Lord Baby Runs A Romance Fantasy With Cash [EN]: Chapter 131

☆ Chapter 131 ☆

“I am deeply disappointed that such unsavory incidents continue to occur at a festival meant to showcase the talents of those who will lead the Empire’s future…”

Though the Empress spoke with an air of authority, the nobles’ gazes upon her showed no reverence.

The Empress’s eyebrows twitched.

“Are these nobles so easily swayed by the words of a young lady who has not even reached adulthood and bears no responsibility?”

At her rebuke, Count Fermain spoke up.

“Isn’t it too significant to dismiss as just the words of a young lady?”

“What?!”

“Your Majesty, we are not fools. Lady Micheloain answered questions that she could only have known with prior access to the question papers.”

“And she implicated Your Majesty as the source of the leak. We are merely making a reasonable deduction based on these circumstances.”

“That is just Lady Micheloain’s one-sided claim. How dare you suspect me, the Empress of the Empire, without proper evidence!”

“Not at all. How could we dare? However, since Lady Micheloain has made such claims, it is necessary to hear her account in detail. Publicly, that is.”

The Empress’s jaw, strained with tension, trembled.

She turned her ire towards Marquis Micheloain.

“Marquis Micheloain, what are your thoughts?”

The Marquis Micheloain paused in silence.

He was, in truth, quite bewildered.

How had things come to this? A leaked questionnaire, and the Empress implicated?

She had never once caused him trouble.

Prudent, upright, and well-mannered, with excellent academic achievements.

He had thought her the perfect heir to Micheloain.

How could her first transgression be so grave?

A sense of unavoidable disappointment welled up in his chest.

Whether the allegation against the Empress was true or not, the esteemed reputation of the Micheloain family was sure to plummet.

“…Given the gravity of the matter, I understand the desire of others to hear Claudia’s side of the story.”

However.

There was something more important than his disappointment.

“However, Claudia is still young. Subjecting her to a public interrogation before so many people would likely scar her deeply.”

The Marquis Micheloain did not for a moment believe that his daughter had lied.

Someone might have deceived Claudia, but he could not imagine that a child who understood the consequences of her words would implicate the Empress and utter falsehoods.

It must have been a statement made with resolve.

But even if his child was prepared to face the storm, a parent’s instinct was to shield them at all costs.

“I implore you to consider her young age and allow her to be questioned in a quiet, more stable environment.”

The Empress seized upon his words.

“I fully understand the Marquis’s concern. While I am deeply displeased that Lady Micheloain invoked my name, I cannot allow emotional reasons to inflict an indelible wound on a young lady.”

“Why would having many eyes watching be a source of trauma? Lady Micheloain has already appeared before many people on several occasions!”

“How to overcome the pressure of being watched by many is also an evaluation factor in the Dawn Festival. To suddenly cite the gaze of others as an excuse now…”

“Is this the same thing? It is clear what kind of looks Lady Micheloain would receive if she came out into the hall now.”

“Children who make mistakes at the Dawn Festival also receive unpleasant looks. Why have you not opposed the Dawn Festival all along? It inflicts just as much of an indelible wound on the children.”

“Count Fermain, do not stray from the point.”

“I am merely stating what I believe.”

A tense standoff.

The Empress had reasons why she could never back down, and Count Fermain’s faction could not miss the opportunity to undermine the Imperial Family’s credibility.

Both sides engaged in a tedious back-and-forth without yielding an inch.

The Empress glanced sideways at the Emperor.

‘What on earth are you thinking!’

How could the Emperor, who regarded Count Fermain’s faction—allied with the local magnates of the Northwest—as a thorn in his side, remain silent?

If they proceeded with a public interrogation, not only would she be ruined, but the prestige of the Imperial Family would also plummet!

‘The longer this drags on, the worse it will be for me.’

The nobles would suspect why the Empress was so opposed to a public interrogation.

‘I need to do something, anything, now….’

It was then.

The doors of the hall opened, and someone entered.

“Lady Micheloain?!”

The eye of the storm had arrived in person.

* * *

As Claudia stepped into the hall, she flinched under the weight of the gazes that poured over her.

She had resolved to be composed before entering, but it was far from easy.

The murmurs of the crowd seemed to condemn her.

‘It’s okay, it’s okay.’

Repeating the words Luatisha had whispered in her ear, she slowly walked towards the platform.

If only that child were here with her.

To rely so heavily on a child so much younger than herself was absurd.

But Luatisha had an aspect of an ancient tree, standing firm and tall.

She found herself leaning on her without realizing it.

“Lady Micheloain, I cannot come in with you.”

“…I know. This is my burden to bear.”

“That’s not what I mean. My presence might be disadvantageous to you.”

“Disadvantageous to me?”

“The Empress will claim that I colluded with you to slander her.”

“That….”

“She will definitely do that. In these matters, something other than the truth often gains power.”

“Even so, that’s too far-fetched.”

“Even such an absurd claim would greatly help the Empress by diverting the issue and buying time.”

“Buying time…? You mean destroying evidence.”

“Yes. Lady Micheloain only has the questionnaire; she doesn’t have solid proof that the Empress coerced her.”

“…I acted too rashly.”

“Don’t blame yourself. You showed courage that no one else could easily muster.”

“…Thank you.”

“Don’t worry too much. The truth cannot be hidden. It will eventually come to light.”

With those words, Luatisha grinned.

Unlike her righteous and pious words, her smile was sly, as if she had something up her sleeve.

‘That’s strange.’

Just recalling that sly smile, her pounding heart gradually calmed down.

