The Emperor Is My Brother's Best Friend

The commander of the knights sent the knight behind him straight to the carriage to protect Rose as Wells turned around after confirming that the knight was sufficient in protecting his sister.

Wells made his way back to the banquet, where he believed Russell would be, but the leader of the knights' order directed him in a different direction.

"Isn't this the path to the Ladies Break Room?"

"That is correct, Duke Honeywell."

"The emperor called for me to meet him at such an unusual location. Did something serious take place?"

If Wells' memory was correct, the knight leading him was the head of the Imperial Guard on duty for the banquet.

The captain, who led the knights and guards of the Imperial Palace, had left his office.

Thus, understanding the dire straits of the situation, Wells recalled the hard face of the knight who'd come to report the emperor's summons to him.

I knew that something was wrong, but with this level of seriousness... I can't imagine what could have been the cause.

The captain of the knights turned to the duke, stunned.

"Has the Duke not been briefed on the details?"

"I only know that His Majesty is looking for me. I know it's something serious, but I haven't heard the details yet."

The leader of the Knights Templar's face hardened as if he'd recalled the reason.

He hurried along with Wells, briefly recalling what had happened in the ladies break room.

"A murder occurred."

Wells almost came to an abrupt stop in surprise.

He wondered if he had heard wrong but knew he hadn't.

A murder case.

The Imperial Palace was a place like no other. Besides, today is the day we held a grand banquet with hundreds of guests.

On days like those, extra knights were stationed and placed on high alert, guarding every inch of the Imperial Palace in case of an attack or some emergency.

So naturally, there was a guard stationed at every available turn, and yet, somehow, under the all-seeing eyes of the knight's templar, a murder had taken place.

"Tell me in detail."

"As I've also recently received the message, I have yet to go and check the details. However, reports say that the murdered maids were on duty at the time in the Imperial Palace."

"The maids? Was it not just one person?"

"No, the victims totaled three."

"Have you received a report about the cause of death?"

"Nothing has been reported as of yet. Perhaps the person who sent me the message came in a hurry, and the only report I received was the one I just informed the duke."

"In that case, let's go to the break room quickly."

The two sped up their pace.

As they approached their destination, the break room, the atmosphere changed.

.

The knights stood guard in front of the entrance to the room, and when they noticed Wells approaching, they obediently opened the door and let him pass through.

The atmosphere inside the break room was more tense than outside. It was somewhat different from the atmosphere found at the scene of a murder.

Wells thought for a moment that he had entered a swamp rather than the scene of a murder.

The inside of the break room was thickly stuffed with the smell of something unpleasantly sticky.

"Your Majesty."

Wells immediately called for Russell and approached him.

Russell and the knights stood gloomily in the corner of the break room. Judging from the partitions erected on the nearby walls, it was easy to guess that they must have been the partitions that were originally in the room before it was moved around for investigation.

There were three corpses covered with white cloth on the floor that Russell was looking at with a serious expression.

"What about Lady Honeywell?"

Sensing the presence of Wells approaching him, Russell's first instinct was to ask about Rose's whereabouts and safety.

"I sent her to the manor on the carriage. I was anxious to send her alone with just a coachman, so I asked the commander of the 5th Division to attach an escort knight for protection."

"Alright, good job."

"But speaking of murder..."

Wells paused and looked around the area of the three bodies.

The first thing that comes to mind when it comes to murder is that it is nowhere to be seen. There are no clues of any kind.

"Was it poison?"

There was no weapon involved, so much could be determined by the lack of blood stains and scuffles.

But who would benefit from poisoning the ladies-in-waiting at the Imperial Palace?

The moment Wells began to run through the list of names of potential poisoning suspects, Russell shook his head in denial.

"It's not even poisoning."

"Then...?"

Instead of answering, Russell glanced at a nearby knight.

The knight bent one knee in front of the white cloth and carefully lifted it. Wells' gaze was locked on the knight's movements.

Following the knight's hand, the white cloth slipped away, revealing the body of the handmaid beneath it.

Upon discovery, Wells closed his mouth with an audible snap and quickly turned his head away.

As soon as his brain registered what his eyes took in, his head swiveled to the side, unable to accept what was before him.

Wells cleared his throat and looked back at the body.

The dead maid's condition was very strange.

Her skin was dry, like a vegetable that had lost its moisture, and her bones were visible. Her skin had lost its original color and had turned a bland, dark red.

If the corpse hadn't been in human form, it would have been difficult to even accept that it had the same existence as them when they were alive.

"Are the other two in similar conditions?"

"Yes."

Russell's voice carried a hint of grief for his deceased subjects as he nodded. Wells subconsciously rubbed the skin of his chin in deep thought.

"In this case, what should we call the cause of death?"

Russell didn't reply.

Wells didn't ask again.

"First, move the corpses to the basement. Call the investigators and order them to investigate the cause of death."

At Russell's command, six knights waiting nearby brought out a stretcher.

Russell and Wells watched silently as they moved the body, but they were soon taken aback.

Though it didn't look like the knight was holding the corpse body too tightly, the moment the knight's gloved hand made contact with the body that looked like a dry branch, it crumbled like sand in front of the wind.

"Everybody, get your hands off the corpse!"

Russell shouted urgently, and the knights, who had not yet touched the corpse, immediately retreated.

