The Villainess Wants to Make Her Husband Slim Down

CHAPTER 96

5 – 3

The incident in Blume was clearly Alois' fault.

The fact of the matter was that he had incited a riot, causing many people to be injured. It was also undeniable that Alois was inextricably linked to the debacle. The end result of his actions may have seen Lucas' crimes revealed, but that was simply that: a result. The ends did not justify Alois' means.

Deciding to hold a festival in Blume was also Alois' fault. The fact that, under Alois' guidance, the treasured traditions of Mohnton were intentionally torn down was a grievous fault. This wasn't the first time Alois had acted out in such a manner as well, taking into account the issue of Grenze. As a result of his new policies and developments in Grenze, especially in promoting trade with foreign countries, the town had become full of rogues and merchants of ill-repute, unbefitting the great land of Mohnton.

Not to mention, the disaster that took place in Einst the previous year. The massive damage done to the town had caused a major imbalance in Mohnton's economy.

That too was Alois' responsibility. If only he had responded to the crisis more expediently, a lot of the damage may have been avoided. The expenditures on reconstruction were also unnecessarily huge, it should have been possible to restore the town to working order on a much more modest budget.

That was the view of the three noble families that held sway over Mohnton.

Say what you will about those old men, but they were excellent sophists.

〇

It wasn't long after returning to the capital that he held meetings with the noble delegates of the Duchy of Mohnton, lead by the Meyerheim family.

Due to their extenuating circumstances, the Lörrich family had excused themselves, so the only two families represented were the Meyerheim and Ende houses. Although he was used to remaining impassive as he received undue blame from others, either directly or through snide remarks, for once he couldn't help but feel overwhelmed by the sheer amount of it.

Although one would expect that the representatives of the Lörrich family would be the ones barracked for the debacle in Blume, due to their absence it was Alois instead who received the heapings of scorn.

Rather, it was probably a good thing that the Lörrich family hadn't attended. They might not have been able to manage things quite as diplomatically when confronted like that.

Even a month after the end of those intense meetings, they still weighed on his mind.

This wasn't helped by the fact he was constantly receiving letters, complaining about one thing or another and either subtly or directly ascribing the blame to Alois. This wasn't anything new to him, either. Ever since Alois' reign as Duke had begun, they had always been trying to jostle him in such a way.

Such things didn't happen in the days when your predecessor was in charge.

That was their dog whistle.

The former Duke Montchat, Alois' father, died eight years ago. Yet despite that, memories of the previous Duke still remained fresh in their hearts, and Alois couldn't escape the constant comparisons.

If only the previous Duke hadn't passed away.

The ghost of his father seemed to haunt him still, his revenant shade kept alive in the hearts of those nobles who hated him so.

– Father...

With those thoughts pressing down on him, the pen between Alois' fingers came to a halt. Rubbing his temples, he breathed out a sigh.