"Did you arrest Baron Delat?"

"Yes. After explaining to Lady Raviel what she was supposed to do, we immediately went to the Delat mansion, arrested the Baron and all his men, and sent them to the Imperial Castle."

"If I go to the Imperial Castle now, I'll be in a prison with my aunt for a while, until the investigation team that went to Tilia returns and reveals the innocence of the Duke of Kiellini. To prevent that, I'm going to apply to His Majesty right away for the Proof of Blood."

"Do you have any orders for me?" Valerian asked Julietta, after she spoke in detail about her plan.

"The Duke of Dudley is sure to believe something that she tried to let him know before she died. So, he would think that she has been killed."

It was clear that he would somehow try to dig into Prince Killian's weakness out of fear of Christine's work and the truth of the epidemic being revealed. Julietta intended to take advantage of the opportunity.

"The Duke of Dudley will try to bring me down. If it turns out that I'm a fake princess and the poison is the work of the Duke of Kiellini, he can clean up this mess."

"That's why I came to the Imperial Castle without even thinking about seeing his daughter's death," Valerian agreed.

Count Valerian had a strong and upright character as a knight. He was the only one among the close aides to Killian who was not used to the dark plotting, but he accepted that it was reasonable.

"I'm sure the Duke of Dudley will accompany me when I go to Vicern for the Proof of Blood. Marquis Marius is now down in Tilia as a member of the team of investigators."

"Yes, he'll be back as early as tomorrow evening, or the day after tomorrow at the latest," Valerian confirmed.

"You have to aim for the time when Marquis Marius and the Duke of Dudley are not present. If the Duke of Dudley speaks up for Christine, it will incite the aristocrats to remain neutral. We don't know what Marquis Marius will scheme. He's a very troublesome opponent."

Julietta told Valerian what she had thought about since yesterday. "His Highness Killian and Marquis Oswald will move with me. The Proof of Blood itself requires the testimony of n.o.bles, so other n.o.bles will move together. It's particularly interesting since Mrs. Anais said that Princess Kiellini was a fake and then died, so many n.o.bles are willing to go."

Valerian nodded.

"Count Adam and Marquis Rhodius are in Tilia, so the Count who is in the Imperial Castle should do it."

"Just give me an order."

"When we leave for Vicern, bring Lady Delat and expose Christine's sin. When people's attention is directed to that, surround the Baden Shop and arrest all those who are there. Don't let Prince Francis notice and come up with other alternatives. And..."

Julietta took a deep breath and continued talking. "I want you to make sure to kill Christine before Marquis Anais returns from Vicern for the Proof of Blood."

"Do you think Marquis Anais will be disturbed?"

"It's his daughter's work and he'll try to save her, even if it costs him his t.i.tle. Please make sure you finish her cleanly."

Valerian pondered for a moment and asked again, "If it's a clean finish... it would be nice to deport her with being deprived of the n.o.ble status to a foreign land."

Julietta quietly closed her eyes.

'Is there a time when I'll regret the words that come out of my mouth? No, I won't regret it.'

Christine was the one who had tried to kill her. Julietta didn't know when Christine would come after her life again. She wanted to kill Christine to prevent a bigger tragedy. It might be called an excuse, but she couldn't forgive her.

"But I don't think Christine would give up everything and be nice."

Valerian didn't miss out on Julietta's pause before talking about Christine's disposition. He answered softly so that she would not say it directly. "Yes. Don't worry. I will make sure that she won't harm His Highness and the princess again."

------

Upon arriving at the Imperial Castle, Julietta entered the main castle with the help of Lady Raviel and Vera.

It was well past lunch time, but the hall was still noisy, with many aristocrats discussing matters. She saw that the Emperor's throne was empty and no senior officials or major n.o.bles were in sight; they seemed to have moved to the inner chamber.

"Uh? Isn't that Princess Kiellini?"

The hall became more noisy with people who recognized her. Julietta gave them a light nod and told the Grand Chamberlainguarding the conference hall, "Iris Kiellini asks to see His Majesty."

Count Criber, the Grand Chamberlain, hesitated in surprise when he saw the princess, the main character of the day, appearing on her own, then quickly nodded and entered the conference room.

Not long after he entered, the door of the conference room burst open and Killian appeared. "Iris! Oh, my G.o.d, where have you been? Do you know how long I've been looking for you?"

Killian's voice grew louder at the sight of the princess tottering with a pale face. "Oh, my G.o.d. What's wrong with you? What is this?" Killian raised his voice so he would be heard by those in the conference room.