Top Tier Perversion: Dual Cultivate Secretly

"Am I?"

The King’s jaw clenched.

Vincent noticed him shifting his gaze to the spectating nobles and then at his mother before landing back at him.

"You’re treading on a thin line, House D’Arc. I’ll give you a final chance to defend yourself. Tell me..."

"Did you or did you not make your civilians purchase grains from other territories?"

Vincent remained silent.

The King’s minister stepped at the center again.

"House D’Arc, failing to answer the questions will confirm the accusations."

Vincent still remained silent and looked at the King.

"House D’Arc, answer the question!" Marquis Morvell sneered.

Vincent continued to stare.

"This is so disrespectful. He should be arrested for his impudence!" Count Mirrec bellowed.

"Harboring treasonous sentiments should’ve been enough reason for the arrest. He should be arrested immediately!" One of the nobles from the middle rows shouted.

"This is treason!"

"Confiscate the railways!"

"Strip their title!"

"Rebellion should not be tolerated!"

"Arrest House D’Arc!"

The majority of nobles began voicing their opinions.

The ones who had supported House D’Arc for grains were seated with shrunken backs, not daring to let themselves known.

The Dukes, the Counts, and a few nobles that had attended Duke Leurox’s masquerade ball were the second group of silent folks.

The interaction between the Countess and the Prince was still vivid.

Since she hadn’t spoken yet, antagonizing her was not the best choice.

The court was immediately divided between two groups. One that wished for the house’s arrest and the other that stayed silent.

But none among the two tried to defend House D’Arc.

They couldn’t.

House D’Arc’s treasonous words and open disrespect was not something they could defend.

The King clutched his scepter’s head tightly while staring at the nobles.

Beside him, Agnes opened her eyes.

Her gaze fell on her father, the King.

She knew he could not speak. Doing so would only result in taking the bait Vincent threw.

By remaining silent, Vincent was hoping for him to pass a judgment, and unfortunately, any and every decision would lead to either a total fallout with House D’Arc or getting his authority undermined before the nobles for supporting D’Arc.

Agnes exhaled sharply and stood up, walking to the edge of the platform.

"The Crown understands the grievances."

"Please maintain decorum."

Some went silent.

Some continued to speak.

Agnes stared at them one after another without saying a word more.

A few more turned quiet.

The King glanced at the ones who were still speaking.

Everyone fell silent.

"House D’Arc."

Agnes glanced down at Vincent and addressed.

"Do you intend to sever ties with Falkner Kingdom?"

Vincent looked at her.

Lines of blue texts appeared before his eyes while the familiar mechanical voice repeated it in his mind.

[Reminder: Entanglement with subject Agnes Falkner — Friction Link(unstable)]

[If the entanglement falls, the relationship will be permanently severed.]

[The Host must proceed with caution.]

"..."

Vincent fell silent for a second.

’Right. There’s this too. Regardless, I wasn’t planning on being rude to her like the King anyway.’

’The Crown Princess is a good lady. She helped me at the ball by slapping Morvell’s son and was very polite to mom when speaking.’

’Mom also hopes she becomes the Queen. There’s no reason to fall out.’

Vincent quickly changed his strategy.

"No, Your Highness. Falkner Kingdom is our home and we don’t wish to sever ties."

Agnes noticed the change of tone. Vincent was speaking respectfully to her.

The King and the nobles noticed it too.

"That’s fortunate," said Agnes. "But House D’Arc will have to cease trades with Aldorp to express its position clearly."

Vincent did not get annoyed or irritated. He merely shook his head.

"Your Highness, my county is suffering through its biggest famine. Every other noble house has left us to rot and we were summoned here by the Crown despite acting lawfully."

Vincent turned to the King.

"The Crown accused us and did not withhold its integrity. D’Arc will not cease its trades with Aldorp."

Vincent turned to Marquis Morvell.

"We will trade where we wish and with who we wish. Starting from now, all trade activities will cease with every noble house except House Brunelle, House Leurox, House Hall, House Blaise and..."

Vincent names the few houses that provided them aid during the crisis.

The King’s grip on the scepter tightened, letting a fracture erupt.

