*

A few days after the meeting with Arya, Sienna couldn’t get rid of the icky feeling. But she couldn’t think of a suitable route for Arya to go against her.

She looked for letters from the children to clear her stuffy mind. The letters were comforting to Sienna during hard times. Her determination to help orphans across Leipsden was also more strengthened by the letter.

“Why is this locked?”

Sienna, trying to open the drawer for the letter, was perplexed. Because she never locked this drawer and right now it was tightly locked.

“Is this drawer broken?”

Sienna tried not to think about it too seriously, but she couldn’t get rid of the discomfort, so she ordered Hain to take action right away. But when Sienna came out of the room, it suddenly became noisy outside.

“You can’t go inside without permission.”

“We’ve been accused of treason.”

Sienna ordered the knight to guard the door, wondering what the hell was going on.

“I don’t know what he’s talking about, just tell him to come in.”

The door opened and people came in. As more people than expected entered her room without following the rules, Sienna tried hard to suppress the unpleasantness.

“… Her Majesty the Dowager Empress.”

Among them, Arya stood out. She lifted the tip of her chin and entered the guest room, looking down at Sienna.

“Why did you bring so many people into this room without any announcement?”

“We weren’t able to give you a call. Oh, this guy here will explain the reason why we’re here.”

Empress Arya pointed to an old gentleman standing beside her. A fat old man greeted Sienna.

“Your Majesty the First Empress. I’m Bronis Neudella, in charge of the treason investigation division.”

Sienna wondered if there was such a department in Leipsden. She had never heard of a treason investigation team. And why did people in this department come to visit her?

“I’m here because I’ve been informed that the Empress is working with the Castro Empire. The act of treason is such a grave crime that even a member of the royal family has no exception to the investigation.”

“What the hell?!”

Sienna was dumbfounded. She couldn’t believe that she was accused of communicating with the enemy. Wasn’t it Empress Arya herself who was doing such a thing?

Sienna looked at Arya with fierce eyes. This must have been the reason why Arya was so happy to have Sienna when she visited her a few days ago due to financial problems at the Dowager Empress’s Palace. It was clear that if Arya drove Sienna into treason, the financial problems would sink below anyone’s care.

Sienna bit her lower lip and made a resolution. That she would pursue justice no matter what the difficulties may be.

“I can’t believe I’m being accused of being in touch with the Castro Empire. Who would say that nonsense?”

Her eyes were still staring at Arya. Arya also glared at Sienna. Instead of her, Bronis opened his mouth.

“We got a report…”

When Bronis was about to speak to Sienna, the servant outside the door told her that the emperor was entering. The nobles, who were crowded in Sienna’s room, stepped aside to greet Carl.

“Your Majesty the Emperor.”

“Why are we all here together? I can’t tell if this is my empress’ residence or the marketplace.”

Carl said, looking around at the nobles who were bowing to him.

Arya stepped up and protested.

“Your Majesty, I came here when I heard that the First Empress had been in contact with the Castro Empire for a long time.”

“Empress Sienna with the Castro Empire?”

Carl asked back, full of cynicism.

“I don’t know what kind of nonsense you’ve heard and come here, but if you don’t show me the right evidence, I’ll never sit idly without punishing you for your crimes.”

He gave out a violent aura to clean up the situation. Arya didn’t lose and smiled.

“Of course. Would we have come to Empress Sienna like this without any evidence? I received a letter from a very reliable person. Empress Sienna has been exchanging letters with the Castro Empire for a long time, informing them of the secrets of Leipsden.”

Sienna shook her head firmly but found it useless. She was sure all the people Arya brought in here were close to her.

“So? Who is that reliable man?”

When asked by Carl, Arya smiled and said, “I can’t tell you yet. We need to protect their safety.”

Then she glanced over Sienna. As if she was being careful that Sienna doesn’t hurt the witness. And Arya continued in a rather cheerful voice.

