Chapter 123

I gnawed on my fingernails, my mind racing. I had to find a way to save my father.

 

The sound of my biting nails filled the room. It was Freyer who halted my spiraling anxiety.

 

“They say those mana stones from last time have become evidence of illegal mining. With the agent’s whereabouts unknown, we need different proof. Think, Lilithia—is there any document showing those stones weren’t mined within the Empire?”

 

The person acting as the agent for the Shutra branch had vanished. If no information could be gathered there, we had to find a loophole within the Empire.

 

“A letter. There’s a letter.”

 

My father had sent me a letter announcing the successful start of the mana stone mining. It contained the specific dates of the excavation.

 

“It should be in my drawer.”

 

“They ransacked the mansion, so they likely found it. Since it wasn’t notarized, it probably wasn’t accepted as evidence to release Baron Percival.”

 

“Then… the merchant guild or the branch office might have a ledger of the mining records.”

 

If the knights had taken the mining documents, they should have known the stones weren’t illegal. Freyer let out a deep sigh and ran a hand through his hair.

 

“There is someone on the inside deleting data.”

 

Finding out who it was mattered less than finding a way to save my father first. I stood up and spoke firmly.

 

“I’m going to the merchant guild to find information.”

 

 

***

 

 

The merchant guild had already been turned upside down by the knights. Kenny, who was cleaning the mess, was sighing in a daze. Documents were scattered everywhere. As Kenny crouched down to pick them up, two pairs of shoes entered her field of vision.

 

“I’m sorry… we aren’t open for business…”

 

“Kenny.”

 

“Winnie…?”

 

Kenny looked up at our faces. As soon as she recognized me, her eyes filled with tears. Before I could stop her, she lunged into my arms.

 

“My Lady… I-I was so scared.”

 

“It’s alright, Kenny.”

 

I patted the shoulders of the sobbing girl. Her tears soaked into my clothes.

 

“I’m so, so sorry. Hearing that the Baron was arrested and seeing the guild like this… I was just so anxious…”

 

“Thank you.”

 

“B-but My Lady, when did you return to the Empire?”

 

Her relief was short-lived; Kenny’s expression cycled through a dozen emotions before she turned pale, her mouth hanging open.

 

“Wait, you shouldn’t be here, My Lady! You’ll be captured too.”

 

“I can’t run away and leave my father behind. I came to find documents.”

 

“Documents…?”

 

“The mana stone records must be here.”

 

Kenny stared blankly at the sea of papers on the floor. At the thought that even one piece of evidence might exist among those mountains of paper, the light returned to her dull eyes.

 

“You’re right. The Baron always…”

 

Father had always recorded everything. Because those documents were constantly rolling around the floor or getting lost, he often ended up writing the same thing several times.

 

It was the very thing that had given me such a headache when I first took over the guild for him—duplicate documents filed away in total chaos.

 

Kenny wiped her tears and pressed down on her red, swollen eyelids.

 

“Will you help me look?”

 

“O-of course!”

 

Shhhhk—

 

Winnie drew the curtains over the window and bolted the door with a smile.

 

“Just in case someone sees from the outside.”

 

Winnie, Kenny, and I rolled up our sleeves and reached into the piles of paper on the floor.

 

 

***

 

 

“I was sure the records would be here.”

 

We spent days scouring every single document in the guild. Far from finding evidence, I had only managed to cut my fingers on the paper in my haste. Despite the struggle, there was nothing to save my father.

 

“……”

 

I collapsed into a chair, feeling broken. I couldn’t just let go like this without a fight.

 

Right then, a man resembling Jaybil whispered into Freyer’s ear, and Freyer’s expression stiffened.

 

“We have information on the agent’s location.”

 

“Where? Where are they?”

 

“Within the Empire.”

 

“Thank goodness!”

 

My relief was fleeting, instantly crushed by the thunderclap of his next words.

 

“……However, Percival’s execution date has been moved.”

