The Inner Palace Tale of a Villainess Noble Girl

Juke, who glanced at the 'report', which had been delivered to the office in Ichi in the morning, tipped his neck at first and became a rugged look over time. The case the king has to rule on is massive, and it seems good to leave a single report behind, but even if it is time for the sun to approach the horizon, the report will not leave on Juke's desk. In the evening when he finally partitioned himself from the ministers' visit, Juke ordered the Kingsguard knights outside of Alford to leave the room. As the knights leave, Juke reaches for a bunch of paper on his desk.

"Alford, look at this"

"That's the one you were watching in the morning, right? You don't mind if I take a look?

"The body of the report is in order. It won't be a problem."

Juke's complexion in offering a bunch of paper to Alford is bad. Alford glanced through his eyes silently, - not even at the nappies of what he was already familiar with, but let him gently open his eyes.

"This… seems to be a change in revenue and expenditure over the past five years in the inner palace"

"Oh, it looked that way to me, too.... What do you think?

"Before my opinion, Juke, let me hear your opinion. What did you think?

"- Weird. Every year, I look at the financial report, but this is how I see it…"

It was in a heavy tone, but I don't see any stray in the juke. I look up to Alford and assure him clearly.

"Two years ago, it was the year your father was killed. Naturally, I don't see that happening from this report, even though it would be strange not to see some increase in the number of people coming out with it"

"Right. For once, there's a funeral bill in the name of it, but it can't be this small."

"And also this year. With the hindquarters starting to function, the burden of the treasury should be considerable. But..."

"You're too extreme, the way you increase. For once there are more people in the back palace, but it's unnatural for any charge to continue so suddenly."

The two men looked bitter as they peeked into a rather detailed and understandably compiled report.

"... so? When you saw this report, what were your possibilities?

"I hate to think about it... but there will only be one possibility that I can explain this unnaturalness"

Public money, embezzlement...

The words of Juke, who grumbled heavily, sound inside the clerk's office and disappear. Alford struck his tongue.

"Who the hell did this to you?

"When you were manipulating the paperwork that would come up to me, it was pretty much up there. Madam Chief, then, perhaps, the ministers of the Treasury…"

Originally, he is a diligent and brilliant juke when it comes to executive duties. If you notice any discomfort, the later is early.

"Anyway, I need to talk to you"

"Talk? Who are you gonna ask what?

"To the chief woman...... you won't answer me if I ask, I guess"

"If the chief woman is the killer, it's over for you to spare me. If you have proof, at this stage, anyway."

Something is unnatural, but he asked me, and that's because I was wrongdoing it! And no villain will answer me. Still trying to scratch my feet, even when I'm stuck with immobile evidence, is what the right villain looks like.

"But if embezzlement of public money is true, you can't leave it alone."

"Right.... Speaking of which, where did that report come from? If it's hard evidence, they might already be moving."

"Well, well enough to be!

Juke, curled of judgmental paper when told, raised his surprise when he saw the name on the last page.

"but the outer chamber......?

"Oh, that's an auxiliary organization in the three provinces. You didn't have the authority to perform directly to the King's Office, so you took the form of a report."

"Does that mean that the outer chamber notices the injustice of the inner chamber and is secretly looking into it?

"Isn't that likely? I don't have a workload hamper over there, but I've got a lot of talent for that."

"... you, do you know someone for a second?

Alford nodded to the half-heartedly enquired juke that he had done well.

"I still have a wide face. - The assistant director of the outer palace can pull it right off, but what do we do?

- Keith, who was supposed to be the first to enter the King's Office, walked into the center of the Stasta room without moving at all and took a courtesy of his subordinates.

"Keith Heisett, assistant director of the outer palace room. I'm here now to summon you."

"Oh, put your face up, Keith Heisette. Despite all the sudden calls, he often came."

"If Your Majesty calls, you can't ignore it."

Keith is basically faceless, but it's also Keith who's more honest than anyone else about the air that wraps him up. Standing between them, Alford grinned bitterly as he perceived his heart.

"So, what is the story? If possible, we have work to do, so please be brief."

"Oh, really? That was bad."

"Apologize or something, so talk to me."

Bluntly enough, even the acclaimed juke seems to have sensed Keith's "I'm busy, just get things done" aura. I called Alford with my gaze and asked him in a low voice.

"Hey. Is this the assistant director of the outer palace room?

