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Reports from palace correspondents confirmed a dramatic scene earlier this week: Lady Marietta Harrow, younger sister of Queen Consort Helena of the Kingdom of Arandale, was escorted out of her antique boutique by royal security and handed over to local authorities. Rumors circulating across the nation stem from images showing Marietta being taken into custody amid allegations that she was involved in the illicit movement and sale of centuries-old artifacts. Paintings, rare crockery, ceremonial silver—items worth hundreds of thousands of crowns—were said to have passed through her hands under suspicious circumstances.
What electrified public fascination even more was the appearance of Crown Prince Alistair, who personally arrived with a special security unit at Marietta’s shop in the Oakwell district. Photographs of Marietta being guided out of the premises have spread across every news channel, and many citizens have noticed Queen Helena’s sudden disappearance from public engagements. This silence has prompted a storm of questions: How had valuables from royal estates disappeared without detection? Was Marietta acting alone, or was someone in the palace enabling her?
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To many observers, the scandal is more than a fall from grace for the queen’s sister. It symbolizes a collision between two competing visions of monarchy. On one side is the old guard—an era ruled by personal connections, inherited privilege, and unspoken exemptions. On the other is the world Crown Prince Alistair is building: transparent, modern, business-driven, and intolerant of waste or favoritism.
In the late Queen Margaret’s era, Marietta was far more than Helena’s sister; she was a dominant behind-the-scenes figure in the curation and upkeep of royal residences. For over twenty years, she effectively monopolized renovation and design contracts across the Royal Estate Council. Under the old monarchy, decisions were often made based on personal relationships rather than financial prudence. Marietta thrived in this environment, crafting a prosperous business empire built on exclusive access and unchecked spending.
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But everything shifted the moment Alistair, upon becoming Crown Prince, assumed control over the Crown Territories Fund. Unlike his father, King Rowan—whose decisions were often influenced by emotional loyalty—Alistair treated the estate like a meticulously run corporation. He viewed the royal holdings not as a reservoir to enrich extended relatives but as national assets meant to operate with efficiency and integrity.
One of Alistair’s earliest—and boldest—actions was to order a full forensic audit of all contracts issued in the previous decade. Independent auditing houses, far removed from palace politics, were hired to comb through every financial trail. Their findings exposed significant financial anomalies in Marietta’s projects. Basic tasks, such as reupholstering sofas or replacing drapes, had been invoiced at triple the standard market rate. Over the years, millions had quietly funneled into her accounts.
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To Alistair, this was not careless overspending—it was institutionalized corruption. His response was swift and clinical. Without negotiation or family courtesy, Marietta’s contracts were terminated. The notice arrived through legal representatives, demanding that she vacate her work sites within forty-eight hours.
The abrupt cut-off thrust Marietta into financial chaos. Accustomed to an extravagant lifestyle—foreign villas, designer wardrobes, and the costly upkeep of her boutique—she quickly found herself drowning in debt. Alistair’s silent signal to the aristocracy effectively blacklisted her. Former clients evaporated, and suppliers backed away, not wishing to offend the future sovereign. Within a year, Marietta’s empire collapsed into looming bankruptcy.
Her resentment festered. She came to believe that Alistair’s actions were not administrative reforms but personal vengeance—an attempt to weaken Queen Helena’s influence. Facing ruin, Marietta sought leverage: secrets from Helena’s past, records of questionable expenditures she had archived as insurance. These became her weapons.
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During a clandestine meeting at Briarwood Estate, Marietta confronted Helena directly, brandishing documents demonstrating off-ledger spending from years before—funds used for private indulgences, masked under estate maintenance budgets. Faced with the threat of exposure, Helena panicked. Alistair’s strict financial oversight meant she could not simply provide her sister with large sums of money without triggering suspicion.
Thus emerged a dangerous pact.
Instead of cash, Helena proposed a covert transfer of physical assets—antique furnishings, rare ceramics, and decorative pieces stored across royal properties and seldom checked. With Helena signing restoration orders and Marietta receiving the items under the guise of maintenance, they created an underground channel to quietly siphon valuables out of the royal estate. Marietta then sold them through discreet international clients, using shell companies and encrypted communication.
For several months, the scheme operated flawlessly. Items vanished from storerooms and private chambers, and both sisters profited. But they underestimated Alistair’s reforms. He had implemented a digital asset-tracking system using advanced scanning, metadata logs, and real-time audits.
During a quarterly review, Alistair noticed irregular spikes in restoration budgets and began cross-checking digital records. Missing items. Suspicious approvals. A pattern of releases signed by Helena, all coincidentally routed through entities connected to Marietta.
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