Lu Xia looked utterly sincere as she said this.

Her naive words convinced Her Majesty Queen that this was a pure-hearted young female, unversed in the ways of the world, who only wanted to contribute to the Empire.

To think such a young female was being bullied by cruel females like Dain and Victoria was infuriating.

"You may not be afraid, but there will always be those who wish you harm. You must be on your guard. Daina, you’ve done well this time. We cannot allow someone so dedicated to the Empire to be treated so poorly." 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

"That’s what I thought as well, so I decided to speak up. I couldn’t bear to see Duke Lu Xia’s good intentions be wronged."

Her Majesty Queen nodded, looking at Lady Daina with great approval.

Soon, Lady Dain and Victoria hurried to the Imperial Palace. Their expressions instantly soured when they saw Lu Xia and Lady Daina were also present.

’Lu Xia had clearly said she would give them a day to consider it. Why did she go running to Her Majesty Queen before the time was even up?!’

’How could she be so faithless!’

Even now, Lady Dain failed to grasp the severity of the situation. She was still convinced that Lu Xia was the one at fault.

"Greetings, Your Majesty."

"Greetings, Your Majesty."

Lady Dain and Victoria bowed respectfully to Her Majesty Queen, but she snatched a cup from the table and hurled it to the floor.

The cup shattered, sending fragments flying. The mother and daughter cried out in alarm, jumping back together.

"Your Majesty, what is the meaning of this?" Lady Dain asked, looking at Her Majesty Queen with a bewildered expression, as if she truly didn’t understand why she was so furious.

"You have the nerve to ask me what I mean? Shouldn’t you be telling me what ’good deeds’ you’ve been up to? Since the day you were born, what have you done besides indulge yourselves and abuse your power? Have you done a single thing to benefit this Empire? You see a male you fancy and decide you’ll just take him home, regardless of his status or whether he already has a Female Master. And even if he does, you think you can just ’trade’ for him? Victoria, who taught you to act this way!"

’So, Her Majesty Queen really knows everything!’

Victoria’s face was a mask of panic. "No, it’s not like that! I didn’t know Graces was her main husband at first. When I found out, I tried to apologize, but she wouldn’t accept my voice invitations."

"She didn’t accept your voice invitations, so you had her cargo seized and her research institute investigated? Is that it? Where do you get such authority? Who gave you that power!" Her Majesty Queen pointed a finger at her. "Why don’t you come sit here, in my throne? Since you’re so mighty, you can be the Queen!"

Victoria’s legs gave out at those words, and she collapsed to her knees. "I was wrong, Your Majesty! I’ll never do it again! It was a moment of foolishness, I didn’t mean her any real harm!"

"A moment of foolishness? Do you think I wouldn’t investigate? It seems to me you’ve gotten so used to doing this sort of thing that you’ve lost all sense of decency! ’Didn’t mean her any real harm?’ You’ve done so much, trying to destroy the foundation of her work, what more did you want to do? And you, Dain! You are her mother. She makes a mistake, and not only do you fail to discipline her, you indulge her and even apply pressure yourself! You have brought utter shame to the Imperial Family’s name! Now, apologize to her!"

All of Lady Dain and Victoria’s previous arrogance had vanished.

Lady Dain turned to Lu Xia. "We’re sorry. We know we were wrong. Please, Duke Lu Xia, forgive us."

Lu Xia watched them bow their heads. "Lady Dain, we discussed this during our previous voice call. You should remember the form of apology I will accept, shouldn’t you?"

"Yes, I remember. But a public apology..." Lady Dain trailed off, glancing at Her Majesty Queen before bowing her head and repeating the settlement terms Lu Xia had proposed.

Her Majesty Queen pondered for a moment after hearing the terms. "You must compensate for the financial losses, and you will write a letter of guarantee. As for the public apology... Duke Lu Xia, I must be bold and ask a favor. Could we refrain from making this public? I trust they will not dare to repeat this in the future. A public apology would severely damage the Imperial Family’s prestige among the populace." Her Majesty Queen smiled at Lu Xia. Her words were sincere, yet they carried an unmistakable air of authority.

Lu Xia smiled. "The decision is entirely up to Your Majesty."

’Though she smiled, her thoughts were anything but compliant. She hadn’t expected Her Majesty Queen, who seemed so enlightened, to ultimately care more about the Imperial Family’s reputation. Suddenly, it all made sense. She could see why Lady Dain and Victoria acted the way they did—it ran in the family!’

"Your Majesty," Lady Daina interjected, "I believe this matter cannot be hidden. It must be made public. Otherwise, the public will continue to misunderstand the situation with Duke Lu Xia’s institute. Furthermore, a public announcement would demonstrate the Imperial Family’s authority, showing that even those of imperial blood are punished for their wrongdoing. Seeing this, the people’s respect for the Imperial Family will only grow. Wouldn’t you agree?"

"There is some truth to what you say," the Queen replied, "but what if the populace doesn’t see it that way? The Imperial Family’s centuries-old prestige cannot be destroyed over this. We can only ask Duke Lu Xia to endure this grievance. But rest assured," she said, turning to Lu Xia, "I will compensate you in other ways."

Lu Xia’s expression remained unchanged. "Very well."

"As for the other terms," the Queen said, her sharp gaze falling on the mother and daughter, "you two will complete them by the end of today. I will personally oversee it. And if there is a next time, I will not be so lenient."

After they left the Imperial Palace, Lady Daina patted Lu Xia’s shoulder. "Don’t blame Her Majesty Queen. She has been on the throne for many years and has always been extremely cautious, terrified that the Imperial Family might lose the people’s trust on her watch."

Lu Xia smiled at Lady Daina, her eyes filled with genuine emotion. "I understand. And thank you, my lady, for speaking up for me in there."

"As I said, you and I are much closer than I am to them. To be honest, I don’t agree with Her Majesty Queen’s decision. That kind of leniency is exactly what emboldened Dain and Victoria to act this way in the first place. It’s just... I..."

Lady Daina’s voice trailed off, and she gave a bitter, self-mocking smile.

Lu Xia consoled her, "At least after this, they’ll have to think twice before trying anything. That’s a good thing, in a way."

"I suppose that’s the only way to look at it," Lady Daina said. "All right, it makes no sense for you to be consoling me when you’re the one who was wronged. Whatever Her Majesty Queen grants you, take it without hesitation. You’ve earned it."

"I know."

’Things hadn’t gone exactly according to her plan, but the outcome was still quite good so far.’

’Even without a public apology, what Lady Dain and Victoria did was hardly a secret among the upper echelons of society.’

’And word of how she handled it would surely spread as well. In the future, anyone else thinking of using their power to bully someone would have to think twice.’

’Besides, having Her Majesty Queen owe her a favor wasn’t a bad thing either.’

With these thoughts, Lu Xia’s mood brightened considerably. "Thank you for your introduction today, Lady Daina. I’d like to treat you to dinner another day. You must promise to come."

"In that case, I will gladly accept, Duke Lu Xia."

"I insist!"