It was difficult for Duke Hersher to hide his anxiety.

Even with the Grand Duke’s help, this was an enormous gamble, difficult to manage.

If things went wrong, it would be enough to completely wipe out the family without any excuse.

That’s why he could only pray for things to go well.

‘If only I could abandon Aria.’

The Duke shook his head.

Although Aria caused accidents, she was still a very precious child to the Duke and his wife.

Because the Duchess’s health was poor, the doctor said from the beginning that having a child would be nearly impossible.

It was then that they miraculously got Aria.

A precious child obtained with great difficulty.

Even after birth, Aria was weak, so they granted her whatever she wanted.

“Who would have known it would turn out like this.”

Clearly when she was young, she was kinder than anyone, but now she was very different from those days.

The Duke, deeply regretting not having taught her more strictly, came to his senses at the sound of knocking.

“Your Grace, I have come with news to report.”

“Come in quickly, hurry!”

Hearing the butler’s voice from outside, the Duke spoke urgently.

The butler hurriedly entered and examined the Duke’s face.

Seeing how haggard he looked, it was clear how much he was worrying about this matter.

“How did it go?”

As soon as he faced the butler, the Duke asked how the matter had been handled.

The butler replied with a stoic face.

“They succeeded in killing the maid.”

“Is that really true!”

The Duke involuntarily spoke in a loud voice.

Though it occurred to him belatedly that it might have been heard outside, he still felt relieved.

“However, many of the knights did not return.”

“What was done with their bodies?”

“I heard they were hastily loaded onto carriages prepared nearby and sent out of the capital.”

“Well handled. If the bodies had remained, it would have been troublesome for us.”

In fact, it would have been better not to use the family’s knights in the first place.

It would have left fewer traces, and they could have simply denied everything if needed.

Originally, such matters were easily resolved through the dark guilds.

If you put enough money in their hands, they would do anything.

But there was one thing they wouldn’t accept no matter how much money was offered, and that was matters related to the imperial family.

Long ago, there was an incident where the dark guild assassinated the crown prince at the instigation of a noble.

When the enraged emperor tried to root out the dark guild, countless people died.

In the end, they swore never to get involved in matters related to the imperial family again.

For this reason, the Duke had no choice but to use the family’s knights.

‘If it weren’t for that, I wouldn’t feel this uneasy.’

Still, the Duke was relieved to hear that the matter had been handled well.

“Was the maid’s family taken care of properly?”

“Yes, it has been handled perfectly.”

“How was it handled?”

The Duke’s eyes were cold as he became curious about the process.

Meeting his gaze, the butler spoke without any emotion.

“They were all killed. And everything related to them was incinerated.”

The Duke made his decision considering they might become an unpredictable variable later.

Normally, he would have rewarded them to stimulate their loyalty, but there was no telling what parents who had lost a precious child might do.

The Duke had no regrets about his choice.

“Handle the dead knights as if they had an accident while out hunting, and give rewards to their families.”

“Yes, I will do so.”

“And lastly, absolutely do not let my wife and Aria know about this.”

The Duke hoped this news wouldn’t reach Aria’s ears.

It would be emotionally bad for her to hear, and there was no telling what that child might do if she heard.

‘The marriage to the Percy family is scheduled soon.’

There was a special custom in the empire.

When a royal marriage was scheduled, others could not marry before it.

So according to custom, the Hersher ducal family could only proceed with Aria’s wedding after the crown prince’s wedding was over.

‘Until then, we must stay as quiet as possible.’

The Duke felt like he was walking on thin ice.

A crisis where even a small misstep could crack the ice and plunge him under the surface.

But there was one thing he was mistaken about.

That was the point that it wouldn’t be resolved just by him being careful. Things could erupt from anywhere else.

* * *

“We have secured the business rights.”

“Thank you for your hard work, Lord Rockin. I will provide the funds used for the acquisition as they are.”

“No need. This much is something I can do anytime for Lady Clea, who saved our family. So I won’t accept the money.”

Bawin, who came to the imperial palace, informed Clea about the acquisition of business rights and handed over all the related documents.

Clea was very grateful that Bawin had stepped in personally.

If she had shown herself directly before the acquisition, Grit would certainly never have given up the business rights.

