FYERIL - Chapter 50 < Titles Between Spouses (1) >

'Why?' 

Lucas's brain was paralyzed by the incomprehensible situation. 

'How... is that in Ariana's hands?' 

The previous Marquis of Pedegreen had failed in his investments one after another. If it had been an ordinary noble family, it would have been a blow that would have caused them to go bankrupt several times. 

It takes money to maintain a large noble family. It wasn't just because of their reputation and connections that the Pedegreen family was able to maintain their status and land without going bankrupt. The previous Marquis had used simple and effective methods. 

He decided to manipulate the taxes collected from the land. He drove out the tenant farmers and replaced them with foreign slaves. In principle, using slaves was illegal in the empire, but in regions far from the system, they gradually broke the law. The agricultural products and fabrics produced by the slaves were not recorded in the ledger. 

Because the Pedegreen family had such a long history, they had close ties with the local inspectors. And the investigators secretly reported the value they had created from slaves only to the Pedegreen family and received a satisfactory commission in return.

By reducing the size of the harvest in this way, the Marquis Pedegreen was able to reduce the amount of taxes he had to pay. However, this was a secret known only to the previous  Marquis Pedegreen, the Marquis, and Lucas. No one but the master and mistress of the Pedegreen family could have known. 

"You... what did you do?" 

"Does that matter?" 

Ariana tilted her head slightly. 

"There are more urgent matters to consider than how I knew about this. For example, how to ask His Majesty the Emperor for forgiveness for the large-scale tax evasion that has continued for two generations." 

"I asked how you knew about it!" 

"You don't seem to have the presence of mind to try to evade it." 

"Ariana!" 

I smiled brightly at the sudden shout. I was only left with an instinctive aggression because I had been caught off guard. Looking at that beastly sight, I couldn't help but laugh.

"How can I be a proper wife if I can't even do such simple calculations?" 

"I'm sorry, Ma'am. I did the math as you asked, but you didn't tell me about the commission..." 

"Hey! So it's my fault?! If you had a brain and were perceptive, you should have figured it out yourself! Tsk... It's one thing for the child not to be able to conceive, but it's another problem if they conceive. I wonder if they'll end up being dull and stupid, just like their mother."

The Marchioness of Pedegreen entrusted me with the management of the secret ledger not because she trusted me. It was because she ignored me, seeing me as a shell without any will. 

No matter how much I thought about it, I didn't die on the day she was hit by Edward's car. At some point, my ego had already died. 

"How could I have been so stupid?" 

I let out a self-deprecating laugh, and Lucas felt sad. 

"It's not that I'm stupid, it's that you did something evil!" 

"..." 

"You had someone search my house, right? Do you think you'll get away with something like that?" 

"There's no good in provoking me like this." 

I tilted my head slightly. 

"I haven't completely blown up what I have in my hands yet." 

"... What do you have in your hands?" 

"Do you know that Marchioness of Pedegreen is involved in loan sharking?" 

"What the hell are you talking about?" 

Lucas furrowed his brow. The Marquis's household was all taken care of by the Marchioness of Pedegreen. Lucas didn't know much about the family, but he had no doubt that his mother was wisely taking care of the household. 

"Are you trying to insult even my mother now?" 

"Oh, you didn't know at all. That must have shocked you even more," 

I said with a grin. 

"The Marchioness has been borrowing money recently. Did you know that the fashion of the last season was lapis lazuli silk and pink sapphires, and this season was ermine fur? It seems that the family's finances have become very poor due to the successive popularity of excessively expensive items."

"That can't be true." 

Lucas shook his head, laughing in vain. The mother he knew had devoted her life since her youth to supporting the declining Marquis. Not only that but as the mistress of an orphaned Marquis, she was also wise and had a unique perspective. There was no way that such a mother would strain the family finances to the point of using private loans just for the sake of fashion. 

A couple months ago, he remembered the white fur shining brightly on the body of the Marchioness who had escorted him to the ball. Since he had spent most of the cash he could on the Lopez House, it was true that he wondered how her mother had been able to afford such a luxury item. However, he did not question it. Could the grand dame of the prestigious Pedegreen family not wear a single fur as she pleased? 

