Series: The Princess’s Guard is the Assassin Aiming for Her Life
After that, Al returned me to the ducal residence like promised. It was only after he left that I realized I never discussed the future with him. He never promised to see me again. ….So many things happened after I met him again that I just wasn’t thinking.
But surely he wouldn’t keep me waiting for long. Because now he has the position to be with the second princess. I was relieved by the thought, but because of that, I totally forgot that not everything was resolved.
“An emergency meeting of the court will now begin.”
It happened three days after I returned to the castle. I was summoned to a court meeting… that I would not normally be invited to, since they usually discussed political matters. The meeting was held as soon as Duke Garnet returned, as he had been away for some time. The members of the meeting seemed to be those involved with the duke.
The emergency nature of this meeting was likely so that the queen and Cattleya, who were also brought here, wouldn’t have an opportunity to escape.
After seeing all the people the duke had gathered, the confused look on the queen’s face changed to disturbed. They must have been the people she was using as pawns.
She must have realized that this place… this whole set up was to reveal the crimes of the queen and the third princess Cattleya.
“The queen ordered me to do everything.”
“The third princess told me to go to the assassin’s guild for her.”
I didn’t know how the duke convinced them to, but all the men gathered honestly confessed in front of the court. Well, to be honest, I wasn’t exactly able to verify it was true, but still…
“I have no idea what anyone here is saying! All these men are liars!”
“I don’t recall allowing you to speak, Princess.”
Cattleya collapsed on the ground, purposefully crying out like a tragic heroine, but the king dismissed her coldly. That had been her third outburst.
In stark contrast to Cattleya’s attitude, the queen didn’t say a word. She just stared at the podium where the men confessed with a grim expression.
If everything was false and not based in fact, then… well, I couldn’t see the queen accepting it without refute. I’ve barely spoken with her, but I knew she was a dignified person.
If so, then all the testimonials were likely true.
“Father…”
Cattleya clasped her hands together, staring up at the king with moist eyes, but he didn’t react in the slightest. She should have known by now that he wasn’t the type of person to be moved by tears. The only ones who listened to her selfishness were the queen and the people around her. Her father did more admonishing than spoiling for her.
I was called to the court as a victim, but they never asked for testimony from me. To be honest, the only thing I could really testify to were the mean things Cattleya said to me. Anything else I knew was just speculation and opinion.
The evidence Lord Celosia and Al gathered was much more credible, so of course they didn’t feel the need to ask for my account.
I watched as they presented evidence of assassination attempts one after another, and my face grew paler than the perpetrators.
…They hired over sixty assassins.
There might have been even more that they didn’t find evidence for.
Were there even that many assassins in this country? I started wondering if they hired all the assassins other than Al to kill me. What if they ran out of assassins because of this?
Still, the trial disguised as a meeting continued…
The evidence Al gathered against Cattleya… that is, the contract she signed with the assassin she invited inside the castle and the monster attractant in her room were shown next.
Seeing that it was now difficult to prove her innocence, Cattleya grabbed on to the queen next to her. “Mother! Please say something!”
The queen, who was silent up until then, brushed Cattleya off and lowered her head. “I was wrong.”
Cattleya and the whole audience was stunned into silence.
“I will confess to everything.”
Then the queen revealed all her crimes. Of course, a lot of it was already brought to light from the evidence before, but some of it no one even knew about.
It would have been a convincing testimony from the side who wanted to judge the queen, but the king and duke raised their eyebrows. I learned in my studies as a princess that if a member of the royal family confessed their sins and apologized, their sentence would be lightened. I’m sure the queen knew that too.
It seems like she judged the situation to be unfavorable and switched course to try for a lighter sentence.
In the first place, there was a limit to how many people were called to this emergency court, and this case would likely not be made public. If the citizens knew that their queen committed huge crimes, they would lose faith in the royal family. So her punishment will be secret, not grand.
Likely, there were just two choices for her punishment. Either assassination, or confining her to a detached palace under the ruse of illness.
It seemed just like her to confess her crimes so she could get away with her life at least.
But Cattleya stubbornly refused to admit to her crimes. She didn’t seem to want to follow along with what the queen was doing. She probably didn’t study enough as a princess, so she didn’t realize she was tightening the noose around her neck.
“This is all my older sister Iberis’s scheme! She wants to bring me down!”
Cattleya continued to rant, even giving up her exaggerated stage actress gestures, not even realizing that she was being looked down on with pity by those assembled in the court.
“I never thought that the royal guard would testify too…”
I let out a breath after I returned to my room when the four hour long meeting finally ended. Maia smiled as she poured tea.
“It seems like after that incident, your reputation among the royal guard is high, Princess.”
“That incident?”
“Yes, at the eastern spring, that is.”
“I heard about that too! About how deeply sympathetic and kind you were towards the knights that were escorting you!” The one who added that as she carried in tea snacks with a smile was Lady Dahlia… err, just Dahlia.
She was the same Margave daughter with whom I shared tea and conversation with the other day, and starting today, she was another personal maid of mine.
After hearing that I had few maids, she offered herself. She was resolute, even though it meant moving far away from her house.
“…News of that got out fast.”
“Because I live far away from the capital, I have my own ways of getting information fast,” Dahlia emphasized with an innocent expression. “It seemed like the Third Princess had intended to drag her guards into her schemes, but she was too lax with them. The royal guards report to the king first and foremost, after all. It’s just that His Majesty lends out the knights; it’s not like they were her personal servants. She was mistaken to think they would keep her secrets when she hadn’t even built a trusting relationship with them!”
The royal guard was under direct control from the king. Of course, the guards assigned to Cattleya were working to fulfill her needs. It seemed that she was working to make sure that none revealed her misdeeds by exploiting their weaknesses, like making them hold onto precious money and goods and removing anyone who didn’t fall for it, but…
When the royal guard learned that Cattleya was being condemned, they felt pressured, and eventually the guards in charge of her testified against her.