"Only affection is decidedly lacking, but I won't allow you to follow anything else with competence. How much the turnover in that room has increased since Keith entered the outer chamber"

- Your Majesty, I'd like to talk to you.

Keith's voice was so cold that Alford as well as Juke jumped up lightly. Especially Alford, his stinging gaze just hurts when he scolds him the moment he goes out to the outer chamber and speaks up: 'How can the story of the paperwork you gave him first thing in the morning be at such a time, it's now that we're the busiest, what are you thinking'.

"First, Your Majesty, let's get down to business."

"Right, let's do that"

The two of them nodded at each other, and Juke glanced at Keith again, talking about a possible injustice derived from the 'report' that the outer chamber had dropped in.

Keith, who was listening silently to the king's words, exhales loudly, waiting for his words to end.

- Good morning.

"Keith?"

"If His Majesty hadn't noticed the injustice of the Inner Palace, we couldn't have done anything about it."

"Then again......!

"Yes, the current Chief, Sarah Maris, has been repeatedly embezzled and wronged for about two years now in office. It was obvious from the unnaturalness of the book, but it was rewritten from the edge we noticed, and it was finely crafted so that we wouldn't just look at it on a yearly basis."

Keith's words do not precipitate. On this matter, I suppose we also have a strong desire to clarify the full extent of the case ourselves at all costs, just because there was a 'I didn't report it while I was aware' wrongdoing in the outer chamber.

"Sarah Maris' bare behavior doesn't stay just that. After research, a considerable number of low-status maids and women have left the royal palace from what she described as the position of chief woman. I talked to some of them, and they said that the sheriff's offer made it difficult to stay in the royal palace and forced them to quit in the form of half being kicked out."

"What!? Are you suggesting that a woman who serves my royal palace was causing harm from her personal feelings?

"Yes, it doesn't seem to be on the table, but you think it makes a lot of difference in dealing with the side chamber side? They say that every morning and evening greetings are indispensable to Peony, who is the Marquis, but hardly to Red Rose, who is supposed to be revealed at the top of the side chamber, just because she is the Countess,"

"Stupid......!

On Juke's face, real anger is rising. It's not comparable to when you were having a seizure on Deanna, that much power is in him now.

"We have no investigative authority. Therefore, all investigations are conducted informally and confidentially. I'm currently taking turns washing around Sarah Maris... and there have been reports that I won't listen."

"... you think we need to listen more than we're talking about now? Like what?"

"No, Your Majesty. This has not yet been substantiated. As soon as we find solid evidence, we'll report it."

"I don't mind. - Speak."

Alford, who was listening to the exchange directly beside him, realized that Juke, unconsciously, looked like a 'king'. It's not just public money embezzlement, the chief woman is tormenting her own 'people', and he's very naturally angry when told that fact.

Did Keith notice the same thing as Alford, behind his glasses, his eyes slightly changed looking at the king.

"- Your Majesty, even His Majesty cannot judge the people without proof."

"I know that. But you can't just leave someone dressed in royal possessions made up of people's blood taxes and repeated imitations of stepping on others in their own identities. If there is an aftersin, it should be all revealed and punished according to the gravity of the sin. If we don't have proof, we need to start with what we know now."

Soon, the grump that was swirling around Keith has disappeared. Its eyes just stared straight at the king - eventually bowing his head deeply.

"Yes, Your Majesty. As you wish."

"So, what's a non-listenable report?

"It's only the person who saw it, so I can't say for sure - it's like the items that are supposed to be delivered to the rear palace treasure trove are being exchanged through her mansion"

Keith continued, to Juke, who kept his eyes just wide open in silence.

"The outer chamber is the duty of the assistants of the three provinces. When the rear palace was set up in the spring, we were accompanied by the rear palace equipment inspection. I am shallow about art without studying, but some were happy to worship the treasures of the rear palace up close, which is usually hard to see. … there happened to be an exchange of goods when the person was keeping an eye on the woman chief's mansion."

"The eyes of those who were watching are certain, are they?

"To the extent that I was told to become an appraiser if I failed an official exam,"

Competent, but often freaky, can also be a hallmark of the outer chamber. By the way, appraisers are far better off than officials.

Even as the story broke, Juke did not utter a word. I'm thinking with my fingers together, sitting in the executive chair, eyes closed. Alford and Keith just watched him quietly.

"- Alford. Any word from Captain Gracie of the rear palace guard?... so that no one will know"

"Ha. Immediately"

Juke, looking up at a point, had a more grown-up look than Alford had ever seen either.