Chapter 70
* * *
Being thrown out of the Deacon Marquisate had been only the beginning. The real crisis came afterward. The true owner of the invitation, Count Nicol Armand, had filed a complaint against them.
Bill Caneze was dumbfounded.
“A complaint?! He filed a complaint against me?!”
He raged inside the dining room of a relative’s house where he was currently staying. The residence belonged to a Baron who was his sixth cousin, and the man was already regretting his decision to let this distant relative stay.
‘To think the family that exploited the Crown Prince’s Guide was the Caneze household.’
The Baroness didn’t even come down to the dining room, claiming she had a headache. She had told her husband to deal with the father and daughter himself. The Baron shot a cold glance at Bill, who was shouting in anger while clutching the complaint.
Unlike him, who couldn’t contain his fury, Helena was eating breakfast gracefully, as if she had never caused such a scene.
“How can this be! Do you know how much I paid for that invitation?! It was clearly something sold with the count’s permission!”
“Perhaps His Highness’s side persuaded the count.”
It wasn’t unheard of for a servant of a noble house to sell an invitation addressed to their master, but in most cases it was done with the owner’s consent. This usually happened in families short on money, and in such cases, they would never admit they had sold it for money, for the sake of their dignity.
The Crown Prince had taken advantage of this and persuaded Count Armand to file a complaint against Bill and his daughter. In the complaint, it was written as if the two had impersonated Count Armand.
“This is truly unfair! I am a noble myself, how could I impersonate anyone!”
“Father, please calm down first.”
Helena remained composed. Since her father had already been sentenced once for exploiting a servant, she believed that even if this matter was added, it wouldn’t damage their honor much further.
“At most, it will result in a fine. If we apply for mediation, we can likely settle it with money. Count Armand is short on funds, after all.”
She didn’t know how far the Crown Prince had planned when persuading Count Armand, but she didn’t believe this matter would lead to imprisonment. Misusing invitations was a common occurrence. If the punishment were too severe, there would be others who protested.
“Aren’t you angry? You didn’t even get to lay a hand on that girl, and now we are about to lose a great deal of money again…”
“I heard some good news.”
Helena said this as she spread butter on her bread. When Bill looked at her as if demanding she speak immediately, she took a bite and chewed slowly. Bill’s expression twisted.
“Helena!”
“Fine, I’ll tell you. An Imperial Princess from the Nabel Empire is coming.”
“Nabel? What use is it for a princess from that country to come? Our nations are on terms where war wouldn’t be surprising.”
The indifference on Bill’s face quickly changed. His eyes lit up as he looked at Helena.
“Don’t tell me that princess is a Guide?!”
“She’s an S-Class.”
Despite the delight on the faces of the Caneze father and daughter, the Baron felt conflicted. It wasn’t as though this country lacked S-Class Guides.
‘Even so, what is the point if the match rate is poor?’
The Baron sighed as he had tea poured. Judging by the situation, it seemed his distant relatives wouldn’t be leaving his residence anytime soon.
* * *
The speed at which the documents were being processed was fast. That didn’t mean there were errors. Anyone who served him knew that their liege possessed a brilliant mind. Even so, because his physical condition had been worsening, his review of documents had slowed, but now it was different.
‘This is a good sign.’
Christian thought this as he carried away the approved papers. On the surface, the Crown Prince’s waves had not visibly stabilized, but his irritability had lessened, and his work had become faster.
It was likely because he was scheduled to meet Baroness Linier that afternoon to receive guiding.
Even after morning training, he no longer broke things or drove palace staff away. What pleased Christian most of all was that he had stopped drinking the unknown potions sent from the Mage Tower.
Although he knew they were wave suppressants, their appearance was different from those distributed on the market, and he couldn’t help but be suspicious.
‘His condition can’t yet be called good… but this much is still a great improvement!’
Rumors had spread that Baroness Linier had met the Empress for tea, so his lord seemed uneasy. Recently, their guiding sessions had taken the form of Kasselard going to see Ephinia. So today would likely be the same.
However, since they had grown fairly close lately, he seemed to hope she would come to see him before leaving the Imperial Palace. If it were a close friend, he would have had them turned away on the grounds that he was working, but Ephinia was always an exception.
When the time came that she should have finished her tea and returned, the Crown Prince began glancing toward the office door. He was even tapping his leg with anxiety. At this rate, Christian felt tempted to advise him to simply send someone to ask her to come.
“Your Highness! Baroness Linier has arrived!”
The attendant’s cheerful voice didn’t seem to be his imagination.
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