There was a reason why she acted so confidently.

‘Surely there can’t be fake jewels in the vault of the famous Count Tolomiès?’

The appraiser stepped forward boldly.

“Then, excuse me for a moment.”

The guests gathered in front of the platform dispersed like the ebbing tide.

Amid the silence of the audience, the appraiser examined each jewel on the platform closely, scrutinizing their properties, transparency, and colors.

After a while, the appraiser finally spoke.

“I’m sorry, Mademoiselle Julia. It seems that the jewels here are indeed imitations. They all appear to be Strasser’s jewels.”

Julia’s face turned bright red.

“What? That’s impossible! Please look again carefully!”

“No matter how many times I appraise them, the result won’t change. The quality is so good that it’s difficult to distinguish from real jewels, but they are undoubtedly fake. Most of the jewels here are imitations.”

Julia trembled as she protested.

“It can’t be… It can’t be! These jewels… these jewels…!”

But she couldn’t continue her words.

She absolutely, even to her death, couldn’t reveal that these jewels were obtained from Count Tolomiès through pillow talk.

The atmosphere of the presentation was already in shambles.

“What did that person just say?”

“They’re fake. Fake. Everything there is fake. All imitations.”

“Really? But earlier they said everything was real!”

“It must have been a misunderstanding. Or was it a lie from the beginning?”

Countless suspicious gazes poured towards Julia Florence.

“Everyone, this… this is. This is!”

As Julia trembled, someone near the salon entrance leisurely asked a question.

“What’s going on, Mademoiselle Julia?”

It was Duke de Lenoir.

A new murmur spread through the salon.

“It’s His Grace the Duke!”

“How could such an esteemed person come to a place like this…”

Duke de Lenoir crossed the salon towards Julia, disregarding the pouring gazes. He greeted Julia with a smile.

“It’s been a really long time since I’ve seen you, Miss Florence. It’s been so long I almost forgot your face.”

Due to her low status, Julia couldn’t easily participate in events hosted by high-ranking nobles. Therefore, she didn’t have many chances to encounter Duke de Lenoir.

The Duke’s languid voice reached her ears.

“Miss Florence. Your greatest and only merit is your beauty.”

The Duke said with a sneer on his lips.

“So from now on, don’t lie like this. Just because you lie with an innocent-looking face doesn’t mean fakes will turn into real things.”

Laughter erupted among the noble ladies.

Julia’s shoulders trembled violently.

As Duke de Lenoir left, the guests who were close to him followed and left the salon in droves. Guests disappointed by the fact that the jewels were fake also quietly disappeared.

The whispers of the remaining people spread through the salon.

“Did she really lie knowing the truth? That’s fraud.”

“If she didn’t know, she shouldn’t have pretended to know.”

“To think she heard such words from none other than His Grace Duke de Lenoir, I feel ashamed just watching. If it were me, I wouldn’t be able to show my face at social events for a while.”

Julia clenched her fists with a red face.

A disastrously failed business presentation, jewels revealed to be fakes, Duke de Lenoir’s mockery, and the guests’ ridicule.

It was the worst outcome she couldn’t even dare to imagine.

***

The guests filed out of the salon.

I stood at the end of an inconspicuous corridor, watching them.

Judging by the whispering of the noble ladies, I could roughly guess what had happened inside without having to look.

Julia, who was extremely angry, left behind the jewelry box that she hadn’t even properly closed.

I quickly had the maids collect the accessories. I couldn’t wait for Julia to voluntarily return the jewels.

After collecting the jewels, I quietly went out to the garden.

A smile spread across my face involuntarily.

While borrowing the Tolomiès family jewels, Julia must have been certain that they were all genuine.

But what she took were mostly imitations.

Existing artificial jewels differed greatly from the real ones in many ways, so most nobles who had worn jewels all their lives could distinguish between real and fake.

