The Return of the Female Knight

CHAPTER 105

Elena replied with an indifferent look.

“Oh, this flower comes from a rare plant that only grows in the Kingdom of Sibena. Her Majesty the Queen recently sent one to me as a wedding gift, and I loved the smell so much that I had to have one at this party. "

All the spectators nodded.

"I saw."

"It smells so good."

However, whispers broke out from the people from the Sibena kingdom, dark expressions on their faces. Elena deliberately turned towards them.

“Ah, yes, there is an ambassador from Sibena. What is the real name of this plant? "

"Him"

One of the ambassadors frowned in contemplation. Elena glanced silently at the nanny before turning around.

“Oh, the flowers are so torn that it is impossible to recognize even by a Sibenian. I will show you the actual plant given to me by the Empress. "

As soon as Elena finished, the nanny approached the ambassador with a potted plant. It's all according to plan. The closer the Manera factory, the darker the expressions of the ambassadors from Sibena become. If the ambassador said the wrong thing, the Empress would be in an unstable position. However, if he were to lie in front of others, it would be tantamount to blaming.

Although it was not hot in the hall, the Sibia ambassador was sweating as if he was in a humid summer. He closed his eyes, then spoke.

“Y-yah, it's called the Manera plant. It is difficult for many to distinguish it from its twin, Vanera. ”

"Then, among the twin plants, the Empress gave me Manera."

"Y-yes. Exactly right."

Some people began to mutter amongst themselves. Elena pressed the ambassador again.

"I've heard that the flowers bring harmony and fertility, right?"

The Ambassador of the Kingdom of Sibena, while he did not want to reveal as much as he could, realized that there was no way out. He had a defeated expression on his face as he spoke.

"No .. not at all. If you inhale this scent for a long period of time, it can cause infertility in women. ”

"What's? What are you saying?"

Elena turned to Empress Ophelia with a shocked expression. Elena was not the only one, as the entire group looked at Ophelia in astonishment. Sending the plant that caused infertility to the Crown Princess was clear in its intention to harm. Elena spoke with a look of disbelief.

"Your Majesty, what does this mean?"

This was the conclusion of Elena's carefully prepared trap. It has been confirmed that some ambassadors of the Kingdom of Sibena can distinguish the Manera and Vanera plants, and he has put on a show that will attract the attention of the flowers. The nobles of the Ruford Empire might be under the influence of the Empress, so she filled the hall with envoys from other kingdoms. Under this plan, Ophelia would suffer a great blow to her image.

Ophelia's completely calm demeanor caused a sinking feeling in Elena's stomach.

'There's something wrong.'

But he doesn't know what it is. Elena quickly recalculated everything in her head, as Ophelia's voice rang through the hall.

"Please don't get me wrong, Crown Princess. Someone must have manipulated this to defame me. "

"…defiling?"

“Yes, I'm sending you sweet Vanera flowers, not Manera. And I can bring scholars from the Sibena Kingdom here to prove it. "

"…!"

From the beginning, Elena felt it was strange that there were twin plants. He frowned.

“With all due respect, Your Majesty, it will be difficult to confirm the situation with just one witness. How much can we trust a scholar? ”

"Don't worry. Someone must be playing a trick to keep us apart, and I'll make sure to find out who. "

Ophelia spoke in a confident tone and called out to the waiting woman, Cassana.

"Cassana, quickly bring the Sibenian scholar who lives in the Queen's palace."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Cassana rushes out of the party as the ambassadors exchange uneasy looks between them. Elena wanted to talk more, but she could not ignore Ophelia's promise to bring witnesses, as if the Empress had prepared for this exact situation.

Before long, Cassana returns with a middle-aged man.

"Greetings to the Queen. Greetings to the Crown Princess. Eternal glory to the Ruford Empire. "

The man approached and fell to the floor with a deep bow. Ophelia spoke in an unhappy tone.

“I order you to buy a Vanera plant to send it to the crown princess. Now others say it's a Manera plant. What's going on?"

"Your Majesty, that's impossible. What I sent was clearly a Vanera plant. I swear my life is on it. Can I see my own plants? "

Elena was forced to nod, and the nanny approached the scholar with the plant. As soon as the scholar saw Manera, he shook his head and spoke firmly.

"I didn't send this, Your Majesty. Is there an opportunity for someone else to change the plant? ”

Empress Ophelia pretended to think.

"No. No one in the palace can … "

His words disappeared, and he looked at Elena as if he realized something.

"Who sent this plant to the Crown Princess, by any chance?"

"… That's Asabe's servant."

"Then let's bring the servant here. You, take Asabe's maid from the Crown Prince's palace. Search the maid's room thoroughly to look for anything suspicious. ”

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

The palace guards left the hall. Whatever traps Elena had woven, the Empress was much more complicated and difficult to break.

"She seemed to know it was going to happen."

Anxiety began to gradually suppress Elena's mind.

Asabe was roughly dragged into the party by the palace guards, then thrown to the ground.

"Why did you call me here …?"

Empress Ophelia looked at Asabe coldly.

"Tell me the truth. Did you replace the Vanera plant to push the wedge between the Crown Princess and me? If you are honest, I'll forgive you. ”

"W-what? What are you talking about?"

His eyes were filled with fear, as if he knew something was wrong. One of the other guards, under the Queen's orders, brought potted plants.

"I found this plant in Asabe's servant's room, Your Majesty."

