TMLP Ch. 75 — The Fall of the Enemy

Yulika trembled and cried at the betrayal of the empress dowager, but she did not confess her sins.

Was she loyal or cautious?

“It just looks stupid to me.”

The road leading to Caesar’s office. Walking side by side with Hamilton, I gave a cold assessment of Yulika, who was still in custody.

“Well, maybe she needs time.”

“Time?”

“Because she has lived her life following the plans and orders of others. It would be difficult to suddenly find subjectivity.” Hamilton made an excuse for Yulika with a rather generous expression.

I honestly didn’t understand, but I just nodded in affirmation.

It’s a life I’ve never lived, so it may be impossible to understand her.

“Anyway, I hope she makes a decision sooner,” I sighed and said, and Hamilton laughed a little.

“I think we’ve already gathered enough evidence to turn the tables over. Young Lady Brande’s decision is not necessarily necessary.”

“I want to completely overturn it if possible.” I tilted my head a little. “I will engrave on her soul the price for touching me.”

Her war with the empress dowager might have already begun on that day when she drew that bow.

“I will never pick a fight with you, Princess,” Hamilton said half-jokingly. I didn’t laugh to live up to my sincerity with the statement.

***

“… So, are we waiting for Yulika Brande’s answer?”

Arriving at the emperor’s office, I drank the tea Rowena gave me and enjoyed a light conversation with Caesar.

Caesar’s body had not yet recovered enough to compete. Therefore, it became a daily routine to chat lightly in the office like this on training days.

“What are you going to do if the empress dowager catches on and uses her trick?”

“She would have noticed it already at the time Yulika Brande was imprisoned.”

Even so, the empress dowager hadn’t moved much. She put all of this unexpected incident on Yulika, and was about to cut off her tail.

“We can catch Valer with the evidence now, but it’s not enough to catch the empress dowager. She can still retreat.”

She might blame it all on her family, pretend to be used, seek mercy, and then seek future plans.

I grabbed the teacup with both hands and muttered softly, “It is not enough to break the tide. She needs to stop breathing.”

“It seems that my master is very angry,” Caesar grinned teasingly. He just seemed happy that I was trying so hard.

I wanted to tell him that I was furious because he’d almost died. But it felt good to see him smiling without a shade, so I ended up saying nothing.

“… By the way, can you start working already? I’m afraid you’ll hurt your health.”

“It’s not something you can entrust to others. Are you worried?”

“Of course.”

“I see. Well, come to think of it, I think I still have a fever,” Caesar said, putting one hand on his forehead. Startled by that, I jumped up from my seat.

“Fever?”

“Mm… Is there a fever or not?”

“I’ll take a look.”

I put the teacup down on the table and strode towards the desk.

I didn’t remember that it was not okay to touch the emperor’s body recklessly. The most important thing was to understand Caesar’s physical condition.

I stood by Caesar’s side and touched his forehead.

“… There doesn’t seem to be any fever.”

“Really? That’s a good thing.”

“Ack?!”

Caesar pulled me up and hugged me. Thanks to this, I was able to sit on the chair where he sat.

Only then did I realize that I was deceived by him.

“Did you lie?”

“Otherwise, you won’t come near.”

“Now that you are the emperor, you should not leave gaps for safety.”

“You’re saying this, but in our matches, you still aim the sword tip at me.”

“That’s… Your skill won’t improve if I don’t do that.”

“Haha, you’re such a teacher.”

“Anyway, can you please stop now? This is a bit embarrassing.”

“No one is watching, so what’s wrong with it?” Saying that, he hugged my waist tighter.

I tried to nag, but I failed as he looked at me with a gaze saying ‘Can’t I do this?’ with eyes like a dog in the rain.

Ugh. I wouldn’t have fallen if you were a little less handsome!

“By the way, are you really going to keep using honorifics for me?”

“You are now the Emperor, aren’t you?”

“I am. But I don’t feel energetic because I haven’t heard your sharp criticism and sarcasm.”

“Why are you like this, Your Majesty?”

“I’m saying I feel lonely because you feel distant.”

Caesar rested his head on my body.

I gently stroked his dark hair. The soft hair slipped through my fingers.

‘A wolf— no. A large dog?’

Isn’t wolf canine, too?

I feel lonely because you feel distant. He was like a dog that stuck and wagged its tail so that the other wouldn’t step away from it for a second.

“I am always by your side, Your Majesty,” I whispered, leaning my head against Caesar’s head.

“I am by your side.”

From the moment we first met until now.

And in the future.

“I will always be by Caesar’s side.”

I whispered in Caesar’s ear in such a low voice that I thought he might not have heard either.

But he hadn’t missed that small voice.

“More than any other oath, Helena’s oath is the sweetest and most resilient,” he said happily.

His affectionate gaze automatically spread a smile on my face. 

I thought it was probably my fault that made him such a fool.

