Chapter 75

Chapter 75

Hyle Villefranc and Seville Placen, who were listening to the conversation between Rowaine and Dimitri, were impressed.

“Justice…”

“It’s justice…”

As Dimitri said, it was surprising to see a person who sincerely cared about things such as morality and conscience.

Of course, they were two people who were no strangers to the ‘scheming of trickery according to interests,’ which can be said to be the core principle of the aristocratic society.

For those who value their existence in countering the machinations of others and devising plans to benefit Blois, Rowaine seemed to be nothing more than an auspicious and mysterious imaginary animal from the East.

The two muttered again in disbelief.

“Wow… conscience.”

“Righteousness.”

“Is she serious?”

Seville gave a surprisingly positive answer to Hyle’s question.

“It’s hard to believe, but… she might be serious.”

Hyle’s eyes widened slightly when Seville, who hated Rowaine even more than him, defended her.

“Ho-ho? I didn’t expect such words to come from the Baron?”

“I know from working with her and seeing it firsthand.”

“Well, you get a good idea of what your master is like when you’re up close and personal. What did the Baron think of Madam Rowaine?”

“The scandal we’ve heard about Madam Rowaine is questionable.”

“Is that so?”

At those words, Seville nodded resolutely.

“Rumors are just that, rumors.”

I stood with Dimitri at the door of the grand hall, half a floor below the ground floor. It was a place I had never been to before, even though it had been a long time since I had lived at the Blois mansion.

The splendid gates of the grand hall, lavishly decorated with golden borders and gilded carvings, had the power to dampen one’s spirits just by standing in front of them. This grandeur would serve that purpose, a visual representation of Blois’s majesty to humble those who pass through the gates and keep them in line.

“His Excellency is entering.”

As the door opened with a shout, the first thing I saw was an oval table large enough to seat about twenty people.

It was a suffocating closed room with no light coming in.

The only entrance and exit was a thick, heavy door that only opened when two knights stuck together and pushed hard.

‘Is the structure secure enough to prevent sound from leaking out?’

I quickly scanned the faces of the elders in the chairs, one by one.

‘…These are the people who are trying to bring Dimitri down.’

My heart fluttered with the tension and the strange excitement of being in the middle of enemy territory. I thought I’d feel timid and intimidated at the sight of them, thinking that the best I could hope for was to sit next to Dimitri.

I walked in, determined to look as nonchalant as possible.

But unexpectedly, instead of feeling intimidated, when I found myself facing the elders, the fuel inside me was burning brightly and an unknown confidence surrounded me like a shield.

On the other hand, the elders seemed a little agitated by my appearance, while most of them composed their expressions.

Why did the Duchess come here?

Some narrowed their eyes as if trying to gauge me, while others cleared their throats as if they weren’t very happy with my presence.

Regardless, Dimitri and I sat side by side at the prepared table, and he gave a short introduction.

“As you all have noticed, this is my wife, the new Duchess of Blois, who will take care of Blois’ internal and external affairs with me.”

The chairman greeted me as a representative.

“Nice to see you. I’m the chairman, Count Albert Schdental.”

“I’m looking forward to your kind cooperation. I’m sure we’ll be seeing each other often in the future.”

At my meaningful words, Count Schdental’s gaze turned to Dimitri.

Dimitri calmly explained.

“It was the Duchess’s great influence that convened the elders at this late hour.”

The chairman’s eyes narrowed at those words as he glanced at me before opening his mouth to Dimitri again.

“I suppose the first thing I need to hear is why you’ve called an emergency meeting of the elders.”

“There’s no need for me to say much since you’ll know it when you see it. yourself”

At his beckoning, the knights reopened the closed doorway and ushered our freshly captured piping-hot captives inside.

The elders immediately started. They must have smelled the menacing snare Dimitri had cast from the captives. Witnessing that, Dimitri grinned gleefully, like a well-fed cat cornering its prey just for the fun of it.

“If anyone’s heart is pierced by the sight of them, I’ll gladly give you a chance to confess, for I’ve recently discovered what conscience and morality are.”

I glanced over at Dimitri.

‘He’s making fun of my good intentions…!’

