Beneath the Surviving Princess's Joyful Facade - Chapter 135

Eirik, with a calm expression as if nothing had happened, finished breakfast with her and then headed to the office. He followed the instructions to open the safe and checked the passage.

“Since I’ll be conducting the interrogation here, Your Majesty, please have a seat.”

Then, he entered the secret chamber with Tilberg. The doctor seemed to have finished the treatment, but as expected, the bodies of Count Sellas and Namirea were in a tattered state, just as she had described. Eirik quickly assessed their condition and then gave instructions to Tilberg, who had followed him.

“Let’s start with Count Sellas.”

Eirik emerged first and sat down on the sofa, and Count Sellas was dragged out, his gag removed. So far, there was little difference from what Miesa and Duke Salachez had done before.

Eirik looked down at Count Sellas’s face before starting to ask questions one by one.

“Didn’t the late king keep a secret ledger?”

“Are there no secret passages in the palace?”

“Who among the court officials participated in the assassination of the former king?”

Count Sellas answered each question smoothly. None of these were directly related to his crimes.

Unexpectedly, information that Miesa hadn’t even considered began to pour out. The existence of a ledger detailing Vermel’s actions toward noble families, the presence of a passage connected to the king’s bedroom, and the names of several of Vermel’s remaining subordinates were revealed.

Indeed, neither she nor Duke Salachez had thought to verify such things. Miesa blinked in astonishment.

“Were the drugs taken by Her Majesty solely Namirea’s doing?”

“Yes. The chief lady-in-waiting acted on her own, refusing interference from others to show off her authority.”

“Even the Sidate’s Finime?”

“I understand that it was taken by Captain Tilberg of the guard from a Sidate assassin who had infiltrated the palace. Vermel intended to use it on the Cladnier family, but instead, he gave it to the princess three days before the national wedding.”

Having explained up to this point, Count Sellas expected Eirik to ask about an antidote. However, Eirik’s questions veered in a different direction.

“Shall we talk about what happened when Her Majesty was staying at the Celia Palace?”

“Ah, wait a moment, wait a moment, Margrave!”

As the conversation shifted to a topic disadvantageous to him, Count Sellas hurriedly began to spill more information. It was essential that the discussion didn’t move in that direction.

“The Sidate assassin did not carry an antidote at the time. However, the New Year’s festival is approaching, so—”

“That’s unnecessary information that everyone already knows. I don’t want to waste time on it.”

“Do you know that Her Majesty has been taking infertility drugs? No, in fact, she has taken several other drugs as well.”

Eirik listened quietly before asking in response. “Can I trust what you’re saying, Count Sellas?”

Count Sellas, looking into Eirik’s stern face, nodded urgently. It was better to trust in Cladnier’s fairness than to be tortured and kept alive by a mad queen for several years.

“Finime, Silife, Tamilo, and Genantia. Every time Namirea proudly reported to His Majesty, I was there with her, so I am certain.”

Eirik, who had been narrowing his eyes, felt somewhat relieved to hear familiar names.

“Silife is a sedative, and Tamilo is an infertility drug. Genantia leaves no trace in the body but causes extreme pain, so the antidote for Silife and Tamilo will be necessary.”

Seeing that Eirik was quietly listening, Count Sellas continued to speak more enthusiastically, occasionally sneaking glances at the queen seated behind them.

“Silife does not require a specific antidote, but if Her Majesty has become weak from long-term use, boiling and drinking the leaves of the Carilned tree will help. For the infertility drug Tamilo, the antidote is either the root of the Tishiya tree or, though hard to find, wolf-eye mushrooms.”

It was only necessary to resolve Finime. Having confirmed this again, Eirik instructed Tilberg to put Count Sellas back into the secret chamber.

“Wait a moment, Margrave. There’s more you need to know. Dialle once—”

Even as he was being dragged away, Count Sellas desperately tried to prove his usefulness. But Eirik had long since lost interest in him. He was only focused on Miesa, and as soon as Captain Tilberg stepped out of the secret chamber, Eirik gave a low command.

“I need to have a word with Her Majesty, so please step aside, Captain.”

“Yes, understood.”

As Tilberg left, Eirik stared intently at Miesa. There was a hint of reproach in his gaze.

“…What is it?”

It was unlikely that any noise would reach the secret chamber, yet Miesa whispered, and Eirik replied in a heavy, subdued voice, “So, Your Majesty agreed to everything I did last night without knowing what Finime is, or what other drugs you have been taking?”

