# 72 - 72
Viscount Lilius, who was smiling wryly, immediately began organizing the office himself.
He had to finish his work before his father returned.
The granddaughter whom Grand Duke Assis Fraser favored most at that time was none other than Tullia Fraser.
He had already prepared excuses to accuse Grand Duke Fraser, who would be extremely angry upon hearing the news.
First, I will beg for mercy towards my blood relatives.
He also planned to mention the name of the late Grand Duchess, his mother.
“Mom, in times like these, I feel really grateful that you had me as your youngest child.”
It was a hum full of sarcasm.
Because the late Grand Duchess cherished him very much as her youngest son, he too was able to obtain great privileges in the Grand Duchy.
Of course, he was fully aware that his parents had not gotten along well during her life.
However, perhaps out of courtesy to the Grand Duchess who had married far away, the Grand Duke of Assis paid “special” attention to the objects she had left behind.
“Damn it! Why didn’t my mother leave that land to me, getting me into this mess!”
While he was getting angry and frantically checking the amounts in the various accounts.
Knock knock.
"Damn it! Why do they keep coming! There's not enough time before I transfer everything to the fake accounts!"
There was no response to his angry screams.
For a moment, Viscount Lilius felt strangely uneasy and stopped his actions.
And again, knock, knock, there came a knock on the door.
The dignity of maintaining sufficient tact even in emergency situations.
As Viscount Lilius stared with his mouth open, the tightly closed office door opened.
“…!”
Viscount Lilius's face froze completely.
“Did you say fake accounts?”
Elegant sound yet razor sharp.
The chief advisor who worked alongside Grand Duke Fraser's acolyte for decades, Roc Culvaucher.
He was standing there accompanied by a number of advisors.
“Viscount Lilius. Did we hear wrong?”
“This is…”
“No.”
Rock Kilfusher smiled politely but coldly. He was the right-hand man of the Grand Duke Assis Fraser, famous for his coldness, careful calculations, and cruelty.
For the first time in his life, Viscount Lilius Fraser felt that Roc Kilfusher's smile was frightening.
“Report the rest directly to His Highness the Grand Duke.”
“Fa, has Dad arrived already?!”
When exactly?!
Viscount Lilius turned involuntarily.
One side of the desk.
Through the large stained-glass window that occupied nearly half of the wall, all that was visible was a beautiful, peaceful, and elegant garden.
There was not even a trace of the usual fanfare that accompanied the return of Grand Duke Assis Fraser, lord of the castle and king of this grand duchy.
No welcome from dozens or hundreds of servants.
No greeting from the knights.
Even the sound of the trumpet that was supposed to resonate loudly was not heard.
This means…
Grand Duke Fraser returned to the castle quietly on purpose.
Viscount Lilius swallowed his dry saliva.
His hands were shaking violently. He felt as if all the blood vessels in his body were pulsing madly as if they were escaping poison.
Without realizing it, he tried to count the number of advisors standing behind Rock Culfusher, but he soon realized that it was a meaningless act.
Even he, who had owned 25% of the local administrative authority for over ten years, could not even recognize half of Grand Duke Assis Fraser's subordinates.
Will my advisors who are hiding assets be safe?!
Will my money be safe?!
Frantically transferring family assets into fictitious accounts before such a major event occurred was, to say the least, theft.
In all seriousness, that was embezzlement.
According to the strict imperial law of the Briang Empire, even his son Viscount Lilius Fraser was a "vassal" of Grand Duke Asses Fraser.
Embezzling an employee's funds was a serious crime.
It's so serious that he may be stripped of his title or, depending on the severity, he may lose his head!
No, that's not it.
Grand Duke Assis Fraser might have sent Rock Culvoucher forward first.
The Grand Duke's aide Fraser was strict about his own duties and never missed scheduled inspections of his lands.
No matter how much he favored her, he was not the type to return without completing a search of his area just because his granddaughter was injured.
Viscount Lilius placed his little hope in the ice-cold character of Assis Grand Duke Fraser, but...
“These are the orders of His Highness the Grand Duke to bring you.”
His expectations were shattered to pieces.
* * *
The main palace of the Grand Duke's House had a total of twelve meeting rooms.
Meeting rooms, which vary in size, are opened or closed depending on the importance of the agenda being discussed that day.
The place where they would meet today was a small meeting room.
Although it was small in size compared to the Grand Conference Hall or the Central Conference Hall, it was decorated more luxuriously.
It was a place that was only opened when discussing “very important matters.”
The last time it was opened was several years ago.
