Chapter 11: Why Not Just Apologize?
The next day. Late at night.
As in the original story, Jerome arrived at the Empress’ Palace with his knights.
“It’s unlikely, of course, but this is the last place left to search.”
He spoke as if searching the Empress’ Palace was the most natural thing to do.
In the original, Helena repeatedly yelled, “How dare you!”
She screamed, demanding to know if the Emperor didn’t trust her.
Was she really the kind of person to do such a petty thing? Her anger flared like a fire.
But I was different.
“Search as you please.”
I willingly stepped aside.
By all means, search to your heart’s content.
And eventually—
“We’ve found it!”
A knight searching my room retrieved a ring from under the bed.
The very pearl ring Jerome had gifted to Fay.
“The ring! We’ve found the ring!”
The knight, beaming with pride, handed the ring to Jerome, who was waiting outside the room.
“This is… unmistakable.”
Jerome’s eyes narrowed as he examined the ring.
“How did this come to be?”
His gaze, cold as ice, demanded an answer.
Of course. I had expected this.
I tilted my chin slightly and replied.
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“The ring was found under your bed, yet you deny involvement?”
“Oh, that ring? Well—”
“Why?”
Jerome cut me off.
“Why would you do such a thing?”
I was about to explain, but he didn’t let me finish.
At that moment, Fay entered to assess the situation.
“Oh my, Your Majesty…”
She covered her mouth with both hands, looking horrified.
“Your Majesty, there must be some misunderstanding. The Empress would never do such a thing. I must have made a mistake.”
She tried to convince Jerome that I wasn’t the culprit.
“I visited here some time ago. I must have misplaced it then. Please don’t misunderstand the Empress.”
Fay’s desperate plea made me sigh inwardly.
Unbelievable. Truly remarkable.
Her Oscar-worthy performance left me in awe.
But her words and actions, supposedly in my defense, only served to fan Jerome’s anger further.
“You visited here over a month ago, did you not? Then how could a ring lost two days ago be found here?”
“But surely there’s been some mistake…”
“Enough. This matter is out of your hands now. Step aside.”
After dismissing Fay and the knights, Jerome stood before me.
“Do you have anything to say?”
“I’m not sure what you mean. Surely, you don’t think I stole the ring?”
At my words, Jerome’s frown deepened.
“Why not just apologize?”
“So, you believe I did it. But I’m telling you again, I didn’t.”
“Even with such clear evidence, you still deny it?”
“No matter how many times you ask, my answer remains the same.”
“Do you truly…”
Just as Jerome’s fury reached its peak—
“It’s a misunderstanding, Your Majesty.”
A calm yet firm voice intervened, halting Jerome’s wrath.
A man pushed past the knights and entered the room.
“You are… Leonard.”
It was Leonard Hilbert.
Jerome frowned.
“This is not a matter for you to meddle in, Sir Leonard. We are discussing a grave issue with the Empress.”
“That is precisely why I am here.”
“What?”
“Please take a look at this.”
Leonard extended his hand toward Jerome.
In his palm was a small ring.
“That’s…?”
Jerome’s gaze wavered.
Shockingly, the ring Leonard presented was identical to the one found under my bed.
Leonard explained in a steady voice.
“There are crows living near the Imperial Consort’s Palace. I decided to check their nest, just in case, and found this.”
“Crows? Why would you search a mere bird’s nest?”
“Crows have a peculiar habit of collecting shiny objects. When I heard the ring was missing, I thought it worth investigating.”
“Are you saying this is the ring Fay lost?”
Jerome scoffed.
“A convenient excuse. But it’s useless. The ring has already been found.”
Despite Jerome’s icy glare, Leonard didn’t waver.
He stood firm, as if shielding me.
“Please examine it again carefully.”
“…”
Jerome stared at Leonard before picking up the ring.
He turned it over in his hands.
“…!”
Jerome’s eyes widened.
He had noticed something.
“Your Majesty?”
Fay, who had been standing aside, approached and asked.
Jerome handed the ring to her.
He pointed to a faint scratch etched on the ring.
“This scratch. Do you recognize it?”
Fay’s eyes grew round in surprise.
“Oh! That’s…”
A faint diagonal mark on the ring.
So subtle it could easily go unnoticed.
And that scratch had significant meaning in the original story.
[“Oh no, I scratched the ring by accident. This won’t do.”
“No, it’s fine. I actually like it.”
“But it’s damaged.”
“Because it’s a mark left by Your Majesty, it feels even more special.”]
Exactly.
It was a moment meant to highlight Fay’s innocent and pure-hearted nature.
“I see. This is indeed the ring Your Majesty gave me.”
Fay spoke in a trembling voice.
Having remained silent up until now, I finally stepped forward.
“It seems the misunderstanding has been resolved.”
I turned to Jerome and Fay, looking at them in turn.
“So, how do you plan to resolve this mess?”
A flustered Fay.
A stern-faced Jerome.
Seeing their reactions made me smile inwardly.
Yes, this is exactly the expression I wanted to see.
Looking at the finished scene felt even better than I had imagined.
Fay spoke in a confused voice.
“H-how does Her Majesty the Empress have a ring identical to mine…?”
I calmly answered her question.
“This ring was a gift from Sir Leonard.”
Jerome furrowed his brows at my words.
“Sir Leonard?”
