Odette opened the door to Duke Tyrot’s office with an annoyed expression on her face.

“Dad, I’m busy right now. Why are you causing such a fuss by calling me?”

In the duke’s office, his trusted advisors and regional trade guild leaders were sitting around with grave expressions.

Odette raised her eyebrows when she spotted a familiar face among them.

Simon Blanche also openly showed his delight at seeing her.

‘I didn’t know he had already started working.’

Judging Simon to be a useful pawn, Odette had recently recommended him to her father’s trade guild.

‘He’s moving faster than I thought.’

While thinking that it might have been a mistake to play around with Simon today, Odette was startled when the duke suddenly burst out in anger.

“Do you not even know the basic etiquette? Were you not taught to knock before entering a room?”

Her father, who had never raised his voice at her before, shouted in front of everyone. Odette stopped in her tracks, feeling chastised.

The advisors, knowing how much the duke cherished his daughter, also tried to read the room and defuse the situation.

“Haha. The young lady must have been in a hurry.”

“His Grace called for her, and since the meeting is over, shall we take our leave first?”

“Let’s do that, yes.”

As they filed out like a receding tide, the duke’s office became quiet.

Simon, who was the last to leave, sent an incomprehensible signal to Odette with a wink.

But sensing her father’s foul mood, she found his antics distasteful and turned her head away sharply.

After making sure everyone had left, Odette quickly approached her father and acted cute.

She had planned to go to the arena today to freely spend money and enjoy herself, but if she upset her father and had her checkbook confiscated, it would be a big problem.

“Dad. Did those people give you a headache again today? Why are you so angry, my dear father.”

Usually, when Odette acted cute like this in a sweet voice, the duke’s anger would dissipate within 3 seconds.

But today was strange. The duke didn’t even look at Odette, his head in his hands.

“Fa… Father?”

Noticing the unusual atmosphere, Odette finally sat up straight and used formal language.

Huuuuu.

The duke was now letting out a long sigh between his hands covering his face. When it seemed he would not easily open his mouth, Odette suppressed her irritation and had other thoughts.

‘Why has my luck been so rotten lately? Should I go see a fortune teller about my fate?’

But even fortune tellers always spout obvious and favorable things in front of Odette.

‘Pathetic creatures. Parasites living off other people’s money.’

It was when Odette was inwardly repeating the words she always muttered out of habit.

The duke, who had been hunched over the table, finally raised his head.

‘Gasp.’

Odette was startled. Her father’s eyes, which were already as dark as a badger’s, looked even more sunken.

“Father, why have you suddenly aged so much… no, did something happen?”

“Something happened alright! It’s you! My one and only daughter, Odette Tyrot!”

Odette nearly jumped out of her skin when the duke suddenly shouted.

“What, why are you acting like this all of a sudden, Father? Did you eat something wrong?!”

Did the dressmaker dare to present a bill to her father while delivering such hideous dresses? She had been buying quite a lot lately.

Or was it because she got into a hair-pulling fight with Viscount Ranomer’s daughter at the salon the other day?

But that was because that wench provoked Odette first.

Saying things like she looked like she had gained weight. Ranomer’s trade guild had been acting high and mighty lately, saying they were pursuing a magical tool production business with Kasha Lyuschino, so she deliberately stepped on them.

Odette lowered her eyes with a brazen expression and straightened her spine. Her mother always emphasized the importance of posture.

If I act like the superior party, the other person will treat me as such. So be confident anytime, anywhere. You are the precious only daughter of the Tyrot ducal family.

“What good have you done to hold your head up so stiffly!”

…Of course, there are those immune to such posturing.

Odette pouted her lips.

“What on earth did I do for you to act like this-”

“What? Asking what you did? Are you really asking because you don’t know! Trouble is brewing because of you. The Holy Knights raided the capital’s trade guild today!”

“Why would the Holy Knights go to the trade guild?”

The duke pounded his chest as Odette rolled her eyes, looking like she had no idea what he was talking about.

“They said you threatened a guild employee to distribute ‘tali’! You crazy girl!”

“…How, how did they know that.”

Odette’s cocky demeanor finally changed.

‘Tali’. It is a plant that induces both a calming effect and hallucinations. The leaves and stems are usually dried, ground, and rolled up to smoke like a cigarette.

It is so addictive that in the early days of the empire, it spread across the continent, leading many to addiction and even death.

Then an incident occurred where Saint Antebein was beaten for trying to rehabilitate tali addicts by burning down a tali storage facility.

Since then, the temple has strictly prohibited the use of tali, sternly warning addicts.

Now, with the harm of addiction widely known, the use of tali is clearly banned even in imperial law.

However, among some young nobles who cannot control their overflowing money and time, there are those who secretly fall into tali addiction.

There were also addicts among Odette’s followers, and Odette supplied them with tali in secret, easily exerting influence over them.

