How To Get Revenge On My Sister Who Stole My Husband (16 Chapters Left to Complete) - Chapter 5
“Christine!”
He was Viscount Leonard Blake Klein.
With his short brown hair swept back and clad in a deep blue formal coat, his kind-looking face scolded me sharply.
“What on earth happened? Why didn’t you wait for me?”
“…Leonard.”
“And why didn’t you reply to the letter I sent a few days ago? Did you perhaps not receive it?”
I forced an expression of awkwardness toward Leonard, who looked worried. His gentle eyes, filled with anxious concern as he gazed at me, and the warmth of his hand touching mine, felt utterly repulsive.
Suppressing the urge to shove his hand away, I spoke to him.
“It’s just…”
At that moment, a servant cried out loudly.
“Everyone, show your respects! His Majesty the Emperor is arriving!”
At the announcement, the nobles gathered in the banquet hall immediately split into two lines and bowed their heads toward the throne.
I took the opportunity to slip naturally away from Leonard’s side. Right now, succeeding in today’s plan was far more important than dealing with him.
After that, I slightly lifted my gaze and looked toward Empress Maria, her family, and Duke Elliott Francis Haven, who followed behind them as if guarding them. Dressed in a black velvet formal coat with his short hair stylishly swept back, he scanned the crowd in the hall with an impassive gaze.
In that moment, our eyes met directly.
I held his gaze for a brief instant.
‘You haven’t forgotten our promise, have you?’
Without a word, Duke Haven turned his head away. At that moment, Empress Maria, seated on the imperial throne with the support of the prince and princess, spoke in a solemn voice.
“I thank you all for attending my birthday banquet. This old soul is truly delighted that you remembered my birthday and came.”
“Thank you for inviting us, Your Imperial Majesty.”
“Our sincerest congratulations, Your Imperial Majesty.”
The nobles rushed to offer their birthday greetings to the Emperor.
With a dignified smile toward them, the Emperor gave a subtle nod to the head steward beside her. The steward immediately called out loudly, as if he had been waiting for this cue.
“From now on, each of you will have the opportunity to personally greet His Imperial Majesty. First, let the envoys from the Kingdom of Carten and the Kingdom of Raven step forward.”
Beginning with the envoys from the Kingdom of Carten, royal family members and nobles who had brought gifts for the Emperor approached her one by one.
Guests came forward in pairs, offering birthday wishes along with their presents. She responded with heartfelt words of thanks.
Soon, it was Duke Elliott Haven’s and Marquis Uston’s turn. As the leaders of two rival factions openly contending for the imperial succession stepped forward side by side, all eyes in the hall turned toward them.
Immediately, the head steward turned to the two men and said,
“Then, please present to His Imperial Majesty the gifts you have prepared.”
“Sir Oliver, bring it forth.”
“…Christine.”
The two men called out their guard knights carrying the gifts—and me—by name, one after the other.
I handed the gift to the Marquis and stepped back. For just a fleeting moment, the Duke’s gaze lingered on me before vanishing.
Shortly afterward, Duke Haven and Marquis Uston simultaneously opened their boxes.
“Good heavens!”
“How could such a coincidence occur…?”
Inside both boxes lay identically sized, shaped, and cut ruby gemstones.
It was precisely the very jewel I had received from the Marquis. The nobles began murmuring, astonished that both Duke Haven and Marquis Uston had prepared the exact same gift. Empress Maria, wide-eyed at the unfolding scene, exclaimed,
“My! Did the two of you coordinate this in advance? Or is this merely the result of an extraordinary coincidence? Truly astonishing.”
At that moment, Marquis Uston twisted the corner of his mouth into a smirk and addressed her.
“Your Majesty. The ruby I prepared is known as the ‘Ruby of the Black Prince,’ and I was certain it was the only one of its kind in the world.”
“…The only one in the world?”
“Yes, Your Majesty. Which means…”
The Marquis paused, wetting his lips with his tongue before continuing.
“…I hesitate to say this, but… I suspect the ruby presented by His Grace Duke Haven may be nothing more than a counterfeit, imitating the genuine Ruby of the Black Prince I prepared…”
A collective, sharp inhale swept through the entire banquet hall.
His words implied either that Duke Haven had deliberately offered a fake to the Emperor—or that he had been deceived into purchasing a counterfeit, believing it to be real. If the Marquis’s claim were correct, either scenario would result in the Duke suffering public humiliation before this entire assembly.
Either way, the situation was undeniably unfavorable for Duke Haven.
At that moment, the Duke, who had maintained a stoic expression until now, finally spoke.
“I fail to understand why you’re so certain mine is the fake, Marquis Uston.”
“…What do you mean by that, Duke Haven?”
“Perhaps yours is the counterfeit instead.”
As he added this, the Duke fixed his gaze on the Marquis.
“That’s impossible. My gem cannot possibly be fake. Never.”
Marquis Uston replied with a self-assured smile. The Duke, as if he had been waiting for this, responded immediately.
“Then, let us have both gems examined to determine which one is the true Ruby of the Black Prince.”
“What…?”
“What do you say, Your Majesty?”
The Duke respectfully raised his eyes to Empress Maria.
