The doors burst open with a thunderous bang, and armed guards stormed inside.

“Seal off the entire sector! Escort Her Majesty the Empress and His Highness the Prince!”

Lavennia blinked in shock.

“Inspect all food, all alcohol, and everyone in this hall!”

“His Majesty...!”

“Down on the floor!”

The soldiers began throwing open every door in the banquet hall one after another.

Some formed a ring around the table, preventing anyone from approaching.

“Move! Everyone outside!”

Another voice rang out from beyond the banquet hall.

From the distant kitchen came the sounds of soldiers dragging servants out.

“Your Highness. Are you alright?!”

At that moment, someone called out to Lavennia.

When she raised her head, she saw a young knight who usually served as her escort guard. Worry filled his eyes.

“S Sir Rowan.”

After Lavennia spoke, the knight respectfully extended a hand toward her.

“This place is dangerous. Until the investigation is complete, it would be safer for you to remain in the inner chambers. I will escort you personally.”

But Lavennia could not bring herself to take his hand immediately.

Instead, she swallowed hard and shifted her gaze slightly.

“Your Highness the Prince. Are you alright?”

“...I’m fine.”

Fides stood there surrounded by knights.

“May I ask what happened? Was it an assassin? Or...”

Fides pressed his lips tightly together.

For a brief moment, his gaze slid toward Lavennia.

With a face like stone, he answered,

“I don’t know.”

Then, as though deathly exhausted, he pressed a hand to his forehead.

“During dinner, His Majesty suddenly collapsed. Mother screamed in shock.”

“......”

“A servant heard the scream and called for you. That’s all.”

A restrained breath escaped Lavennia’s mouth.

She squeezed her eyes shut tightly before opening them again.

Her fingertips trembled uncontrollably.

“Your Highness, are you truly alright...?”

The knight, noticing her condition, asked again with concern.

Lavennia answered with difficulty.

“Yes, yes, I’m fine.”

When she finally took the knight’s hand, he cast a meaningful glance across her face before silently nodding.

“This way.”

Lavennia stepped out of the banquet hall, which had descended into chaos.

Crushed berries beneath countless feet leaked thick crimson juice.

The banquet hall was located not far from the imperial palace.

The moment the Emperor, carried on a stretcher, was laid onto the bed, the physician immediately declared:

“This is not illness. Someone has definitely interfered!”

After examining the Emperor’s face once more, he continued,

“His pulse is extremely weak. If this continues, there is a high possibility His Majesty will not regain consciousness for a very long time...”

“Jeremy.”

The captain of the guard, who had been listening, called out to someone.

A mage belonging to the imperial court, who had been waiting outside the door, entered the room.

“Check for traces of curses or spells.”

The mage stepped forward.

For several seconds he examined the Emperor before shaking his head.

“There are no traces of curses or sorcery.”

“Then it’s poison.”

Fides spoke.

“Has all the food from the banquet hall been inspected?”

Fides’s gaze toward the captain of the guard was colder than ever.

The captain bowed his head.

“Yes. However, no obvious poison has been discovered.”

“And the kitchen servants?”

“We interrogated them thoroughly, but they claim they know nothing.”

Fides muttered,

“Then that clearly wasn’t enough.”

“Pardon?”

“Don’t make me repeat myself. Who else in the current situation could have harmed His Majesty besides them?!”

The captain’s eyes widened.

Fides raised his gaze.

“Where are the kitchen servants being interrogated right now?”

“In... in the temporary holding area on the first floor beside the banquet hall...”

“Transfer them to the torture chambers beneath the underground prison.”

Several guards flinched and stared at Fides.

“Didn’t you hear me? I ordered you to transfer them to the torture chambers beneath the underground prison!”

The captain bowed his head.

“Your Highness. But...”

However, he could not finish speaking.

“...It will be done.”

After the captain left the room, one of the guards cautiously approached him.

“Captain. Are you really going to send them to the torture chambers?”

The captain’s face darkened.

“It violates procedure. There isn’t even a single piece of solid evidence, and we’re already preparing to begin torture...!”

“His Majesty the Emperor collapsed unconscious!”

The captain spun around sharply with a frown.

“If His Majesty does not regain consciousness within three days, the regent will receive the imperial seal.”

“......”

“Who do you think the senior nobles will hand regency authority to in a situation like this?”

The guard fell silent.

With a heavy expression, the captain let out a sigh.

“And of all times, Sir Alexander is absent right now...”

Alexander was the Empire’s greatest healer.

If he had been here, he might at least have been able to improve the Emperor’s condition, even if he could not fully heal him. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

“...The Empire will be ruled by a regent. At least until the next Emperor is decided.”

The captain looked at his subordinate once more.

“So watch your tongue. Defying Prince Fides’s orders is no different from cutting your own throat.”

The captain turned away.

But at that moment—

“Before we became the imperial guard.”

The soldier standing behind him spoke again.

“Weren’t we knights who swore an oath first?”

The captain froze.

“When I became a knight, I swore before my sword that I would never remain silent before innocent blood. Has that oath truly become so worthless?”

A long, heavy sigh escaped the captain’s chest.

The soldier continued:

“I’m not afraid of orders! Because I think what we should fear isn’t orders, but losing our own dignity by obeying them.”

After a short silence—

Clang!

Something hit the floor.

The captain turned around.

The spot where the soldier had stood moments earlier was already empty.

Only the imperial guard helmet and sword he had cast aside remained on the ground.

“Which division was he from? I don’t recognize his face.”

After the question, another guard approached.

“We’ll need to return to headquarters and check. There were recent personnel reassignments...”

“You didn’t properly verify everything before deployment?”

“My apologies. The situation was too urgent, and coordination broke down.”

The captain pressed a hand against his forehead.

In the end, even he himself was overwhelmed by the situation.

“...Fine. Let’s return. And drag that brat to me afterward no matter what.”

“You intend to punish him?”

The captain remained silent.

Without answering, he headed back toward headquarters once more.

Some time later.

After everyone had left and silence settled over the corridor—

“...Swore before his sword?”

A faint voice drifted out from somewhere, and the empty air rippled.

“What? Never remain silent before innocent blood? Ha, ha-ha! Ah, ha-ha-ha-ha!”

In the next moment, a corner of space flipped over like a sheet of paper, and someone stepped out from within.

“Ripper, when exactly did you ever swear before a sword? A knight’s dignity, my ass! I almost burst from holding in my laughter while listening!”

Wrapped in a black veil, Elanes, leader of , stepped out from the rift.

Beside her, Ripper’s face twisted.

“Your role wasn’t easy either, Elanes. Maybe because you already have the face of an old hag, you’re surprisingly good at playing elderly people.”

“What?! Do you even know why my husband married me? Because I look young! Young!”

“Yeah, yeah, sure...”

At that moment, a red light flashed from beneath Elanes’s robe—the communication artifact.

With a snap of her fingers, Elanes raised another barrier around them.

The moment she pulled out the communication artifact, a panic-stricken voice burst from it.

[Neyran, Neyran?! Can you hear me? Huh?!]

It was the voice of Empress Lavennia.

Elanes smirked and instantly altered her voice.

“Oho, Your Majesty. What could this old woman possibly do for Your Majesty?”

The Empress sobbed as she struggled to breathe through her fear.

[Neyran... I need the antidote. The antidote.]

“Antidote? What antidote could you possibly mean?”

[The poison you gave me last time! The one that had to be applied to the ornament... Ugh, I need the antidote. I’ll come there. I’ll come immediately! Where are you?! Huh?!]