Agnes internally sighed.

She knew the situation was not salvageable due to the entire matter being one sided.

House D’Arc did nothing wrong. All other houses were actively sabotaging it and wished for their collapse.

All of this happened under the King’s eyes. He knew but he pretended he didn’t see anything.

Two days ago, the chief advisor suggested not cornering D’Arc completely so early. He also stated to not summon them as they had not done anything wrong by moving their civilians.

Yet, the King did not listen and issued a summon as there might not be another opportunity to do so.

’This can’t go on. The King’s authority will be completely compromised.’

Before the nobles or the King reacted, Agnes called out to Vincent.

He turned to her again.

She cleared her throat and continued,

"This court gathered to determine whether House D’Arc endangered the kingdom."

She paused and then looked at the nobles.

"Instead, we have learned something else."

Everyone looked at her.

"The kingdom allowed one of its Count houses to descend into famine."

The expression of the nobles twisted.

The King, who had been expressionless so far, frowned.

Disrespect from Vincent was one thing but his own daughter speaking against him...

From the corner of his eyes, he saw Vivienne’s figure.

If it wasn’t for her, he would never let Agnes speak in such a manner.

Agnes continued while looking at the nobles.

"Whether House D’Arc acted correctly is one matter."

She glanced at Marquis Morvell.

"Whether House D’Arc was forced into such actions is another."

Marquis Morvell shifted in his chair as his expression dropped.

Agnes shook her head and turned to Vincent.

"Neither issue will be decided due to a lack of evidence."

"The Crown suspends the accusation of riots erupting due to House D’Arc. However..."

Agnes’s eyes were slightly lowered, not staring at Vincent directly.

"The act of treason remains until House D’Arc suspends its trades with Aldorp."

She looked at Vincent now.

Her face was expressionless but within her eyes, Vincent could feel the helplessness.

Vincent adjusted his hat.

"Your Highness, D’Arc will cease its trade with Aldorp on the condition that the Crown will act with integrity and deal with the houses that obstruct House D’Arc’s trades done lawfully."

The moment he said so, a notification rang inside his head as a line of text appeared before his eyes.

[Ding!]

[Entanglement increased.]

[Subject: Agnes Falkner]

[Entanglement: Friction Link(unstable) → Friction Link(stable)]

Vincent did not need the notifications.

In Agnes’s eyes, he could see a relieved glimmer.

Agnes continued to remain expressionless and turned to the nobles.

"Then this concludes today’s session. Any further grievances will be taken in writing and shall be addressed in the next court session."

Agnes went to stand behind the King.

The nobles stared at the King, wondering whether he would actually let the Crown Princess dictate this session.

Many were chattering with unease and did not like the outcome.

Although they did not lose anything, knowing House D’Arc went out unscathed despite the disrespect left a sour taste in their mouths.

In the front row, Duke Brunelle was smiling faintly while watching everyone’s reactions.

Viscount Blaise on the other hand was taken aback.

Not only did House D’Arc go unpunished, the Crown also allowed them to trade with whomever they wished.

And House D’Arc openly stated they would trade with their house.

Viscount Blaise was conflicted.

Though, the Crown Princess’s words weren’t finalized yet.

The King had not issued any commands.

His scepter went through a few cracks as he contemplated his next moves.

Meanwhile, from the front row, a tall lady wearing a wide-brimmed hat stood up.

All eyes were now on her.

Vivienne walked towards Vincent.

She stopped before him and held his hand, interlocking her fingers with his.

"It’s time for lunch, my dear."

Her soft words echoed throughout the court.

She turned her back to the King and walked out with Vincent.

"Are we having meat?" Vincent asked as they went out.

"We’re having ducks."

"Rubbery."

"Fufu..."

Permission wasn’t seeked.

A word wasn’t said.

Vivienne never stood up to greet the King nor waited for him to conclude the session.

She did what she wished and the King never responded to her disrespect.

The nobles were utterly baffled.

Their gaze finally landed on the King when the D’Arcs were gone.

The King closed his eyes and breathed heavily.

Nothing would be the same from this day onward.

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