
But the knights were already leading Cecile over the threshold of the interrogation room. He had to be dragged away without even being able to speak to the attendants. Only the dark, gloomy path to the underground prison awaited Cecile.