Chapter 38
“What, what did you say?”
Julius jumped up, shouting.
“This girl is spouting nonsense!”
“Who are you calling a girl! I’ll…”
“Both of you, watch your words! Do you want to start a fight here?”
The Queen yelled, and both Julius and Aken reluctantly lowered their heads.
“Princess, can you take responsibility for that statement? I don’t show leniency because you are young.”
The Queen spoke in a lowered voice. Though she didn’t use much force, her tone was quite threatening.
“Of course. The butlers know about it.”
I pointed to the trembling Blick, who was kneeling, and Kent, who had assumed a similar position beside him.
“No! That didn’t happen!”
Blick met Julius’s gaze and quickly waved his hand in denial.
“If it had happened, I would have known…”
“It did happen, and you know it. You are an accomplice, and that’s why you’re denying it, Your Majesty.”
I interrupted his words.
“There’s evidence in the hands of the deputy butler.”
Kent raised his head sharply and looked from me to Blick, Lucilla, and the others, his gaze resolute despite the confusion.
“It’s true, Your Majesty. The ledgers have all the evidence. For the last five years, the Penton family has steadily…”
“Nooo!”
Lucilla suddenly screamed, falling to the ground and crying out.
“I raised her like my own daughter! It’s so unfair! I feel like I could die from the sorrow! Ughhh!”
For a moment, Kent’s eyes shook violently. I couldn’t help but admire him a little. Lucilla had clearly identified Kent’s weakness and was exploiting it to her advantage.
“Aaaaahhh! I’m the one who’s more wronged!”
But just as Kent was about to yield, another woman collapsed and began to cry.
She was Ray, the maid who could shed tears at any moment, anywhere.
“The poor lady, whose family was stolen, the poor late Duke who never knew his servants would starve and beat his daughter…”
Both women cried pitifully, but Ray, by a narrow margin, appeared more convincing.
“Trying to starve and kill his only daughter… even if the girl dies, she won’t be able to face the late Duke!”
Ray’s words made many of those present wipe away their tears.
Considering that most of the attendants knew she had never met the late Duke and was actually from the royal palace, her words carried tremendous weight.
“If anyone, anyone, had helped the poor lady… if they could help, but didn’t, they are surely villains!”
Even Kent’s wavering gaze was now fixed on Ray. It seemed like he had made up his mind, as his expression became resolute and he opened his mouth.
“I will speak. According to the ledgers, the Aphellemion family and the Penton family started a business five years ago, and it appears that Aphellemion has been steadily paying Penton family for the past years.”
“Kent, you!”
Blick the butler and Julius shouted at the same time, but this time, Kent did not waver.
“But that business doesn’t exist. You can see it in the Penton family’s ledger copy.”
“When was that?”
When, indeed, it was Kent who had grabbed it from where Blick had left it lying around.
“Besides the business, there are records of large sums of money being siphoned from the Aphellemion family for no reason. At the same time, Penton family received funds of unknown origin. Most of it went to pay off gambling debts or, no, debts from the Baron’s business. If you compare it, you’ll understand.”
Kent continued to speak rapidly and handed over the ledger.
The Queen, with a stern face, skimmed through the ledger he had handed her.
“A total of 13.21 million gold.”
The Queen slowly turned the pages of the ledger and then let out a bitter laugh.
“Baron, and madam, what is this?”
After a few seconds of silence, she asked, her gaze now colder.
Rather than surprised, it was clear that she was irritated because evidence that contradicted her view had emerged.
Naturally, she disliked the incompetence of leaving behind evidence of something as immoral as embezzling money.
She must have been thinking about why he handled things so foolishly and made her situation difficult.
“Will you deny it?”
The Emperor, who had been watching the situation tiredly, finally spoke after a long silence.
“Do you have any evidence to refute the princess’s words?”
I clenched my fist tightly.
The fact that the Emperor spoke meant that he had heard enough and had come to a conclusion.
It also meant that the Queen would likely not oppose that conclusion, as the Emperor rarely went against the Queen’s wishes.
