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“I only stayed silent because I didn’t have any solid evidence, Viego.”
“There must have been some reason for your suspicion.” Viego calmly countered. “Huan Rolland was a talent directly involved in the moonlight flower business by you, the deputy head. And now he’s being accused of causing the crash of the moonlight flowers.”
“It’s not certain. It’s just my suspicion.”
“Why have you kept silent about this thought until now?”
What should I do?!Allice, who had been eavesdropping outside the door, couldn’t bear to listen any longer. She didn’t want to hear her father being cornered like that. Bursting into tears, Allice ran out of the garden.
“What should I do… What to do…”
Her father had gotten into trouble. That wasn’t her intention at all. She only wanted to punish the wicked. To see the wicked receive what they deserved. That’s all she ever wanted!
After crying for a long time, Allice began to pray.Dear God, why have you given me this trial? Please, just this once, hear my place. Huan Rolland—that man… call him to your side. Make him one of your angels, never to awaken again. Let no one find out that I brought him into the mansion. Please. Please. Please!
Unfortunately, God did not heed Allice’s prayers. At dawn the next day, Huan Rolland finally opened his eyes.
Huan grimaced in searing pain from his arm.
What did he just hear?
“What did you say, Your Grace?”
“There’s a report that you’re the mastermind behind the moonlight flower price crash,” Viego said, looking indifferently down at Huan, who was restrained in bed. “Is that true?”
Huan was dumbfounded. It was bad enough that things had come to this.Who’s framing me?!
Huan coughed dryly, then shouted, “No! I never did such a thing!”
“But you tried to feed Danae Windsor a love potion.”
Huan flinched.How did he know that?
“Not only that, but you also tried to kill her.”
“I-I didn’t try to kill her. I just…”
“You even suggested eloping with her.”
Did he just speak informally to me? No way, he’s just asking, right?
Breaking into a cold sweat, Huan forced a smile. After all, this man held his life in his hands.
“It’s true I loved Danae. But, Your Grace, am I the only man like that? Just because we can’t express it openly thanks to the crown prince, doesn’t mean I’m the only one suffering in silence.”
“Then just threatened her with a gun?”
Viego is talking informally. There was no longer any doubt. Huan realized this man would show him no mercy.
“Ah, come on, I didn’t mean it!”
Then why bother being servile any longer? Especially when this b*stard had shot two bullets into his arm in the same spot!
“I may not know about other things, but I didn’t cause the moonlight flower crash! Where did you hear such nonsense!”
“Allice is the one who told me.”
Why is he speaking formally now?Huan was confused by the Viego’s unpredictable manner. But more importantly…
“Allice, that wench said that?”
“Ha!” Huan couldn’t help but burst into laughter, finding it absurd. “Ahahaha!”
That wench is trying to frame me! Now that I’ve fallen this far, she’s trying to pin it all on me! Do you think I’ll go down so easily, Allice?
“Don’t believe that wench. Allice, she’s more cunning than you think.”
Seeing Viego was listening, Huan shouted while staring at him. “She’s the one who secretly brought me into the mansion!”
His voice echoed through the room.
“And that’s not all. She’s even been selling moonlight flowers secretly to her friends!”
It was so loud that his voice could be heard down the hallway and into the garden.
“If that’s not black market trading, what is!”
His cry shook the Windsor mansion.
“If that’s true, we can’t just let it slide.”
In the vassal meeting held that day, the vassals were shocked.
“How can someone in charge of the business engage in black-market trading?”
“Moonlight flowers should only be traded through the official Windsor trading post. How could she do such a thing!”
Then Eric, the man in charge of moonlight flower operations, added, “Actually, Lady Allice did ask me once. If she could sell some privately to her friends.”
“Is that really true?”
“Yes. I clearly told her it was not allowed, but… it seems she sold them secretly anyway.”
His testimony caused an uproar among the vassals.
“Where is Lady Allice?”
“Why didn’t she attend this meeting?”
The blame turned toward her father, Carl Windsor, the deputy head. It was inevitable.
Carl coughed twice and cautiously replied. “Allice is suffering from a severe headache and couldn’t attend.” Even as he said it, Carl felt embarrassed. Who would believe that? It was obvious she had fled with no other way to take responsibility.
Deep down, Carl was disappointed in his daughter. To not show up at all, just because she was afraid of criticism…
“I asked Allice myself… and she said she didn’t do such a thing.”
But she was his daughter, after all. Carl wanted to cover up for Allice, whether it was true or not.
“Allice did not sell moonlight flowers privately to her friends.” He spoke more firmly than ever. “You believe Huan Rolland, that brat? He’s just attacking me maliciously because he bears a grudge against me.”
“Allice didn’t do it. Don’t make baseless accusations without evidence.” Carl gently tapped the desk with his palm. “You all must take responsibility for the words you utter.”
The meeting room fell silent. The same vassals who had been denouncing Allice now held their tongues. Because they all knew—That the hand Carl Windsor had just laid on the table, however composed now, had once committed unspeakable acts. They were the living witnesses to Carl’s days as a soldier. And that gave Carl’s words weight—however absurd they might be.
A soft voice came from the corner of the table. Everyone turned toward the sound.
Dana raised her hand cautiously. “I’m attending this vassal meeting as a direct family member today. If you’ll allow me, I’d like to share a thought.”
Viego nodded slightly, giving me permission to speak.
“Everyone, what’s important now is the crash of the moonlight flower price.” Dana stood and began her speech. “If this continues, Windsor’s credibility will fall irretrievably.”
As if regretting it, she sighed lightly. “There may have been various reasons why moonlight flowers sold for such high prices recently, but it was underpinned by trust in the Windsor name.”
“It doesn’t mean Windsor should take responsibility for the buyer’s choice.”
Dana agreed internally.Of course. He’s right.But that argument was of no use to her right now.
“The prices of moonlight flowers surged in just the past month. I think we should compensate only those who bought during that period.”
At her suggestion, Eric asked. “Compensate? In what way?”
“Monetary, of course.”
Immediate backlashes followed.
“That would cause enormous losses to the Windsor!”
“Not one or two, but many bought at the auction. How can we compensate all?”
“Lady, you may not understand, but the world isn’t so naive!”
Of course, Dana somewhat agreed with them.
“Financially, it may be a loss for Windsor. But losing trust would be worse.”
This was the line she needed.
“It takes a long time to build credibility, but losing it only takes a moment. Especially rebuilding once broken takes enormous time and effort.”
Dana looked at Viego. “This incident will go down in history.”
Indeed, it would. This was the world’s first bubble burst, a prime example of market collapse for future economics students. And the Windsor name would be forever associated with it.
Surely, Viego could easily foresee that. The question is, would he just let it happen?
“Depending on how we handle this, Windsor’s reputation will change. Think of the distant future, not just the immediate loss.”
“It sounds good, but we need to be realistic.” Eric subtly objected. “It’s easy for Lady Danae to say since it’s not your money. The compensation amount will be astronomical.”
That was the response Dana was waiting for.
She spread her hands with a smile. “Then let me pay for it.”