Crazy Duke and Fallen Queen

It's a regular day when I receive an unexpected visit.

The Empress Grandmother's butler walks into the waiting room and waits for me to recover from the shock before talking.

«Please, sit,» I invite him. «I guess it's not going to be a short chat.»

«Thank you, your highness. I do not dare to sit in front of your highness...» the butler starts.

«I offered you, so you can dare,» I point out.

He sighs and complies.

«What has her majesty, the late Empress Grandmother, left for me?» I ask him. We both are busy and have much to worry about; we don't have time to beat around the bush.

«More than your highness can imagine.»

«You knew about my daughter's title, didn't you?» I inquire, remembering his misspell. Soon after the Empress's death, he used the word Princess to refer to Lavinia.

«Yes, I did. Her majesty entrusted me with her final will. Other than leaving her riches and paintings to you, your highness, there are also documents.»

«What kind of documents?»

«Logs.»

«Hmm...» I sigh. «Can I take a look?»

«They're yours, your highness. The paintings will be delivered to you as they've been till now, along with the jewels that are her majesty's personal belongings. The crown jewels have been returned to the royal treasure, but what remains have been left for you.»

I feel like a conman that tricked an old woman for her money.

«I'm more interested in the documents at the moment,» I say. If the Empress wanted me to have them, there must be a reason.

The butler smiles. His eyes shine relieved, and his old shoulders straighten.

After all, I am not a conman. He can rest assured that I will fulfil her majesty's last wish.

Her son will have justice. I owe it to her and to Alexander.

«Is there anything that can be useful in the logs?»

«I will deliver the rest soon, your highness,» the butler replies. «For now, I have only this with me.»

He takes out an envelope from his pocket and leaves it on the table.

I wait a few seconds before reaching for it. Opening it takes forever, but I don't want to ruin the envelope, just in case it was an important part as well.

The paper does have a lot of data, just like any log. However, my job isn't as difficult as expected because the relevant parts are highlighted. The Empress underlined some rows.

«It's a set of dates and... coordinates?» I murmur. «Are these coordinates?»

«I don't know what's written there,» the butler admits. «I am just her majesty's loyal servant. I have seen it before, but I've never thought of those as coordinates.»

Maybe, I can ask Alexander to help me decode it. Or maybe, it's better to wait and check what is in here.

It might not be worth the risk of exposing the Empress Grandmother's real self. Or it might hurt my husband's feelings.

«It's pretty obvious they're coordinates,» I say out loud. «If it were a code, letters and numbers wouldn't have this specific pattern.»

One letter, then two or three digits. Sometimes there are more than one of these in a single row.

I observe the paper for a few minutes more, and then I realise that the butler doesn't really care about decoding this. He's here to uphold his duty as a servant of the Empress.

If he's sitting here, there must be something else.

«Yes?» I ask, tilting my head. I fold the paper and put it in my pouch, safe and far from sight.

«Her majesty died of natural death,» he murmurs.

«Yes, I know. You already told me this...»

What's the matter?

«I wasn't suspecting someone killed her majesty,» I explain. «After the first moment, I realised her age and position. No one would risk poisoning her majesty because there isn't much to gain from it.»

«Your highness is right. However, we servants were asked to describe the last days to the royal doctors. It's part of the procedure...»

Is he hinting they lied to the doctors? But, why?

«Her majesty wrote the script long in the past. She was planning to ask the Princess for help. But then, when your highness appeared, her majesty realised there was someone better to end this years-long matter.»

«Her majesty was planning to frame the monster for her own death?» I whisper, bowing forward to get closer to the butler.

He's on the other side of the table. This small motion doesn't change the distance. Yet, it makes it feel a bit more secret.

«Please, burn this paper once you've read it,» he says. He leans another sheet, smaller than the previous one, on the table.

This time, I don't wait. I read it immediately.

I memorise the symptoms shown here, and I wonder why they're so mild. If the Empress wanted to frame the harpy, she should have made up something grander.

«This might be poison, and it might be illness,» I point out.

«Yes, your highness. That's why no one suspected. The doctors didn't inquire any further due to her majesty's age.»

She wanted to make sure her body wasn't inspected further. Is that the reason? But also... This makes my fingers itch. I have got something valuable in my hands, haven't I?

«Her majesty said that your highness will understand,» the butler adds.

«Did she?»

How much trust does she have in me? I'm not that smart in the end; I did lose my war.

«I will make the most use of it, thank you,» I say in the end.

I walk to the chimney and throw the paper there. The flames are over: it's the middle of a warm day. However, the fire burnt for the whole night in this room. The maids didn't want to make it cool down since it's one of the places I use more often.

The paper starts consuming from the edge. The burnt part becomes black, while the red line signalling the fire consumes the first words.

A small flame is born, and the paper burns in a matter of seconds. When it's over and the flames die down once again, I use a piece of wood to stir the ashes. Like this, no one can tell there has even been a letter burning in here.

I walk back to the sofa and sit down.

«Is this all?» I ask.

«Yes, your highness.»

«Good. I will use every single piece of information her majesty left me. After all, I promised...»

The butler sighs again, relieved that I won't run away with the paintings and forget about the Empress Grandmother.

«What will you do? And the other servants... Where are they working now?»

«Her majesty gave us enough to live the rest of our lives in comfort. Most of us will leave the Palace.»

«I understand.» They were loyal till the end: it must be hard to adapt to a new master.

«It means we won't be able to help your highness with our testimonies...»

«There's no need. You already reported to the doctors. I'm sure that her majesty took care of every detail. Your testimonies have been recorded, and they must have all that we need to prove the poisoning.»

Even though her majesty did die of natural death.

I can't talk about this with Alexander. He said he didn't want anyone to be framed with fake proof or without any. As such, I either find genuine evidence, or he won't be happy about my actions...

My eyes stop on the pouch.

«You can go, now,» I say. «I have a lot of work ahead...»

«Yes, your highness. Greetings, your highness.»

As soon as the butler closes the door, I take out the logs.

Every row has a date, a brief description, and a code.

The description outlines some happenings at the court. This one is quite old, from when the late Emperor was still alive. A lot of odd things happened back then. But the Emperor was crazy: it's no surprise he would change his mind about everything.

I ring the bell on the table, and a maid appears at the door.

«Yes, your highness?»

«Call Kate.»

My handmaid arrives in a few minutes, just the time I need to figure out what the codes mean. It's better to keep this safe, for the moment.

«I need your help with some matter,» I say.

«Yes!» Kate replies.

«For now, bring me some paper. Also, a pen and ink. Pack it so I can carry it around with me and use it anywhere.»

«Ink?» she murmurs. «Oh, sure.»

«I will need your knowledge too. But now it's early. I first have to check that my suspicions have some foundation...»

«Suspicions, my Lady?»

She's curious, but I can't risk telling her something I myself am not sure of. If I'm right, then we're good.

But if I'm wrong, I don't want to fuel hope.

«Maybe, we can win this,» I chuckle.

«I'm sure you'll find the way,» Kate exclaims. «Whatever the matter is.»

I lean my cheek on my palm and observe her for a few minutes.

«What will you do once we go back to the north?» I ask her. «Is there any knight that caught your attention?»