Chapter 10

At Lewan’s question, the other man replied with a grim expression.

“…It’s not good. Once the matter of lives came up, everyone became extremely confused.”

“What happens if those idiots all give up as a group?”

“Then… with just the two of us’ shares, we can only claim 200 million marks. We wouldn’t be able to demand the castle. That amount should still be payable on their side.”

“Try harder to persuade them! That’s 100 million marks per person! Do you really think those worthless bastards will ever see 100 million marks in their entire lives?! Even if we give up our shares, lure them in more! We’ve come this far—are we just going to give up like this?! Where did it go wrong?! This was a perfect plan!”

“I’m wondering the same thing. I heard Balfruga’s intelligence network was dismantled long ago… No, even if they still had one, how could they have figured out this method?”

“That’s what I don’t understand! We even went through the trouble of secretly slipping in promissory notes for money they never borrowed! They didn’t notice for 30 years…! How…!”

This is it! The information my mistress wanted!

Birche was excited.

Now that he had obtained the information she wanted, all that remained was to return and receive praise.

* * *

After hearing the information Birche brought back, I and Naol were shocked.

“They never even borrowed the money? Is that even possible?!”

“This is the first time I’ve ever heard of such a method. How is something like this possible… Why do we even have promissory notes for money we never borrowed?”

“That’s exactly what they said, my lady. Specifically, they said: ‘We went through so much trouble secretly slipping in promissory notes for money they never borrowed! They didn’t notice for 30 years… how…!’”

Birche mimicked Lewan’s tone.

“Wait, wait a second. A young lady? Who is this young lady? Does the Fox Merchant Union know a noble lady?”

“The Marchioness of Reholas…”

I let out a low groan.

“The previous generation married into the Reholas Marquis family. And the Fox Merchant Union originally belonged to the Reholas house.”

“……!”

“……!”

A duchess involved in fraud by stealing the family seal.

This is why managing seals is important.

Unlike Birche, who quickly calmed down and lowered his gaze, Naol remained in shock for a long time.

“W-wait! Then are you saying the previous duchess herself forged the promissory notes?!”

“She may not have acted alone, but she was definitely involved.”

“This is… unbelievable! How could she… even though she married into that family…”

“After the previous duke died, she returned immediately to the Reholas Marquis family, I heard.”

At Birche’s words, Naol staggered in shock.

The Balfruga family was collapsing, and the new power Frug was pushing them out and mistreating them—but even so, he had remained loyal to Balfruga.

It must have been hard for him to accept that the duchess had betrayed the family he served so faithfully.

Naol covered his face with his hands for a long while, then let out a deep sigh.

“…Alright. Fine. I’ll deal with my feelings of betrayal later. First, we need to solve this.”

Thankfully, he knew what needed to be done.

His already pale and exhausted face now looked as if he had aged ten years in ten minutes.

“Whether it was the previous duchess or not—I don’t even want to call her that anymore—if the Reholas young lady was involved, the trick behind this fraud becomes very simple.”

Naol continued heavily.

“The previous duke likely never even saw these documents. Balfruga was in chaos at the time, and 50 million marks isn’t a large sum. With repayment set 30 years later, it would’ve been easy to overlook. And he never would’ve imagined that his trusted wife would secretly steal the seal and forge a fake promissory note.”

“I think so too.”

It was a plan spanning decades.

Just how persistently had the Reholas Marquis family been preparing to bring down Balfruga?

Now that I thought about it, they were truly persistent villains.

We should’ve crushed them before Ruse grew up.

Of course, my grown-up Ruse would destroy them anyway—but still, I should clear the path for my child.

“If this is truly fraud, then we need to act quickly. If we check the duke’s ledgers, it’ll show no record of receiving 50 million marks from the Reholas family. Once we find proof, we contact them immediately.”

“Then…”

“Fraud cases require double compensation, right?”

Naol’s expression brightened.

“My lady! I’m so glad you are our mistress!”

Then he bowed deeply.

“Thank you so much for coming to our ducal house.”

Seeing his sincerity made me feel strangely embarrassed.

I scratched my neck awkwardly.

“Yeah, whatever. I’m hungry. I’ll go eat. You rest and start working. And Birche, lock the merchant union in prison. We’ll talk to them one last time tomorrow… hmm. But.”

I gave a faint smile.

“I hope those merchants cooperate nicely with me. You understand what I mean, right?”

After thinking for a moment, Birche grinned.

“Yes! Don’t worry!”

