CHAPTER 60: ALBERT GETS WHAT HE DESERVES!

"MILADY! PLEASE! Please forgive me! I’ve done nothing wrong!!" Albert’s voice cracked, sweat dripping down his neck.

Seraphina tilted her head, smiling faintly. "What are you talking about? Why would you ask for forgiveness if you’ve done nothing wrong?"

Albert fumbled, "Ah... I just meant that I wasn’t hiding anything from you..."

Seraphina smiled, detecting another pulse of a lie from him. She smiled ever so knowingly at him, and a bead of sweat dropped from Albert’s brow under her judging gaze. He was so nervous he felt like he would pee on himself.

The way she smiled at him so innocently yet knowingly misdirected him, gaslighting him, making him believe she went along with his flow of lies when she actually knew he was hiding something—something that would implicate him...

Xavier stood behind Seraphina, the scene looking almost comedic to him. He knew all these tricks and tax evasion tactics, so Albert’s effort looked weak and laughable.

Meanwhile, Seraphina’s gaze shifted away from him. Her eyes sharpened like a hawk spotting prey. She moved past him without breaking stride, heading deeper into the house. A few steps later, she stopped, gaze fixed on a room stacked to the ceiling with hay.

Despite reaching what seemed like a dead end, Seraphina didn’t despair. Instead, she smiled—she was so close to bursting out in laughter.

Xavier, behind her, couldn’t help but smile. ’This is fun.’

"What is all this?" she asked lightly, almost as if she didn’t already know.

Albert’s face paled. "Milady! That is, er—just stacks of hay."

"Really?" Seraphina smiled knowingly.

"Yes, my lady... I can swear. I swear on my mother’s womb that’s all that’s there."

Albert was already breaking. The mental pressure Seraphina had on him was too much. He could feel himself so close to spilling all his secrets.

’She’s so close to catching me... God, she shouldn’t progress further...’

’Goddess of the moon, please let it end here. I swear on my life that if it ends here, I’ll repent of my evil ways. I’ll offer all of my harvest money to the Church of the Moon. I’ll visit the temple and seek your blessings day and night.’

Ba-dum!

Ba-dum!!

Ba-dum-ba-dum-ba-dum-ba-dum!!!

Albert’s heart was literally pounding out of his chest. He was completely soaked with sweat.

’Not only is the Lady proving stubborn, but the fierce guard at her side isn’t even letting me breathe!’ His eyes drifted to Xavier, who suddenly flashed him a quick smile.

Albert’s heart turned cold. ’This guard is literally the obstruction to all my plans.’

He had so many stalling tactics prepared...

He could throw himself at her feet, laying flat on the ground, pleading with crocodile tears. "Milady, I beg you! The fields are not yet ready for inspection—the grain is still drying, and the men are scattered. If you come now, it will look worse than it truly is. Just grant me a few more days and I promise, you’ll see proof of my labor! My brother just passed, Milady... and my family is still in mourning. I haven’t had the heart to tend to the land properly. If you inspect it now, you’ll think I’m negligent, but it’s grief that’s crippled me... please, have mercy!"

Surely with a middle-aged man like him pleading so pitifully, she was bound to succumb to his pleas, right? In fact, most noble inspectors—unused to the hardships of commoners—were also unused to their tricks and would easily fall for this.

’But that fierce guard of Seraphina... HE WOULDN’T LET ME ACT!!! HE’S RUINING EVERYTHING!!!’

Everything was mapped out, but Xavier ruined it all.

"CALL YOUR SERVANTS!"

The commanding words of Seraphina snapped him out of his internal monologue.

"All of them..." she continued.

His heart leapt with excitement. He was about to move when Seraphina’s next words sent a shiver down his spine.

"Send him to do it." She signaled to the only servant allowed into this particular room with them.

The servant, with no choice under her noble authority, moved to call them.

A few minutes later, a total of seven servants stood in the room.

Seraphina’s gaze on them was cold. "Remove all the stacks of hay."

They shivered, feeling a chill run down their spines, but with no choice, they began moving the stacks, albeit slowly.

Seraphina smiled. "Don’t worry, you won’t be affected. I’ll make sure of it—I give you my word."

