Smelian was also completely surprised by the outcome. He had originally thought the perpetrator was targeting Graces, but he never expected it to be Lady Dain and Victoria.

Clearly, the two were even more despicable than they had imagined. Even after being exiled by Her Majesty Queen, they still harbored such malicious intentions.

’It seems Her Majesty Queen’s punishment of exile didn’t serve as a warning to Lady Dain and Victoria at all,’ Lu Xia thought.

Still, she would make sure Her Majesty Queen knew about this. After all, she wasn’t the one being slapped in the face.

This wasn’t the first or second time, but the third. She wanted to see what kind of punishment Her Majesty Queen would ultimately hand down to Lady Dain and Victoria, and whether she would continue to shield them for the sake of the Imperial Family’s reputation.

It was safe to say that Lady Dain and Victoria had shown absolutely no regard for Her Majesty Queen’s reputation, pushing things to the extreme time and time again.

Smelian didn’t disturb Lu Xia while she was lost in thought, nor did he specify where the information had come from.

He knew very well that Graces would surely make their own move. As for what fate awaited Lady Dain and Victoria, he didn’t need to give it much thought; Graces would never let them off easy.

If he didn’t need to stay by Lu Xia’s side, he would have preferred to go punish them himself.

Lu Xia didn’t notice the cold glint in Smelian’s eyes as she sent the file to Lady Daina’s terminal.

A moment after the message was sent, a voice call request came in from Lady Daina. Lu Xia accepted it, and Lady Daina asked urgently, "Xiaxia, are you alright? Dain and Victoria must be insane! How could they do such a thing?"

"Lady Daina, please don’t worry, I’m physically fine. I just never imagined Lady Dain and Victoria hated me so much they’d want me dead. Lady Daina, what should I do?"

She didn’t say she was going to see Her Majesty Queen directly, instead tossing the problem to Lady Daina. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

Upon hearing this, Lady Daina said at once, "Of course we must go to Her Majesty Queen to seek justice! She must be made aware of something this serious. Dain and Victoria are practically slapping Her Majesty Queen in the face. We absolutely cannot let them off lightly this time. We’ll go right now. Xiaxia, get ready. I’m coming to pick you up."

Lady Daina seemed even more anxious than she was, wanting to seek an audience with Her Majesty Queen immediately.

Lu Xia hesitated for a moment. "It’s already very late. Won’t we be disturbing Her Majesty Queen’s rest?"

Lady Daina sneered. "Your life was nearly forfeit, and you’re worried about that? Just get yourself ready. I’m coming to get you now."

She ended the call without another word. Lu Xia dropped the troubled expression from her face and looked at Smelian. "I might be back late tonight. You two don’t need to worry."

Smelian knew very well that Lu Xia did things according to her own principles. He stood up and said, "Do you need me to accompany you?"

"No, you and Cecil can just relax and wait for me at home."

"Very well. Contact us immediately if you need anything."

Lu Xia quickly got ready and came downstairs. Seeing her about to go out so late, Cecil asked with concern, "You’re going out, sister?"

"Yes. Your mother is coming to take me to see Her Majesty Queen about what happened today."

Cecil was stunned for a moment but quickly composed himself. "Do you need me to go with you?"

"No, you and Smelian should just stay home. With Lady Daina by my side, I’ll be fine."

As she spoke, she headed for the door. The sound of Lady Daina’s hovercar descending could already be heard outside.

Cecil and Smelian saw her off, watching as she boarded Lady Daina’s hovercar.

Once inside the vehicle, Lu Xia looked at the impeccably dressed Lady Daina and said humbly, "I’m sorry to trouble you again."

Lady Daina looked at Lu Xia, whose face was pale and who still seemed to be in shock. She patted her hand reassuringly. "Don’t say that. What is a little trouble between us? Besides, with something this serious, if anyone is to blame, it’s our Imperial Family who has wronged you."

"Lady Daina, please don’t say that. I’ve never lumped you in with them. You are you, and Lady Dain is Lady Dain. I remember all the kindness you’ve shown me."

"I’m glad you think that way. As I’ve told you, although Lady Dain and I are sisters, our relationship is worse than that of strangers. Ever since we were children, she’s been ruthlessly competitive, wanting everything, fighting for everything. And the child she raised is exactly the same. I’m shocked she would do these things, but at the same time, I’m not surprised. I just feel helpless that she’s targeted you, causing you to suffer all this trouble for no reason."

"There’s no need for you to apologize for these things, Lady Daina. You have been very good to me. I know that very well."

They looked at each other and smiled, everything understood without a word.

When they arrived at the Imperial Palace, it was clear Her Majesty Queen had already retired for the night.

She summoned them while still in her sleepwear, her expression grim. It appeared she had already learned the whole story from Lady Daina and had seen the file.

She had never imagined that Lady Dain and Victoria would dare do something like this after already being exiled from the Imperial Star. They were showing her absolutely no respect.

She immediately had someone contact Lady Dain and Victoria. She was going to ask them herself just what they thought they were doing.

The connection was quickly established. Lady Dain and Victoria appeared on the optical screen, smiling as they greeted Her Majesty Queen, clearly unaware that their plot had been exposed.

Her Majesty Queen stared at them grimly. "You two still have the nerve to smile? Don’t you know what you’ve done?"

Facing the Queen’s rebuke, Lady Dain and Victoria exchanged a look, both feigning innocence. "Her Majesty Queen, we haven’t done anything. We came to our fief as you commanded and haven’t even finished settling in. Where would we find the time to do anything else? We don’t understand what you’re talking about."

"Still pretending, are you? Fine. You won’t admit it until you’re faced with hard evidence. Look at this! The investigation is complete. How can you be so vicious? What on earth did Duke Lu Xia do to you that you’re so intent on her death?"

Her Majesty Queen slapped the file in her hand, displaying it on the public screen. Seeing this, Lady Dain and Victoria immediately fell to their knees, crying out their innocence.

"It really wasn’t us, Her Majesty Queen! How would we dare to hire an assassin? You give us too much credit. There must be some misunderstanding. We’re already on our fief. What could we possibly do to Duke Lu Xia from here? You must investigate this thoroughly, Her Majesty Queen! We’ve been framed!"

"Framed? Did you think you were so clever that no one would be able to uncover the truth? Fools! I gave you chance after chance. Was it just so you could trample all over my authority like this?"

Her Majesty Queen’s fury had been kindled, and it couldn’t be extinguished by a few tears and shouts from Dain and Victoria.

Lady Dain said through her tears, "It really wasn’t us, Her Majesty Queen! Please believe us! Besides, Duke Lu Xia is fine, isn’t she? You can’t just blame everything on us. We’re truly innocent!"