CH 97

Someone entered the grand hall shortly afterward.

“That’s…………!”

“Isn’t he the exiled prince?”

Felix’s sudden public appearance caused a stir.

“I apologize for the disturbance. I have asked the Duchess of Palesdon for assistance.”

Felix bowed and apologized, then came to stand beside me.

“The Prince has been stripped of his royal status, and whether he asked for it or not does not change the fact that the Duchess of Palesdon has stolen something that belongs to the royal family!”

The Empress Dowager, who looked surprised to see Felix, insisted, her expression changing dramatically.

I scanned the crowd with a smile on my face and soon spotted someone.

‘Just as the Master told me.’

A man with graying hair and an aged face, he wore glasses that suggested he had poor eyesight despite his young age.

I called out to him, unfazed by the sudden eye contact.

“Baron Edward, as Minister of Justice, I need your opinion.”

“If you want my opinion on the law, I’m all ears.”

Baron Edward was a very law-abiding man.

Born to a commoner family, he was supposed to be a commoner.

But after graduating at the top of his class at the Academy, he boldly took the bureaucratic exam.

He proved that he had memorized the entirety of the Imperial Code and became a bureaucrat in the Ministry of Justice.

‘He then became Minister of Justice and was granted a baronetcy.’

Baron Edward willingly pushed his way through the crowd and stood before me.

I looked him straight in the eye and asked.

“The Imperial Code has provisions for unbelievers. The punishment varies a bit depending on your status, but in the end, most are sentenced to death, right?”

“Yes. That’s exactly what the Duchess of Palesdon said.”

“And at the bottom, in very small print, there is a provision for imperials who become unbelievers.”

I continued on to recite the provisions for imperials who became unbelievers.

“Law on the Punishment of Unbelievers, Article 4, Section 4. Punishment for Imperials who become unbelievers. From the time of becoming an unbeliever, the imperial family shall be immediately stripped of their status.”

Soon there was an enthusiastic response from the audience.

“Was that in the Imperial Code?”

“I was always good in law class, but I only knew that………… unbelievers were subjected to extreme punishment.”

“Neither did I, there was just something about the law professor’s voice that made me sleepy.”

“But how does the Duchess of Palesdon know that so well? I’ve seen her sleep harder than anyone else…………….”

“That’s right, isn’t there a famous anecdote about the Duchess of Palesdon cracking her desk when she was a student?”

Of course, their reaction makes sense.

‘Well, I only found out about the law because of the item.’

But I leisurely continued, pretending that I had always known this much about the law, that it was part of my daily routine.

“And the esteemed scholar, Mr. Loprope, who wrote this clause, added these words.”

Baron Edward’s eyes lit up as he listened.

“Imperials are born the noblest and have the most to offer, but they also have the most responsibilities and duties. Naturally, it must never happen that a member of the royal family becomes an unbeliever. Just in case, I have made provisions, but I hope to never have to apply this law.”

I glanced around the room, which had now fallen silent, and then back at Baron Edward.

“If there is any error in what I have said, please let me know.”

“No. You have spoken with remarkable accuracy.”

He looked surprised for a moment, but then his face broke into a thin smile.

No one could argue with his recognition as a living code of law.

Not even the Empress Dowager.

“The Emperor himself has personally attested that the diary belongs to the Empress Dowager, and the direct wording of the entries in it proves that she has been an unbeliever for at least fourteen years.

“At least 14 years ago.”

“Wait………!”

“My daughter-in-law said she’d talk to you about it!”

I smiled slightly at Catalina, who was lightly controlling the Empress Dowager’s backlash.

“And as Baron Edward, the Minister of Justice, has admitted, according to the Imperial Code of Laws, at that point the Empress Dowager, no, she is already not a member of the royal family, is she not?”

“Yes, the Duchess of Palesdon is right.”

I saw a smirk cross Emperor Ilsun’s eyes.

He couldn’t help but welcome this situation.

The Emperor was inclined to nip any seeds of dissension in the bud before they could grow, but justification must be considered.

He could kill all his brothers who were aiming for the throne, but he couldn’t touch the Empress Dowager, who couldn’t possibly want the throne herself.

I had removed a long-standing headache from his life.

