FERH 34

Chapter 34

“I know people like you very well.”

The demon whispered.

“You have high ambition and ideals, but your ability can’t keep up. You’re always stuck in the same place, yet your gaze is fixed on the sky.”

Its voice slyly dug into Torban’s inner thoughts.

“And while doing so, you think like this: ‘That position should have been mine.’”

That the ones up there are simply lucky, with powerful backers. That in truth, he is no different from them.

But even if he vents such frustrations, no one listens, and reality doesn’t change.

So the resentment piles up and eventually turns toward the subordinates who are easy to take it out on.

And like that, Torban gradually isolates himself, becoming nothing more than an annoying boss and an incompetent team leader.

“Your resentment is reasonable. Most people are as ordinary as you are. Most of those lucky enough to seize high positions are nothing more than opportunists.”

But there always comes a moment when even such self-justification collapses.

When a true, undeniable genius like Lianel appears, forcing him to confront his limitations.

“That’s also why you’ve stayed in the Taxation Bureau, isn’t it?”

The capable ones leave with ambition, and those with a promising future never come here.

“Being in this department is simply the most comfortable for your heart.”

This was a place for people who felt satisfied just to have become government officials, scraping by on their monthly salaries.

A department where those without luck, without backing, and with nowhere else to go gathered like residue caught in a filter.

Among such people, even the incompetent Torban could still be treated as a “team leader.”

He was here because he was incompetent, and they were here because they were inexperienced.

“…”

Torban didn’t deny those words.

Because that was his true, naked self—the ugly truth he had been desperately avoiding.

He only found it laughable that Royhem was the one pointing it out.

“My circumstances may be miserable, but I hardly think they’re something for you to ridicule, Minister.”

Aren’t you the one whose precious ministerial position is about to be stripped away?

“Yes, we’re the same breed.”

Royhem readily agreed.

“I’m incompetent, and so are you. The only difference is that I’ve just been a bit luckier than you.”

He continued.

“In other words, if you were given the opportunity, you could rise just like I did.”

“If you’re trying to lure me with sweet talk, I’d rather not hear it.”

“Is that so? What a shame. The vice-minister position is vacant, so I was thinking of offering it to you.”

You have an ill family member at home, don’t you?

Torban’s smile froze.

“You investigated me?”

“I simply checked to see whether you could become my person. No need to make such harsh accusations.”

He should have ignored him.

This was the man who attacked the Taxation Bureau every time he opened his mouth, who tore into Torban’s subordinates without restraint.

People in the Special Tax Bureau were working late into the night with lights on in the government building just to drag this man down.

He knew all of that.

So why can’t I ignore what he’s saying…?

“That position isn’t something one gets by promotion.”

“Correct. You need connections, influence, and luck.”

Positions at the vice-minister level and above were appointments, given only if one caught the attention of the Prime Minister, the Emperor, or the Empress Dowager.

“And as you know, His Majesty and I are quite close.”

Royhem rubbed his hands together with a smile.

The sight was like a fly rubbing its forelegs in desperation, and though it was disgusting, Torban couldn’t look away — because he knew he himself wasn’t all that different.

“I’ll become the luck of your life.”

It was a vile temptation, another leash, a trap.

But it was also an “opportunity” upon which his family’s livelihood depended.

Monthly treatment expenses.

A household sinking deeper into poverty.

A life growing more desperate.

And the fear that he might even be pushed out of this position.

All of it shoved Torban’s back forward.

“…What do you want me to do?”

There was no way he could refuse.

After the head lady-in-waiting and Torban, the third person Royhem tried to persuade was Vanesha.

“You want me to testify?”

“I’m not asking for anything grand… Just say a few words. Like how you saw her wearing luxurious items no one knows where she obtained, or that you saw her secretly meeting suspicious people.”

You’re good at that sort of thing, aren’t you?

Since it was Vanesha who schemed to drive Lianel out of the ducal house and isolate her, Royhem added that it shouldn’t be too difficult.

This is the only way I can survive.

The corruption in the Imperial Princess’s palace had already been exposed.

The Taxation Bureau had secured evidence, and there was no way to stop it from being reported upward. Erasing the evidence was impossible.

So the only option left was to minimize his responsibility and dump the rest onto someone else.

