Lord Kanelion didn’t seem to understand the situation either. He was frozen in place, his mouth agape.
“You truly don’t realize the seriousness of the crime you’ve committed,” Prince Edgar said with a sigh. The look in his eyes grew sharper. “Bernard. You granted Lady Mina Noreit access to the forbidden library, didn’t you?”
What?! Is that true?!
The forbidden library held tomes that were banned from the public, as well as special books that required permission to view. As royalty, Prince Bernard was allowed to enter, but that didn’t mean accessing it was such a simple thing.
That’s so unfair! I want to read the books in the forbidden library too!
I couldn’t help but join Prince Edgar in glaring at Prince Bernard. However, the target of our ire was seemingly still failing to understand the gravity of the situation.
“I-I did do that, and I’m sorry. But Mina was fatigued by the unfamiliar atmosphere of the castle and wanted to take a short rest somewhere without people around. We happened to be close to the forbidden library at the time, so we stepped in for a few minutes, that’s all! What could that have to do with the disease?”
The lock on the forbidden library was supposed to react to the royal family’s mana. Considering how reckless and indulgent Prince Bernard was, you’d think someone would’ve placed a restriction or two on his mana. The king must’ve neglected to do so because of his leniency toward him.
Well, given his dislike of reading, Prince Bernard probably didn’t deliberately choose the forbidden library for their break. Plus it takes a fair amount of mana to open that door. This was just sloppy management!
Anyway, the main takeaway here was that Prince Bernard had invited Lady Mina into that off-limits room without regard for his responsibilities as royalty.
His eyes growing colder, Prince Edgar continued. “I secretly investigated the sudden outbreak with the help of a certain individual. Did you never stop to think about what caused it? And why Lady Mina Noreit, who craved attention more than anything else, stopped appearing at social functions altogether?”
Lady Mina did love soirees. As a glamorous woman brimming with feminine charm, she relished having men flock around her. Now that I lived in Leeuwenhoek, I wasn’t familiar with what she was like these days, but it certainly would have been unnatural if she’d stopped attending those events she’d loved so much.
“I thought she was staying away out of consideration, since she said she was leaving me for another man,” Prince Bernard replied.
“That woman could never possess such modesty. If she did, she never would have thought of framing Miss Lucille with false allegations.”
Wait, Lady Mina left Prince Bernard for another man?! I’m even more curious about that than the disease!
I had to show restraint, though. This was absolutely not the time to ask about relationship drama.
“Lady Mina Noreit vanished because the curse she carelessly dabbled in left her in no condition to appear in public,” Prince Edgar explained. “All curses come with a price, after all. A mild one only costs mana, but Lady Noreit didn’t have enough to pay for it. Thus, the curse’s power overflowed, causing harm to people across the land. That was the origin of the disease.”
“A curse? No, it can’t be... Mina wouldn’t...”
Sensing Lord Felix’s body stiffen, I gently laid my hand over his.
I wasn’t expecting a curse to be brought up in this context... It makes sense, though.
The symptoms in the capital had been less severe than in Leeuwenhoek, with the exception of Prince Bernard, whose condition had worsened to the point his life had been in danger. If the disease had resulted from Lady Mina’s attempt to use a curse, then that explained why Prince Bernard had been the most severely affected; he’d been the closest to her.
“Bernard, you let that woman into the forbidden library, where she read a book about curses and tried to use one without any requisite knowledge, leading to the spread of a disease that sent our country into a crisis. Just because everyone was cured doesn’t mean that any manner of ‘all’s well that ends well’ will exonerate you of this.”
If this curse really was the cause of the disease, then Prince Bernard had committed a grave crime. His thoughtless actions as a member of the royal family had exposed the citizens to danger. Had anyone died, the death penalty indeed would have been on the table.
“W-Wait!” Lord Kanelion cried. “Why am I being punished too, then?!”
“You seem to be in remarkably good health, Lord Kanelion,” Prince Edgar noted.
“Huh?”
“You were probably the first to contract the disease. After all, you were eager to do Lady Noreit’s bidding since Bernard favored her. Then, you went to Leeuwenhoek, spreading the disease along the way. Leeuwenhoek is valuable to our national defense. Therefore, you are equally as guilty as Lady Noreit of deliberately trying to put our country in danger.”
“What?! You have no proof! This is nothing but sophistry!”
Much of what Prince Edgar had said was in fact conjecture. While Lady Mina had committed a crime by attempting to use a curse, it wasn’t as if she had intentionally tried to spread the disease, and Lord Kanelion had most likely been completely unaware.
However, that probably wasn’t the true reason behind Prince Edgar’s actions. He saw Prince Bernard and Lord Kanelion as obstacles to his reign. That was why he was doing this.
Well, it’s an understandable decision for a ruler to make... Even if it was just an accident this time, if he allows them any power at all, they might cause real trouble someday.
“There may not be tangible evidence, but I already know the truth,” Prince Edgar replied. “I hold the power, and that’s all that matters.”
Your Highness! That’s something a dictator would say!
That thought aside, Prince Edgar seemed fully confident in his conclusion. Perhaps the collaborator he’d mentioned earlier had already helped him discover the truth behind the disease. I was curious about who that person was.
I thought back to when Lord Kanelion had appeared in Leeuwenhoek.
“Lord Kanelion, I recommend you shut your mouth.”
“Eep!”
The viscount had faced Lord Felix’s wrath after unknowingly hurling insults at me to my face.
“A-Anyway, I’ll let Prince Bernard know that Lucille Gustelanola is receiving awful treatment in this accursed land as well!”