Dimitri, who must have felt my stare, smirked as he gazed up at me and explained.

“I was marveled at its beauty… so I wonder very much if there’s anyone here who will marvel at mine.”

The elders looked at Dimitri sharply, as if he were saying something nonsensical before the chairman protested on behalf of the organization.

“As this is an urgent call, please treat it with the seriousness it deserves, Duke.”

“I’m more serious than ever. I want Count Bilbao to know how serious I am.”

Saying so, he glanced over at the man sitting in the auxiliary chair, which was placed closest to the doorway.

‘…That person is Count Bilbao.’

As he was a man with a very large belly, it caused an optical illusion that made an average-sized chair seem small. Just as he wiped the sweat from his forehead, when everyone’s eyes turned to him, he politely set the handkerchief down with a look that expressed that he had something to say.

“Since you called me, who isn’t a member of the council of elders, I expected it to be related to slave traders…”

He rolled his thick-lidded eyes a little.

Perhaps it was because of her large eyes, but his pupils could clearly see from a distance that they were wandering and shaking.

Seeing how frightened he looked, a twinge of pity crept up in my heart. Nonetheless, I shook my head a little and resolutely dismissed that feeling.

‘He’s the one who has been behind the slave traders who abused the poor shapeshifters and even boldly deceived them. Besides, he even got a huge reparation from Dimitri for this incident… Let’s not be fooled by what we see.’

I was disgusted at the way he looked at me with such a sullen expression, as if he were a victim.

“I don’t know why the Duke is so obsessed with something that’s over when he’s admitted wrongdoing and has gone through the whole issue of reparations…”

Glancing over at Dimitri, his eyes narrowing in frustration. At the same time, he nodded his head while asking for consent from the elders, showing no doubt that the elders would side with him as they had always done.

“Even though I showed mercy with good intentions, you act shamelessly, Count Bilbao.”

Dimitri snorted and asked the slave trader’s manager.

“Confess the atrocities of Count Bilbao.”

In despair, the slave trader pleaded with the Count.

“Please save me, Count! Didn’t you order me to do everything?! We just did what the Count told us to do…!”

The elders murmured in disbelief. Count Bilbao’s eyebrows furrowed, and his big eyes bulged even wider.

“I don’t know what this man is talking about! Do you have a grudge against me because of the reparations issue, Duke?”

Then, sparks flew toward me, who was standing still.

“None of this would have happened if the Duchess hadn’t taken the male slaves and hidden them in the first place…”

He looked at me resentfully.

I marveled at his ability to turn the blame on me by making me the perpetrator.

‘That’s how you instigate them… It seems that I’ve learned an incitement technique I didn’t know.’

To the elders who disapproved of Dimitri, it was like handing the prey to them. The elders nodded their heads in agreement, saying, ‘Right, that’s right.’

Dimitri chuckled at the sight.

“It’s true that the story is over on that matter. I’ve called you here today, not because of what happened in the past. Rather, I have called you here because of a new matter regarding the ongoing fraudulent activities of Count Bilbao.”

“What do you mean by fraud?! What the hell—”

Before Count Bilbao’s untimely death from the injustice, the accountant who was mixed in with the slave traders confessed, shivering. He was the man Coco had captured in his search for the secret ledger.

The Count fabricated the pedigrees of the dog shapeshifters and had them sell slaves to the Emperor! It’s all over, it’s already over…”

As everyone was looking at Count Bilbao, I saw Count Schdental’s eyes change as he sat near me.

‘So, the chairman is with Count Bilbao…!’

It was just an assumption, but I was almost certain. As far as I know, the family of Count Bilbao wasn’t powerful enough to boldly commit fraudulent acts against the Emperor like this. That meant that he must have had people protecting him.

Count Bilbao glanced around at the elders and shook his head as if he begged them not to abandon him.

“I-I don’t know what all this is about… The Duke is accusing me without solid evidence!”

Now seemed like the right time, so I quietly laid the secret ledger out on the table.

“I guess this is what you mean by solid evidence.”

I opened the ledger and flipped through the pages of various numbers, explaining.

“My cat was proud to have brought something like this. Here’s a record of the dog shapeshifters appointed as the Emperor’s hounds.”

“….!”

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