ITEV 10

 Chapter 10

“My goodness—Princess! Baron Paul, let go of her right—ah!”

Rena screamed and rushed forward, but—

She couldn’t even beat me in strength, so there was no way she could overpower Baron Paul.

With just one hand, he shoved her aside.

She fell onto the rug.

“Princess, wouldn’t it be easier if you just walked out yourself instead of being dragged like this?”

A laugh escaped me.

Did he not realize this only proved he had already lost?

I had never seen someone who resorted to force after losing an argument turn out to be decent.

He didn’t even consider that I might fight back.

As he strode toward the door—

Pathetic.

I pulled him toward me, planning to use the momentum to flip him—

But someone was faster.

“Ugh—aaah!”

A large hand grabbed Baron Paul’s wrist tightly.

Startled, he let go of me.

Then everything happened in an instant.

Thud! Crash!

Baron Paul was kicked and sent rolling across the floor.

Someone stepped between us.

I only saw his back—

But I didn’t need to see his face.

I knew exactly who it was.

And Baron Paul, seeing him from the front, must have known too.

“G-Grand Duke Collin! What brings you here…?”

“….”

I couldn’t see Dayton’s expression, but the outcome was obvious.

He was taller, larger—

And far more intimidating.

Even with his trauma, he was still a war hero.

Not someone a desk official could face.

“W-why are you—ahhh!”

Dayton stepped forward and stomped on Baron Paul’s wrist.

The same wrist that had grabbed me.

“M-my wrist! Please—!”

Baron Paul screamed.

Dayton frowned.

“Too loud. Should I tear your tongue out first?”

“….”

Baron Paul forced himself to stay quiet.

Crack.

“AAAAAAAH!”

Only after the sickening sound did Dayton lift his foot.

Grabbing Baron Paul by the collar, he lifted him up.

The man dangled helplessly.

His wrist bent at a horrifying angle—clearly broken.

Only then did Dayton turn his head toward me.

Even while crushing someone, his face looked no different from earlier at breakfast.

Cold. Unbothered.

“I need the documents, Dayton.”

Whether he heard me or not—

He turned back to Baron Paul.

“You have something to do, don’t you?”

His low voice sounded like a growl.

Baron Paul nodded frantically.

“Y-yes! Right away—I’ll bring them immediately!”

Clutching his arm, he ran into the records room.

Rena shifted excitedly behind me.

“Why do you look so happy?”

She puffed her chest proudly.

“I feel so relieved! He always acted so arrogant over distributing low-grade supplies.”

“Oh?”

“He’s made so many people cry—you’d run out of fingers counting them!”

She couldn’t hide her satisfaction.

Cute.

Rena was easy to read—but that was also her charm.

And then there was Dayton.

Standing there like it was nothing.

Did he plant someone to watch me? He came too quickly.

Even though he looked expressionless, his actions were obvious to anyone who knew him.

I pretended not to notice.

“Why are you here? You already left earlier.”

“…I forgot something.”

“What? Handcuffs?”

For the first time, Dayton’s expression cracked.

Rena covered her mouth.

“Did you just swear at me?”

“…What nonsense. I said nothing.”

You definitely did—with your eyes.

But really, he hadn’t brought anything with him in the first place.

After regaining his composure, Dayton sighed.

“Try not to cause trouble.”

“What am I, a child? You sound like a very caring fiancé.”

I smiled.

He frowned even more.

“I mean, don’t create unnecessary problems.”

“Of course.”

“…I’ll be going now.”

After giving a formal nod, Dayton left—still looking unconvinced.

Not long after, Baron Paul returned.

Noticing Dayton was gone, he asked carefully:

“Th-the Grand Duke…?”

“He’ll be back. Just went to the restroom.”

Baron Paul stiffened and quickly handed over the documents.

“H-here… last year’s records, and from January to May this year…”

It was still April.

May?

I took the stack of papers anyway.

There weren’t many—easy to review.

“What is this?”

The records were sloppy.

No exact dates.

Just vague monthly entries.

And only expenses—no recipients listed.

Honestly, even a high school budget notebook would be more detailed.

Then I read the contents.

[April – Roneta Annex Expenses]

• Maintenance and repairs: 460,000 francs
• Garden upkeep: 100,000 francs
• Food expenses: 120,000 francs
• Dignity maintenance: 70,000 francs
• …
• Total: 1,500,000 francs

“How much does a lower noble spend per month?”

“About 500,000 francs.”

So Melissa supposedly received triple that?

Ridiculous.

Her old dresses alone proved that was a lie.

“And what’s this—repairs?”

The kitchen was falling apart, yet the annex was supposedly repaired?

“Rena.”

“Yes, Princess.”

“Were there repairs in April?”

I had possessed Melissa mid-April.

So I asked just in case.

“No. Definitely not. Even the broken tiles in the laundry room are still there.”

As expected.

“Rena, what about the garden?”

“The garden? People say it’s haunted.”

…Seriously?

Are they new to embezzlement? At least make it believable.

At this level, it was like they didn’t even care if they got caught.

Actually—

Maybe they didn’t.

Didn’t Baron Paul just say it?

“What can you even do?”

“…May?”

There were already completed records for May.

Even though April wasn’t over yet.

The contents were almost identical—

Just with slightly higher amounts.

I couldn’t help but laugh.

Then I checked the final document.

And laughed again.

“Oh? This one’s actually done properly?”

The salary records were detailed.

Dates, names, payments, recipients—everything.

Despite staff saying their wages were reduced—

The records showed full payments.

So someone’s been stealing properly.

At the top—

Different signatures.

According to Rena, the salary records had the treasury head’s signature.

But the annex expense reports—

“These are signed by Count Drowell?”

“Y-yes, Princess… but he’s not part of the internal treasury…”

“Porton Drowell…”

The name wasn’t unfamiliar.