Everyone kept their mouths shut as they stared blankly at the shattered corpse.

A long time passed before someone broke the silence.

"Is it magic?"

After an endless silence, Wells was the first to voice his doubts. Russell shook his head firmly.

"I don't think it's magic. If it's magic, there should at least be traces of the magic circle inside, but there aren't."

"It's even more surprising if it's not magic. Even natural disasters won't cause such an outcome."

"This is not our territory, Wells. Send a letter out of the capital right now."

"Alright."

Russell did not say the exact destination, but Wells understood his meaning at once. 𝙗𝙚𝒅𝒏𝙤𝙫𝙚𝒍.𝒐𝙧𝙜

Something strange happened so suddenly in such a highly guarded place as the Imperial Palace.

Probably everyone thought so.

This is not something a normal person would do.

Then, their next step was for Wells to ask for a favor from the temple outside the capital.

By now, the temple would be having a pretty busy time preparing for the upcoming candidates for Tristan's Gloria.

Wells left with a promise that he would send a letter to the temple right away and then ran out of the break room as if his feet were on fire.

He didn't usually run well, being an office worker with no fighting power, but this time, he ran quickly to his office.

Arriving at the office, Wells took out some paper from the drawer and picked up a pen before he could catch his breath.

His hand moved quickly as he wrote the request for help and finally stamped the seal with Honeywell's name.

Normally, Russell would have to take the seal of the Imperial Palace, but because of their dire situation, Wells ordered it to be sent directly to the temple through the knight.

In response to Wells' firm command under His Majesty's name, the knight set out for delivery urgently.

Wells was finally able to catch his breath, which had become labored from the run earlier.

He took a few slow, deep breaths and caught his breath, but soon swallowed a laugh.

"I never thought that the problems would happen in the Imperial Palace and not in the Rosenberg Maruisate, where Elliot Proud was sent."

Wells shook his head while covering his face, his eyes closed in thought.

"No way, I wonder. This incident has nothing to do with that monster, I suppose."

He didn't know if he believed it or not, but the recent deaths suddenly started to tie him up with anxiety.

Wells bit his lower lip.

"If this incident had something to do with that Abaddon... Elliot, you really did something irreparable."

As she got off the carriage with the help of the knight, she was greeted by the butler and Anne, who met her by the entrance.

Rose thanked the knight who escorted her and entered the manor with the butler and Anne at her side.

"I received a message from the Master that something happened in the Imperial Palace."

The butler listened to her inquire about Wells and spoke first with a smile.

She knew that during the time it took for the knight to escort her and the travel time, the butler must have already received a message from her brother.

"Young Lady, please go in and rest."

"Ah, yes, so should you. Please rest well."

It was late into the evening when the Manor's knights and staff were completing their day's work.

Rose went to her room with Anne.

When you arrive in a warm room, your very own territory, you finally feel the day's fatigue take over.

She left herself in Anne's capable hands and changed her clothes, then sat down on the chair in front of the dressing table.

With her eyes closed, Anne used a cotton pad to remove the makeup from her face.

"I'm tired."

"But, my lady, how was the banquet today?"

"I don't think banquets are for me either."

"But I would like for My Lady to enjoy herself when she is attending such banquets."

Feeling Anne's touch as she carefully and lightly removed her makeup, Rose tried to shake her head.

Banquets were too much for her.

I was able to endure it because Wells stood by my side as a shield, but even so, it was not easy to receive those predatorial, laser-focused gazes casually.

But to say that today's banquet wasn't fun... I can't. Didn't I meet Russell?

Even though the two hadn't conversed much with each other, Rose liked being in the same room as him.

Anne must have noticed that the corner of Rose's mouth lifted, causing excitement to enter her voice as she spoke.

"Still, it looks like you had a little fun."

"Uhm? What...? Aha---Umm... Less than fun, it was just okay."

"Ah, just like that. I pray that the Young Lady will find many interesting things in the future. Okay, that's it. Now let's go wash up."

Rose opened her eyes and headed to the bathroom as she listened to Anne tidy up the dressing table.

While she undressed to the sound of Anne cleaning up the room with makeup cleaning swabs, steam rose from the large bathtub, as if Anne had just filled up the water.

After briefly washing herself, she leaned back and rested her head against the bathtub edge, enjoying her peace as Anne began to wash her hair.

Rose gradually fell asleep at the touch of Anne's fingers gently moving through her hair.

She yawned and decided to chat with Anne to shake off the clutches of sleep.

"Anne."

"Yes, My Lady."

"Anne, do you know about Gloria of Tristan?"

"Of course, My Lady. Is there anyone living in the capital who doesn't know about Tristan's Gloria?"

"Ah, you do?"

"I can't wait to see who will be Tristan's Gloria this year."

Rose shuddered slightly. Anne's wish wasn't made by her alone.

Obviously, all citizens of the empire living in the capital would be looking forward to which young lady would be chosen as this year's Gloria of Tristan.

Isn't that what I do every year too?

She let out a long, inward sigh.

How would Anne react if I told her that I would participate in the Tristan Gloria nomination?

...

With twinkling eyes, Anne would surely act as if she had already become the final Tristan's Gloria.

Rose couldn't help but smile bitterly at the pressure she felt on her heart.