Chapter 106

Kyle presents his findings at the Emperor's Council and chaos ensues.

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Episode 106. About 1 Year (33)

"Hmm... I see. Haha. Go ahead, Your Highness."

The duke laughed with pretend nonchalance, but he couldn't hide the slight quivering of his lip.

"The bottom line is that someone else was involved with this incident. His name is Frank Holtran, and he's a senior gardener from the Garden Department who has served the Palace for more than 30 years."

Kyle explained his investigation into the Garden Department in detail. Throughout, the room remained silent, as if someone had poured cold water on the council chamber.

After his explanation was complete, the councilman who had spoken up earlier on behalf of the Duke of Toulouse stood up again, observed his surroundings, then spoke.

His voice sounded slightly garbled, but not to the point of being unintelligible, "I- I don't understand. W- Why steal the poison so obviously and go to the Palace storage room to spray it? It makes no sense. And he committed suicide afterwards? Isn't that strange?"

"It was presumed to be a suicide, but that was not officially determined. It requires further investigation. If we hadn't learned about the role of wolfsbane, the gardener's actions would be seen as an innocent aberration. His death likely would have been written off as a simple case of suicide."

“Ah... I see. If the poison hadn't been found... The Elias family would have been blamed for everything…”

In the midst of the new commotion, the Duke grimaced as the sensation of bile rose in his throat.

Joseph covertly shook his head at the sight.

‘It was a strategic move, but it turned out to be more useless than expected. Well, it won't affect me. In fact this works in my favour. Perhaps I should wait and see? I'm curious what will happen next. Hahaha...'

"So who is responsible?"

Now that they knew the gardener was the attempted assassin it raised more questions. None of the councillors believed a mere gardener could be solely responsible for assassinating an Emperor.

The politically minded among the crowd had quickly begun thinking in that direction. And if they were thinking it, surely the Emperor was as well?

"It has been difficult to trace the finances of the perpetrator because cash was used for all of  the transactions, eliminating banks as an intermediary. We are continuing to investigate possible suspicious activities prior to the banquet. In addition, Your Majesty, I have a report of another suspicious incident that has been delayed because of this matter."

"That's enough. I'll hear it later, but more to the point, House Elias..."

"Your Majesty, this a critical incident that almost got buried due to the banquet investigation. I must report it to you immediately!"

The Emperor turned back to the Prince and raised one eyebrow.

‘Oho, this guy! That glare!'

"... Something that almost got buried due to an assassination attempt? All right. Report it!"

At the Emperor's command, Kyle turned and faced the door.

"Bring them in, vice-captain!"

At Kyle's low but forceful command, the door opened to reveal Nick Bright, the vice-captain of the Order of the Phoenix, leading two men tied to a chain.

The attention of the audience in the throne room turned towards the chained prisoners.

The two sturdy young men appeared to be common criminals.

They clearly stood out. This was not the cellblock in the Department of Security, but the throne room of the Imperial Palace, a place that valued dignity and elegance over all else.

The councillors were deeply curious about why the Prince had brought in such common looking criminals who looked like they had been dragged from the nearest backalley.

“Ahem... Please explain in detail what the situation is, Second Prince.”

As Nick bowed alongside the prisoners he had brought in, Kyle began his explanation, his tone icy.

"There were spies leaking the Empire's secrets, and there is likely an accomplice in the Imperial Palace as well."

“....!”

“... Oh my god, what did he just...?”

“Is he saying that the leak of Military secrets reported in the newspapers has been tied to Palace officials?”

“Unbelievable!”

Voices erupted all over the throne room. 

Kyle waited a moment for the shouts to quiet down before continuing.

"I first began to suspect it during our most recent conflict with Skandoa, during the first two raids of the war. They knew exactly where Imperial units and military posts were located closest to the border. This information was confidential. Our troops move position on an annual basis and our military posts change on a quarterly basis. These are highly confidential details. Councillors and officials in the Imperial Military are the only ones who have access to this protected information. Initially, the investigation was started in response to a small leak of confidential information from criminal organizations within the Empire, but as the investigation continued, we uncovered more and more suspicious information. Crucially, the investigation led to us capturing a Skandoan spy near the border."

"...And what is that suspicious information?"

The Emperor's voice dripped with cold.

“Based on our discoveries, we backtracked and learned that the leak was entangled with a variety of complex political interests. In particular, we discovered suspicious connections to figures who hold key positions in the Palace, and after obtaining evidence and witnesses, our suspicions were proved true.”

Kyle took a notebook out of the stack of papers in his hands and handed it over to the Emperor.

"This is the original secret ledger we obtained from a criminal organization. They bear the initials of those involved in the leak, and they are written in the handwriting of the head of the organization, this man here. Prisoner Hugo Johnson, speak!"

Hugo gulped and opened his mouth, his expression tense.

"...I...I...I was involved. I was a middle-manager of Scor-Scorpion, in Durben Tripoint... I was the manager of a club. The club was a front, a place where we arranged meetings between Skandoan spies and Palace nobles. The officials were connected with us through someone in the Imperial Palace. A-After the chief met with the nobles, I saw the Head write in the secret ledger, and the ledger was kept in a secure room after that."

"Oh, my God..."

"Unbelievable!"

"Which councillor did this?"

"This is treason against the Empire!"

"Who is it?"

The Emperor did not intervene as the councillors shouted questions.

Kyle looked down at Orlando. Orlando's eyes shifted nervously and he swallowed.

