“That cannot be true…” Vivia stumbled back in horror.

  She did remember the woman in the brown hood but had never personally met her or ever seen her face.

  Erissa’s dumbstruck voice snapped her stupor. “You’ve really gone out of your mind! Princess has never been to a town named Stras.”

  Audreya chuckled with disdain. “Yes, you’d say that now, wouldn't you? A royal princess is behind a commoner’s murder. The news alone will shake up the realm. The trust in the kingdom will be broken. But nobles and royals never know how to take responsibility, right?”

  Despite her desperate attempts to seek Clairette’s presence on the day of her death, only a dark fog surrounded her, obscuring everything before her. She rubbed her temples, as if Clairette's memories were blurring upon her own, but it came to her eventually.

  She was there…

  Just before the sharp needle inside her poulaine shoe had stabbed her foot, a woman in the same brown hood stood in the far back side of the crowd as usual. She remembered her own joy at recognizing her as if reuniting with a dear friend who always cheered for her.

  Benjamin grimaced. “Think before you accuse the princess. She never visited Stras, she never knew this woman you speak of, but you think she killed her?”

  Audreya snapped. “I don't just ‘think’, I know she did it! I happened to catch a glimpse of her face one day after one of the dance performances. It was her!” She pointed at Clairette, “Then I saw that same woman handing over hefty gold coins to the assassin that day! Go and investigate Vivia's death if you want. You think I’ve no better work to do than accusing - not just anyone - but the royal princess at that!?”

  She cast Benjamin a spiteful look. “I came here for answers! Someone had planted a needle in Vivia’s shoes on that day of her performance that made her falter in her balance and then the next moment…”

  Audreya shivered in cold, a tear rolling down her cheek.

  “Everything was planned. Every single thing! Even the part where I hurt my toe and was unable to dance…he hurt me intentionally. It was all done for Vivia to replace me as the lead performer because only then could your princess execute her plan! And to this end, she used Raffert for her own gains!”

  Raff…?

  A chilling cold consumed her as if she stood in the middle of a biting winter. Revelations upon revelations kept on piling like a stack of cards as she struggled to catch her breath.

  “No wonder Raffert was so quick to declare that Vivia was dead. He didn't even bother to check if she could be saved, and only someone from the entertainment group could’ve messed up with Vivia’s shoes!

  He was colluding with you all along, wasn't he!? You threw some gold in his face just like you did with that assassin because otherwise, how was he able to leave Stras and settle in a luxurious house here in Orseth? He never had that kind of money!”

  Vivia stood still, frozen in time. Then came her quiet voice, “Raffert…is here? Did you meet him?”

  Audreya sneered. “Oh my, is someone afraid now that he’d spill the beans? Don't worry, you’re safe - for now. I did meet him. He has married a wonderful noblewoman from the Grisbane family.”

  Her eyes widened.

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  “You know the first thing he did when I met him? He threw me out of his magnificent mansion right away and accused me of being a vixen who came to seduce him now that he’s wealthy.”

  Vivia could only offer a hollow stare, conflicted to understand this drastic change within Raffert. He was the mature and eloquent aide of Sir Walterce, a jack-of-all-trades who could do everything with ease. Kind and generous, he quickly rose to become Stras’s handsome and eligible bachelor whom every woman longed to marry.

  But was this a facade all along?

  Did he always chase after luxury - even if it came at the cost of someone's life?

  Erissa’s ridicule dragged her back to the present. “You should become a writer. You spin some good stories.”

  “I’m not telling any stories! Vivia's death…” she balled her trembling fingers into a terrifying fist. “is not a story. It’s not a lie. It’s the truth behind which many lies hide, and I’m here to expose every single one of them! Even if you’ve to declare me as a traitor, go ahead and do it. It won't stop me. I’ll drag out Raffert, that assassin and Princess Clairette and make each one of you answerable to the citizens!”

  By this point, Benjamin had lost all hope of reasoning with her and looked at Clairette.

  “Princess, you need not hear this nonsense anymore. I’ll arrest her right away, and she’ll stand before His Majesty one last time.”

  Vivia’s blood ran cold. “Arrest?”

  “She has dared to take the Princess’s life and is continuing to threaten you even now at this very moment. The only punishment that awaits her is death.”

  “No! “There’s no way she is getting a death sentence!”

  Her strong reaction caused Benjamin and Erissa to jolt at once.

  “Princess, I know you’re kind, but you cannot be kind to your own murderer! What if she was the same person who tried to kill you in the Realm of Harmony too? She probably attacked you today once again because she failed the first time,” Erissa anxiously said.

  Benjamin knitted his brows. “I was thinking the same thing, my lady. Now I’m sure she’s connected to the previous attempt. You just returned to Emberlain, and this is the second attempt on your life already. It cannot be a coincidence.”

  Audreya frowned. “What first attempt? I never tried to kill her or ever went to the Realm of Harmony.”

  “Quiet, you impudent!” He glared.

  Vivia’s heart sank. She trusted that Audreya had nothing to do with Clairette's death, yet the present circumstances only pushed her towards the edge of being the perpetrator.

  She raised her palm, demanding their silence. “I understand your concerns, and I do agree that she should be arrested.”

  I’ve no choice but to accede to this, considering my position…

  “But her punishment can wait. This needs a thorough investigation. I don't want to blindly punish her. It’d be a shame upon my name. Will it not give a wrong impression to the citizens that I’m unjustly using my position?”

  Audreya snarled. “That's a good act you’re putting forth. Fooling your knight and maid like that, but I won't fall for it.”

  “Silence!” Benjamin a cold glare. “Feel fortunate that the Princess is showing you mercy.”

  I’m trying to help you here, Audreya, so don't make this difficult for me!

  She sneered. “Yes, some merciful she is by killing a completely innocent woman.”

  Don't just pile treason upon treason! Even my influence has its limits! Vivia lacked the tears to shed.

  Before Audreya could spit anymore insults towards her, she said, “Sir Benjamin, take her away.”

  He roughly pulled her up against her will, not bothering with any kindness towards a culprit. Audreya stumbled with his aggressiveness, almost twisting her foot.

  “Ge-Gently!”

  Don't you know how important a dancer’s feet are to them?

  She quickly reached out to help her, only for Audreya to cast her an ugly stare in return as she rejected her help with all the bitterness in her heart. Once again, Benjamin and Erissa were at a loss upon seeing the concern in their lady’s eyes towards a woman who had just tried to kill her.

  Only once when Audreya was taken away could Vivia release her stifled breaths. The rollercoaster of emotions had left her drained.

  Erissa bowed, taking her by surprise. “Erissa?”

  “Please forgive me, Princess. But I was only trying to protect you.”

  She blinked twice, perplexed. “Protect me?”

  “By not revealing that…my lady has visited Stras. I might’ve acted out of line. But it seemed like my lady wished her trips to be kept as a secret, so I kept my mouth shut.”

  Her heartbeats took a deep nosedive, as if her nerves and veins froze all at once. She hadn't gotten the chance to think about her second life or the fact that she was now a royal princess.

  But for that same royal princess to visit Stras and watch her dance performances? And Vivia happened to reincarnate in that very body? The sheer coincidence and connection of these events made her shudder.

  So that woman in the brown hood was indeed…Clairette.