The Regressed Tyrant Princess Rewrites Her Dark History - Chapter 1.8

“Now then, why don’t you tell me what you were doing?”

As Ariadne spoke, Sybilla visibly began to tremble.

“I’ll ask one more time. What were you doing in my room?”

“I-I was just cleaning, Your Highness,” Sybilla stammered.

“…How pathetic.”

Ariadne snapped her fingers. At her signal, a woman entered the room. When Sybilla and the others recognized her as the same woman who had introduced herself as a contact earlier, their faces drained of all color.

“You confessed just a moment ago, and now you’ve already forgotten?”

“—Y-You! You said you were Prince Siegbert’s contact!”

“You idiot!”

Delilah let out an alarmed shriek before Louise quickly tried to silence her.

But it was too late.

“There’s no talking your way out of this now. So, explain yourselves.”

“A-Ahh…!”

Delilah let out a choked whimper.

Louise, on the other hand, dropped to her knees and bowed her head in desperation.

“Please, this is all a misunderstanding! We were only following orders from Queen Ariadne!”

“Oh? Do tell me more.”

“Y-Yes! At first, we were merely reporting Princess Ariadne’s academic progress to His Majesty, King Raphael. Then, later on, we were instructed to provide information to Prince Siegbert as well.”

(I see. Mother wanted to raise me as a prodigy and use that as a reason to win Father’s favor. That explanation makes sense. But…)

According to Anise’s report, when she had hinted at “the previous incident,” Delilah and Louise had been terrified. That strongly suggested that they were the ones who had allowed the assassin inside. Considering all the other evidence, there was little doubt about their involvement.

Yet, now they were trying to pin everything on Queen Ariadne’s orders.

(How convenient. They think they can shift all the blame onto Mother just because she’s too weak to speak for herself? They had a hand in her attempted assassination, and now they have the audacity to claim they were only following her orders?)

Ariadne had vowed to atone for those she had wronged and take vengeance on those who had used her.

With that one statement, Louise had just sealed her fate as an enemy.

“What are you planning to do to us?!”

Delilah suddenly snapped, her tone full of defiance.

But Ariadne let that one act of insolence slide.

“…I’m still deciding.”

“T-Then release us!”

“And why would I do that?”

“Did you not hear what Louise just told you? We were acting under Prince Siegbert’s orders! You think you, a mere forgotten princess, can do this to us without consequences?!”

Ariadne laughed softly.

“How amusing,” she murmured.

“W-What’s so funny?!”

“What makes a mere pawn think she has any value?”

Ariadne’s voice was as frigid as a winter storm.

“…What?”

“It’s true that taking action against Prince Siegbert would come at a cost. But tell me, who do you think he’ll sacrifice first?”

Delilah and Louise stiffened.

“I suppose you think you can threaten me into letting you go, hm? That if I don’t, we’ll both suffer? But you see…” Ariadne smirked. “You aren’t worth that much.”

She leaned in slightly, lowering her voice as if sharing a secret.

“You’re going to be exiled for embezzlement.”

“E-Embezzlement?!”

“Yes. The act of stealing funds that don’t belong to you. Surely you’ve heard of it?”

“D-Don’t take me for a fool! Of course I know what embezzlement is! What I’m saying is, I haven’t done it!”

“And?”

Ariadne tilted her head, as if unimpressed by the defense.

“If there’s no proof, we can always create it.”

“…What?”

Delilah’s voice barely escaped her throat.

Ariadne turned toward Haino, the head steward.

“You can fabricate evidence of their embezzlement, can’t you?”

“…It’s not something I take pleasure in, but yes, it is possible.”

“That’s—That’s falsifying evidence!”

Delilah shrieked, struggling against the knight’s grip. The knight moved to silence her, but Ariadne raised a hand, signaling to let her continue.

“Delilah, don’t worry,” Ariadne said, smiling sweetly. “You’ll confess to the crime soon enough.”

“W-What are you saying?!”

“Think about it. You’re a noblewoman, even if only a viscount’s daughter. If you deny the charges, there will be a trial, won’t there?”

“O-Of course! And I’ll prove my innocence!”

She spoke with conviction, but Ariadne could tell Delilah hadn’t even considered the possibility of a trial until now. Her panic was written all over her face.

Ariadne chuckled.

“Maybe you will. But that trial will certainly reach Prince Siegbert’s ears. And once he hears about it, what do you think will happen?”

Ariadne’s gaze bore into them.

Prince Siegbert  would realize that Ariadne had discovered his spies.

Delilah and Louise turned pale.

“He’ll question you. He’ll want to know what you told me. Of course, you’ll insist that you said nothing. But will he believe you?”

Ariadne tilted her head.

To Siegbert, they were disposable pawns.

If they had truly betrayed him, he’d have to silence them before they could testify against him.

And even if they were innocent, he might decide it was safer to eliminate them anyway.

After all, it would be much easier than letting a pair of liabilities roam free.

“If you’re lucky, you might not end up dead,” Ariadne mused, fanning herself as she looked down at them.

The weight of their situation crashed down on them. They began to tremble.

“…P-Please! It was all Sybilla’s doing! She was the one who convinced us to side with Prince Siegbert!”

“That’s right! She told us we should pledge loyalty to him!”