* * *

Naol felt his heart burning.

That woman is truly the mistress of our ducal house.

When he first discovered Frug’s embezzlement, he thought she was just a lucky young girl.

He had decided to be loyal to her out of loyalty to Balfruga—but now it was different.

A “fear tactic operation.”

He had never even heard the term before, but she executed it flawlessly.

Of course, it was dangerous.

If the other side had thought calmly, it might not have worked.

So she trained the ducal guards—those ragtag soldiers—to create an atmosphere of fear.

The merchant union, who had dismissed her as just a child, was now in complete panic.

Even now, remembering it made him smile.

How dignified she looked when she sternly rebuked them from her chair!

She was truly someone fit to rule a noble house.

Despite her lovely appearance, she possessed the spirit of a sovereign.

She’s only fifteen years old…

If time passed and she came of age, how remarkable would she become?

He had been loyal to Balfruga, but he never imagined the house would regain its former glory.

He thought it would be enough just to survive without starving—but now, for the first time, he felt ambition.

With her, Balfruga might not only restore its former glory—but surpass it.

Naol saw hope in this ducal house for the first time.

* * *

After digging through the ledgers, proof that no money had ever been borrowed was quickly found.

The next day, I went to the prison with Birche.

“Ugh.”

The moment I stepped inside, I gagged.

The smell felt like it was stabbing straight into my brain instead of my nose.

“What is this smell?”

“We haven’t been able to properly maintain the prison for a while…”

Birche frowned as well.

Right. We had no money in the house—of course the prison hadn’t been maintained.

The Fox Merchant Union was locked up individually.

They all looked like they had spent a month in a haunted house overnight.

“P-please spare us! Madam! We truly know nothing!”

“It, it was all that man’s scheme! Please, we’ll do anything, just spare our lives!”

“My lady! I was blinded by greed!”

They reached out through the bars and begged me.

Hearing people beg is never pleasant.

But I hardened my heart.

I could not forgive them.

Even if they were driven by greed, they had attacked our house.

If I had not stopped them, it would have been me and Ruse—and everyone in our family—locked up here instead.

I looked at the two men glaring at me, unlike the others who begged.

Especially Lewan—his eyes were so murderous it was as if he could kill me eight times over just with his gaze.

“You don’t need to beg me. This will be handled according to the law of the kingdom.”

At my words, they became even more frantic.

“My lady! We cannot repay the money!”

“Please spare us!”

To them, 2 billion marks was impossible to repay, so my words must have sounded like a death sentence.

I smiled calmly.

“Why would you repay it? Isn’t your master the Marquis Reholas?”

Confusion spread across their faces.

But Lewan’s face turned to shock.

He lunged at me.

“You…!”

He reached through the bars to attack me, but Birche grabbed and twisted his arm.

“Aaargh!”

Listening to his scream, I continued.

“Your master is the Marquis Reholas, so the compensation should be demanded from him. Isn’t that right?”

* * *

Seeing Felia smiling in front of the prison, the merchants’ minds raced.

The Marquis Reholas?

What was she talking about?

They didn’t understand.

But at this point, they were already as good as doomed.

The Reholas family was wealthy—it wouldn’t be impossible for them to pay 2 billion marks.

They still didn’t fully understand what was happening, but surely the ducal house had a plan in mentioning the marquis’s name.

If they testified that Reholas was behind this, they might escape death and avoid repayment.

Of course, they might be killed by the marquis instead—but they didn’t think that little girl could extract anything from him.

Above all, survival came first.

The young man smiling beside their master looked kind, but to them he looked like a demon.

After finishing their calculations, the merchants shouted in unison:

“Yes! That’s right! It was the Marquis Reholas who sent us!”

“The Marquis Reholas ordered us!”

“Shut up! What nonsense are you talking about!”

Lewan shouted at them.

“No, it’s true! The Marquis Reholas plotted this!”

“Now that I think about it, you’re suspicious too! Maybe you’re the marquis’s puppet!”

“Exactly! You brought us here to silence us!”

It was a desperate accusation—but it landed too close to the truth.

“My lady! We’ll testify! We’ll say anything, just please spare us!”

The Fox Merchant Union clung desperately to their only chance of survival.

Lewan and his companions tried to stop them, but they could not silence men whose lives and families were at stake.

The tide had already turned.

Once the merchants testified and evidence was pulled from Lewan’s quarters, there would be no escape.

Only the Marquis Reholas remained.