Chapter 72
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 72
Pouting, Lilius began to tidy up the office himself.
He had to finish before his father returned.
Currently, the grandchild Grand Duke Asis Frezier doted on the most was none other than Tulia Frezier. He had already prepared the excuses he would feed the Grand Duke, who was likely fuming after hearing the news.
‘First, I’ll beg for mercy in the name of blood.’
He even planned to bring up the name of the late Grand Duchess—his mother.
“Mother. I’m truly grateful you gave birth to me as the youngest at a time like this,” he muttered sarcastically.
Because the late Grand Duchess had cherished him, her youngest, he had enjoyed no small amount of special treatment within the Grand Duchy. Of course, he was well aware that his mother hadn’t been on the best terms with his father while she was alive.
However, perhaps out of respect for the fact that she had married into the family from a distant land, Grand Duke Asis treated the things she left behind as ‘special.’
“Dammit! Why didn’t Mother just hand that land over to me instead of letting me get caught up in this mess!”
He was pouring out his resentment while frantically checking the balances in various accounts.
Knock, knock.
“Agh! Why do you keep coming back?! I don’t have enough time as it is to move everything to the alias accounts!”
There was no response to his angry shout.
For a moment, Lilius felt a strange sense of unease and froze.
Knock, knock. There it was again—the sound of someone knocking.
It was a knock that carried the dignity of someone who maintained perfect etiquette even in an emergency. While Lilius stood there with his mouth agape, the firmly closed office door swung open.
“...!”
Lilius’s face froze instantly.
“Did you say alias accounts?”
The voice was neat but sharp as a blade.
It was Luc Kelposher, the Chief Assistant Butler who had served by Grand Duke Asis Frezier’s side for decades. He stood there, flanked by several other aides.
“Viscount Lilius. Did we mishear you?”
“T-that’s...”
“No, it doesn’t matter.”
Luc Kelposher offered a polite but chilling smile. He was the right hand of Grand Duke Asis Frezier, a man famous for being cold, level-headed, and utterly ruthless. For the first time in his life, Lilius Frezier felt terrified by Luc Kelposher’s smile.
“You can explain the rest to His Grace the Grand Duke yourself.”
“H-has Father arrived already?!”
When exactly?!
Lilius reflexively looked behind him.
Through the large glass window that occupied nearly half the wall of the office, only a beautiful, quiet, and atmospheric garden stretched out. There wasn’t a single trace of the commotion that usually accompanied the return of Grand Duke Asis Frezier, the master of the castle and king of this territory.
No greeting from the dozens or hundreds of servants.
No salutes from the knights.
Not even the loud blast of a trumpet.
This meant...
Grand Duke Asis Frezier had intentionally returned to the castle in silence.
Lilius swallowed hard.
His hands shook pathetically. He felt as if the blood in his veins was pulsing wildly, trying to escape some invisible poison. Unconsciously, he tried to count the number of aides standing behind Luc Kelposher, but he soon realized it was a pointless gesture.
Even after holding twenty-five percent of the internal administrative power for over ten years, he still hadn't identified even half of the people under Grand Duke Asis’s command.
Are my aides, the ones hiding my assets, safe?!
Is my money safe?!
Frantically moving family assets into alias accounts ahead of such a major event was, at best, theft. At worst, it was embezzlement. According to the strict Imperial Law of the Brillant Empire, even a son like Lilius Frezier was considered a ‘vassal’ to Grand Duke Asis Frezier.
Embezzlement by a vassal was a capital crime.
It was enough to have his title stripped or even his head cut off, depending on the scale!
‘No. It’s not like that.’
Perhaps Grand Duke Asis had only sent Luc Kelposher ahead. Grand Duke Asis was strict with his duties and never skipped a scheduled territorial inspection. He wasn't the type of person to return before finishing an inspection just because a mere granddaughter had been injured, no matter how much he doted on her.
Lilius clung to a sliver of hope, betting on Grand Duke Asis’s icy personality.
“His Grace has commanded your presence.”
But his hopes were shattered into pieces.
*
There were a total of twelve conference rooms in the Grand Duke’s main castle.
The rooms varied in size, and which one was opened depended on the importance of the agenda being discussed that day. The place they were to gather today was a small conference room.
Though smaller than the Grand Council Chamber or the Central Conference Room, it was far more luxuriously decorated. It was a place opened only when discussing ‘extremely important matters.’
The last time it had been opened was years ago.
In short, it was a direct indicator of how seriously Grand Duke Asis Frezier viewed this incident involving Tulia’s injury.
