Grit told his vassals about the proposal he had received that day.

The expressions of the vassals who heard it brightened in an instant.

“Your Grace, this is a golden opportunity. It’s time to settle all business and rebuild the Odoi family.”

The atmosphere was one where almost everyone agreed with what one person had said.

Grit’s mind was very troubled.

When he first heard it, his reaction was not much different from that of his vassals.

It was finally a chance to get rid of that tiresome business and live luxuriously like before.

The money invested in the current businesses was enormous.

Enough to completely drain the funds the Odoi family had been accumulating until now.

The businesses still needed investment, and it was uncertain when they would see profits.

Rationally, he thought it was right to liquidate.

‘But somehow it feels unsettling.’

It wasn’t as if he had been running the business solely on luck and intuition until now.

He too had proceeded after investigating how realistic and likely to succeed these ventures were, based on rational research.

Even just on his desk, there were piles of documents related to the business.

He still didn’t want to let it go.

“Your Grace, the situation is not good now.”

“We can barely even pay wages to the mine workers.”

“That’s enough.”

“Your Grace, please carefully reconsider.”

The vassals, appalled at his apparent lack of sense, continued to dissuade him.

Even the wages for the servants at the ducal residence had been cut or delayed.

Even after going that far to pay the workers, it was still like pouring water into a bottomless pit.

Nevertheless, Grit continued to agonize, regretting the enormous amount of money already invested and the progress made.

The vassals were frustrated seeing him unable to make a decision easily.

‘What on earth is he pondering about? While continuing to delay payment even to the vassals.’

It was a well-known fact that the Odoi family was heavily in debt.

Moreover, the Percy Grand Ducal family had publicly declared they would no longer provide support.

Those who believed they should not continue on this downward path hurried to persuade Grit.

Grit, furrowing his brow, wanted to escape this topic for a moment.

“Where is Steve now and what is he doing?”

So the topic he brought up was Steve.

However, as soon as Steve’s story came up, none of the vassals opened their mouths.

Contrary to earlier, Grit was not at ease but rather irritated by this situation.

“Does anyone know where Steve is now?”

Originally, Steve should have been present at this meeting.

However, Steve was nowhere to be seen, nor had any news of him been received.

Due to the nature of the matter, Grit hadn’t noticed at first, but from the moment he realized Steve’s absence, he started to worry.

‘Surely not again.’

It had been only a few days since Grit had finally let him out of the attic.

Originally, he had planned to keep him locked up for a full month to ensure he would never set foot in such a place again.

But reluctantly, he released him due to the vassals’ persuasion that they couldn’t treat the heir that way.

Yet not long after being released, had he headed to Curtis Street again?

Grit looked around at his vassals.

All of their expressions were mixed with tension somewhere.

Seeing their faces, Grit’s anger surged.

“Has Steve already become a duke or something?”

“How could you say such a thing?”

“Then tell me where he is right now.”

Grit too had aged quite a bit.

The youth that once seemed endless had completely disappeared, wrinkles had formed, and his stamina had also declined, making it impossible to drink like before.

However, he was still far from death.

He was dumbfounded that the vassals were already showing such an attitude.

Finally, as if someone among the vassals felt this wasn’t right, one of them answered.

“He went to see Viscount Rokin.”

“To the Viscount?”

“Yes. I heard Your Grace had completely cut off his allowance. It seems he went to borrow funds.”

“Ha! That coward. Even though he must have heard what humiliation his father suffered from that man, he still crawled there!”

Upon learning that Steve had been doing nothing but wasteful things with his allowance, Grit had completely cut it off.

Along with all other financial support.

And now he’s saying he went directly to Viscount Rokin to try to borrow money?

Grit was at a loss for words.

“Throw him out when he returns!”

“Your Grace!”

“I absolutely cannot have such a pathetic person in my house!”

The vassals, already frustrated with business-related matters, sighed as Steve’s issue was added to the mix.

But they were mistaken.

A huge misunderstanding that Steve had gone to meet Barwin simply to borrow money.

* * *

The days of penance had reached their final day.

Just one more day and the penance would be completely over.

That meant she could be completely free from past affairs.