As the daughter of the Tyrot trade guild owner with branches all over the continent, it was a very easy investment for her.

But who on earth blabbed that fact to the temple? Surely not those rat-like guild employees? It was incomprehensible that they would do such a thing at the risk of being fired from the guild.

As if reading her mind, the duke spoke in a somber voice.

“Do you remember a man named Juan Damir?”

“Juan… Damir?”

Of course she remembered. He was the one who played the role of Odette’s lover about half a year ago. The eldest son of the Damir count family from the small country of Turnain, he came to the empire to study abroad and met Odette while indulging in various pleasures.

At the time, Odette easily seduced him, a handsome tali addict, and had fun with him for a few months. Of course, as soon as she got bored, she cut off the relationship.

However, his addiction worsened thanks to Odette, and when his tali supply from her was cut off, he suffered from severe withdrawal symptoms.

In the end, while obtaining tali through shady channels, he rapidly squandered his family fortune. Then she read in the newspaper a few weeks ago that he had taken his own life.

After reading that article, Odette had praised her own judgment for dumping him in time.

“Of course I remember. But why is his name suddenly coming up?”

The duke must not be asking because he was unaware of her relationship with Juan, as he had shelled out quite a bit of money when she got rid of him.

“Before he died, that man went to the temple and named you as his tali supplier in an accusation letter! He even submitted a ledger meticulously recording the dates, locations, and details of receiving tali from you! Not only that? He also handed over a list of nobles who smoked tali with him!”

“Wh, what did you say?”

Odette stood up abruptly, feeling faint.

‘That pathetic addict bastard… His eyes looked so resentful until the end. How dare a lowlife like him accuse me?’

She wanted to find Juan right away and scratch his face, but unfortunately, he was no longer of this world.

‘Things are going to get complicated…’

Odette rolled her eyes.

The temple is a closed-off group that even the imperial family cannot easily interfere with. Although recently the crown prince is said to be tightening the temple’s purse strings, the religious group beloved by all imperial citizens is a threatening existence in itself, like a whole nation.

Of course, it would be simple to bribe a priest or holy knight or two with money, but the problem is that an official accusation letter has been filed.

Odette quickly approached her father. She hugged him from behind, rested her head on his shoulder, and even acted cute.

Sensing the crisis that her checkbook might be confiscated at any moment, there was nothing she couldn’t do.

“Father. I’m sorry. It’s my mistake. I won’t do it again. So please forgive me just this once…”

However, the duke pushed Odette’s arms away and exploded in anger.

“It’s not a matter of forgiving or not! Right now, the Holy Knights have sent investigation teams to guild branches all over the continent to check the tali distribution network! Furthermore, they’ve even launched investigations into the young nobles you supplied tali to!”

“What?”

Odette realized the gravity of the situation.

The fact that they were stirring up noble families in addition to the trade guild meant the temple side had no intention of glossing over this matter.

Odette got up in a fit of nerves.

“What do they want in the end? It’s all about asking for donations, isn’t it? Just give them that measly sum!”

“Donations my foot! The capital’s trade guild representative brought up the donation issue to the Holy Knights earlier and was arrested and dragged away by the deputy commander! For daring to try to bribe the Holy Knights with money!”

“Wait. The deputy commander of the Holy Knights? Surely you don’t mean Leon Aranias?”

“Yes! That man is said to be in charge of this entire investigation! Of all people, we had to get caught by that stubborn and persistent bastard… It’s a good thing the marriage proposal was broken off long ago, otherwise we would have been greatly humiliated.”

The duke shuddered as if the mere thought was terrible.

On the other hand, Odette felt like the sky was falling. She staggered while standing.

‘Why did it have to be Leon of all people…! He was already hard to get a hold of and ridiculously expensive, but now it will be even harder to approach him!’

It was truly like Odette to not give up on Leon even in this situation.

“That’s not all. ‘Arkin Daily’ is rummaging through the guild under the pretext of coverage! They’re writing a feature article about the corrupt true face of noble society or something! Information must have leaked from the temple or Holy Knights. If that article gets published, you’re finished! Forget about marriage, you’ll be immediately ostracized from high society!”

The duke’s desperate cries sounded more and more like a mosquito’s buzzing.

‘No, this can’t be happening. Something like this can’t happen to me. Not to me, Odette Tyrot, of all people!’

Odette shook her head strongly.

The world couldn’t possibly do this to her. She had no intention of accepting such humiliation.

‘I’ll have all the bastards who caused this arrested and make sure they never see the light of day again. Who do they think I am, I’m Odette Tyrot…’

“Huh? Odette, Odette! What’s wrong, get a hold of yourself, dear!”

Her father’s panicked voice sounded distant, as if coming from far away. Odette disgracefully collapsed on the floor of her father’s office.