Chapter 111: The Inspector

The broken signboard lying in front of the entrance was dirtied by the footprints of people passing by.

Maya shivered in surprise.

“Oh my, my lady.”

“Who did this while I was away? Joseph!”

There was no answer from Joseph. He was the one who would rush over at the speed of light to take my coat and gloves whenever I appeared.

The trading company, which should have been bustling with employees, was eerily quiet.

Just then—

“Look here!”

“If you keep blocking the way, I’ll have to take you in for obstruction of official duties.”

Joseph? Who’s the other person?

Joseph’s shrill voice and the annoyingly familiar voice of a man echoed from deep within the building.

“Lord Cornwell, no, Inspector Cornwell!”

It seemed that the nuisance Count Cornwell was there.

Soon, the sound of dozens of shoe soles scraping against the marble floor accompanied a group of men in black uniforms carrying large boxes out.

Among them was a black-haired man trying to shake off Joseph, who clung to his leg, by punching him. It was Count Cornwell, whom I had briefly seen at the banquet hall.

I hadn’t noticed at the banquet, but he was as thin as a stick and had a nervous demeanor.

“If you want to file a complaint, speak to the Finance Minister. I have been granted full authority as an inspector from the Ministry of Finance.”

“Suddenly, a seizure investigation and tax collection? The Graham Trading Company has paid all its taxes diligently.”

“It’s not just here. The Graham family will also face the hammer of justice. Does it make sense for a mere baron to accumulate such immense wealth? As a collateral branch of the Graham family, I can’t overlook this. How ashamed would our grandfather in heaven be?”

“But there’s been no official document, and yet you’re taking away the trading company’s documents and financial statements!”

“I am the official document and the face of the imperial family! Don’t you know my sister is the Crown Princess?”

“Ah…”

Cornwell had risen from a baron to a count overnight. Fortunately, he shared the same hair color as Rosetta, who became the Crown Princess, which added credibility to the rumor spread by the imperial family that she was the ‘lost daughter of the Cornwell family.’ Therefore, no one questioned the rumor.

Xavier and I didn’t want to get involved with the imperial family, and since it had nothing to do with us, we kept our mouths shut.

‘But if they act like this, it’s a different story.’

I thought Rosetta would try to take what’s mine, put me in trouble, or attack me. That’s why I aimed for word-of-mouth through acquaintances for the cosmetics business. I thought they might sabotage it if I opened a store and launched a brand prematurely.

When Count Cornwell, with his arrogant expression, pushed the tearful Joseph away, he fell to the floor.

The trading company employees, who had been hiding behind a pillar, rushed over to support him and glared at Count Cornwell. They, too, were bruised and battered in various places.

At that moment, Joseph spotted me and shouted.

“Miss? How did you come here, Miss? Please get away quickly!”

I nodded slightly to reassure the startled Joseph.

He seemed to want to say more to me, but when Count Cornwell approached me with a triumphant face, he shut his mouth. Count Cornwell’s lips curled into a sneer.

“Oh, who do we have here? Isn’t it the illustrious Duchess of Auguste?”

The sound grated on my ears, making my brow furrow.

“Maya, stay still.”

I glared, hiding the frightened Maya behind me. After calming her down, I looked up at Count Cornwell.

“Count Cornwell, aren’t you being disrespectful?”

“What?”

“I, Yuria Auguste, am the Duchess and the only saintess of this empire.”

“Ugh.”

Count Cornwell’s previously confident face turned red. The attendants carrying the large boxes also looked awkward.

Those boxes must contain everything from the Graham Trading Company.

Not just financial statements, but all the know-how and confidential information the Graham Trading Company had accumulated.

Was Rosetta’s target not me, but the Grahams?

If she wanted to target me, why involve my parents!

Frustration and anger welled up from within.

Count Cornwell, oblivious to whether what he was doing was right or wrong, noticed that only Maya and I were around, and his face returned to normal as he shouted irritably.

“You little brat! I indulged you when you acted up as a child, and now you don’t even fear your cousin?”

“Oh, I don’t know.”

I have no memory of it, do I? I don’t even know much about Yuria, so how would I know you?

“You don’t know?”

Seeing the vein bulging on his forehead, it seemed he had quite a temper. Sorry, but I was once a little villainess who could chew on razor blades.

“A trivial cousin like you is none of my concern.”

“W-what are you saying? I knew you were a bit crazy since childhood, but do you know who I am?”

