“Are you Baroness Periway?”

Diana, who had been elegantly sipping tea, looked up at the clear voice.

In front of her stood a beautiful noblewoman in a light blue dress.

No one in the capital would fail to recognize her by her bright silver hair.

It was the Duchess of Granite, Cedar’s mother.

“I wanted to talk to you, and I saw you as I was passing by. May I sit across from you?”

Before Diana could answer, Lady Briar sat down opposite her.

Her attitude showed confidence that Diana wouldn’t dare refuse. It was also a declaration of intent to bring up an unpleasant topic.

‘What should I do? I’m not in a good mood either.’

Though she recognized her at a glance, Diana replied with a social smile and a light tone.

“Hello, in-law.”

“In-law?”

At Diana’s response, cracks appeared on the beautiful Lady Briar’s face.

Diana calmly continued while raising her teacup.

“Whatever you say, I am the head of the Periway family. Our two families are bound by engagement, so it’s natural that we can talk as equals.”

Lady Briar’s eyebrows rose crookedly. She sneered in a sharp voice.

“Is it because we’re bound by engagement that you spread such malicious rumors?”

Diana’s gaze quickly swept around. Other guests who had been drinking tea were watching their argument with great interest.

Diana replied with a brazen expression.

“Malicious rumors? I only spoke the truth. I don’t understand which part feels malicious.”

“If speculating that a wife is locked up and abused isn’t malicious, this world must be full of good intentions.”

As expected of an experienced noblewoman, her sarcasm skills were extraordinary.

If she had revealed her emotions openly like her son, it would have been easier. Diana lowered her eyebrows and put on a pitiful expression.

“Sir Cedar was very rude to me. He trampled on my concern for my elder sister. I didn’t spread rumors on purpose, he was so rude to me in front of many people.”

And she didn’t forget to subtly rub salt in Lady Briar’s wound.

“I don’t understand why you, Duchess, are so confident with me. Shouldn’t you be apologizing to me on behalf of your child?”

“Baroness Periway.”

She didn’t honestly reveal her emotions like Cedar. The eyes looking at her were eerily calm.

But the words flowing smoothly from her mouth were extremely sharp.

“I hear you had a decent ancestor, but since then your noble family has been on a constant downhill slide without a single rebound. No significant assets, let alone territory or a solid family business. At your current rate of spending, you’ll soon have to sell your title, I hear?”

Rather, it was Diana whose expression crumbled.

Diana, due to her excessive self-love, was lavishly packaging herself even while going into debt.

But when Lady Briar accurately pointed out that part as being all show and no substance, her pride was crushed.

Lady Briar whispered clearly, in a voice just low enough not to be heard at other tables:

“Do you think it’s difficult for me to bury a woman like you?”

Diana’s hand gripping the teacup tensed.

“You’re going too far, Duchess.”

Diana’s hand trembled, causing the tea in the cup to splash slightly.

‘All cunning but no depth.’

Lady Briar snickered.

She seemed to be trying to sway public opinion in her favor by rubbing salt in wounds like she did with Cedar, but when given the same treatment back, it was funny how she couldn’t handle even trivial words.

Lady Briar asked with a relaxed smile:

“These days, is merely stating facts considered going too far?”

Angered, Diana bit her lip and glared at Lady Briar with all her might.

She seemed so angry that she forgot there were many witnesses here.

After exchanging glances like that for a moment, Diana gave a hollow laugh and lifted her chin.

“The value of the Periway family has skyrocketed in the marriage market. Why? Because it’s been proven. That we’re descendants of a great mage, with a high chance of producing another great mage.”

And she struck at Lady Briar’s weakness.

“Ah, I suppose a Duchess of maid origins wouldn’t understand how important bloodline is in noble engagements.”

That was a taboo of taboos that no one in high society dared to mention carelessly.

As Diana said, due to her poor bloodline, Lady Briar couldn’t even be active in society, let alone at its center, even after officially becoming the Duchess of Granite.

But her son, Cedar Granite, was this country’s top swordsman.

He became the captain of the Azure Dragon Knights at the young age of twenty, and would surely occupy higher positions in the military as time passed.

