The Duke lightly grasped my hand, then released it, giving me a brief nod. Then he left the banquet hall without hesitation.

I stared blankly at the Duke’s retreating figure.

“Ha! What’s with that guy?”

Leonard let out a scornful laugh and spoke with an irritated voice.

He scrutinized the Duke and me with a displeased look. Then he spoke to me in an accusatory tone.

“What did the Duke just say? Christine, don’t tell me you had a private conversation with him on the balcony?”

“Yes, I did. I had something I needed to find out.”

I nodded and replied. It wasn’t something that could be hidden anyway, as someone in the banquet hall must have seen me meet with the Duke on the balcony.

However, Leonard’s expression became even more twisted upon hearing my answer. He grabbed my right hand tightly, the one the Duke had just kissed, and said:

“From now on, no matter how urgent the matter is, don’t meet with the Duke directly.”

“Why not?”

“Why? Didn’t you see that guy’s eyes just now? The way he couldn’t take his eyes off you, anyone would mistake it for him being in love.”

“…That’s impossible. The Duke, with me? You’re mistaken, Leonard.”

I spoke soothingly towards Leonard.

It was dangerous to give any reason to suspect something between the Duke and me so soon. For now, it was enough if they merely suspected a subtle emotion had sprouted between the Duke and me.

Leonard let out an irritated sigh and said to me:

“Still, you shouldn’t let your guard down, Christine. You may not know this, but all men are weak to temptation. Even if they’ve been enemies until now, if someone as beautiful as you tempts them, they’ll foolishly give their heart away.”

“…I see. I understand, Leonard. I’ll be careful.”

I nodded quietly in response. Leonard gently put his arm around my shoulder.

“Let’s go back now, Christine. I’ll escort you to the mansion in my carriage.”

Leonard led me out of the banquet hall.

I walked silently by his side without saying much. Seeing this, he seemed relieved and his tense expression softened. I gazed at him with cold eyes.

‘Disgusting.’

A man who foolishly gives his heart away when tempted by a beautiful lady. I died after giving everything to you, deceived by someone like that.

I walked along, resisting the urge to shake off his hand holding me. Upon returning to the Yusten mansion, I immediately headed to the annex where my bedroom was located.

Leonard seemed to subtly hope that I would offer him a cup of tea, but I sent him away, making the excuse that I was tired.

After that, I finished a quick bath and locked myself in my bedroom, using sleep as an excuse.

I closed the door, drew all the curtains, and lit a small silver candlestick. Then I took out the parchment documents hidden under the bed.

They were the will left by my father, the previous Duke Yusten, and documents listing the estate’s assets.

I carefully scrutinized those documents by the dim candlelight.

“…All I can inherit now is about 300 acres of territory, the Hella Forest, and the magic stone mine in the east. Even those I can only receive if I get married.”

I muttered to myself, biting the soft flesh at the tip of my fingernail.

The inheritance clauses of the Yusten family, solidified by long-standing customs, were all unfavorable to me as a woman. I put down the documents and let out a long sigh.

“I need my share of the inheritance for revenge. How can I raise the money?”

I paced around the bed, deep in thought.

Several methods flashed through my mind, but they were all unusable at present, which was frustrating.

After pondering for a while, suddenly a very good method occurred to me.

I exclaimed with a gasp and muttered to myself:

“Ah, right. There was that method.”

As soon as I thought of the method, the means to execute it also came to mind one after another.

I took out a sheet of stationery from the dressing table drawer and wrote a letter with a quill pen. The recipient was none other than Duke Haven. After finishing the letter in one go, I immediately knocked on the small side door attached to the bedroom wall.

“Annie, are you asleep already?”

“…My lady?”

The side door opened and Annie poked her head out, wearing pajamas. I placed the letter in her bewildered hands and said:

“I have a favor to ask, Annie. As soon as dawn breaks tomorrow, please deliver this letter to the butler of the Haven ducal house.”

“…The Haven ducal house?”

“I’ll tell you the details later. Oh, and no one but you should know that I sent a letter to Duke Haven. Understand?”

“…Yes. I understand, my lady.”

