Reborn as a Mind-Reading Empress
Chapter 984: Controlled by a Series of Lies

Chapter 984: Chapter 984: Controlled by a Series of Lies

These were the perks of her circumstances.

***

Arabella worked diligently in her office in the afternoon and retired early to her room this time as a reward to herself for working all the time the past few days.

She used her time to send letters to her family and spend a long time in the bath.

The following day, her routine went as usual.

And this time, they had a meeting with the nobles of Sibruh.

A lot of the nobles who had dissatisfied thoughts when they "secretly" joined the public hearing felt appeased now that there was a separate meeting with them.

They felt special since the setup for them was, of course, classy. It also included a banquet after with Lobelian and Valerian cuisine.

This time, Narcissa and Ronald were the ones who managed the talks after Arabella gave her opening speech.

Narcissa and Ronald clarified to the nobles that there would be a different showing of the theatrical plays. And that the same was true with the other events they organized.

This was the case, so the nobles won’t feel left behind or ignored by them.

After all, the noble families here in Sibruh had indeed also greatly contributed to the Sibruh family’s ancestors and former generations in maintaining this territory until it became a marquessate of Valeria.

Thanks to her assistants, the meeting with the nobles was also successful.

In the afternoon, her assistants helped facilitate the distribution of resources from the pledges.

The distribution started the other day, but it was not over yet due to the number of people.

Thankfully, pledges were received from various territories, ensuring that each household would receive its share of the donated resources without any issues.

Meanwhile, Arabella and Alwin focused on the rebels in hiding they discovered, and Eugene Hamel.

The investigation was finally over, so they had a meeting to get updated.

"What else did you learn about them?" Arabella inquired.

"Riley spoke with the Former Marquess, and he said he relocated the people there because the mine was illegal and not worth it to continue operating due to the risks, but low results. Further, the area was not ideal for farming since it was rocky, so he concluded it was better to relocate them to an area where they could shift to farming in more productive soil," Alwin said.

He explained that because Eugene Hamel lied about the mine and falsified records that showed the results of the mine were low profits, the Former Marquess concluded it was not worth it to continue operating it.

Eugene acted pitiful to the Former Marquess as if he had lost a huge amount on investing in the mine that did not yield well.

Eugene lied that he had not processed the papers yet when he was not sure there would be any profit, and was already planning on closing it down when the accident happened. He had even already prepared the documents as if he were truly planning to register it.

Thus, Eugene got away with minor punishments.

The Former Marquess also concluded it was better to cut the losses and casualties, so the illegal mine was closed permanently and forbidden to be mined again.

However, Eugene Hamel lied to the people and made the Sibruh family seem like the root of evil.

Eugene told the people that the Sibruh family simply refused to develop the land due to the expenses and thus, sabotaged their current source of income, the mine, for them to agree to be relocated elsewhere.

"But due to the pest infestation and the plant disease, they lost the money they invested in farming since they had not earned enough from the crops. And they were used to receiving a daily wage, unlike in farming, where they had to wait for their crops to be harvested and sold," Alwin added.

He explained that because the villagers from that area were used to the daily wages they received from Eugene Hamel when they worked in the mines, farming was much harder for them since they had to wait for a long time before they could earn any money from it.

They were not used to budgeting for the long term and shelling out for months before getting a profit.

Even the family members were not used to the setup after they got used to the mines.

Their budget was usually spent for the day or for the week, and only a little was saved up for the future since they thought their earnings from the mine were stable at least for several years.

Thus, it was difficult for their families when, all of a sudden, they were relocated to be farmers and there was no profit for months.

Even more so when the pest infestation and plant disease spread, since they had used up all their budget so far.

The mistake on the Former Marquess’ part here was assuming the villagers had enough money to last them for months until their harvests were sold.

Since the relocation was after there were a lot of casualties, there were also families who lost their main income earner.

Thus, the Marquess could have at least helped them by lending seeds or seedlings or cash loans to help them finance their farms and family budget while they were just starting in the area where they were relocated.

If the Sibruh family did not have enough budget, he could have fined Eugene Hamel despite his pitiful act, since he still needed to take responsibility for illegal mining.

Further, if only the Former Marquess had investigated it in more detail, he would have learned that the mine was actually productive and Eugene was lying to him and the villagers.

Eugene was too used to manipulation, though, and outsmarted both the Former Marquess and the villagers through a series of lies and half-truths.

"After having him and his men followed, it didn’t seem like they had connections to outside forces. Eugene Hamel’s motivations are his personal circumstances," Alwin concluded.

He meant Eugene Hamel’s actions were all because he was the second son and was unlikely to become the heir of the Hamel Household.

Eugene Hamel wanted to become the Marquess to be more powerful than his older brother.