Ellie, still tearful, sobbed with eyes still swollen.

“I couldn’t just stand by when Your Highness was about to attend a masquerade ball! You know?”

“…Sigh. Alright then. Walter, why did you go to such a place? Was the reason you couldn’t tell me about your nighttime outing related to this?”

As Odette’s gaze turned to Walter, he displayed a slightly tired expression.

But he didn’t deliberately avoid answering.
“As I mentioned before, I was planning to inform you later. The fact that I didn’t attend the masquerade ball because of the woman’s suspicions can be confirmed by Russell’s testimony.”

“Why didn’t you tell me if it was such an issue?”

“…It’s about Louis Clovis.”

At Walter’s confession, Odette’s mouth fell open in shock.

“You couldn’t tell me about the Marquis Clovis?”

“That’s part of it, and it’s also related to your elder brother. I didn’t want to unnecessarily disturb you with matters involving Louis.”

Walter briefly explained that Louis seemed to be connected to the illicit grain trade.

“If it’s a matter related to the grain trade involving nobles, it’s definitely not a light issue.”

“That’s right. It means there’s a significant amount of unreported money circulating secretly.”

How the funds created behind the royal family’s back would be used was evident.

It meant there could be consequences for the royal family if handled incorrectly.

“So, when Cedric returns to the capital, he will probably deal with this issue first… Depending on the situation, it could be a bit risky. I thought it would be good to know in advance before Cedric comes back.”

“It could be risky depending on the situation?”

“If Cedric starts an investigation, nobles involved in the grain trade might unite when they feel threatened. And we don’t know what harm they might cause to Cedric.”

“I didn’t want you to worry about it.”

Of course, Walter sighed and said he would have mentioned it if he had known it would turn out like this.

Saying that, he looked a bit embarrassed.

It was probably because he recalled that he had been trying to handle this issue even when he rejected Odette’s seduction a few days ago.

In the end, both Ellie and Walter were keeping quiet for Odette’s sake.

‘I can’t say anything more about this.’

Since his intentions led to this problem, criticizing him further seemed ambiguous.

As Odette sighed, Ellie raised her hand hesitantly.

“Um, Your Highness…! There’s something I want to ask you! No, I have something to say!”

“What is it?”

“When Your Highness said you went to the masquerade ball to investigate the grain trade, how could you directly identify Elodie Montuart?”

Ellie, who had been directly kidnapped, still couldn’t fully trust Walter.

Since this matter was resolved too easily, she didn’t forget that it could be quite a serious issue.

If Walter hadn’t immediately realized that Elodie was the culprit who kidnapped Ellie, there would have been significant difficulties in the search.

Especially since Elodie had become irrelevant in the current situation, it would have been hard to think of her right away without any specific reason.

Walter chuckled at Ellie’s words and replied.
“Of course, I didn’t know either. It’s true that I’ve been supporting Elodie Montuart’s social life, but that’s only because of the Montuart and Ertman relationship. It’s not because of her.”

However, it doesn’t mean that Walter was so careless that he couldn’t notice Elodie’s wrongdoing.

The fact that Walter had released Elodie was, in reality, a case where he had pushed her to commit “wrongdoings.”

Of course, he didn’t plan to discuss such matters, so Walter explained the surface-level details.

“All the expenses used by Elodie Montuart go through Ertman and are billed to Montuart. However, it seems that recently purchased jewelry by Elodie Montuart has appeared as loot.”

In simpler terms, Elodie was secretly creating slush funds, evading Ertman’s scrutiny. She did this by either giving jewelry instead of payment to someone or secretly selling it to raise money.

“If someone secretly spends such a large amount, it’s natural to be cautious. That’s all there was to it.”

“That makes sense. Okay!”

And finally, Ellie nodded as if satisfied with Walter’s explanation.

No, honestly, Ellie still thought there were suspicious corners.

‘I understand that the Duke and Elodie Montuart have a clean relationship.’

But human secrets don’t only arise from such aspects.

Walter had mentioned that he didn’t tell Odette about chasing the illicit grain trade to avoid causing unnecessary worry. However,

‘Considering the situation, it seems that Your Highness already noticed that the Duke might be hiding something.’

Is there something about the grain trade that should be hidden even in such a situation?

If Walter truly cherished Odette, he should have explained a situation that might seem like he was having an affair.

At least, Ellie herself would have done so.

‘If Your Highness noticed that I was secretly going somewhere and asked about it, I would have told the truth.’

But Walter didn’t do that.

‘The Duke is hiding something.’