The overlap with Earl Balsamico's commission was either a massive coincidence, or Earl Balsamico already knew about Velveno's dark history and the commission was just an additional layer of insurance to ensure he was locked away forever.
After all, no father would want his daughter to marry a violent criminal, especially someone he originally looked down upon.
Raizel had no intention of giving Velveno a chance to defend his creepy behavior either.
He clapped his hands loudly. "Alright, take him away."
Four Rune Knight soldiers from the Council entered the hall, directly locking heavy Magic Shackles on his wrists, and Velveno was dragged away.
When Ultear had cornered Velveno earlier, Raizel had already sent a priority message to the local Council branch.
"Miss Aceto, I think you still need to open your eyes a bit to reality," Raizel said, walking down the stairs.
He transmitted the known, verified evidence of Velveno's crimes to Aceto's mind through Archive Magic.
Aceto looked through the glowing documents with half-belief and half-doubt.
At first, she was unwilling to believe her childhood friend could do such things, but seeing the official seals of the Magic Council and the Fiore Kingdom...
As she gradually read through the various brutal pieces of evidence, she grew more and more shocked.
Especially by the tearful accusations from his last few female victims.
"How... could he have become like this...?" Aceto covered her face and wept.
As the saying goes, it's better to destroy ten temples than to break up a marriage, but Raizel felt that Velveno was clearly a monster, so breaking the illusion was for the best.
No excuses about feeling "unworthy" of Aceto or being "forced" into wrongdoing by Earl Balsamico's rejection would suffice.
The dark path was chosen by Velveno himself, and the violent decisions were made by him alone, so he had to pay the price.
Aceto wiped her tears. "I... did have some lingering feelings for him from before, but I think they're entirely gone now."
Velveno was her childhood friend; even without romantic feelings, there was some sibling-like affection, and she did have some fond memories originally.
"Oh! The ring!" Earl Balsamico suddenly remembered and hurried toward the clock to check on the heirloom. "
Don't worry, it's safe with me," Ultear flipped her hand, and the velvet box containing the ring appeared in her palm.
"But what about the wedding?!" Earl Balsamico's hands flapped like dragonfly wings, his face a picture of frantic exasperation as he looked at the bewildered suitors.
"Father, I want to find someone myself," Aceto looked seriously at Earl Balsamico.
"But the strict family rules—"
"I originally thought Velveno left me on his own, but it turned out to be your cruel interference. I was willing to accept your arranged marriage then out of duty, but now, I want to decide my own future." Aceto looked at her father with determined eyes.
"How do you plan to decide?!" Earl Balsamico retorted. "I want to find someone I actually like, who also likes me for me."
Earl Balsamico paced back and forth, then finally relaxed his rigid posture and sighed heavily.
"Fine. Do as you wish, Aceto. But I'll have to thoroughly approve of anyone you date."
"Thank you, Father!" Aceto crouched down and hugged her father tightly.
She hadn't been very confident and didn't dare to expect her strict father would agree; she was relying entirely on his deep affection for her.
"This doesn't seem like something you would normally do," Ultear noted.
She was quite puzzled by Raizel's heavy intervention today.
She knew Raizel well—he neither harbored any so-called class prejudice against commoners, nor usually bothered with such trivial romantic matters.
She didn't believe Raizel had taken a liking to Aceto either, aside from sending her the criminal documents, Raizel had barely spoken to the girl.
Natsu and Gray had more conversations with her than he did.
"Well, it's just that I feel that guy isn't good enough for her," Raizel said, leaning on the second-floor railing as he watched the remaining guests still dancing.
Although Raizel didn't particularly like Aceto, he had a favorable impression of her character.
She lacked the arrogant, spoiled demeanor typical of some nobles and came across as gentle, refined, and well-mannered.
"Oh? So you think you're good enough for her?" Ultear narrowed her eyes, staring intently at Raizel with a dangerous glint.
A deadly trap question.
Raizel immediately became alert, his survival instincts kicking in.
"...How could that be?! I don't like her, and I have no connection to her whatsoever! Let alone whether I'm 'good enough' or not!"
Feeling his scalp tingle under her intense gaze, Raizel shook his head frantically, desperate to clear any misunderstanding.
"Maybe we could introduce her to some single members of our guild! Freed would be a good match, don't you think? That way, he wouldn't be obsessing over Laxus all the time!"
As Raizel rapidly changed the subject, he finally felt the murderous aura emanating from Ultear gradually subside.
'Phew...' Raizel let out a soft sigh of relief.
He had nearly met his end today!
...
After receiving the 4,000,000 Jewel check from Earl Balsamico, Lucy jumped for joy.
"More money! More rent money!"
"I mean, as a super-rich heir of multiple generations, is it really reasonable for you to get so incredibly excited over such a small amount?" Raizel teased her on the train ride home.
That sum was only enough to buy about ten bottles of the luxury perfume Layla had gifted to the guild members.
Of course, the perfume Layla bought was marketed as exclusive for high-society noblewomen and was inherently expensive.
Only someone with mountains of wealth—and gold mines within those mountains—could afford to buy so much to casually give away.
"It makes perfect sense! If I hadn't ventured out on my own, I wouldn't have known how hard it is to actually earn money! Natsu's job rewards aren't even enough to cover the collateral damages he causes. It drives me crazy!" Lucy looked indignant, crossing her arms.
Having been extravagant with money while living at the estate, Lucy had now become incredibly frugal, eager to earn more and spend less every single day just to survive.
"Uh..." Natsu scratched his head awkwardly, looking away.
"Alright, the ball is over. It's time to head back to Magnolia," Ultear smiled, patting Erza, who was still practicing dance steps in the aisle and reluctant to leave.
...
A few days after returning to Magnolia, at the guild tavern —
Natsu was eating at the bar counter while loudly complaining about Lucy's "misdeeds."
He was mooching off Raizel's plate because both he and Happy were completely broke again.
"You're so useless, Natsu. What a disgrace to manhood!" Elfman yelled.
"Hahaha!" Raizel burst into laughter beside him.
"So, you two were kicked out by Lucy."
"Yeah! But we were just trying to kindly invite her to work a mission with us!" Natsu whined.
"No wonder she got angry, right? I also heard you often sneak into her apartment to take baths without permission and eat her food. Do you even understand what basic manners are?" Carla sighed, then turned her head away as if she couldn't bear to look at the two idiots.
"If you're really out of money, you can come here. I'll cook for you," Kinana said with a sweet smile.
"Never mind, Kinana. I doubt these two clueless guys can even understand human language, can they?" Wakaba joked.
"But I think she could at least be a little nicer to us! She's always so fierce! No wonder she hasn't managed to get even one boyfriend so far," Happy said while munching on a stolen fish.
Mira covered her mouth lightly and chuckled at Happy's blunt words.
"Hahaha! You're right about that, cat!" Wakaba laughed heartily as if no one else was around.
"I'd say even if she could get a boyfriend, he'd probably be scared off by her temper, right?" Macao added.
"Even though she's a young lady from a wealthy family, she's still incredibly strong."
"Unless it's a man with immense courage, he'd definitely be no match for her."
Max, Elfman, and Macao chimed in one after another, nodding sagely at the bar.
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