Ch.84Court (4)

“What? She was kicked out?”

“…Yes, that’s right. Since I was still working there, the other servants strongly objected, and in the end, I couldn’t bring Jeanne back with me. Of course, I did tell them you were looking for her.”

“…”

After hearing her underling’s report, Ines lowered her head slightly and fell into silence.

Normally, Ines would have immediately punished an underling who failed to complete their mission regardless of the circumstances, but now she lacked the energy to do so. It was because of what had just happened.

‘I must endure.’

The biggest problem was not knowing exactly how much Leclerc had figured out. Making any conspicuous move would truly be the end.

Right now, if even a single one of her underlings were to switch allegiance to Leclerc, it would create an irreversible situation. This was a time to exercise extreme caution.

Ugh… I should have prevented the transfer of personnel authority somehow. It’s too late for regrets now.

“…I see. Very well. You did your best, and being expelled wasn’t your fault, so go and rest.”

“Pardon? Ah… yes, understood, Lady Ines.”

The underling who heard Ines’s words wore an expression as if they had seen the sun rise in the west, then quickly composed themselves and bowed their head.

They had steeled themselves for inevitable punishment upon returning, yet here was their mistress assigning no blame whatsoever. It was as if she had become a different person.

…I never knew she had this side to her.

Ines’s underling was secretly moved by this unexpected display of leniency from their mistress. The fear-based loyalty that had been completely bleached away by Jeanne was now being replaced by a loyalty born of gratitude, slowly blossoming in their heart. Of course, Ines hadn’t intended this effect at all.

“Is that so? Hmm… well, as long as you delivered the message.”

While Ines’s underling was feeling touched behind the curtain, Chloe was waving her hand at her own underling, signaling them to leave.

Though Chloe didn’t know what had transpired between Ines and Leclerc, she wouldn’t hold her underling responsible either.

Unlike Ines, Chloe didn’t apply such strict discipline to her underlings. After all, they had already been thoroughly brainwashed at the orphanage before entering the palace, so there was no need to enforce additional discipline.

Above all, Chloe, who felt compassion for fellow orphans, rarely administered harsh punishments to her subordinates unless the matter was extremely serious. They were all precious and limited human resources that couldn’t be meaninglessly expended.

Even when Chloe had become angry after hearing the false information that Claude and Jeanne had been intimate, it was her subordinates who had made a greater fuss, trying to appease her by offering to take their own lives. Only after Chloe desperately stopped them did the incident end with just a few deaths, which ultimately made Chloe somewhat wary of her subordinates’ excessive loyalty.

‘It’s not that urgent anyway. Living in the palace, they’ll eventually have a chance to meet each other.’

With that thought, Chloe watched her dismissed subordinate leave and returned to her meditation.

Chloe gently and carefully stroked her belly while meditating, waiting for the day when her child would come into the world.

……….

“Therefore, I request Your Majesty’s permission to conduct an audit of the recent palace personnel.”

“Uh… hmm…”

Claude had been preparing for a briefing with medical professors when Leclerc entered his office and suddenly dropped this bombshell.

When Leclerc, who held authority over palace personnel, said it was an important matter, Claude expected something significant—but this was beyond important; it was serious.

The documents Leclerc handed over contained a detailed list of suspicious palace personnel, meticulously categorized by their tendencies, gender, assigned positions, and more.

The vast majority of them had entered service after Ines gained personnel authority. Jeanne, who had arrived just this morning, was not listed in the documents.

“There are far too many individuals with unclear origins. If they are from Lorel, we must seriously reconsider our treatment of Lady Ines.”

“…”

Claude understood what Leclerc was implying. He wanted Claude to consider the possibility that Ines had not abandoned her loyalty to her family, or worse, that she had approached Claude from the beginning as a spy for Lorel.

He wanted to say “Surely not,” but with such evidence staring him in the face…

Personally, he wanted to trust Ines. There was a good chance that she had simply been careless with administrative matters due to her upbringing as a princess.

But as king, he had to be suspicious of Ines. If she truly was a spy for the Duchy of Lorel… the consequences were too painful to contemplate.

He wouldn’t go as far as divorce, but the psychological pain of betrayal would be unbearable, regardless of any calculation of gains and losses.

“I authorize it. Investigate them all thoroughly and conclusively.”

“As you command, Your Majesty.”

This was not a matter for compromise. If Ines was innocent, obtaining proof would put his mind at ease. If she was guilty, he could clearly establish a solution.

Having received Claude’s permission, Leclerc bowed his head and left the office to begin his work. Claude watched Leclerc’s retreating back with a sigh.

He desperately hoped Ines would prove innocent.

……….

“Your origin and previous occupation?”

