"Duke! You... No... You're the cause of my face...!"
Simon held his face and collapsed to his knees.
"And yet I am, I am... Aaahhhh!"
And he sobbed, pounding the floor with his fists.
In the throne room, Simon's muffled voice was all that could be heard for a moment.
"Simon's symptoms were caused, not by the plague, but by the poison of the Black Death Wheat. But there was no bread to serve as proof, and with the kingdom in turmoil, I could not denounce Danzel. Even though the plague had subsided, the nobility in the country had dwindled in number, and the movements of the wives who had married into noble families from the Republic were also disturbing. So I waited. I waited for this moment when I could be sure to incriminate you."
Frederick III gave Edward, who stood speechless, an intimidating smile, as if he were a different person from the usual calm king.
"Edward, you asked me earlier if I knew that the canulé contained black wheat.
"Ha, yes..."
"I'll answer you now. I'm ready. Even if I die, Cedric will hunt down Danzel. It was because of this assurance that I did not hesitate to eat the poison. All this, Danzel, is to punish you!"
Saying this, Frederick III violently released his grip on his hair.
With a dull thud, the Duke of Danzel fell head first to the floor.
"Gaaaah!"
Frederick III stepped on the screaming Duke Danzel's head with his foot.
"Ahh... Ahh..."
"Does it hurt? I'm sure it does. But this pain is not enough. The pain from the Black Death Wheat is said to be enough to make one lose his sanity. I wish you would have suffered and died from the Black Death Wheat."
And then he put strength into his legs again.
The indignant expression on the normally mild-mannered king's face pressured everyone in the room.
Even Renato gulped for a moment.
"But I am the king. If I punish my subjects without proof due to a personal grudge, it will set a bad precedent that will eventually give birth to a tyrant in this country. So I waited a long, long time... At last, now..."
Frederick III, with a face devoid of expression, took his foot off the Duke of Danzel's head.
Then he continued in a voice lacking emotion and without hesitation.
"The fact that, ten years ago, he killed the Queen Mother and my brother by faking a plague is truly unforgivable. Furthermore, in an attempt to assassinate me, the king, at the recent kingdom festival, he falsely claimed that a mural depicting the eating of black canulé had been found among the ruins of an ancient kingdom, and prepared a canulé containing Black Death Wheat. It must have been difficult to adjust the poison so that one bite would not kill me and I would not die unless I ate the entire piece."
"Why... why... that?"
"After I would have died, in order to make Edward his puppet, he got rid of Mariabelle and made Annette his queen. The first time Edward met Annette, it was by chance, but it was you who made them get to know each other better. The crown prince never comes down to the castle town so often, let alone once."
Edward's refusal to listen to other people's opinions once he had made up his mind was also used to his advantage.
The report to Frederick III was deliberately delayed, and by the time he realised what was happening, it was too late.
"It is hard to describe the feeling of emptiness I felt when Edward told me that he had broken off his engagement to Mariabelle."
"Even if Annette had been adopted, she was not qualified to be queen, and there was even a ridiculous proposal to make Mariabelle a concubine in order to entrust her with the duties of the office. However, as a concubine, she would not have the right to succeed to the throne even if she gave birth to a child. And you tried to have the Marquis of Berkeley disgraced by falsely accusing him of producing Black Death Wheat."
Frederick III beckoned Mariabelle to hand him a letter with the seal of the king.
"This way, Your Majesty. Here are the letters I received"
Mariabelle handed him the letter with the fake imperial seal and the document in which her father James had assured her that she was free to marry.
She stared at Frederick III's face as he received them.
But there was no joy or sorrow, only a doll-like face devoid of any emotion.
"The Berkeley family has received something like this, but it is not my signature, and it is a forgery. You may look at this letter. The engagement of a noble family requires royal approval, but I have promised the Marquis of Berkeley that I will not interfere in the marriage of Mariabelle. I would never approve of Simon and Mariabelle's betrothal."
"But that is not..."
"Silence!"
Frederick III sharply interrupted the Duke of Danzel, who looked up involuntarily.
"The priest who forged the engagement contract between Simon and Mariabelle has already been arrested. Forging official documents is a capital offence. Add to that the murder of the Queen Mother and my brother ten years ago, and the attempted assassination of me, the king, and your life alone will not be enough to pay for it. The Duke of Danzel shall be cut off, and all those connected to the Duke shall also be implicated. Does anyone object?"
Before long, not only those from the anti-Danzel faction that Cedric had brought with him, but all of the kingdom's chief ministers were gathered in the throne room.
From among them, the Prime Minister, Coleridge, stepped forward.
"His Majesty's knowledge has been duly received. Take Vladimir Danzel to the dungeon. Not in the guest room, but in the basement."
"Wait a minute, the Republic will not tolerate this!"
Frederick III coldly replied to Duke Danzel's impatient cry.
"The Republicans who were in your mansion have quickly disappeared. You are really good at cutting off the tails of skalengecks and lizards, aren't you?"
Hearing this, Duke Danzel was astonished.
His ambition to rule the kingdom with his own hands was crumbling.
"It wasn't supposed to be like this."
"Everything was supposed to be going very well."
"Where did the plan fall apart?"
"Oh, yes, it was Mariabelle."
"Because Mariabelle had brought the empire into it."
"Take him away."
At Frederick III's signal, Duke Danzel looked at Mariabelle and Renato with hatred.
Then, as he passed by Mariabelle, he let out a vindictive cry.
"Don't think this is the end of everything," he said. "You are making a big mistake. You are not the descendants of the ancient kingdom. Remember, the ancient kingdom will return."
With that, the Duke of Danzel was taken away by the knights.
