By Some Unbelievable Twist, I Became the Villainess’s Older Brother - Chapter 11.1
“Brother?”
‘…Who did you say the culprit was?’
‘Isn’t there a woman staying in your house?’
‘A woman? Surely you don’t mean Zyla?’
‘…No matter how harsh I may be, I am not the kind of man who would frame that little girl for a crime she did not commit. Hmph. I can imagine what you usually think of me.’
“Brother?”
‘Then whom do you mean? Surely you are not referring to my mother.’
‘Ha. How did you graduate first from the academy for knights with that brain? I truly wonder how you passed the knight’s examination in the first place. If the Imperial Guard is filled with fools like you, who could possibly protect the Empire? Tsk, tsk.’
‘…’
‘Hmm. Do not look at me that way. In any case, it is not one of your relatives. Surely you understand by now? There is only one woman in House Laochenes who is an outsider.’
Yes. No matter how he considered it, there was only one person, especially if it was a woman.
Enoch swallowed a sigh as he looked at the blue hair visible through the slightly open door. The true culprit Adelio had named in the attempted assassination of the Crown Prince had to be her. Zyla’s tutor, Neyra Hasgen.
The slender back seated with perfect posture did not give the slightest impression of someone capable of harming another person. Enoch slowly lowered his gaze to Neyra’s hands.
When he narrowed his eyes in concentration, his vision sharpened. Hands did not lie. Each joint of her left hand, which she was not using to write, bore calluses of the sort found only on someone who often gripped a sword. It seemed she used her right hand to write and in daily life but wielded a sword with her left.
That alone was not enough to suspect her. At the very least, however, it proved she had lied when she claimed she couldn’t use a sword. Moreover, although Adelio said Neyra was the culprit, he did not know who she served.
This was not because she had concealed it too thoroughly, but because she had failed to be thorough enough. The person he had uncovered behind Neyra was the Crown Prince himself. If that was true, the accident had been staged by the Crown Prince.
‘Of course, Adelio believed the Crown Prince would never do such a thing.’
For such a coolheaded man to show that much faith meant his judgment could hardly be wrong. More importantly, the Crown Prince was only eight years old.
One might suppose a child could possess such cunning… but still. In Enoch’s memories, the Crown Prince was only as clever as a child his age.
‘His Majesty alone decides how matters within the Imperial Family will be handled.’
‘Then… are you saying His Majesty already knows who was behind this?’
‘Who knows? I do not know either. But one thing is certain. His Majesty does not wish this matter to create an uproar outside the family.’
‘Why not?’
‘For the peace of the family, naturally. He cannot tolerate his relatives harboring different schemes… My dear elder brother is that sort of man.’
‘You mean… someone in the Imperial Family is behind it.’
‘Probably.’
Adelio had worn a sharp smile when he said it. Yet something in his tone struck Enoch as strange. There had been almost no affection or respect for his elder brother in the way he spoke.
Enoch suddenly came to his senses. Pressing his lips together, he hurriedly shook off the thought.
‘What does it matter to me if Adelio doesn’t get along with his brother?’
In any event, if Neyra were truly arrested as the culprit and named the Crown Prince as the person behind her, the repercussions would undoubtedly be enormous. Naturally, most people would not believe that an eight-year-old Crown Prince had done such a thing.
So they would inevitably turn their attention to the person behind the Crown Prince. His birth mother, Empress Christine.
But judging by Adelio’s reaction, she couldn’t be the true mastermind either. Biting his lip with a grave expression, Enoch glanced inside the room again.
Who could be behind Neyra if even Adelio couldn’t find them? Could the children of the First Empress have done it?
No, even if that were true, was this incident not far too conspicuous? Why had they done such a thing in the first place?
…Could Neyra Hasgen’s entry into House Laochenes have been no coincidence either? If so, what was her purpose?
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