Chapter 30

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Translator: Harry Potta

Chapter: 30

Chapter Title: The Crown I'll Take from You

-----------------------------------------------------------------

As a result, it came to light that she had siphoned off and embezzled royal goods from over twenty departments under her management.

Several chests brimming with gold turned up in Lady Quizin's home.

Even more astonishing was the revelation that the Black Eye Trading Company—the royal family's official trading partner—had colluded in her embezzlement.

"They kept double books, apparently. Inflated the amounts on paper, procured the goods, and split the surplus between the two of them. Must've been a sweet little world they had going!"

When the royal knights burst in, the head of the Black Eye Trading Company fled.

"So in the end, they just sat there dumbfounded while the ledgers were snatched away?"

Joaquin Claudio.

The man more commonly known as Duke Claudio or the Regent Duke made no effort to hide his irritation.

"The auditors, led by the knights, tore through the palace and her home like a storm."

Duchess Catherine Claudio was just as flustered.

"Damn it all, what the hell was Etienne doing? What was the Interior Minister up to?!"

If the Interior Minister had been around, the situation would have played out very differently.

He would have sealed the lips of everyone involved and buried the scandal somehow.

"But it just so happened that he was attacked near the chapel and has been in seclusion ever since."

Terrified by the mysterious assassination attempt near the chapel, the minister had refused to return to the palace until the culprit was caught.

And in the meantime, Prime Minister Sise had swooped in like a tempest.

He hadn't even given Duke Claudio a chance to get a proper handle on the situation.

The Queen Dowager and Prime Minister Sise took the opportunity to dismantle the royal trading company entirely, all in the name of preventing such abuses.

They eliminated the monopoly on royal supply contracts—the very chance to line their pockets.

"Damn it, you should have stopped it at least!"

For the duke, this was a far more painful blow than Lady Quizin's death.

The Black Eye Trading Company had been his secret source of funds.

'The head fled, and the money's been laundered multiple times, so the trail shouldn't lead back to me.'

The duke twisted his mouth into an ugly grimace.

Just recently, the rebels had contacted him, pressing for the funds he owed. He'd blown the money meant for them on repurchasing Medea's jewels.

'I figured the Black Eye Trading Company would refill the coffers right away...!'

Who could have foreseen things turning out like this?

There was a hole in his money pouch, and it didn't look like it would be patched anytime soon.

To think that Lady Quizin's petty move to chop off a niece's hand and foot had ballooned into this typhoon.

His head throbbed.

His wife felt just as wronged by his scolding.

"It all happened right in front of my eyes—no time to lift a finger. How was I supposed to stop it? Did I know Quizin would lose her mind like that? Did I expect Her Majesty to swing the sword so suddenly?"

The Queen Dowager had punished everyone connected to the affair without mercy. The blade she wielded still carried immense weight.

Under the guise of restoring discipline as the royal family's elder, her commands were beyond reproach—no one could openly defy them.

The duke furrowed his brow.

"Get ready. We need to go see Mother."

With the royal trading company dissolved, he had to at least reclaim the position of royal head maid.

He hurried to seek out the Queen Dowager.

But like a man parched of all sense, he failed to realize that his mother's fury was still raging fiercely.

"A new head maid? With all this chaos in the palace, that's what matters most to you over cleaning it up?"

Far from sweet-talking the Queen Dowager, he got thoroughly dressed down.

"...It was my failing. I have no excuse."

He apologized for now.

His aged mother held no terror for him, but her position as Queen Dowager was too thorny an enemy to make.

So on the surface, he played the role of the dutiful, affectionate son.

"Mother. But how could you handle such grave matters so rashly without even consulting me? If you'd only waited a little longer—"

The Queen Dowager's face darkened.

"How much longer should I wait? Until scoundrels like Quizin climb right over my head?"

His wife Catherine chimed in.

"He has a point, Your Majesty. We can't air the palace's dirty laundry so abruptly. To avoid tarnishing Princess Her Highness's honor, we need more thorough preparations..."

