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Chapter 188: Not Baker Street just a Bakery (4)

The light then subsided. The incident instantly stopped.

All guests of the luxurious tavern, Blois, were down on the ground in front of us.

They must have known that they did something wrong as they were all pale as they looked at the Imperial Crown Prince and me.

Christelle ran over to Modeste Bacary and pulled out her handkerchief.

The young seer was dripping blood but managed to pick his body up to lean against the wall.

He tried to push away her goodwill, but…

“Bad.”

I quickly withdrew my Holy Land, walked up to him, and opened up a healing circle.

His bloodied eyes became filled with shock.

The sharp errand boys prepared a couch for Crown Prince Cédric while that was going on.

Vice Captain Élisabeth was looking at the faces of the nobles and writing something in a notebook.

‘Yes, all of them should be summoned by the Imperial Guard to be interrogated.’

[The Almighty God’s tears shall gather your blood.]

– Shaaaaaaaaaaaa……

I quickly chanted the incantation.

The pebbles of ethers rose up from the circle and gathered at Bacary’s forehead, nose, and cheeks.

Christelle created a water drop to wash away his blood.

Plop. I got upset again seeing the liquid gathering on the ground.

‘Damn it.’

[You are all adults. ADULTS. Captain Bacary is barely twenty years old. He’s only been an adult for four years. He barely just got past his teens. He may have a high position but he is still a child. What did you do to someone much younger than you?]

“Mmph, mmph……”

[I did not ask that because I wanted an answer. I am asking because I am angry. Even if the Captain did make you angry, who beats someone until they are injured like this? Is this something that the nobles of the Empire, who should be setting an example for others, should behave? Feel free to answer if you have a mouth.]

“Mm……”

Of course, they could not say anything. I had given them a Divine Oracle to shut their damn mouths.

I continued to glare at them.

[Do not glare at me like that. I am the prince of a kingdom, a Marquis of her Majesty, the disciple of her Eminence, and his Royal Highness’s partner.]

– Pipo!

Percy poked his head out of my clothes and chirped as well.

Christelle whispered in a serious voice.

“Your highness…… Is it possible that they can only look at you that way because they are down on the ground?”

“Ah.”

“Are you done?”

I heard a calm deep voice. Both of us looked toward the direction of the voice.

A man who made even the most basic of couches look like the greatest of treasures was elegantly sitting down looking at me.

“Yes, your Royal Highness, well…… I said everything I needed to say.”

I oddly felt embarrassed and nodded my head.

His sparkling orange eyes immediately headed toward the nobles.

He really resembled Empress Frédérique right now.

‘He’s not laughing, but is he enjoying this?’

“I guess it is time for all you lords to speak to me.”

The crown prince sounded extremely angry.

The young man who instantly changed the mood resembled a burning ruby.

Sir Johann quietly took off his coat and pulled up his sleeves.

The nobles who were on the ground with their eyes rolling around turned completely pale.

“You will face my sword if there is anything you are hiding.”

The Imperial Prince viciously warned them.

Gulp.

I heard someone gulping in fear.

*

All of the nobles involved in the mess were standing in line.

The crown prince was seated at the highest spot and Vice Captain Élisabeth was at the table to his right.

Sir Johann was standing to the crown prince’s left, observing the nobles.

The first to speak was the middle-aged woman we saw when we entered Blois.

The heavy drinker who was shouting on top of a table.

Coincidentally, she was the victim of the theft that Christelle mentioned seeing here.

“I will summarize. Baroness, you are the owner of Blois. Both you and your close friend were victims of Madame Victoire. This was the two of your eleventh time drinking together to rant about it when you ran into Captain Bacary. You provoked him because you had nowhere to release your anger and a fight started. Is that correct?”

The young Countess asked in a strict tone. The Baroness, Joan Tillier, shouted in disagreement.

“No ma’am! That’s not how it went down. I simply spoke the truth. However, that Captain said something extremely disrespectful back to me. It was a proclamation that I could not let pass as the only daughter in three generations of the house of the strongest fist in the central region. Yes ma’am that’s what it was.”

She shrugged. A noble who was waiting his turn in the back shouted, ‘she’s right!’ He was agreeing with her.

That person seemed to be the Baroness’s friend.

The crown prince looked at the man and woman as if he was looking at the stupidest people in the world.

