"Kaena... really died?"
When Jerica received 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 willed it.
No matter how difficult the situation, the girl returned again and again, defying everyone. But... Not this time.
The news of Kaena Hessen de Ronan's death undoubtedly shook the entire empire. It was followed by another — about the upcoming coronation of the Second Princess, due to the death of the previous heiress. The grand celebration was to take place at the Imperial Palace in less than a month.
It seemed everything was turning out as well as possible for the Empress and her daughter. The people of the empire also warmly supported the princess's ascension to the throne. But the girl herself felt conflicted about it.
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.
Her elder sister's sudden death seemed too... suspicious to her. She couldn't just ignore it without at least conducting an investigation. However, no one supported her in this. Even the Emperor didn't want to participate in investigating his own daughter's death.
He and the Empress didn't want to touch this topic at all. Rather, they sought to quickly forget about it, like a dark stain on 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, held the next day, was more of a final formality.
Almost no one came to see the Crown Princess off. Moreover, she was buried in a closed coffin, without any nameplate. In essence, it was already a great honor for a criminal to even be buried, rather than scattered to the winds.
Jerica was one of the few who attended the funeral. And everything that happened there... seemed very strange to her.
"Your Highness, just leave it. Your ceremony will be soon. Why dwell on the former Crown Princess now?"
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Selman Hirsch, Jerica's deputy in the Imperial Army command, genuinely didn't understand why the princess kept remembering someone so unworthy as her sister. The whole empire, on the contrary, rejoiced that she was finally dead. But the girl couldn't let this topic go.
"It's strange..." she muttered, "No one even saw her body. How could a funeral ceremony be held without an autopsy?"
"Your Highness, what autopsy are you talking about?" the knight protested, "It's already confirmed that the princess was torn apart by demonic beasts. Naturally, nothing was left of the body."
Jerica Lant de Ronan frowned.
"But there must have been some remains..."
"There were," he confirmed, "But they say Her Highness's body was in such a terrible state that it wasn't shown at the ceremony. For ethical reasons..."
The Second Princess pursed her lips, unable to believe that she was the only one who saw something strange in what had happened. A person who had almost singlehandedly fought a neighboring empire and had been involved in combat since the age of thirteen, torn apart by some beasts?
It even sounded absurd. But the entire Imperial Court accepted this version at face value without hesitation.
Considering how quickly the matter was hushed up, 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 had tried until the last to dissuade her. Probably for this reason, the investigation didn't proceed.
The princess sighed and leaned back in her chair.
"Should I do something?"
Essentially, her subordinates and the people around her were right. Kaena de Ronan's death brought relief to everyone. Like the empire finally getting rid of a tumor destroying it from within. The long-awaited times of peace and tranquility, which were previously unthinkable due to this girl's existence, had finally arrived.
The only reason Jerica still found it hard to accept was their shared past.
In her dreams, that poor girl still sometimes appeared before her, the one who had undeservedly received too much hatred since birth. "Perhaps if I had been a slightly better sister, none of this would have happened..." — such thoughts occasionally visited her mind.
And yet, the past couldn't be brought back.
Even if the Second Princess was the only person in this country who wanted justice, it was pointless. Without the Emperor's permission, any investigation behind his back would be considered illegal. If possible, Jerica didn't want to quarrel with or become enemies with her parents.
So only one option remained...
"Perhaps, as everyone says, I should just accept it..."
Given how hard her life had been until now, Jerica only hoped that death would bring her sister long-awaited relief.
"For all your sins, I will pay in full." — the princess decided to dedicate her life to serving the empire and rectifying her sister's deeds, so that in the afterlife she might at least somewhat ease Kaena's torment.