C107
Roland looked at Viscount Cainbert.
"Without any reason..."
The commander knight approached Roland.
"Come to think of it, why are the former Duke Cassius and the princess here?"
"I just happened to pass by for my granddaughter's recovery on my way to a villa nearby."
The lie came very easily.
"I encountered Viscount Cainbert on the way, and he was waging territorial war with the family of my former granddaughter-in-law, so I thought I should mediate at least."
"Is that true?"
"Are you doubting me now?"
Viscount Cainbert shouted loudly.
"It's a lie! My Lord came to see me first and told me to carry out a territorial war, seize that mine, and then give it to him! If I did that, he not only promised me a large sum of money but also pledged his support!"
Roland looked at the viscount as if ignoring him and clicked his tongue.
"Commits a sin that can't be tolerated and, like a water demon, lures everyone in."
The old man spread his arms and declared his innocence.
"If you want to investigate, investigate as much as you can! Feel free to investigate me!"
Seeing how confident he was, it seemed Roland left no evidence.
"He's not stupid."
One of the reasons he brought Viscount Cainbert to the forefront was probably to cut off his tail.
"First, head to the capital with us. You will have to undergo an investigation at the imperial palace."
The commander of the knights said and led Roland to the carriage brought by the knights.
"No, you can't do that."
Liena called Roland, who was relatively obediently heading towards the carriage, and stopped him.
"Grandpa!"
"It's okay, Liena. Go to the villa with my men first. I'll finish the investigation soon and then come there."
"But I'm worried about my grandpa. You're so old, how will you survive the investigation process?"
If someone saw him, they would think he was heading straight for torture.
No matter how much he was no longer the duke, Roland still had significant influence in Cassius and was a high-ranking noble.
"This is where I'm really concerned."
In the end, Roland would be released without any charges found, and there was a high possibility he would side with his granddaughter and interfere with me.
Just when I wondered if there was any solution, the Imperial Knights suddenly adopted an alert posture.
"There...!"
A group of people was running again towards this village, following the same path they had taken.
The people approaching on horseback, raising dust, were people I knew well.
"They are the Knights of Cassius."
The leader was Duke Edman Cassius.
When the duke reached the village entrance and stopped, the leader of the Imperial Knights remained alert and asked.
"Duke Cassius, what are you doing here? Did you really come to pick up your family?"
"I don't care what happens to my father."
But Edman's response was completely different.
"I just came to pick up my daughter, so if there's no problem, I'll take her."
"Really? Ah... The only person Viscount Cainbert has pointed out as the instigator is the former duke, so it's fine for the princess to leave."
"That irrational bastard!"
Roland growled as if he were about to jump and kick his son at any moment, but the members of the Imperial Knights quickly stopped him.
"I won't leave!"
Liena shouted at her father.
"Follow me in silence. You are on probation for the time being."
"No, I don't want to! I'm going to my grandpa's villa!"
Leheim, who was beside the duke, dismounted from his horse and grabbed his sister by the shoulder.
"Liena, don't go on with this and go back home."
"I don't want to! Trying to force me to go when I don't want to is violence too!"
"I'll ask you again. Please, let's go."
"Hey, brat! Didn't you hear Liena? Remove that hand right now!"
"Grandpa, please stay still."
Liena endured for a while, but since Roland couldn't do anything, there was no one here to actively save her.
Liena reluctantly took a step back.
"Fine. I'll follow my father. But please appoint Maxim as my escort among the knights. I feel safer having him by my side."
Maxim was a member of the Knights of Cassius, who adored Liena.
At the same time, he was also a person who had nothing to do with me but left a very negative impression.
"Thanks to him, the trial almost got ruined."
The head butler told me before that Maxim was the Cassius knight who caught him and didn't let go during my divorce trial.
The disaster was averted because Terence had safely rescued the head butler, but it was a huge crisis that almost caused a key witness not to be able to attend the trial.
"If he gives such a job to Maxim, he might release Liena."
It was a quite convincing assumption. Maxim served Liena in place of Duke Cassius.
But Duke Cassius shook his head.
"That's impossible."
"Why?"
"Maxim was fired a few days ago. Along with other knights who followed him considerably."
"Why? Who ordered that?!"
"I did as the duke."
"Maxim is the person I brought into the family."
"That doesn't mean he can't be fired."
"Dad!"
"Liena, I hope you follow me in silence. I don't want to use force to drag you."
Indeed, I was quite surprised to see these two people arguing.
"Why is the duke so determined...?"