Baroness Tillier seemed to get into quite a lot of fist fights as her nose was seriously twisted and her knuckles were uneven.

There was a large burn on her neck as well.

She took off her luxurious jacket but she still reeked of alcohol.

She was the typical stupid and wealthy upper class who had no qualms about being an alcoholic and a bully.

People talked about things being the same no matter where you went and there were bound to be bad eggs everywhere, but…… I couldn’t believe that things were like that even in a novel.

I clicked my tongue and rubbed Bacary’s robe with a wet cloth.

Christelle was seated next to me working on his vest.

“There is no need for you to do that, your highness. I can just throw those clothes away.”

Bacary, who was seated with a blanket over him, tried to stop me.

He seemed to be much more timid than when he warned me to keep my distance from Dame Sarnez when we met in the Blanquer Lord’s Castle.

‘That was annoying and rude but I prefer him like that.’

“We still need to take however much blood we can out of it and dry them for you to wear back home. It is cold outside. You said you didn’t even come with an attendant to help you.”

“……”

I answered. There was no response.

It was warm and bright in front of the furnace, making it the perfect place for an injured person like him to recover.

A nice errand boy brought over the hot cocoa I had requested at that time.

I received it and offered it to Bacary, whose silver eyes opened wide. ‘No need to make a fuss.’

“Drink it. Your hair is still not dried either. Please just sit here and relax. You can consider it as you cooperating with our investigation.”

Christelle commented in a chuckling voice.

His blue hair that she had washed for him was dripping down.

The little kid looked at her and then at me before struggling to speak.

“I……”

“Madam Vice Captain. What did I do wrong? You’ll find it difficult to find an upright territory lord like me anywhere. I have not raised their taxes by even a cent for the past twenty years and don’t touch the commoners because I fear that they may run away in the middle of the night. I only beat down nobles even after I drink. In fact, this is the first time I’ve ever punched someone at my place of business.”

“Your tongue sure is long, Lady Baroness. Have you ever thought about cutting it because it is uncomfortable?”

Sir Johann slowly asked as the Baroness spouted nonsense.

I gasped and looked toward him.

“Your hair seems to be three times as long as mine.”

He gently added on. ‘Oh good. He scared me for a second.’

“I don’t want to use up the precious time of an Imperial family member to discuss your vulgarity. What I want is information about that thief named Victoire D’Andresy.”

The crown prince had enough and growled. He did not like people and his personality was like fire.

I was scared that the Baroness might make some other ludicrous statements when she quickly lowered her tail.

She tried to straighten out her crinkled clothes.

“Yes, your Royal Highness. I will inform you about everything I know. You see, I’m quite good at information. You will find that the Tillier name is famous for knowing about everything in the central region, including the slums.”

‘Probably famous for your uncontrolled fists.’ I sneered. The Baroness was weak against the strong and strong against the weak even when she was drunk.

“You see, please listen to what I have to say, your Royal Highness. I’m sure you are all aware of the story of the Count’s House of Andresy. I’m talking about those nerds who continue to claim that this damn thief, Victoire or Bertans or whatever, has nothing to do with their House despite her using their family name.”

She rattled on. The nobles lined up started loudly whispering.

Christelle and I exchanged glances.

“Is there anybody who doesn’t know that the House of Andresy has more illegitimate children than legitimate ones generation after generation? It is something even the dogs on the streets know about in our Tillier Barony. If there is one legitimate daughter, there are at least two bastard children and if they give birth to two legitimate sons, there are at least four bastard children they have cast aside. That is the House of Andresy.”

“Holy Almighty God! Baroness! Please watch your words!”

“But I have heard about those rumors as well.”

“So they really are true? A House like that still exists in the Empire?”

“I’m sure there are a lot!”

– Snap!

The crown prince pulled off his glove and snapped his fingers.

The room became quiet as if he had poured cold water over everyone.

Ironically, there was a ball of fire burning brightly at his fingertip.

I closed and opened my mouth a few times, trying to process what I just heard. My conversation with the Empress flashed in my mind.

‘Although it is accurate that the nobles of the Empire put a lot of importance on face and authority, there are lots of exceptions as well.’

‘Your Majesty, are you saying that Victoire might be an illegitimate child of a noble or a child who has been cast away?’

