Chapter 25
The room grew heavy under the Grand Duke’s command, but my own silence stemmed from a different source.
It was a startling realization: rather than condemning me on the spot, he had demanded proof. For a fleeting second, he didn’t feel like a distant patriarch, but like a true grandfather. That flicker of warmth made me pause, unsure of how to react.
“I have the proof right here, Father,” Aubrey interjected.
She still clutched Tedrick’s hand, her gaze drifting toward me with a look of staged sympathy.
“As you are aware, I manage Tulia’s wardrobe and her daily affairs. However… one of Tulia’s own servants came to me in a state of great distress to report something troubling.”
“Proceed,” the Grand Duke muttered.
“She claimed that Tedrick’s missing examination papers were secreted away, buried deep within the wardrobe in Tulia’s chambers.”
“And do you possess these papers now?”
“Goodness, no, Father!” Aubrey exclaimed, springing to her feet with an expression of wounded virtue. “I would never dream of rummaging through Tulia’s private things without permission. I actually reprimanded the girl for the suggestion, but after finding Tedrick’s room empty of his work, I realized the truth.”
She released her son and began to delicately pat the corners of her eyes with a lace handkerchief.
“This is our failing. Tulia is our own flesh and blood, and we should have raised her as our daughter. We were too lax with the servants, and their spite must have influenced her. It is heartbreaking that Tulia felt she had to resort to such a terrible act just to get our attention.”
Aubrey’s theatrical sobbing was abruptly silenced by a sharp call from Assis Grand Duke Frazier.
“Tedrick Frazier.”
“Yes… Grandfather!” the boy squeaked.
The title seemed to stumble out of his mouth, awkward and forced, though the rest of the room was too tense to notice the slip.
“Did you not place those documents in Tulia Frazier’s room with your own hands?”
The question hit like a physical blow. My eyes widened in shock, and I wasn’t alone. No one in the hall had expected Assis Grand Duke Frazier to openly side with me against the interests of Viscount Lilius.
I reflected on how this differed from the game I knew. In that world, Viscount Lilius was portrayed as the loyal, virtuous youngest son—the one the Grand Duke trusted above all others. That affection was the reason Lilius controlled half of the Frazier estate’s internal affairs, managing the wealth of a region that covered a third of the Empire. It was an immense, enviable power.
“I—I’ve been stuck inside! I couldn’t have gone there!” Tedrick stammered. “Grandfather, you can ask the guards! They’ll tell you!”
I suspected Rilda was the key. Aubrey and the Viscount were clearly working in tandem; this was a coordinated family effort.
“Father,” Viscount Lilius said, stepping forward to intervene. “Instead of debating this here, why don’t we simply go and verify the claim?”
The Grand Duke remained silent for a long moment before calling out.
“…Ruk Kelfosher.”
“At your service, Your Grace.”
“Go and conduct a search of—”
The Grand Duke cut himself off mid-sentence. He turned his gaze toward me.
“Tulia Frazier.”
“Yes?” I replied, surprised.
“Would you permit Ruk Kelfosher and his team of advisors to inspect your quarters?”
His voice was rough, devoid of any warmth. He was never a man of soft words or gentle nature. Yet, the fact that he was asking for my consent—that he was showing regard for my dignity—stirred something in me.
He was my family. A strange lump formed in my throat, and I looked down quickly, terrified that if I spoke too much, I might actually burst into tears.
“I have no objection, Grandfather. I want my name cleared as much as anyone.”
“…Very well.”
“However, I have one condition.”
“State it.”
The emotional weight of the moment was real, but I hadn’t forgotten my goal. I intended to make Tedrick pay for this twice over. I looked up, adopting the most pathetic, wronged expression I could muster.
“Because of Tedrick’s claims, everyone here looks at me with suspicion. To ensure there is no doubt about the truth, I would like any of the retainers who wish to see for themselves to accompany the search.”
The suggestion caught several of the officials off guard. They clearly hadn’t expected me to be so bold.
“That way,” I added softly, “no one can claim that Grandfather was simply being indulgent or covering up for my mistakes.”
Lilius was a man of quick instincts. The moment Tulia agreed to the search—and even invited the retainers to witness it—he knew the trap had failed. She had clearly anticipated them and moved the evidence.
“See? Our son is a genius,” Aubrey had whispered to him earlier.
He’d had a nagging doubt when she first proposed the scheme, but she had been so certain the papers were already planted that he felt they had to commit.
Now, he was already looking for a way out. Fortunately, Aubrey had mentioned a ‘tip-off.’ He could easily frame this as his wife being misled by a dishonest servant, leaving him blameless.
He cursed the maid, Rilda, in his mind. She was supposed to be a useful tool, but she had turned out to be a liability. He wanted to snap at Aubrey, but with the retainers watching and his father sitting there like a silent, predatory lion, he had to maintain his composure.
He wondered if Tulia had bribed the girl. She was supposed to be incompetent, but her father, Marquis Aster Frazier, was constantly sending riches back from the border. Aster’s reputation was untouchable; his successes at the frontier and the relics he recovered for the Emperor made him a hero. Lilius hated that he could never hope to match his brother’s shadow.
That resentment had been funneled into Tulia. He had made it his mission to ensure she grew up spoiled and dim-witted. He wasn’t a fool—he didn’t use violence. In a house this large, bruises drew questions. Instead, he used ‘kindness’ as a weapon, rotting her potential with indulgence until she was entirely dependent on them.
But something about this girl was different now.
“Look! The advisor is back,” someone whispered.
“Is that… in his hand?”
The murmurs rippled through the room.
“Are those the exams?”
Lilius’s heart leaped. Ruk Kelfosher was indeed carrying a stack of papers. It was the evidence!
A wave of relief washed over him. He glanced at Aubrey and Tedrick; they were doing their best to look somber, but he could feel their internal triumph. They had won.
“Your Grace,” Ruk said, his face a mask of professional neutrality as he presented the documents.
Lilius interpreted Ruk’s grim expression as disappointment. The advisor had always seemed to have a soft spot for the girl, so it made sense he’d be unhappy to find her guilty.
“These were discovered in the back of Miss Tulia’s wardrobe,” Ruk announced.
The Grand Duke took the papers, his face unreadable. Lilius felt a surge of satisfaction. Even if the Grand Duke favored Tulia, this proof would mean the end of her necklace ceremony. She would be confined to her rooms until her debutante ball, and her father would remain none the wiser.
As Lilius savored his victory, he noticed something odd.
“Here, use my handkerchief,” one retainer whispered to another.
“Thank you… I can’t believe it. The poor girl…”
Several of the men who had accompanied Ruk were visibly moved, some even wiping away tears. They looked at Tulia with profound pity, not condemnation.
Lilius felt a cold shiver of dread. Aubrey and Tedrick also seemed to realize that the atmosphere was wrong. This wasn’t the reaction of people who had just caught a thief.
They hadn’t set a trap; they had walked into one.
“Viscount Lilius Frazier.”
Lilius jumped at the sound of his father’s voice. The Grand Duke’s eyes, usually as cold as stone, now burned with a dangerous, sorrowful fire.
“Step forward and read these aloud. I want everyone to hear every word.”