There was no denying that there were accomplices within the Ministry of Finance. He needed someone to become that “accomplice” in his place.

Some of it I can probably dump onto the dismissed subordinates…

But to pin the embezzlement that continued even after they were suspended, he needed a third party.

Royhem chose Lianel to be that “someone.”

“But Lianel only worked in the Ministry of Finance for a few months.”

Vanesha felt anxious.

There would surely be traces of Royhem’s involvement in the palace ledgers.

And more than anything, it was terrifying not knowing how much evidence the Taxation Bureau had already secured.

“Besides, if things go wrong… I—I could be punished for perjury…”

She hated Lianel. She wanted her to fall, to fail, to crash miserably to the bottom.

But not enough to gamble her life on it.

Sending anonymous reports from afar was easy and safe. Even if it failed, the risk she bore was small.

But to stand on the witness stand and openly slander Lianel was different.

If Lianel’s charges were cleared, not only would condemnation fall upon Vanesha, but she could be punished as well.

“So you’re saying you won’t do it?”

“N-No, I’m just saying… maybe we can wait until things are clearer. Right now it’s too risky…”

Royhem sneered—and suddenly grabbed Vanesha by the collar.

“Do you think you’ll live if you sit quietly in the safe rear?”

His greasy gaze was right before her eyes.

“Kh-k, M-Mi—…”

She couldn’t breathe, but fear kept her from even begging him to let go.

In his eyes blazed a poison she herself could never contain.

“Let me tell you an undeniable truth. If I fall, you die too.”

“!”

“Why do you think you even had the chance to dream of becoming a duchess? It was all thanks to me! It was only possible because you had an uncle who was Minister of Finance!”

You, as an individual, are worthless and meaningless.

Look at yourself now. If I let go, you just collapse on the floor like a rag doll. You can’t even protest.

Royhem looked down at the fallen Vanesha and flicked his hand as if brushing off filth.

“Of course, whether you take the stand or not is your choice. But you’d better think very carefully.”

His voice was merciless.

“If I go down, your background disappears as well.”

In the jungle that was the capital’s high society—

Did she really think she could survive without the name of House Vensheim and without the backing of being the Minister of Finance’s relative?

Leaving behind that cruel, razor-sharp reality, Royhem turned away.

Left behind, Vanesha trembled on the floor, hands pressed to the ground.

“….”

She felt utterly powerless.

Ten days later.

A tribunal was convened to uncover the truth behind the embezzlement in the Imperial Princess’s palace.

Even if the princess’s status wasn’t that high, she was still imperial blood.

And with a minister, a head lady-in-waiting, and even temple officials involved in such a massive crime—

Officials from every department gathered to verify the truth and determine punishment.

Add to that the Special Tax Bureau members who reported the case, the Minister of Finance, the palace maids, temple personnel, and spectators…

The hearing chamber was packed so full there wasn’t even room to step.

Princess Tyrende herself sat in the presiding seats.

She sat stiffly, jaw trembling as if she might burst into tears at any moment.

“Please begin your statement.”

The presiding judge was the Minister of Administration.

He had been chosen because he had no direct interest tied to any of the people involved.

That didn’t mean he had no acquaintance with the Minister of Finance at all, so there was still an awkward tension he couldn’t quite shake off.

Meanwhile, representing the Special Tax Bureau was Lianel.

No one else in her department wanted to step forward as the accuser.

There was a rational reason.

Because Lianel was the first to notice the embezzlement in the princess’s palace.

“Minister of Finance Royhem Martis and two accomplices embezzled a total of 1,493,510,000 gold from the Imperial Princess’s palace budget. It has been confirmed that these funds were laundered under the guise of temple use and then transferred and managed as assets under borrowed names.”

Lianel placed documents on the desk.

“These are the lists of assets held under borrowed names by the defendants.”

She stacked document files one after another. With each new pile, the head lady-in-waiting felt as though a noose tightened further around her neck, and she stiffened her shoulders.

Still, she tried desperately to maintain a dignified air.

Her life and future were riding on this outcome.

“I object.”

The head lady-in-waiting raised her hand.

“The person I contacted was not the Minister of Finance. It was Lady Vensenheim.”

Til slammed the table in rage, spitting curses.

“You damn—!”

Mel, seeing “words turning into reality,” hurriedly slapped a hand over his mouth.