Ch#74
Sir Mugeta escorted me to the underground prison. I wondered if they'd put shackles or chains on me, but since I was still just a suspect, they didn't restrain me.
The cell was incredibly cramped and desolate. At least they hadn't thrown me in with the other prisoners, so being in a solitary cell was a small mercy.
“Do you think I assassinated His Highness, Sir Mugeta?”
Sir Mugeta paused while locking the cell door and glared at me with fierce eyes. It felt like he was slicing me up with his gaze….
“There was blood on your dress, and you brought in the decisive weapon. Excluding Lady Rohanson, no other suspects come to mind. At best, Ye… no, to be honest, I suspect Bishop Marik just as much as you. But when His Highness was murdered, Bishop Marik was outside the banquet hall, just like me.”
Sir Mugeta must have suspected someone else too. But Bishop Marik?
He must read mystery novels. As expected, the least likely person is often the culprit. Bishop Marik's perfect alibi couldn't be entirely dismissed.
Sir Mugeta seemed to have ruled her out because she was outside the banquet hall, but in truth, whether she was there or not, she could have used a summoning circle to command a spirit inside and commit the crime, so her alibi didn't hold up.
But since Sir Mugeta didn't know about spirits, it was hard to explain. As I pondered how to phrase it, he stood up.
“I don't know why I'm even telling you all this. I hope Lady Rohanson's boldness has a convincing reason behind it.”
With that, Sir Mugeta left the cell. So he thought I was acting confident because I was innocent? Or maybe he meant he'd kill me if I were guilty.
Ha… right. Execution scenes are a villainess's fate, after all. In that case, the male lead should come visit the imprisoned villainess, just like in the clichés….
True to form, Gabriel arrived for a visit just a step too late.
“I'm sorry. I should have stayed by your side the whole time….”
Plagued by guilt over the incident happening while he was away, Gabriel lowered his eyes and fiddled with the bars, overflowing with regret. Yeah, he was late. I thought he'd gone to get me a change of clothes again. Seeing my exposed shoulders, he draped his own coat over me, telling me to cover up.
“I'm sorry that our agreement seems to have put you in this difficult position.”
What agreement? Did he mean the one where I promised not to act like a villainess and stay quiet while he was changing?
“Causing a scene would have made me look even more suspicious.”
It would've been like turning myself in and begging to be arrested. As a suspect now, staying compliant was probably the best way to avoid summary judgment. That's why I could even have this visit with Gabriel.
“Have you heard how the situation is unfolding?”
“Yes, Mrs. Toten explained it to me. I told Sir Mugeta about the bladeless sword, but he wouldn't listen. Moreover, they couldn't find the sword among the gifts presented to His Highness the Crown Prince.”
The blade embedded in the Crown Prince's heart was clearly a proper weapon. So Gabriel and I concluded there were two swords with the same hilt.
It would have been great if both daggers were still in the banquet hall, but things weren't that simple. The one I gifted to the Crown Prince seemed to have been swapped out right after. Of course, their thorough preparation allowed them to frame me.
Even if I didn't kill the Crown Prince, they were intent on charging me with smuggling a weapon into the banquet hall. Bringing in a sword was tantamount to openly declaring intent to assassinate him. I had clearly gifted a hilt-only ornamental piece, but the problem was that everyone who witnessed it was my own entourage. Because of that, even Gabriel suspected Sir Mugeta was viewing it suspiciously and had stationed imperial knights to watch him.
“Sir Gabriel, you're sharing too much information with a criminal.”
One of the imperial knights interrupted our conversation.
“Lady Rohanson is not a criminal, so it's fine.”
“Not a criminal? Are you so blinded by love that you can't see the situation clearly? I can't believe how far the noble knight has fallen.”
The imperial knight sneered and belittled Gabriel. Gabriel stared at him coldly and retorted.
“Then I must have been overrated before.”
“Yes! It seems so! My eyes must have been wrong.”
The knight didn't speak to Gabriel again after that. In my opinion, that knight was originally a fan of Gabriel's. He must be furious seeing his favorite idol neglecting his duties for romance. Somehow
