The duke, unable to contain his anger, threw it at me. He shouted at me in an extremely agitated voice.

“How on earth did you handle this! How did you let that bastard get his hands on the real ruby!”

“…Well, I don’t know either. As you ordered, uncle, I never touched the jewels after receiving the two. I never left them unattended either.”

I apologized to the duke with my head bowed like a criminal.

Then, as if suddenly realizing something, I let out a short exclamation and said:

“…Ah. Could it be then.”

“What? ‘Could it be then’! Did you leave the jewels unattended?”

“…Yes. I did leave them, but it couldn’t be. Nothing could have happened then. I’m sure.”

“You fool! How can you be so certain! If you only left them once, surely something must have happened then!”

The duke snapped at me urgently. I opened my mouth, pretending to hesitate.

“…That’s right. But I’m certain that at that time, I left…Danae in the bedroom when I stepped out.”

“Danae?”

“If someone had entered the bedroom then, Danae would surely have known. …Danae, you didn’t touch those jewels, did you?”

I said, turning to look at Danae. Danae shook her head with a pale face and said:

“N-no, sister! Why would I touch those jewels!”

However, her desperate explanation was not convincing at all.

I stared blankly at her ashen face. Contrary to her excuses, her pale face was telling the truth.

The duke glared at Danae as if dumbfounded and sharply interrogated her.

“…Danae. Did you really do it?”

“N-no, Father!”

“Then, would it be alright if I call the knights to examine the traces left on those jewels?”

At the duke’s words, Danae broke out in a cold sweat and closed her mouth. It was essentially a confession.

Duke Yusten let out a hollow laugh as if in disbelief. Then he shouted roughly at Danae.

“Why on earth did you touch those jewels!”

“B-but you gave sister two such big and pretty jewels! A-and sister said she would give me the fake one out of the two!”

“…She said she’d give you the fake one?”

The duke turned to me with a piercing gaze and asked after hearing Danae’s words. I nodded obediently and answered.

“…Yes. If Danae wanted it, I could easily get another spinel like that. But I never thought Danae would switch the spinel and the ruby.”

“…Well, this is something.”

“I’m sorry, uncle. It’s all my fault.”

After finishing my words, I lowered my head again.

Seeing me take a submissive stance, the duke seemed unable to find anything else to say and paced around, breathing heavily. Then he shouted at his daughter Danae, whose face had turned pale blue.

“If you wanted jewels, you should have told me! Why did you touch things in your sister’s room!”

“I-I didn’t know it was that kind of item! If I had known, I wouldn’t have touched it!”

“How can you say that now! Because of you, I was humiliated in front of the Emperor and that arrogant Haven brat! Do you know what that arrogant bastard said to me just now!”

“…I-I’m sorry, Father.”

Danae apologized to the duke in a tearful voice and bowed her head deeply.

Duke Yusten glared at Danae for a moment, breathing roughly. Then he soon sighed heavily and said:

“…Danae, after this party ends, you’ll be confined to your room for a week starting today.”

“…Sob. Yes, Father.”

“And Christine, as soon as we return to the mansion, come straight to my study. We need to discuss how to resolve this matter.”

“Yes, uncle.”

After giving orders to Danae and me in turn, the duke immediately left the salon. Danae, who had been sniffling and pretending to be pitiful, glared at me with eyes free of any tear stains as soon as the duke left and shouted:

“This is all your fault, sister!”

Then she stormed out, fuming.

As soon as the door closed, I let out a cold snort and muttered:

“Blaming me for just this much. There will be far worse things to come.”

There will be time for resentment and crying then.

I pushed aside the silver candlestick that had fallen at my feet and left the salon.

As I was passing through the corridor back to the ballroom, I noticed two figures secretly hiding in the passage leading to the garden and carefully approached.

It was Leonard and Danae.

I bit my lower lip hard as I watched Danae looking up at Leonard with one arm tightly around his waist, pleading with him, and Leonard looking down at her tenderly, whispering.

So this is how the two of them have been meeting behind my back.

How could my past self have known?