“Well, well…”
“It was borrowed money!”
Julius stammered as he tried to speak.
“We were planning to pay it back, really!”
“Your Majesty, the Baron forced my son and me to marry his daughter and tried to make him the head of the family. If we had a plan to pay it back, this would have been impossible.”
“No…!”
Julius shouted at my words, and Bartol, confused, looked up.
“Is this true, Young Master?”
The Queen raised an eyebrow as she asked.
At that moment, Balthazar, who had been listening with apparent boredom, suddenly brightened his eyes and leaned forward.
“That… what?”
“You introduced the princess as your fiancée, didn’t you?”
Before Bartol could answer, Balthazar spoke up.
“Yes, it’s true.”
“But the princess recently confessed that she has feelings for my brother. Does this mean she didn’t want to marry you?”
I narrowed my eyes and glared at Balthazar.
What was he trying to pull?
Although it was known as a dark past, what he said was actually helping me.
“Your Majesty, that’s… well, it was decided by the family…”
“So, you are admitting that the princess’s claim is true? That the proxy position was forced upon her without her consent?”
“…”
“Your Majesty, my mother, and I think that if Julius Penton remains the acting head of the family, it will be hard for Aphellemion to recover.”
“Eh?”
At Balthazar’s conclusion, the three members of the Penton family were left stunned, their mouths hanging open.
The Queen raised an eyebrow.
“Are you suggesting that the Crown Prince strip Penton of his proxy rights?”
“Yes, Your Majesty. But instead…”
Balthazar smiled and continued.
“I think we need a stronger proxy for the young, inexperienced princess.”
I furrowed my brows.
What is he talking about?
Morve, Aken, and Jurik had similar expressions, but Morve managed to control his emotions and took a step forward.
“The princess can manage the family herself, but if necessary, it is up to her to choose…”
“No, I’ll let the vassals handle it and see what happens.”
Balthazar shook his head firmly.
“We need a stronger proxy. For example…”
He straightened his back and corrected his posture.
“The royal family would do just fine.”
“The royal family?”
The Queen raised her eyebrows as she asked, and Balthazar nodded.
“Yes, Your Majesty. The Aphellemion family is the foundation of the empire, and maintaining its wealth and influence is the duty of the royal family.”
“But, young prince, this isn’t…”
“This is something we can make work. For example, an engagement between me and the princess could be one way.”
At his last statement, everyone in the room, including me, was stunned.
“…Did you just say engagement?”
“Engagement? What on earth are you talking about all of a sudden?”
Both the Emperor and the Queen asked at the same time, and Balthazar shrugged.
“What are you so surprised about? My mother is worried that I haven’t decided on a bride yet. You said you didn’t want anyone from the eastern continents, and there is no family in the western continent that can surpass Aphellemion.”
He continued.
“For the princess, it makes sense to switch proxies, so we understand each other.”
“But, Prince…”
The Queen’s face visibly hardened.
“She’s a woman who confessed to another man while being engaged to one. Do you not care about that?”
“The engagement wasn’t official, and the confession likely meant she wants a formal marriage with the royal family. As the Crown Prince, I can accept her without hesitation.”
He grinned and looked down at me.
“Well, I’m not suggesting we marry immediately. Just an engagement for now. No further justification is needed for the royal family to oversee the Aphellemion estate.”
I bit my lower lip tightly.
Balthazar’s intentions were as clear as day. He hadn’t even tried to hide his greed.
Julius, Anthony Morin, and Balthazar were all the same in the end.
They wanted to control Aphellemion under the guise of engagement.
And Balthazar, who was secretly competing with Karsiel for the throne, knew that if Karsiel returned alive, it would be crucial to secure the support of the important nobles for the next few years.
The Penton family, which was already out of the picture, was irrelevant. He wanted to take Aphellemion for himself.
“Iris.”
Just as I had reached this conclusion, he called my name.
I looked up and met his gaze, and I saw a glimmer of other desires in his blood-red eyes.
“Come closer.”
