For a time, people in every street and alley were filled with righteous indignation, “Have you heard? A coppersmith’s daughter in the Marais District was targeted by two nobles, not only was she violated by them, but the coppersmith’s whole family was killed!”
“It is said that one of them is the son of the Minister of the Interior. That guy, not wanting to share the girl with another noble, actually sent someone to burn him to death.”
“How cruel and ruthless. But why did he have to kill that poor girl’s family as well?”
“Don’t you understand? Killing a noble is a grave crime! If the girl spoke out that the two had fought over her, the police would surely suspect him, and that’s called destroying evidence.”
“These damn nobles, they don’t care about human life at all!”
“They all deserve to go to hell!”
…
Joseph looked at the newspaper report about the fire set by the Minister of the Interior’s son, frowning deeply. This time it involved Mono himself, so the man didn’t dare to blatantly pressure the press to avoid publishing the news.
How had the news leaked? He immediately summoned Fouche.
Before long, the Police Affairs Department submitted a preliminary investigation result—it was someone who had directly reported to Police Headquarters and various major newspapers about the backstory and consequences of Mono’s son’s order to set the fire.
Under the relentless questioning of a large number of journalists, Police Headquarters had no choice but to summon Antony Mono. Although he was released shortly afterwards due to insufficient evidence, with the help of the reporters, he had become the target of public criticism.
But who exactly had leaked the news remained unknown.
Joseph contemplated the report, was it a relative of Viscount Anboer? Or someone who was secretly investigating the matter?
Just then, Eman walked in quickly, bowing respectfully, and said in a low voice, “Your Highness, Count Mono would like to see you.”
Joseph frowned. Mono coming at this time could only be for one thing, but the nature of the matter was so bad, he wouldn’t possibly help him get off the hook.
He shook his head, “Tell him to go back.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
…
Royal Palace.
The butler entered the Duke of Orleans’ study brimming with excitement, turned back to carefully close the door, then bowed and said, “My lord, just as you expected, the Minister of the Interior sought an audience with the Queen, the Crown Prince, and the Chief Minister one after another, but it seems he couldn’t meet any of them.”
“As expected.” The Duke of Orleans said, pleased with himself, “This matter has blown up so much, even the Queen can’t protect him now.”
He then looked at the butler, “By the way, those two guys from the Maletude family haven’t said anything, have they?”
The butler bowed, “Our people in the Bastille are watching them, they wouldn’t dare to talk nonsense.”
“Good.” A smile appeared on the Duke of Orleans’ face, “If it weren’t for that fool Mono killing the coppersmith’s family, things might not have gone so smoothly.”
Yes, the so-called “Viscount Anboer arson case” was all orchestrated by him.
After learning that his heir had contracted syphilis, he went mad with the desire to take revenge on Joseph and the Royal Family.
It just so happened that months before, he learned that Mono’s son and Viscount Anboer had both set their sights on a commoner girl.
In his mind, Mono was an important political force of the Royal Family, and if he could use him well, perhaps he could find a vulnerability in the Royal Family.
So, he began to look among those around Antony, eventually selecting Antony’s “lackeys”—the fallen nobles, the Maletude Brothers.
After gaining control over these two brothers through some means, the Duke of Orleans then instructed them to exacerbate the conflict between Antony and Viscount Anboer.
Antony, who had been an illegitimate child for over a decade, suddenly became the heir to the Mono title six months ago, his change in status made him quite arrogant.
About half a month ago, after drinking, he went to the home of a girl named Celine, intending to ‘have some fun’ with her, only to find out she had been taken away by Viscount Anboer to his villa to be toyed with.
With the Maletude Brothers inciting and under the influence of alcohol, he became enraged and ordered the Maletude Brothers to take Celine back.
These brothers immediately reported the matter to the Duke of Orleans, as they had been previously commanded.
The Duke of Orleans realized this was a good opportunity to drag Mono into the mud, so he sent men to burn down Viscount Anboer’s house with them.
The subsequent events unfolded mostly according to his design.
The Maletude Brothers took Celine back to Antony’s residence, and gleefully told him they had burned the meddlesome Anboer to death.
Antony was immediately sobered with fear, scurrying back home, and told his father everything.
Mono was shocked and initially wanted the Maletude Brothers to flee, but to his surprise, these fools got themselves caught by the police—naturally, they did it on purpose.
Then, he went to the prison and saw the Maletude Brothers, who both adamantly claimed that it was Antony who instructed them to set the fire. Antony was so drunk that day, he only knew he had told them to take back the girl, and remembered nothing else.
Mono, with no other choice, promised the Maletude Brothers great rewards to take the blame for him. Then, he bribed the High Court judge to execute them as soon as possible.
And this was exactly the outcome the Duke of Orleans had wanted.
Only, Mono exceeded his expectations by acting even more ‘impressively’, killing Celine’s family due to a guilty conscience.
…
Nightfall.
A black carriage quietly entered the villa of the Minister of the Interior.
Mono looked suspiciously at the visitor removing his hood, revealing the face of the Duke of Orleans, and immediately frowned, saying in a low voice, “What are you doing here?”