Clea didn’t particularly care whether she was free from past affairs or not.

But because it could affect Admund, she chose a week of hardship.

It was a path chosen out of necessity as the situation was already completely favorable to the other side, but by this point, it wasn’t bad for Clea either.

At this final stage, Rupia told Clea what she had seen.

“When I visited the Hersher mansion, Lloyd the Grand Duke’s son and Lady Aria were having an intimate conversation.”

“It seems Lloyd was impatient too. How urgent must it have been for him to do such a thing, even at the cost of destroying what he had built?”

After debating whether to speak or not, Rupia finally told Clea.

The nobles still seemed to think there was possibility with Aria, but from the perspective of an observer, Clea was the inevitable choice.

From her view, the situation had completely tilted.

Even her brother Oberon, who had so despised the Odoi family, was now supporting Clea.

Seeing that scene, Rupia made her choice.

If she had to choose a side, now was the time to fully choose Clea’s side.

So she disclosed the information she had seen.

Clea found the information interesting.

‘Certainly, Lloyd had feelings for her, but Aria didn’t at all.’

Aria had never once shown her heart to Lloyd.

Her heart was solely directed towards Admund.

Clea didn’t know why she was so obsessed with Admund, but she wasn’t curious either.

Clea turned her head to look at Admund.

“You said you had gathered sins regarding Lloyd, right?”

Admund nodded silently.

Clea thought now was the time to start.

“Then we should support Lloyd. Let’s spread what Rupia saw, nicely packaged.”

“How would you like it packaged?”

Amused by Clea’s expression, Admund was smiling.

He too could guess what she was going to say. But he wanted to hear it directly from her mouth.

Knowing all this, Clea replied incredulously.

“First, we should resolve the suspicions about Lloyd and Aria’s relationship.”

“In what way?”

“By implying their relationship is meaningful, like ours.”

“Like our relationship, huh.”

Completely packaging it like the relationship between the two of them.

The reason suspicions hadn’t arisen until now was solely because of the faith in Admund.

Aria Hersher. The belief that she would become Admund’s lover, and further, his wife.

But now that belief had been completely shattered by Clea, what would happen if suspicions about another man were planted?

Suspicions sprouting under shattered faith were likely to create even greater resentment than those that couldn’t form before.

“Isn’t it lovely? A love story between a Grand Duke’s son and a Duke’s daughter of a country.”

If the story of the seemingly impossible Crown Prince and the abandoned Duke’s daughter was like a fairy tale, the love story of the Grand Duke’s son and the Duke’s daughter had a realistic romantic feel.

Admund nodded in agreement with those words.

“Especially since the place Rupia saw is also meaningful.”

They moved alone to a quiet place where everyone could see them.

Some might call it fabrication, but enough people had already seen it.

In this situation, it was clear how perceptions of the two would change if spread carefully.

‘From friends to lovers.’

Words that should have followed them since the academy days hadn’t circulated until the end due to the breakwater that was Admund.

But now it was at a point where the breakwater called Admund had completely disappeared.

Just as Aria had used every means to undermine Admund and Clea’s relationship, Clea intended to move as well.

‘Take that man well. He seems to suit you perfectly.’

As she finished that thought, Oberon, who had been absent from his seat for a while, suddenly appeared.

“Oberon, did something happen?”

He seemed somewhat urgent, exhaling roughly as if he had been running.

Admund too was somewhat perplexed as he hadn’t particularly ordered anything, when surprising news reached people’s ears.

“His Majesty the Emperor is said to be coming here now.”

* * *

“Your Majesty, there is no need for you to personally come.”

Odin’s aide was sweating profusely while trying to persuade him.

He was suggesting that it would be better to turn the horses around and return to the Imperial Palace even now.

But his expression remained unchanged.

Maintaining a cold and blunt expression, he quietly said:

“When my little bird is there, how can you say there’s no reason to go?”

He mentions the little bird first, not even his son the Crown Prince.

At his attitude, as if it was already decided who would be the Crown Princess, the aide closed his mouth.

‘It’s about time to get a firm date too.’

Odin looked forward to seeing the expressions of the two people he would see in person.