“Everyone, take your seats.”
His grandfather’s low, solemn voice echoed through the room.
Only the Elders had been granted the right to attend this meeting. They took their seats without making a sound.
“...”
In families ranked Marquis or higher, there were usually vassals referred to as ‘Elders.’ While they often stood in opposition to Grand Duke Asis Frezier, they worked to steer the Grand Duchy in the right direction.
Usually, the blue bloods of a kingdom are divided into the ‘Aristocratic Faction,’ the ‘Royalist Faction,’ and the ‘Neutral Faction.’ Since Frezier was a Grand Ducal House and the territory itself was massive, it shared a similar structure to other kingdoms.
‘The only difference is that all the nobles are loyal to Grandfather.’
The Elders were no different. However, only nobles who were as old as ancient trees and had accumulated unimaginable experience and achievements were selected as Elders. Because of this, even the direct descendants of Frezier found the Elders difficult to deal with and couldn't treat them as mere vassals.
Thanks to that, the conference room where all the Elders had gathered was as silent as death.
‘The atmosphere is absolutely killer.’
I was sitting in a seat even higher than the Elders.
‘Since I’m purely the victim.’
And on either side of me sat Lisian and that bastard Leon Frezier.
‘Come to think of it, Leon got hit by an arrow too.’
I had forgotten for a moment because, unlike me, he had recovered quickly and was full of energy, even though he had lost consciousness briefly. The fact remained that when Tedric Frezier fired the bow, he had taken an arrow while trying to shield me.
To be honest, looking at him now, you wouldn't know it. Leon Frezier didn't look like someone who had been hit by a magic tool bow at all. If it weren't for the bandages wrapped tightly around one of his shoulders and his back, I—and everyone else—might have forgotten that Leon Frezier was also a ‘victim.’
“I trust I don’t need to explain how grave this matter is.”
While I was briefly distracted by Leon Frezier’s shoulder, Grandfather’s voice rang out. It was truly the voice of a predator, one that made your shoulders flinch instinctively.
“Lilius Frezier.”
Grandfather looked down at Lilius.
“If you have something to say, speak.”
Lilius, who had become incredibly haggard over the past few days, glared at me with bloodshot eyes. Then...
“Tulia must have conspired with the Mage Tower.”
He spat out something utterly nonsensical.
“Viscount Lilius!”
A voice shouted back in refutation.
“What kind of ridiculous slander is that?!”
It was a high-ranking mage from the Mage Tower who had been summoned in haste to the Grand Duchy.
‘So they really did call in a high-ranking mage.’
Well, considering the opponent was a Grand Ducal House, they probably had frantic meetings amongst themselves deciding if the Tower Master himself should come.
“Slander? Did you say slander?”
At the high-ranking mage’s rebuttal, Lilius shouted back even more furiously.
“If it wasn't a mistake by the Mage Tower, why would we—a flawless father and son—ever shoot Tulia?! Tulia must have joined hands with the Mage Tower to frame us!”
“Pfft.”
Oops.
I accidentally let out a scoff, so I hurried to fix my expression.
“What is the meaning of that laughter, Tulia Frezier?”
The one who pointed out my laughter in a heavy, sharp voice was none other than Grand Duke Nigella Frezier.
I blinked and replied.
“I apologize, Uncle.”
“...”
“Uncle Lilius told such an unimaginable lie that I accidentally choked on my own breath.”
I wasn't laughing; I was choking. It’s a physiological reaction, what are you going to do about it?
“Ahem.”
Of course, it was unrefined behavior for a noble, lacking in grace. However, perhaps because of my comment about it being an ‘unimaginable lie,’ Grand Duke Nigella Frezier couldn't press the matter further.
“Be careful. This is a solemn occasion.”
“Yes, sir.”
A compliant answer.
The silence was brief.
“I do not understand Viscount Lilius’s words.”
One of the Elders began to probe into the fundamental logic.
“Why would Lady Tulia conspire with the Mage Tower?”
“...”
“There is no reason for the Lady to do such a thing, is there?”
Tulia Frezier was certainly a notorious brat in the Grand Duchy’s social circles, but she wasn't bold enough, smart enough, or influential enough within the territory to conspire with the Mage Tower to have herself shot.
In short, she was just a young lady with no power whatsoever.
‘Somehow, saying this feels like I’m dissing myself.’
The Elder turned his gaze toward me and asked.
“Is there any reason for you to do such a thing, My Lady?”