I Won’t Accept Your Regrets

The imperial physician, who came downstairs, tried to be polite, but I shook his hand.

"I have no time for ceremonies. What are you doing here? Is the Prince ill?"

"Just a minor injury, His Majesty sprained his ankle."

"Ankle? Why would it be so sudden?"

"I was told he played with His Majesty."

Raymond and Carlisle played together?

What kind of nonsense did I just hear? However, it didn't matter at all when Carlisle got hurt.

Having dismissed the doctor, I asked the maid for him.

"Is Carlisle at his room?"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Hearing the answer, I went straight to Carlisle.

The butler stood with the door open, apparently waiting for me.

"I greet Her Majesty the Empress."

I just walked past him, as I passed Raymond, and went to Carlisle on the bed.

"Mom!"

Coming closer, I saw a bandage on his left ankle. Fortunately, as the court physician said, no serious injuries were found.

"Carlisle, what's wrong with your leg? Does it hurt a lot?"

"No, it's okay. They said it would be better if I take the day off,” Carlisle said boldly. He deliberately spoke louder than usual in case I got worried.

With a smile, I gently stroked Carlisle's cheek and turned to Raymond.

"Greetings to His Majesty the Emperor."

I was a little late with the greeting.

Now his face was pale and he licked his lips.

"Sorry. I hurt Carlisle."

I looked at Carlisle. Carlisle shook his head as if it wasn't true.

And of course I didn't think Raymond would harm Carlisle either.

It must have been an accident.

"Your Majesty, can we go out and talk? It's time for Carlisle to go to bed."

"But I'm fine…" Carlisle expressed his opinion in a low voice as if he didn't want to sleep yet, but I patted his head and said.

"Let's go to bed early today. Get a good night's sleep and wake up so your ankle can heal quickly. So we can have fun later, right? "

"Uh, yes."

I left the room with Raymond and led him into the living room, not my room.

"Sit down, Your Majesty. Come out everyone."

Raymond didn’t want to sit down, although all the servants had already left.

" Your Majesty?"

"Ellie, this Carlisle incident, I'm really… sorry."

He apologized again.

Are you very scared?

He was more shocked by Carlisle's injury than I thought.

The face was pale, just like mine in the past.

When Carlisle was still a baby, there was a time when my child suffered from my mistakes.

When I first got into such a situation, I simply couldn’t find a place for myself. Just like Raymond at this moment.

This must have been his first time.

I said in a calm voice to calm him down.

"It’s okay. I don’t think Your Majesty intentionally harmed Carlisle. You must have just played too."

"But …"

"Children usually get hurt often. When they run, they often break their ankle, not just sprain it."

Since he started walking, Carlisle got into trouble so often that I could close my eyes to this one incident.

"Moreover, he himself says that everything is okay. Don't worry too much. After all, they say that everything will pass in a day."

"Did Carlisle suffer badly when he was growing up?"

"Falling naturally when you first start to walk."

"Right. Now, if we were together…"

And I guessed what he was thinking.

"Ellie."

"Yes?"

"Apart from Carlisle, I’m very sorry that I couldn’t understand your position a few days ago. I'll be more careful in the future."

His eyes were still gloomy, and he wasn’t entirely sincere.

I felt him suppress his feelings.

I was angry with his attitude, but more important things happened after that day, so I almost forgot about it.

"This is what you need to consider for the future. But I have something important for Your Majesty. Shall we sit down?"

With a serious look, Raymond sat down on the sofa, as if he had a presentiment that something was about to break out.

"Is it related to the fact that you left the palace today?"

"Yes"

"Is it bad?"

"It's about Marquis Sios. More precisely, I have evidence of his crimes."

I handed Raymond an envelope.

Raymond frowned even more as he scanned paper one after another.

He read the last one and turned to me.

Black eyes, cold as ice, were now looking at me. Then I told him:

"My people have already gone there to collect the money from the vault. No later than the day after tomorrow, all the contents will be in the capital. Proof was also obtained that Marquis Sios illegally bought the estate."

The evidence was perfect for charging the Duke with embezzlement from the treasury.

"This will be enough to destroy Marquis Sios."

He looked at me tenaciously, saying nothing. And finally, he moved his lips:

"I have already learned from Marquis Paren that you have decided to make your move. I think this time we won’t miss Sios."

"If so, I hope Your Majesty will sort things out properly."

"We’ll catch Sios tomorrow. But… Before that, I want to ask you something."

I took a slow, deep breath as I sat under Raymond's cold gaze.

"Ask."

"Is this evidence Duke Drua have found?"

Menace flickered in his dark eyes.

If the papers came from Jeremy, the Emperor would be suspicious of such a source.

And the testimonies were so detailed that they couldn’t have been obtained if you were not an accomplice.

But I couldn't tell him the truth.

If you have found evidence of this kind, it would be correct to bring it personally to the Emperor.

Even if Raymond was in doubt, my source can’t be disclosed under any threat.

"No. Ever since the defamation of Duke Croft, I have been secretly conducting my investigation. And now the evidence is clear."

"Are you saying that you found it?"

"Exactly. More specifically, I found it through the people of the Phoenix organization."

I felt his deep gaze slide over me. I looked at him, pretending to be calm, and not avoiding his gaze.

There was a silence that made him breathless, and the look inside his eyes gradually changed.

"I believe you."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Raymond no longer looked at me suspiciously. Although he knew it wasn't true.

Then he said, clutching the papers:

"Tomorrow I will send knights to catch Marquis Sios. And, judging by the evidence, the trial will come to pass quickly. This will be enough to take away the title of the Marquis, as well as property and send him into exile at some distance from the capital."

If he falls that low, Marquis Sios will never be able to recoup.

And the day he returns from exile will probably be the day of his death.

"But our problem is now… in Lisa."

All the evidence pointed to Marquis Sios, but not to Lisa.

All titles and property of the Marquis will be confiscated, but he cannot send Lisa into exile, who wasn’t the direct culprit.

She was also the mother of the first prince.

If there is talk of exile, not even the First Prince will remain calm.

So, Lisa’s situation can create feelings of sympathy.

They can make a martyr out of her. This couldn’t be allowed.

There was no good in promoting that as soon as the new Empress and Second Prince were proclaimed, the story is heard that the Emperor abandoned the First Prince.

But that doesn't mean I can leave Lisa alone. We don't know what else she will do in the future… I don’t know how exactly to end you, but the result will be the same.

"Even if Marquis Sios goes into exile, Lady Sios is the mother of the First Prince, so she should be left with a little honor."

"Do you really want Lisa to come out of the water dry?"

"Well, I don’t. But a daring step will harm your image among the people. You'd better come forward and defend the honor of young Lady Sios. Since the Marquis falls, you can give her a title."

"Her… title?" he asked, puzzled.

"You will give me something else in return."

"Something else?"

"Please save the honor of Lady Sios, but also name Carlisle the crown prince."

Losing the support of the Marquis, Lisa would have to put everything on Edmund. But if the position of the crown prince is taken, she will simply have nowhere to go.