“The witness said that they had seen the Empress repeatedly exchanging letters with the Castro Empire.”

“I can’t believe it. It must be a conspiracy to testify without proof!”

Sienna, who wanted to stay quiet until Carl set her up in a perfect place, was so angry that she protested. Arya smiled coldly at her.

“If you want proof…That’s what I asked the witness too, how could they dare accuse the First Empress. But the witness said there was a very clear evidence. The letters are kept very carefully in the first drawer of the Empress’s bedside the drawer.”

“It can’t be. The drawers are all letters from the children of the temple.”

“Then we can check it out.”

At Arya’s words, Carl stepped out to restrain her.

“Are you trying to sneak into the Empress’s bedroom when it hasn’t been confirmed yet that this accusation is true?”

The nobles, flinching at Carl’s words, stopped their feet.

“If it bothers you, I’ll check it for you. I’m also a member of the imperial family, so will you allow me?”

At Arya’s words, Carl nodded with a coagulated look. There was no justification for rejecting her words. Eventually, Arya, Carl, and Sienna entered the bedroom.

“I lost the key to that drawer so I usually don’t lock it. But somehow it was locked today.”

“The witness brought the key. They were afraid that the Empress would destroy the evidence.”

Arya said in Sienna’s words.

“Hah, I don’t know who the witness is, but they could also open the drawer at will. The witness could have planted some evidence at will.”

Arya paused for a moment, but answered smoothly as if it had been an expected rebuttal.

“I fully understand how much the Emperor cares about Empress Sienna. However, as it is a matter of grave concern, I hope that the Emperor will remain in a neutral position and give this case to us. This is sensitive enough to shake the foundations of the Empire.”

She cleverly clouded the suspicions raised by Carl, using the word “neutral” and his position as the emperor.

Sienna frowned. She felt like she was on a well-organized stage. It was roughly expected what would be in that drawer. Who could it be? The one who cooperated with Arya.

Arya took out the key and opened the drawer. There were several folded letters in the drawer. She took out a blue envelope. Above it was the stamped seal of the Holy Empire, so Sienna recognized the letter.

“It’s a letter from priest Roy. It’s not a letter from the Castro Empire…”

But there was not one envelope. Arya pulled out several envelopes of letters. They all looked like envelopes of letters from Roy.

“These are letters from priest Roy?”

Arya opened the envelope and scanned the contents of the letter. Then he handed the letter to Carl and said, “Since when was priest Roy not a man of the Holy Empire, but of the Castro?”

“What are you talking about?”

“What a sight of this letter! This makes me think that Empress Sienna is not the Empress of the Leipsden Empire, but a servant of the Castro Empire.”

“What are you talking about? It’s something I’ve never seen before. I didn’t even know they existed.”

“Oh my, Empress Sienna…how can you change your words so quickly? Didn’t you say it was a letter from priest Roy? From what I see, Empress Sienna did not exchange letters with Priest Roy, but with a high-ranking member of the Castro Empire. I don’t know why the Empress did this. Well, it’s going to be a matter to investigate.”

Arya gazed triumphantly at Carl.

“What would you do? You’re not going to cover this up, are you?”

She left the word and headed outside. It was to show evidence to the aristocrats waiting outside.

“You don’t believe that, do you?”

“Of course I don’t. I’m not crazy, listening to what that woman says. Just by looking at the keys, Arya must have planted a letter.”

Carl said in a determined manner as if Sienna’s anxious mind had been conveyed.

At Carl’s words, Sienna was relieved. Her anxiety was completely gone. She felt like if Carl believed in her, she could settle this issue. She spoke to him in a calm voice.

“Then you should come forward ahead of Arya and say that you will take care of this. Fairly, whether I’m the empress or not, you have to give the impression that you are being fair. Otherwise, Empress Arya will try to eat not only me but also you.”

“Are you going to be alright? I can cover this up with my power if you want.”