IHDOE Ch 106

To light the fuse, Satina dressed with care. She wore a modest, jet-black dress that resembled the attire nobles wore when displaying remorse after a scandal.

She then headed straight to the capital guardhouse. Although it was a weekday afternoon, the capital guardhouse bustled with noise.

[Guard] "You can't sleep here! Mister, where is your home?"

The noise ranged from drunkards creating scenes…..

[Man] "No, this bastard explicitly promised to buy it for 500 gold, but he changed his mind after receiving the goods!"

…..to shouting matches over private transactions…..

[Guard] "So why did you hit that man? Speak honestly!"

…..and even violent altercations.

Troublemakers of all kinds filled the room, making chaos an everyday occurrence.

When Satina stepped into the guardhouse, an exhausted official greeted her.

[Official] "What brings you here?"

[Satina] "Ah, I came to file a report."

[Official] "A report. First, the name of the person reporting..."

[Satina] "Satina Bersabet."

The official was scratching his head lazily, but his indifferent tone ground to a sudden halt. He looked up from his papers as if unable to believe his ears and stared at Satina sitting before him.

[Official] "Pardon?"

Assuming he had misheard her over the surrounding noise, Satina repeated her name clearly.

[Satina] "Satina Bersabet."

[Official] "Uh, u-uh. Yes."

His hands trembled violently as he wrote her name on the document with a flustered face.

House Bersabet ranked among the highest nobility in the nation. For an ordinary clerk like him, encountering someone of such prestigious status was practically unheard of under normal circumstances.

Furthermore, she was the Crown Prince's fiancée as well. Though others mocked her as a disgraced ducal daughter, such slander was reserved for high-born aristocrats. An ordinary official like him could lose his head if Satina uttered a single complaint.

[Official] "L-Lady Satina Bersabet, you say?"

[Satina] "Yes."

The official adjusted his slouched posture, straightened his back, and offered a polite smile.

[Official] "So what brings you to us today?"

[Satina] "Are you aware of the syndicate known as The Dark Grasp that has been disrupting public order lately?"

[Official] "Ah, of course! Wicked bastards, are they not?! Dragging innocent people into loan sharking, running massive gambling dens! We have been waiting for an opportunity to lock them away!"

The official brightened at the familiar topic and answered smoothly.

[Satina] "I know who the boss of that syndicate is."

[Official] "Is that true?! That is splendid news! Tell us, and I shall dispatch knights immediately!"

[Satina] "Yes, he is my biological father."

The official's enthusiastic expression froze. The two men arguing at the adjacent desk stopped and turned toward Satina, their eyes widening.

A high noble like Satina appearing at a guardhouse to file a report was unusual enough, but learning that the culprit was her father took everyone by surprise.

Silence fell over the bustling guardhouse. As if by unspoken agreement, everyone quieted down to focus on the words spilling from her lips.

The most flustered person present was the official transcribing her report.

[Official] "Ah, a-about your father..."

If it was Satina's father, surely it was.....

D-D-Duke Bersabet...?

The official's face drained of color. This was far beyond his authority to handle.

[Satina] "Ah, not Duke Bersabet. He traveled to the east and went missing."

[Official] "R-Right."

[Satina] "Not him, but my biological father, Baron Galle. The man my mother met before remarrying Duke Bersabet."

Captivated by the intriguing story, the onlookers turned to stare at Satina. She continued speaking nonchalantly, as if oblivious to their stares.

[Satina] "My mother remarried Duke Bersabet, so I had not seen my father, but I encountered him recently by chance. That was when I discovered he was the leader of The Dark Grasp. As a daughter, exposing my father's crimes brought me immense agony. However..."

Grief filled her face. She paused briefly as if unable to suppress her surging emotions, then continued slowly.

[Satina] "Upon learning what kind of syndicate The Dark Grasp was, I realized I had to report it. To think the leader of a group persecuting and tormenting the populace is my father... Though I love my father, I can't stand idle while he walks a wrongful path."

She clasped her hands together and looked at the official with a desperate plea.

[Satina] "Please. Investigate my father's crimes. And stop him from committing such wicked deeds any further."

As the official listened to her, he marveled internally. Instead of covering up her family's crimes, she had stepped forward to denounce and stop him!

Could he ever denounce his own family's crimes so boldly?

No, never.

Given how difficult such a choice was, her noble intentions felt all the more extraordinary. A long-forgotten sense of duty ignited inside him, making him clench his fists.

[Official] "Don't worry. I shall apprehend him and help him become a renewed man."