In other words, it was also a direct indication of how seriously Grand Duke Fraser's Assis was taking this incident in which Tullia was injured.
“Everyone, please have a seat.”
Grandpa's low, solemn voice echoed throughout the meeting room.
Only the elderly were granted the right to attend this gathering.
They sat in their seats without making a sound.
“…”
Houses of the rank of marquis and above typically included an entourage referred to as “sheikhs.”
While they stood up to Grand Duke Assis Fraser, they worked to point the Grand Duchy in the right direction.
The blue-blooded nobility in kingdoms was usually divided into the “Noble Faction,” the “Royal Faction,” and the “Neutral Faction.”
Since the Fraser were also grand ducal families and the territory itself was originally huge, it had a similar structure to the other kingdoms.
The difference is that all nobles are loyal to Grandpa.
The elders were no different.
However, the elders were only chosen from among the nobles who were as old as the ancient giant trees and who had accumulated unimaginable experience and achievements.
Therefore, even the direct descendants of the Fraser simply could not regard the elders as mere lackeys and found it difficult to deal with them.
Thanks to that, the meeting room where all the elders gathered was as quiet as death itself.
“It totally ruined the atmosphere, seriously.”
I was sitting in a seat even higher than the Senate seats.
“Because I am completely the victim.”
On either side of me sat Lysiane and that man, Leon Fraser, side by side.
“Thinking about it, Leon was also hit by an arrow.”
Although I lost consciousness briefly, unlike me, he quickly regained consciousness and was energetic, so I momentarily forgot about it.
The fact that when Tedric Fraser shot the arrow, he got hit while protecting me.
Even now, honestly, you can't tell just by looking at his appearance.
That man, Leon Fraser, did not look like someone who had been hit by that magic arrow.
If it weren't for the bandages tightly wrapped around his shoulder and back, not only would I have forgotten about it, but perhaps others would have forgotten about it as well.
Leon Fraser was also a “victim.”
“I'm sure everyone realizes how serious this is today without me having to say it.”
While I was momentarily distracted by Leon Fraser's shoulder, my grandfather's voice echoed throughout the room.
It was a truly predatory sound, a sound that made one shiver involuntarily.
“Viscount Lilius Fraser.”
Grandpa looked at Viscount Lilius.
“If you have something to say, speak up.”
Viscount Lilius, who had become incredibly thin over the past few days, stared at me with reddened eyes.
then.
“Tulia must have conspired with the Magic Tower.”
He came up with something really silly.
“Viscount Lilius!”
There was a voice screaming in protest.
“What a ridiculous slander!”
It was a Grand Mage from the Magic Tower who had been urgently summoned to the Grand Duchy.
“So, they finally brought out a great wizard.”
Well, considering that their opponent was the Grand Ducal House.
They might have been frantically discussing among themselves whether the Tower Master should come.
"Slander? You call it slander?"
At the chief magician's response, Viscount Lilius became even more angry and shouted.
“If this was not the fault of the Magic Tower, then why did my son and I, through no fault of ours, shoot Tullia?! Tullia must have colluded with the Magic Tower to discredit us, father and son!”
“Pfft.”
Oh, my God.
I laughed out loud unintentionally, then quickly hid my expression.
“What is the meaning of that laugh, Tulia Fraser?”
The person who pointed out my laughter with a heavy, sharp voice was none other than Count Nigella Fraser.
I blinked and answered.
“I apologize, uncle.”
“…”
“Uncle Lilius told such an unbelievable lie that I accidentally choked.”
I didn't laugh, I choked.
It's a physiological response, so what can you do about it?
“Ahem.”
Of course, this was behavior unbecoming of a nobleman and lacking in dignity.
Perhaps because of my words about “an unthinkable lie,” Count Nigella Fraser could not press the matter any further.
“Attention. This is a solemn occasion.”
"Yes."
Obedient answer.
The silence was short.
“I don't understand what Viscount Lilius is saying.”
Because one of the sheikhs began to question the basic issue.
“Why would Miss Tulia conspire with the Magic Tower?”
“…”
“The young lady has no reason to do such a thing, does she?”
Although Tullia Fraser was certainly a notorious troublemaker in the high society of the Grand Duchy.
She wasn't bold enough to conspire with the Magic Tower to shoot herself, she wasn't that smart, and she didn't have a strong influence within this grand duchy.
In short, she was just a helpless young woman.
“In a way, I feel like I'm insulting myself when I think about this.”
The sheikh turned his gaze to me and asked me.
“Do you have any reason to do such a thing?”
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