Chapter 105

Tara lays down the law while Kyle makes an unexpected appearance at the Emperor's Council.

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Episode 105. About 1 Year (32)

The Countess scowled and glared at me when I singled her out.

“Countess, you took it upon yourself to use the family seal without consulting with our stakeholders. Deals with the Palace are vital to our merchant group, but we cannot overlook the fact that such a large matter was decided so arbitrarily and placed House Elias at risk. Accordingly, your financial management rights within the Elias household will be revoked, and those rights will be entrusted to Chloe Elias until further notice.”

"Ack... That’s lunacy!"

"Oh my, the Countess did that!"

The Countess put her hand to her forehead and collapsed dramatically. 

Wow. It felt like I was watching an early morning soap opera.

Fortunately, Chloe was standing next to her and managed to catch her, preventing an accident. The Countess's maids rushed over to help her up.

There was no way to tell if she had actually fainted, but her eyes were tightly closed.

"...She must be in shock. Take her to her bedroom."

After giving instructions to Victoria’s maids, Chloe turned to me.

"Tara, it's not right for me to take charge of the manor's finances. In all fairness, those rights belong to Lady Isabelle, we shouldn't deprive her of them."

I looked directly at Chloe, trying to read her eyes. Despite everything, the Countess was still her mother. Yet, she didn't avoid my gaze.

"...You're right, Sister. I have been unintentionally discriminatory and will rectify my decision accordingly. My mother shall take care of House Elias's internal affairs for the time being."

My mother, who had been standing silently in the crowd behind me, nodded slowly in acceptance. 

I met her worried gaze, nodding briefly in response, then glanced away.

The Head of House Philippe and his entourage looked displeased, but they were unable to come forward and deny it. They could not convincingly argue that the Countess wasn't at fault.

“I will take responsibility for this. Listen carefully, because I intend to give further instructions. First, Director, please call the manager of Elias Pharmaceuticals. Also, please summon the lawyers, Dr. Oliver, and the researcher Josh Lucas, I need them to prepare to file a patent application. Sir Dylan, please find an adequate sailing ship for Master Jason, ideally a commercial vessel with a large capacity and sails. We must organize a team to accompany him to Gaion. Lastly, we need a scribe to write a letter to the Imperial Palace, please find someone with clear and polished handwriting.”

The business staff, Dixon, and Sir Dylan all wrote down my instructions.

House Philippe had been scowling and tsking in disapproval while I spoke. While members of the Elias Merchant group congregated amongst their fellow branch members.

"What is the reason behind these orders, Lady Tara?" One of the branch leaders asked.

"Because House Elias will need to get on its knees for this!" I said meaningfully, making sure to glance at both groups. 

"What?"

Their curious gazes clung tenaciously to my every expression.

"Let's discuss this in more depth in the conference room."

I walked slowly and deliberately toward the conference room doors, opened them, then stepped aside holding the door handle.

Chloe smiled at me and entered the conference room first. Perhaps she had correctly read my intentions.

But, it wasn't just Chloe, everyone in the room had caught on.

One by one, they all entered the room, grabbed a chair, and sat down. They couldn't help but join me because they were all curious about the reasons behind my orders.

The last person to enter the room was Logan, his expression stiff and rigid. I closed the door behind him. 

The only people who hadn't entered the conference room were the staff and permanent residents of the mansion.

The corners of my mouth tilted upwards in a smile as I slowly made my way across the meeting room.

There was only one available seat in the crowded conference room. 

At the very head of the table, the Family Head's seat lay empty for me.

***

Two days later, in the afternoon.

In the throne room, all the nobles on the Imperial Council were gathered for a regular weekly report on state affairs.

As per usual, the First Prince was nowhere to be seen, and the Third Prince, who held the title of Deputy Minister of State, listened alongside Count Nicholas Cold, the Minister of Finance.

The head of the Military and Ministry of Security, Kyle, usually skipped the weekly briefings claiming to be busy and typically only attended the monthly ones.

It was understandable that the Second Prince was so frequently absent. His vice ministers had taken turns reporting while he'd spent the past six months inspecting various military installations throughout the Empire.

However, just as the Chamberlain was shutting the door, ready to announce the start of the meeting, someone grabbed it before it could close. It was Kyle, the Second Prince, whose presence was entirely unexpected.

Unfazed by  the gazes locked onto him due to his unexpected appearance, Kyle strode toward the back row of politicians.

The Duke of Toulouse glanced at his face, attempting to identify any hint of apprehension.

But his expression was just as unreadable as usual. The Duke eyed the envelope in the Second Prince's hand and looked away.

Then, the closed throne room door suddenly opened again, and the Duke inadvertently turned his gaze back towards the door. For a moment, he was so startled that he even forgot to breathe.

"...!"

‘How did he...?’

The person who had entered was Baron Hound Paliport, hunched and cautious.