Annie seemed quite surprised at my words, but soon agreed without saying much.

[This is the timeline separator]

The next morning, as I was having a late lunch alone, I received a letter.

It was a reply from Duke Haven. I immediately stopped eating and unfolded the letter.

[Come to my mansion at 4 PM today. I’ll send a carriage to Royal Street 12, in front of the Duke’s mansion.]

I folded the letter, which had only one line written on it, put it in my bosom, and said to Annie:

“Annie, could you help me prepare to go out?”

With Annie’s help, I quickly changed into an outdoor dress and headed straight for the northern garden of the mansion.

There was a back door to the mansion there. It had been closed for a long time, and now only a few servants, including me and Annie, knew about this entrance. I left the mansion through that door and went to the agreed place, where a carriage was waiting as stated in the letter.

Just as I was about to open the carriage door, suddenly the door swung open and Duke Haven, wearing a large hat, stepped out. I exclaimed in surprise:

“Didn’t you say you would wait at the mansion?”

“I said to come to the mansion, and that I would send a carriage, but I don’t think I said I would wait at the mansion.”

“…”

“Get in for now. We’ll talk in detail after we’re in the carriage.”

The Duke extended his hand to me as if escorting me. I took his hand with a bewildered expression and got into the carriage.

Soon the door closed and the carriage set off. I spoke to the Duke, who had taken off his hat and put it aside:

“I was quite surprised. I didn’t expect you to be in the carriage at all.”

The Duke raised one corner of his mouth arrogantly and said:

“How could I just sit and wait at the mansion after receiving such a letter? The contents had to be quite surprising.”

“Did I write something so surprising in my letter?”

“…You suddenly wrote ‘I know how the Klein ducal family accumulated wealth in a short time’, and then ‘I’m going to rob the Klein family’s merchant ships, please help me’. Did you think I wouldn’t be surprised after receiving that?”

I just smiled quietly at those words.

The Duke let out a short sigh looking at me, then folded his arms arrogantly and said:

“It’s quite bold of you to ask me, the guardian of the northern border of the empire in Haven territory, to help with theft, Lady Yusten. Let me ask you directly. Is there any reason why I should help with this matter?”

When I didn’t answer immediately, he pressed once more:

“What benefit will you gain from this, and how much will I gain?”

At the Duke’s questions, I organized my thoughts for a moment.

After finishing my mental preparation, I spoke to the Duke with a slight sneer:

“You’re quite impatient, Duke. Were you so curious about my plan? Or do you mean you don’t even want to offer me a cup of tea?”

The Duke snorted and said:

“You know well that I’m not doing this because I’m stingy about a mere cup of tea. I just anticipated that this conversation shouldn’t reach others’ ears. That’s why I thought we should finish our business in this cramped carriage.”

“…Are you saying our conversation might leak to spies hidden in the mansion?”

“Well, something like that. In fact, didn’t your uncle greatly benefit from using spies planted in my mansion?”

“…”

“Just thinking about it still makes my blood boil. What do you think, Lady?”

The Duke sneered, raising one corner of his mouth. I let out a heavy sigh and spoke to the Duke:

“Fine. I’ll tell you everything here.”

“Good. Go on.”

“First, I’ll tell you how the Klein ducal family accumulated wealth in a short time. Simply put, the Klein ducal family made a fortune through maritime trade.”

“…I know that much. They say a massive amount of grain is produced from the farms created by reclaiming Roche Island in the Kreis Sea. Duke Klein made money by selling that grain.”

At the Duke’s words, I smiled meaningfully and shook my head.

“That’s what everyone thinks. But it’s not true. In fact, what the Duke brings in from Roche Island is not grain, but diamonds.”

“…What?”

“You must know that Roche Island is larger than most territories. It really is. The island is so fertile that any crop can grow well. But that’s only true for half of the island. The other half is barren land where not even a blade of grass grows.”

“…So you’re saying there was a diamond mine on that barren land. Ha, amazing. For the Duke, that island must have been a goose that lays golden eggs.”

“Yes. Duke Klein was able to amass enormous wealth from the diamonds coming out of the mine.”

The Duke nodded in agreement at my words.