To You, So Noble and Vulgar (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 129

The perfume business, invested in based on Victoria’s word, had utterly failed and dragged Duke of Xiling’s reputation to rock bottom. If it had merely failed, it would have ended with just a loss of money—but because there were many victims, the matter had escalated to the point of involving the Emperor himself.

The Emperor expressed his anger toward the Duke of Xiling, and the Third Prince condemned him, saying, “I trusted only you—I never expected you’d repay that trust in this manner.”

Having already fallen out of the Emperor’s favor, the Duke of Xiling couldn’t afford to sever ties with the Third Prince as well, so despite his resentment, he had no choice but to endure the Third Prince’s criticism silently.

Although the Emperor had scolded the Third Prince, the Third Prince remained the Emperor’s favorite son. His mother, Aiyela, still enjoyed the Emperor’s full favor.

There would always be opportunities to escape this predicament and for the Third Prince to oust the Crown Prince. If he simply backed the Third Prince and secured his position as Crown Prince, an incident like this would amount to nothing.

The Duke of Xiling absolutely had to manage this situation while somehow preserving his relationship with the Third Prince.

“Simple-minded commoners could be handled with a bit of money…”

But that was precisely the problem.

The Duke of Xiling now had not a single coin left to operate with. Though a small amount remained in the state treasury, it was barely enough to last through the year.

Moreover, since it had become known that he’d even emptied the treasury for this failed investment, any further meddling would inevitably lead to an even greater scandal.

He had subtly pressured his children and managed to extract some money from them, but it was laughably insufficient to resolve the situation.

Thus, while pondering his options, Count Ingou Alprehi came to mind.

Count Alprehi—one of the top five arms dealers across the entire continent.

The Alprehi family had purchased their comital title with money in the previous generation, yet they still weren’t regarded as legitimate nobility. Nobles from established, reputable houses scorned and ostracized him, calling him a “nouveau riche upstart.”

Since Count Alprehi possessed more than enough wealth, he now craved honor and had been sending subtle signals to the Duke of Xiling.

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