Sister I am the Queen in This Life [Novel] Chapter 140

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Translator: Harry Potta
Chapter: 140
Chapter Title: A Bolt from the Blue
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With manpower provided by Leo III, Count Levien searched every secluded spot near the pool of blood. They found nothing, and the only places left to check were the temporary structures.

“We don’t have permission to open these…”

The king’s man expressed his reluctance. Count Levien was furious.

“I'll take full responsibility! Open it now!”

- *CRASH!*

The first shed, pried open with a crowbar, was empty.

“Damn it!”

Levien pointed irritably to the next barn.

“There!”

- *CRASH!*

A man under Count Levien who had looked inside shouted.

“There's nothing here!”

The second barn was also empty. But Count Levien couldn't stop there. As Levien moved to break into the third barn, the king's man stopped him again.

“Didn't I tell you! You'll cause trouble breaking into these places!”

“I already told you! I'll take responsibility!
Break it down!”

The men from Gallico rushed forward and tore down the third barn door.

- *CRACK!*

Behind the forcibly torn-down barn door, a portly middle-aged man lay sprawled on the floor.

“Gasp!”

Everyone tensed up, and Count Levien sucked in a breath.

One of the Gallican men ran into the barn, checked the man's face, and returned.

“It's His Grace, Duke Mireille! …He's dead.”

Everyone present was horrified.

***

Upon hearing the news of Duke Mireille's death late at night, Leo III was initially speechless with shock before roughly rubbing his face with his hands.

“How could something like this happen inside my palace…!”

The world seemed to spin.

The marriage alliance with the Kingdom of Gallico had been proceeding smoothly. With just a little more pushing, he was on the verge of obtaining the gunpowder formula, his long-cherished goal. Leo III had been certain the negotiations would succeed. Because he would make it so.

But now, the head of the opposing delegation had been found as a cold corpse within his royal palace.

“Who would do such a terrible thing!”

I will not let them live! I'll have them drawn and quartered, their limbs hung on the castle walls!

Unable to contain his fury, Leo III pounded his fist on the armrest of his throne.

“I will root out the cause of this and bring the truth to light!”

It was a gesture filled with the desperate hope that the negotiations would not be affected, promising that no one would be unjustly accused. However, Duke Mireille's death was too significant an incident to be swept under the rug with such a flimsy pretense.

Count Levien, who had delivered the news of Duke Mireille's death himself, cautiously lowered his head.

Rooting out the cause? That was not welcome news. If they dug too deep, the trail might lead back to Grand Duchess Lariesa.

*'That can't happen.'*

Count Levien shook his head.

Fortunately, the number of people who knew Grand Duchess Lariesa had thrown a fit after discovering Prince Alfonso and Cardinal de Mare's second daughter were in a secret relationship… no, it was fine if people knew about her tantrum.

Besides the now-deceased Duke Mireille, the only ones who knew she had demanded the life of Cardinal de Mare's second daughter were Count Levien, Grand Duchess Lariesa herself, and the Duke's trusted confidant.

Their numbers were small enough to ensure their silence. As long as they kept their mouths shut.

But what if the cause of Duke Mireille's death was never discovered?

*'The Etruscan royal court would find itself in a major predicament.'*

The Kingdom of Gallico would be up in arms. The head of a diplomatic delegation dying inside the royal palace meant either the security was abysmal, there were factions opposed to the agreement, or both.

*'It's a hundred times better for us if the Etruscan royal family is seen as incompetent than for Grand Duchess Lariesa to be branded a murderer and Duke Mireille a shameless criminal.'*

However, Levien had a mission to see this marriage negotiation through.

*'Would His Majesty Philip IV really call off the negotiations and order us to return just because Duke Mireille is dead?'*

That would be the logical course of action. But Count Levien was skeptical.

*'This whole negotiation has been strange from the start.'*

Grand Duchess Lariesa accompanying them was strange enough. But the way the negotiations were conducted was also bizarre.

The Kingdom of Gallico had acted reasonably at first. From the Kingdom of Etruscan's perspective, however, they must have seemed like shameless thieves.

In any case, the Kingdom of Gallico had made demands beneficial to its national interest, and at the working level, they had succeeded in pushing through a significant portion of them.

But as soon as the reports went up the chain of command, the Kingdom of Gallico would concede on very important matters just to gain concessions on a few insignificant ones.

For example, the number of Gallican military instructors to be dispatched to help train the Etruscan army after providing cannons was a highly contentious issue.

But whenever he reported on the progress of the negotiations, Duke Mireille would order him to concede on more sensitive issues in order to change relatively trivial matters like the timing, location, scale, or venue of the wedding ceremony.

Levien had protested this and sent several messages back to Gallico, but Philip IV only sent back dispatches saying, 'I have delegated full authority to Duke Mireille, so follow his instructions.'

*'This marriage alliance will be finalized, no matter what. If the Etruscan royal family offers a profound apology—no, even if they just express regret—our kingdom will pretend not to notice and let it pass.'*

As long as Count Levien kept his mouth shut, Duke Mireille and Grand Duchess Lariesa's scheme would not be revealed.

The document from Duke Mireille that the foolish Lariesa had signed was not found on his body. That meant it must be stored somewhere in the quarters of the Gallican delegation. He just had to find it quickly and burn it.