Elena, who had observed the situation so far, was speechless. Whatever trap Elena prepared for Ophelia, the Empress found a way to wriggle out. This is not a simple act of chance.

This only made sense if the Empress had prepared this in advance. Butwhy?

"Does he want to test my reaction when I receive that gift?"

Elena's red eyes trembled in disbelief. If so, Ophelia was one step ahead of Elena and judged him. It would be dangerous if this assumption were true. Elena could not seem harmless if her claws were pointed out too early.

Ophelia spoke to the scholar she had summoned earlier.

"See this. Is this the plant I want to give to the Crown Princess? "

The scholar quickly inspected the flowers and nodded.

"Yes, Your Majesty. This is the Vanera plant I sent you. I painted the pattern on the pot myself, so I recognized it. ”

The cross!

Ophelia hit the chair with the first one. In an instant, a gripping silence gripped the room.

“How dare you change plants? Tell me, who made you do it? ”

Asabe looked up with a pale and trembling face.

“A-what do you mean? Your Majesty, I am only guilty of following your orders. I just do what I'm told to do … "

"Ha. You still cannot repent of your mistakes. Are you trying to frame me, despite evidence to the contrary? "

Ophelia spoke to Asabe, but Elena felt those words were aimed at her.

"I don't want to see your face again. Take him out and execute him. "

Asabe's eyes widened.

"Please save me, Your Majesty! I'm wrong! I'm really just doing what you ordered! ”

Asabe begged loudly that he was innocent when the guards dragged him away, but it was in vain. Eventually his screams faded, but it remained in the minds of the people in the hall.

Kkuump.

Elena clenched it first. He never dreamed that Vanera plants would be found in Asabe's room. If that wasn't the case, Elena would have intervened, but she couldn't have come forward in this situation. The wrong move could cause Elena to be misunderstood in this drama. Asabe was still the Crown Prince's palace servant, and Elena had kept him close to his side recently.

'How horrible …'

Ophelia quickly ordered the execution without even staring. As Elena expected, Asabe had confirmed that he was a spy planted by the Queen. It is remarkable how the Empress so easily disposed of human life.

"Did the Empress consider Asabe to be of little value when she found out that I suspected Asabe was a spy?"

It was logical for the Empress to cut Asabe off before Elena could gather any information from him.

Elena looked with new eyes at the woman sitting proudly next to her. He realized why the Empress was considered one of the two pillars supporting the Ruford Empire, and she was far more competent and dangerous than Second Prince Redfield.

Seeing the tense atmosphere of the ambassadors, Ophelia smiled calmly.

“Yeah, the party atmosphere is ruined. Forget what happened before and just enjoy it. You there, why is there no music? "

Opera music began to flow in the room. Elena wordlessly looked at Ophelia and felt defeat on her bones.

'I lost this time …'

He could not erase the feeling that he was playing in Ophelia's palm.

*

*

*

Regardless of the previous incident, Elena's party ended with great success. Ophelia's smile descended from her face as soon as she was in the Queen's palace.

"I didn't expect the Crown Princess to get this far."

Cassana spoke from behind him.

"Yes. We underestimated the Crown Princess because she kept the flowers in a place where she passed by often, but she was smarter than I thought. However, not smart enough for the Queen. You've won the game again. "

"…"

Despite that compliment, Ophelia did reply. That means he's in a bad mood, and Cassana knows from experience not to speak in this situation.

Ophelia leaned back in her chair with contemplation, tapping the armrest with her nails. Then he frowned, as if he was unhappy with the outcome of his thoughts.

"Asabe's bitch is stupid."

"… Hm?"

Cassana seemed to be wondering, but Ophelia muttered as if she was talking to herself.

"Is he a fool who can only do as he is told? When things went like that, she should have said that it was the Crown Princess that made her do it. "

Cassana gulps. In fact, anyone who was in that situation would be found guilty. But Ophelia denied it, and everyone believed her words. Cassana quickly nodded in agreement.

"Yes. It was a great opportunity to put the princess into trouble, but unfortunately it was missed. ”

Ophelia had sent the Manera factory to simply test Elena, and was only making evidence to prove her innocence, not to fight back. Asabe's execution was originally part of Ophelia's plan. However, the Crown Princess' plan was more effective than expected.

If Asabe said "The Crown Princess told me to change plants," the situation would be reversed significantly. And if Elena tried to stop the servant's execution, Ophelia could definitely make a connection between the two. It wouldn't be easy to forge evidence that Elena bought the Manera factory, but Ophelia could at least instill suspicion that Elena was an immoral figure. However, the young lady was smart enough not to allow herself to be caught by the net.

Ophelia commented on that thought.

"Only, I don't think enough …"

Elena believed that she had lost the party, but it did not flow as Ophelia had intended either. Up until now, she had not been serious about Elena and had never expected this plan to be executed properly. If Ophelia entered without any preparation, it would be over for her.

"By keeping Manera plants nearby to look vulnerable ..he may be a difficult opponent."

Seeing Ophelia's annoyed expression, Cassana carefully opened her mouth.

“It's just a light test, isn't it? We should be more careful when dealing with the Crown Princess. ”

"He's not the only one."

"Oh? You mean…"

Ophelia's eyes were filled with dark energy.

"There's Carlisle."

The Crown Prince was already a formidable opponent by himself, and he would even be more troublesome with Elena by his side. If only Elena was just a pretty face or reckless love.

"… Tiger can grow."

Ophelia's face wrinkled as she recalled Elena's beautiful face at the party.