Empress of Another World

Seventy Six

The castle was in an uproar. The emperor’s wife fell off a horse. Thankfully, she didn’t die, but she lost consciousness for a full day.

This was an unacceptable incident. Even if it was a pure accident, the people responsible for it would pay dearly.

Soon, it was revealed it wasn’t an accident. The emperor’s investigators examined the horse and the gears, and it was clear that someone tampered with them.

Lucretius was in my bedroom as he looked at the investigator.

He asked, “Someone tampered with this?”

The investigator nodded and lifted the saddle to show the insides of it.

He then pushed from the outer surface, which caused a tiny needle to appear from inside. It was a clever device. This meant when I sat down, the pressure caused the needle to appear and prick the horse’s back.

Lucretius asked quietly, “And what was on the needle?”

“A stimulant. This was why the horse went crazy after her highness sat on it.”

Lucretius touched the needle with his fingertip. It was so small he could barely feel it.

There was only one possible suspect for this.

Dowager empress Katleyanira.

She was such a persistent and evil enemy.

She took so much away from him, and now she was trying to take everything from him. She almost succeeded. She almost took away the woman he loved the most.

According to Lowson, Bina could have died. She hit her head when she fell, and this meant she may have never woken up.

Thankfully, she gained consciousness in a day, but the source of the threat still remained. Lucretius still felt fearful.

He ordered, “Search the dowager empress’s quarters. I don’t want to have anything of hers left in this castle!”

***

An inquisition started. Every relevant person was brought in for questioning.

The emperor sat on his throne as the head judge.

On both sides of him were royal guards. Lucretius was wearing a black robe like the god of death. People bowed to him deeply in fear. Lucretius looked murderous.

He ordered, “Let’s skip the unnecessary formalities and get to the business at hand.”

The principal investigator announced, “As your highness ordered, we have investigated her highness’ accident and found a few suspicious points.”

As he continued, people tensed.

“Her highness’s saddle had this device hidden in it.”

He brought out the saddle as a piece of evidence. When he demonstrated how it worked, people gasped.

“The only conclusion we can draw is that someone planted this to harm her highness.”

“I agree.” At the emperor replied, the room tensed.

The principal investigator continued quickly, “We have a witness who needs to testify.”

When he raised his hand, a guard brought in a man whose hands were tied behind his back.

“This is the servant who took care of her highness’ horse.”

The servant shouted with a pale face.

“I, I did not harm her highness! I swear!”

The principal investigator frowned.

“You are standing in front of the emperor! How dare you speak without permission!”