That my lovely fiancé, who chased after me restlessly just because I refused his escort once, was actually enjoying such a disgusting tryst with my cousin sister when I wasn’t around.

I stared coldly at the faces of Leonard and Danae as they conversed, clinging to each other like one body.

‘Both of you, enjoy it while you can.’

The sweet time you’re enjoying now won’t last much longer.

I gave them one last cold smile of mockery, then turned my steps back to the ballroom without regret. A cold and eerie feeling swept over my back as I turned away, then disappeared.

Meanwhile.

After Duke Yusten left the ballroom, Elliot, who had a brief conversation with the Emperor before withdrawing, encountered Sir Oliver waiting for him on the balcony.

“Your Excellency.”

“…It was quite surprising. I didn’t expect at all that what that woman said would actually happen.”

Elliot said as he took off his cumbersome cloak and handed it to Oliver. Oliver nodded in agreement.

“I was surprised too. For that Duke Yusten’s niece to betray her uncle like this. It was truly unexpected.”

“Indeed. Thanks to that, things have become a bit complicated for me. I thought that woman had conspired with Duke Yusten to set a trap for me, and I was planning to get rid of her this time.”

Elliot said, raising one corner of his mouth.

Sir Oliver shrugged once and opened his mouth.

“Well, in any case, it’s good for you, Your Grace. I hope the duke’s niece continues to do this in the future.”

“…That’s right. But the problem is there’s no guarantee she’ll continue to do this in the future.”

“Ah, right. She made a condition to you, didn’t she? What exactly did the lady demand?”

To Oliver’s question, Elliot answered bluntly.

“…She asked me to pretend to have an affair with her.”

“What? An affair?”

“Yes. And only for one year.”

“…Huh.”

“If she had asked for a political marriage, it would have been easier to understand. But to ask for an affair, and only for one year? I can’t fathom what her intentions are for making such a condition.”

Elliot said that to himself with a thoughtful expression. Oliver made a short “hmm” sound before speaking.

“It’s certainly an odd condition. But, if I may cautiously offer my opinion, it doesn’t seem like a condition that would be disadvantageous to you, Your Grace.”

“…You think so?”

“Yes. Isn’t it perhaps an easier condition than asking for a political marriage? It’s just asking to pretend to have an affair, so while your reputation might suffer a bit, if problems arise later you can just make excuses saying you were momentarily enchanted and back out. Did the duke’s niece say she would help you if you just did that?”

“Well, that’s right.”

“Then shouldn’t you accept it all the more? To be frank, how many times have our knights and the nobles on your side been caught up in that duke’s niece’s schemes and suffered terribly? Honestly, if such a person just doesn’t interfere with our affairs for a year, I see no reason to hesitate.”

“…”

“Moreover, to uncover the secret of Your Grace’s mother, Princess Liz’s death, it’s essential to grasp the movements of Duke Yusten and Duke Klein, who are close to Prince Louise. If you can access their confidential information in exchange for helping the duke’s niece, wouldn’t it be an excellent opportunity for us?”

Elliot nodded slightly in agreement at those words. Then he opened his mouth with a stern expression.

“…That’s why I’m more hesitant.”

“Pardon?”

“It’s exactly as I said. The conditions are too favorable to me, that’s the problem. It keeps making me wonder. What exactly does the duke’s niece gain from this? What’s her real intention? Honestly, I don’t understand.”

Elliot shook his head.

At that moment, Oliver, who had been silently listening to him, said with a meaningful smile:

“Then, why don’t you ask her directly about that point?”

“…What?”

When Elliot asked back, Sir Oliver nodded towards the front.

Shifting his gaze, indeed, there was Christine Sapiel Yusten. Elliot said to Oliver with a slight curl of his lips:

“Alright. I’ll gladly take your advice.”

After that, Elliot rose without hesitation and went outside.

Oliver quietly closed the balcony curtain after confirming that Elliot had approached Christine, then left the ballroom.

Having returned to the ballroom, I looked around, scanning here and there.

It was to find Duke Haven. Just then, a low, soft voice that seemed to melt my ears came:

“Are you looking for me, by any chance?”