The Evergarden family was finally able to leave the Imperial Palace more than two weeks after the New Year’s party incident.
While countless nobles, magnates leading large merchant guilds, and many others who were the very foundation of the empire were being beheaded, Freya Evergarden was constantly interrogated, cross-referencing information, and interrogated again.
The incident was so enormous that it shook the empire, so in a way, the Imperial Palace’s decisiveness and judgment in finishing the matter in just two weeks was impressive.
Like the South Korean Ministry of National Defense churning out tanks like crazy, a government that has experienced a coup once has its own unique panic button.
And so, after a stay at the Imperial Palace that was long or short depending on how you looked at it, they were on their way home.
“Ah… that’s too bad.”
Rosaria, who no longer needed to be formal and had thrown off her cumbersome dress to return to her usual pants, muttered, resting her chin on her hand.
“Life in the Imperial Palace was no joke.”
“You already live like a noble in the mansion no, you are a noble, what are you complaining about?”
“No, it’s not just that level. The Imperial Palace is something… something different. A different dimension? Yes, it was a different dimension.”
As the eldest daughter and youngest child of the Evergarden County, Rosaria had always been treated very well at the mansion, but her experience at the Imperial Palace was beyond imagination.
She stayed at the Imperial Palace as the biggest witness in this incident, but unlike the Count and Countess and Felix, who were busy with investigations every day, Rosaria was not very helpful in the investigation and lived like a guest.
“When I open my eyes in the morning, there’s a basin ready for a foot bath. The temperature is just right, neither too hot nor too cold.”
“After the foot bath, it’s time to get ready. I don’t have to lift a finger, they do everything for me.”
“When that’s done, it’s breakfast. They bring it to my room, you know?”
“After breakfast, I could sleep in or wander around the Imperial Palace, it didn’t matter. Of course, access to the areas where the Imperial family lived was prohibited, but there was nothing better than lying in a field filled with fragrant flowers and taking a nap, you know?”
“Ugh, I couldn’t even do magic experiments and I was dying of discomfort.”
Felix made a disgusted expression as he listened to Rosaria’s boasting.
“By the way, son? Can you continue that story? You met a new transmigrator?”
“Oh, right.”
Rosaria, who had been continuing her boasting, was able to recall something she had forgotten until now at Freya’s question.
“Jin Bor… was it Bori… or Boreas…”
“Boreas.”
“Ah, right. Jin Boreas. That person was also a transmigrator.”
Jin Boreas.
He had approached her since the ballroom, casually dropping words, and after the incident, he came to Rosaria and introduced himself as a transmigrator.
“Jin Boreas is a transmigrator… so that’s why he was able to capture magical beasts.”
“But, Jin Boreas at this time should still be the successor to the Frontier Count, how did he rise to the position of Frontier Count?”
If Jin Boreas of the Boreas family, the ruler of the North, could strengthen the capture of magical beasts in the North.
Of course, the Imperial family as well as themselves would have noticed this fact, but it was a pity that there was no decisive evidence to tie them together.
“In addition, the Third Prince was also a transmigrator… the thing we were worried about has actually happened.”
“That guy looked at the people of this world as if they were dolls.”
“Just NPCs… that’s dangerous. He’s a typical psycho.”
Jin Boreas, the ruler of the North.
The Third Prince of the Empire, Ganix Obina.
These two seemed to be on the same side, judging from the circumstances.
“For now, they’re separated, but the key is how they’ll come out.”
“They’ve literally made a mess of the plans they were setting up…”
“And a death threat on top of that…”
“Dad’s okay, right?”
“Those bastards… dare threaten our husband…? Those sons of bitches are dead if I catch them…!”
Furthermore, the family learned from Freya’s explanation that Ganix had even threatened Freya, and they completely turned him into an enemy.
In particular, Dariann growled as if he would pounce on Ganix and chew him to the bone if he appeared before him, Emperor or not.
“When I think about it, the three of us have some martial arts skills, but Dad is very weak.”
“That’s true. Mom, you, and I can handle it even if a robber runs up and stabs us with a knife, but Dad can’t.”
“Honey, should we start training from today? You should at least wrap mana around the sword to be a little safer, right?”