‘Yes.’

‘……Maybe? Did the Empress know about it? She knew about this from the beginning?’

“Hmph! That is why the Savanier Barony, which is right next to Andresy County, ended up as Victoire’s first victim. She probably experimented with a nearby territory as a test. She left her name behind to frustrate her family members. Ah, I am just saying that is what I would have done if it was me.”

She nodded her head as if to say that she knew people would agree with her.

The nobles started whispering again.

“Your Royal Highness, Baron Savanier is my close friend. I have heard some things directly from him. He talked about why he stepped forward as the first victim. How could he show his face to the residents of his territory when different locations at the heart of his territory were looted? He contacted the Imperial Guard out of frustration as their neighbor, Count Andresy, feigns ignorance despite her name card stating Victoire D’Andresy.”

“Hoooo!”

“Tsk tsk.”

The nobles pulled out their fans and were flapping them as they whispered to one another. They were basically spectators at this point.

“The situation is clear. Crystal clear, your Royal Highness. Victorie is an illegitimate child of that family. She clearly did not get treated well by them since they have more children they cast aside than they raise. She was most likely cast away and lived by herself in a tiny little house. This is revenge, your Royal Highness. She will not stop until she properly puts a stain on the Andresy name. Ahem!”

The Baroness finished off with a fake cough. A portion of the spectators applauded her.

Vice Captain Élisabeth cut through the noise and sharply questioned.

“Lady Baroness. According to what you just said, you have friendship with two of the victims. You yourself were also a victim. But Victoire is famous for being a righteous outlaw among the commoners. She is known to take the items she steals and share them with the poor.”

“My goodness. Madam Vice Captain. Are you saying that it is okay for the nobles to be robbed because the commoners are happy? I guess all the stories I have heard about you being young and talented are just lies?”

The middle-aged woman snarkily asked. I felt as if even her coat of arms reeked of alcohol.

“Wow, I’m so done with her.” Christelle twitched as she mumbled.

The young Countess’s grey eyes did not shake at all.

“They are not lies, Lady Baroness. Let me ask you one question. What is the average tax rate in the Tillier Barony?”

“Oh, of course it is the thirty percent her Majesty has decreed.”

“Baroness.”

The crown prince called out to her in a low voice. Everybody looked toward him.

The young man’s sculpture-like face showed no emotions at all.

His glabella was straight and his lips looked the same as usual.

However, anybody with common sense should be able to tell.

The crown prince was on the verge of exploding. I knew I was hearing things but it felt as if a fuse was burning down.

His gaze was as dark as the fires of hell. The Baroness’s voice became a bit quieter.

“……I take an extra twenty percent. It is not forced. It is an offering my family takes as a custom.”

“My goodness.”

My jaw dropped in shock.

The room felt as cold as if a ghost had gone through despite the crackling furnace.

That was unbelievable. The Empress was restricting the tax rates of the territory lords to a maximum of thirty percent and chose to only receive ten percent for the Imperial tax.

This was the first thing I studied when I was given a territory.

A territory lord taking over forty percent should have only existed back in the Warring Era, but even higher than that at fifty percent……

“And your friend’s territory?”

Vice Captain Élisabeth spoke in an emotionless voice as she looked to the back.

The bastard who is the Baroness’s friend cleared his throat.

“I, I collect a total of forty percent!”

“……”

He sounded as if he was trying to say that he was better than the Baroness. They were the same to me.

I got goosebumps on my arms. I turned to see that Christelle’s eyes were full of anger.

She whispered to me.

“There is no way that her Majesty did not know about this. The story about the Count’s House of Andresy as well.”

“Yes. Her Majesty did not act the way she did simply because she didn’t want to give Victoire any attention. Her Majesty……”

The Baroness quickly kowtowed to the crown prince. I jumped up from my seat.

‘I won’t let you.’

“Baroness Tillier, you are going to be her Majesty’s prisoner anyway. So please apologize before you are dragged away.”

“Your highness, by apologize, you mean…”

“Why did you hit Captain Bacary? Explain that and properly apologize for your actions. You can run your mouth about the rest once you get to your cell.”

‘Did you think that I would forget?’

I couldn’t help but grind my teeth.

I could feel the seer’s gaze on the side of my face.

—

Translator’s Comments

Jesse gets angry when you hit people.