Born As The Emperor’s Daughter - Chapter 244

6 days prior.

The palace was in a mess after the disappearance of the princess in the garden. Almost everyone was panicking while some tried their best to remain calm and composed as to not mix in with the confusion. Alexander along with his two elder sons, Gilbert and Calixander were inside his office. The two of them were sitting on the couch, having this serious and cold look on their faces. Although that’s the expression that they would usually have on their faces, however, there was a hint of malice in it.

Alexander was talking with the few knights who were able to witness the scene though they were too late and what they have witnessed during that time was only the princess disappearing along with this person who was dressed as a maid.

“So you’re telling us that you arrived late and what you only saw was the princess floating with a maid standing in front of her then they disappeared after that?”

Klaus spoke as if she wasn’t believing what the knights who were standing in front of them were saying. Klaus was standing beside the desk while Lysander was also standing on the other side of it. His hand resting on top of the hilt of his sword as there was an expressionless look on his face.

Alexander was sitting on the chair behind the desk, his fingers intertwined together and his elbow being propped up by the wooden surface accompanied with neatly stacked papers, scattered pens, and some other things. He leaned his body forward and rested his forehead against his intertwined fingers, letting out a sigh as he let Klaus handle the interrogation.

Well, Klaus along with the emperor went to the garden earlier to check its condition. The ground was destroyed and there were cracks along with droplets and traces of blood. He detected mana in that place, it was like there were two types of it. One was dark while one was just normal. He could identify the other as the princess’ mana, however, the other, it was quite familiar to him.

“Y-Yes!” The knights responded in unison, they were trying their best to hide the fear in their voices as they felt the menacing aura the emperor was emitting. The cold and tense atmosphere of the room was adding to that along with the intimidating aura and expression the princes have plastered on their faces. It was like they have entered the lions’ den or the dragons’ cave and they were going to get killed or something like that.

“How? How did you end up in the garden? I mean, you wouldn’t just go there without any reason when your posts are rather far away from it unless you were slacking off and wandering around,” Klaus asked them, his eyebrows were furrowed and his lips were forming a frown. Honestly, he was already stressed out with the amount of work that he was doing before this and now this was adding to that.

Klaus was worried. Either at Alexandra or her family. He wasn’t that close to the princess just like others, however, he was still worried for her. One of the reasons was that she was a princess and her sudden disappearance would not only affect the people that she is close with but also her family as well as the citizens of this empire. If they have learned that somebody has taken the princess, there might be an uproar.

He was also worried about her family, on how they would react and handle this situation. Knowing them, they are probably trying their best to keep calm and not murder everyone in this room. They were pretty scary and intimidating.

“I heard this continuous sounds of explosion though it was faint, however, it was bothering me. My post wasn’t that far away from the garden, there wasn’t anyone around except for me and him, so we decided to check it out and we encountered them who were also rushing to the direction where the sound came from then shortly after, it was gone but we continued running until we arrived and that’s when we saw the scene,” One of the knights said and Klaus was about to say something when another spoke, grabbing their attention.

“I was far away from the garden and was near the training grounds though I have a good and sharp hearing. I thought it was just the princes doing their training, however, I recalled that Prince Calixander didn’t go to the training grounds as well as Prince Gilbert. The other princes weren’t there either as they were at the academy. That’s why I also rushed though I was the last one that arrived.”

Klaus nodded multiple times as he listened to what the knight was saying. It seems like the knights have calmed down and they just ignored the intimidating aura the people around them were emitting and the atmosphere of the room. He hummed before he spoke:

“And you also found a maid whose name was Lillianna along with Sir Carlos bleeding on the ground?” Though it sounded just like a simple sentence, he said it in a way that he was asking them or making sure of it.

“We immediately called Sir Rowan and the other palace healers.”

“Then you also found this dagger and knife in the garden which was covered with blood?” He used the same tone that he used earlier. The two items that he was talking about was found placed on top of the glass table surrounded by couches where Prince Calixander and Prince Gilbert is found sitting. It was already investigated and they have received the results.

“Yes, we figured that this might be the weapons used in stabbing Sir Carlos and Lillianna.”

“I see, then you may now leave. Thank you for your cooperation,” Klaus said and with that, the knights bowed as they said: “Blessings for the Queenilia Empire,” before they turned around and left the room hastily.

The result of the investigation of those weapons.

The knife was coated with poison made out of the flower named: Staff of Caelian. It paralyzes the victim for a few minutes and they would become unconscious after that, the poison would slowly kill them and harm their body. Usually, people who became victims of this poison died after a few days. The longest one that has ever lived was a week. The flower is only found in the Empire of Apollo and they hardly sell that flower in this empire, as well as its poison and even if there would, it’s quite expensive and hard to find.