[...Your new lawyer is an accredited negotiator. He proposed a plea bargain. Life without parole instead of the death penalty. And as a bonus, you will serve your sentence on the island of Sejudo. As you know, Sejudo is practically a paradise for prisoners. Think carefully. You can either die with your mouth closed or live on in paradise with your mouth open.]

When the Second Prince had presented Orlando with the option, he’d been undecided. Even when they had brought Hugo in for three-way interrogation, Orlando had kept his mouth shut and simply glared at Hugo murderously.

[…There will be no torture, even if you keep your mouth shut. Even if you get the death penalty, I will save you. So just keep your mouth shut!]

The Duke was right, there had been no torture. 

Orlando raised his head slightly and glanced at the Duke of Toulouse.

Up until he'd come here, he'd believed the Duke’s words. He'd had no doubt silence was the best course of action.

However, he had seen the Duke's current expression many times before, during his time in the backstreets. Anxiety and terror well disguised.

‘… Damn it.'

Orlando had experienced all sorts of hardships. But If he didn't say the right thing here, he could die tomorrow - there would be nothing he could say to save himself or his bloodline.

Orlando’s expression feigned nonchalance, but he felt a deep sense of defeat that showed in his eyes.

‘... Even if I keep my mouth shut, that bastard Hugo or the Baron will spill their guts, and if I stay quiet, I’ll be the one who takes the fall... Why did I betray Master Andrei? Since Toulouse controls the Empire I figured I would benefit by throwing my lot in with theirs. But I can't afford to be the one who goes down for this...'*

When Orlando merely glanced around and didn't speak, the room became louder and louder.

“...You’re dumber than I thought. Are you seriously going to give up that plea deal?”

Kyle's voice was drowned out by the commotion, and only Orlando and Hugo could hear him.

Suddenly Orlando yelled out.

"It was me! I'm the head of Scorpion! He's here. The lord who gave me military secrets and told me to sell them to the Skandoans!"

The room suddenly fell silent.

"...Who?" The Emperor asked, his voice low and full of rage.

Orlando answered the Emperor's question with his head bowed.

"The first nobleman to come to me was Baron Hound Paliport, standing right back there."

Thump!

As soon as Orlando spoke, Baron Paliport hastily fell to his knees.

He bowed his head and cried out. 

"Your Majesty, your humble servant only did what he was told! I thought I was being loyal, Your Majesty!"

“...Why would Baron Paliport...?”

“Isn’t he the First Prince’s closest associate?”

“He's also a vassal of House Toulouse….”

“It seems like things have taken an unexpected turn.”

The sound of murmuring rose and fell like an ebbing tide.

At first, the Emperor stared at the Baron in incomprehension. Then he suddenly turned to look directly at the Duke of Toulouse.

“.....!”

The corners of the Emperor’s mouth twitched, as if he could barely contain the impulse.

The Duke always had an arrogant, worldly look on his face. But his expression right now?  Even though he was pretending to be calm on the surface, he wasn't underneath.

The Duke's jaw appeared particularly rigid, perhaps because his teeth were clenched.

‘...Hmmm, is this why he did that?’

The Emperor recalled the message Kyle had sent a while ago saying he couldn't attend the victory ceremony.

[Discovered a spy who passed on Imperial secrets. Suspected connection with someone holding a key position in the Palace. Please refrain from informing Count Cold.]

He wanted to laugh out loud, but he held back. Instead, he put on a measured expression and asked the Baron.

"Loyalty? Loyalty to whom? Be more detailed!"

"That... that... I just... did as I was told, Your Majesty."

"So who ordered you to do it?"

"...That... that... that."

The Baron trembled and struggled to open his mouth.

“Speak! Don’t you dare taunt me! Do you think I won’t be willing to cut off your wrists in order to obtain a confession? Who was it? Who ordered you to do this?”

“At first... His Royal Highness contacted me and ordered me to do it, and then a councillor... a high-ranking councillor gave me more orders... His Excellency the Duke...!”

Clang!

The Emperor's carved stone ink bottle clattered to the marble floor.

Patches of black ink splattered everywhere, leaving stains on the polished floor.

"Please... spare me, Your Majesty.....”

The Baron slammed his head against the floor in his effort to prostrate himself. 

Then Orlando continued to speak, as if to push the wedge in further, "It’s true. I met with Baron Paliport the first time, then after that the Duke of Toulouse provided me with direct instructions."

"... Your Majesty. Please give Your Humble Servant a chance to explain." The Duke of Toulouse stepped forward with a worldly air of politeness.

"Explain? Ha! Tell me, Second Prince, Commander-in-Chief of the Military, what did your forces suffer as a result of this intelligence leak?"

"The enemy's raid resulted in the loss of over 30 elite soldiers and wounded over 160 others. It also resulted in the burning of a border post and two units suffered looting and arson. Reconstruction will consume a considerable portion of the military budget. But, more importantly however, this occurred in the middle of a war. The raids lowered the morale of our soldiers and instilled a fear of battle in our forces. It also caused increased distrust of the Empire amongst the troops."

“Did you hear that, Duke? Are you insane? How dare you drive my Empire and my soldiers into ruin! Go and summon the First Prince! Immediately!"

___

Editor’s Note - 

*콩고물 - bean curd. Here Orlando uses the metaphor ‘to cling onto someone like a bean curd,’ which is used in situations where someone ‘clings’ to a person in power for personal gain. 

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