After the queen’s death, the jewels were transferred to the Rondeux palace, but Olivia Leopold, the new Duchess of Greathill, refilled the space with jewels.

This too was Diane’s scheme, but unbeknownst to the public, they criticized the vulgar duchess for her ostentatious display of wealth.

Naive Olivia.

Oblivious to her own transformation into a vain materialist, Olivia increasingly relied on Diane as her situation worsened.

For Diane, manipulating such a pitiful girl was easier than breathing.

The lily key, originally managed by the lady of the house, came into Diane’s possession after she framed Olivia’s maid. She secretly placed a stolen pink diamond necklace in the maid’s room. The event led to Diane acquiring the key due to supposed mismanagement.

Johann, thinking his wife incompetent, had unwittingly left the fish market to the cat.

Diane closed the box, returned it to its place, and shut the drawer. She called for a maid to clean up the broken vase, starting her day as usual, waiting for night to fall.

When the night deepened, and Johann’s bedroom lights were off, Diane quietly left the office. Carrying an unlit lamp, she walked through the long hallway to the opposite side of the Duchess’s bedroom on the second floor. Relying on the moonlight, she inserted the key into the lock and gently turned it. The door creaked open.

Carefully opening the heavy door just enough to slip in, Diane placed the lamp on a shelf and fumbled in her pocket for matches to light it.

The enchanting room, always breathtaking, emitted dazzling light even in the dimness. Her mouth went dry with awe.
Johann’s mother, the Duchess of Edinburgh, had a collection of jewels she possessed, a tiara set gifted by the queen upon her marriage, and various rare collections purchased from auctions and jewelers.

Diane had been waiting three years for the day these treasures would be hers, considering them the reward for her ‘service’ to Johann.

The gems, sparkling with radiant light, one by one disappeared into the bag she had prepared. The bag quickly became heavy, and the room sank back into darkness. Diane quietly slipped out the way she came in.

A carriage she had arranged in secret earlier in the day was waiting in the shadows behind the back gate.

“Longbone Street.”

The carriage sped down a narrow hill and turned onto a dark, misty path along the river. It continued along the stretched-out river, crossing the bridge at the very end of the waterway.

The carriage then entered a dim, winding path and soon found itself in a narrow back alley amidst the crowded, sunless buildings of a slum.

As the carriage came to a stop at its destination, Diane, her hood deeply pulled over her hat, stepped down.

She glanced around briefly and knocked on a door. On the third knock, faint light seeped through; the door creaked open.

“Who the devil… Oh! Miss Brooke, isn’t it?”

Diane glared at the man.

“Don’t call me that recklessly.”

“Yes, yes, of course.”

The man opened the door wide and stepped aside. Diane entered, and the man, having sharply scanned the dark alley, closed the door and drew all the blinds.

“Been well?”

The man approached Diane, scratching his stubble. Without explanation, Diane dropped the bag onto the table.

“Something big this time?”

As he opened the leather bag, a crude whistle echoed in the silent space. He winked at Diane.

“Make it in two days.”

“If you rush me, it’ll only turn out shoddy.”

“I have eighty more pieces. Finish in two weeks, then we’re gone.”

“My cut?”

“Depends on how much we get for the jewels.”

“Sixty-forty.”

“Are you insane?”

“Crazy enough to even kill people, right?”

The man grinned, revealing yellow teeth. Diane, barely holding back her disgust, spoke as if sighing.

“Eighty-twenty. Don’t get greedy. Money’s good, but it’s not worth trading your life for, right?”

Diane pulled out a self-defense pistol from her handbag and aimed it at him.