“I’m from Bar, and I was originally a farmer, but when the war destroyed all my farmland, I was desperate for a living and applied to become a servant…”

“…Hmm.”

Bar, huh? It’s suspicious being right next to Lorel, but there’s nothing to fault here, so I’ll put this case on hold for now.

“And you?”

“I grew up in an orphanage in Dijon. When I reached the age of independence, my future looked bleak until I happened to see a notice that the palace was recruiting servants.”

“Recruitment notice? What did it say?”

“Uh… I’m not very educated so I don’t remember clearly, but I recall it mentioned physical labor. Indeed, since coming here, I’ve only been carrying food supplies and materials every day.”

“Hmm… I see.”

Those muscles could only have been developed through labor. Looking at his shoulders, I can see traces of carrying heavy loads.

The explanation is so perfect it actually raises suspicion, but this one passes.

“I… I’m from Lorel, and I worked at the Duke of Lorel’s palace…”

“Hmm, if you were already working in a palace, you must have had a satisfactory life. Why did you come here?”

“It’s quite embarrassing to say in front of others… but I am acquainted with Lady Ines. It seems Lady Ines needed someone to gather more reliable information about the court, so she invited me due to our slight acquaintance.”

This is ambiguous.

A noblewoman bringing servants from her family home cannot be considered a fault. It’s too common an occurrence.

While it’s said that a married woman changes her surname, that only applies to commoners. Noble ladies often continue to display their connection to their birth family in unofficial settings, still using their pre-marriage surname.

Of course, they don’t use the surname completely, but incorporate it as a middle name. For Lady Ines, it would be something like Ines Lorel de Bourgogne.

Anyway, if this person were truly a Lorel spy, they wouldn’t reveal everything so openly. Though they might have anticipated that and employed this tactic, my eyes, trained through encounters with countless people, tell me this person isn’t that suspicious.

Hmm… I’ll put this one on hold as well.

“Very well, you may all leave now.”

“G-goodbye. Please treat us kindly.”

After dedicating an entire day to the audit, Leclerc, having finished the final interrogation, casually acknowledged the departing servants’ farewells with one hand while sitting down in his chair.

Then, pinching his forehead and cheek with his thumb and index finger, and holding the summarized documents in his other hand, Leclerc fell into thought.

‘Let’s see… about 20% of the newly recruited personnel are from Lorel, and the rest were recruited from within Lotaring.’

Twenty percent—it could be considered a lot, but it could also be seen as unproblematic. In absolute numbers, it’s fewer than twenty people. That amount could easily be dismissed as Lady Ines bringing her attendants and servants when she married into the royal family.

Moreover, since Lorel uses the same language as Dijon, there would have been no problems working in the palace.

Of course, carelessly employing foreign individuals in the palace is certainly worthy of criticism, even if that foreign country is the queen’s birthplace.

‘Should I focus on whether Lady Ines deliberately employed those Lorel individuals or not… recruitment notices… hmm…’

About five people claimed that Ines had summoned them personally, while everyone else said they had applied for palace service after seeing recruitment notices in Dijon.

People from Lorel, tired of the imperial civil war, moving to Dijon wouldn’t have faced major problems since they spoke the same language… and such immigrants would have had no choice but to try all kinds of jobs. Several of those interrogated said exactly that.

“There are grounds for suspicion, but not enough to make a significant issue of it.”

After deep contemplation, Leclerc finally reaches this conclusion.

Although 20% were from Lorel, direct interrogation revealed that not a single one of them exhibited particularly suspicious behavior. Most were extremely nervous about this audit, anxiously worried about losing their jobs. A very human reaction.

Of course, from Leclerc’s perspective, who strongly dislikes unclear origins and unqualified individuals entering the palace, more than half of them would clearly lose their jobs, but that wouldn’t result in charges against Ines.

If any fault were to be assigned, it would merely be administrative incompetence, which is hardly grounds for charging the queen.

“His Majesty will be pleased that the suspicions against Lady Ines have been cleared.”

Leclerc says this as he begins writing the report to submit to Claude.

Thanks to Jeanne’s prayer, which had completely removed their fear, the resulting loyalty, and their near-brainwashing education, they perfectly deceived Leclerc’s well-trained eye at the subconscious level, leading to his misjudgment.

In reality, not 20% but 40% were from Lorel, and all of them were underlings of Chloe and Ines. But due to Jeanne’s prayer, Leclerc was unable to detect their lies.

Whether it was a misjudgment or not, most of them would be dismissed regardless. Under Leclerc’s strict standards, over 80% would eventually be expelled from the palace.

Chloe and Ines would no longer be able to exert influence in the palace as they once did.