Clea was convinced that Grit would undoubtedly come to her.

While becoming the Crown Princess might have been anticipated, she couldn’t have imagined she’d become the heir to the Grand Duke’s family, surpassing Lloyd.

Finding his brazenness disappointing, as she had hoped for somewhat different words, Clea opened her mouth.

“I will forgive you.”

“Your Highness!”

As soon as she uttered the words of forgiveness, Grit spread his arms wide with a bright smile, attempting to approach Clea.

But that smile didn’t last long.

“However, there’s a condition.”

“A condition, you say?”

When Clea mentioned a condition, Grit’s expression changed to one of displeasure.

Still, he was willing to accept most things.

He didn’t think it would be easy to get past this either.

However, upon hearing Clea’s next words, his expression soured.

“If you give me the position of heir to the Odoi family, I will forgive you.”

This was Clea’s roundabout way of saying she wouldn’t accept their apology.

“Isn’t this much necessary for me to forgive past events? Father.”

Unlike Duke Percy, Grit had announced Steve as the heir early on.

The reason was to solidify Steve’s shaky position as quickly as possible.

“Anything but the family is absolutely out of the question.”

For Grit, who wanted to pass on the family to Steve, this was like a bolt from the blue. So he drew a firm line.

Not unexpected by this reaction from Grit, Clea replied leisurely.

“Why do you intend to give it to that thing when the rightful heir is right before you?”

“Your Highness!”

Grit knew well what Clea meant by ‘that thing’. That’s why he couldn’t help but react even more sensitively.

Clea recalled the word ‘rightful’ that the Duke had emphasized inside the wedding hall.

That word had multiple implications.

It meant there was nothing to fault in making her the heir, and on the other hand, it meant there was absolutely no problem in terms of bloodline.

Just like herself now.

‘How amusing it was to see your rotten expression then.’

She approached him deliberately, lifting the corners of her mouth.

As the distance closed completely, Clea whispered quietly into his ear.

“If you cherished that child so much, you should have handled the evidence of illegitimacy better.”

“You, you…!”

An illegitimate child couldn’t inherit the family over the legitimate wife’s children.

An illegitimate child inheriting the family was only possible when the legitimate wife’s children had defects.

This might have been an easy method to use in the past, but could the same be said now?

Clea had not only become the Crown Princess but was now also the heir to the Grand Duke’s family.

Claiming she had defects was akin to volunteering for death.

‘It was easy to find evidence that Steve was illegitimate too.’

Grit didn’t want the fact that Steve was illegitimate to be revealed later.

So many people died when Steve was born.

Even the woman who assisted in Steve’s delivery.

“The butler also came to me and begged for forgiveness, just like you’re doing, Father.”

This was a point Grit had overlooked.

Could he not have imagined that the butler would betray him?

He looked at Clea with a completely hardened expression.

There were still more things he didn’t know.

In that sense, Clea’s gaze turned towards Steve.

He too seemed to have some inkling, as his expression had completely hardened.

“Stop lying!”

“Lying? Haha, Steve. Didn’t I tell you before?”

“Do you think people will unconditionally believe your words just because you’ve become the Crown Princess now?!”

Steve, asking if there was nothing visible.

He, who had been quietly observing the situation more than anyone else until now, rushed in recklessly when the conversation turned to him.

Clea couldn’t help but snicker at his pathetic appearance.

“Those who were begging for forgiveness are now yelling at me.”

Still, she had somewhat expected it because they were once within the same family boundaries.

She wanted to check if they had even a shred of conscience left.

The result was exactly as she had anticipated.

“If you knew your place and at least crawled, I was thinking of letting you keep your hollow position, but it’s a pity now.”

No sooner had her words ended than the Imperial Guard burst into the room.

“What on earth is this!”

The guards grabbed Steve on both sides and dragged him out.

Watching this scene, Grit called out Steve’s name.

“Steve, Steve!”

“Father! Please save me!”

Steve begged Grit to save him, but all Grit could do was watch.

“How can you do this to your brother!”

“Are you calling that dirty bastard my brother?”