“It can no longer be denied that Her Majesty the Empress Dowager was an unbeliever. I am stripping her of her position as Empress Dowager and of her royalty and banishing her to the northern wall as a slave.”

At her age, working as a wall slave was practically a death sentence.

So the Empress Dowager screamed in protest.

“No! You cannot do this to me! Your Majesty, you must not forget that I have given you my full loyalty, even at the cost of my children!”

“This is an abomination coming from the mouth of an unbeliever. Drag her away.”

The Empress Dowager retorted but to no avail.

At the Emperor’s command, the knights surrounded her.

“Hah, how long will your power last, when our great God descends, and it will all be for naught?”

“You have sinned and still do not repent. Shut that thing’s mouth at once!”

A gag was placed over the Empress Dowager’s mouth, and soon she was dragged away.

Seeing my chance, I quickly turned to the emperor.

“Venerable Emperor, I apologize for causing such a disturbance on such a fine day.”

“No, rather, you have uncovered an unbeliever hiding in the palace, and for that, I am grateful to you. If there is anything you wish to ask of me, please speak freely.”

“I would like to ask for the pardon of Felix Blake, a renegade who has entered the palace.”

The room fell silent again at my words.

“As a matter of principle, Felix Blake is tacitly forbidden to enter the Imperial Palace. However, he has shown his loyalty to the imperial family by exposing a past that could have been swept under the rug, even if it meant exposing an unbeliever.

“Loyalty to the imperial family.”

Actually, Felix didn’t have such an agenda, but I was making it up as I went along.

The presence of the villainous Empress Dowager made it easier to say this.

“Felix Blake also gave us the location of the Empress Dowager’s diary, and if it weren’t for him, it would have been difficult to find the evidence.”

“Yes. I see your point. I will not hold Felix Blake guilty, and I will allow him access to the palace in the future.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty.”

It was a more merciful decision than I had expected.

Beside me, I felt Felix breathe a sigh of relief.

“And the Duchess of Palesdon, come closer.”

“Yes. Very well.”

I moved before the Emperor.

“I will not make it an official matter because of your service, but you have taken imperial property, and you will owe me an explanation as to how this happened.”

“Of course, Your Majesty.”

I did.

‘Violet, one of the world’s most powerful thieves, stole it.’

Even now, Violet, who had snuck into the Grand Hall, was smirking from afar.

It wasn’t as if I hadn’t anticipated the Emperor’s words, after all, so I drew out a hand.

“You may have heard that the Spirit of Leaves has returned to Brighton, and I have recently summoned one as a result.”

I knew the Emperor wouldn’t make it an official matter, but this was a banquet hall and there were a lot of people there.

Those listening to the conversation were awestruck.

“The Duchess of Palesdon has summoned spirits?”

“So she is now under the protection of two spirits?”

“That is history, and it’s been said that the spirit’s vein was cut a long time ago.”

I waited for them to react fully.

For the Emperor to see through the spirit’s influence on public opinion.

“Actually, the spirits were very helpful in digging this up. If His Majesty would allow me, I would be happy to summon the spirits.”

“……….Yes. I will allow it.”

I waved my hand.

Spirits were a long-standing part of the Empire, and I didn’t think the Emperor would turn them down here.

“Pepe, come out.”

Soon a white ball of light appeared in the air.

The spirit appeared in a circle of shimmering light.

This was not the same as summoning Pepe through a call.

This was a manifestation of my magic, and everyone could see Pepe.

“It’s really a spirit!”

“I never thought I’d see a spirit in my lifetime…………!”

The enthusiastic reactions made the spectacular appearance worthwhile.

-I was cleansing a place that had been contaminated by unbelievers, but if Rose called me, I would come!

“Pepe, you’re only a good spirit if you say hello.”

-Yes. Hi, I’m Pepe!

“Pepe is a wind spirit.”

As Pepe performs his trick of twirling in the air, someone in the crowd stirs.

He staggered out, shaking and on the verge of tears, and asked.

“Are you Sylphid, the Wind Elemental King?”

-Yes. Do you recognize me?

“Alas, Sylphid………!”

The old man fell to his knees, as if he had just met his savior.

‘What? I didn’t expect this.’