Turning
chapter-151

"Don't you think everything happened too conveniently? The arrival and demise of Lenore Shand Apeto,"

"Are those the only events you think occurred at the right time? Such thoughts can be well reflected upon in the afterlife."

At Yuder's subtly bristling response, Kishiar turned his head. A different emotion briefly flickered across his red eyes.

"I see. Were you worried by any chance?"

"How could I dare to entertain such thoughts?"

"I didn't mean to worry you. I was merely lost in thought for a moment. Now, let's proceed downwards."

Laughing, Kishiar reached out and lightly tapped Yuder's shoulder.

Yuder, following the gracefully twirling back of Kishiar's formal wear, quickened his steps. He intended to follow obediently, but thinking of the guests who had turned their backs on Kishiar, a surge of cold emotion welled up in his heart once again.

Kishiar had proven his abilities enough. After Lenore's death, his demeanor was entirely befitting of the highest royal present. It would have been much more logical to leave everything in place, assess the situation, and then make a judgment if an incident occurred.

Yet, at the seemingly fine words of Prince Katchian, everyone easily turned a blind eye to Kishiar. The spectacle of people who were chatting and laughing just moments before, turning their bodies in embarrassment so swiftly was beyond laughable. He may have had a reputation as an inept, pleasure-loving fop, but the rapid shift in attitude was too much to even find amusing.

'Well, they were always like that.'

Yuder saw many familiar faces from his past life in the crowd at today's party. Although they now bore younger and more refined faces, their gazes were exactly the same as they had been. The majority were self-serving individuals.

If he had not reversed time, Yuder Aile would have thought of the high and mighty's affairs as none of his concern, regardless of the absurd rumors and perceptions surrounding Kishiar. As long as Kishiar himself was not like that, he wouldn't have cared.

But now he knew. If Kishiar were to suddenly die one day, none of these nobles would mourn or remember him. All the things Kishiar had tried to change alone would be easily forgotten and ignored. Just like now.

He had returned through eleven years of time and thought he had changed quite a lot, but it was still not enough. Had he made some wrong choices? Should he have done more? A chilly wind blew through his troubled heart.

"I'm fine."

At that moment, as if reading his thoughts, Kishiar spoke, and the icy storm rising within Yuder suddenly lost its strength and crumbled. Turning his head, he saw Kishiar slowly continuing his speech as he descended the stairs with an unflustered stride.

"Being ignored isn't always a bad thing. The moment when no one is watching can be the best time to observe everyone else. Plus... I have no intention of obediently stepping down."

"..."

Yuder tried to open his mouth to say something, but ended up remaining silent. How could he speak so nonchalantly? Questions swirled in his mind.

Where had that seemingly infinite steadfastness in the man's heart come from?

Had he never once wished to reveal all his strength and make everyone kneel before him?

Had he ever felt anger or disappointment toward those who blocked his path?

Was the Kishiar of his past life, now almost completely faded from his memory due to the passage of time, such a person?

As these thoughts consumed him, a sudden surge of sensation woke his mind. Yuder realized he had been lost in thought without realizing it, and blinked. There was a rush of heat within his eyelids.

Despite deciding not to make unnecessary assumptions and to focus on the present, it was difficult to control.

But one thing was certain. Even if all the plans for the day had been upended, there wasn't a single scratch on Kishiar's solid wall. If he was untroubled, Yuder could not be anxious.

'My choice was right. Nothing has gone wrong yet.'

Walking a step behind Kishiar, Yuder suddenly remembered the moment he realized that he had somehow turned back time. At that time, many crossroads lay before him. But the thought suddenly came to him that perhaps he had chosen the Cavalry and Kishiar again to gain this very conviction at this very moment.

“If you're not going to back down as it is, what are you planning to do?”

Regaining his composure and asking the question, Kishiar responded as if he had been waiting for it.

“You probably didn’t expect it either, did you? Who might be behind the unnatural death of Apeto’s son?”

“Yes.”

It was likely Prince Katchian's trick. Perhaps he even borrowed Diarca's hand. Yuder tightened his lips as he recalled the prince, who had always appeared with a seemingly benign and elegant face.