“Still, isn’t he family!”

Once Steve had completely disappeared, the agitated Grit shouted at Clea.

Clea scoffed at Grit, who first mentioned brother, then family.

“Then why were you so cruel to me? I was once your daughter too.”

Even if he emphasized blood ties now, it was unlikely to reach Clea’s ears.

Yet, there was only one reason why he brought up such words.

‘I guess that’s the only thing that could move my heart.’

Despite being her father, Grit truly had no interest in Clea.

The only image of her he remembered was that of Clea wanting his approval.

Even though he had already been humiliated by Clea several times, he aimed for that emotion that might still remain, like grasping at straws.

But Clea didn’t desire her father’s affection.

She also didn’t feel the need to be acknowledged by them.

Just as they didn’t cherish her from the beginning, they weren’t precious to Clea either.

In that state, the only thing she uniquely wanted from Grit was business rights.

But even that had now become Clea’s.

“What do you want?”

Even in this situation, Grit didn’t give up.

Thinking this crisis would pass someday, he first tried to resolve the situation at hand.

However, Clea, knowing well what Grit was thinking, said with a smile.

“Everything you have.”

At the words ‘everything you have’, Grit’s expression froze.

If others saw, they might think he was contemplating, but it looked different to Clea.

She sneered at the answer that wouldn’t come no matter how long she waited.

“I guess that’s all the consideration you have for your child.”

With those final words, the conversation didn’t continue any further.

Clea passed by Grit to head to the reception hall.

Grit couldn’t stop Clea from leaving.

She knew.

While Steve was clearly a precious child to him, the greedy man would never give up everything he had.

Especially if he had to give it to a child he disliked.

“You wasted your time unnecessarily.”

As she exited the room, Rupia appeared.

Whether the conversation had been audible outside, she was frowning.

There was no reason for Clea to face the two people who had begged for a meeting.

Since nothing good would come from meeting them, Rupia had advised Clea to expel them from the Imperial Palace.

However, Clea didn’t accept Rupia’s suggestion.

“Still, it was a rather interesting time.”

Clea wanted to watch them crumble.

She was satisfied because she could see everything she wanted to see with her own eyes.

‘I guess the Odoi family will completely collapse after today passes.’

She didn’t lie in front of them.

She successfully bribed the butler with a large sum of money and informed the Odoi family’s retainers of this fact, making them completely turn their backs on Grit.

It was clear how the retainers would act when she soon ordered a tax investigation on the Odoi family.

“By the way, how is the business going?”

Meanwhile, Clea was curious about how the business was progressing.

The last news she heard through Rupia was that a small amount of diamonds had been discovered in the mine.

As the topic changed to business, Rupia’s expression brightened immediately.

“It’s starting to get on track. Many merchant ships are already coming and going to the nearly completed port, and the diamonds that were being mined in small quantities at the mine are now being extracted in much larger amounts.”

Other news also indicated that things were going well.

Clea smiled at the business’s smooth sailing.

She was very curious about what expression Grit would have made if he had heard this news at the previous meeting.

She had merely added a spoonful to what he had achieved by pouring in vast amounts of money until now.

Clea arrived at the reception hall while talking with Rupia.

“It seems you were waiting for me.”

Admund was standing in front of the door.

“I didn’t want to miss you.”

Admund smiled and extended his hand to Clea.

After looking at that hand for a moment, Clea didn’t hesitate to take it.

“Did the talk go well?”

A warm warmth could be felt from the hand she held.

Not disliking that warmth, Clea nodded.

“I finished everything well.”

“Tell me if you need help. I can give you anything you want.”

Clea chuckled.

It sounds like a joke, but he probably didn’t mean it as one.

He would truly give her anything she wanted.

Knowing this well, Clea pointed at him and said.

“What I want is this.”

“Ha, so full of greed.”

The doors to the reception hall were slowly opening.

Before the grand reception that would mark the end of the wedding, Clea whispered quietly to him.

“Don’t fumble and dance well, darling.”

To which Admund replied with a smile.

“I’ll do my best.”