Gunter and Ryan ran to the viscountâs office where the princess was waiting for them. But he couldnât help to be appalled at the scene unfolded before them
The office where furniture and items were once neatly organized was littered with documents, books and ink spills. And in the middle of the mess was a 17-year-old girl with tears on her face.
âYour Highness!â
Apollonia was holding a book that appeared to be a record book in one hand and an unidentified document with ink spilled all over it on her other. Meanwhile, she herself was stained with ink spills everywhere. Her hair was tangled, as if someone yanked it, and her lips were bleeding.
âAre you here?â Her voice was hoarse. As far as Gunter and Ryan knew, this girl always used polite honorifics to her subordinates, almost to the point where her dignity as a princess was undermined.
âYour Highness, whatâs going on here? Whereâs the viscount?â
âIn the prison. The viscount is in there,â Apollonia replied with blank, unfocused eyes.
âNo, who the hell dares toâ¦â
âI meanâ¦I was the one who gave that order.â
She began to explain.
Apollonia was nearly kidnapped by bandits, but escaped thanks to Sid. As she wanted to seek help from the viscount, she got help from the villagers to help her with directions.
Unfortunately, however, the second she walked in, the viscount was seen whipping an innocent child.
ââ¦So when Your Highness questioned the viscount, all his sins resurfaced like a stem of sweet potato?â
âWhy did he do that to the child? The Viscount collected enormous taxes every year⦠so I told him to bring out the records because I thought Iâd have to find out something, but I didnât expect that he would confess to all his crimes. I canât let a criminal go free, can I?â The Princess sighed and touched her forehead, leaving an ink stain.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
The two people finally understood the situation. The corrupt Viscount Diamann was unable to defend himself properly due to the abrupt visit of the Princess, and ended up making useless confessions.
Her Royal Highness was not really willing to investigate anything. The viscount had no idea that her personality was so submissive and timid. If he had known, he would have been able to get out of the situation easily.
âSo now, Your Highness isâ¦â
âAs you can see, as the lord, Iâm trying to clean up the viscountâs sins. These⦠these documents are just too hard to understand. Thereâs too many, and the terminology is too hardâ¦â
Instead of speaking, Apollonia shed tears, so annoyed that she crumpled up the documents in her hand.
âMy goodness, Your Highness. Please leave it alone and get up.â
âItâs not only embezzlement, but the viscount also keeps innocent people in the basement, beating them⦠the fact that the viscount is helping his own people is nice, but theyâre all accomplices.â
Looking at her sniffling, Gunter warmly helped her to get up. âYour Highness, weâll help you as much as we can.â
âAh, thatâs actually why I called Lord Berton,â Apollonia said as if she had just remembered. âI heard Sir Berton has run an estate. If you donât mindâ¦â
With her hands clasped eagerly, she looked up at Gunter with a tearful eyes. It was as if she was looking at her savior.
âThatâs right! If itâs Sir Berton, he definitely can help!â Ryan clapped his hands. Gunter also nodded.
He was a warm-hearted man who was always grateful for whatever he had. Viscount Diamannâs atrocities were too severe, and this young and naive girl was incapable of dealing with it.
âPlease go back and rest. Iâll take care of it and report to you.â
He handed the handkerchief to Apollonia. Something warm filled his heart. Not only was he no longer blamed for endangering the princess, but the fact that he also did something to help her made him happy.
***