Chapter 73 – Cedric POV
"Arrest him!" I command, my voice ringing through the corridor like a whipcrack.
The guards don't hesitate.
Two armored men seize the trembling accountant by both arms. His face drains of color, his powdered wig askew, mouth still flapping in pathetic disbelief.
"Wait—wait, Your Grace, surely this is a misunderstanding—!"
I toss the ledger onto the floor at his feet. Pages flutter open like a broken bird. The ink is still wet from my annotations. Red circles, slashed lines—calculated theft. Years of it.
"You skimmed nearly two hundred gold from the food allocations alone," I say coolly.
"The kitchen staff haven't received fair wages in five years. And this—" I jab a gloved finger at the open record, "—this is falsified grain tax. I traced it to your cousin's estate. Funny how the numbers always balance in your favor."
He collapses to his knees, dragged back up immediately by the guards.
"I-I was just following orders!"
