"My mom?"
I moved my gaze awkwardly.
I didn't even know what she looked like, all I knew about her were the stories my father would sometimes tell me.
The Empress hit the table hard and said:
"Yes!
Tell me about your mother.
She's not dead, is she?
She ran away?"
"She may be dead, but… I don't think so.
If that were the case, given my father's nature, he would have at least taken me to her grave to pay my respects…"
“Your father, in my view, is the kind of person who stands up for what's right – really principled, isn't he?”
"…Yes."
The Empress's assessment was correct.
I blinked rapidly as I remembered some conversations with my father.
[Namiya, I… I don't want to speak ill of your mother.]
[But because of her you ended up like this, Dad.
If she loved you even a little, would she run away and leave me behind?]
[She is still the person who gave birth to you.
I don't want to be angry with her because she doesn't love me.
Love is not something you can impose by force.]
[But that woman…!]
[Remember, Namya, that she carried you for nine months and gave birth to you.
Don't call her "that woman."]
My father was really kind and principled.
Just like a simple and honest moral teacher from the countryside, he chose his words carefully.
[However, if you're curious about your mother… well, I'll tell you about her without saying anything bad.]
So, in the end, I didn't know much about my mother.
The Empress was still very angry, exhaling angry smoke from her nostrils.
'I would like to say something, given the mood.'
I searched through the few memories my father shared about my mother.
[Well… your mother was pure, at least.]
Can someone who has accumulated these debts from usury be considered truly pure...?
[Isn't it somewhat pure and courteous for her to reject all the rich nobles and ask me to marry her?]
This seemed more naive than pure, perhaps even foolish.
I mean, my father was the second son of a baronial family.
[She had an innocent charm, unaware of the ways of the world.]
Being at that age and still ignorant of the world seemed like a problem to me.
[It's funny to say this, but she was like a princess who ran away from home… She didn't even know what a marriage certificate was.
I tried to register our marriage when I registered your birth, but it never happened…]
If she had been a sane princess, she would not have left the house in the first place, because leaving the house meant hardship.
[She left us in a hurry, but she probably wasn't a bad person by nature.]
Is anyone born naturally evil?
[Perhaps when you find some peace of mind, you may come back to us.]
Since this debt fell upon her, I didn't think she would ever find peace of mind.
That's all I could remember.
I was roughly explaining to the Empress that “my mother was foolish and did not understand world affairs and only collected debts from moneylenders.”
“Oh, so you were here, Fron.”
The door suddenly opened, and a sound full of warmth was heard.
The Emperor was impeccably dressed.
Kiaros followed him silently.
“Well, I wasn't expecting a guest.
This is the first time you've brought a stranger here.
Who could this lady be?”
The Emperor looked at me and smiled kindly.
His demeanor and expressions were full of kindness, but the aura of authority he was exuding was immense.
It was not surprising that Osun wanted to divulge everything once he faced the Emperor.
I quickly stood up, bowed, and showed my respect.
“It is an honor to meet you, Your Majesty.
I am Namiya Rawabi from the Manuscript Management Department.”
“Hmm.”
A hidden emotion passed through the Emperor's gentle smile.
“Manuscript Management Department...”
It was just a mutter, but it filled me with an inexplicable fear.
The Empress quickly lifted me up and returned me to the chair.
Before I knew it, the table was set with the Empress, Emperor, Chiaros, and me.
May I sit here?
Everyone was from the imperial family...
While I was trembling internally, the Emperor continued speaking.
“The official from the Ministry of Justice concerned with this case was also transferred from the Manuscripts Department, as you can see.”
His voice was gentle, but I immediately started breaking out in a cold sweat.
‘The person you mentioned from the Ministry of Justice was originally from the Manuscript Management Department?’
I saw that person myself.
He was a middle-aged and elderly man.
He must have moved from one department to another long before I joined.
‘I didn’t know that this person was from the Manuscript Management Department?
So we're talking about something that happened over 10 years ago...'
The documents were not accessible until 10 years later.
I have already preserved all the documents of the Manuscript Management Department from those ten years.
This meant that whoever was targeting the Imperial Family had infiltrated the Manuscript Management Department a very long time ago…
'What should I do?'
My head is spinning.
And it was not just Osun.
‘I think the entire Scroll Management Department might be wiped out.
A spy has been infiltrating for a long time.'
Kiaros certainly had access to the documents, and if he looked hard enough, it looked like our department would be destroyed in an instant.
Of course, the Magic Tower would object, but the situation was extremely serious…
‘Then what will happen to me… Surely they wouldn’t fire someone as young as me, right?’
However, there may be more spies hiding within the Scroll Management Department.
A spy is able to access Imperial civil service documents...
‘And like this time, they could even secretly infiltrate Qiaros’ guard and organize a crime.’
The more I thought about it, the more dire the situation seemed to the Manuscript Management Department.
It looked like they might fire all of us in the department as a risk management measure.
“Your Majesty, however… Namiya is not a dangerous person.”
The Empress stood beside me while I was shaking.
I began eloquently detailing the things I had done.
Among the points I mentioned were my suspicions towards Osun, my actions that helped save her, and how I was able to delay the trial to extract a confession from him.
She also subtly interjected, saying: “I have also obtained permission from the Crown Prince.”
“I told His Highness the Crown Prince, ‘I will succeed’... and that is why I pushed it to the end.”
“Ahhh.”
Kiaros let out a low groan when he brought up the topic of secret signals.
Well, there was nothing I could do because he misunderstood me on his own.
However, for the sake of Kiaros' honor, I did not mention that the secret signal was a heart.
“Ah, I understand.”
After the Emperor saw everything, he drank his tea elegantly and spoke quietly.
“I thought Kiaros was having a hard time because of the trial, but it turned out that it was Miss Namiya who did all the hard work.
My son welcomed me with open arms.”
“Your Majesty, this heart is, well…”
While Chiaros felt uncomfortable, the Emperor asked him gently,
“Wasn't this heart made to welcome me?”
"What?"
“I was immediately relieved when I arrived.
I was deeply touched...
It is the first time I have received such an expression of affection from my son since he was a teenager...”
It seems best to leave the heart incident aside at this point.
However, concluding that it was an impressive move from a son to his father was an impressive conclusion.
The conversation continued.
In the courtroom, it was revealed that Osun's killer was a noble woman with the title of Viscountess, but investigations revealed that she was an unidentified woman who traded titles illegally.
“They are people who have been targeting the imperial family for a long time.
There was a misunderstanding between them, but they managed to end it cleanly, so it is still difficult to know who is behind them...”
نطق الإمبراطور ببطء.
His voice was very friendly, but the content was bloody.
“Oh, and at this time, I think I should tell Miss Namiya some news about the department.”
My heart, which seemed like it couldn't go any lower, sank again.
“Kiaros reviewed all the scroll management documents with amazing speed, and issued dismissal notices to all those who had problems.”
People who have problems… If so…
I quickly searched through my memories.
There were a lot of people in our department who deserved a severe punishment on paper.
Especially the higher your rank...
The Emperor said clearly.
“Of course, the Minister was excluded first.
Kiaros, was Miss Namia Rawabi also on the list?”
“It was not on the list.”
I couldn't believe that a minister who seemed so distant was dismissed so easily...
Didn't the Minister send a petition to the Magic Tower?
I didn't do anything wrong, so naturally, I won't be fired, but it looks like the Manuscript Management Department might be disbanded.
“But…wait…”
Kiaros spoke slowly.
“I have something personal I want to ask Ms.
Namiya.”
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