Hidden Faces And Desserts (7)

“That’s none of your business. You just need to listen to what I say. Got it?”

“But… after giving the medicine, the symptoms were the same….”

“Hmph, the fact that the Count ended up like that is all your fault. If you had done better, you would have just destroyed his brain instead of killing him. But since you couldn’t bear my grandson, it couldn’t be helped. Got it? Everything is because of you. Berna, it’s because of you. That the Count and the boy ended up like this.”

Count Dedran smiled like that and then turned his back. But at that very moment.

Boom!

With a loud noise, the wall cracked. And Count Dedran saw the nobles of Count Greek’s family looking at him in horror beyond the collapsed wall.

“What, what?”

El had cast an eavesdropping spell in the drawing room from the beginning. It’s not the hearing of a dragon but an eavesdropping spell used by a dragon.

It had to be manipulated with magic to avoid suspicion. So instead of the dragon conveying it directly, the conversation from the next room was made to flow into the room.

A dragon’s hearing can be used even at a considerable distance, but the eavesdropping spell, one of the auxiliary spells, can only be used at a close distance like now, with just one wall in between.

Anyway, everything was successful. At the critical moment, I used magic to shatter the wall. This firmly imprinted that the conversation was between Count Dedran and Berna.

At this very moment, dozens of ears have heard Count Dedran’s confession of his crime. Denial is impossible.

“Count Dedran! How could you do this!”

“This is a clear abuse of power- no, an act of murder!”

The nobles of the Count of Greek’s family began to rise one by one. They all started to get angry. Only those who had sided with Count Dedran remained still.

“Hahaha! You fools! What kind of farce is this?”

Saying that, Count Dedran looked at his daughter. The face of Count Dedran, which she had never looked straight at her whole life.

For the first time in her life, Berna looked straight at that face and opened her mouth.

“I am a person of the Greek Count’s family. Father, you made it that way. You were the one who married me into this Greek Count’s family. So I will live as a member of the Count of Greek’s family for the rest of my life. I will live thinking that dedicating everything to the Count’s family is the punishment for condoning your actions all this time!”

“What are you talking about?”

Count Dedran kicked his daughter’s body. Berna’s body collapsed to the ground again. Count Dedran glared at his fallen daughter and the other nobles, panting.

“Count! We will formally report this to the Imperial Palace. Not only for the embezzlement of taxes but also for the murders of Count Greek and Baron Greek!”

Viscount Rodri, a loyal servant of Count Greek, shouted on behalf of everyone. But Count Dedran sneered and replied.

“Go ahead and try? How do you plan to move the Imperial Palace with the power of the retainers of this small Greek City? And embezzlement of taxes? Is there any evidence? It was all done by that wench. That wench. And even if there is evidence, in this world, powerful authority covers everything.”

With a red face from his ridiculous failure, the Count panted but did not stop sneering at the nobles of Greek City as he confidently walked out. And he did not forget to leave one last word to Berna.

“And you, dare to hinder me? You’re dead, Berna. You, Count Greek, and his son, I’ll kill you all.”

Having spat out those words, Count Dedran stomped out of the Lord’s castle.

Being a Count, there was no immediate way for the viscounts and barons to stop him.

Like the Viscount shouted at Count Dedran, all they could do was report to the capital and wait for punishment.

That is the world of nobles.

The same goes for the Greek boy. Even if he inherits the title of Count, all he can do is ask the Imperial Palace to settle the dispute between counts.

A powerless noble in this situation has no means to do anything.

It was the power of that authority that allowed Count Dedran to win the dispute with Count Greek and send Berna to be married.

El pulled out the dagger lodged in the Greek boy’s thigh. Then he instructed Rurin to lift the time freeze.

Soon after, the Greek boy stood up perfectly fine. As El nodded, the Greek boy shouted confidently at the nobles.

“I, Baron Greek Dylan, speak with the authority of the acting Count of Greek. Arrest those who have sided with Count Dedran immediately!”

With that command, soldiers rushed in. The nobles had been separated from their private soldiers while coming up here.

And those private soldiers were now being defeated one by one outside. The traitorous nobles, who thought the Greek boy was down, hadn’t brought many guards, so they were easily overpowered by the Greek boy who had mobilized the Count’s knights to the fullest.

Thanks to this, the purge of Count Dedran’s faction, who had embezzled Greek City’s taxes and colluded with the Count, began to proceed smoothly.

“Acting Lord!”

And the nobles, seeing the Greek boy perfectly fine, began to cheer in surprise.

