Chapter 41. Paying for sins

"Kaena... Is she really dead?"

When Jerica received the news of her sister's death, she couldn't believe it for a long time. In her eyes, the Crown Princess was a person who wouldn't die even if the heavens themselves wanted her to.

No matter how difficult the situation was, the girl came back again and again to spite everyone. But... Not this time.

The news of Kaena Gessen de Ronan's death undoubtedly shocked the entire empire. It was followed by another one about the upcoming coronation of the second princess, in connection with the death of the previous heiress. The grand celebration was going to take place at the Imperial Palace in less than a month.

It seemed that everything was going as well as possible for the Empress and her daughter. The people of the empire also fervently supported the princess' ascension to the throne. But the girl herself felt an inner contradiction about this.

Despite Jerica's request to delay the ceremony, the Emperor and Empress were determined to hold it as soon as possible. In the end, Jerica was the only one who hesitated.

The sudden death of her older sister seemed too much for her... suspicious. She couldn't just ignore it without at least investigating. However, no one supported her in this. Even the emperor did not want to take any part in the investigation of his own daughter's death.

He and the Empress didn't want to touch on this topic at all. Rather, they were eager to forget about it as soon as possible, as a dark spot of the imperial family's past. Accusing Kaena of violating numerous laws of the empire, including an attempted coup, the emperor declared his daughter a posthumous criminal. Even her funeral ceremony, which took place the next day, was more of a last formality.

Almost no one came to see the Crown Princess off. Moreover, she was buried in a closed coffin, without any nameplate. In fact, it was a great honor for the criminal that she was at least buried, and not scattered to the wind.

Jerica was one of the few people who attended the funeral. And everything that happened there... it seemed very strange to her.

— Your Highness, just leave it at that. Your ceremony will take place soon. Why mention the former Crown Princess now?

Selman Hirsch, Jerika's second-in-command in the Imperial Army, genuinely did not understand why the princess kept remembering someone so unworthy like her sister. The entire empire, on the contrary, rejoiced that she was finally dead. But the girl couldn't let go of the subject.

— That's weird... No one has even seen her body, — she muttered. — How could a funeral ceremony be held without an autopsy?

— Your Highness, what kind of autopsy are you talking about? — The knight protested, — It has already been confirmed that the princess was mauled by demonic beasts. Of course, there was nothing left of the body.

Jerica Lunt de Ronan frowned.

— But there must have been some remains...

— They were, — he confirmed, — but they say that Her Highness's body was in such terrible condition that it was not shown at the ceremony. For ethical reasons...

The second princess pursed her lips, not believing that she was the only one who saw something strange in what had happened. A man who fought almost single-handedly with a neighboring empire and participated in hostilities from the age of thirteen, was torn apart by some kind of animals?

It even sounded ridiculous. But the entire Imperial Court did not hesitate to accept this version at face value.

Considering that the case was hushed up very quickly, Jerica could even guess why. She sighed heavily.

"Mother..." a single word flashed darkly through her mind.

It wasn't hard to guess that the Empress was also involved in this matter. Although Jerica tried to talk her out of it until the last moment. This is probably the reason why the investigation was not continued.

The princess sighed and leaned back in her chair.

"Should I do something about it?"

In fact, her subordinates and the people around her were right. The death of Kaena de Ronan has brought relief to everyone. Just like the empire finally got rid of the tumor that was destroying it from the inside out. The long-awaited times of peace and tranquility, which could not have been dreamed of before because of the existence of this girl, have finally arrived.

The only reason Jericho still found it difficult to come to terms with this was because of their shared past.

In her dreams, sometimes she still saw that poor girl who, from birth, had undeservedly received too much hatred in her direction. "Maybe if I'd been a little better sister, none of this would have happened..." such thoughts crossed her mind from time to time.

And yet the past could not be brought back.

Even if the second princess was the only person in this country who wanted to achieve justice, it was pointless. Without the Emperor's permission, any investigation behind his back would be considered illegal. Whenever possible, Jerica did not want to quarrel or even become an enemy of her parents.

Therefore, there was only one option left...

"Perhaps, as everyone says, I should just accept it..."

Considering how hard her life had been before, Jerica only hoped that death would bring her sister long-awaited relief.

"I will pay in full for all your sins." — the princess decided to devote her life to serving the empire and correcting the deeds of her sister in order to at least ease the suffering of Kaena in the afterlife.