The servants grew a little more relaxed. But for Albert, it was another story entirely.

He was drenched in sweat. He had peed his pants. His last hope had just been destroyed.

’It’s so fucking over...’

All the stacks of hay were removed, and to no surprise, they were covering multiple bulging sacks. But Seraphina discovered something more interesting—something that surprised her, though it was within Xavier’s expectations.

A sturdy reinforced locked trapdoor was built into the floor. Xavier didn’t need her signal; he already knew what to do as the perfect guard.

He stomped his foot down on the door. The sheer force and strength behind the strike shattered the wooden and metal reinforcements—the lock broke instantly.

There it was: the last defense of Albert’s hidden secret.

"MILADY!! PLEASE WAIT!!"

"That’s...! I-I only collected the chaffs!" Albert blurted out desperately.

With the trapdoor opened, a staircase leading into a dark underground storeroom was revealed. Beside the stairs, torch sticks were neatly lined up with a lighter at the end. One was lit, and the underground storeroom came into view—stacked to the brim with bulging sacks. The bastard was hoarding goods.

Seeing this, Seraphina smiled.

"You said you collected only chaffs... just empty grains." Her voice was honey over steel. "Is that really so? I’ll just check one of them."

She signaled to a sack.

Xavier’s strength was far beyond that of a normal human. Ripping sacks was child’s play for him. He moved forward and tore it open with ease. Wheat spilled out in a golden cascade.

Seraphina watched with a smile.

"It seems to be a bag of wheat," she said, her smile widening, "rather than chaff."

Albert dropped to his knees, clasping his hands together. "I apologize! Please just forgive me this once...!"

Seraphina looked down at him, her eyes as cold as winter. Inside, she had already decided—

forgiveness was the one thing he wouldn’t be getting today.

"Albert, you not only lied to me on multiple occasions, but you cloaked yourself in deception and false oaths—daring to swear upon the name of the Moon Goddess with your filthy tongue. You schemed to evade the rightful price of taxes, betraying the trust of the Monarch Emperor and Empress who granted you the farmland you so desperately needed. You’ve carried on these foul deeds for years... and for all this, you will be held accountable."

Xavier stepped forward, his hand closing firmly around the man’s wrist. Albert was far too weak to even dream of breaking free.

"You are hereby stripped of your land by the authority bestowed upon me by the Monarch of this kingdom. Hand over every document concerning the slaves under your control." Seraphina’s voice was ice, her words final.

Albert gritted his teeth. Even as he was caught red-handed, he still hadn’t surrendered all hope. "Please, my lady! Mercy, I beg of you! It isn’t my fault—those merchants! They cheat us farmers with their false scales, robbing us blind of our grain! I would have paid my dues, were it not for their treachery!"

Seraphina and Xavier exchanged no words, their silence ringing louder than any denial. Their faint amusement only deepened Albert’s desperation.

Seeing Seraphina unmoved, Albert pressed on, his voice growing more frantic. "Grant me mercy for this year, Milady, and I swear upon my very soul that I shall bring double the bounty come next harvest!"

Then, a sly grin crawled onto his face, shameless even in disgrace. "Perhaps... Milady, I could offer you a little something for your trouble. A gift of gratitude, between us... I promise you, I’ll not cause you any further unruliness."

Seraphina’s face hardened to stone, her voice cold and sharp as a blade. "Take me to your office."

Albert’s office was dimly lit, the curtains drawn, the air thick with defeat. His once-proud shoulders sagged as he rummaged through a drawer with trembling hands. At last, he pulled out a bundle of parchment — the slave files — and placed them carefully into Seraphina’s waiting hand.

His eyes no longer carried defiance, only the dull weight of resignation.

Behind them, the door creaked open. His wife entered first, her face pale, followed closely by two of his children, their eyes already wet with tears. They fell to their knees before Seraphina.

"Milady, please!" his wife cried, her voice cracking. "He is a good husband... a good father. He only sought to protect us. Mercy, I beg of you!"

"Please don’t take him away!" one of the children sobbed, clutching at Seraphina’s cloak. "Father promised he would make it right... please..."

***

A/N:

We’re getting close to interesting parts of the plot. MC conquering a new goddess soon... Can any of you guys dare to take a guess?