Chapter 93

Siena also had maternal relatives.

Her mother had passed away when she was an infant, but her maternal family still remained strong.

Her maternal grandfather, uncles, aunts, uncle-in-laws, and cousins—all of them were supposed to be her strongest allies. They weren’t one of the most prestigious families in the Empire like Victoria’s maternal family, the Wolphalls, but they weren’t destitute either.

However, Siena had kept her distance from her maternal relatives.

They were close when she was still a child, but as Siena officially started her ‘career,’ the distance grew. Like the time she beheaded a thievery-prone maid on the spot, or when she single-handedly caused the downfall of a few houses just for fun, or when she frequently organized dogfight competitions.

That wasn’t all—they also gave her advice.

“It’s just that I don’t listen.”

The last time she had seen her maternal grandfather was probably a year ago. They briefly caught up during an Imperial Court event before drifting apart again. Even when she saw her grandfather feeling awkward around her, Siena felt nothing in particular.

But Victoria was different—very different.

“There’s no way Timothy would do such a thing.”

The moment Victoria heard about Timothy Wolphall’s suspected morphine leak, her face showed obvious distress.

Her trembling eyes, the tight grip on her sword hilt as if she was about to draw it, and her increasingly flushed cheeks—it all made it clear that Victoria genuinely trusted and relied on her maternal family.

It seemed like a good time to gauge the depths of that trust. To be honest, it wasn’t about testing her but rather about applying pressure.

“I’m sorry, but it’s true, sister.”

“How can I just trust what you say?”

“We have evidence and witnesses. If you’d like, I could show you right now some of the kids who are high on morphine from the opium fields. Oh, by the way, Timothy Wolphall is probably adding more ‘evidence’ against himself as we speak.”

“…”

“Also, you really do act as if you and the Wolphall family are one. It seems the nobles lining up behind your uncles aren’t just doing it for fun.”

“Enough, Siena.”

Victoria’s face was growing redder by the second.

Was she irritated by her younger sister dredging up the family’s faults?

Or was she disappointed by her cousin’s transgressions?

Even Siena’s sharp insight couldn’t decipher it.

One thing was certain though: Victoria, the Empire’s First Princess and Siena’s older sister, who was also a serving Lieutenant Colonel in the Army, was uncharacteristically flustered. Even when she sent little Anais off to a good place, Victoria hadn’t been this distressed.

‘Well, it’s natural for her to be surprised.’

The Wolphalls’ influence was formidable.

Including distant branches, they boasted four regiment commanders.

Though they had no high-ranking generals in the Imperial Army command, their influence couldn’t be overlooked; regiment commanders were at the top tier of battlefield commanders. Thanks to their wide network of military connections, there were even rumors that they controlled half the army.

Ultimately, Victoria and the Wolphalls were inseparable. This is why Siena, knowing this, had boldly approached them.

However, she couldn’t exploit this forever.

There was a more important purpose than mere amusement.

“Sister, Victoria.”

“…”

“As I said, I’m willing to look the other way. But let me make one thing clear—you know that this won’t just go away, right? Morphine is a crucial military supply. How could I just ignore the fact that a Lieutenant diverted it for personal profit?”

“Perhaps, how much of the morphine?”

“That’s for you to find out. Regardless, I could just keep quiet and let it slide, right? Your maternal family’s honor wouldn’t be tarnished.”

The truth was, it was already too late to quietly sweep it under the rug.

The man in question—Lieutenant Timothy Wolphall from the Ordnance Command—would surely keep covering his tracks. But her willingness to look the other way was genuine.

Of course, it wasn’t free.

“You wouldn’t let me do that.”

“You’re right. But my request isn’t difficult. You just need to make one promise.”

Siena took a deep breath before getting to the point.

On the surface, it was a small demand,

But to Siena, it was her most critical and urgent issue.

“Sir Alan.”

“Sir Alan?”

“That’s right, Alan. From now on, I don’t want you to show any interest in him in any form. No private meetings, no official summonses.”

Naturally, it was a demand about Alan.

The Heiress Apparent?

Siena could have tolerated it if Victoria claimed him. She could be satisfied with receiving a Dukedom and running a few businesses instead. Once Victoria becomes Heiress Apparent, she’d have the responsibilities of a national administrator, leaving her little time for other pursuits.

“But not Alan.”

To some, it might seem like an unnecessary request. Victoria had never openly shown any romantic feelings towards Alan.

But Siena didn’t feel like she’d misjudged the situation. From the moment she told Victoria ‘not Alan,’ her sister’s face darkened noticeably. It wasn’t just seriousness—it was tinged with something akin to wistfulness.

‘Amazing.’

