Under orders from Westalia, Paige immediately paid a visit to a rural village far outside of the capital. The sky was perfectly clear, and Paige could hear birds flapping in the nearby trees.
The royal physician lives out here? Paige wondered. She was looking for the doctor who had filled out Carolina’s death certificate, a man named Alzett. There was nothing but undeveloped nature, as far as the eye could see. There were a few pastures and houses here and there, but they were all shabby and showed the poverty of the area. Alzett had quit his job as a court physician several years earlier and returned to his hometown—on paper, that was. His hometown was quite near the royal capital. However, he had actually been hiding out in this remote area, far from the capital. Felix had helped Westalia find him.
I can’t believe my mistress is such a hard-ass. She told me to threaten the doctor to get him to confess that Carolina died by poison! Paige shuddered. She imagined living the rest of her days in a rural place like this. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad, living a carefree life out here... she thought, but then she shook her head. Westalia was working really hard, so Paige had to do what she could to support the woman.
Paige walked into the village and finally found a resident.
“Excuse me. Do you know a man named Alzett?” she called out to the woman.
“Oh, aren’t you handsome! You mean Mr. Alzett who runs the clinic?” the woman replied.
“Huh?”
“Hey, everyone! A handsome knight is here!” the woman shouted, and other women from the village began flocking to Paige in droves. Paige was puzzled when they asked where she was from and if she was married.
“Well, I appreciate you asking, ladies, but I’m a woman,” Paige said.
“What?!”
After explaining herself and freeing herself from the gaggle of women, Paige finally made it to Alzett’s clinic. Unexpectedly exhausted and battered, she rolled into the small building.
“Hello. How are you today? You look a little pale...” A friendly-looking man in a white coat greeted Paige, as did the two nurses. Paige immediately pulled out her sword and pointed it at the doctor’s neck.
The man flinched.
“Dr. Alzett, yes? I’m here to talk to you about a falsified death certificate that you issued for your wife, Carolina. Tell me the truth,” Paige said.
The doctor’s eyes widened at Paige’s words and he raised his hands over his head in a gesture of surrender. The two nurses, who had been admiring Paige, shrieked.
Alzett spoke after a moment of hesitation. “I was waiting for this day to come... I will tell you everything. I will tell you the crimes I committed on the orders of the former queen.” He went into the back room and brought out a stack of papers. Paige picked up the documents he spread out on the table and found that they were the death certificates for multiple people, including Carolina. Each one had both an authentic and a forged version.
“So it wasn’t just the one death certificate you forged?” Paige asked.
“That’s right. I was forced to forge many death certificates on the former queen’s orders. All the deceased, including Carolina, showed symptoms of poisoning.”
Alzett was aware that all of the people had been poisoned by the former queen, but he’d had no choice but to listen to her because he hadn’t known what would happen if he’d disobeyed. However, whenever Alzett was ordered to forge a death certificate, he would write several copies under the pretext that they would be needed for various formalities. There would be a forged certificate to be submitted to the royal court, and a legitimate death certificate to be burned and disposed of in front of Delphine for staging purposes. He had secretly kept a copy of each of them, pretending that he had written only the number of copies required for the proceedings. He had then fled to the countryside with the evidence of the death certificate forgery. The reason he had taken such actions, even though his life would be threatened by the former queen if he was discovered, was because he felt remorse for his complicity in the crimes.
“I will give you all of these documents,” Dr. Alzett said.
“Are you sure? If this gets out, things might go badly for you,” Paige said.
“I’m sure. I brought up the evidence with that intention. The former queen was looking for me when I suddenly disappeared from the court. The only difference is what will happen first: her getting rid of me or me disappearing from society,” Dr. Alzett replied.
Paige took the documents and thanked Dr. Alzett for his resolution.
✦ ✦ ✦
It had been a week since Westalia’s return to the Kingdom of Lhumzia. The former queen’s reputation had been further damaged, and the trial was coming up the next day. Westalia and Paige had put up notices all over the city about the actions of the former queen, the details of which they had garnered by asking around in the palace. The notices stated that Delphine often terrorized workers in the palace and that she spent the taxpayers’ hard-earned money on luxuries for herself, including her favorite foods and chocolates, which regular people would never be able to afford even once in their lives.
The notices were highly inflammatory because Felix had already written an article criticizing Delphine for buying up all of the medicinal herbs that were used to treat the epidemic. Voices calling for the former queen’s banishment were coming from all over.
With public opinion swayed this much, everything should be set! Westalia thought. It was thanks in part to Felix’s careful research. He had already secured on his side the nobles that had been at odds with the former queen, and several of the judges were concealing them.
I doubt Delphine has ever been cornered like this before. Lily must be getting anxious too...
Westalia and Paige were on the archery range in the royal palace. Westalia lined her bow up with the target and released her arrow. With a thud, the tip of the arrow hit the target slightly off-center.
“That was close. But still, you’re improving very quickly,” Felix said.
“Not that much,” Westalia replied. For the past week, in addition to preparing for the trial, she’d been studying archery under Paige’s tutelage. Westalia picked it up easily and improved quickly. Today, Felix had come along with her. He shot his arrow so beautifully that Westalia couldn’t help but admire it. It flew straight and hit the center of the target dead-on.
“If the former queen were to disappear from the palace, would the air here be a little cleaner?” Westalia asked.
“Yes, certainly,” Felix replied.
Delphine had used her power to commit all kinds of crimes. Her wickedness would be rewarded with misfortune. That was the providence of the world. Westalia would never forget that, and she used it as a reminder for herself, as well.
“You need to aim a little higher up,” Felix said. He placed his own bow down and went over to correct Westalia’s form. “Yes, like that.” As he supported her arm he whispered in her ear. “Westalia, would you be willing to return to your home country? Would you be willing to become the queen of this country once again? You have that right.”
“How funny. I also have the right to choose,” Westalia replied, cutting him off and shooting her arrow without any hesitation.
Felix was silent.
“I was once cast aside as an evil woman by this place. I was relegated to the fringes of the royal palace, and yet I still worked hard for the country, but the country did not protect me,” Westalia said. The public execution wasn’t the first time she hadn’t been protected. While Westalia had been imprisoned in the royal villa, no one had spoken up to help her. She couldn’t forget that she had been publicly shamed, nor could she forget the faces of the people who had cursed at her on the execution block.
Westalia looked up at Felix as she answered. “I will decide for myself which country I am loyal to. I am grateful to you, of course, Felix, but I intend to do my best in my new place. Let me assist in removing the festering corruption from the royal palace, and let that be my final service to this country.”
“I see. If that is what you want, then I will support you.”
“I’m sorry for being selfish.”
“I don’t think you’re being selfish.”
Westalia was sick of being subjected to inconvenience and formalities. Felix looked a little disappointed at her firm refusal. Westalia knew he thought highly of her abilities.
“And honestly... I’ve found someone I like in the Archaites Empire,” Westalia said. Felix’s arrow missed the mark for the first time that day when she said that. His eyes widened as he looked her way.
“It’s the crown prince,” Westalia continued.
“Leo? I see. So that’s another reason to stay there then.”
Felix and Leonardo had studied abroad in the same place, and they remained friends despite being from the royal families of enemy nations.
Westalia nodded, embarrassed.
“Then I will simply pray for your happiness,” Felix said, a wistful smile on his face.