“Because his attempt to shake us during the festival failed, he must have invested in today's event. He must have wanted to influence the upcoming trial with today's event, but…"

Kishiar, who was speaking, paused and let out an ambiguous smile.

“He was too hasty, wasn’t he?”

At that moment, Yuder also realized what Kishiar was thinking.

“That's right. If emotions come before thorough planning, there will certainly be gaps left.”

“Even if the event is canceled, it's rare for anyone to leave right away. Her Majesty the Empress will also be here for about an hour. I plan to have a conversation with her and the others. Of course, His Highness the Crown Prince will be present as well.”

There was not much distance left from the entrance to the first floor hall. Yuder glanced sideways and checked how many people were on guard. It seemed that he could easily escape without much effort, given the absence of a crisis.

“I will try to find evidence.”

“Don’t push yourself. If it's not this time, just aim for the next.”

Kishiar said so, but Yuder's thoughts were slightly different. However, he obediently nodded and answered on the outside.

“Yes.”

"Take this to Kanna."

Just before entering the first floor hall, Kishiar handed Yuder a piece of glass he had been secretly holding in his hand.

“It’s a fragment of the poisoned cup that fell during the clean-up. If she does well, she might be able to read something from it.”

“I will deliver it.”

The bustling hall of the first floor was densely packed with people. Those who had been on the first floor were taken aback by the sudden influx of high-ranking guests from the second floor, and those who had been on the second floor were too busy chattering about the dreadful incident. Yuder briefly watched Kishiar, who was heading towards the highest place reserved for the imperial family, before he turned around.

"Kanna."

"Yuder. Where have you been?"

"I was accompanying the Commander. But before that, take this."

Kanna was with the other members of the Cavalry. He discreetly pulled her aside and handed her a piece of glass wrapped in a handkerchief. Her eyes flashed seriously.

"This... could it be a piece of the poisoned glass from earlier?"

"Yes."

Upon hearing that Kishiar had ordered her to read the shard, Kanna immediately cupped her hands around the fragment, concealing it and closing her eyes. Energy rippled in her trembling fingertips as she concentrated.

"Hmm..."

"Did you find out anything?"

"Yuder, you said the servant who served this earlier claimed he knew nothing, right?"

Kanna, having opened her eyes, asked an unexpected question.

"That's what he said."

"The last memory left in the glass seems to be a bit different. That servant directly poisoned the inside."

"Directly?"

"Yes. And this is even more surprising. It seems that his target wasn't the Crown Prince from the beginning, but the late Prince Lenore Shand Apeto."

"The Second Prince of Apeto... How did he know that he would drink from the poisoned glass?"

"I'm not sure about that. But the person who took this glass seemed to be confident that, given the right moment, the prince would definitely pick up this glass and drink from it."

If the timing was right, definitely.

Yuder's mind began to whirl at these words.

'Come to think of it, even before his death, his condition wasn't particularly good.'

Lenore Shand Apeto had attempted to escape to the break room, blatantly avoiding Kishiar and the Cavalry when they appeared. Despite almost colliding with others several times, including Yuder, he had drunkenly drained his cup without even checking what it was. He had been terribly disoriented, as though he were drunk.

No matter how startled he was, he wondered if there might have been another reason for his staggering.

'...For example, he might have been previously affected by a poison that causes severe thirst.'

Yuder had encountered such a poison in his past life. It was a weak poison, not deadly, but potent enough to go unnoticed in beverages or alcohol.

And the person who enjoyed using that poison the most among those Yuder knew was the Emperor of Katchian.

'Indeed, considering that this is 11 years ago, Katchian was still unskilled.'

During his reign, Emperor Katchian would never have allowed such poison to be directly used in his presence. Everything had to be done when he was absent. Many people who had angered the Emperor by speaking ill during the first disaster, the earthquake, were secretly killed by drinking the second poison that induced a burning throat.

'That poison needs to be absorbed through the skin rather than ingested... I wonder where it was hidden to kill Lenore Shand Apeto.'