“Ah, this isn’t worth looking at.”

Earl Thompson, who had suddenly approached, took the paper from her hand with a smile. Then he picked up the papers that had fallen to the floor and placed them on the desk.

The paper he had taken disappeared among the other papers.

Veronica stared blankly at the back of his head as he busied himself alone.

He tried to hide it, but what Veronica had just seen was clearly an exposé targeting the upper class.

Such items can usually only be published after being reviewed and approved by the imperial court first. So they could only deal with irregular and external events.

The imperial court’s surveillance is also considerable.

But Earl Thompson was secretly writing articles that had not been approved by the imperial court, and could not be approved.

The nobles in parliament are loyal to the imperial court, and the imperial court watches their backs.

The corruption of the empire started from there.

As the emperor himself indulged in luxury, the national treasury emptied day by day, and to fill that void, tax reforms were implemented, gradually increasing the taxes that commoners had to bear.

For an ordinary noble lady, the most important thing in life is how excellent a family she marries into.

It was natural for Magnolia to search for a good husband, having been born as a noble lady.

Depending on how wealthy a family she connected with, how powerful that family was, and how perfect the husband’s character was, even her own honor could be elevated, so it could be considered a major life event.

But for the lower class, marriage is not a major event. The most important thing for them is their immediate livelihood.

However, the emperor did not take care of the people of the empire, and even the nobles who should have maintained balance colluded with the imperial court to exploit only their own interests, so in the end it was the commoners who were dying.

In fact, a few months before the Hardness family was exterminated, riots broke out centered on the capital square.

Of course, the riots ended in failure, and the related groups were executed one after another.

Therefore, the extermination of the Hardness family on the grounds that they led the assassination of the emperor was not a sudden event.

After suppressing the riots, the emperor, who had become very sensitive, felt a great sense of betrayal when Harry Hardness, whom he had trusted and relied on so much, formed a rebel army.

That was the reason why the emperor abandoned the Hardness family in an instant.

But she never expected Lady Arin’s naive husband to be doing such dangerous things.

“Are you being threatened for writing such articles? Was that also why thieves broke into your home?”

He was a noble, but only in name. He had neither wealth nor power, so he was different from nobles like herself.

In fact, if it weren’t for Lady Arin, Veronica would not have been friendly towards him.

Moreover, if he was writing articles like that, she couldn’t view him favorably at all.

She suspected that the previous incident and today’s events were likely related to those articles.

After all, it wouldn’t be difficult to find out who wrote such articles.

“Or it could be something else.”

Even so, as a noble, it would not be easy for him to gain support from commoners either.

Human nature is such that the more troublesome something is, the more one wants to turn a blind eye to it, and if it cannot be resolved, one would rather not know about it at all.

He must have written these exposés for the exploited, but there would be more who hold resentment than those who are grateful.

“It’s a misunderstanding. The writing doesn’t have much meaning, so Miss Hardness, please don’t worry about it.”

“Earl Thompson, I’m not a child. I’m not ignorant of what those writings mean.”

“……”

The reason Earl Thompson had allowed Veronica to enter this place was probably because he thought she was a young lady ignorant of the ways of the world.

No matter how plausible his compliments were, in his eyes Veronica must have seemed like a naive child.

That was somewhat true, but it was still his mistake to carelessly expose such things.

If she had truly been ignorant, there was a high chance she would have recklessly spoken about this without knowing its danger.

When Earl Thompson said nothing, Veronica calmly continued.

“Did you expect something to change by writing such articles? You must know well that such things don’t happen.”

“…Yesterday, a couple who were selling produce on the market floor committed suicide.”

Saying so, Earl Thompson turned around. The face that met hers was not smiling. Without a smile, he had quite a sharp impression.

“The reason was that their livelihood was difficult. They couldn’t leave their nursing infant behind, so they sent the child ahead first and then followed. And that’s not all. A few days ago, a restaurant employee who was more diligent than anyone, despite having to amputate one leg due to illness, hanged himself. The reason was that he could no longer find work after the restaurant owner closed the business. The restaurant owner also committed suicide not long after. These incidents are not just one or two. It’s the result of forcibly collecting taxes that have risen due to tax reforms.”

“……”

“They say it was for the stability of the country that they implemented tax reforms. The taxes that commoners have to bear have increased significantly to an unbearable level, but the taxes of the nobles who actually brought the country to this state remained the same. That was the reason given for opposition in parliament. Even the emperor couldn’t ignore the opinions of parliament, and the result is that only honest people who live diligently suffer. And that’s not all. Unjust things continue to happen, but no one stops them.”

“……”

“There are clearly those who have done wrong, so why must others pay the price!”

A cry filled with grief and anger burst from Earl Thompson’s mouth. The hand resting on the desk was curved and trembling.

Earl Thompson was genuinely angry at the corruption of this country. At the same time, he felt sadness.