“I borrowed some books from Her Majesty and wanted to show my gratitude with a small gift. I didn’t realize it happened to be identical to the Imperial Consort’s missing ring.”
After hearing Leonard’s explanation, Jerome’s gaze returned to me.
“The moment Sir Leonard gave me the gift, my ladies-in-waiting were present and witnessed it.”
As if on cue, the maids chimed in.
“Yes, I saw it with my own eyes, Your Majesty. Sir Leonard presented the gift to Her Majesty.”
“I also saw it clearly, Emperor.”
The testimonies of the maids continued.
They had seen Leonard give me the small box tied with a white ribbon that morning.
Of course, the gift Leonard had given that day was not actually a ring.
“It seems Sir Leonard’s gifted ring coincidentally resembled the Imperial Consort’s. After all, it’s a fairly common design.”
Feigning surprise, I even made a show of covering my mouth with my hand.
Jerome still didn’t drop his suspicious look and asked,
“Then why was the gifted ring under the bed?”
“I must have dropped it while unwrapping the gift. I didn’t realize it had rolled under the bed.”
As I replied, I glanced at Fay.
Her face was stiff.
That awkward expression was priceless.
I had to work hard to suppress the smirk threatening to spread across my face.
Amid the complex situation, Jerome remained silent for a long time before finally speaking.
“Everyone, leave the room.”
The knights and maids exited.
Now, only Jerome, Leonard, Fay, and I remained in the chamber.
Jerome looked at Leonard with a questioning gaze.
The kind that said, Why are you still here?
“He’s involved in this matter, so he’s not unrelated. Besides, Your Majesty…”
“I know.”
He cut me off before I could finish.
“You know? What do you mean?”
In response to my calm question, Jerome firmly stated,
“It seems I misunderstood you, Empress.”
“I’m glad the misunderstanding has been resolved. Now, how will you restore my tarnished reputation?”
“Your reputation?”
“In front of so many people, didn’t Your Majesty accuse me of stealing the ring?”
“That’s because the ring was found in your room—”
“I made it clear multiple times that I hadn’t stolen the ring. Not once, but repeatedly.”
“…It seems you were right.”
“Thank you for acknowledging that. I hope you won’t forget this incident in the future.”
Speaking confidently, I subtly glanced at Leonard.
Understanding my signal, Leonard narrowed his eyes slightly.
***
Yesterday.
As I agonized over how to handle the ring, I spotted Leonard’s gift and had a brilliant idea.
“In truth, I have a dilemma I can’t speak of.”
I showed Leonard the ring I had found under my bed.
“This is…”
Leonard’s eyes widened as he saw the ring. His reaction made me nervous.
What if he misunderstood?
“…Did someone hide the Imperial Consort’s ring in the Empress’ room?”
Surprisingly, he had already guessed what I was about to say.
“How did you know?”
Leonard flashed a charming smile.
“If that weren’t the case, there’d be no reason for you to show me this ring.”
“That’s correct. I found it under my bed. It’s causing me a great deal of trouble.”
“How can I help?”
Placing the ring on the table, I said,
“I heard your family operates trading companies and jewelry businesses. They’re quite large, right? Could you have an identical ring made?”
“An identical ring?”
“Yes. Though it doesn’t need to have the exact same scratch. …Is it possible?”
In truth, I wasn’t asking because of his family’s background.
Even without the backing of the Hilbert Marquessate, I believed Leonard himself could handle this task.
“…When do you need it?”
“As soon as possible. Ideally, today.”
“That’s quite tight.”
“Is it too difficult?”
“This ring has a simple design, but the pearl used is special. It’s not easy to acquire.”
Hearing this, my heart sank.
If Leonard couldn’t procure it, no one could.
After all, despite his humble title of Knight Commander, his influence extended throughout the Empire.
“Is it impossible?”
“I said it wasn’t easy, not impossible. However…”
“However?”
He suddenly curved his lips into a soft smile.
“If I succeed, what will you give me in return?”
“Pardon?”
His unexpected request left me flustered.
“What kind of reward are you asking for?”
“No need to be so wary. I’m not planning to ask for anything unreasonable. Just grant me one small favor.”
“The way you put it makes it sound scarier. What sort of favor?”
“Hmm, that’s a secret.”
He grinned mischievously, his eyes curling up.
“After all, it wouldn’t be fun if you knew beforehand.”
Would this be okay?
Still, he did promise not to ask for anything unreasonable.
And honestly, I didn’t have much of a choice.
I desperately needed his help to execute my plan.
“Alright.”
Thanks to Leonard’s assistance, I successfully resolved the “ring” incident.
***
“Honestly, I didn’t expect you to replicate it so perfectly.”
“I was lucky to find a pearl of similar size.”
“You’re more resourceful than you look.”
“Thanks to the capable people in my family. But the real surprise was the crow.”
Leonard looked at me with a newfound curiosity.
“I knew about their habit of collecting shiny objects, but I never expected you to use that as an excuse. I was worried the Emperor might not believe it.”
“Whether they believed the crow story didn’t matter.”
“Oh?”
“What mattered was proving that the ring found in my room was fake.”
“!”
“Regardless of the details, the ring in my room was fake, while the one you discovered in the crow’s nest was genuine.”
I smiled confidently.
“That’s the part that truly matters.”
—
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