Watching Claire smile from her seat, Administrative Officer Frank's legs trembled slightly. Unlike those foolish nobles, he deeply understood that Claire was nothing like the child she appeared to be. She was practically a demon wearing human skin.
Otherwise, he would not have suggested hiring assassins to get rid of Claire back then. He had always felt that as long as Claire remained in the viscount's territory, he would eventually end up like the previous Knight Captain.
"Administrative Officer Frank..." Claire said softly.
Frank immediately replied, "Yes! My Lady!"
As he spoke, he glanced beside Claire. This time, it was not just the two of them present. There was also an unfamiliar face—the newly appointed Tax Official, Robin. The moment Frank saw him, his heart lurched again. He had long known that Robin had taken away all the tax records from the viscount's territory over the years. He was bound to find something, but Frank had not expected it to happen so quickly.
Frank closed his eyes and silently prayed. It was impossible for him to confess voluntarily now. He could only pray that Robin was incompetent and had found nothing.
Seeing his reaction, Claire chuckled inwardly and continued, "Frank, your family has managed the viscount's territory for the Griffin Family for three generations. The taxes were never submitted late, not even once. You have worked hard."
Frank did not dare respond. He knew what came next would be very different.
Sure enough, Claire's voice turned stern the next moment as she rebuked him, "But after I had the Tax Official investigate, I found that the entire viscount's territory has collected around one hundred thousand Gold Coins in taxes every year. Yet you only handed over around ten thousand Gold Coins. Where did the remaining ninety thousand Gold Coins go?!"
Frank's body shuddered at Claire's rebuke, and he instinctively tried to defend himself. "My Lady, please listen to my explanation! Those tax policies were set by the previous two administrative officers. They have nothing to do with me!"
"Huh? The previous two administrative officers were your grandfather and father, right? And they have nothing to do with you?" Claire laughed.
Without hesitation, Frank said, "If My Lady wishes to arrest them, I am willing to testify!"
What a model descendant.
"Robin, explain it to him." Claire waved her hand.
Robin immediately stepped forward, flipped through the documents in his hands, and read aloud, "The decree requiring taxes on wheat that grew taller than seventy centimeters was issued during your tenure. The childbirth tax was also imposed during your tenure. The decree requiring taxes to be paid for coming-of-age ceremonies was likewise issued by you..."
Frank's face grew paler and paler as he listened, and his body began trembling uncontrollably again.
Robin continued, "You served for thirteen years. Altogether, you embezzled a total of 963,780 Gold Coins from My Lady!"
Claire smiled faintly and looked at Frank. "Any objections?"
"My Lady, it wasn't like that!" Frank immediately fell to his knees and crawled forward in terror. "I wasn't the only one who took the money! Baron Eugene and the others got their share too! I only took part of it, not even one hundred thousand Gold Coins!"
With a snap of Claire's fingers, a violent gust of wind sent Frank, who was about to crawl closer, flying backward.
Not even one hundred thousand? All of Claire's assets combined did not even amount to twenty thousand, and this was what came out of his mouth?
The moment Frank was blown down, he scrambled back up and hurriedly kowtowed to Claire, tears streaming down his face. "I'm sorry, My Lady! I truly know I was wrong! I should not have been so greedy! I'll return all the money I have! Please, spare me!"
Claire placed her index finger beside her lips and said, "Shh! Don't cry. It looks so ugly. You are still the administrative officer of the Baronial Manor, after all."
"Alright, alright! I won't cry!" Frank hurriedly wiped away his tears.
"I summoned you here because I intend to give you a way out. Otherwise, we would be meeting in a prison cell right now."
"Yes, yes, yes!" Frank nodded frantically in agreement.
"You said you were willing to return all the money to me?" Claire narrowed her eyes.
"I am!" Frank answered at once, afraid of being even a moment too late.
"How much money do you still have?"
"Thirty thousand Gold Coins! I am willing to give all of it to you!"
Claire cursed inwardly. Damn it! How could she, the viscount, have less money than him?
"I need you to do something for me. Once it is done, I will spare your life. Of course, you will no longer be the administrative officer."
"No problem! My Lady, just tell me what it is. I will definitely get it done!" Frank could even betray his father and grandfather. So long as he could keep his life, what could he not do?
"Good! I like talking to smart people like you. Only your life is your own; everything else is unimportant."
"My Lady is right!"
"The thing I need you to do is..."
After leaving the Baronial Manor, Frank felt a chill running down his spine. He merely glanced back at the manor and saw Claire leaning over the balcony upstairs, waving at him with a smile as though greeting an old friend.
Frank hurriedly forced a smile, then quickened his pace and left the Baronial Manor.
After Frank left, Robin, who stood behind Claire, hesitated before asking, "My Lady, are you really going to let him go?"
Claire smiled faintly. "You tell me."
Without even returning home, Frank hurried back to the room where the nobles had been discussing matters earlier. The nobles were still inside.
Creak! The sound of the door opening drew all the nobles' attention.
Baron Eugene asked suspiciously, "Frank, why are you back again? You look rather unwell."
"Do I?" Frank hurriedly reached into his clothes and patted himself all over several times, but he still could not find a handkerchief to wipe his sweat. He looked exceptionally flustered. In the end, a noble handed him his own handkerchief.
"Thank you." Taking it, Frank frantically wiped his face.
"What exactly happened to you?" the nobles asked.
"Nothing. It was a little hot outside." Frank walked to his seat and lay straight down. Only when his body sank into the soft sofa did he feel as though he had truly returned to himself.
The moment Frank sat down, he said, "I just went to the Baronial Manor..."
"Hm?" The nobles present immediately focused their attention on him.
"My Lady agreed to send troops. She asked us to go over tomorrow to discuss it." Frank did not even realize that the way he addressed Claire had changed. Previously, he had always simply referred to Claire as "that one."
"So that is why you went out just now—you went to the Baronial Manor. I thought you had gone home." Baron Eugene immediately picked up his wine glass. "Let us raise a toast to the upright and brave Administrative Officer Frank!"
The other nobles also smiled, raised their glasses toward Frank, and cheered.
However, Lord Wilbur asked, "Did she not set any conditions? She would not send troops to help us for no reason. Haven't you always been at odds with her? Why did you suddenly go to see her? And your expression after coming back..."
Smash! Frank threw the wine glass in his hand to the floor, splashing wine all over everyone. He had already endured enough humiliation from Claire, and his nerves were stretched taut. Now that he was back here, Wilbur still wanted to interrogate him?!
"Ask her yourself tomorrow if you want to know! Why are you asking me?! Whatever conditions she has are her business! I'm just delivering the message! Damn it!"
At that moment, Frank looked more like a crazed patient. He kicked over and shattered the wine bottle on the table, then turned and stormed out, leaving behind one sentence.
"Anyway, that's the situation. Go or don't go, I don't care!"
After Frank left, the nobles looked at one another.
"Has he gone mad? How dare he speak to us like that?"
"Hmph! He is merely an administrative officer, not even a noble, yet he dares lose his temper in front of us?!"
"Exactly. Even if his ancestors were all administrative officers, if they were not nobles, then he can never be a noble in this lifetime. He was born beneath us! Do not bother arguing with him. Let us first discuss whether we should go to the Baronial Manor tomorrow."
Eugene said, "Go! Of course we should go! Otherwise, how will we recover our goods? Those goods are worth more than ten thousand Gold Coins!"
"That makes sense!"
Before you continue