The Duke Cassius I knew was extremely gentle with his daughter, the kind of person who would step back and always listen to her requests as long as Liena didn't do anything that put her in danger.
I thought he had regained some sense after reading his wife's letter in the time capsule and making amends with the butler, but I had no idea he would appear like this.
"Has there been a significant change within the duchy without my knowledge?"
The reason Liena suddenly appeared with her grandfather seemed to be because of that change.
I felt that I needed to seriously think about this matter.
After a while, Liena had no choice but to give up her stubbornness and board the carriage pulled by the Knights of Cassius. She looked fixedly here until the end.
I realized that her gaze was directed at Terence and not me.
"In this case, I should probably reevaluate the situation."
"Ethel."
Duke Cassius approached me and spoke.
"I feel ashamed. I don't know the details, but it seems that my father and my daughter have caused you trouble."
"If you know, make sure to take strong measures against your daughter."
"I was about to do that. If there's anything I can help you with, let me know."
After leaving these words, the duke quickly led the knights and left. It seemed he didn't want to cause unnecessary friction with the Imperial Knights.
"Now, let's get back to the matter at hand."
Now the situation was more or less resolved.
"Your Highness, are you okay?"
The knight commander showed courtesy to Terence.
"How dare the men of Viscount Cainbert commit such betrayal and point their weapons at His Highness!"
"Oh, about that. Please treat the soldiers appropriately."
"What? So..."
"They did it without knowing my identity. The one who acted was their master, who knew who I was and even heard that I was in charge of the Andala Mine, but decided to launch a territorial war."
The knight commander seemed secretly moved by the prince's generous treatment.
"I should make sure to get all the necessary details."
"I will accept your orders!"
This would relieve the guilt of the soldiers but not Viscount Cainbert.
"Is he really planning to fight for the territory?"
"So, does the viscount really plan to fight for the territory?"
Terence clearly gave the viscount a chance until the end.
Although instigated by Roland, he was the one who made the wrong decision because he was blinded by greed.
Terence looked at me and pointed to the Imperial Knights.
"Now, would you do them the honor of seeing the mine?"
"Of course."
The purpose of their coming to this mountainous area in the first place was not only to avoid a territorial war but also to check the mine.
The knight commander said.
"Although we arrived first, specialized engineers were also sent here. You can discuss technical aspects with them."
"Let's make sure everything is in order."
"If you're going to stay for a while, you'll need new and larger accommodations. As you can see, it's a small village."
"No need to worry. Skilled workers will also come."
"This quiet village is going to become quite noisy."
Then someone asked us cautiously.
"Excuse me... What's happening here...?"
It was the village chief who seemed a bit distressed due to the continuous influx of strangers to the village from before.
"Time to explain the situation."
The other attended residents didn't look to be in different conditions.
I responded with a smile.
"I need their cooperation."
"I want to ask you for something. Of course, this is not a request I make for no reason."
It was time for this place, where life was so harsh that there was not a single trace of interest even when a meteorite fell, to come to life.
After giving them a brief explanation of the mine, I pulled aside the knight commander and asked him a personal favor.
"Do you want to meet Roland Cassius?"
"Can't I? I'd like to talk to him for a moment."
"Well, since he's still detained in our carriage, it's not a request I can't grant."
"Let's see what he has to say."
Since I became the owner of a first-rate magic stone mine, the knight commander tried to please me as much as possible. Good, good.
With a happy smile, I followed the knights to the carriage where Roland was traveling.
"I have nothing to say to you."
A moment later, Roland, with a frowning face, came out of the carriage.
"We'll see about that."
"I do. Quite a bit."
As I watched the fight between the Cassius family, a hypothesis occurred to me, and it was time to check it.
----------------------
A few days later, in front of the main gate of the imperial palace.
Duke Cassius was waiting with his son and daughter for his father to be released.
Today was the last day of Roland's investigation, and Liena came with him, complaining that she had to go meet her grandfather.
"Let's see how this unfolds."
"Anyway, he wasn't declared guilty, so why bother coming to see him...?"
"But I still have to see Grandpa!"
At that moment, Roland came out through the main door, and Liena ran towards him.
"Grandpa!"
Liena tried to hug her grandfather's arms as she always did. However.
"Demon!"
Roland pushed his granddaughter, and Liena fell to the ground.
"That's unexpected."
"Grandpa...?"
Roland patted the shoulder where Liena had touched him and scolded her with a disgusted expression.
"This humble thing, how dare it touch me?"
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