CH 30

By Antoinette Vanessa November 12, 2021

When we arrived in front of the king and the queen, His Majesty stared at Aldam with a pale face.

“…Why, I heard that Your Highness Neonhart is in a critical condition. Did you deceive us?”

“It can hardly be deemed deception. It’s just that the people of this kingdom shouldn’t be so trusting.”

Aldam said that while glancing at Prince Feld who seemed to have no idea what was happening. The king immediately responded.

“While Feld may have been indirectly involved, I’ve firmly punished him…”

“Because of the injuries, you shouldn’t be deciding on the punishment without my opinion. Or, does the Kingdom of Rolaud underestimate the Kingdom of Neonhart?”

“‘U, underestimate’, you say… What are you trying to say, Your Highness Neonhart?”

“How about executing everyone involved with this poisoning incident at the decapitation stand? I’ll give my forgiveness, and the rot of this kingdom will also be removed. It’s killing two birds with one stone.”

“What!?”

His Majesty was appalled.

Of course, Aldam’s words were heard throughout the venue. Surprisingly, no one was all that startled by them.

However, those apprehended trembled as they turned a deep blue…

…Meanwhile, the second prince spoke to the king in a cold tone.

“My brother is a lost cause. Had things gone awry, His Highness Neonhart would’ve died because of poisoning and a war would have undoubtedly occurred.”

“B, but, Feld, is only indirectly involved…”

“Regardless, the one who presented the enemy with this opportunity was still my brother. Duchess Samaria should have had explained that earlier.”

“T, that’s…”

The king wavered. The queen turned to the king and shook her head.

“Let’s just give up on Feld…”

“Guh…”

His Majesty looked down with a regrettable expression.

With his hand on his chin, Aldam called out to His Majesty.

“—I’m not finished. It is now your turn.”

“Huh?”

“Eh?”

Due to their bafflement, Aldam sighed.

“Shouldn’t it be obvious? Since the first prince, the next king of the Rolaud Kingdom, committed this crime, isn’t it only natural for you—his parents—to shoulder the responsibility?”

“W, we helped arrest the criminals, didn’t we—!?”

“Yes, that’s right! Punishing us would be overkill!”

“In the first place, it all happened because you failed to properly educate the first prince, yes?”

The two must had been aware of it, and became silent.

When I was staring at those figures with dismay, my grandfather, who stood beside me, spoke in a pitying tone.

“The four grand dukes have decided that the king and the queen should abdicate the throne.”

“…Duke of Belmand, are you rebelling against the kingdom!?”

“It’s not a rebellion. As originally planned, Aiden will take over. Well, the coronation will occur a bit sooner than expected. We, who are merely looking at the outside, will be more thorough this time. Please be rest assured as you spend the rest of your lives on your own.”

“Guh…”

Crumbling on the floor, His Majesty stared at me.

“Duchess of Samaria, I heard nothing about this. Did you trick us?”

“Such harsh words. I merely did this for the sake of this kingdom.”

“For the sake of this kingdom…?”

“Yes, because if we were to leave the kingdom to two people who are too blind to see their surroundings, this kingdom would be doomed. Everyone is in agreement.”

When I said that and looked around, the aristocrats at the venue nodded many times. Both the king and the queen were astonished.

“Why…”

“Yes, I will admit that we were negligent with Feld, but in our defense, we’re busy managing national affairs!”

“Then, you should be aware of how problematic the first prince is.”

Luria then handed me bundle of invoices. I handed them to the king and the queen. The two soon paled.

“W, what is this outrageous sum!?”

“Those are the expenses from the first prince’s purchases for Baroness Abazn. He has been trying to conceal it. By the way, while the dress Baroness Abazn wore today may be a fashion crime, it used a lot of large, pink, diamonds. As such, its value comes to about half of the royal family’s yearly budget.”

“W, what did you say!?”

“In addition, if you we total the amount he has wasted on her, he has spent about three years’ worth of the royal family’s budget. Unfortunately, it seems that you’ll have to sell some things from the royal palace to cover for it all.”

When I said that and smiled, the two paled even more. In the end, all they could do was to powerlessly drop their heads.

After glancing at those two, I called out to the second prince.

“Are you sure you want to take care of the rest?”

“Yes, leave it to me. I’m sorry for having left this unpleasant role to you.”

“No, it’s alright. It’s what I wanted to do.”

The second prince then made a pose with a bitter smile.

“Alright then, from now on, please take care of yourself—future queen of the Neonhart Kingdom.”

“Fufu, I don’t know if I’m worthy.”

“I’m sure you are—don’t you agree, Crown Prince Neonhart?”

“Yes, everyone will welcome you.”

Aldam said so and proceeded to take my hand before kissing it.

I couldn’t react to how natural his advance was, and my face turned red. Soon, my parents entered within sights, and my embarrassment vanished.

…I wondered, why did they approach me for?

As I stared at them coldly, my parents were smiling from ear-to-ear to me.

“Violet! I’m so proud of you! For you to be able to win the heart of Prince Neonhart!”

“As expected of my daughter! You’re truly different from that foolish Sagius!”

Father and mother, who stood before Aldam, the second prince, and grandfather, had forgotten their surroundings.

Sure enough, my parents were surprised by my grandfather suddenly standing in front of me. But soon, they were back to grinning.

“Duke of Belmand, we want to celebrate—only the three of us!”

“It is as my husband as said—although, make it four, because His Highness Neonhart will also be joining.”

“…You guys.”

My grandfather was angry and glared at them, but my parents persisted.

When I saw them, I let out a great sigh.

“As I thought, it’s no good—Luria!”

Luria nodded, and handed an invoice to my father.

“What…? …Luxury accommodation for jewelry? What is this exorbitant sum!?”

“It seems that my brother was competing with the first prince in regards to giving gifts to Baroness Abazn. Once everything is paid, I’m sure we’ll be left with nothing but our title.”

“What?!”

“What is this, Violet!?”

“It’s my brother’s fault. Why don’t you ask him instead of me?”

When I said that in a cold tone, my parents ran towards my brother who had been tied up and left on the floor.

While watching the situation, I handed a sheet of paper to my grandfather.

“Grandfather, can you write the names of the four grand dukes on this and send it to the court?”

“Do you wish to leave the family of the Duke of Samaria? The reason is solid, and it’ll be accepted, but I want Violet to think this through.”

“I’ve decided that I don’t want to carry such a weight on my back.”

“Then, I shall adopt you as a daughter of Duke Belmand after you leave your family register. I shall be your solid backer.”

“Thank you, grandfather.”

After bowing to grandfather, I smiled to Aldam.

“Thanks to Aldam, everything was resolved safely.”

“I’m glad I was of help. Let’s leave the rest to Aiden and the Duke of Belmand, and instead talk about your decadence in a separate room.”

“By all means.”

I answered so and immediately tried to leave the venue with Aldam.

His Highness, who had been silent until now, suddenly shouted at me.