Chapter 78
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 78
I tilted my head in confusion, but my attention was snatched away when Leon Frezier suddenly grabbed the handles of my wheelchair. I felt a sense of foreboding.
“……What are you doing?”
“I’m hungry, so let’s go eat.”
“No, wait, push it slowly—. Ack!”
You crazy bastard!
* * *
“What should we do, Viscount Lilius? If Master Tedric is kicked out to the border as a lowest-ranking knight…”
The aide, who had been staying by the side of the confined Lilius, muttered with a face full of anxiety.
The border was already a place swarming with barbarians.
“The knights who deal with those savages are obvious. What if they turn my son into a half-cripple?”
Lilius also looked like he was going out of his mind. Just then, Aubrey, who had been unconscious as if she’d had a seizure, woke up.
“What, what does that mean! Honey!”
“Darling! Calm down. Someone, bring the medicine!”
They managed to get a sedative into her, but Aubrey was still trembling.
“Is that wicked, sly girl finally driving our son to his death? Is that it?!”
“Darling. Do not worry.”
Lilius hurried to reassure Aubrey, whose hands were shaking.
“You know well how far the border is from this Grand Duchy, don’t you?”
“……And?”
Of course, his movements were restricted for now, but his hands and feet weren't completely tied.
“I will somehow attach a few elite knights to Tedric. And I’ll make sure they keep their mouths shut. If they just say they’re there because of the confinement order, even those savages won't be able to treat our son poorly!”
Marquis Aster Frezier had little interest in his children.
Especially Tulia.
Even if Tedric was kicked out on her orders, the Marquis wasn't the type of person to bother sending someone all the way here to check what happened.
If he were that kind of person, he would have cared for Tulia long ago, but wasn't he the man who hadn't sent a proper cent of child support in all those years?
“Our son is simply going away for a short period of recuperation. Do not worry, darling.”
As he soothed Aubrey, Lilius quickly ran through the list of hidden assets in his mind.
A plate holding a large cake is bound to get some whipped cream on it.
Since Lilius had taken over the sovereignty over internal affairs, even the crumbs that stuck to his hands added up to a staggering amount.
Naturally, he had tucked it all away, bit by bit.
‘That money will be more than enough.’
They were likely in the middle of an investigation, but they wouldn't be able to find the gold he had hidden deep away in physical form.
He just needed to use those hidden assets to hire people for Tedric.
Lilius hurried to give those instructions to his aide.
However.
“V-Viscount.”
The aide returned, trembling.
“That money… n-none of it is left.”
“What?”
Lilius doubted his ears for a moment.
Where did that massive fortune—enough to buy two whole territories—go?!
“They say… it was all discovered and seized by Lady Tulia……!”
Thump!
Lilius reflexively grabbed the aide by the collar and shook him.
“What kind of crazy nonsense is that?!”
* * *
Aubrey came to find me after lunch.
Unlike during the family council when she looked like she’d lost her mind, she was perfectly dressed.
In short, she had come fully prepared for battle.
‘Well, I know exactly why.’
I hadn't expected Lilius to have so much hidden wealth.
I’d seen mentions in The Milk Bread a few times about Lilius being secretly loaded, so I’d wondered.
When I dug into it intensively, good heavens!
I was able to discover a massive hidden fortune that could easily buy two territories.
‘He really hid a staggering amount.’
He had all this money and still systematically stole from young Tulia?!
He truly was a man who had sold his conscience a long time ago.
And now, the Aubrey who had come to see me was…
‘Well, I can pretty much guess what she’s going to say.’
She’s going to ask for the money, right?
Or maybe she’ll ask for leniency, saying the treatment of Tedric is too harsh.
“Lisian, Leon.”
Unlike this morning when she acted like she wanted to devour me, Aubrey spoke to Lisian and Leon Frezier in an elegant voice.
“I have something to discuss with Tulia alone for a moment, so would you mind stepping out?”
The perfect attitude of a noblewoman.
A haughty request befitting a high-ranking noble.
And yet.
“That… will be difficult, Aunt.”
“What…… did you say?”
For a moment, Aubrey’s face showed she couldn't believe her ears.
I was also a bit surprised that Lisian would refuse so flatly.
Aubrey asked.
“……Lisian? Why…… why not?”
Then.
“Aunt Aubrey.”
Leon Frezier leaned casually and placed his hand firmly on the handle of my wheelchair.
“She’s not feeling well right now. As you know.”
“……And?”
“I’m too anxious to leave her alone. What if she gets hurt again?”
His words were loaded with meaning.
For instance, it felt like a jab at Aubrey’s behavior this morning when she acted like a wild animal.
