After returning from Ilium to the capital, there was a lot of commotion.
This was because many of the top magicians who were arrested this time were with extensive experience and proven records.
"See?
When we were arrested, we said we only did what we were told.
Why didn't you believe us, Assistant Salis?"
“Right, right.
We didn't do anything but work in the laboratories.”
Have you forgotten that I prepared a report and attached evidence about the money you were hiding just a year ago?
As for the witches who had been arrested last year and were already serving hard labor, they watched with a strange sense of expectation upon hearing the news.
"You know what?
The newcomers are more experienced and skilled than us.
Can't we also get another kind of job inside the palace?"
“Good, broad-hearted Assistant Saliss, please!
Grant us this request!”
Of course, there was no chance of making this nonsense come true.
They were lucky because their crimes were less serious, allowing them to live comfortably at hard labor.
As for the senior mages who were caught this time, they would at least face a magic seal that restricted their power, followed by harsh physical labor.
Since they were the type that hated even walking of their own volition, their cries would surely fill the air.
However, it wasn't just the noise coming from those magicians that set the atmosphere alight, the media was also abuzz with news.
[Is it a rebellion in the Magic Tower?
What is the position of the temple?]
[The demons of the Winter Palace, are they spreading their evil again?]
It was quite clear that the journalists did not understand the meaning of “demon” or even the meaning of “evil.”
'We did a good job this time, shouldn't an expression like 'great contribution' be used instead of 'evil'?'
I felt annoyed for no reason, so I picked up the red ink pen and corrected all the unnecessary words in the article.
Meanwhile, Cassian came back after finishing the state report, so I asked him directly whose reaction I was most curious about.
“How was Your Majesty the Empress’s day today?”
“She smiled, but her lips and the corners of her eyes were clearly trembling noticeably.”
Cassian said sarcastically.
“And you did not forget to say that everything went smoothly thanks to your advance preparations.”
Yes, that's how an empress should be.
“So, our hunch was right.”
“Of course, erasing any trace with such precision is one of Her Majesty the Empress’s skills.”
Cassian shrugged indifferently.
Especially this time, as the Empress was trying to take advantage of the situation without leaving any traces detected.
“I heard that Duke Lopez also entered the palace.”
“It looks like it's going to end in a simple investigation.”
“What about Wilhelmina?”
“Fortunately, you remained calm in the Duke’s Palace.
Your decision was right.”
“So, someone was trying to get close to her?”
“Yes, they are said to be the disciples of the magicians involved in this case.”
“Were they aware of what was going on?”
Cassian nodded slowly.
“Magic teleportation points have been spotted near frequently visited shops, and also near the Duke’s Palace.”
“If Wilhelmina had met them even once...”
“She would have been dragged into the whole thing.”
Cassian clicked his tongue lightly.
“The Empress does not like to leave any items unaccounted for.”
This is exactly what happened in the original story.
Although Roita wanted the engagement, the Emperor refused due to the weak position of her noble title.
In addition, Wilhelmina was deeply in love with Cassian, which raised concerns about the possibility of their engagement in the future, something the Empress did not want to happen.
Duke Lopez was an ambitious man, but he also hated losing.
So, as soon as the chance of Wilhelmina's engagement with the First Prince became non-existent, he began weighing the possibilities...
Will he support Cassian, who has gained fame in wars and has the support of the people but is weak in terms of power?
Or will he side with the First Prince, hoping to obtain a strong position, even in the second or third row of power?
In fact, Duke Lopez had previously tried to make one of his sons assistant to both 1st Prince Charlie and 2nd Prince Cassian.
But the Empress realized his intentions and was greatly disturbed, which led to the failure of his plan.
From her perspective, it was best to get rid of anyone who might have even the slightest possibility of becoming a threat.
‘And you might also consider using this opportunity to catch a weak point of the Lopez family.’
But this elaborate plan, carefully executed, almost cost Cassian's life...
She completely collapsed due to my untimely intervention.
This was the reason why I did not bring the state report this time, but rather sent Cassian alone..
Honestly, I was scared.
I felt a slight shiver in my body as I looked at Cassian and asked:
“Your Highness...”
“What?”
“I guess I should try my best to avoid Her Majesty the Empress for a while, right?”
“I'll make sure I hide you well, Rose.”
I really want to escape.
The process of dealing with the aftermath of the Ilium incident was very long.
Even after that, those involved continued to be arrested one after another.
Since the cruise ship was crowded with people, even if the knights could control the situation, it was realistically impossible to prevent everyone from escaping.
For this reason, that day I deliberately scattered gold coins.
Those gold coins were treated with special magic, which allowed me to retrieve them easily, and they also had a tracking feature.
It interacted strongly with the magical energy of witches in particular.
'Fortunately, the magicians were cooperating with us even though they all had obnoxious personalities.'
