That discordant voice drew the eyes of many toward the speaker—Third Princess Liliya.
Almost everyone knew that, as a princess with no ambition, incapable of having any, and without the means to realize ambition even if she had it, Cecilia would never be treated unfairly.
The one truly at risk in this trial was the girl Cecilia had granted Golden Blood to—Lita.
Yet, this matter could be handled as something grave or brushed off as insignificant. If blown up, even Cecilia might be implicated; if played down, it could be dismissed lightly.
Rules were established to uphold royal authority. Thus, even the king himself must follow them. The kingdom was not his to rule by whim, and knowingly letting a transgressor go unpunished was clearly improper.
But this person was both the exclusive Holy Knight hoped for by the Fourth Princess, and her savior. To handle things strictly by the book was obviously inappropriate.
The king’s way of skirting the issue already revealed his stance to some extent.
However, since someone had decided to lay the matter bare, it could not be brushed aside as before.
So Liliya, by bringing up the matter directly now, actually left the king in a rather awkward position.
As Liliya spoke, Lita realized exactly who had caused all this trouble.
Why does this person hate me so much?
There was no way the king didn’t understand Liliya’s intentions, so he tossed the question back: “Liliya, then what do you suggest we do?”
Liliya answered concisely, “Father, I suggest we handle this strictly according to protocol.”
The king wasn’t going to waste words on something like “Translate, translate—what does by-the-book mean?” and simply let out a sullen grunt.
Just then, Liliya began to add even more weight to the matter, almost imperceptibly.
“Lita attempted to assassinate a princess, and possesses Golden Blood she shouldn’t have. This matter is grave and serious. I believe Father and everyone present will make the proper judgment.”
With these words, an uproar swept through the palace.
Attempted assassination of a princess—what a terrifying accusation.
Yet Liliya was not wrong. Lita had indeed sought to subdue Liliya with a single blow at the time—she simply hadn’t known Liliya’s identity as a princess then.
“Liliya, you can’t make such claims carelessly.” The king narrowed his eyes.
He knew well enough what sort of person Liliya was, both as a father and as a king. But if what she said was true, the entire direction of this affair would change drastically.
Because Lita had saved Cecilia, and Cecilia valued Lita highly, the king had been willing to make allowances. But if Lita had also attacked another princess, then it could no longer be a matter of balancing merits against faults.
“I am willing to swear in the name of the Third Princess that I have spoken no lies. My exclusive knight shall also testify for me.” Liliya lowered her head in response.
“Star Chord.”
The king called out. That must have been the title of Liliya’s exclusive knight. The tall girl immediately stepped out and saluted.
“I swear upon the name of a Holy Knight that Her Highness Liliya speaks the truth.”
“What happened?”
“That night, as I accompanied Her Highness Liliya on our journey, we encountered this person and had some conflict. I had already ceased my attack, yet she still prepared to strike a fatal blow at Her Highness Liliya—she simply did not succeed.”
What a reversal of black and white. Wasn’t it this person who’d first drawn her sword, ready to blow Lita’s head off?
Lita very much wanted to shout a rebuttal, but she knew that if she didn’t handle this carefully, she might drag Cecilia into even more trouble.
Lita noticed that not only the king, but many others were closely watching her expression. The more agitated she became, the worse her position would be.
Right now, Cecilia’s future was in her hands—she could not afford to act rashly.
“Lita, what do you say to this?”
What to do, what to do? The king was already questioning her directly, and she was completely unsuited to things like politics or debate.
If she tried to cover things up with some clumsy lie and was exposed, she would only make things even more awkward.
So, there was only one thing she could—and must—do.
“Your Majesty, regarding the offense against the princess, I do not intend to dispute it.”
Another round of shocked murmurs erupted nearby. Such words were tantamount to admitting her guilt, directly sending her to the executioner’s block.
Even the king was a little surprised by Lita’s straightforward answer, and asked sternly, “So, you admit to the assassination attempt against the princess?”
“Your Majesty, I did not intend to offend the princess, and my actions were not an assassination.”
“Then tell me, what exactly happened?”
Lita immediately recounted her return to the royal capital, her chance meeting with a bard, lodging in a village, and encountering the Piper late at night.
“Therefore, whether for my own safety or to protect Lady Cecilia, who was resting in the village, I could not allow a stranger who posed a threat to my life to continue forward. But I did not intend to take her life—only to ensure that Lady Cecilia and I could temporarily escape danger.”
