Chapter 44: No, This Is What Solving It From the Source Means?

Caine had come tonight to test Corellia.

However, the results were somewhat unsatisfying. Corellia’s performance could be described as airtight.

While she seemed to treat Caine as someone special, it still fell within the bounds of her earlier statement that he ‘didn’t need to be so polite with her.’ She had not crossed that line.

Her transcendental, cold demeanor remained unshaken. Her expression consistently maintained the majesty and strength of a queen, without even a hint of awkwardness or hesitation.

Even though she was wearing only a loose, floor-length nightgown that faintly revealed her enchanting and voluptuous figure, she carried herself as if she were in her usual solemn and sacred formal attire. Her entire being radiated the aura of the Ice Queen.

‘If it really wasn’t her, then her attitude is reasonable.’

But that raised another problem. Even if Corellia herself wasn’t the one doing it, she should at least have some idea who the real culprit was.

“Corellia… who do you think is capable of such a thing? Since the other party specifically used the same shade of lip makeup as you, they must have a grudge against one of us.”

Since there was no point in dwelling on the previous ambiguity, Caine simply ignored the Queen’s earlier stance and steered the conversation back on track, once again discussing the attacker.

“It would be a lie to say I have no clue at all. As you well know, Caine, after the late king passed away, there were those who opposed my succession. Although I’ve dealt with some of the nobility through various means, a faction of the opposition still exists for certain reasons.”

“If the goal of attacking you was to make you believe I did it, thereby spreading rumors of me being an ‘insatiable, harlot queen,’ then it would indeed damage my image and shake my throne.”

“After all, the Church holds significant power in our country. If the Church, which explicitly forbids adultery, had the mind to do so, they would use this to attack me. In fact, that possibility exists. Unlike the late king, I am not as lenient toward the Church. It’s only natural for me to be resented or even viewed with hostility.”

Fortunately, Corellia stopped saying vague things that would cause Caine to misunderstand her. With a cold expression, she began to analyze the current situation.

However, the more she spoke, the more frustrated Caine felt.

Frankly, he felt that being a king wasn’t all it was cracked up to be precisely because the king in the original work was also restricted by various factions. He hadn’t even intended to become king, yet he had still been dragged into this sort of mess.

Furthermore, Her Majesty the Queen truly didn’t seem to feel any taboo about this, considering she could say such a derogatory term about herself so casually.

“So, Corellia, who do you think it is? Who could possibly do this within the palace and continue doing it even after I left the Royal Palace to stay at an inn?”

Caine did not let his frustration show. He maintained a calm, composed attitude as he asked for Corellia’s specific conclusion.

“Regrettably, Caine, even if I have a vague idea of who the mastermind is, I am not certain of the executor’s identity. Based on what happened to you, the perpetrator must be an expert with high-level skills, at least on par with Altina.”

After a moment of silence, Corellia simply shook her head slightly. Her cold voice, which carried no trace of the regret she claimed to feel, echoed through the room.

While she didn’t seem particularly proactive about it, her words weren’t without logic.

If it wasn’t Corellia herself, then the executor and the mastermind behind them were almost certainly not the same person.

The number of young women working in the Royal Palace was very small, but the number of maids was vast. It was plausible that a spy sent by some noble had disguised themselves as an ordinary maid to carry out the deed.

Even a queen like Corellia couldn’t possibly know every single maid.

And if the executor couldn’t be found, it was even harder to determine who the mastermind was.

It could be one noble family, or perhaps another. It wasn’t even impossible for several to be working together.

For instance, the noble whose engagement was dissolved by Corellia after she took the throne was highly likely to be dissatisfied with the Queen.

But since there was no evidence, even as the Queen, Corellia couldn’t move against the nobility at will.

Therefore, the conclusion was that unless they caught the person red-handed, it would be difficult to completely resolve the matter.

…Of course, Caine still had an ultimate trump card—leaving the palace, this nest of trouble.

Once he was separated from Corellia, it would definitely be difficult for anyone to attack him again.

However, that seemed somewhat heartless, leaving Corellia—who had taken such good care of him—to face a situation where someone was secretly plotting against her all alone.

“So, in the end, we still have to catch the person in the act? It looks like I won’t be able to get a peaceful night’s sleep for a while.”

Because the current situation was not optimistic, Caine let out a somewhat helpless, self-deprecating sigh.

“I do have a way to solve this trouble from the source.”

Noticing Caine’s somewhat exhausted and ‘pitiful’ appearance, Corellia suddenly and unexpectedly announced she had a solution.

This caused Caine, who had just finished his self-deprecation, to look at her with some curiosity.

Solving it from the source? Aside from having Caine leave the Royal Palace immediately, she shouldn’t have any other way to fix this mess.

But that would mean she would have to face the situation alone.

‘Could it be… this cold-looking Queen is actually unexpectedly selfless? Is she willing to face this alone just to keep me from getting involved in more trouble?’

If that were the case, Caine would be truly moved.

It was a nice thought, but facts proved that Caine was overthinking it.

Corellia did not change her attitude or expression because of Caine’s somewhat hopeful gaze.

She simply continued in her usual cold and authoritative tone, “Since the other party’s goal is to make me look scandalous in matters of the heart, then you and I should just get married, Caine. That way, we can just say everything that happened before was my doing, and there won’t be any problem. After all, even the conservative Church cannot criticize a couple for having a slightly intense nightlife.”

It was a statement that nearly made Caine black out.

‘Is this what solving it from the source means?’

A queen sneaking around with a man was shameless, but there was no problem if the Queen was “sneaking around” with her own fiancé? While that did make sense, did she really have to go that far?

“This would also serve as a deterrent to whoever is doing this. If the person still dares to attack you despite that, I can protect you by your side in my capacity as your wife. Oh, don’t worry, this is just a marriage in name only. I currently have no desire for romance, much less any plans to raise children.”

Just as Caine was feeling that this was a massive overreaction, Corellia didn’t seem to think anything was wrong. She continued to explain the situation through those icy-blue lips.

She remained as coldly detached as ever while saying things that were incredibly easy to misinterpret.