Lord Mujeta escorted me to the underground dungeon. I expected them to put handcuffs or chains on me, but perhaps because I was still a suspect, they didn't restrain me separately.
The prison was extremely narrow and desolate. Fortunately, they didn't lock me up with other prisoners, so I had a solitary cell.
"Lord Mujeta, do you believe I assassinated His Highness?"
Lord Mujeta stopped while locking the cell door and glared at me with furious eyes. It felt like I was being hacked to pieces by his gaze alone....
"Your dress is stained with blood, and you were the one who brought in the decisive murder weapon. There's no one else that comes to mind besides Lady Rohanson. At best... yes, actually, I find Bishop Malik just as suspicious as you do. However, when His Highness was murdered, Bishop Malik was outside the banquet hall, just like me."
So Lord Mujeta had another person he suspected. But that person was Bishop Malik?
He must have read some mystery novels. As expected, the person who seems least like the culprit is usually the culprit. The probability that Bishop Malik, who seemed to have a perfect alibi, was the murderer couldn't be ignored.
Lord Mujeta apparently excluded Bishop Malik from the suspect list because he was outside the banquet hall, but in reality, no matter where Bishop Malik was, he could use a summoning circle to command spirits and cause incidents inside the banquet hall, so an alibi wouldn't apply.
However, Lord Mujeta didn't know about the existence of spirits, so it was difficult to explain. While I was pondering how to explain, Lord Mujeta rose from his seat.
"I don't know why I'm telling you all this. I simply hope that Lady Rohanson has a plausible reason for acting so boldly."
With those final words, Lord Mujeta left the prison. So he's saying that since I'm innocent, I should act confidently? It also sounded like a threat that if I'm guilty, he'll kill me.
Ha... right. Even if execution scenes are the destiny of a villainess, the male lead visiting the imprisoned villainess should also be the same....
As expected, the cliché couldn't be escaped, as Gabriel came to visit, though a bit late.
"I'm sorry. I should have stayed with you...."
Gabriel lowered his eyes, feeling guilty that something big had happened again while he was away, and touched the prison bars with overwhelming regret. Yes, he was late. I thought he had gone to make clothes again. Gabriel noticed my exposed shoulders and took off his coat, telling me to cover myself.
"I'm sorry that the promise I made with you has put you in this difficult situation."
What promise? Don't tell me it's the one about behaving properly and not acting like a villainess while he changed his clothes?
"If I had caused a scene, it would have been even more suspicious."
It would have been the same as turning myself in and asking to be arrested. Though I'm currently a suspect, if I had resisted, it might have led to immediate execution. Entering the prison quietly on my own was the best option. That's why I can have this visitation with Gabriel.
"Did you hear how the situation is developing?"
"Yes. Mrs. Toten explained it to me. I told Lord Mujeta about the sword blade, but he didn't accept it. Moreover, among the gifts His Highness the Crown Prince received, the sword couldn't be found."
The sword embedded in the Crown Prince's heart was definitely a sharp weapon. So Gabriel and I concluded that there were two swords with identical hilts.
It would have been nice if both daggers remained in the banquet hall, but the situation wasn't that easy. The sword I had gifted to the Crown Prince seemed to have already been stolen right after. Well, that's how thoroughly prepared they were to frame me.
Even if I didn't kill the Crown Prince, they seemed intent on charging me with the crime of bringing a weapon into the banquet hall. Bringing in a sword was essentially the same as openly declaring an intention to assassinate the Crown Prince. The fact that the witnesses who saw me gift the sword were all my close associates was also a problem. Because of that, Lord Mujeta apparently found Gabriel suspicious as well and had assigned imperial knights to monitor him.
"Sir Gabriel. You seem to be giving the criminal too much information."
One of the imperial knights interrupted the conversation between Gabriel and me.
"Lady Rohanson is not a criminal, so it's fine."
"Not a criminal? Are you so blinded by love that you can't properly assess the situation? I don't know how a once-noble holy knight has fallen to this state."
The imperial knight sneered and belittled Gabriel. Gabriel looked at the knight coldly and responded frostily.
"Until now, I was simply overrated."
"Yes! That seems to be the case! My eyes must have been faulty."
