A few days later. Imperial capital center, Duke Klein’s mansion.

Leonard, who had finished grooming early in the morning, headed to the reception room of his mansion. The craftsmen he had contacted to order the ring were scheduled to visit him this morning.

He leisurely waited for them while sipping cheap bitter tea from an elegant teacup. Shortly after, the butler came in to inform him that the craftsmen had arrived. Soon, a jeweler with an ordinary appearance and a gemstone dealer holding a large box in his arms approached and greeted him.

“We are honored to meet you, young lord.”

“Welcome. I’ve been waiting for you.”

“We apologize for keeping such an esteemed person waiting. We hope you will forgive us generously, as we were searching for gems worthy enough to meet your expectations, young lord.”

“No need to apologize. It’s not just any occasion, but choosing an engagement ring for my lovely fiancée, so the wait was enjoyable. Now then, please show me the gems you’ve brought.”

At Leonard’s urging, the gemstone dealer immediately opened the box he was holding. Thick velvet-wrapped large and splendid gems revealed themselves. As Leonard carefully examined the gems one by one, his gaze fell upon a red gem about the size of a gold coin.

“What’s that? It seems too transparent to be a ruby.”

“That is not a ruby, but a diamond, young lord.”

“A diamond? Are there diamonds that appear so red?”

As Leonard asked in surprise, the gemstone dealer answered with an almost servile politeness.

“Yes, young lord. In fact, there are few gems with as diverse colors as diamonds. Some are pink like freshly bloomed spring roses, while others are bright yellow like the finest topaz. But above all, the most highly valued are diamonds like this one, red as a ruby.”

“…I see.”

He responded as if in admiration. If it was such a precious gem, surely his fiancée Christine, who had been cold lately, would change her attitude. Thinking this, he felt he must obtain that gem. Leonard, mesmerized by the diamond, asked the gemstone dealer.

“How much does that cost?”

“Well… Young lord, if I may have a moment…”

The gemstone dealer approached Leonard and whispered the price in a barely audible voice. Leonard’s eyes widened in surprise. No wonder, as the price quoted by the gemstone dealer was enough to easily buy a small kingdom.

Leonard stared at the gem in the box with a seemingly troubled expression.

“That’s too expensive for me to decide to buy on the spot. Can’t you lower the price a bit?”

“…I’m sorry, but that won’t be possible.”

“Even if I ask like this?”

“Given the enormous amount of money, time, and manpower that went into acquiring this gem… I’m sorry, young lord.”

The gemstone dealer refused Leonard’s proposal with a servile but firm attitude. Leonard clicked his tongue briefly, seemingly displeased, and looked at the other gems in the box again. However, having already been captivated by the red diamond, the other gems didn’t appeal to him at all. He fixed his gaze on the red diamond again and pondered for a moment. Soon, after weighing the gem’s price against Christine, he said.

“It’s not just any occasion, but proposing to my lifelong companion. I can’t be stingy and quibble over the price of a gem. Alright. I’ll pay the full price.”

“Are, are you sure?”

“It must be made into a ring beautiful enough for my lovely fiancée to like.”

“Of course! We will create the most beautiful ring in this empire and present it to you, young lord!”

“One more thing. The ring must be completed by next Friday. Now butler, bring me the checkbook.”

At Leonard’s instruction, the butler brought the checkbook and handed it to him. As he handed over the check with the amount and signature written, the gemstone dealer and craftsman received it with beaming faces and disappeared. Left alone in the reception room, Leonard let out a soft sigh and soothed his upset stomach with the cheap tea. Although it was for proposing to Christine, the financial loss was too great. It seemed he would use up all the money borrowed from the Shailis Guild to purchase that ring.

‘If only I hadn’t participated in Danae’s foolish plan.’

Leonard frowned in displeasure.

In contrast, how wise was his fiancée Christine? Her guesses were spot on, and most of her plans had succeeded smoothly. If only Danae hadn’t done something stupid and interfered, her plan would have been completely successful.

Just considering that point, he indeed needed Christine.

If she became his wife, she would dedicate herself to him, giving her all for the sake of her beloved. Then he could naturally regain his lost fortune.