She never expected the day her sister, who had rejected every suitor from distinguished families and devoted herself solely to her military career, would genuinely yearn for someone.

Siena didn’t feel sorry but instead resolved to be firmer.

“And your promise alone isn’t enough.”

“…”

“I need you to approach Father and Mother directly. Ask them to officially bring Alan Medoff into the Imperial Court. Initiate a formal process to select him as the imperial consort and send the appropriate people and titles to the Medoff family.”

“You—”

“As expected, the marriage proposal will involve me. You can’t marry him off to someone like Anais, right?”

Let your own mouth propose the marriage alliance between Alan and me.

Siena observed her sister’s expression grow more serious with her demand.

‘Of course, you must not like this, sis.’

But she had no intention of making another proposal. If Victoria personally requested the marriage, it would benefit all parties involved.

She could build a strong barrier to ensure Alan couldn’t escape her plan, and by involving her sister, it would also prevent Victoria from developing feelings for him. Courting your sister’s chosen one while being part of the Empire’s royal family would be reckless.

Maternal family. Or Alan.

Given the two options, Victoria soon spoke.

“Siena, I’ll investigate the truth myself. Timothy was raised in a strict environment. He wouldn’t risk his career at such a young age for a measly profit. There must be some misunderstanding…”

Ultimately, she refused to accept reality.

Siena smirked.

“If that’s what you believe, then so be it. What’s your answer?”

“I already said I’ll find out the truth.”

Persistently insisting on seeing the real face of her relatives.

Siena understood what Victoria might be hoping for now. She probably prayed there had been a mistake.

‘That’s right. That’s who she is.’

There was no reason to stop her from confronting reality.

Deciding to give her sister some time, Siena left the scene. She expected Victoria would be more dispirited the next time they met.

It was a day of great satisfaction for her.

Victoria stared blankly at the retreating figure of her sister.

‘To propose someone else’s marriage with my own lips?’

She could never do such a thing.

How much effort had she put into earning the ‘Baron Medway’ title for Alan through the Battle of Brüffen? How much thought had she given to naturally approaching him?

She didn’t want to give up the banquet she had prepared to her own sister.

And it wasn’t something she needed to worry about anyway.

‘After all, it’ll turn out to be false.’

She trusted her relatives.

While they clashed with her lately due to differing perceptions about Alan, she essentially believed everyone was good at heart. They didn’t abuse their influence from being connected to the Empire’s First Princess, nor did they pursue personal gains.

Tiemothy, the second son of her distant uncle, was still a member of the Wolphall family.

She trusted him enough to let him handle the morphine storage. She asked him to report any corruption among military officers seeking profits.

Would someone like Timothy really divert morphine to make a quick buck?

Even selling 10 grams of morphine at a good price on the black market would yield a profit far exceeding his annual salary, but why would the Wolphall family bother with such a trivial matter? Why risk tarnishing his valuable military career?

‘This is absurd.’

It was time to investigate. She’d ask her uncle…

“Oh.”

Upon reflection, she realized asking her uncle Hayden or Ian might not be appropriate.

It would be awkward to ask one’s own relatives to investigate another relative.

But she hesitated to ask anyone else. All officers and generals loyal to the Victoria faction were closely tied to the Wolphalls, and one of them could potentially be more loyal to her uncles than to her.

It was in that moment she realized how much she had relied on her maternal family.

Victoria felt her breath caught in her throat.

She had comfortably relied on her maternal family for politics, never considering the possibility they might drag her down. She had never thought about how to handle such situations.

‘I’m this vulnerable…’

After briefly regaining her composure, she devised a solution. She asked one of the regiment commanders from the Imperial Guard who was notoriously distant from the Wolphalls to quietly locate Timothy Wolphall.

She still clung to the hope that the allegations weren’t true.

‘It must be false.’

A few hours later,

Victoria found out the truth about Timothy Wolphall’s whereabouts.

And it was not what she had expected.

Apparently, Timothy abandoned his post, abducted the military doctor who colluded in diverting the morphine, and even brutally assaulted him. It wasn’t just a light beating—it amounted to torture. Most likely, he was trying to pin the blame on his accomplice, but something went wrong.

“Your Highness…! I was just investigating rumors about the morphine diversion…”

When Timothy Wolphall was dragged in and tried to justify himself, his hands were smeared with dried blood.

To make matters worse, one of the people who beat up the military doctor with him turned out to be another member of the Wolphall family.

It seemed Timothy thought he could trust his own family but ended up entangling the entire clan in the crime.

The small shred of hope she had clung to shattered in an instant.

“No…”

Victoria murmured emptily.

The reality was even more tragic than she had feared.

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