---

News that Satina had reported her biological father spread rapidly across the entire Empire.

To begin with, no one in the Empire was unfamiliar with the name Satina Bersabet, whether for good or ill reasons.

That very Satina had denounced her own biological father, a man with whom she had reunited after nearly ten years.

Furthermore, that biological father was the boss of The Dark Grasp, a syndicate notorious for extorting colossal sums of money from the populace.

Naturally, public interest erupted. Exaggerated rumors spread by eyewitnesses who had overheard Satina at the guardhouse only fueled the fire.

[Commoner] "I witnessed it with my own eyes! The moment she arrived! Sat down and spoke! Claiming she loves her father, yet can't watch him walk a wrongful path!"

[Commoner] "My, what a filial daughter. A true filial daughter."

[Commoner] "She suffered so much anguish she turned thin as a reed! Goodness, she looks ready to collapse if a gust of wind blows!"

Of course, some disapproved of Satina and maligned her for being Baron Galle's biological daughter. These were mostly people who had lost money to The Dark Grasp.

[Commoner] "Is Satina not still that man's biological daughter? Birds of a feather!"

Yet such criticism didn't last long. In response to the public outrage her father had caused, Satina donated a substantial sum to aid the commoners harmed by the syndicate.

To the nobility, it was an amount that would vanish after hosting a few parties, but to the victimized commoners, it meant the world.

Rumors spread by Hedzel's crew regarding Satina's family history helped shape public opinion as well.

[Commoner] "Speaking of Satina, I hear she has not seen her biological father in over ten years."

[Commoner] "Huh? Did House Bersabet forbid them from meeting?"

[Commoner] "No, the Baron held no interest in her while she was ignored at the ducal house. Then he caught wind of money recently and rushed over, using Satina's name to pull off an investment fraud!"

[Commoner] "What a wicked fellow!"

As rumors echoed throughout the Empire, Emperor Gordio could hardly remain passive.

[Gordio] "Thoroughly investigate the syndicate disrupting the lives of the populace and eradicate them by the roots."

Following the Emperor's strict decree, a special investigation unit assembled hastily to dismantle The Dark Grasp. After all, their target was no high noble connected to central politics, merely a baron at best.

The only noble family capable of exerting influence was House Bersabet, yet Sharlan drew a firm line.

[Sharlan] "My sister's actions stemmed from a misplaced sense of duty, but that man is entirely unrelated to our family regardless."

With no noble backlash to fear, officials launched their investigation into The Dark Grasp with enthusiasm.

To Baron Galle and The Dark Grasp, this news struck like a bolt from the blue. No matter how secret a syndicate claimed to be, concealing its tracks was impossible when the entire Empire investigated with full resolve.

[B. Galle] "Satina, you damned wench!"

He recalled the last day he had seen Satina. When he had begged her to help him just once using the ducal house's power, she had responded without batting an eye.

[Satina] "You must pay for your crimes."

[B. Galle] "How... how could a daughter do this to her father?!"

[Satina] "What are you talking about, Baron Galle?"

She offered a cold laugh.

[Satina] "You said so yourself that you are no longer my father. Had you not approached me to exploit me, we might all have been happy."

Furious as he was, Baron Galle knew that remaining idle meant imprisonment by tomorrow.

When he visited officials with whom he had established prior connections, they shook their heads with troubled expressions.

[Official] "I am sorry, but I have no means to help either. His Majesty watches this incident closely, so everyone canceled vacations to make an impression. What could I possibly do?"

[B. Galle] "Dammit. Think carefully. If taking bribes from me is exposed, you will not remain unscathed either!"

[Official] "Do you hold no noble acquaintances? If not, go beg Lady Satina right now."

[B. Galle] "That wench is the one who reported me! She refuses my calls now!"

[Official] "Still, as her father, coaxing her well might spare you execution. At any rate, navigating this situation is impossible without a noble wielding influence in central politics."

[B. Galle] "A noble, a noble..."

He fell into thought. He knew the severity of the situation all too well. It was an investigation commanded directly by the Emperor. He knew that useless, impoverished nobles like Viscount Seilum offered no real help.

Satina, that wench.

She took the fake promissory note from me and stabbed me in the back like this…

Ah! Right. Come to think of it, those two exist.

His thoughts turned to Grand Duchess Duskel and House Radius.

For the Grand Duchess, her genuine promissory note remains in my hands, so I can use that.

As for House Radius, they recently invested in my business, so I can drag them down as accomplices.

Both were precious cards to squander in such a manner, yet survival took priority over everything else.

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