Naturally, Aubrey understood, and her hands trembled.
“Are you two disregarding my honor right now?”
“It’s not that.”
“If not that, then what! I am your elder and your aunt! Insulting a noblewoman in this manner is not found in any etiquette of the Brillant Empire!”
‘Sigh. She’s going to have a fit at this rate.’
That would be troublesome.
I didn't want to see someone having a seizure in front of me.
Besides.
I was planning to crush her more thoroughly anyway… no, no.
‘I’m thinking like Tulia without even realizing it.’
Clearing my throat inwardly, I quickly composed my expression.
No matter what she said, I intended to give her a polite version of "get lost," but I should at least pretend to listen.
I was also inwardly curious about how she’d racked her brain to overcome this crisis.
“Then, Brother, could you wait just outside the door?”
Lisian looked reluctant, but eventually.
“Okay, Tulia.”
He complied readily.
“Hey. What about me? Should I stay by your side?”
Hey, you just get lost.
……The words almost slipped out, but I smiled kindly.
“You should stay next to Brother Lisian, of course. Go on.”
“Ah, this temperature difference between me and Brother again… fine, I get it. Brother! Wait for me!”
Leon Frezier grumbled but hurried to follow Lisian out.
As soon as the two of them were gone, the surroundings fell silent.
“Tulia.”
As if she were in quite a hurry, Aubrey got straight to the point.
“Yes, Aunt?”
“I see you’ve taken my jewelry.”
“Ah. The jewelry.”
Only then did I realize what Aubrey was trying to get at.
Jewelry.
The massive amount of treasure that had been in Aubrey’s jewelry box.
She was talking about the items I had seized through the servants.
I suppose she heard that I’d confiscated all the money Lilius had hidden?
So she must have rushed here to at least reclaim the jewelry she’d pocketed.
“The things you took are the wedding gifts I brought when I married into the family. My dowry. How could you get confused and take those? Those are strictly my personal property, Tulia.”
“Personal property?”
When I let out a smirk, Aubrey’s face hardened.
And for good reason.
‘Of course, if those were truly Aubrey’s jewels, my taking them would be theft.’
If that were the case, Aubrey wouldn't have started the conversation so mildly.
She was using a gentle voice because she had a guilty conscience.
‘I suppose it’s obvious.’
Because the jewelry she possessed wasn't hers; it belonged to the Frezier Grand Ducal House.
Every single piece.
“Aunt. It’s troublesome if you keep lying to me.”
I rang the bell on the table.
Tinkle, tinkle.
Then the door burst open, and Leon Frezier came charging in like a bullet.
“What! What is it! What happened!”
‘Wait, why did you come?’
I gritted my teeth and smiled at Leon Frezier, who had come running like a mutt at this important and tense moment.
“Could you call Grans instead of yourself, Brother?”
This bell was originally meant for calling the servants!
Honestly, I was a bit embarrassed, but Aubrey looked like she wanted to bite her nails to the quick if she could.
So, fortunately, she didn't seem to pay much attention to this foolish sight.
‘Phew.’
In the meantime, Grans brought the list of documents I had instructed him to prepare in advance.
“Look at this, Aunt Aubrey.”
Aubrey flipped through the documents one by one.
One page, two pages.
Her beautifully manicured hands began to tremble.
‘I’ve seen this many times while playing The Milk Bread, you know?’
The ending where Corico becomes the Grand Duchess.
There was a scene where Aubrey would visit with a fake smile to congratulate her.
—Corico, I sincerely congratulate you. Oh, and I’ve been keeping the Grand Ducal jewelry safe all this time, and now I shall return it all to you. I am so happy. To see the jewels find their true owner.
And then a high-quality illustration of a pile of jewels would follow.
Back then, I just thought, ‘I guess so,’ but now that I thought about it, I suspected that Aubrey had been putting the Grand Ducal jewelry into her own jewelry box as she pleased for a long time.
And that suspicion?
It was a direct hit.
So I had the servants retrieve the jewels that were "easy to sell" first.
Items crafted in pure gold, with jewels of decent thickness and size.
In short, only the jewelry that was easy to convert into cash at any time and wouldn't be a waste to take apart and sell.
Since there was a valid reason and a perfect list, even the high-ranking maids couldn't stop it.
“I don’t know why you’re lying to try and take those jewels back, Aunt Aubrey.”
My words seemed to catch her off guard.
Aubrey’s gaze grew significantly sharper.
“Wouldn't it be easier for both of us if you just told me directly what it is you need?”
“…….”
She took a deep breath. After taking a sip of the tea I had poured out of courtesy, Aubrey slowly opened her mouth.