The Kingdom of Etruscan would profusely apologize to the Kingdom of Gallico for failing to maintain security within the palace, the Kingdom of Gallico would accept this apology, the marriage alliance would be concluded on more favorable terms, and Prince Alfonso and Grand Duchess Lariesa would be engaged this year and married the year after next. It was the perfect scenario.

But the world did not unfold as easily as Count Levien had hoped.

“Your Majesty!”

The captain of Leo III's Royal Guard approached and paid his respects.

“Your Majesty, we have a witness!”

“Oh?”

Leo III's face brightened, and he leaned forward in his throne. But despite the king's pleased reaction, the captain was hesitant.

“However… he is not exactly a sound witness…”

“Is this any time to be picky about witnesses when we're grasping at straws? Bring him in at once!”

It was customary for the king not to personally interrogate witnesses, but with the Gallican representatives watching, Leo III wanted to show that he was doing everything in his power to resolve the situation.

“As you command! Guards, bring in the witness at once!”

Following the captain's order, a hunchbacked dwarf was dragged, almost tumbling, into the king's audience chamber. He was no taller than an adult man's thigh. Reaching the king, the man simply rolled his eyes around instead of paying his respects.

“This man is…”

“The court jester. Or, he used to be. He went mad last autumn after eating the wrong kind of mushroom…”

The captain's report was as brief as possible, but everyone immediately recalled the famous story that had spread through the palace.

It was the story of how the jester had confessed his love to a marchioness, only to be beaten half to death by her husband.

Although a royal servant had been assaulted, the royal family had not taken the jester's side and had largely overlooked the incident, aside from giving the marquis a light reprimand.

The jester had eaten a poisonous mushroom and gone completely mad, and it seemed the court, with its departure to Taranto imminent, had left him be in the hopes that he might recover.

“He was left to recuperate in the Palazzo Carlo while the court was in Taranto, and it appears they failed to evict him in time for the court's return.”

It was the rule that no unsound person could remain in the palace. However, due to a lack of meticulous administration, he had remained in the palace until now.

The man grinned foolishly, as if completely unaware of the gravity of his situation.

“I saw him, the murderer.”

In an atmosphere where he was clearly not meant to speak, the jester spoke his mind. His voice wasn't loud, but its content was enough to seize everyone's attention. All eyes turned to him at once.

Unaware or uncaring of the gazes fixed upon him, the jester continued to grin and mutter as if singing.

“A blond murderer. Beautiful blond hair, like molten gold.”

The jester's bombshell statement shocked everyone present.

But as long as Leo III did not intervene, no one dared to speak up before the king, so they all just exchanged glances. In the brief silence that followed, the jester, oblivious to the danger, sneered.

“Driven mad by a woman, swinging his sword without a thought. Women are one of two things: they either drive men mad, or they're mad themselves.”

The jester giggled to himself and clapped his hands.

“Doesn't want gold or treasure, doesn't want a kingdom, says all he needs is one woman. What an idiot, just like me! He'll end up just like me!”

He then burst into roaring laughter, clutching his stomach.

Blond hair like molten gold, a man who would inherit a kingdom—anyone could tell he was talking about Prince Alfonso.

Even those who had remained silent could no longer hold back and began to whisper among themselves.

- “Did I hear that correctly?”

- “Hush! Keep your mouth shut. Nothing good will come from adding to this.”

- “Look at His Majesty's face.”

Leo III sat on his throne, gripping the armrests so tightly that his hands trembled.

“Captain of the Guard!”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Drag that madman spouting nonsense out of here at once and behead him for insulting the king!”

The guards rushed forward, grabbed the hunchbacked jester by his limbs, and began to drag him away. Even as he was being dragged out, the jester cackled and pointed a finger at Leo III.

“A man who knows nothing of what's important! Haha! Your Majesty, are you happy now? Hahahaha!”

“Insolent fool!”

Having made a bad situation worse, Leo III trembled with rage and roared.

“All of you! Pay no mind to the nonsense spouted by that mad jester. Anyone who goes outside and repeats this nonsense will be executed!”

- “Yes, Your Majesty!”

The courtiers in the room bowed their heads in unison, Count Levien included.

Just then, a guard officer rushed in and whispered something to the captain. The captain turned to Leo III with a troubled expression.

“Your Majesty… a report has come in. Would you like to hear it privately?”

It was undoubtedly bad news. Leo III nodded, beckoned the captain closer, and listened to his whispered report.

- “He didn't see the murder itself, but someone saw the body being disposed of. This time it's a gardener, a sane man.”

“Who committed such a heinous act!”

The captain glanced around nervously and lowered his voice even further to a whisper.

- “His identity hasn't been confirmed, but he was said to be one of Prince Alfonso's knights…”

“What!”

- “He was wearing a blue surcoat* and had Prince Alfonso's laurel crest on his arm.”

The king's personal Royal Guard wore red surcoats, while other knights wore blue ones. This meant he belonged to either the Queen's Palace or the Prince's Palace.

- “Furthermore… the shed where Duke Mireille's body was found is under the management of the Prince's Palace.”

Leo III could not contain his rage and shot up from his seat.

“Let's go!”

“Where to, Your Majesty?”

“Where do you think!”

Leo III, about to shout, 'To the Prince's Palace!', swallowed the last words as he glanced at the members of the Gallican delegation. His fury doubled, he shot up from his seat and stormed out of the room like a tempest, taking all the guards with him.