However, Strasser’s jewels were different. The jewels he created had high transparency and excellent luster comparable to real jewels. Unless one was a skilled appraiser, it was difficult to distinguish between the two.

Before Felix handed the jewels to Julia, I purchased Strasser’s jewels and switched them with the real ones in the safe.

And on the real jewelry pieces that originally belonged to me, I had names engraved one by one to prevent Julia from taking them.

‘An ordinary noble lady who’s not even a professional appraiser couldn’t possibly have the ability to distinguish between real and fake. Unless she was the original owner of those jewels.’

I smiled crookedly.

I had tormented Julia in my first life as well.

But this was the first time I had properly taken revenge without directly intervening.

I walked through the garden in a pleasant mood. I planned to kill time until the atmosphere settled down and then return home at an appropriate time.

However, I wasn’t the only one in the garden.

“We meet again, Madam Elisabeth.”

Duke de Lenoir was standing alone at the end of a narrow path.

I said, a little surprised.

“I thought you were still inside the salon.”

“The person using that space in the next time slot is not me, but my friend. I just exchanged greetings with my friend and was on my way out.”

The Duke smiled and approached me one step at a time.

I continued the conversation naturally with a smile.

“Did you watch the business presentation?”

“Yes. I dropped by briefly. As you said, it truly didn’t disappoint.”

The corners of the Duke’s mouth curved up crookedly.

The next moment, the smile disappeared from his lips. He stepped closer to me and spoke in a weighty voice.

“So, Countess Tolomiès. Now you must tell me.”

His bright red eyes glinted sharply.

“What exactly do you want?”

I was surprised, but not flustered.

In fact, I had been waiting for this moment all along. I wanted to have a proper conversation with Duke de Lenoir alone as soon as possible.

But for now, I pretended not to know and asked.

“What do you mean?”

The Duke sneered as if he had expected this.

“Yesterday, I heard an interesting story from Viscount Willem. A woman came to the troubleshooter’s office and handed over confidential information about the Tolomiès family.”

He pronounced each word clearly.

“It was a woman with very delicate hands and a noble air. With black hair. As far as I know, the only woman like that in the Tolomiès family is the Countess.”

The Duke took another step closer to me. Now the distance between us was less than two spans.

“Moreover, the appraiser who attended today’s business presentation. Wasn’t he someone who wasn’t originally scheduled to attend? Also the man who first pointed out that the jewels were fake.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about…”

“Ah, by the way, I have something to return to you, Madam Elisabeth.”

Duke de Lenoir took something out of his coat pocket.

It was a ring set with a square emerald. The words ‘Claire Elisabeth’ were clearly visible inside the golden ring.

It was an item I had dropped earlier and hadn’t been able to find.

“This is yours, isn’t it?”

The Duke said with a triumphant expression.

“There were quite a lot of jewelry boxes in the corridor. You collected them all as soon as the presentation ended. And you’re not even particularly close to Baron Florence’s daughter.”

He scrutinized me with shining eyes.

“Tell me. What exactly are you plotting?”

I swallowed hard.

The Duke’s aura standing before me was truly intimidating.

As he guessed, this was all my intention.

I deliberately brought in a customer who had taken Strasser’s jewelry catalog and an appraiser who could prove his claims to the business presentation.

Using none other than the name value of the ‘Countess Tolomiès’.

And the Duke instantly saw through all my plans.

But this was a loophole created hoping to be discovered, a signal left hoping to be recognized.

I looked at him straight without trembling.

“I’m glad we’re getting to the point quickly.”

The Duke’s eyebrows raised slightly. I smiled and gently took the emerald ring from his hand.

“I thought you would come looking for me, Your Grace. I hoped so. I wanted you to be on my side.”

Duke de Lenoir sneered incredulously.

“Why should you and I be on the same side? Did you think I could become friends with Count Tolomiès?”

“Of course not.”

I looked up at him calmly.

“You two are enemies. And you should remain so. Because that way, my enemy and Your Grace’s enemy become the same person.”