“I said I don’t know, didn’t I? You have a terrible memory. That’s why you’re barging into someone’s business without a financial audit notice from the Ministry of Finance, stealing documents, right?”

Normally, if an audit is to be conducted, the Ministry of Finance should send an audit notice in advance. They don’t just pounce out of nowhere like a predator stalking herbivores.

Count Cornwell hesitated, but only for a moment.

“Hmph, move aside. Before I take you in for obstruction of official duties.”

He forcefully pressed his long, withered finger against my forehead.

“You’re not even a Graham anymore. What’s a saintess got to do with it?”

“Madam!”

As my body swayed, Maya quickly supported me from behind.

“Maya, it’s fine.”

Dusting off my hands, I lifted my head high and glared at Count Cornwell as if to pierce his eyes.

However, what he shoved in front of me was an official document stamped with the Finance Minister’s seal.

“Here, the official document. Whether I showed it two weeks ago or now, it’s the same. Isn’t it?”

“!”

These scoundrels!

“Hmph.”

Count Cornwell leisurely passed by me.

My jaw trembled uncontrollably. I couldn’t just stand by and watch this idiot Count Cornwell, instigated by the Crown Princess and condoned by the Crown Prince, wielding the Finance Minister’s authority.

How dare they try to swallow the business my father built from scratch!

“How dare you!”

“My lady.”

My fists clenched involuntarily. In that moment, the faces of two kind people flashed in my mind.

“Where are Father and Mother?”

If Father wasn’t at the trading company, it meant he was either on a business trip or spending time with Mother at the mansion. Count Cornwell had already left for that direction. I hurriedly took Maya and boarded the carriage.

“Coachman, to the Graham residence.”

My heart began to pound as if it would burst.

A sense of foreboding crept in.

＊

Having wreaked havoc at the Graham Trading Company, Count Cornwell walked with his shoulders held high, full of himself.

“I knew a day like this would come! I wasn’t meant to rot as a rural lord! Hahaha!”

The large carriage of the Ministry of Finance’s inspection department was filled with the man’s frivolous laughter.

He had gained a new title and a new territory.

“Hehehe.”

He was half out of his mind, feeling as if the Graham Trading Company was already in his grasp.

“Inspector, isn’t it excessive to audit the Graham family’s estate, let alone the trading company? That’s the lord’s exclusive right…”

A cautious opinion came from an employee of the Ministry of Finance sitting across from him.

“Are you talking about the right of immunity? Hmph, what power does a mere baron have? If they evaded taxes that should rightfully be paid to the empire, they must be audited and punished. Those who illegally amass wealth must be dealt with.”

“That’s also stipulated in imperial law, but…”

Unless treason is involved, audits aren’t forcibly executed on noble families like this. If there’s suspicion of tax evasion, a formal warning is sent by document, and an inspector is sent to the private estate to resolve it face-to-face with the lord.

But things were progressing so suddenly that it was natural for the Ministry of Finance employee to feel suspicious.

Count Cornwell, displeased with the employee’s trailing words, arrogantly added.

“There was a tip-off about tax evasion.”

“A tip-off?”

“Yes. It was mentioned by someone high up.”

“Did His Highness the Crown Prince say so?”

“No, it was Her Highness the Crown Princess. She said she found out while staying at the Graham family.”

“Ah!”

Upon hearing the word ‘Crown Princess’ from the Count’s mouth, the employee’s doubts were completely erased. With eyes full of anticipation, the employee listened as Cornwell, twitching his lips, spoke in an agitated voice.

“According to Her Highness, the hidden wealth of Baron Graham is enormous. There might be a possibility that some of the revenue earned through the trading company was deliberately omitted.”

“I see!”

“Now it’s time to turn the Graham family upside down!”

“You’ll receive a great reward, Count. I’m envious!”

As the employee flattered him, Count Cornwell laughed exaggeratedly, and the massive mansion of the Graham family came into view.

The thought that today was the day to avenge the grievances of a collateral family made his hair stand on end with excitement.

If they had just appointed their nephew as a deputy representative, this wouldn’t have happened. Then he could have advised Her Highness the Crown Princess not to do this.

‘Well, what can I do? I have to step up myself.’

As soon as the carriage stopped, Count Cornwell, quick on his feet, got off and knocked hard on the gate.

Soon, an old butler opened the door and greeted him politely.