Count Dedran returned to his Lord’s castle, panting.

In the empire, only counts can have their own castles. Barons and viscounts can only own mansions, not castles.

Though he had returned to his own castle as a count, Count Dedran couldn’t stop cursing out of disbelief. He never thought that a tool who had never dared look him in the eye would ruin his decades-long plan.

‘It’s ridiculous. Ridiculous! What a joke! Report me? This time, I’ll use the power of the connections I’ve built with the money I’ve poured in over the years to make Berna the scapegoat for everything and turn all the nobles of Greek City into accomplices and replace them!

Anyway, I’ve extorted as much money as I could. If I send the group that ruined things to the execution ground, I might feel a bit less dirty.’

Count Dedran thought so and sent someone to the capital.

For over ten years, he had been sending more than half of the embezzled taxes from Greek City to build connections just for times like this.

A few days later, someone arrived from the capital.

Count Dedran, of course, greeted the envoy grandly. He held a banquet for those who led the troops, and Count Dedran wore a satisfied expression.

Then he welcomed the representative of the group to his study.

“What did His Highness the Duke say about this matter? It’s a big deal. A big deal. I didn’t teach my daughter properly, and this wicked thing has completely ruined Greek City.”

“That’s unfortunate.”

The envoy from the capital facing Count Dedran slowly nodded.

“So, I think we should make an example of her. No, not just my daughter, but everyone in Greek City should be punished.”

“That’s right. Considering the loyalty Count Dedran has shown to His Highness, it is a request that should certainly be granted.”

“Is that so? Well, I am very grateful to His Highness!”

Entering the power circle of the influential Duke in the capital and offering money was also to use the Duke as his tool.

Count Dedran was filled with thoughts of killing Berna immediately.

The envoy from the capital also began to nod and laugh.

“But you see.”

“Yes?”

“His Highness has been in a bad mood lately.”

The envoy’s expression suddenly changed. Count Dedran tilted his head in confusion at what he meant.

“The complaint from Greek City, even if there are dozens of witnesses, could easily be dismissed with His Highness’s power. He could just declare Greek City a problematic area and wipe it all clean.”

“Yes, that’s right. Please do it that way. I am undoubtedly His Highness’s loyal servant. If you help with this matter, I will offer even more.”

“Well, I suppose so. Considering what you’ve done, His Highness has looked after you quite well.”

‘Has?’

Count Dedran wondered why he was using the past tense. He had no idea what the envoy was getting at.

“But unfortunately, this time it’s different. Count Dedran. I am here to escort you to the capital.”

“What? What are you talking about!”

Count Dedran stood up with a bewildered expression. Then the woman who was sitting also stood up and glared at Count Dedran.

“How rude. Count Dedran. Do you know who I am? I am Medlinne Serial, and I am not someone to be looked down upon by the likes of you. Moreover, Count Dedran! You have offended His Highness. His Highness is displeased with anything related to Greek City. Because it concerns Greek City, I, the Head of the Court Magic Division, have come here personally. Do you understand?”

“What is that…! What on earth are you talking about!”

“Kneel.”

Medlinne chanted an auxiliary spell with a look of contempt. In an instant, Count Dedran’s body collapsed to the ground.

“I cannot tolerate a backwater noble like you being rude to me. Let me tell you one thing, you have touched a city that should never be touched. Even the Emperor of the Empire cannot touch Greek City. I cannot say what it is, but there are things in this world that should never be touched. That’s the way it is. What are you doing? Knights? Drag him out immediately. His Highness has ordered that he be escorted to the capital and punished according to Imperial Law!”

The envoy from the capital.

Medlinne, the Empire’s only 7th-class mage, even avoids sleeping in the direction of Greek City.

“You fools! Do you think you can get away with this? You worthless things. Tools are just tools to be used by me!”

Count Dedran was dragged away, shouting. Medlinne watched silently and shook her head.

She had no interest in a human scum like him, but Medlinne thought she had to impose the maximum punishment on him to gain favor with that person.

That is the way to live peacefully as a mage in this world.

Count Dedran was dragged into a prisoner transport wagon by Medlinne’s order. The wagon was essentially a moving prison pulled by horses.

The people of Dedran City began to cheer in unison as they saw Count Dedran being taken away by the knights from the capital. It was a reaction to their long-standing oppression.

“Boo! Boo!”

“Get out! Get out! Get out!”

Thud-!

Thud-!

Stones flew at Count Dedran’s transport wagon. Not just stones, but anything that could be thrown was hurled in.