Raul stood still, his face clouded with frustration, and quietly opened his mouth.

“His daughter is in the orphanage sponsored by Princess Velia.”

“Is that all you could find?”

The Emperor spoke in a disappointed tone.

“Indeed!”

“I discovered his daughter entered the orphanage around the time the Princess started her sponsorship. He hasn’t seen her once since then.”

The Emperor had ordered an investigation into all the circumstances following Raul’s discovery of illegal activities. His information department, which he personally oversaw, undoubtedly knew more details than even his own son, Raul.

It was suspicious that all this happened at that moment, but even the empire’s information department could not find evidence implicating Khaled or Velia.

“Tsk.”

Khaled and Raul were aware they were watching each other.

But the person Khaled had assigned to keep tabs on Raul was entirely unrelated to this matter.

“…There may have been some sort of lead back then.”

“Were you investigating illegal facilities then? Were you also frequenting gambling houses?”

Raul shook his head at the Emperor’s question.

“No.”

He truly had no interest in gambling at that time. Stumbling upon it accidentally had made it very intriguing, but only for a brief moment.

“So, are you saying the Princess had a premonition you’d be frequenting illegal gambling houses and hid him there in advance?”

“…”

It was frustrating.

A fog seemed to cloud his understanding.

Clearly, there were hidden matters that just wouldn’t reveal themselves.

“This entire matter is entirely your fault. Acknowledge it.”

“…I understand.”

“So remain confined to your palace for the time being.”

Raul gritted his teeth.

He felt incredibly inept.

The Emperor, assessing his twisted expression, sighed and asked,

“Do you want to kill the whistleblower? He did tarnish your reputation, so I would consider that.”

Raul slowly shook his head.

“No. Reward him. It’s only fair to reward the one who reported the illegal facility.”

“You’ve become the laughingstock of the world.”

The Emperor did not seem pleased that his beloved son was being talked about for the wrong reasons. Still, Raul answered calmly.

“If something happens to him, rumors will spread that I had him killed. So, please grant him a proper reward.”

Reluctantly, the Emperor nodded.

He then patted his cherished son’s shoulder lightly.

“I will handle this matter. Just wait.”

Raul, humiliated by the situation, had no choice but to return to his palace.

(This is a time separator.)

Velia and Khaled were enjoying a relaxed moment in the palace.

They had completely stopped visiting the casino since that day. There was no reason to go anymore.

Even if they wanted to, they couldn’t anymore.

“The casino closed down, you say?”

“Yes. With the Emperor, nobles, and citizens alike against it, it couldn’t operate any longer.”

“Hmm. A shame.”

Velia sipped her tea, speaking in a tone that was not regretful at all.

“It would have been difficult to trap Raul if you hadn’t known everything.”

“Couldn’t find a connection, could you?”

Khaled nodded.

“I left him alone. He seemed to be sniffing around, but it’s too late to find out about the past now.”

Velia had decided to use him when he came to place his child in the orphanage she sponsored.

They had him work diligently at the designated casino, telling him to report the illegal facility when they gave the signal. It wasn’t a difficult request.

“I’m relieved he did it well.”

Raul’s movements were being tracked by people under Khaled’s control.
He had simply needed to confirm the signal and report that day. But had he been scared and hidden, things could have gone awry.

Of course, he had a backup plan, but he hoped the man would keep his promise because this method was the cleanest.

“He recently adopted a daughter from the orphanage. It seems he received a generous reward. He looked very pleased.”

“Is that so? That’s fortunate.”

But the reason he had run to the guards to report was solely to repay the kindness shown to his daughter.

“He asked to convey his thanks for taking good care of his daughter. He heard from the orphanage that she smiles a lot.”

Velia had certainly given him a house and money in the Tesa duchy to settle down.

But hearing that he had thanked them multiple times for caring for his child made Velia’s heart swell with emotion.

“Raul was better than the old man. He acted wisely.”

Khaled shrugged his shoulders.

Admit your mistakes and reward good deeds.

It looked simple, but it was not. The honor of both the Emperor and the Crown Prince was at stake.

If the Emperor had ever tried to kill him, Khaled had resolved to save him by whatever means necessary. That’s why he had already stationed some of his men around the informant.

“It’s fortunate that it went off without a hitch.”

Velia smiled.

“The Emperor seems to be taking charge of handling this.”

Khaled’s voice was subdued.

He had hoped to tarnish his name, but now the Emperor was stepping in to quash it. It would surely be dismissed as a minor incident.