The Duke's Villainous Daughter is Depressed

Chapter 17

Tofu just recently got gravely injured and yet this happened. How unlucky can we get? As soon as Tofu jumped into the carriage, I immediately held him and frantically checked the places where that damn knight hit him. I could only hope his wounds won’t reopen.

While I was checking his body, Tofu barked as if to reassure me that he was alright. It was only then that I felt relieved but soon after, I scolded him.

“Tofu, how could you rush like that? That’s dangerous.”

“… Wooo~.”

Though I scolded him, I only said those words out of worry. I wasn’t going to stop the naggings however, Tofu was gazing up at me with a dejected look and drooping ears. He looked so pitiful that I can’t seem to say anything more.

“You’re afraid I’d go somewhere?”

Come to think of it, I’ve never been this far away from the palace. Also, Tofu’s wounds were inflicted by someone, so maybe he’s scared that something might happen to me as well.

“Woof!”

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“Don’t worry. I’m here.” Elle said as she gently stroked Tofu’s head.

Lari watched the harmonious exchange of the two: Lady Elle fretting over Tofu meanwhile Tofu was receiving it with welcome. She couldn’t help but make a remark.

“Tofu only behaves like this towards Lady Elle.”

“…… What?”

“If I stroke his head, he’s not this calm.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes, I’m quite sad, really.”

“Pfft— Tofu, you bad boy. Why did you make our Lari sad?”

“Woof!”

After that, we had a decent conversation. But it has been too long since the carriage departed. I didn’t expect the Imperial Palace was this big. By the time I wondered when the hell will we arrive, the carriage had finally stopped.

“We’ve arrived.”

After receiving the knight’s hand again, I got off the carriage, followed by Tofu.

The interior of the palace was at its peak of splendor. Every wall was carved with all sorts of intricate designs, and they shone in gold.

I thought that even a single flowerpot for decoration would cost a lot, so I walked with caution. After we came to the front of the office where the Emperor was waiting. After a while of standing at the closed door, the messenger finally announced my arrival.

“Your Majesty, the princess has arrived.”

At the same time as the announcement, the door opened and I entered. I didn’t have any thoughts, but when I saw him face to face, I was a little nervous.

Besides, Lari was not here with me and Tofu was not allowed to enter. It means that I’m alone in this.

According to the etiquette I had heard, my head should have drawn slightly and my knee bent a bit but the Emperor spoke before I do so.

“No need to bow.”

The first-ever Emperor I’ve seen in my life had quite a cozy demeanor. Of course, as the Emperor, there was something in him that overwhelmed anyone no matter what he looked.

“I greet Your Majesty, the Emperor.”

“Come and have a seat.”

When Elle sat down, a maidservant approached and insisted on tea. Elle, who did not know why the Emperor wanted to meet first, decided to save her words for now.

The Emperor opened his mouth when he drank tea and remained commendably calm.

“I wish I could have a meal with you today, but I’m sorry I’m quite busy.”

“It’s all right.”

I believe I’m going to have an upset stomach if we do have a meal together.

“Thank you for understanding. By the way, it’s already been a month since you’ve gotten married.”

“Yes.”

“How is life in the palace?

“… Overall, it’s good.”

I thought I’d talk about Coffari, but I just glossed it over for now. I feel like I’m losing if I say it first.

I didn’t think he would have called me to talk about this kind of issue. If it was like that, it would be too late at the least.

“I see. Have you ever met the Second Prince?”

“I saw him once on our wedding day.”

Come to think of it, this man didn’t even attend my wedding.

Although it was held at night, he would have come if he had a heart, and besides, doesn’t it seem too unkind to call his son “the Second Prince”?

“After that?”

“…… Nothing.”

Why does he feel so inquisitive?

The Emperor stared at Elle with a piercing look. Elle faced the gaze head-on without losing, and soon the Emperor nodded lightly and muttered to himself.

“Is that so?”

“……”

“I was wondering how you’re getting along in this place considering you had your marriage with another country. I’m quite worried.”

So this is how you worry? Doing nothing? What the hell.

“But it seems you’re doing well. I’m glad.”

“Yes, thank you.”

“However, since the Second Prince is not doing his job, you will have to work hard. This Emperor will give you the authority to manage the affairs of the Lily Palace. I know that you’ve had a hard time, but you’re in charge now.”

Huh? What?

A little daze, Elle blinked because what she wanted suddenly came true, even though she hadn’t even brought it up. The Emperor smiled without saying a word and even handed out documents bearing the seal.

“I’ll send you a Knight and a guard to your palace in the near future.”

“…… Thank you?”

“Yes. That’s all. Do you have any questions?”

“None.”

“Well, then. Let’s have dinner together next time.”

“Ah, yes. I’ll look forward to it.”

I was surprised to achieve what I wanted so easily, but I left the office without saying much since good things were coming my way.

