Raising the Prince to the Crown Prince had to be approved by the Congress. It was unclear exactly how far the Emperor's invisible hand could reach, but Francis thought that most of the influential aristocrats were under his command.

Francis rose from his seat and controlled his face, thinking of his advantageous position. "Yes, it's good to be confident. But I'll make you hit the ground and regret it soon."

Killian frowned as Francis took Marius out.

--------------------

"Ian, go get Valerian. Francis's att.i.tude is so arrogant that he seems to be scheming something. From now on, I'll have Valerian escort Julietta personally."

Ian handed over the letter he was carrying, not thinking of leaving at Killian's command. "Your Highness, I couldn't deliver this because I didn't have a chance. After you went to the palace of the second Queen, a letter from Mrs. Raban of the Kiellini family arrived."

"What? Why are you delivering it now?"

Killian took the letter angrily and ran it over quickly. "She can't stay still for a second. Why the h.e.l.l did she say she was going to Vicern?"

Killian jumped up and ordered. "Just tell Albert to get ready for a trip with Lilly. I'll be leaving for Vicern right away."

At the Prince's command, the attendants got busy, and the summoned Valerian arrived. "Valerian, I'm leaving for Vicern right now, so get ready quickly. Why weren't there any reports of Julietta's whereabouts until Mrs. Raban sent a letter? I'll give a reprimand for this later."

"Your Highness, I was going to visit you because of the whereabouts of Princess Kiellini. The knight I put on the princess sent me a magic message. She didn't go to Vicern, but used the Magic Square for the Baden Territory."

"Baden? Is she going to Tilia?" Killian stopped trying to catch her, in case she ran away again with a sudden change of heart.

"Yes, Your Highness."

"Yes, she's not a personality that she would leave it in my hands alone. Why didn't I think of that?"

He blamed himself for his carelessness in knowing Julietta's character, and instructed Ian, "Stop preparing for the trip. If she's been to Tilia, she'll be right back."

Watching Killian sitting back on the sofa at ease, Valerian asked, "Why do you think so?"

"Julietta must have heard of Marquis Marius's visit to the Tilia Territory. She must be nervous that he might have noticed something. I'm sure she'll come to check on me. So, I'll wait."

While speaking in a relaxed manner on the surface, Killian's thoughts were not so comfortable. She'd tried to visit Tilia while she deceived him by going to Vicern. 'When will Julietta honestly tell me everything?'

---------------------

"A saucy fellow." Francis returned to his palace after leaving Killian's palace and gritted his teeth.

"Never mind. If anything happens anyway, Prince Killian is done."

"Bring him up."

At Francis' command, Havier brought a man.

"Is it clear that what you gave us id the secret of the Kiellini family?"

"Yes, Your Highness, no matter who conducts an autopsy, he will not know that he died of poison. The Duke of Kiellini has no intention of marrying his precious daughter to the Prince from Bertino. So Princess Kiellini and the Duke will be loyal to you if you will only kill Killian."

Marquis Marius went all the way to Tilia, but he could not see the Duke of Kiellini. But when he left Tilia and arrived at the inn in Baden, the Duke's butler came to see him. He had heard of him and brought him right to Francis.

=========

The middle-aged butler had served the Kiellini family for many years, but was forced to leave Tilia's mansion after a vow of silence. Just before leaving the mansion, Regina handed him a piece of paper when he went to say goodbye to his owner and Lady Regina.

"Morton, they won't care about you, even if you swore by magic. Well, actually, I don't care if they keep an eye on you. I'm sure they're not even worried because of the magic killing you the moment you decide to speak."

"Lady, I have sworn allegiance to the Kiellini family. If you give me an order, I'll try to tell you the truth, even if I die."

"No, that kind of futile death doesn't help me. You've worked as my father's butler for decades, so you know about herbs and tea leaves. If you leave Tilia's mansion, you'll see the opportunity and tell Prince Francis that if he combines the poison as written on this paper, he can kill people without any evidence."

"Do you want him to kill that fake girl?"

"No. If you reveal the ident.i.ty of the girl, he'll find out about my father's fake conspiracy about the princess. Then the Kiellini family will disappear from history. I'm really angry, but I can't reveal that until the last minute."

"Then what should I tell him to do with this poison?" Morton asked carefully, as if he didn't understand.

"Give it to Prince Francis this way. Reminds him of the old days, when my father covered up the scandal when Duke Dudley killed the Empress. My father went all the way to Bertino to support Prince Killian, but you should allude that the relations.h.i.+p soured."

"Can I just do that?"