Pampered by the Villainous Tyrant King

Chapter 34

Rachel tapped her fingers on the table. "I did everything I could to keep you alive. You can stay and live in the mansion, but you won't be able to run the business or manage the household. Otherwise, you can get out of here with the clothes on your back. But even to me, you deserve to be locked up for the rest of your life."

On accounts that the marquis was her father, Percy had given her a choice. She took it. It was part of her innate selfishness as a human to keep her father alive. He was the only blood relative alive she had in the world. The marquis title and half of the lands were absorbed, but she would be given a viscountess title, a two rank demotion. This was truly a slap on the wrist compared to the damage her father had done.

Rachel sighed. It was also her punishment for not being able to control her father's evil deeds. She had looked the other way when he initially sent the first assassin and not reported him, hoping that she could talk some sense into him. Now that she was a viscountess and in charge of her family lands, she had to split her time between running her family's lands and at the Eldoris palaces. It was Percy telling her to stay away.

Perhaps it was the best so she didn't have to be there to constantly see the love of her life with someone else. Some time and distance would help.

But her father was clearly not willing to give in so easily. Thomas Dare roared in fury and raised his hand. Rachel was faster. What could the marquis do against a skilled swordsman who had trained for years?

She caught her father's wrist and held it firmly.

"I am your daughter, Father," she said. Her voice cracked.

"Not anymore. You are no longer a child of mine." Thomas Dare said, his voice heavy.

Rachel's green eyes were watery. Her father's words stung. Then she took a deep breath, steadying her voice.

"Very well. Someone come. Mr. Dare is to stay in his quarters until I say he can be released."

She watched her father's back as he left the study that was now hers. Rachel laughed bitterly. The road had come to this.

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Percy leaned against the back of the chair, sipping a glass of wine. The door opened and his knights brought several bound men and women in ropes.

"Your mansion is quite beautiful, Count Methe. A new wing added to the mansion, and luxurious jewel studded statues in the gardens. Not to mention, what a delightful wine you have here. Imported from Kiran, I see."

Percy swirled the red wine in the glass. The alcohol was quite strong.

The count shuddered. In his mansion were stocked barrels and barrels of this wine. Importing wine was not an issue. However, the count had done this all illegally, avoiding the tariffs that had already been lowered when Percy married Princess Annabeth.

"I wonder where you get all that courage to circumvent paying taxes." Percy said, dryly.

Fools, he thought. Just because he had been busy with the wedding and now the Festival of Bounty didn't mean he couldn't pay attention to the matters of his country. The drought was just a reason for the king to personally come out and punish the little rodents that dared to take nibbles of the prize they didn't deserve.

This particular count had not only had the crime of tax evasion on his maggoty head, but he also hosted illegal gambling and human trafficking rings. The commoners were also unfairly taxed, while the count sent barely anything to the royal palaces as part of his annual tax payments. One of the worst crimes was that the count had gambled his blood-born legal daughter away to settle a debt while his mistresses and illegitimate children planned to sink their claws on the inheritance and title.