Delilah and Louise shrieked in desperation, scrambling to throw Sybilla under the carriage.

Sybilla, meanwhile, stood frozen in place.

Her fingers clutched the hem of her dress so tightly they had turned white, but she remained silent.

“So, she’s the mastermind, then?”

“Y-Yes! We were merely caught up in it!”

“…Very well. I’ll believe you. You two will be dismissed on the grounds of minor embezzlement. You’ll face some humiliation, but it’s a far better fate than imprisonment, wouldn’t you agree?”

“Th-Thank you!”

Both women bowed deeply, their bodies visibly trembling.

(They don’t even realize the situation they’re in… Foolish girls.)

Though they had played a role in her mother’s downfall in her past life, Ariadne no longer saw them as worth her personal attention.

“You are forbidden from speaking to anyone. Gather your belongings and leave immediately.”

“Y-Yes! Right away!”

Freed from their restraints, the two hastily left, their expressions twisted in smug relief—convinced they had managed to escape unscathed.

“Ensure they don’t cause any trouble on their way out,” Ariadne instructed.

“Understood!”

The knights who had detained them followed to escort them off the premises. Watching them go, Ariadne turned her attention to Sybilla.

“I kept you waiting, didn’t I?”

Sybilla flinched as Ariadne’s golden gaze landed on her.

“Now, do you have anything to say?”

“…What will happen to those two?”

“Oh? I already told you, they’re being dismissed for minor embezzlement.”

“B-But if that’s the only reason given for their dismissal, won’t it be obvious that you knew about their spying? Won’t Prince Siegbert suspect—?”

“Oh, he’ll figure it out, certainly.”

Had she given them any real punishment, Siegbert might have had room for doubt—he could have suspected they had been caught for an entirely different crime while their true role remained hidden.

But by letting them off with such a light consequence, what would Siegbert think?

(If I were in his position, I would assume they betrayed me.)

The two spies would be captured and interrogated. And no matter how much they tried to resist, they would have no choice but to insist—at the risk of their own lives—that they had never spoken a word about the assassination attempt.

By doing so, they would unknowingly reinforce the illusion that Ariadne remained oblivious to Siegbert’s involvement.

This, in turn, would slightly ease his suspicions of her.

“You… You intend for those two to die.”

Ariadne didn’t answer. She merely smiled.

Most likely, Siegbert would dispose of them.

If, by some chance, they survived, it wouldn’t matter. She could always deal with them later.

She had no intention of forgiving those who had betrayed her mother.

“Are you asking out of sympathy?” she mused. “Or are you simply worried about your own fate?”

“…I betrayed you, Your Highness. I’ve already accepted the consequences.”

“I see. Admirable. Is that why you chose to stay silent earlier?”

“No… It was because of the letter.”

Sybilla’s voice wavered slightly.

The letter Ariadne had planted in her desk.

A warning for anyone foolish enough to snoop.

“Speak out of turn, and you will die.”

“You are quite competent,” Ariadne remarked.

“…If I were truly competent, I wouldn’t have ended up in this situation.”

“That’s not necessarily true.”

In her past life, many capable people had perished.

Or rather, Ariadne had orchestrated their deaths.

“Sybilla, why did you betray me?”

“I… I can’t say.”

“Is that so?” Ariadne’s voice was calm. “Then allow me to say it for you. You did it to save your sister, didn’t you? You needed money to afford her treatment.”

“—My sister has nothing to do with this!”

Sybilla’s voice cracked, her emotions spilling over.

“Nothing to do with it?” Ariadne echoed. “What nonsense. You betrayed your liege for her sake. That is an undeniable fact, is it not?”

Sybilla’s expression crumbled in despair.

“Please… Please, have mercy! Do whatever you wish with me, but spare my family! Please, just let my sister live!”

She fell to her knees, pressing her forehead against the rug in desperation.

(For those I have wronged, I will make amends. For those who have used me, I will exact vengeance. And Sybilla… she did betray me. But—)

“Sybilla, answer me one thing.”

Ariadne’s voice softened slightly.

“Every year, on my birthday, I found small trinkets left in my room. Was that your doing?”

“…Yes.”

(Sybilla betrayed me. But I was never a good mistress to her, either.)

She had done it to protect her sister.

If Ariadne had paid more attention to her, perhaps she wouldn’t have needed to betray her in the first place.

More importantly, when Anise had hinted at the assassination, Sybilla alone had reacted differently.

And based on the investigation, she had not been involved in letting the assassin in. That crime belonged to the other two.

Which meant—

“Sybilla, serve me.”

Sybilla’s breath hitched.

“In return, I will see to your sister’s care.”

“…You mean to take her hostage.”

“I do like clever girls.”

Sybilla’s expression twisted in anguish.

Everything up until now had been her punishment for betraying Ariadne.

But this… this was Ariadne’s way of making amends.

“You need not worry,” Ariadne assured her. “I will restrict your freedom, but your sister will receive proper medical care. And if you wish, I will see that you are given work to do. You will not suffer—so long as you remain loyal to me.”

Ariadne’s golden eyes glowed in the dim light as she watched Sybilla’s shoulders tremble.

At last, tears streaming down her face, Sybilla swore her loyalty.