She considered the proposal with evident curiosity for a moment, then looked down at both Duke Haven and Marquis Uston before replying.
“…Very well, I permit it. Marquis Uston, will you accept the Duke’s proposal?”
“Of course, Your Majesty.”
“Good. Then summon the appraiser.”
The Emperor gestured to the head steward, who bowed and left the banquet hall. The nobles began whispering again, watching each other’s reactions carefully.
While eavesdropping on their murmurs, I glanced sideways at Danae. Her face had gone deathly pale, as if she had finally realized the consequences of her actions.
Soon after, the Emperor’s head steward returned with the appraiser. The appraiser, who managed the imperial treasury, knelt respectfully before her.
“You summoned me, Your Majesty?”
“Welcome. You’ve already heard the situation from the steward, I presume? Please examine these two gems carefully.”
At her command, the appraiser immediately inspected both rubies in turn.
Holding a small portable loupe, he scrutinized both stones meticulously for a while before stepping back. The Empress asked him,
“Well? Can you tell which one is the genuine Ruby of the Black Prince?”
“Yes, certainly, Your Majesty.”
The appraiser paused briefly to steady his breath before answering.
“The gem in the left box is the authentic ‘Ruby of the Black Prince.'”
He pointed to the box belonging to Duke Elliott Haven.
Marquis Uston’s face flushed crimson as he shouted at the appraiser,
“Nonsense! That can’t be! Examine it again, properly this time!”
The appraiser shook his head and replied to the Marquis,
“No matter how many times I examine them, the result is the same. The gem in the left box is the genuine ruby, while the one in the right box is spinel.”
“No! That’s not possible!”
The Marquis, now thoroughly agitated, raised his voice even louder. Empress Maria looked down at him and spoke firmly,
“Enough. Calm yourself, Marquis Uston. I understand how frustrating it must be to have been deceived by a merchant, but you mustn’t berate the appraiser.”
“Your Majesty! No, I—”
“I said that’s enough. I’ll accept your spinel just as gratefully as the Duke’s ruby. So please, refrain from causing any further disturbance.”
She cut off his protests with a sharp, icy rebuke. Marquis Uston gritted his teeth, huffing with suppressed fury, but finally forced his mouth shut.
Duke Haven, who had remained silent until now, finally addressed the Marquis.
“So you confidently accused mine of being a counterfeit—only to discover yours was the fake after all.”
“…!”
“I don’t know who appraised your stone, but you’d best dismiss that servant at once. Such incompetence has brought shame upon you, Marquis.”
A cold, mocking smirk played across the Duke’s handsome face.
The Marquis clenched his jaw and retorted,
“…I appreciate your advice, Your Grace Duke Haven.”
Then, the Marquis bowed respectfully toward the Empress and hurried out of the banquet hall as if fleeing.
“Oh, Father!”
Danae rushed after him in a panic.
The nobles watched the two of them leave and resumed their whispering.
“Goodness, what a disgrace.”
“How on earth could he claim Duke Haven’s gem was fake?”
“Who knows? Either way, it’s utterly humiliating. To think he’d offer spinel, mistaking it for ruby, to His Majesty!”
“Surely he couldn’t have lacked the funds to buy a real ruby?”
“Unlikely. More probably, he tried to deceive the Emperor by substituting expensive ruby with cheaper spinel—after all, only expert appraisers can tell them apart.”
I savored their whispers like music and slowly followed after Danae and the Marquis.
Then, I felt the Duke’s gaze tracking me from behind. I turned my head slightly and gave him a subtle shrug—as if to say, “See? I kept my promise.”
At the sight of me, the Duke’s handsome face twisted in a strange expression—somewhere between a smile and a scowl.
* * *
When I followed the Marquis into the salon prepared at one side of the banquet hall, the room was already in complete disarray.
It seemed Marquis Uston, unable to contain his humiliation, had thrown a furious tantrum. With a stiff expression, I addressed him.
“…Uncle.”
Before I could even finish speaking, a silver candlestick flew past my face and smashed into the wall.
When scheming men desperately battle for her favor in the male harem
This one’s also on my reread list! The rivalry, scheming between the men in the imperial harem are just as intense and thrilling as in classic palace drama novels, where concubines fight to the death. Give it a read, girls! I promise you won’t be disappointed.
Synopsis:
“I am not worthy of her… but I still want to be by her side, even if only as a loyal dog…”
Those were the painful whispers of Yue Guanyi – the proud Crown Prince of the Great Qi, who was torn between deep love and a guilty conscience. Despite holding the supreme power of the Imperial Guard, he still could not forget the dark past when he was sold into a brothel.
Fate played a cruel twist when Qiu Shuzhi – a young female official who had just passed the imperial examinations with top honors – stepped into his life. She did not know that she was the one who had saved him from a tragic fate many years ago. And now, her heart was the target of pursuit for both Yue Guanyi and the powerful Empress Dowager Qin Qing.
While Yue Guanyi only dared to silently care for and protect the one he loved from afar, the Empress Dowager Qin Qing openly expressed his feelings and did not hesitate to take advantage of his power to approach Qiu Shuzhi. The covert struggle between the two most powerful forces in the imperial court began…
Trigger warning: All men in this novel are yandere style.
_____
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