“Now, wait a minute! What are you talking about?! Tax evasion?! What the hell …!”

“We told you not to interfere until we finish our assigned task.”

There were no more kind explanations. The official’s response was sharp because Royer had already submitted the complaint along with the evidence.

They wouldn’t have dared to search the noble’s house if there wasn’t concrete evidence.

Having instructed a few accompanying knights to guard the room, the official began to thoroughly search the Duke’s property.

“Move away at once! Where did you hear such nonsense from! Do you even know where you are and you dare to do this?! Get out of my mansion! Let go of this!”

“Please stay calm!”

“Calm? You’re telling me to stay calm now?! How dare you?!”

Seeing the Duke, who was trying to forcefully leave the room, being held by the knights, Beth finally realized that everything had gone terribly wrong. She began to slowly back away, realizing that she needed to escape and contact the Duchess.

* * *

Since tax evasion was a sensitive issue, and as soon as Royer submitted the complaint, the enraged imperial family immediately clung to it.

Not even three hours after receiving the complaint, they came to the mansion to hear the details, which made Luna realize that the Duke wouldn’t easily get out of this.

For that reason, Luna had to continuously deal with the imperial family’s representatives, along with Deborah and Royer.

Then, suddenly, Rosemary came to visit Luna’s mansion.

“Lady Luna! Are you alright? Are you hurt anywhere?!”

She examined Luna from head to toe to ensure she wasn’t injured. Luna replied with a shake of her head.

“I’m fine. Lord Antes came to rescue me. And it looks like you’re more hurt than I am, Lady Rosemary.”

It wasn’t a joke. Rosemary indeed looked pale. Noticing Luna’s comment, Rosemary coughed and brushed her cheek with her hand.

“I just heard the news… Anyway, sometimes your brother is useful. Well, he’s strong so he should be utilized that way.”

Luna wanted to refute Rosemary’s sarcastic remark about Antes, but after witnessing him fall from the third floor and still be fine, she couldn’t argue.

But one thing puzzled her.

“How did you know about this matter? The imperial family strictly told me not to leak any information.”

The investigation was to be conducted in utmost secrecy.

Except for the parties involved in the case, no one else knew about it.

Even for a gossip like Rosemary, it should have been hard to get such information, so where did she hear it from?

“Uh, um, well, that is…”

Usually candid with Luna, Rosemary hesitated this time. She stuttered and rolled her eyes.

“Well… you know I have many friends. One of them… really! Anyway, I’m just glad you’re safe. You have no idea how shocked I was.”

Rosemary dodged a not-so-difficult question. Luna wanted to overlook this.

“But come to think of it, the trial is tomorrow, right?”

Rosemary’s following statement caught Luna off guard.

“…The trial is tomorrow? Really? I wasn’t informed.”

“How did you hear about it, Rosemary?”

Antes appeared right on cue. Removing his gloves, he sat next to Luna and pressed Rosemary.

“Well… that is…”

Cornered, Rosemary began to stutter again. Something was very off.

Rosemary quickly stood up, picked up her hat, and said her goodbyes.

“I’ll be going now! I feel like I’ve bothered you too much today! Have a good day!”

Luna became even more suspicious watching Rosemary hastily leave.

“What’s she talking about? She just arrived…”

Antes, sipping his tea, calmly spoke up.

“Looks like she’s made a friend in the imperial palace.”

“…A friend?”

“Yes. There have been sightings of Rosemary in the palace several times.”

Luna wasn’t particularly interested in Rosemary’s personal life, but the fact that suppliers to the imperial palace reported these sightings was intriguing.

“Well, Lady Rosemary has many connections.”

“No. This time she’s befriended someone in a very high position.”

It seemed as if he knew who it was from his response, and Luna’s curiosity was piqued, but she didn’t ask. Given how flustered and scared Rosemary had been, Luna didn’t want to pry any further.

“So, the trial is finally tomorrow? This tiresome bad relationship will finally end, right?”

“I suppose so.”

“If the Duke loses his title because of the trial, does that mean there will be no more Dukes in the Empire?”

“Probably. He has lost his honor, so he can’t pass on the title. Even if, by any chance, the title goes back to Fersen, his assets would be confiscated. I don’t think there’s any other eligible candidate, so it’s highly likely it’ll just vanish.”

Only the title remains for the Duke, having lost all his honor and assets due to tax evasion.

Luna, who thought that if it were her, she would feel so embarrassed that she’d want to hide away from the world, title or not.

As she contemplated, she gazed at Antes. It reminded her of a recent slip of the tongue about marriage, to which there was no reaction.

“Why? Do you have something to say?”

Antes, who asked, took Luna’s hand from the table and gently kissed the back of it.

“…No, it’s nothing.”

If he had tried to tease her in his usual playful manner, he could have teased her for a month, but he seemed to take it as a light joke.

Luna was truly relieved and smiled softly.

“Why not have a pre-trial dinner? Young lord can cook, and I’ll eat.”

“If the Lady wishes, absolutely.”

* * *

That evening, the imperial official who visited the mansion confirmed, as Rosemary said, that the trial would be held the next morning.

Once again, Luna wondered where Rosemary got the information, but she assumed Rosemary would tell her when the time came, so she went to bed early.

The next day, Luna, who got up at dawn and finished preparing, headed to the courthouse with Antes, Royer, and Deborah.

They unexpectedly encountered Crown Prince Callion stepping down from a lavish carriage.

“It’s been a while. Lady Peils, young lord Vincent.”

“What’s with that tone? Disgusting.”

Anthes showed his displeasure clearly upon hearing Callion using such formalities like the ‘young lord’. Callion responded with a strange smile.

“I might not be able to call you that anymore. Young lord Vincent.”

“You finally got the idea to sew that mouth shut?”

Even with Antes’s snide reply, Callion laughed heartily and disappeared into the courthouse. He was an incomprehensible person.

“But his gold decorations have decreased. In the past, he used to wear them excessively.”

When exaggerated, he used to look like a display stand, but now it seemed moderate.

“It seems he finally realized they were strange.”

Antes replied nonchalantly and gently brushed Luna’s back, indicating they should head inside and stop talking about that guy.

Luna nodded in agreement and proceeded. Inside the courtroom, many serious-looking nobles were seated.

“Those who aren’t involved can’t attend this closed trial, so they must be the families of the people involved.”

It was a logical assumption. Some had swollen eyes, and some were tearing up.

Luna spotted a young boy comforting his crying mother with a handkerchief.

“Mom, does it hurt? Are you okay?”

“…Sob.”

“Do we need to go to the hospital? But where’s dad?”

Seeing this, Luna felt uneasy and turned away. She held Antes’s hand and looked straight ahead.

Soon after, the Emperor and the Crown Prince appeared in the courtroom, and the criminals involved in the case were brought in and knelt on the ground.

Their faces looked distressed, probably from torture, and their clothes looked worn out.

Having done this much to a noble and an imperial official indicated there was no way out.

Thus, in front of the royals who would give the final verdict, the criminals shivered in terror.

Among them, the Duke, who had been gazing at the floor, turned his head and widened his eyes when he saw Luna and Deborah seated in the audience.

“…Why…?!”

He apparently hadn’t heard about Luna and Deborah switching clothes and stealing evidence.

Only then did the Duke realize how the situation went wrong and why he was cornered, and he couldn’t hide his evil expression and poured out his anger.