Betrothed to My Sister's Ex

The four of them surrounded me as I sat on the edge of the bed.

A little while ago, I would have shrunk back and not even dared to lift my head. But this time, I straightened my back, summarized Anastasia’s main points, and spoke up.

They all wore frowns. After carefully choosing their words, they fell silent, so I took the initiative to speak.

“After listening to my sister, I understand. As Lord Cyrus and the others say… indeed, Father is a criminal.”

“...Yes.”

“The charges are forging official documents—having important papers signed without notification. In other words, neglecting his duties as a lord. Also mismanagement of the territory and the people, failure in welfare. Overall, dereliction of duty as a lord—in plain terms—that’s tax theft, isn’t it?”

Lady Ryuu-Ryuu chuckled softly. It wasn’t mockery but more like a laugh born of sheer exasperation.

“As expected. I was worried you might still say it was abuse against your own sisters even here.”

“Even that is unforgivable, no matter the reason,” Mio objected. I nodded in agreement.

“Yes, that’s right. Until coming to this castle, I believed that all Father’s insults and coldness were my fault. That it was because I was ugly, not lovable—I was convinced of that.”

“That’s a lie. The baron took away his daughter’s ‘value as a woman’ to make her study and work. He only did that because he saw she had exceptional potential. That’s why he insulted her as useless and incompetent—to prevent her from wanting to leave.”

Lady Ryuu-Ryuu bit her nails.

“That’s worse than just hating and bullying. What did he think children were...!”

“...I thought I was useless, so I was only ‘helping’ with some of the housework and Father’s tasks. I believed Father was a respectable lord, and I was just taking care of him…”

Wolfgang, hesitantly, placed a thick stack of papers before me.

“We investigated the current account of the Shadelan Territory over the past twenty years. Fourteen years ago, when Lady Sasha was still alive, it was in the black. Right after, it slipped into the red. This was likely because after the war, with the kingdom’s scientific progress, secondary and tertiary industries flourished, causing the prices of primary products like wheat and beef to plummet.”

“Well, that can’t be helped. All rural areas are struggling, and many nobles are in chaos.”

“However, Gregor Chadelan only responded by doubling taxes. Naturally, the result was the opposite: mass abandonment of farms, population decline, and worsening deficits. Although loans were taken from the country to recover, no effective countermeasures were made—only depletion.”

“But from about six years ago, things gradually improved.”

Mio continued from where Wolfgang left off, flipping through the papers.

“By inviting immigrants from foreign countries, the labor force and taxpayers increased. At the same time, through diplomatic exchanges with their home countries, they established trade routes to purchase raw materials cheaper than domestic products and sell at higher prices than the royal capital. Though not yet profitable, the debt is being repaid. The country is now taking a wait-and-see approach, acknowledging the territory is finally being managed properly.”

...Not sure how to respond, I timidly raised one hand.

“Um... that’s probably because I…”

“Yes. We confirmed documents stored at the embassy. Though signed by Gregor Chadelan, all the handwriting was Lady Marie’s.”

“E-every single one?”

Anastasia let out a startled cry. I had suspected it, but hearing it confirmed made me inwardly surprised. I sighed deeply.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know that impersonating family members was a crime… I thought it was probably wrong, but…”

“Marie is not at fault. She was forced to do that starting at age twelve. If not taught, she wouldn’t know it was a crime, and even if she did, she had no choice.”

Lord Cyrus defended me. I turned to him directly.