After receiving permission to enter the room, the secretary quickly placed a newspaper he was carrying in front of Frederick.

“This newspaper was distributed free of charge within the royal capital this afternoon.”

Frederick and Quentin were astonished by the newspaper’s front page.

Charlotte’s monologue was published there.

She was expected to meet the king’s standards, and failure was met by corporal punishment. The stark contrast between her treatment and her sister’s, who only dabbled in charity. The relentless workload, including tasks that should have fallen to others. An engagement to a man who loved—and always prioritized—her sister. And the people who cared only for results, ignoring her struggles.

It was stated without reservation: she had grown fed up with it all—and so, she had betrayed her kingdom.

“This has been distributed throughout the royal capital, so it’ll be nigh impossible to collect them all immediately.”

“…This is Charlotte we’re talking about. I’m sure this has been distributed in other regions as well.”

Charlotte’s rebellion had become known to the people—it could no longer be hidden.

The people’s respect for Hero Frederick would turn to disappointment when they saw how terrible and abusive of a father he was. Could such a man really act with the people in mind? Because of the trust he’d built up through his past achievements, doubt would arise and grow explosively.

People might even rebel because of Juliet’s irresponsibility, saying she was unworthy of her position. Surely, they’d be furious to learn their tax money had been spent pampering a princess who refused to fulfill her duties. Juliet had long avoided official duties due to her poor health, but such excuses would no longer be tolerated.

Is she trying to denigrate him so thoroughly…?

“In the end, I’m just an ordinary person, so I can’t outwit him…”

It wasn’t that she couldn’t outwit him—Charlotte had planned to get caught from the start.

“I want to ruin that man’s reputation.”

Charlotte had certainly said that. Then, she was imprison as planned.

The prestige of the royal family was beginning to waver. Ripples were spreading, as if the first stones had been thrown.

However, it couldn’t be said that Charlotte was solely to blame—the root cause was undoubtedly Frederick. He drove her to the limit. His contrasting attitude toward his two daughters influenced those around her, and Charlotte was placed in an environment where she had to kill her heart.

Frederick, her father and supposed ally, turned out to be her greatest enemy.

Of course, he’d try to regain the trust of people, but that was only natural. He would have to overturn what had been “natural” up until now.

But first, he had to sincerely apologize to Charlotte.

—No, that’s not it.

Suddenly, a sense of unease ran through him.

“At first, I wanted to kill myself in front of her.”

Charlotte’s words kept swirling through his mind.

“But I just couldn’t accept that I had to devote my last moments to her.”

His heart thumped unpleasantly. His impeccable memory vividly replayed events from a short time ago in his mind.

“As long as I’m in this kingdom, I’m as good as dead.”

Frederick stood up without thinking, causing his chair to slide backwards.

“Your Majesty?”

Quentin called out to Frederick, who looked pale. However, due to the shock over the newspaper, his voice wasn’t loud enough to reach Frederick’s ears. Meanwhile, Frederick was too distraught to pay attention to his surroundings.

…No.

Frederick arrived to one possibility, yet he denied it, saying it was impossible.

He wanted to deny it.

“—Your Majesty!”

The heavy atmosphere was cut apart by the urgent voice that followed the knock. Frederick gave permission to enter the room. The knight entered and bowed restlessly. From his facial expression and movement, something had obviously happened.

“I have to report… Her Highness the First Princess—”

Frederick and Quentin were astonished by the knight’s reluctant words, and immediately went toward the royal cell where they had been just a few hours ago.

“What is…”

A shocking sight unfolded inside.

The strong smell of blood stung the nose. Just as the knight had reported, there was a large pool of blood on the stone floor. A familiar blonde girl was lying in it.

The knights and servants were nearby, and the prime minister, who’d been crouching near the girl’s head, rose to his feet. Apparently, he’d rushed there first.

“…Curtis.”

Frederick squeezed out a pleading voice.

However, Curtis’ expression was twisted in sadness as he shook his head helplessly.

“Given the circumstances, it appears to be suicide… she must’ve cut herself with a knife.”

Frederick moved his gaze and saw the bloody knife on the ground.

There were many things to consider, such as where the knife came from, but his thoughts couldn’t keep up with reality.

“Charlotte…”

Stunned, Frederick muttered his daughter’s name. His voice echoed hollowly in the cell.

Naturally, there was no reply.

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