The nobles who couldn’t ignore her but couldn’t be friendly with her either avoided mentioning her origins altogether.

Yet Diana had pointed it out directly.

‘How impertinent.’

Lady Briar looked at Diana, who was smiling brightly, with cold eyes.

Just then, a staff member who had approached to serve tea to Lady Briar backed away, sensing the unusual atmosphere.

Lady Briar placed both hands on her knees and smiled gracefully.

Diana’s remark angered her, but she had plenty of words to counter with.

“…The great mage is your elder sister, not you. Ah, that increased value you mentioned, I already have it. Nelly Periway is my daughter-in-law after all.”

She continued, as if to provoke:

“What good is a rise in bloodline value? I wonder if there’s a man who would pay it knowing your debt situation.”

“Duchess Granite!”

In the end, Diana was the one who lost to the provocation.

Diana stood up abruptly, raising her voice.

“Did Baroness Periway just shout?”

“What’s going on?”

“How could she, to the Duchess…”

The nobles already knew enough about the trouble between Diana and Cedar.

So the conversation they might have when sitting face to face was predictable.

She would apologize for Cedar’s rude behavior and ask to soften the rumors.

But for Diana to raise her voice there?

“Could the rumors have been false?”

“Maybe she has something to feel guilty about?”

It was natural for the wind to blow in the opposite direction.

Diana, realizing the curious gazes directed at her, came to her senses belatedly.

So with a face clearly struggling to suppress her anger, she threw out one last remark and left as if fleeing.

“Tell that precious son of yours. Keep his promise and return my property.”

“What does that mean?”

Lady Briar asked, but Nelly didn’t even look back.

Lady Briar’s eyebrow rose slightly.

‘Return her property?’

Diana’s last words were quite meaningful.

Lady Briar tapped her arm with her finger.

‘Cedar wouldn’t have taken someone else’s property. I’m worried he’s not greedy enough. But she wouldn’t speak so confidently about something completely false. Then that means there’s something to be exchanged between Cedar and that woman.’

An aide approached Lady Briar. Lady Briar ordered in a short voice.

“Nelly Periway.”

“My lady?”

“Investigate Nelly Periway. See if she has any hidden assets, or if she inherited anything separately.”

At the unexpected order, the aide wiped his forehead with a handkerchief.

“Didn’t we investigate everything once before and report it? She doesn’t have a good relationship with her family, and they didn’t leave her anything separately.”

That was true, as the aide said. But Lady Briar didn’t readily agree.

‘But there’s definitely something. There must be something I missed.’

The Periway baronial family was small, so it wasn’t difficult to investigate things like slush funds. Then, what could have been overlooked?

“…She’s a great mage, right? Then she must have trained at the Academy?”

The Academy.

A place she lived apart from her family.

“That’s right. She spent virtually her entire life at the Academy.”

“See if anything came from there.”

The Academy is a strictly academic institution, could any assets have originated there?

The aide hesitated with a look of disbelief. Lady Briar shouted at the hesitating aide.

“What are you doing? Hurry!”

Fortunately, the queen ant was found quickly.

We don’t know how many other ants there are, but since ant colonies can’t expand without their queen, the urgent crisis was averted.

To prevent the remaining soldier ants from reaching nearby villages, the knights formed teams to search the surrounding area.

I, who had come with magic stones hanging all over my neck in case large-scale magic was needed like before, let out a sigh of relief.

‘Come to think of it, I didn’t know insect-type magical beasts existed.’

Both dark wolves and army ants maintained the habits of real animals while being larger in size. They shrank when the magic stones were broken.

‘Could regular animals become magical beasts by absorbing magical energy?’

Then what is this magical energy?

‘I haven’t observed enough magical beasts to generalize yet.’

I’d like to see more magical beasts.

‘Should I ask Cedar?’

I glanced at Cedar slightly.

But coincidentally, Cedar also had something to say to me, and when our eyes met, he approached me first.

“Let’s talk for a moment. I’d like to hear your opinion.”

“My opinion?”

Since I opened my eyes, had he ever asked for my opinion? I couldn’t remember.