Chapter 215 - Sharing The Burden - I

It was the next morning and as the past few days, Adeline was in the King's Court. She was sitting on her own throne by the side of the King's throne.

Today, a meeting was going on regarding the tax embezzlement that had been taking place in the village. Adeline was the one to raise the issue in the court and bring the matter to light in front of the King and the councilmen.

The first day in the court was a little difficult for Adeline. But by now, she had already been habituated to the hard glare from the councilmen and she was addressing today's agenda to the council, "In today's meeting, I would like to raise the issue which has been kept hush for a long time."

"I would like to make the King and the council aware of the fraudulent activities of Prince Edwin. He was involved in tax fraud for the past four years. He has been illegally accumulating the hard-earned money of the innocent villagers."

She glared at some of the councilmen who were frowning as she spoke and continued, "Yet, not a single person raised this issue until now. Thus, today, I would like to discuss the same matter in everyone's presence. And I want to urge the council to take necessary action against the First Prince."

The councilmen who were close to Edwin didn't like it that Adeline was going after Edwin on the first week of her appointment as the Future Queen. So one of the councilmen raised a question to Adeline, "I am sorry if I am being rude, Your Highness. But do you have any proof that the first Prince was involved in the tax embezzlement? I don't think we can point fingers at others based on our suspicion or hatred."

Adeline gave a stern look to that councilman and asked with a confident and authoritative tone, "Why would you think that I would accuse my brother of such grave crime without having any proof against him? And why would you assume that I hate him? I don't hate my brother rather I despise the deeds he has done. And no one should be allowed to roam freely if they are guilty. No one is above the law."

Adeline gestured her assistant to hand over the copies of the record to everyone present in the room. And after all the councilmen had enough time to go through the records that she had prepared, she asked again, "Will this proof be enough councilmen? And what about you, Mr. Jasper?"

The record had the detailed calculation of how much Edwin had already pocketed from the tax fraud. And to add to that, it also had the statements from the villagers saying how the tax collectors and the Royal Guards behaved with them and punished them if they were unwilling to pay the higher tax.

Councilman Jasper could not even look into Adeline's eyes after seeing the solid proof of Edwin's crime against the Kingdom. He answered while still lowering his gaze, "I would like to apologize for my earlier statement, Your Highness. The proof is enough to further the trial against Prince Edwin."

King Dragomir would have had a heart attack if Adeline had not discussed the matter with him beforehand. He had entrusted Edwin with the most important task of the Kingdom and Edwin had betrayed his trust as well as he had betrayed the Kingdom and its people.

The meeting ended after reaching a unanimous decision to confiscate the properties of the first Prince and to keep him under house arrest for the time being. And then after the trial, he would be given a suitable punishment for his crime.

After the councilmen left the room, King Dragomir looked at Adeline and said, "I never thought that you would adapt to your position so quickly. I appreciate the way you handled the situation when Jasper tried to dwindle your confidence."

"I am learning from the best ruler. So I think I am doing pretty good in the meetings and other tasks." Adeline gave a smile to her father.

Dragomir then gave a piece of advice to his daughter, "You are walking along the right path. Never let anyone look down upon you. It is especially true because you are a woman. People like him don't like to follow a woman. You have to prove them wrong by doing greater things for the Kingdom."

Adeline nodded her head and replied with confidence, "I am going to do my best to uphold the Kingdom that you have built."

Dragomir was really happy to have such a gifted daughter. But at the same time, he also worried that she would end up being alone like him. Being a ruler meant that you would even have to go against your close ones. And he didn't want that for his daughter.

He took a deep breath in and said in a sad tone, "It's a shame that your first case had to do with one of your brothers. I am sorry that I didn't find about Edwin's crime sooner. I was wrong to trust him blindly. I couldn't keep him in check."

But Adeline didn't mind that she had to go against Edwin. He had committed a crime and now she had the power to punish him. So she was doing everything in her power to slowly punish those who had wronged the commoners as well as her.

Adeline reassuringly held her father's hand and said, "Don't worry, father. I am here now. We can share the burden of the crown for the time being. I know you cannot provide equal attention to everything. So I will be there to look after the things that you might miss."

"As expected of my daughter." Dragomir's heart warmed up when Adeline said those words to him. He had been at the top for so long that he had forgotten how it felt to sometimes depend on another person. And now that Adeline was by his side, slowly taking over the responsibilities off of his shoulder, he could literally feel his body getting lighter.

The Royal Guards under the command of King Dragomir were instantly sent out to keep Prince Edwin on house arrest. And they were also tasked with finding all of his hidden properties. All of his legal properties were kept on hold while his illegal properties were to be confiscated.

There was a huge commotion in the Palace because of that. The Royal Guards had detained the Prince and were searching every corner of his house. Some of the guards were dispatched to his other property locations.. It was a sight to see in the Palace.