After those words, the knight never spoke to Gabriel again. In my opinion, that knight was definitely Gabriel's fan. It seems his idol, whom he liked, neglected his main job and fell in love, making him furious. I can somewhat understand those feelings.... However, Gabriel didn't just leave the imperial knight alone while he seethed.
"I'd like to speak with the Lady alone for a moment, so could you please step aside?"
"Do you realize that you're currently under surveillance? No, never mind. Please converse comfortably. I'll go report to Lord Mujeta instead."
Now to that knight, I've become the witch who seduced the holy knight, and Gabriel has become the witch's accomplice who abandoned his convictions.
The knight stormed out of the prison with his colleagues. Gabriel watched them leave and continued speaking as if he had no thoughts about it. He really doesn't care about anyone who isn't his person.
"The eyes watching the Lady were useless."
"Because the lights went out, they couldn't see ahead."
Even though there were so many people at the banquet, when the lights went out, no one saw what was happening. Ah. Speaking of the lights going out, now that I think back on that moment, there was something strange.
"When the lights went out, I bumped into someone. Even though I couldn't see an inch in front of me, the other person knew it was me they bumped into. The red stains on my dress appeared then."
I hadn't even opened my mouth at the time, so the hypothesis that they recognized me by my voice didn't make sense either. If they deliberately smeared blood on me, wouldn't that person be the culprit?
"Do you remember the voice?"
"Yes. It sounded like a girl in her teens."
The voice was definitely different from Bishop Malik's. Then is the culprit not Bishop Malik? I was already suspecting him because he looked suspicious wearing a veil like some mastermind.
He seemed to have a terrible relationship with Lord Mujeta, and he probably didn't have a good relationship with the Crown Prince either, but would an exorcist kill someone just because they're on bad terms? Is it confidence that they could handle even a ghost seeking revenge?
The maid wearing a scarf also came to mind, but since she couldn't speak at all, I passed on that.
"Rather, the culprit might be someone close. For example, Lady Jeremia could be the culprit."
Gabriel brought up a different name instead of Bishop Malik. Jeremia would be the one with the green necklace who was dancing with the Crown Prince until the end? Not Bishop Malik, but the Princess?
"Are you referring to Her Highness the Princess?"
"Yes, we must keep all possibilities open."
It was remarkable that only I was excluded from those possibilities. Even though we weren't together, he believes I didn't kill the Crown Prince. A bit touching? It seems the harem management I've done so far wasn't in vain.
"The banquet hall doors were closed, so there couldn't be an outside intruder, and since it happened in a short time, the Princess who was closest can't avoid suspicion either."
But recalling how she stood blankly, taking the blood droplets that fell on her face from her father's death in shock, it's hard to see her as the culprit....
Nevertheless, as Gabriel said, Jeremia had the best conditions to commit the crime. She was closest to the Crown Prince, and it would have been easy for her to steal the dagger. The reason she was excluded from the suspect list until now was because the two were father and daughter.
If Jeremia is the real culprit, then Gabriel is uncovering the truth of a case where his niece killed her brother? The imperial family really is as chaotic as a morning drama wherever you go.
Wait. Before that, Gabriel knows the secret of his own birth, right...? He looks so much like the Crown Prince that everyone probably knows secretly. He couldn't possibly not know, right?
To clear my name from the harem management charges, we're in a situation where we have to reveal the fact that his niece killed her brother. Shouldn't I tell him beforehand...?
While I was worrying, the conversation topic changed. I'll tell him next time he visits. First, the secret of his birth is shocking even to me, so I need to mentally prepare....
"Mrs. Toten and Ms. Hena safely escaped the imperial palace. I assigned Uriel and a trusted knight as guards. However, Lady Rohanson's coachman...."
Gabriel paused in the middle. The coachman? He must be talking about the beastman coachman uncle who stepped in as a substitute for Melek.
"He was found beheaded. It seems they prepared in advance in case Lady Rohanson tried to escape."
So the person who framed me, considering Evangeline might escape, killed the coachman uncle too. No, coachman uncle! You came to help for nothing and died because of me? He only came out as a substitute today because Jelly called him...?