“I am the Third Princess, and this person is a Golden Blood–granted Emblem Knight. How can we be considered unrelated strangers?” Liliya said coldly.
“It was late at night, I couldn’t see faces clearly, and she immediately attacked me. Had my skills not been superior, Lady Cecilia might have truly met with disaster. As Lady Cecilia’s knight, must I clearly see the enemy’s face before I fight back?” Lita argued her case.
“Insolence! Who are you calling an enemy?” Liliya’s voice rose sharply.
“Forgive me, Princess Liliya. I was intent on protecting Lady Cecilia. Since Lady Cecilia entrusted her precious Golden Blood to me, I am bound to protect her dignity and safety with my own life. I truly could not think too much at the time.”
“Protect Cecilia? Fine, then what if Cecilia ordered it? She commanded you to ambush us there, so that—”
“Enough!”
Before Liliya could finish, the king cut her off with a shout.
“Take your sibling disputes elsewhere! Don’t bring them here!”
Lita had said all she could. Whether the king believed her or not was out of her hands.
Liliya’s words were one-sided, but, truthfully, so were her own. As an outsider, her words simply could not carry the same weight as those of a princess.
Liliya’s angle of attack was extremely well chosen. No matter the process, in the end, Lita had indeed struck at Liliya—just as Cecilia had entrusted Lita with Golden Blood to defeat Dolores.
The process was important, but so was the outcome.
“Father, forgive my boldness, but… Cecilia entrusted her Golden Blood to this stranger, and they just happened to appear where I passed by. With Dolores’s case dead and buried, it’s hard to believe these are mere coincidences.”
Liliya hurried to press her case, throwing in a few more pointed remarks before finally falling silent.
Not only attacking her, but also dragging Cecilia down along the way. Always doing things that hurt others with no benefit to herself—what exactly was she thinking?
“Hm.” The king grunted heavily. “Indeed, there are quite a few coincidences here.”
Judging from the way things were going, this was already very bad for both herself and Cecilia.
But she was not a princess, and couldn’t argue further in defiance of the king.
“Emilia, what do you think?”
“With the Royal Selection imminent, there have certainly been far more incidents around my younger sister lately than in previous years—first an assassination attempt, then bestowing Golden Blood on a stranger, and now Solus City has suffered repeated attacks. I do think it’s a bit suspicious, Father.”
Indeed, Cecilia was also, in theory, a contender for the Royal Selection. As someone without the full picture, Emilia had no reason to side with Cecilia. This was the most proper stance.
But the consequences would have to be borne by Lita herself.
“Rosalia?”
“Father, since this may concern the Royal Selection, I do not think it proper for me to comment.” Rosalia was much simpler, lowering her eyes and refusing to answer.
Before the king could call on Illya, Illya already flashed an innocent smile: “Illya doesn’t know anything either!”
Two abstained, one favored a by-the-book approach, and Liliya pressed relentlessly—the situation grew more dire.
After questioning the princesses, the king turned to the leader of the Holy Knights.
“Eltel, what about you?”
The woman addressed by name by the king stepped forward—until now, Lita felt as though she had never truly seen her, even knowing she stood right there. It was as if Eltel was nothing more than a shadow.
“Your Majesty, the disputes between princesses are not for me to comment on. However, letting Golden Blood flow to someone of unknown identity is indeed inappropriate. I advise Your Majesty to reclaim the Golden Blood and grant her the reward she deserves.”
Reclaim the Golden Blood, and grant a reward?
Lita felt this could not be so simple.
Sure enough, she already heard murmurs in the crowd.
“Can Golden Blood really be taken back?”
“Of course—but every last drop of this person’s blood must be drained, to extract all the power of the Golden Blood.”
“Wouldn’t that…”
“That’s right. It won’t kill, but it is excruciatingly painful, and afterward, the person would be left crippled—let alone fighting, even daily life would be difficult.”
Lita’s heart clenched.
So, this woman meant to cripple her, then toss her some money to send her away, and let everyone else off without consequence?
Sacrifice one for the good of all—not deepening the princesses’ conflicts, maintaining the status quo, and conveniently resolving this troublesome matter. Truly, it was a “good solution”…
Good, my foot! Never mind whether she’d be truly crippled—just the idea of draining a dream demon’s blood for someone else was impossible!
“Indeed, that’s a good plan.”
The king nodded repeatedly, then waved Eltel back into line before looking once more at Lita.
“Very well, let’s do it this way.”
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