# 32
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“Motive? Now you want to justify violence?”
“No. What I mean is that no motive means no threat at all. More importantly, they designate me as a perpetrator based solely on the circumstances.”
Flora, who had buried her head in the shoulder of one of the maids, suddenly raised her head.
“So you're saying that my maids are lying?!”
As soon as Flora screamed, the maid who was hugging her also shouted:
“You said you didn't like my dinner service!!”
“And because of that, I detain you and assault you?”
When there was a brief silence, Grace slowly looked at the gathered ladies and said:
"I did not detain the maids, nor did I assault them. I have no reason or means. As you know, I arrived only yesterday with His Highness. In this vast palace, isn't it more likely that I would get lost?"
Flora immediately exploded as if she had had a seizure:
"Marquise! My maids do not lie! Look at their trembling state!"
As soon as Flora burst into tears, the two maids bent down and cried with her. Then, one of the women sitting against the wall, who was of good stature and advanced age, spoke in a cautious tone:
“Marquise of Lenco, did anyone see the two maids being beaten?”
All eyes gathered on the Marquise, and she sighed audibly.
"According to them, it took place in a secret place, so no witness could be found. Such a disturbance in quiet Richmond... then a quarrel between the duke's lover and my maid, Flora, is indeed a difficult matter."
She turned her gaze from the two maids to Grace. For this girl to maintain her composure even in a situation like this...was not as simple as she imagined. But, whatever it is, the winner in this dispute is her.
The Marquise said in a stern tone, addressing the ladies:
"As the custodian of the Duke of Richmond's inner palace on behalf of the Grand Lady, I cannot take this matter lightly. Detention, assault, and threats of death are serious offenses under the laws of Richmond."
Then she looked at Flora:
“Flora, I believe in the innocence of your two maids. But since the allegations are conflicting, it is inevitable that the truth will be revealed.”
“Marquise...!”
“They took the two maids to the basement.”
The basement.
As soon as the word came out of the Marquise's mouth, the two maids burst into tears loudly. Flora held them together with trembling arms and a face drenched in tears.
“Justice is on the side of the honest. Hold on a little longer... I will visit you every day.”
Richmond basement; The place where one enters with one's feet, but rarely leaves with them, has become famous.
The Dukes of Richmond were not particularly fond of torture, but the problem was the layer of rock that made up the palace's basement; It was absorbing sound. In that place isolated from light and sound, people easily lost their minds.
The Marquise issued her order to the ladies-in-waiting:
“Take that woman to the basement with the two maids, find the woman who came with her and bring her to me!”
As soon as the order was issued, the waiting bridesmaids advanced towards Grace, as if they had been waiting for this moment.
“Get up!”
They grabbed Grace's arms violently. In a fleeting moment, Grace scanned the faces of the assembled women with a quick glance: among them were those who were having fun, those who were excited, and those who showed hidden concern.
“Aren't you going to get up?!”
Flora was watching the bridesmaids try to forcefully lift Grace, and the moment her mouth was filled with poison...
Bang!
A strong wind rushed through the violently opened door, tearing apart the stagnant air inside the hall.
The Marquise turned angrily, her brow furrowed, intent on shouting at whoever had dared to open the door without permission—but the words stuck in her throat.
“Your Highness!”
Walter's gaze, standing with his back to the wind, settled on Grace, whose arms were held out. Grace, who was about to get up, also turned her head.
“!!”
The moment the eyes met, the man, as if drawn with a sharp pen, took wide steps towards her. Then he stood over the bridesmaids who froze as they held Grace's arms, and looked at them from above, baring his fangs in frightening calm.
“Raise your hands.”
＊ ＊ ＊
Dozens of minutes before that.
Five nobles responsible for the finances of the Duchy of Richmond were issued summons. It wasn't strange; Although the Duke had temporarily delegated business affairs to the Marchioness of Lenco, it was natural for the owner to want to know the state of his finances.
But what was strange was that they were summoned to five different places.
Joseph found five empty rooms that exactly met Walter's conditions, and the five nobles were pushed individually into their assigned rooms without understanding what was going on.
The rooms were dark, cold, and contained only one desk and two chairs.
“What's going on here...?”
Someone was about to leave quickly, but—
“What are you afraid of?”
“!!”
"Sit."
Walter appeared soundless, like a monster surprising its prey and taking its breath away. The man, who was showing off himf as long as he stood behind the Marquise of Lenco, had his hands visibly shaking as he carefully sat down opposite the Duke.
“For...what reason did you summon me for?”
He did not have the opportunity to complete his question; A package of documents was given to him.
“Explain.”
“Explain…what?”
“Many things. What is ‘prestige maintenance expenses’, and what is included under ‘miscellaneous’ so vaguely?”
The moment words that should not be said came out of the Duke's mouth, the man's instinct screamed that he must find a way out. But he was not allowed to open his mouth; His voice slapped with a voice devoid of any trace of humanity.
“No excuses, no evasion. I only summoned those who were supposed to fully explain these documents.”
The man looked up from the papers and saw the Duke resting comfortably in his chair, leg over leg, and black eyes shining like the eyes of a wolf lurking in the shadows.
“Explain clearly and conciy.”
"Yes…."
The man’s tone trembled, so Walter smiled softly and added a more desperate truth:
“And by the way, don’t worry about making a mistake in explaining.”
"What?"
"That's why I summoned the other four officials as well. I'll ask them the same questions."
That is: cross-investigation of the same documents.
It was like a thunderbolt. How does he explain the plundering of the Duchy of Richmond's money without accounting? Worse, they didn't even coordinate their statements in anticipation of a day like this.
The man's face turned pale as dry land, and he stared at the leaves as if they were the door to hell, then he began to stutter:
“Um... well, the first item, that is, at the top...”
“Cut it short.”
As soon as his shock ended, a torrent of harsh reprimands rained down on him:
"Dodge. Didn't I say no excuses?!"
"If you don't know, say I don't know and move on! Didn't you hear that four others are waiting for you?!"
"the next!"
No one had ever been struck with words so brutally. Walter pressed him without giving him any chance to manipulate.
He was a duke who was refined by the “Wall of Death”, different from his predecessors. While the previous Duke was calm and gentle, Walter was sharp as the point of a spear.
But unfortunately, the matter did not end there. After the explanation was over, a hastily written paper was handed to the man, containing every word he said, without missing a single letter.
While Joseph, who wrote down the statement, rubbed his wrist, Walter presented the pen himf.
“One has to take responsibility for one’s words. Make sure what is written matches your explanation, then sign.”
“…….”
it's all over.
One messy document, five officials each trying to escape responsibility.
The man almost broke down crying; The bleak future lay before him.
After him, Walter opened the remaining four gates of hell with justice himf. It didn't take an hour to get their statements from all of them.
When the last of them signed, the report read:
“Your Highness, Miss Grace’s maid has arrived.”
Has the old lady woke up?
But as soon as Walter's eyebrows rose at a sharp angle as he received Jesse's whisper, Joseph's guess was completely dispelled.
Walter pointed to the nobleman who was still blinking with blank eyes, so Joseph quickly took him out, then double-checked that the place was free of eavesdroppers.
Only then did Walter speak:
“What happened to Grace?”
“Yes. The ladies-in-waiting of the Marchioness of Linco followed Mademoile’s lead. I heard on the way that they are opening what is called the ‘punishment room’.”