“Claudia.”

The Marquis and Marchioness Micheloain rushed towards Claudia.

“Father, I….”

“Let’s talk later. There are too many eyes watching.”

At her father’s curt words, Claudia lowered her head powerlessly.

The Marquis Micheloain, seeing his daughter’s dejected appearance, quietly said,

“Don’t lower your head.”

“……”

“You are the pride and glory of Micheloain. Revealing the truth in that situation is difficult for anyone. But you did it.”

“……!”

“So be confident.”

Claudia raised her head to look at her father.

“Accept your sins with dignity, and rectify what needs to be rectified with dignity.”

Her father’s profile was sternly set, but Claudia sensed affection within it.

“Yes.”

The Marchioness Micheloain firmly grasped her daughter’s hand.

Lady Micheloain took a deep breath and stepped forward.

“Your Imperial Majesty, may I be permitted to speak?”

“In this matter, we cannot help but listen to Lady Micheloain. Speak freely.”

The nobles watching were somewhat surprised by the Emperor’s ready permission.

“Two days ago, Her Imperial Majesty the Empress summoned me separately and gave me the questions, ordering me to prepare the answers.”

“Lady Micheloain!”

The Empress cried out in shock, but Claudia did not stop speaking.

“Moreover, after advancing to the finals of the Dawn Festival and becoming partners with Prince Esteban, Her Imperial Majesty summoned me frequently, urging me to achieve good results in each competition.

Many attendants must have witnessed me entering and exiting the Empress’s palace.”

“That must have been encouragement, not coercion. I never knew that saying ‘do your best’ would come back like this. Lady Micheloain, are you now accusing my goodwill of having malicious intent?!”

“If it were truly encouragement to do my best, you wouldn’t have threatened me with my family’s name.”

“……!”

Lady Micheloain’s words stirred the hall.

“Threats? Did the Empress really threaten the Lady?”

“Oh my, then the story is different, isn’t it? Lady Micheloain didn’t want to commit fraud but was forced to follow Her Majesty’s orders….”

“That doesn’t erase the wrong of looking at the leaked questions and preparing the answers in advance.”

“No. To be precise, she pretended to do so but perfectly revealed the truth in the end.”

“Rather, it’s right to see that she answered accurately in order to reveal it at the right time. Because if she had spoken when everyone wasn’t watching, there was a high possibility that it would be buried.”

“Lady Micheloain is intelligent, but she is still young. How scared she must have been when a powerful person like the Empress threatened her.”

“And yet she revealed the truth…. How could a young lady be so brave? She could be misunderstood herself.”

The atmosphere inside Diluculum Hall changed.

Lady Micheloain could feel more clearly than anyone that the gazes directed at her had turned favorable.

‘The Paeraton Princess was right.’

Claudia clenched her fist tightly.

She was confident in studying academics, but she was weak in these kinds of political and social aspects.

The Paeraton Princess’s advice was definitely helpful.

Although she wasn’t here, it felt like that child was still giving her strength.

“Your Majesty, are Lady Micheloain’s words true?!”

“The leak of the questionnaire is not the only problem. To threaten such a young lady!”

“How can we feel safe like this?! I don’t know if Her Majesty the Empress called my children and threatened them with our family’s name!”

“The innocent children would have believed it if Her Majesty the Empress said, ‘I will ruin your family’!

The nobles, one after another, hurled arrows of criticism at the Empress.

“Silence! How could the Empress do such a thing? Aren’t you going too far?”

The Empress’s faction tried to change the atmosphere, but it was not enough.

The Empress clenched her fist and glared at the hall.

‘Those who were desperate to get on my good side just a few months ago are now openly criticizing me like this…!’

Then, the Empress caught sight of her close aide.

He nodded his head emphatically.

‘It’s done!’

The Empress smiled with satisfaction.

Destruction of evidence.

Everything was ultimately just Lady Micheloain’s words.

Without evidence, it would ultimately just be a commotion caused by a young lady who didn’t know her place and acted rashly.

The leak of the questionnaire could be blamed on another scapegoat.

“Is there any evidence?”

The Empress glared at Lady Micheloain.

“If such a thing really happened, evidence would have been left behind. Surely, you have come forward so confidently because the evidence is certain!”

Lady Micheloain bit her lip.

The Empress smiled deeply at the sight.

She wasn’t a fool either.

She hadn’t given Lady Micheloain any evidence in her hands.

‘If you were the Paeraton Princess, you would have had me write a document stating that I would no longer threaten you with your family’s name after this was over, and had me stamp it with my seal.’

But Lady Micheloain hadn’t done that.

‘The only evidence is the questionnaire, but my seal isn’t on it, and it has nothing to do with me.’

“Could it be that there isn’t any?”

“……”

“Without any evidence, you lightly used your mouth to slander me, the Empress of the Empire! This is not something to overlook just because you are young!”

The Empress wore a victorious smile.

No matter what the nobles thought inside, if she could finish it off as slander, there was still a way to survive.

Because she had a son who was closest to the position of the next Emperor!

It was at that moment.

“There is evidence.”

A clear child’s voice echoed loudly throughout the hall.

The gazes of the people turned towards the door.

Luatisha strode into the hall with a bright smile.

“There are plenty of evidence and witnesses here, Your Majesty. Is that enough now?”

Behind the ten-year-old child, holding documents firmly, several of the Empress’s aides stood with their heads bowed.

Even the aide who had nodded earlier, signaling to the Empress that he had destroyed the evidence!

The Empress’s pupils trembled as if an earthquake had struck.