It could have been a difficult situation, but thanks to Bawin, it ended smoothly.

‘It’s fortunate it ended well without me having to act directly.’

She could well imagine what methods Bawin had used. He had undoubtedly targeted the Odoi family’s funding sources.

It was already well-known among the nobles which part was their most vulnerable point.

“And in the process of investigating, I also found out why the Odoi family’s finances are in deficit.”

At Bawin’s words, Clea put down her teacup.

“Until the time of the previous Duke Odoi, the ducal family clearly had enormous funds. Even though the current Duke, his son, has had repeated business failures.”

“People didn’t particularly suspect that part, but you, Bawin, even doubted that aspect.”

“It seems the previous Duke didn’t trust Duke Odoi very much. Judging by the fact that he hid his wealth separately in the middle.”

“He might have been anxious seeing his successor trying to recklessly start businesses. After all, business can succeed, but it can also fail.”

As Bawin said, the previous Duke had left a lot of money.

However, he did not allow that money to flow directly to the current Grit.

The reason was simple. He was anxious about the reckless expansion of business.

Fearing that he might squander the family fortune if something went wrong, he safely hid the family’s wealth.

‘I don’t know where he hid it either.’

Clea knew from the original work that the previous Duke had hidden the family fortune.

But exactly where it was wasn’t specifically mentioned.

In fact, that hidden wealth was one of the reasons Clea had continued to endure in that miserable house.

Clea wanted to find the wealth left behind by the previous Duke.

But it wasn’t easy to find because there were no details even in the original work. At that time, there was no one to cooperate with her either.

So now she had almost given up on finding it.

Bawin smiled with his eyes and proposed to her.

“How about if I find it for you? The ducal family’s hidden wealth.”

“It doesn’t seem like you have any reason to step in.”

Clea did not want help beyond what was necessary.

But Bawin smiled with his eyes and said.

“I’m not saying I’ll do it for free either.”

Hearing those words, she smiled.

The Rockin family was the most renowned family in the field of information.

If such a family said they would find it for her, she had no reason to refuse.

“Let’s settle this clearly here.”

“It’s better for a deal to be clear.”

“What is it that you want?”

Although there wasn’t much she could do for him right now, as time passed, she would become the crown princess.

There were various things she could do as a member of the royal family.

But his request was modest.

“I’ll take about 20% of the wealth left by the Duke as a commission fee.”

“Is that all you want?”

“I think I’ve set it quite high.”

“That sounds as if you already know how much wealth the Duke left behind.”

Bawin deliberately didn’t answer Clea’s words.

Clea also didn’t probe further into that aspect.

She thought it was a bargain, considering he was finding something she couldn’t find herself.

“Will you be able to find it?”

“Is there anything we can’t find? As you know, we are the Rockin family.”

Clea laughed in disbelief at his proud words.

If he really could find it, she intended to use that money.

She wanted to succeed in business herself using that money.

‘It would be nice to break the curse within that time, but even if I can’t, everything of mine will go to Admund.’

Although she was determined to break the curse, Clea had also thought about the contingency.

So she had arranged how to dispose of her assets afterwards in case she couldn’t break the curse.

As she mulled over her preparations, she looked at the clock of the curse.

Clea’s expression turned cold at the still-turning clock hands.

“Lady Clea.”

Turning her head at the voice in her ear, there was Oberon.

Clea looked at Oberon’s troubled expression.

Oberon hesitated for a moment before speaking.

“There is someone outside hoping to see Lady Clea.”

“To see me?”

Clea laughed at the idea of someone appearing at the imperial palace without an appointment, hoping to see her.

Normally, he would have turned them away before even telling her, so Clea was curious about who it might be.

Of course, judging by Oberon’s expression, it was easy to guess who it was.

Oberon, who didn’t want to say who it was, frowned.

The visitor who had already arrived seemed to have no intention of leaving.

So he hoped Clea would say she wouldn’t meet them.

“Lady Aria Hersher hopes to see you. If you refuse, I will send her away immediately.”

But Clea was pleased to hear the name of the visitor.

Moreover, she felt expectant.

‘I wonder what kind of trouble she’s come to cause this time.’