So it’s such a wonder how they were able to have their hands on it.

It’s clear that Carlos became the victim of that and the poison was used on him. Rowan can’t remove the poison in the body, they need an antidote. That’s the challenge, the antidote for that poison is not just some simple antidote. Just like how hard it is to find that poison here in this empire, just finding the antidote was much harder than that.

The dagger that was found turns out to be the dagger that the princess owns and was probably used to stab the maid. The reason was quite unknown or not clear to them, obviously. They have come up with possible ones, however, they would always be debunked. The princess wouldn’t stab a maid that she is close with without any reason at all. She probably did that for self-defense or something. However, they are also quite unsure of why Lillianna was there.

[Author: They don’t have this technology that helps them in identifying fingerprints found in the weapon or something like that.]

One of them also told them of the possibility that Lillianna might be the one who stabbed Carlos with the knife then attacked the princess that’s why she got stabbed with that. However, they have known Lillianna as a timid and weak girl. Why would she attack the princess? How could she attack Carlos who is much stronger and bigger than her? Vice-captain of the royal knights against a weak girl like her who is working as a maid in this palace, the result is obvious.

Nevertheless, they were stuck in between two difficult situations. The disappearance of the princess and Sir Carlos slowly dying. Both of them are important.

I guess we will only know the truth once Lillianna wakes up. She was also bedridden along with Carlos and was treated by Rowan. Unlike Carlos who was poisoned, she was already healed. Her wounds have already recovered and they are only waiting for her to wake up so that they could shed light on the situation.

“Your highness, what are you planning to do?” Klaus asked, not giving a glance at the emperor’s direction though he knows that he was still in the same position that he was before.

“Father, I suggest that we must find Alexa quickly. I doubt that something still hasn’t happened to her. She was abducted while she was in this palace, their target was only her. It’s possible that they are planning on doing something for her. If they were after fame, money, and such, they could have already sent us a message or letter telling us what their purpose is and what they want,” Calixander grabbed their attention as he abruptly stood up from his seat and suddenly spoke.

His voice was low and cold, there was a serious and grim expression plastered in his face. Though he looked calm and composed, his fists were clenched. Gilbert who was sitting on the single-person couch beside him also spoke.

“However, Sir Carlos is also in a grave situation. He is slowly dying due to the poison and the antidote that is quite hard to find. We just can’t let him die, as to just let you know.”

“I know that. However, what about Alexandra? She’s just 14, for Pete’s sake. What if something happens to her? There is a high chance that she might be going through those things now.”

[He was referring to the unlawful sexual activity and usually sexual intercourse carried out forcibly or under threat of injury against a person’s will or with a person who is beneath a certain age or incapable of valid consent because of mental illness, mental deficiency, intoxication, unconsciousness, or deception. Somehow, I find that word vulgar and heavy, I just couldn’t write it.]

“But we also couldn’t abandon Sir Carlos here. If he dies, he can’t be resurrected or revived. Finding a replacement for him is hard. I’m not saying that he could just go and die if he has some sort of replacement, but, Sir Carlos is also going through something and I hope you know that, Calix.”

“I- Just—” He groaned before he spoke, “—Are you even worried for our little sister? You’re only talking about Sir Carlos this, Sir Carlos that. Alexa, our little sister, a member of our family, might also be dying. We don’t know where she is, we don’t know what is happening to her. A day has passed. 24 hours have passed, so many things could happen in just an hour and 24 damn hours have already passed. Are you even thinking or worrying about her?”

“I am. I am worried about her, Calix! I am trying my best to not break down and shout, run around, and go places to places just to look for Alexa. I am much more worried than you are! I am trying to keep calm and think of what we should do in this situation! If you have the ability to read my mind now, you would be confused. There are so many things running inside my head now, possible things that could have to happen to our little sister and such. It’s like a library but the books are all scattered on the floor instead of placed in the bookshelves. I couldn’t even sleep last night, thinking and being bothered by these thoughts!”

This is the first time that they heard Gilbert raise his voice and say so many things at once. Even Calixander was off-guarded and shocked though it wasn’t seen in his face. Two of the brothers are arguing in the same room where their father is in.

“So please do understand that I am trying my best here. Alexa is not the only person who is in a grave situation but I am still worried about her. I understand that you are also anxious and distressed about what Alexa might be going through now, however, calm down and think—”

A weary sigh slipped past his lips before he continued.

“—This isn’t like you.”