“In the end, my body isn’t in such bad shape, is it? Besides, we didn’t do anything last night that would result in a child.”

“As things stand, I can manage to resolve the situation somehow, and I judged that there wouldn’t be any major problems, which is why I’m able to speak to you so rationally now.”

Though his words were logical and reasonable, he couldn’t completely hide the tremor in his voice.

“What if your body had been in no condition to handle it? I only thought that your health was improving.”

Miesa had nothing more to say. Her head gradually lowered. “I’m sorry…”

“What you did this time was truly a grave mistake. If I had crossed the line last night, and something had gone wrong, how could I possibly live with myself?”

Miesa couldn’t lift her head. She had been the one to provoke him, and she had hidden the situation from him as well.

“Please, tell me everything. Anything, just to me.”

This time, Miesa nodded earnestly. She hadn’t realized how painful it would be to see him so distressed. She now deeply regretted withholding information simply because she didn’t want to raise her voice at him.

“I’ll tell you everything. Truly, from now on.”

Eirik gave a weak smile and took her hand. He pressed his cheek to her small palm and murmured in a low voice, “Indeed. I don’t understand why you acted so foolishly, only to make me feel even more like a fool and wretch.”

As Miesa fidgeted nervously, he sighed briefly and lifted the corners of his mouth. He didn’t want to push her any further, especially since there was something he needed to hear from her.

“Now, answer me. How long do you plan to leave them as they are?”

Miesa hesitated. She hadn’t expected such a difficult question right after deciding to be completely honest.

But Eirik calmly asked again, “What do you have in mind for their final punishment? No matter what answer you give, my feelings for you will never change.”

His soothing words made the tension in Miesa’s hands slowly ease.

Feeling ashamed and remorseful towards Eirik, she knew she could no longer hide anything from him. Miesa eventually opened her mouth, speaking slowly.

“…I was going to feed them to the birds.”

Eirik, who had been rubbing his cheek against her hand, paused. Miesa carefully observed his expression, continuing to speak as if to justify herself.

“You might find it hard to understand. But I believe even the wild birds deserve a chance to atone for their sins.”

“By letting them devour those people?”

“Yes.”

Miesa was still afraid of his reaction. Deep down, she felt that her actions weren’t much different from Vermel’s.

On the other hand, Eirik sighed, realizing her thoughts weren’t far from what he had expected. Noticing the slight sweat on her tense palms, he spoke soothingly, “I already suspected as much. That’s why I asked; I wasn’t surprised.”

Having witnessed slaughter for twelve years, her thought process was bound to be limited. In that sense, her tension—her awareness that she wasn’t normal—was a hopeful sign. Eirik, reaching this conclusion, called her name softly.

“Miesa.”

“Yes.”

“You once said you wanted to live like a normal person.”

“……”

“How about now? Are you satisfied with who you are?”

Miesa couldn’t answer. Deep down, she despised herself for being unable to stop her increasingly violent behavior.

Sensing her inner conflict, Eirik asked again, “When you said you wanted to live like a normal person before, was it just about no longer pretending to be mentally unstable?”

“Yes. That’s what it was at first…”

At the time, she only wanted to live a normal life.

But now, even though she had risen to the highest position in the land, she found herself feeling more and more disgusted with who she had become.

Instead of pressuring her for an answer, Eirik quietly observed her face. His calm expression gradually brought her vague thoughts into focus.

How did she want to live? Among the various people she had encountered, the Cladnier family held a particularly prominent place in her heart. Not only Eirik’s character but also the determination of the Madam Cladnier and the family’s unwavering belief in protecting the weak and their own made them seem like a bright sun, something distant yet admirable to her.

But she felt embarrassed to bring this up with him.

“It’s a bit embarrassing to say.”

Eirik raised his eyebrows at her unexpected response. He had only expected her to say something along the lines of not wanting to live like Vermel. Suddenly, she was embarrassed?

“Why? No, it doesn’t matter. Whatever you say, I’ll listen carefully. Please, go on.”

“I’m still considered a member of the Cladnier family, right?”

“Of course.”

“Then I want to live up to that.”

Eirik smiled faintly at her response.

Having lived under the burden of the family name all his life, Eirik didn’t see the Cladnier name as entirely positive. Nevertheless, he hid his complicated feelings and said what she wanted to hear.

“Understood. Then please leave their punishment to me. As the head of the Cladnier family, I’ll handle it in the Cladnier way.”

Miesa’s eyes widened, but Eirik looked at her with unwavering eyes. “There’s no reason to keep them around any longer. Above all, they have a bad influence on you.”