“Duchess of Lowenberg, fancy meeting you here.”

What do you mean fancy meeting me here? It’s a subpoena, I have no choice, don’t I?

Also, there were many onlookers.

Apparently, various aristocrats with nothing better to do wanted a part in taking me down a notch.

Some noble ladies jeered at me, grinning wickedly behind their fans. Among those nobles, there were also hyenas who wanted to use this incident as an opportunity to usurp my business venture.

They were inferior to the commoners they treated like cretins.

“As it’s a subpoena, it’s only natural for me—Your Majesty’s vassal—to attend. Although, there seems to be a misunderstanding.”

As I softly expressed my dissatisfaction, I stared at the princess, and she did the same in return. Her eyes were full of justice.

She probably doesn’t know. As a weapon, justice had the ability to kill.

“Iris, what do you mean by that? It isn’t a misunderstanding in the slightest.”

The princess had just interrupted a conversation between me, a duchess, and the king himself. Not to mention, she did so publicly. In other countries, she’d be ridiculed from that blatant show of disrespect.

“All right, calm down.”

In fact, if the king hadn’t dismissed it, that might’ve happened.

Many cases in history showed that granting power to foolish parents didn’t lead to good outcomes.

“Your Majesty, I haven’t heard the details about this subpoena. What business do you have with me?”

Should I teach the princess a lesson?

Fortunately, there were many onlookers.

Before anything else, the princess needed to understand that the world didn’t revolve around her.

“That’s right. Actually, when Sheila went to inspect your territory with the crown prince of Elda, she claimed to have discovered many issues. Because they can’t be overlooked, I’d like to further clarify and improve the situation.”

“Are you referring to the orphanage?”

“Correct. Apparently, you canceled the inspection to hide your own mistakes?”

I more or less expected this.

By the look of things, she probably didn’t ask her tutor, or even if she did, perhaps the latter glossed over it. I hadn’t heard of any tutors being fired though, so it was too early to call them a liar. Or perhaps the tutor was being lenient? Did said tutor overlook her claims, thinking it was just a simple misunderstanding?

Regardless of which, how foolish of them.

This uproar should be enough for them to realize it. The lost of the royal family’s credibility was the result of their laziness up until now.

“Certainly, the princess judged that there were many issues. However, the princess’ judgment itself was flawed, so I decided that it’d be problematic to proceed with the inspection, and canceled it on the spot.”

When I pointed out that the problem lied with the princess, the king’s gaze became fierce.

‘There’s nothing wrong with my daughter!’—he seemed to say.

C’mon, Your Majesty, wake up already.

If the ruler of the country and his successor kept on dreaming, the country would eventually perish.

“To hire servants at the orphanage to take care of the orphans; to give each orphan a room; to have their clothes made in a boutique; claiming commoners essentially wear rags for clothes and shouldn’t be worn—that’s the gist of what Her Highness was saying.”

“—And what’s wrong with that!? Those pitiful orphans deserve at least that much!”

The onlookers, who wanted to disparage me against the confident princess, began to murmur. After all, if they agreed with the princess’ words, then they’d have follow through.

Supporting the orphanage was our noblesse oblige as aristocrats. Since everything was arranged by the aristocrat overseeing that territory, the treatment would differ depending on the place.

Some orphanages that were supported by the aristocrats for appearances’ sake usually had poor conditions.

If they were to agree with the princess, even those who provided minimum support would eventually go bankrupt.

“Let’s say we treat orphans the same as aristocrats. What would you do if commoners demand the same treatment?”

“They won’t.”

“What makes you say that?”

“Because they live with their families, they’re happy. In our country, there are no corrupt people who would exploit unfortunate children who’ve lost their parents by offering them charity.”

I almost laughed.

“I admire the princess for being able to believe in the goodness of others, and I do hope that your heart will remain as noble once you become queen.”

Although, I didn’t know if it’d be such a straightforward path. After all, merely looking at her already triggered my anxiety as an aristocrat.

“—But the princess has misunderstood our duties as members of the nobility.”

“…I misunderstood?”

“We nobles can enjoy lives better than commoners because it comes with responsibilities. Namely, noblesse oblige. If orphanages want the same quality of life for those they care, then they’d have to carry the same responsibilities. Your Highness, being too ambitious will only bring harm. Granting them such privileges won’t solve anything. Someday, those orphans will also grow into adults.”

Laws didn’t apply to orphans who were exempt from tax obligations. Many also didn’t treat them as equals. Of course, by ‘many’, I wasn’t just referring to aristocrats, but also commoners who grew up in normal households.

If we were to pursue this matter, not only would many aristocrats be in deep water, every orphanages would also have to be investigated.

As a matter of course, no one was foolish enough to dig this up just to bring me down. After all, if they weren’t careful, they might even stumble across the royal family’s dark secrets.

“How do you justify having orphans work?”

“There’s a stigma against orphans. Due to that, they have difficulty finding employment. This often results in a vicious cycle in which they turn to crime. By allowing growing orphans to work to an extent for a short period of time, they’ll be able to secure employment once they leave the orphanage, and break the cycle. Furthermore, the money are theirs to keep, so I don’t see any problems with it. Above all, they aren’t breaking the law.”

The high crime rate of those from orphanage was a national crisis. Upon hearing my explanation, I could hear the onlookers murmuring, “Should I put this into practice with my orphanage?” and, “That’s an interesting way to do it.”

The meager income that the orphans earned was of no use to aristocrats. The king also showed a slight interest to our exchange, and leaned forward. …Even though until a second ago, he seemed completely bored.

At any rate, I suppose he set this up without even listening to the princess’ reasons and just granted her request.

“I see. It seems that the princess has misunderstood. Hahaha, Duchess, I beg your pardon.”

 As if apologizing will resolve anything…

“Father.” Said the princess, seemingly displeased. However, the king, who sensed that the nobility’s reaction wasn’t in their favor, concluded the summons before it could lead to anything big.

“Sheila, don’t be too selfish. You’ll only trouble the duchess.”

“I’m not being selfish.”

“Ah, forgive me, I didn’t mean it that way. I’m sure Sheila is thinking of the country in her own way. As your father, I’m proud of such a daughter. But as a king, I simply can’t allow it.”

Again, it’s not about her being selfish.

If they were an ordinary parent and child, there wouldn’t be a problem. But this is the king and the princess we’re talking about. It wasn’t mere selfishness if it could result in death.

Aside from the king, the princess should know how far her weapon reached.

---

***T/N: Ugh, someone stop me…

“Because they live with their families, they’re happy. In our country, there are no corrupt people who would exploit unfortunate children who’ve lost their parents by offering them charity.”

The cringe. The second-hand embarrassment, IT’S REAL.

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