'If the Lopez House continues to succeed on the Feast of St. Verdict and the National Foundation Day, the investment will soon be returned several dozen times over, so it doesn't matter.'

Such calculations were also in his head. The person who had caused the Lopez House to fall apart shamelessly chirped away with an unwavering face. 

"Of course, the wise grand dame chose the company with the lowest interest rate. But what can I do?" 

A refreshing smile appeared on Ariana's lips. 

"You didn't know that the company she chose was the source of the Dawn Corps' money." 

"...What?" 

The color drained from Lucas' face.

Why did the name Dawn Corps come up here? 

The Dawn Corps was a group that claimed the succession to the throne of the deposed Prince, the current Emperor's older brother who was once the Crown Prince but was dethroned due to his cruel nature and is now imprisoned in the West Tower. In other words, it was a group of traitors. 

"That's ridiculous!" 

Lucas shouted, his blood boiling in his throat. 

"There's no way my mother would have gotten involved with those guys!"

The reputation of the Marquis Pedegreen family came from their history as a founding father. For such a family to touch the money of a traitorous group. Normally, they might have been able to cover it up by saying it was a mistake they made without knowing... But now that the existence of the secret ledger has been revealed, could they really do that? 

Lucas felt a cold sweat running down his spine. 

"I don't believe it." 

Yes. No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't believe it. A woman who knew nothing but playing with notes knew about the existence of the secret ledger, and even the circumstances of the grand lady that he didn't know about. Lucas gritted his teeth and muttered. 

"You're probably trying to seduce me with wicked words. Do you think I'd fall for such a trick?" 

"Believe it or not, it's up to you, Marquis. From my perspective, it's better if you don't believe it. That way..."

Ariana closed her eyes and smiled. 

"Because you'll be more devastated than when you realize you can't deny it anymore." 

Lucas was silent for a moment. Her clean smile and sparkling eyes were overflowing with blatant and intense malice. 

"Ariana. You... have changed so much." 

If it were the Ariana he knew, even if she had noticed what happened with Elena, she would have come to Lucas first. With those kind and innocent eyes, she would have asked Lucas, the person involved, to explain. This was a woman he had no idea was setting up such a creepy trap and taking advantage of people. 

"...That bastard?" 

Lucas muttered in despair. He couldn't believe that Ariana had done all this on her own. 

"Did that bastard tell you to do this?" 

Ariana let out a snicker. Even after it had come to this point, Lucas still didn't acknowledge her completely. Her consistency was incredible. 

"Did you really like that bastard? Huh?"

Lucas repeatedly brought up Dante and then growled with his eyes sparkling as if he was obsessed with it. 

"Dante Heigenberg, I recognized you before that bastard." 

A desperate voice poured out to Ariana. 

"I was the one who recognized and discovered you when you were stuck in the corner of your room, unable to even play the piano because you were too busy watching your brother. If it weren't for my insight, you and your family would still be living in misery!" 

"..." 

"Me! I recognized and loved you first. I'm better than that bastard-." 

"Love?" 

Lucas flinched at the cold voice.

"No. What you gave me was a rotten piece of fruit. It may have looked delicious, but..."

"..."

"It was so disgusting that I couldn't help but throw it up the moment I put it in my mouth."

The corners of her rosy lips curled upwards, drawing a sinister curve. Lucas's gaze was blankly stolen by Ariana, who turned around and started walking away. 

"Ariana! Damn it, Ariana!" 

Lucas belatedly knocked on the bars, but Ariana disappeared without stopping. 

"Damn it, damn it!" 

Lucas kicked the pitiful bars in the prison cell he was left alone in, venting his anger. He grumbled and sank to the floor. His confused mind would not calm down. 

'Who the hell is that woman?' 

The soft voice whispering in his ear. The leisurely gestures. The laughter felt almost sinister. Lucas gulped as he recalled Ariana's smile that he had seen last. 

Ariana had become a woman he had never known. Incredibly cheeky, and... so captivating that he couldn't shake her off his mind.

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