The Emperor and the Knightess

Tory knew she would never be blamed, but she still didn’t want to harm Stra. Stra was too kind and Rebecca, although could be strange, was honest and genuine. Tory didn’t care at this point if she was named the crazy wife and be executed. All she wanted was for Stra to be safe. She didn’t want to have to poison Stra.

This was for Stra, and this was also for herself.

This was why she decided to begin this battle and enter it alone.

Tory decided to go for her plan B. She said to the emperor, “It’s true, your highness. I am a silly woman who became blinded by her womanly jealousy. I repaid my debt to Marquis Seeze with wrongful accusations. Marquis Seeze is indeed innocent.”

Her sudden change in tone made people gasp. Lucius the First became tense instead of feeling disappointed. He instinctively knew something big was about to happen. The snake hunt he has been procrastinating… It was about to begin by the baby snake the elder snakes raised.

Tory continued, “It’s true that Marquis Seeze is innocent of poisoning the wine. But I would like to report Marquis Seeze for something else. The marquis has been illegally raising a personal army for a very long time. He also has been selling three times the legal limit of bottles of wines that are allowed for a noble. At least 90% of these sales were carried out with cash to avoid paying taxes, and Marquis Seeze has been doing this for the past few decades. I believe the amount of tax he evaded must be greater than you can imagine, your highness.”

Baron Bird shouted, “Lady Tory! Have you truly lost your mind?! What are you talking about? You are not making sense at all!” Tory turned towards the noble before continuing in a clear voice, “Baron Bird illegally owns and uses a piece of land that is considered a greenbelt. He also stole the wheat that was given to the poor from the government and sold it illegally to other kingdoms. He also stole from the royal military supplies.”

“W-what…! How…?!”

Tory continued without hesitation. She stated the secret crimes carried out by each Acreian nobles present in the room. If one of them shouted at her, she made sure to state his crimes. She remembered the exact dates and the specific details of each crime perfectly.

Tax evasions, treasons, and so on… Some of them were already known to Lucius the First while others were very new to him. At some point, the emperor began to laugh. His wife was indeed a very intelligent woman. The small and big things she must’ve seen during her life in Acreia… She must’ve somehow put meanings behind all of them and realize their importance. It would’ve been very hard for her to achieve this. She was a woman and in Acreia, women weren’t given proper education. The men believed that women would become too arrogant if they became educated. A smart woman was both useless and dangerous.

After stating all she knew, Lady Tory added, “Therefore, I report to you, your highness, Marquis Seeze, and the other nobles based on these crimes.”

The Acreian noblemen protested angrily. They screamed and glared at Lady Tory. This had to be a fearful time for her because after all, she was only in her early twenties. The noise continued until the emperor pulled out his sword and threw down his scabbard on the floor hard.

“Be quiet! Have you forgotten that you are in the presence of me, your emperor?”

“Your highness! Tory has lost her mind!”

“Your highness! You heard what she just said! She clearly is crazy!”

“She needs to be dragged out and punished immediately your highness!”

Lucius the First turned to her and asked, “Tory, are these things you claim true?”

“Yes, your highness.”

“She is lying!”

“She is crazy! Your highness, don’t believe her words!”

“Don’t be fooled just because she is your wife, your highness!”

Lucius the First said firmly, “Enough! Obviously, I do not want to have a crazy woman like my wife. This means I must hear her out. So Tory, do you have any proof or witness that can support your claims?”

“My proof is the noblemen that are present here.”

“That is not enough.”

“I… I do have proof.”

The noblemen screamed, “Then show it to us, you b*tch!”

“That’s right. Bring it here right now! Show us!”

The only reason why the noblemen didn’t throw food and plates at Tory was because of the guards around them. They clearly wanted to kill her and Tory flinched in fear.

But Tory didn’t run away.

She announced, “I do have proof, but it’s not here.”

Before anyone could say anything more, Lady Tory continued, “Inside the second library of Marquis Seeze’s primary castle, there is a desk made of black wood. It has four drawers with separate keyholes and these will only open if you put the keys in the right order. There are three locking systems inside and if the drawers aren’t opened properly, there is a secret internal disposal system that will destroy the proofs inside the drawers. Your highness, the proofs are inside this desk.”

Sir Bentier gasped in shock. He was aware of this desk, but he didn’t know the existence of the secret drawers. How did Tory learn about this?

It didn’t take long for him to figure out the answer. The reception room where the elders met with Marquis Seeze… The room where Sir Bentier was not allowed to enter… Tory entered it often to serve tea and snacks. The men thought Tory would not understand what they were talking about because she was a woman. They thought she was ignorant, but the truth was that Tory remembered everything.

Sir Bentier knew that Tory was intelligent, but he didn’t trust her. It was because she was raised by Marquis Seeze since she was very young. Tory was raised to be obedient to the marquis.

Only

Poliana was right, Sir Bentier should’ve trusted Tory more.

Sir Bentier murmured to the emperor, “Your highness, I believe Lady Tory. She’s probably telling the truth.”

“That is my thoughts exactly, but at this point, all we have are her words. I can’t do much.”

Lucius the First also knew Tory was very smart, but he still made a mistake of underestimating her. He thought that she was smart for a woman, and he regretted it. Only if he recruited Tory just like he did with Sir Bentier… Things would’ve worked out much better.

If the emperor trusted and believed in Tory, Lady Tory wouldn’t have to fight this lonely battle all by herself. He could imagine how scary this moment must be for her.

The emperor thought disappointedly, ‘I made a mistake, how unfortunate.’

Just then, Marquis Seeze stepped forward.