Chapter 246: Breadcrumbs of Deceit

Chapter 246: Breadcrumbs of Deceit

[Lavinia’s POV—Office—Later]

THUD!

The sound rattled my teeth and echoed across the office like a cannon. I jumped slightly, and my eyes widened as I saw Sera, triumphant, dropping what could only be described as a mountain of documents onto my desk.

"This... is... all I got, Your Highness!" she announced, chest puffed out as if she’d just delivered the crown jewels.

I laughed nervously, my hands hovering over the avalanche of parchment. "Sera... don’t... don’t you think that’s... maybe... a bit too much?" My voice cracked under the sheer enormity of the pile.

She blinked at me, tilting her head like a hawk inspecting a particularly odd mouse. "Too much? Your Highness... didn’t you specifically tell me to bring every scrap, from the smallest complaint to the largest ledger, straight to your desk?"

I rubbed the back of my neck, heat creeping into my cheeks. "I... uh... I was just... improvising with the situation. I didn’t mean... really mean... all of it."

Sera’s eyes narrowed, and her tone dropped to a mutter that I could just hear: "Seriously, Your Highness... you are impossible sometimes."

I raised a hand defensively. "Hehe... thank you? I think that’s... supposed to be a compliment?"

"I am not praising you," she said flatly, one eyebrow lifting like a spear pointed straight at my forehead.

I sighed, leaning back in my chair, letting my gaze wander over the mountainous pile before me. "Fine... fine. I’ll... I’ll look into this." My voice trailed off, but my brain was already buzzing.

Sera nodded, her eyes lighting up with the kind of zeal reserved for treasure hunters discovering a cursed chest. "I brought every detail. From the dam’s original construction plans to every complaint ever filed. The funds, the routes, every report, every scribbled note, every ’oops-I-forgot’... it’s all here."

I cracked my neck and flexed my fingers like a general preparing for battle. "Alright then... let’s begin this... monumental expedition into bureaucracy, corruption, and possibly heartbreak."

Sera let out a soft groan, shaking her head like she had done battle with her own sanity. "Your Highness... I swear, the things I do for you."

I grinned, leaning forward over the papers. "And the things I do to you, Sera. Let the adventure begin."

Sera nodded and we started our inspection of Dam.

***

[Lavinia’s Office—A Few hours Later]

I sifted through the mountain of parchments, my fingers skimming over construction plans, complaints, and ledger entries. At first, it all seemed mundane—just numbers, dates, and signatures—but as I leaned closer, squinting at the fine print, something began to tickle the back of my mind.

"Hmm..." I murmured, tapping a ledger with my finger. "This doesn’t quite add up..."

Sera, standing impatiently beside me, leaned over my shoulder. "What is it, Your Highness?"

I pointed at a series of entries—tiny notes, almost like whispers between the lines. "Look here. Funds allocated for repairing the dam... see how the numbers jump? There’s supposed to be material for, say, thirty workers, but only twenty are accounted for in the receipts. And this... this signature here? It’s barely legible, almost like someone was trying not to be recognized."

Sera frowned. "Are you saying... someone’s been skimming?"

I nodded, flipping through another page. "Not just skimming. Look here—complaints from the villagers saying repairs were half-finished and materials were missing, but every report filed to the administrators claims everything is perfect. And yet..." I traced my finger along a faded line in the ledger. "...this tiny note, almost erased, says: ’materials delivered elsewhere—per headman’s orders.’"

Sera blinked. "Elsewhere...? That doesn’t sound... official."

I leaned back, rubbing my chin thoughtfully, a slow smirk creeping across my face. "Exactly. Someone’s lining their own pockets. The headman—he’s pocketing funds while the village suffers. And no one noticed because... well, everyone’s too busy pretending the dam is fine."

I let the parchment fall onto the desk with a faint flop

Sera’s eyes widened, almost glowing with admiration. "You... you really see everything, Your Highness."

I grinned, tapping the ledger like a gavel. "Of course. That’s what being a Crown Princess is really about. Detecting corruption, finding secrets... and maybe, just maybe, sneaking into the Divine Library while everyone’s busy pretending to do their jobs."

I looked up at Sera, voice dropping conspiratorially. "The deeper I dig, the more it stinks. And the more it stinks, the closer I get to the truth. And Sera... I love the smell of corruption in the morning."

Sera shivered, half in awe, half in terror. "You’re terrifying, Your Highness."

I chuckled, flipping another page. "Terrifying... or brilliant? That’s for history to decide. For now... we follow the trail. And that trail? It leads straight to the village head."

My eyes scanned the ledger once more, taking in the tiny, almost-forgotten details—hidden dates, smudged ink, and notes that seemed innocent at first glance. Each one a breadcrumb leading to the truth. And I could feel it: the deeper I went, the closer I was not only to uncovering corruption but also to the Divine Library.

A sly grin spread across my face. "This is going to be fun."

Sera tilted her head, brow furrowed as she watched me. "But... what do you think they could be hiding?"

"Huh?" I looked up at her, curiosity flickering in my eyes.

She leaned closer, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "All those missing numbers... the diverted funds, the smudged receipts, the ’materials delivered elsewhere’ notes... don’t you think it feels like the village head is trying to hide something? Something more than just a few coins in his pocket?"

I blinked, letting her words sink in as I surveyed the sea of parchments scattered across my desk. My fingers hovered over the ledgers, tracing the erratic flow of numbers, the faintly erased notes, and the half-legible scribbles in the margins.

She was right.

This wasn’t normal corruption. Greed alone doesn’t hide like this. There’s a rhythm to it, a pattern... and patterns like this? They always lead somewhere.

I tapped the ledger with a finger, tilting it under the soft light of the office. "Look here... see these entries?" I murmured, pointing at a series of dates when the repair materials were supposedly delivered. "Each time there’s a delivery, the village head records less than he should. And yet, every inspection report says everything is perfect. Every complaint is dismissed. This... this is deliberate. Someone’s trying to cover something."

Sera’s eyes gleamed with excitement, and I felt a thrill I couldn’t hide. "But what? What could be so important that he’d risk the dam—and the village—to hide it?"

I leaned back, letting my gaze wander over the mountains of parchment like a queen surveying her kingdom. "I don’t know yet. But whatever it is... it’s big. And it’s somewhere in the details."

My fingers hovered over a particularly worn ledger, the ink faint, the margins scribbled with almost invisible notes. "This isn’t just about money... or laziness... or incompetence. Someone doesn’t want anyone looking too closely. And the more I dig, the more I feel like we’re getting closer to it."

Sera whispered, almost reverently, "Then... we follow the breadcrumbs, Your Highness. Every smudge, every missing number... it’s all pointing somewhere."

I nodded slowly, a slow, wicked grin spreading across my face. "Exactly. And when we find it... oh, Sera... it’s going to be spectacular."

The papers rustled beneath my fingers, hiding secrets that only I seemed poised to uncover. And for the first time that morning, I felt that familiar spark of excitement. The kind that whispers in your ear: the deeper you dig, the closer you are to everything.

I leaned forward, eyes scanning the ledgers once more. "Let’s see how deep this rabbit hole goes."