They had no fellowship, and whenever one of them was in trouble, he wished others to suffer the same fate.
Cassian and I skillfully exploited this psychological nature of theirs, every time the wizards stirred up trouble.
'It seems that the Magic Tower is finally starting to calm down.'
In fact, the Magic Tower was a completely independent entity, much like a temple.
In principle, he was not directly subject to the authority of the imperial family, as in some martial novels where the government does not interfere in the affairs of the martial arts world (the principle of non-interference between authorities).
Of course, the Magic Tower made its own demands during this issue as well.
{They handed us over the witches who committed minor crimes.
As for those who have seriously violated the imperial laws, we will not ask for their pardon.
But we need a clear justification for not intervening.}
Naturally, Cassian and I completely ignored this request.
{The one who violated the empire's laws first was the Magic Tower.
If you continue to be stubborn like this, we will have no choice but to impose administrative sanctions.}
In other words, we were threatening to cut the Magic Tower's research budget starting in the second half of the year.
In the first place, allowing wizards who had committed minor crimes to work hard labor instead of actually restricting their magical powers was a lenient move of ours.
'Do they have any idea the extent of the insults Cassian received from the temple because of this decision?'
After all, it had been over 500 years since the Magic Tower was founded…
In fact, the principle of “non-government interference in the affairs of the wizarding world” is nothing more than an empty slogan in this world.
Every witch who gets caught keeps talking about “the great ideals of witches” and so on.
Since when did the Magic Tower become just an extreme magic sect?
Anyway, after dealing with all the crimes committed by the witches, making treatment plans for the victims affected by the drugs, and completing the related administrative procedures, summer has finally arrived.
In other words…
'It's time to settle the scores for the first half of the year.'
This was the time when the Winter Palace was being demolished in earnest.
“Assistant Salis, I have finished arranging the files you requested.”
“Leave it here, and organize it in the same way as the red file on the low table.”
“Help, a request for help has come from the Second Princess’ Palace, as they are having difficulty preparing the budget report.”
“Why do they face this problem every settlement season?”
“Help, from the Empress’ Palace—”
“Put it on the desk of His Highness the Prince.”
“Help, from the Palace of the Sun—”
It's funny that once it's time to settle scores, distinguishing allies from enemies inside the imperial palace becomes completely meaningless.
Even the Empress Palace itf had no intention of dealing with this headache without our help.
In fact, the administrative officials in the Winter Palace were the most efficient and quick to work, if only because they had been exposed to a lot of pressure and tasks over the years.
'What exactly does the finance department do?'
The whole situation was the result of a backlog of tasks.
The people who were supposed to be the busiest were throwing a little work at us at first, but since I arrived, they started assigning us more and more, until eventually it came to Cassian being overloaded with everything.
Of course, this was part of Cassian's plan as well.
'Controlling the budget means having power.'
For this reason, despite my resentment and dissatisfaction, I sometimes agreed to handle other palace tasks.
But the biggest reason for that was simply…to survive.
And then, I was…
“Your Highness, these documents need to be reviewed—”
“Your Highness, His Majesty the Emperor has requested that this matter be addressed urgently—”
“His Highness Prince Charlie said that this issue does not concern the First Palace—”
Even Cassian was under insane pressure.
“At the very least, we should get rid of some of these people who are of no use to us except throwing secondary work on us.”
Especially the Summer Palace, where the First Prince resides.
Even though they have more than twice as many assistants and administrators as we do, as soon as they encounter a problem that requires a little thought, they immediately throw it at us.
“I will go to the Summer Palace, Your Highness.”
I couldn't stand this stupidity anymore.
As I made the knights carry the thick stack of files I'd collected over the course of the settlement, Cassian looked at me and closed one eye slyly.
That was a signal to return with a landslide victory.
Unlike the Winter Palace, where no one could even walk slowly due to the pressure of work, the officials of the Summer Palace were strolling comfortably after lunch, exchanging laughs as if they were on vacation...
And it wasn't just the administrative staff, but even the assistants themves!
“It's a lot of work today too, isn't it?
Everyone suffers during the settling season.”
“We are just following the assistants’ directions, even if it is stressful, that is normal during this period.”
“But thanks to the quality of our helpers, our lives are not so bad.”
Ah, they truly live in bliss... complete bliss!
"Look at the Winter Palace, how they work like crazy, to the point where they have to work late every day.
This alone is proof of their incompetence, unlike His Highness Prince Charlie."
“When did working efficiently mean throwing tasks on others?”
Who is suffering because of them now, yet they dare to say such nonsense?
When she suddenly appeared, one of the First Prince's Palace aides paused for a moment, before he laughed mockingly and opened his mouth to say:
“What brought the witch of the Winter Palace to the Summer Palace?”
Would he dare to publicly insult me and call me a witch?
Well, then I will destroy this bliss of yours to the last atom.