“I know. Nothing will change by writing such articles. As a noble writing such things, neither side will view it favorably. But someone has to let it be known. That the more ignorant one is, the more one is taken advantage of, that one needs to know something to even struggle.”

“……”

“We cannot take care of each and every person individually. But if only a minority are happy in a country, isn’t that wrong?”

He smiled. It was a distorted smile.

Through the glass-like eyes, complex emotions could be read. Looking at that face, Veronica inwardly sighed.

‘Poor Earl Thompson.’

You dreamed of reform.

But his dream ends as just a dream. He dies in an accident at a young age. It was a fall.

In the early dawn, he slipped while drunk and fell, hitting his head.

It was in the middle of the night, and being a place with few people around also contributed to the late discovery.

Of course, there were suspicious points. For a man who never touched a drop of alcohol to suddenly have an accident due to drunkenness, Lady Arin raised objections to the cause of his death.

However, no evidence of murder was ever found on the corpse that had bled profusely and gone cold.

“I understand what Earl Thompson is saying.”

Perhaps he really was murdered. It was highly likely that he was killed by a noble who held a grudge against him for writing such articles.

His wife probably didn’t know he was doing such dangerous things.

Putting down the paper, Veronica let out a short sigh.

“Don’t worry too much. There must surely be nobles among us who are concerned about the future of the country, like Earl Thompson.”

In fact, it was some sane nobles worried about the fate of the empire who gathered to form the revolutionary army. They hoped for reforms like Earl Thompson.

Although it ended in failure.

“Yes, I hear there are nobles who are rebelling against the corruption of the imperial court.”

“Have such rumors been going around?”

“There’s a rumor that Duke Hardness is at the forefront of it.”

The hand that had been rummaging through other papers paused. Veronica, who had raised her head stiffly, said firmly.

“It’s just a rumor.”

“Is that so. If Duke Hardness were to step forward, it would surely be a great help.”

“My father retired from his important position long ago. Now he’s busy just managing his domain and taking care of one foolish daughter.”

And Veronica had no interest in the future of the country.

She wouldn’t even see that, as she would no longer be in this world, and there were other matters important to her life right now.

“I’ll pretend I didn’t see that. Be careful next time.”

“…Yes.”

“It would be best not to mention this to your wife either.”

“Of course.”

Earl Thompson smiled bitterly. As she turned away from that face.

“Miss Hardness.”

She turned back to Earl Thompson. He hesitated before carefully moving his lips.

“I’d appreciate if you… didn’t mention what just happened to my wife.”

“Yes, didn’t we agree not to tell your wife?”

“No, not that. The incident on the street.”

The incident of being threatened at knifepoint on the street, that is. His face had already returned to its innocent expression as he politely made his request.

He didn’t want to worry his wife unnecessarily.

He couldn’t tell her about every such incident, and since it would eventually be discovered even if hidden, Veronica readily agreed.

“I will.”

“Thank you so much.”

Only then did relief spread across Earl Thompson’s face.

His love for Lady Arin seems genuine. In that case, it would be better to spend more time with his wife instead.

Putting aside useless thoughts, she once again set foot on the bare floor.

There had been one mistake, so he would be more careful next time.

Looking at the papers strewn across the floor, she was about to advise that it might be better to clean up, but stopped herself.

Perhaps being messy is more suitable for hiding important things than being clean.

When she reached the doorway, something was stepped on under her shoe.

Picking it up, she saw it was a letter. Neither sender nor recipient was written. The paper quality was quite luxurious.

As she fingered the unsealed wax, she waved it at Earl Thompson.

“There’s a letter that fell here that I accidentally stepped on.”

“Ah, you can give it to me.”

Earl Thompson approached and took the letter. He also checked inside.

There was a folded paper inside the letter, which was quite large when unfolded. Fortunately, the inside wasn’t torn.

Earl Thompson quietly looked at the paper. Veronica also examined it.

Strange lines were drawn like a net on the large paper. As if.

“It looks like a map.”

Once she thought of it as a map, it really did look like one. No, if it wasn’t a map, those lines wouldn’t make sense. Earl Thompson muttered softly.

“A map…”

“Earl Thompson?”

“Ah, it’s nothing. Shall we go now?”

Earl Thompson smiled and put the paper back in the letter. Then he lightly tidied up the surroundings.

His flustered appearance was puzzling, but Veronica didn’t think much of it.

Haa- A heavy sigh scattered. Was this already the tenth time?

Veronica blankly watched Lady Arin’s face, which had looked deeply troubled since earlier, with her chin resting on her hand.

The lady, who had been lost in thought throughout the lesson, took another breath.

Haa. The eleventh sigh flowed out.

Magnolia approached from the side and whispered.

“Do you think she realizes she’s sighed eleven times now?”

“It’s the twelfth time now.”

And when the thirteenth sigh came out, Veronica asked.

“My lady. Do you have something troubling you?”