Thinking this way, he felt a surge of strong affection and possessiveness towards her. Indeed, Christine was the most suitable person to be his companion.

Not Danae.

“Um, young lord?”

As he was dreaming of a bright future with Christine, a servant cautiously approached and spoke to him. Leonard asked gruffly.

“What is it?”

“…Well, Lady Danae has sent another letter. The maid attending to Lady Danae says she ‘must receive a reply from the young lord this time,’ and won’t leave until then… What should we do?”

Leonard snorted, snatched Danae’s letter from the servant’s hand, and said coldly.

“Tell her that I’m away so it’s difficult to receive a reply, and send her back. If she still insists on waiting, use the knights to drive her out of the mansion.”

“…Understood, young lord.”

Leonard barely skimmed the surface of the letter with Danae’s name on it, then threw it into the burning fireplace as it was.

* * *

Time passed, and it became my birthday.

From early morning, I was dragged to the bathroom by the maids who came to wake me up. After bathing in hot water with plenty of perfume sprinkled in, they sat me in front of the dressing table, dressed me, and styled my hair. Looking down at the bright red bell-shaped dress with short puffy sleeves and a tight waist, I asked.

“Did I have such a dress?”

“Hoho, the master specially ordered this dress for you, miss.”

“…Uncle did?”

I frowned slightly upon hearing Annie’s answer. Although the dress made of high-quality fabric was very pretty and I liked it, I felt somewhat uneasy, wondering if the duke had cast some suspicious magic or sprinkled poison on this dress.

‘If anything seems even slightly strange, I should take it off right away.’

I thought so and smoothed out my furrowed brow. Meanwhile, the maids neatly braided my long hair, half twisted up, and let the other half fall naturally, then placed ruby hairpins and small ornaments on top. When the grooming was mostly finished, I sent everyone except Annie out of the bedroom.

“Annie, could you bring me the letters that have come for me?”

“Yes, miss. I’ll bring them right away.”

A moment later, Annie returned to my bedroom with a bundle of letters. They were cards sent by local nobles to congratulate me on my birthday. While flipping through the birthday cards with an indifferent expression, I brightened at the sight of a letter with nothing written on the outside. It was a letter from the spy. I immediately sent Annie out and unfolded it.

The name of the girl who disappeared in the Lunalia region is Katarina Abbott. 15 years old. She has a small stature with grayish-purple hair and pointed ears, giving her a unique appearance. From a poor slash-and-burn farmer family, she went out to sell flowers to earn money for her mother’s medicine and disappeared. People suspect she was taken by human traffickers in the border area.

However, upon investigation, there were no girls among the people they illegally sold.

Jude Mathis. Age, hometown, and other details mentioned in the report are omitted. This boy also has no father, and his family consists only of his mother and older sister.

The reason he became a seed of the White Lion Order was to become a mercenary in the future. A notable characteristic is that his pupils were very thin, like a snake’s. There is no connection between him and the Klein ducal family.

However, his sister was once a maid who took care of the court ladies in the palace. According to testimony from fellow maids, she settled in the capital after marrying a servant working in the palace through the arrangement of a high-ranking person she served.

But no one is in contact with her now. It seems she has either died or gone missing.]

I remained fixated on the letter, lost in thought for a moment.

‘The only commonalities are that they or their family members have disappeared and that their appearances are somewhat unique? Ah, and they lived with their mothers without fathers.’

What truth about the incident did these commonalities suggest?

At that moment, I suddenly felt a strange sense of déjà vu in the part describing the boy and girl’s appearances. Where had I seen someone similar to them? As I carefully traced my memories, I suddenly recalled one person.

‘…Amber! They resemble Amber, the vice-commander of the Shailis Guild!’

This meant that both Katarina and Jude were either mixed-blood with demons or had inherited mixed-blood lineage.

I shuddered at this realization. Although I didn’t yet understand how this point connected to my father’s or Princess Liz’s deaths, it seemed that I shouldn’t overlook it.

I immediately wrote a letter to Emlyn. I planned to inform him of all the information and discuss whether there might be clues within it to uncover the truth behind my father’s and Princess Liz’s deaths.