Cattleya was red in anger from being betrayed by the knights she trusted, but at that point they had no choice.
It would count as defection to not report her misdeeds to the king. But because they confessed, they were pardoned and got off with only being fired. Normally they would have been killed, so this world really didn’t think much of people’s lives.
In the end, the queen was locked away in the smallest detached palace, citing disease as the reason. After struggling to the end, Cattleya was sent to a cold, remote area to work as a local governor in a small village as a way to educate herself more. Small village governors didn’t have a lot to do, but they also didn’t have a lot of supplies either.
Apparently, the road there was rough and didn’t see a lot of traffic, and Dahlia even muttered about how she would be lucky to arrive there with nothing happening. It was a little scary to think about, to be honest.
Anyways, the curtains closed on this whole incident. Maia also seemed a little happier to have some of her burden lightened by my new maid Dahlia.
She must have been frightened these past few days, though. She had questioned me fervently on how I became acquainted with the prince from Gentian and if he was really a decent man. When Al caused a fuss at the ducal residence, Maia was waiting in the hallway, but she was told not to move by the knights because it was dangerous.
So it seemed like she wasn’t able to hear Lord Celosia’s and Al’s conversation…
Instead, it seemed like she had to face the nightmare of watching a disguised man grab the princess she served and take her away. There was a chance she would have collapsed on the spot if Lord Celosia and the others hadn’t reassured her.
…I did feel a bit bad for worrying her…
I ended up making an excuse that he was someone I had been communicating with secretly, but I didn’t think Maia was convinced. She probably found it hard to believe that I could do that while she was watching me so closely, and I couldn’t blame her. Since she was my only personal maid for the longest time, it would be difficult to sneak something past her. Unless I kept it somewhere in my bedroom.
There was nothing else I could say though, since I obviously couldn’t tell her that the prince and Al were the same person.
“Oh right, have you heard anything from the Gentian prince yet?”
…Dahlia really received news fast.
I wanted her to move away from that topic after seeing Maia’s eyes grow dark, but Dahlia just innocently smiled.
After that prince dropped me off at the ducal residence, it seemed like he had an audience with the king. I don’t really know what they spoke about, but after a formal audience and dinner, he quickly left. When I returned to the castle, the king called for me and congratulated me on establishing friendly relations with the prince of Gentian. Did he know how I felt then? I didn’t know how to react or how much the king knew, so I didn’t say anything. All I could do was feign calm and fake a smile.
Anyways, having an ambassador from Gentian was a big step forward for the king. Apparently that ambassador said, “May Princess Iberis be in good health,” and the king seems to be relieved that I was safe and sound, which meant that their friendly relations could continue.
Perhaps because of that, the king declared a reward for the Garnet Dukedom for protecting me from assassins. He announced that he sent me to the dukedom for protection and that I wasn’t to be Lord Celosia’s fiancé. In other words, I didn’t have to marry Lord Celosia anymore.
…I never expected the king to say that himself, so I wondered if that prince asked for it. I thought that it was sloppy and absurd, but I wasn’t dissatisfied with his show of love.
“Your face is completely red, Princess Iberis.” Dahlia giggled as she watched me.
“Uh-uh, no way.”
“You know, I never thought that your love was the Gentian prince!”
“I-I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
To be fair, at the time I never in my wildest dreams thought that he would pull out a title like that.
“Goodness, you must have hidden your identities when you met! Since it’s my first time hearing about a prince from Gentian, they must have kept it hidden before now.”
Actually, the position was just recently created, but of course I couldn’t say that.
“I don’t really have a good impression of Gentian, but to think that such a passionate prince came from there…! I must change my evaluation quickly,” Dahlia gushed.
She had been like that all day long, and eventually I gave up acting disinterested. I was having fun talking with the first female friend I made in this world.
“Ahem.” Maia brought our girl talk to a close with a clearing of her throat. “Princess. Since when exactly have you been communicating with the prince from Gentian?”
Ah, here it was. I didn’t know how many times she asked me that same question already.
I was sick of her asking and she was probably sick of me dodging the question too. I wondered if she would eventually drag the truth out of me.
But this time was a little different.
“I had forgotten it in my old age, but I remember now.”
“……”
I had a bad feeling about this…
“That prince really seems to resemble Albert’s older brother that we met at the eastern spring.”
“Uuuuuuuummmmm…”
She’s sharp!
“Eh, is that so?”
Don’t eat it up, Dahlia!
Of course, those two were the same person. But admitting it wouldn’t be good. If I did, I would have to add on even more lies, like explaining why a prince was working as a temporary guard or if Albert was a prince or not as well.
I hesitated to lie to Maia since she has always been with me, but I didn’t think telling the truth was a good idea either. Argh, I can’t decide this by myself…!
As soon as I wrapped my head in my hands, wishing for Al to hurry up and return, I heard a knock on my door.
“Hello?” Dahlia walked to the door with light footsteps.
Maia, still facing me with a stern expression, sighed and turned away.
I… I’ve been saved…!
“Lord Celosia is here to see you, Princess Iberis… What will you do?”
“Lord Celosia?”
What could he want without sending express notice?
After the thing with Al, I barely saw Lord Celosia for the remainder of my stay at the ducal residence. I knew that he was busy, but he was probably also going out of his way to avoid me. I’m sure everything going on behind the scenes was a pretty decent excuse…
“……”
Thinking about it, Lord Celosia really did treat me well. Even though Al and I caused him so much trouble…
I couldn’t just pretend like I didn’t know anything. I stood up, making up my mind.
“I’ll meet with him!”
Merry Bad End Translations 
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