King Joseph nodded his head in satisfaction.
"Yes, the instigator had already left the Kingdom. But he did not escape our knights' eyes. He escaped your knights' eyes."
"…"
'…' Lulu and Luca were listening to the King, leaving them speechless.
"You mean… You let him do his instigation?" asked Rosella with her eyes wide open.
"Yes. Borges Kingdom's King asked me to get rid of the supposed Lady Elmira. Her identity was not only an eyesore. But she was not the real fourth daughter of Duke Hazard. And neither the King nor the Duke wanted a fake lady in their kingdom. More if she keeps telling others about her supposed status as Prince Julian's fiancée."
It was rare to hear the King explain so much. But he took his time to waste saliva on his third daughter. But he did not stop his eyes and fingers from reading and writing the important documents on the desk.
"If she is fake, it means that they found already the real one. Was she swapped at birth or at some point in her childhood?" asked Rosella.
"Smart, they swapped her at birth. Someone paid the caretaker who helped the delivery to switch the baby with a commoner baby. A servant baby, to be more accurate." The King answered.
"But John Hazard's attitude towards you…?"
"Oh, he'd always been arrogant, and his self-esteem is high. So, the Borges King wanted me to teach him a good lesson." Answered nonchalantly, the King to Rosella.
"Oh… Then the rest of the corpses?" asked Rosella.
The King did not answer her question right away.
"… After knowing all this, tell me your analysis of their deaths." After a while, he instructed.
"…"
Rosella rubbed her chin with her fingers.
"The knight, Pete, Lady Elmira's second personal maid, knew everything because they were related. But because they knew, they become an eyesore. Knowing too much can be deathly."
King Joseph nodded. He's pleased with her reasoning.
"The maid found in the hut was going to die either way, but her death was different because she and the knight were plotting against the instigator. And you wanted not only to give a slight punishment to the instigator but let him leave the kingdom because he helped you with the request of Borges Kingdom's king." Rosella continues with her analysis.
King Joseph nodded once again.
"That's right. His punishment is falling into the maid and the knight's plot. I even asked for help from someone."
If the King did not mention who, she can't ask. Because the King only let her know what she needed to know.
But, for some reason, she felt that something is missing. Maybe it is because she felt the mystery was resolved so fast, or the simplicity of the situation result. But for Rosella, it was lacking.
But looking at her imperial father, she felt that he did not want her to probe further.
"Okay then. The case is dismissed. You did a good job, take a rest. The ceremony for the tournament is closer. Prepare yourself." Once the King gave an order, it has to be carried right away.
"I understand Imperial, father. I'll take my leave." She gave the obeisance to her father and left the study.
When she left, the king lower down the papers and pen in his hand and looked at Rosella's back with a dim light flashing through his eyes. Then he returned to his work.
On her way back, Rosella keeps frowning.
The sound of her shoes clicking against the porcelain floor echoed throughout the empty corridor.
She did not notice, but her feet reached the Imperial Garden.
Lilith and Nana were waiting for her. Their unsightly expressions uttered their current emotions.
"Princess." Both greeted Rosella.
"Ah, oh!" Rosella come back to her senses and discovered their expressions. Her heart started beating uncomfortably.
"… What's wrong?"
"… Princess, the corpses disappear from the cold room. When we discovered them, someone burned them in the side hall of punishments."
Rosella's long eyelashes fluttered. She knew her imperial father would not let her investigate further the cause of their deaths.
Frustration filled her heart.
"It's okay. You can stop the investigation. Imperial Father will resolve the rest."
When Rosella said this, Lilith and Nana connected everything. They knew that when the King is involved; they have nothing to do anymore.
She came closer to the fountain and wanted to vent her frustration.
All the water inside soared up simultaneously. It was a remarkable sight, the stream of water floating in the air. The water fall on the fountain and splashed everything around, except Rosella, Lilith, and Nana.
'This is not enough.' muttered Rosella in her heart.
Lilith and Nana were at her side, protecting her and supporting her. They knew, even if the King indulges her, that indulgence had a limit.
He will never allow her to resolve things in the kingdom with justice. Only when his mood allows it.
"I want to see what is left from the corpses." Rosella's eyes shone with a golden light. The determination in her heart grew.
Stunned by her words, Lilith and Nana could not react on time. Only when they saw, Rosella stride towards the cold room's direction.
When they woke up, they followed her.
Rosella did not know that after she left, a shadow reflected in the fountain's water.
"Very good, my dear royal sister. I want to see if Imperial Father would indulge you when you want to fight for a justice that will lead to our Kingdom's shame. He he he he he." The lady's voice is charming and soft. But in her blue eyes, a vicious light flashed faster.
Reaching the place where the corpses were burned, Rosella crouched down and touched the ashes, the only remnant of the evidence.
'Master, Water Magic killed them.' Lulu spoke.
'Some traces of Dark Magic in her ashes still remain, and the same person killed the knight, Peter, and the second personal maid.' Luca added.
They're Sacred Spirits. They can distinguish the people even from the ashes. It is because of their strong link with magic.
Rosella understood. Not many people knew Water Magic and Dark Magic. And one of them… it's her…