Dragging the princess into it was always a reliable excuse. Playing the doting aunt and uncle came naturally to the ducal couple.

"Catherine, she was your childhood friend, wasn't she? You really had no idea?"

But instead of the usual praise, the Queen Dowager fixed them with a sharp gaze.

"Mother, I was deceived too! Even after ten years of knowing her, I never dreamed she harbored such venom. After she became head maid, I deliberately cut off contact to avoid any misunderstandings."

Catherine made excuses, claiming her duties as duchess had kept her too busy for visits.

"I suppose you were busy. Birna was so wounded by that paper cut, she even refused my summons."

Every word she flung was loaded.

"Now, the two of you return to the ducal house. Vacate the cottage house too. I've kept you here far too long."

She'd meant to summon them separately, but since they were here, the Queen Dowager spoke up.

"Cadets shouldn't linger in the palace. I've been the bad example, flouting solemn national law, and now people mock the royals. It's time to set things right."

The moment the word "cadet branch" left her mother's lips, a cold glint flashed in the Regent Duke's eyes.

Catherine was startled too.

Return to the ducal house? Was the Queen Dowager driving them out of the palace?

"The wicked always find cracks anywhere. Whatever Your Majesty does as the royal family's elder will set the example—what's there to worry about?"

Catherine masked her panic with flattery.

"Besides, if we leave and Your Majesty falls ill, we'll be pacing day and night from afar, hearts in knots."

But the mother-in-law's face remained icy, unmoved.

"Catherine. Is your reluctance to leave the palace truly out of concern for me?"

"What? Why say such hurtful things? If Your Majesty isn't well, what more could I wish for in this palace?"

"Exactly, Mother. You know her better than anyone."

The Queen Dowager regarded the couple silently.

"Enough. If that's your story, so be it. My head aches. You may go."

She waved them off, signaling no more talk.

In the end, the Claudio ducal couple left the Queen Dowager Palace in dejection, expelled like unwelcome guests.

"The second one... his greed knows no bounds."

As the Queen Dowager pressed her forehead and leaned back, Marchioness Pinatelli offered her a cup of warm tea.

"...Are you all right, Your Majesty?"

"Hyenas lurk everywhere, just waiting for their chance. This palace has become a juicy slab of meat, drool pooling all around."

Even though the mess stemmed from the person she'd recommended, they showed no remorse—instead scheming to seize control again.

Her trusted second son was a profound disappointment.

'With the master away, only rats infest the house—Baldina hangs by a thread.'

The Queen Dowager sighed. She bore some responsibility for the outcome too.

"The living must go on living, yet I've lingered too long in the fog. How my ancestors must curse this fool."

The Queen Dowager scowled and turned away.

"Pinatelli."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"You're the only one I can trust. Someone to manage this slab of meat fairly, without greed."

"Your Majesty's words..."

"Take on the role of royal head maid."

Surprise washed over Marchioness Pinatelli's face.

Her usually composed voice trembled slightly, as if she'd never seen it coming.

"I couldn't possibly. I swore to God to serve at Your Majesty's side for life. For royal head maid, I'll find someone more fitting, someone Your Majesty will approve of."

"I once swore to protect you for life. But for Baldina's sake, even God will forgive it."

The Queen Dowager took Marchioness Pinatelli's hand.

Since entering the palace young, the marchioness had stood faithfully by her side for the past twenty years, unwavering.

"In all this vast place, you're the only one I can fully trust and entrust it to. Everyone's blinded by the prize of royal head maid, scheming to fill their bellies—even my own son Claudio."

"Mother, but how could you handle such grave matters so rashly without even consulting me?"

Claudio's arrogant words echoed in the Queen Dowager's mind. They sounded nothing like a vassal's plea.

'Joaquin... he's not aiming for a place he shouldn't, is he? No, my son wouldn't...'

A faint unease brushed over her.

'I must clean house. To keep the second one from entertaining foolish notions.'

The spark of suspicion ignited, clearing the haze from the Queen Dowager's vision at last.