Guilt grew rapidly. He wasn't even officially employed, so how do I send condolences to his family? I should tell Jelly. I don't know how many people are dying just today. Even though it's a novel, a corner of my heart felt uneasy.
Gabriel continued explaining the situation outside, and finally rose from his seat only when the returning imperial knight sneered, asking how long he was going to chat with the culprit.
"I'll make sure you get out soon."
After Gabriel left, investigators appeared like a relay baton pass, and I gave my statement. I said I didn't kill the Crown Prince about a hundred times before the investigation ended.
Only after midnight was I finally able to rest alone. I checked for signs of people around me, confirmed no one was there, and quietly called Jelly.
"Jelly."
"Yes."
An answer popped out from a place where no one had been. She came! My trump card! Teleportation is truly the best. Being able to maintain some calm despite the uncertain future of possible execution was all thanks to Jelly. If anything happens, I'll just hold Jelly's hand and escape.
"I was wondering when you'd call me."
She had been waiting, having received word through Pudding to come when I called. But why did Jelly come alone?
"Where's Pudding?"
"She's reflecting on her powerlessness. She went to all the trouble of disguising herself and coming, but what did she actually accomplish?"
Jelly giggled and mocked Pudding. So petty. A young cat transformed into a human and infiltrated the imperial palace to protect me. Even if the results weren't great, I should praise her for her dedication.
Actually, I couldn't tell at first because I was only looking at her face. When I saw her a second time and got used to her striking appearance, I noticed the collar. The collar with my embroidery was so obviously there, how could I not notice right away when we first met?
"Humans are really amazing. To actually arrest the master... No, in this case, you let yourself be arrested."
Jelly snapped her fingers, and the dreary prison transformed splendidly. A bed, a sofa, even a fireplace—the only thing was that the wall was made of bars, but it was comfortable enough to live in. Is this a prison hotel or something?
"Kanna said to prepare at least this much since the master would be cold and uncomfortable... But it's still uncomfortable, so can't you sleep at the mansion and come back?"
Honestly, I did want to teleport to the Rohanson mansion and come back. But what if someone came during that time and saw the empty prison and thought I escaped? Having random furniture suddenly appear would be better.
When I said I'd stay in the prison, Jelly even brought clothes to change into. I returned the blood-stained dress to Jelly. Misha will be horrified when she sees that dress.... I decided to keep using the blanket Gabriel gave me to cover myself. When I said I was hungry, she brought dinner after a while.
After finishing the late dinner in the prison, I quietly brought up a topic.
"Jelly, about the coachman who drove the carriage today. I think we need to inform his family."
Since an acquaintance got caught up in my business and tragically passed away, it would be natural for Jelly to be angry. But Jelly calmly responded while eating sherbet.
"You mean we need to file an official death report? You don't need to worry about that. A death report has already been filed."
What? How? Jelly wagged her tail and continued explaining.
"That human was actually leading a double life, you see?"
The coachman uncle was apparently quite the player. His legal wife, who knew he was cheating but turned a blind eye, recently realized he had another family when he stopped coming home and, in her anger, filed a death report. She even held a funeral, so the neighbors in that area think the coachman uncle is already dead.
I should have noticed when Jelly, Daisy, and I were making memories together. The coachman uncle probably just loved love triangles.
"How about that? A person with a reason to die died, isn't that fine?"
"I suppose so."
Of course, the shock that he died because of me still remained, but my guilt seemed to have lessened somewhat. Right, since I was possessed, it's not the first or second time I've seen people die, and this is a world where the class system is particularly strong, so incidents like this will probably be commonplace. I just have to adapt.
"Is there anything else you'd like to ask?"
Jelly seemed to bring this up to comfort me, telling me not to be weighed down by guilt. The kid who always lazed around is now asking me to give her errands. Now that I think about it, there was something I wanted to ask.
"Could you pick some cherry blossom petals from the garden and prepare a meal for Melek? And while you're at it, could you look after Mrs. Toten too?"
"Can I make Pudding do it?"
"Go together."
"...Okay."
Perhaps she didn't expect I'd actually make her do it, Jelly puffed up her cheeks and reluctantly agreed.