***

And two days later.

Duke Garmal came to me.

“Young Lady Brande asked to see you, Princess. What would you like to do?”

Of course, I didn’t refuse.

As soon as I heard the message, I went straight to the Imperial Palace without waiting.

Yulika had changed into a new dress and sat in the chair with a neat posture, waiting for me. Her hair was also fresh and clean.

She just couldn’t erase the gauntness off her face. Her eyes were swollen from crying all night long.

“… Do you have anything to say to me?”

Sitting at arm’s length with Yulika, I asked her what she wanted.

Yulika stared into the air for a long time after I arrived. Like I was invisible.

It was a long time before she spoke.

“… I saw my father.”

Had Margrave Brande come here?

I remembered the man who had been angry with Yulika and slapped her on the cheek.

“I asked if he… knew that the empress dowager gave me poison.”

“… What did he say?”

“He told me not to make a fuss because it’s not like I’m dying.”

After saying that much, Yulika swallowed her tears as if she was about to cry again. Her shoulders trembled, but she didn’t cry.

Her tears had dried as if they had all been poured out last night.

“It’s not a marriage because I’m in love with His Majesty. Maybe you’re thinking what’s the point of persisting like this.”

Haha, Yulika burst out laughing.

“Do you know what the scariest thing is, Princess?”

“… What is it?”

“Even though I’ve gotten to this point, I think I want to follow my father’s order to keep my mouth shut.”

Yulika looked at me with a distorted smile.

Her expression was as bizarre as someone who didn’t know what expression to make because she’d lost her expression other than smiling.

“Even though it is difficult to feel betrayed and abandoned, I cannot afford to live without the hands of those people, Princess.”

“So? Do you want to take on all their sins and die heroically?”

I realized that my voice had become sharp.

“Your cowardly choice was an inevitable difficult task, and stop speaking as if it was easy for me to carry out my will, Young Lady.”

On the day Yulika took Caesar from me.

I had been filled with anger as if I had been robbed of something by Yulika.

I had been angry at myself for losing my precious things. It had felt unfair. It had been such a hard time.

“Do you realize it now? You weren’t cowardly because you were weak or unhappy. You just chose it because it’s easy to move as others want.”

At my rebuke, Yulika curled her lips and said, “It’s very difficult… for me.”

“No. It’s difficult for everyone to do the right thing.”

“Even for someone like you?”

“Of course.”

Yulika smiled faintly at my answer as if reassured.

“… You asked me the other day if I was happy to take His Majesty away from your side.”

At that time, Yulika had replied that she was happy without a moment’s rest.

“In fact… I was not happy.”

Yes, I knew.

She had replied that she was happy like a toy that pops out right away when I press it, but when she had said that, her eyes hadn’t been looking at me.

Now she finally looked at me with unshakable eyes.

“The person who poisoned me was Marianne Valer, the empress dowager.”

Yulika finally began to testify. Her voice was low, but her speech was fast.

Her face was gaunt, only her eyes were filled with fire. Her eyes were stronger than ever.

“The same goes for the tea I gave to His Majesty. I didn’t know it was poison. I was just told that it was a tea that would make the atmosphere between men and women better.”

“Is there evidence?”

“There is a separate servant who brought me tea in the middle. She always brought it in small portions.”

“Even if the servant is caught, I doubt whether she will testify,” I groaned. Perhaps the empress dowager had taken care of the servants earlier.

However, Yulika was not flustered. She calmly spoke of other evidence, “There is also a note on how to brew the tea. It was written by the empress dowager in front of me.”

“… Do you have it now?”

“It’s in my room in the mansion. If the empress dowager hadn’t searched my room, it would remain.”

That could certainly be evidence.

Once we did a handwriting appraisal, it would be revealed that it was the handwriting of the empress dowager. Then even the empress dowager would not be able to deny that she handed over the poison.

My heart pounded when I realized that.

Finally, we were ready to catch her.

“Thank you for telling me. I’ll pass it on to the cavalry commander so he can investigate.”

I smiled a little.

“Then I’ll excuse myself.”

After the business was over, I got up.

When I turned my back on Yulika, she called me.

“Princess.”

“…?”

Is there still something left to do?

When I stopped and turned around, Yulika had a weary smile.

“I’m sorry… that I’m such a weak person.”

Tears didn’t flow, but somehow she looked like she was crying.

But I thought she looked more comfortable than ever. The inferiority complex that fluttered in her eyes every time she looked at me was no longer visible.

I turned around, walked over, and gave her a warm hug.

“No. Today you were stronger than anyone else.”

Probably, more than me.

Yulika said “Ahaha”, forced a smile, and put her forehead on my shoulder. But in the end, she couldn’t hold back her crying and sobbing.

The one who would have hated me the most.

The one I would have hated the most.

However, I thought it was impossible to hate her sincerely.

Well, now.

Let’s go break that head.