I Won't Accept Your Regrets

Chapter 136

The court doctor was about to kneel, but I stopped him.

"I have no time for ceremonies. What are you doing here? What's with the prince?"

"Just a minor injury, His Majesty sprained his ankle."

"Ankle? Why would it be sudden? "

"I was told he played with His Majesty."

Raymond and Carlisle played together?

What kind of nonsense did I just hear? However, it didn't matter at all when Carlisle got hurt.

Having dismissed the doctor, I asked the maid for him.

"Is Carlisle at home?"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Hearing the answer, I went straight to Carlisle's room.

The butler stood with the door open, apparently waiting for me.

"I greet Her Majesty the Empress."

I just walked past him, as I passed Raymond, and went to Carlisle on the bed.

"Mom!"

Coming closer, I saw a bandage on my left ankle. Fortunately, as the court physician said, no serious injuries were found.

"Carlisle, what's wrong with your leg? Hurts badly?"

"No, it's okay. They said it would be better if I take the day off, "Carlisle said boldly. He deliberately spoke louder than usual in case I got worried.

With a smile, I gently stroked Carlisle's cheek and turned to Raymond.

"Greetings to His Majesty the Emperor."

I was a little late with the greeting.

Now his face was pale and annoyed.

"Sorry. I hurt Carlisle."

I looked at Carlisle. Carlisle shook his head as if it wasn't true.

And of course I didn't think Raymond would harm Carlisle either.

It must have been an accident.

"Your Majesty, can we go out and talk? It's time for Carlisle to go to bed."

"But I'm fine..." Carlisle protested quietly.

"Let's go to bed early today. Sleep yourself so your ankle heals faster. And then, you can quickly play again. Right?"

"Well, yes."

I left the room with Raymond and led him into the living room, not my room.

"Sit down, your majesty. Everybody get out."

Raymond did not want to sit down, although all the servants had already left.

"Sire?"

"Ellie, this Carlisle incident, I'm really... sorry."

Again he apologized to me.

Are you very scared?

He was more shocked by Carlisle's injury than I thought.

The face was pale, just like mine in the past.

When Carlisle was still a baby, there was a time when my child suffered from my oversight.

When I first got into such a situation, I simply could not find a place for myself. Just like Raymond at this moment.

This must have been his first time.

I said in a calm voice to calm him down.

"Everything is fine. I don't think His Majesty intentionally harmed Carlisle. You must have just played too."

"But nonetheless..."

"With children, this is always the case. Not like dislocation, even fractures happen."

Since he started walking, Carlisle got into trouble so often that I could close my eyes to one incident.

"Moreover, he himself says that everything is in order. Don't worry too much. After all, they say that everything will pass in a day."

"Did Carlisle suffer badly when he was growing up?"

"Falling naturally when you first start to walk."

"Right. Now, if we were together..."

And I guessed what he was thinking.

"Ellie."

"Yes?"

"Apart from Carlisle, I am very sorry that I could not understand your position a few days ago. I'll be more careful in the future."

His eyes were still gloomy, and he was not entirely sincere.

I felt him suppress his feelings.

I was angry with his attitude, but more important things happened after that day, so I almost forgot about it.

"This is what you need to consider for the future. But I have something important for your majesty. Shall we sit down?"

With a serious look, Raymond sat down on the sofa, as if he had a presentiment that something was about to break out.

"Is it related to the fact that you left the palace today?"

"Yes"

"Is it bad?"

"It's about the Marquis Sios. More precisely, I have evidence of his crimes."

I handed Raymond an envelope.

Raymond frowned even more as he scanned paper after paper.

He read the last one and turned to me.

Black eyes, cold as ice, were now looking at me. Then I told him:

"My people have already gone there to collect the money from the vault. No later than the day after tomorrow, all the contents will be in the capital. Proof was also obtained that Marquis Sios illegally bought the estate."

The evidence was perfect for charging the duke with embezzlement from the treasury.

"This will be enough to destroy Marquis Sios."

He looked at me tenaciously, saying nothing. And finally, he moved his lips:

"I have already learned from the Marquis Paren that you have decided to make your move. I think this time we will not miss Sios."

"If so, I hope your Majesty will sort things out properly."

"We'll catch Sios tomorrow. But ... Before that, I want to ask you something."

I took a slow, deep breath as I sat under Raymond's cold gaze.

"Ask."

"Is this evidence a find of Duke Drua?"

Menace flickered in his dark eyes.

If the papers came from Jeremy, the Emperor would be suspicious of such a source.

And the testimonies were so detailed that they could not have been obtained if you were not an accomplice.

But I couldn't tell him the truth.

If you have found evidence of this kind, it would be correct to bring it personally to the emperor.

Even if Raymond was in doubt, my source cannot be disclosed under any threat.

"No. Ever since the defamation of Duke Croft, I have been secretly conducting my investigation. And now the evidence is clear."

"Are you saying that you found it?"

"Exactly. More specifically, I found it through the people of the Order of the Phoenix."

I felt his deep gaze slide over me. I looked at him, pretending to be calm, and not avoiding his gaze.

There was a silence that made him breathless, and the look inside his eyes gradually changed.

"I believe you."

"Yes, your majesty."

Raymond no longer looked at me suspiciously. Although he knew it wasn't true.

Then he said, clutching the papers:

"Tomorrow I will send knights to catch the Marquis Sios. And, judging by the evidence, the trial will come to pass quickly. This will be enough to take away the title of Marquis, as well as property and send him into exile at some distance from the capital."

If he falls that low, Marquis Sios will never be able to recoup.

And the day he returns from exile will probably be the day of his death.

"But our problem is now... in Lisa."

All the evidence pointed to Marquis Sios, but not to Lisa.

All titles and property of the Marquis will be confiscated, but he cannot send Lisa into exile, who was not the direct culprit.

She was also the mother of the first prince.

Stories that Raymond and I are together again and that we also drove Lisa home together.

They can make a martyr out of her. This could not be allowed.

But this does not mean that I will just leave Lisa alone.

I don't know how exactly to end you, but the result will be the same.

"Even if Marquis Sios goes into exile, Lady Sios is the mother of the First Prince, so she should be left with a little honor."

"Do you really want Lisa to come out of the water dry?"

"Well, I do not. But a daring step will harm your image among the people. You'd better come forward and defend the honor of young Lady Sios. Since the marquis falls, you can give her a little title."

"Her... title?" he asked, puzzled.

"You will give me something else in return."

"Something else?"

"Please save the honor of Lady Sios, but also name Carlisle the crown prince."

Losing the support of the Marquis, Lisa would have to put everything on Edmund. But if the position of the crown prince is taken, she will simply have nowhere to go.