Chapter 30
There was no sunlight in the underground prison.
The only way to guess how much time had passed was by the guard’s regular visits and the meals delivered at set hours.
He didn’t know what day it was or whether he’d ever get out.
Then came the temptation:
“We’ll help you take revenge on Laura and restore your title as Marquis.”
Nothing could have sounded sweeter.
Gepetto had never liked Laura—not even for a moment.
He was once just an ordinary boy who liked having fun.
But his father always praised Laura’s talents and used that to provoke Gepetto.
He said, “Are you going to let an adopted child take the family head position?”
That’s when his hatred for Laura began.
She was annoyingly competent.
Any achievements Gepetto struggled to earn were quickly overtaken by Laura.
He wanted his father’s approval.
But each time, his hopes were crushed by comparisons to her.
If anyone in that courtroom had wished hardest for Laura’s downfall, it was Gepetto.
Even so…
“I was truly reckless. I had an allowance from the family, but it wasn’t enough, so I secretly sold off family assets for spending money.”
He told the truth.
“My father was strict with mistakes—especially with me as the eldest. He would never have tolerated me gambling away money.”
“So instead of telling the truth, I forged the records after secretly selling a family-owned ship. That’s all there is to it. No hidden plots.”
It wasn’t because he had softened toward Laura or felt guilty.
“Here is the contract from the ship sale. I also included the record of payment I received through a fake account.”
Three years ago, Gepetto had been a complete troublemaker.
He’d left traces of his mistakes everywhere.
But now he was thinking logically:
‘If I’m picking a side, it’s better to side with the future crown princess than a prince who’s going to die tomorrow.’
The room quieted as the inspector gave Laura permission to speak.
“Just as Gepetto said, I had no idea how that ship was being used. So I started investigating, suspecting some kind of secret dealings within the family.”
She handed over organized documents.
“I found that the ship was sold five years ago. Since then, ownership changed hands several times… and the current owner is an old man who died two years ago.”
The only sound in the room was the inspector turning pages.
He slowly nodded.
“With such clear evidence, how could I possibly suspect your guilt? You’ve worked hard.”
Malken grimaced silently.
Marien gripped her chair tightly. Others gasped here and there, creating a stir in the room.
Now, people began to flatter Laura instead.
“I always thought it strange. A noble lady involved in smuggling? Impossible!”
“Exactly! You must’ve been terribly stressed being caught in such nonsense.”
Because they were late to the game, their flattery was overly loud.
Laura didn’t accept or reject it—she stayed calm, and one by one, they fell silent.
As Gepetto was about to return to prison, he turned to look at Laura.
She stood quietly amid the crowd, staring at him.
Her gaze was emotionless—neither hopeful nor disappointed.
And in the inspector’s hand, she had already prepared all the documents needed.
Gepetto didn’t expect her to be grateful.
But realizing she had already planned to cut ties with him made cold sweat run down his spine.
‘Damn, I almost died back there.’
He sighed in relief.
A false testimony could’ve sent him far away—for good.
After the tribunal.
Asel and I entered a small meeting room.
His close aides sat around a round table, discussing what had happened and how to plan ahead.
‘The Second Prince may be done, but we still have to be cautious of the Grand Duke pulling the strings behind him.’
As I sat down, a servant brought water—much more welcome than tea. As I drank, Asel spoke.
“Thankfully, it ended well.”
“Didn’t I say I had this under control?”
Angel, sitting nearby, added:
“Honestly… I was worried. Your honor isn’t just your own—it affects many.”
His voice was slightly emotional.
“But you completely dismantled the Second Prince’s argument…”
He really thought I’d fall into the trap.
“So you had no faith in me at all, huh?”
“I’ve seen too much, that’s all.”
He brought up the original Laura, which made it hard to argue. That version of Laura really had been a walking disaster.
And honestly, he wasn’t completely wrong.
I had the plan in mind, but finding the ship’s sales contract had been tough.
I’d searched the Luweiz estate (without Gepetto there) and ended up relying on my memories of the original story to barely track it down.
‘Honestly, Sirin did most of the work this time.’
If not for that windbird, I wouldn’t have been able to beat time and distance to secure the proof.
But now, it was all over.
As I held the cold water glass, Secretary Müller spoke to me.
“About the report you sent…”
He held the documents I had written a few days ago—evidence on Malken’s rebellion attempt, sent through Pell.
“Did you already review it?”
Müller smiled with tired eyes.
“The chief advisor said to check your report first…”
Pell nodded quietly. Müller sighed like he didn’t even have the strength to argue.
“I just want to make sure I understood it correctly.”
“Go ahead.”
Even with the setup, Müller hesitated. After checking no outsiders were nearby, he lowered his voice.
“You believe the one who proposed the smuggling to Malken was the Grand Duke?”
Everyone else fell silent too—they must’ve read the report.
“It’s only a theory for now.”
I had tracked down the shipowners. Most were connected to the Grand Duke.
Also, each time ownership changed, large amounts of money moved out of the Grand Duke’s pharmaceutical company. Officially, it was listed as “research funding”—but the pattern was clearly suspicious.
Asel added:
“There are shady signs, yes. But it’s not enough to justify investigating my uncle.”
Then Viscount Lopez spoke up:
“Still, it’s true that the Grand Duke’s funds have increased strangely in recent years. And it’s fairly well-known that his fortune is tied to arms smuggling.”
“So what do you suggest?”
“Let’s use this incident to inspect the empire’s shipping records and cut his power down a bit. Or even temporarily shut down sea trade—”
“That’s not an option.”
I immediately pushed back.