The door opened and I immediately saw Lari and Tofu waiting outside.

Wanting to be beside Elle, Tofu approached and incidentally glanced at the Emperor through the opening of the door.

The calm face of the Emperor, who saw Tofu, became stiff for a moment, but the door soon closed. Elle and Lari didn’t notice the silent exchange of glances at that moment.

* * *

As always, Coffari was enjoying the attention of his servants and maids who were sent to work for the Lily Palace.

Some of them were silent because they were afraid of Coffari, and others wanted to curry favor.

Coffari liked the suck-ups more and had them by his side.

He heard that the son of a b*tch escaped from the dungeon. He even asked a servant to keep an eye on him just in case, but the servant got bitten and even drew blood.

Looking at the servant pleading in front of him, Coffari was displeased and locked him up in a dungeon since he made a sin worthy of death.

“However, the Princess is quiet.”

With that damn dog back, he thought that she would confront him right away, but she was strangely quiet.

What is she trying to do? She’s just a princess with no power.

Coffari was confident.

No matter what the princess does, the person with the real power in this palace will be him for as long as he wants.

But this morning, a maidservant rushed in and cried out.

“The Princess went away in a carriage with the Emperor’s right-hand man!”

“AAH!”

For what reason did the Emperor suddenly summon that wench!

Coffari trembled and became anxious. All sorts of things crossed his mind. Most of them were the worst of the worst.

What if she had seen those ledgers? Then, should he go to Count Ash—!

Even if the Second Prince neglected his subjects, Coffari was able to enjoy his current power thanks to a nobleman supporting him.

It all happened because of this damn status-based society.

Since he was just a commoner, he was always rejected to work for the other Palaces. So they threw him to the cursed Second Prince’s palace as a servant.

But he found out over time what big luck he had.

Coffari who had been planning to leave the palace after years of embezzlement, and buying a fake peerage status, was now furious.

Bang!

It was really too soon!

He didn’t feel good. He came to the conclusion that he’d rather take the money he had right now and run away.

The nobles were unreliable. They treated the commoners as insignificant and pawns that can be used and thrown right away.

The nobles have only used him as a mutual aid until now, but he would have abandoned himself if things went wrong.

But Coffari had no intention of being abandoned like that from the start. So he had kept everything together the ledgers that he recorded with the nobles.

In case of emergency, he handed over a bribe that can be traced.

In addition to jewelry, porcelains, and accessories, he also kept the remaining documents separately by manipulating the ledgers. He had a terrible determination that he should never go down alone.

Coffari arranged the ledgers and searched for a nobleman to trust. He wasn’t worried because threatening someone with these would work very well.

But one thing he overlooked was that he ignored Elle too much.

After Coffari visited the office of the Lily Palace where he kept the ledgers, he was stunned.

“What the hell?!”

The ledgers were obviously recorded twice so that others wouldn’t know the difference. These books were custom-made by adding thinner pages than the original ones, but all of them were torn from the bind. It means someone had already checked the ledgers.

“NOOO!”

Coffari was devastated and collapsed on the floor.

* * *

A few days before Raella meets the Emperor.

Once Elle checked the ledgers, she instantly knew that it was absurdly butchered, however, if others were to check it, it would have been flawless.

With this, he knew I couldn’t do anything to him unless the Emperor himself came to the Lily Palace to confirm.

Even if not, there was a high probability that that bastard Coffari would tell a lie that he paid someone a bribe.

Something decisive was needed. I searched everywhere with Lari, wondering if the real ledger was hidden somewhere.

However, not even a single speck of dust came out. Exhausted, Elle was immersed in her office, blinking her eyes blankly and wrapping her head.

“Come on, Ella. Think hard. Where would you hide your ledger without worrying about other people’s gazes?”

Thinking of the proverb there is darkness under the lamp*, she searched the office first, but it was not there. (T/N: Darkness under the lamp is a Korean saying which means people tend to neglect what is right under their noses.)

He must have been too anxious to hide it far away.

Surely he would have hidden it somewhere where he could check it at any time.

“Are there any secret places here?”

“Would he even build something like that?”

“Hmm…”

Well, no matter, I was just starting.

He was a person who was wary of others, so he would not have dared to think of remodeling the Palace.

“Still, if it were me, I would never put my lifeline too far away.”

I always want to check to see if my ‘lifeline’ is all right. The least suspicious it would be, the best way to hide it…

“Huh?”

“Wait…”

Elle jumped up and quickly opened the ledger. It doesn’t look any different, but the page strangely reflected something from behind. There was no ballpoint pen in this world, so a fountain pen was mainly used.

A fountain pen is a pen that needs ink, and the ink tends to smudge.

Not to mention, there were strangely misaligned letters in the ledger that I had skimmed over earlier.

When I ripped the page from the book, what was clearly a single layer opened slightly in half and eventually slid off.

“The lifeline is close after all.”

Elle grinned.

—