The Duke of Toulouse stared at him, wide-eyed, but either because the Baron hadn't seen him or because he was deliberately ignoring him, he walked a good distance away from the Duke and stood in place, his head deeply bowed.

Minutes passed, but he didn't look up, as if he were unwilling to raise his head.

Joseph was also surprised, but didn't keep an eye on Baron Paliport as intensely as the Duke.

‘It appears Uncle has found himself in a great deal of trouble. Tsk, tsk.'

Soon enough, the Emperor arrived and entered the throne room.

He sat on the throne in the very center of the room and briefly glanced around the hall.

"Well, then... Let's get started."

At the Emperor's command, the reports began. It took a while for the Emperor to notice that Kyle was present.

When he glanced toward the back of the room and spotted Kyle, he raised his hand to interrupt the councillor who was reporting.

"...Where is your weekly report, Second Prince?"

"I reported it to the Consul in advance. Did you not receive it?"

The Emperor looked at Viscount Allen Godfrey, the First Secretary of the Consul's Office, who stood beside him.

"I presented it to Your Majesty two days ago, but Your Majesty said he would review it after tea."

"Ah... I see. Well then, Second Prince, explain it to me in your own words."

"I'm here to report on the progress of the investigation into the attempt on Your Majesty's life. I'll present it to you after the briefing is complete."

"I see."

He appeared unsurprised by Kyle's presence.

He had already received a report two days earlier that the Margrave's children were making significant progress after collapsing at the banquet.

Nevertheless, he had expected that it would take at least another week before the details of the assassination came to light. He wasn't surprised, but it had been resolved sooner than expected.

‘... If only he was capable of a little flexibility... Tsk.'

Unlike the Emperor, the Councilors were nervous. They couldn't help but glance at the report in Kyle's hand.

This included the Third Prince.

“This is crazy. The investigation was resolved that quickly?”

“Did he just imply that he's already investigated the attempted assassination of His Majesty the Emperor?”

“... So fast. Hasn't it only been five days since the banquet ended?”

Everyone was thinking along similar lines, and none of the councillors were paying attention to the briefing.

The same was true of the Emperor, he disguised it well, but he was also unable to concentrate on the councillor in front of him.

After listening to all of the reports, the Emperor gave his usual orders in response.

As he listened, he also surveyed the expressions of each member of the council. But aside from the occasional glance in Kyle's direction, their expressions weren't far outside of the norm.

Only one person, the Duke of Toulouse, appeared different than usual. His face was nearly bloodless, but perhaps that was attributable to his health issues.

He also looked somewhat nervous. To the Emperor, he looked like he had aged at least 10 years in the course of a few days.

He suppressed the urge to laugh.

Ironically, the most tranquil person in this throne room was Prince Kyle himself, who was the subject of, by far, the most scrutiny.

He prompted the Second Prince, "...Now, shall we hear the report that everyone has been waiting for?" 

Kyle boldly stepped in front of the Emperor and bowed to pay his respects.

The Emperor, seemingly bursting with curiosity, cut his polite act short by beckoning for him to proceed. Kyle took out the report and placed it in front of him.

"The cause, as Your Majesty has no doubt already guessed, was the dragon fruit. Based on the opinions of the Imperial Council and other prominent members of the Empire, we have deduced that the dragon fruit reacted with a certain substance, causing an acute allergic reaction. We discovered that this reaction was caused by a poisonous herb known as wolfsbane, which is native to the Eastern nation of Gaion."

“Oh, my… Poison? Good Grief…”

“To use a poisonous plant…”

“ Are the Elias Family truly traitors after all...?”

Joseph tried to suppress his growing irritation.

‘Damn it. It was supposed to take him much longer to identify wolfsbane as the culprit... What the hell is his deal?'

Ignoring the commotion that rumbled through the throne room, Kyle continued his explanation.

"We also identified that wolfsbane could also be used as a cure. The method was made known to the Imperial Physician and administered to the Margrave's children two days ago. Their symptoms have improved and they have almost been restored to full health."

As soon as Kyle finished speaking, the Duke of Toulouse interrupted, "You were able to develop a cure that quickly?" 

His voice cracked slightly.

“We simply located a pre-existing cure.”

"But, how was it done so quickly...?"

This time, a councillor who served as a vassal of House Toulouse, asked on behalf of the Duke.

"Elias Pharmaceuticals has reached the third stage of clinical trials on the medication in question."

"...!"

Joseph stared at Kyle in disbelief.

The throne room was thrown into an uproar.

"What? Is that true? Did they truly have ill intentions? Were they trying to cause an incident so they could provide a cure? Is that what he's implying?"

The Emperor's voice echoed through the throne room.

"Who was responsible? Was it House Elias?"

The Duke's lips curled up in amusement and he stepped forward.

“How devious of them to do such a thing, Your Majesty! There should be a limit to their disrespect towards Your Majesty's dignity. How dare they do something like this without fear. This is the very foundation of the Empire...!"

Kyle cut him off sardonically, "I still have more to report, Your Grace." 

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