 

I had been somewhat relieved that the execution was scheduled for two weeks away, thinking we had time.

 

“Two days from now. And it’s no longer private; it’s been changed to a public execution.”

 

Why would they change the date? There was no reason to move it up so suddenly.

 

“There has to be a reason…!”

 

“They likely want to make an example of him. Or, they’re trying to lure you out.”

 

I repeatedly clenched and unclenched my fists in my agitation.

 

“It’s likely the Crown Prince’s scheme. He has always wanted to have you in his grasp.”

 

“Me…?”

 

But why him?

 

The question of ‘why’ bloomed in my mind, but his intent didn’t matter right now. Saving my father was the priority.

 

“I’m going to find the agent immediately.”

 

Freyer stood up and spoke to Jaybil and Derek. I gripped the armrest of the chair, forcing strength into my gaze. I couldn’t collapse now. If I didn’t keep my wits about me, I couldn’t save him.

 

“I’m counting on you…”

 

“I’ll be back soon, Lilithia.”

 

 

***

 

 

A circular building with three-tiered spectator seating. Usually used as an arena, it was occasionally used as an execution ground for the most heinous crimes.

 

News of the first public execution in years had drawn a massive crowd. The various weapons lining the arena walls made the atmosphere even more chilling. This event was nothing less than a display of the Imperial Family’s absolute power.

 

“I heard the daughter hasn’t been caught yet?”

 

“Tsk tsk. Her father is about to die, yet she’s off hiding somewhere. Like father, like daughter.”

 

“He’s a fallen noble, so why is the execution such a grand affair?”

 

“Illegal mana stone mining, apparently.”

 

“The nerve of him.”

 

I was severely sleep-deprived after staying up for days. The voices of the citizens rang in my ears like tinnitus. My father’s death was nothing more than entertaining gossip to them.

 

“It’s okay, My Lady.”

 

Winnie took my hand, which I was gripping tightly. I could feel her own hand trembling with anxiety.

 

“Baron…”

 

“……Fa, Father.”

 

Though he was far away, his image entered my eyes as clearly as if I were looking through a telescope. Father was covered in dust, and his lemon-blonde hair—once as lustrous as mine—was now dull, dry, and unkempt.

 

The sight of his poor treatment made my breathing grow ragged.

 

He looked as if he hadn’t been fed properly; unlike when I had seen him months ago, he was now skin and bones, his cheeks sunken. The wrinkles on his forehead, around his eyes, and on his neck seemed deeper. The age spots on his face had darkened.

 

The clinking of the silver shackles on his wrists and ankles echoed in the air.

 

“Die!”

 

“How dare you break the law in the Empire?”

 

“Go to hell!”

 

My heart showed no signs of slowing its frantic beat. I clasped my trembling hands together as jeers erupted around me.

 

Spectators standing near the first-floor railings threw stones at him. My father winced as the stones hit him and tried to stop, but the knights dragged him ruthlessly toward the center of the execution ground.

 

“My Lady, His Highness Freyer said he would bring evidence, so please don’t worry.”

 

“……What if he’s late.”

 

The shackles of anxiety tightened around my ankles.

 

“What if he’s too late!”

 

“My Lady, you must lower your voice…”

 

I had found love through my father. I didn’t want to lose the person who had given me such unconditional affection.

 

In my previous life, I had never been loved, but he was the one who changed that. My head began to swim.

 

‘This is the first time I’m truly facing the loss of someone.’

 

If it weren’t for me—if I hadn’t possessed the character in this novel—would my father have to die? If I hadn’t been here, would this have happened? These irrational thoughts began to consume me, even though it was already too late.

 

Winnie gripped my hand, which was shivering violently.

 

“His Highness said he would be back soon.”

 

‘Please…’

 

I squeezed my eyes shut and repeated the prayer over and over in my heart.

 

‘Please, Your Highness. Please save my father.’