“Ah… haha…! That would be nice, but I think it’ll be difficult because I’m busy with work.”
“Hmm, what should we do?”
As they talked, they came to the conclusion that Freya was too weak compared to the three of them.
Dariann had simple physical strength and martial arts skills, Felix had magic, and Rosaria had spirits and magic guns, so they could survive no matter where they were thrown, but Freya would face terrible consequences even if she encountered a street thug.
This wasn’t a modern world with good public order and high awareness, but a medieval fantasy world with poor public order and low awareness of murder, so the three of them were worried about her.
“Still, Gordon is always by my side, so I’m relieved. I rushed into this Imperial Palace matter alone for the sake of performance, but from now on, I’ll always bring those who will protect me.”
“Well, then…”
“Gordon-sensei seems okay…”
“I’m worried, but…”
To reassure the three of them, she said that she would always go with Gordon from now on, which reduced their worries to some extent.
Since Gordon was the teacher who taught Dariann and Rosaria in the first place, they judged that Gordon would be able to save Freya in a crisis.
“Well! There were a lot of words and a lot of work, but in the end, home is the best. That’s it!”
“You were just saying that the Imperial Palace was so good.”
“That’s that, this is this. I want to go home quickly!”
Even though there were many words and troubles in the capital, they were now roughly finished with their work and heading to their territory in a carriage.
When they arrived at the territory, what awaited the Evergarden family was.
“T-This is a disaster!”
“Tene?”
“What’s wrong?”
It was Tene, dressed in a maid’s uniform that didn’t suit the territory’s checkpoint, wringing her hands.
“Let’s go to the mansion quickly! I’ll go ahead and wait!”
Whoosh-
“Huh? W-Wait, what’s wrong!?”
Tene only told the Evergarden family that something terrible had happened and disappeared in an instant.
“What’s going on?”
“What? What’s wrong?”
“…Let’s go to the mansion quickly for now.”
The family was bewildered by Tene’s sudden behavior, but they headed to the mansion quickly as she said.
“We’ve been waiting for you, Madam.”
“Gordon, what’s going on?”
“…First of all, please take a look at this.”
As soon as they arrived at the mansion, Gordon, who greeted them, handed something to Freya.
“This is… a newspaper?”
It was a newspaper from another world.
Even though it was the Middle Ages, newspapers were circulating like in the Industrial Revolution, so you could feel a historical error, but in the
end, it was a world created according to the author’s taste, so you couldn’t help but think that it was okay to have newspapers.
Of course, Freya also used to read newspapers to understand the political situation of the empire after transmigrating into this world.
However, it was different now.
[The Great Purge at the New Year’s Party. Is the Evergarden County the whole story?!]
[Following the monopoly of Elixir, the Evergarden County is now monopolizing the nobles of the Empire.]
[Elixir’s performance, is it really safe?]
[The brutal past hidden by the Evergarden County.]
“What is this?! It’s completely slanderous!”
“How can these baseless tabloids be so…”
“Other newspapers are the same… no, most of the major newspapers are the same…!”
The newspaper’s headlines were filled with tabloids indiscriminately criticizing the Evergarden County, the mastermind behind this incident.
This incident was a planned purge for the ambition of the Evergarden County, the development of Elixir was one of them, and in fact, Elixir had severe side effects but they were secretly hiding it and trying to sell it, and so on.
Even stories about the Fifth Princess were uploaded.
Because she was the successor to the Empire, they couldn’t directly criticize her, but they were indirectly criticizing the Fifth Princess by saying that the relationship between the Fifth Princess and the Evergarden family was like this.
“A-And… most of the nobles who said they would pre-order Elixir have canceled their reservations and are asking for their reservation fees back.”
According to Gordon’s words, the nobles who had paid a large reservation fee were canceling it and asking for their money back.
“What’s going on?”
“Who’s doing this…!”
“….”
Such things were happening as soon as they returned home, so it was a very confusing situation.
“Ganix Obina. It’s his doing.”
But Freya could tell at once who was behind this.
No, in fact, it was too obvious.
And so, Ganix Obina’s pressure to drive a wedge into the protruding stone began.