Chapter 13: 13
After returning from the ball and changing clothes, I ordered the butler Glen to prepare tea for two in the drawing room, and also instructed him to remain present.
Lord Olivier sat there without touching his tea.
As he listened to the story about Lady Yuliana and the Omuks apprentice, his face gradually changed from blue to white.
“The recent raid Lord Olivier carried out against the Omuks base only succeeded because Prince Adolf deployed the Crown’s shadow operatives to keep investigating the movements of that Omuks apprentice.”
“Fortunately, the matter was discovered early enough that Lady Yuliana never leaked any truly critical information, but apparently one of her favorite phrases was, ‘Both Big Brother Olivier and Big Brother Niklas are completely smitten with me, so if I ask them, they’ll always have tea with me.'”
“Glen, did you really witness this yourself?”
“Yes.”
“When I saw them, the apprentice was presenting Lady Yuliana with a gold hair ornament.”
“That ornament is still stored in Lady Yuliana’s jewelry box even now.”
“A wine merchant’s apprentice gave her a solid gold hair ornament.”
I laughed elegantly.
“It seems Omuks wanted to destroy the House of Lautavaara.”
Rather than planning something risky like blowing up railway tracks, bringing down the ducal family that controlled the terminal port would have been far more efficient.
And if the House of Lautavaara were destroyed for collaborating with the enemy at a time like this, there was no doubt the Kingdom of Lahti would suffer greatly as well.
“How many times am I going to be utterly crushed by Kastehelmi today?”
Lord Olivier groaned while clutching his head.
I felt no sympathy whatsoever.
The ducal house truly had been only one step away from ruin.
“The first mistake was that if you intended to take Lady Yuliana in, you should have formally adopted her into the ducal family.”
“Had you done so, she could have continued flirting with her two brothers forever as their little sister.”
“She would have received the education of a ducal daughter and learned the pride expected of high-ranking nobility.”
“Instead, you adored her as family while refusing to make her part of the family because you did not want the blood of an illegitimate child entering the ducal line.”
“You left her in the position of an illegitimate viscount’s daughter.”
“From an outsider’s perspective, there could hardly be a more tempting target.”
And with her airheaded desire for polyandry, it was only natural that even Omuks would take an interest.
“The second mistake is that while you listen carefully to others when it comes to work, the moment you return home, you stop listening to those beneath you.”
“Even Glen, who has served you for years, has absolute obedience to his masters engraved into the depths of his soul.”
“Absolute obedience may be convenient for rulers.”
“But unless a vassal is willing to admonish his lord when necessary, that house will eventually fall.”
In fact, it nearly had.
Had the railway project not existed, I would never have married into this family.
The House of Lautavaara probably would have collapsed within a few years.
“Prince Adolf!”
As I, the Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Lahti, walked down the corridor toward the ballroom, Lady Yuliana came rushing toward me with a radiant smile.
Behind me stood Niklas, who had been summoned by royal order first thing that morning.
His face was pale as a sheet and covered in cold sweat.
Naturally, Lady Yuliana was intercepted by my guards.
“Lady Yuliana, I never granted you permission to address me by name.”
“And attempting to throw yourself at the Crown Prince in a public place goes beyond poor manners.”
“Men, apply the charge of disrespect toward the royal family and throw this young lady into a cell.”
Following my orders, the guards seized Lady Yuliana by both arms.
They carried her away without ceremony.
One of them covered her mouth to prevent her from making a scene.
“The fact that this young lady lacks even basic manners is a problem.”
“It seems I need to have a discussion with the House of Lautavaara.”
I then led the duke, the duchess, and their heir Niklas away from the ballroom and into a reception room.
The House of Lautavaara had faithfully served the Crown for generations.
There was no doubt they excelled at their duties.
However, they also possessed an elitist and self-centered streak.
That had always concerned me.
Niklas and I were close in age.
As a result, I had often visited the ducal estate during childhood.
“Yuliana, this sweet is delicious.”
“No, Yuliana likes this one more!”
The two brothers would sit pressed tightly against her from either side.
They would feed her sweets while speaking like that.
And the young girl receiving those sweets clearly enjoyed the attention.
Even at eight years old, she already wore the expression of a woman.
Seeing it always left an unpleasant feeling in my stomach.
Like me, Niklas and Olivier had grown tired of receiving relentless romantic advances from noble ladies.
As a result, they seemed to have developed feelings for Yuliana because she offered what they believed was pure affection without ulterior motives.
Pure affection without ulterior motives?
What nonsense.
That girl was nothing but calculating.
When the railway project began, a certain marriage proposal was brought before the royal family.
It was obvious that handling the situation directly would only lead to disaster.
That was why I first arranged the marriage between Olivier and the exceptionally intelligent Kastehelmi.
I never gave her any instructions.
I simply assumed that someone as capable as her would immediately understand everything and remove Yuliana from the equation.
The method she chose was remarkably unique.
Day after day, the reports from my shadow operatives left me clutching my stomach in laughter.
However, even I had never expected information about Omuks to emerge.
Without Lady Kastehelmi, the House of Lautavaara would likely have fallen.
And our kingdom would have suffered severe damage.
I would need to properly reward that young lady someday.
“Prince Adolf, I sincerely apologize for Yuliana’s disgraceful and disrespectful behavior toward Your Highness.”
After entering the reception room, the duke immediately offered his apology.
The duke and duchess had only recently realized that the source of the “polyandry” rumors currently sweeping the capital was their beloved Yuliana.
The shock had been so great that the duchess had reportedly spent several days bedridden.
Even so, they still believed their precious Yuliana had merely been misunderstood.
“Duke, do you truly think her behavior toward me is the only problem here?”
“Well…”
“We are aware that Yuliana has become the target of ridiculous rumors.”
“And her conduct toward Your Highness is indeed a serious issue.”
“We intend to take her back to our territory and provide proper education—”
“Duke, this matter cannot be resolved so simply.”
I then informed the duke and duchess that Lady Yuliana had been associating with a citizen of enemy nation Omuks.
I also informed them that tracking that individual had ultimately led us to a major enemy hideout.
“It seems the young lady frequently boasted, ‘Both Big Brother Olivier and Big Brother Niklas are completely smitten with me, so if I ask them, they’ll always have tea with me.'”
“Perhaps she wanted everyone to know she could control both brothers however she pleased.”
At those words, the duchess collapsed to the floor in tears.
Not a shred of sympathy stirred within me.
“Lady Kastehelmi, who married into your household, is an exceptionally capable woman.”
“She treated every servant with consideration.”
“As a result, one of the gardeners eventually spoke up.”
“‘Lady Yuliana seems extremely close to a man with an Omuks accent.'”
“‘Omuks is an enemy nation, isn’t it?'”
“‘Is this really all right?'”
For a brief moment, anger flashed across the duke’s face.
I immediately cut him off.
“Surely you don’t think Lady Kastehelmi would have reported such a thing directly to you.”
“It is obvious that both of you are blind when it comes to Lady Yuliana.”
“And it was equally obvious that you would attempt to cover the matter up.”
“You might have sent Lady Yuliana away from the capital for a while.”
“But Omuks would never have abandoned such valuable prey.”
“Eventually, Lady Yuliana would have been captured.”
“And they would have extracted every piece of information about your ducal house from her.”