A Second Divorce is Difficult - ✿ dusk blossoms ✿

Chapter 7 – Part 7

“I’ll buy them all.”

Emily said, looking at the jewelry for a long time.

Leton looked surprised for a moment, but then he did as she said, paying the price and buying all the jewelry in the box.

As they left the jeweler’s shop and the carriage moved, Leton turned to Emily.

“Was there any reason to buy all the jewelry?”

“Well, we don’t have any of my mother’s jewelry here, and there’s no guarantee we’ll find it, so we’ll just have to buy it and take it to Cash.”

Emily’s explanation made Leton nod quickly. Maybe Marie wasn’t the only one with a rare gem, and maybe she was lucky to have found it.

In this way, she was similar to Eli in the way she handled things, and it was easy to see why he had chosen her to be the next head of the Marquis of Grit.

“Let’s head to the capital, then.”

Now that we’d checked off the places in the information we’d gotten, it was just a matter of confirming.

Emily nodded her head in affirmation, and Leton opened the small window to the coachman.

“To the capital. As soon as possible.”

“Undertsood.”

A moment later, the carriage picked up speed as the coachman reined in the horses.

* * *

“It’s been a while, Damon.”

Ruby emerged from the temple and headed towards the Grit Marquis’s residence.

“It’s been a long time, my lady. Is the Marquis…?”

Damon greeted her politely, surprised at the sudden appearance of someone he hadn’t seen in years.

“He’s been away for a moment.”

“I see.”

Damon acknowledged Ruby’s answer, but his gaze didn’t leave the sturdy man following behind her.

“Oh, it’s Gardener. He’s the knight assigned as my escort by Eli.”

“Ah, Damon, the Marquis’s butler.”

“Gardner.”

Although the explanation was brief, Damon understood it immediately. Since his master was someone who would hire mercenaries if he couldn’t protect his own wife, it was natural for him to hire someone to protect his wife when he couldn’t be by her side.

“Damon, do you mind if I use Eli’s office? I have some letters to send.”

“My lady.”

Damon looked serious at Ruby’s question.

“This is my master’s home, but it is also my mistress’s home.”

“Ah…….”

“So, if the Marquis Grit wants to go anywhere, My Lady can go wherever she wants without anyone’s permission.”

Damon smiled softly, his eyes soon locking with Ruby’s.

“Thank you….”

“I’ll have some hot tea brought to the office.”

“It’s okay. Gardener, could you wait in the drawing room? Please have the tea brought to the drawing room, Damon.”

“Yes, my lady.”

The Marquis of Grit estate was the safest place in the capital besides the Temple. There was no need for Gardner to be with Ruby here; there was no need for him to be in Eli’s office.

Gardner knew that, too.

However, he had to wait here until they returned to the temple because he had to be there when they returned.

“It could be a long time, Damon, and I’ll ask you to do me a favor.”

“Yes, I understand.”

Knowing what he had to do with Ruby’s simple request, Damon escorted Gardner to the parlor.

Ruby watched him go and soon found herself in Eli’s office.

The office was well organized, thanks to constant maintenance.

Ruby headed towards the desk where Eli usually worked. Although she rarely visited this study, considering her past memories, it resembled Shuban’s study a lot. Since it was his space, the organized areas were likely similar.

Ruby started looking for the letters he’d organized and collected. With Eli’s many jobs, the number of letters he sent and received was high. Ruby gathered as many letters as she could on her desk.

When she thought she had nearly exhausted the letters in the office, she began to compare the handwriting of the assassin’s letters with the handwriting of the letters in the office.

Not knowing much about Eli’s grudges, Ruby had to compare all the letters Eli had sent and received, one by one. Even though the amount wasn’t small, if it could provide any clue, Ruby was willing to spend days doing it.

* * *

“They say the two are on good terms, not bad.”

Petiz relayed the information she’d gleaned from her snooping around to Arlen.

“Why do you think so?”

“Because there hasn’t been any problem in formal situations, and you two have never fought loudly.”

“I see.”

Petiz’s words sounded more like they were saying that they kept their distance rather than getting along well. A relationship neither too close nor too distant. But what Arlen witnessed was subtly different from what Petiz had found out.

Does that mean their relationship has changed recently?

“A tender relationship is absolutely not what it is.”

As Arlen fell silent, lost in thought, Petiz emphasized the word “absolutely.”

“Perhaps the Empress was not at ease with the news of my romance with the Emperor, and I wonder if you could find out how she felt about it?”

Arlen smiled bitterly as he spoke to Petiz.

Because she knew that if she did this, Petiz would automatically interpret her facial expressions and retrieve more information for her.

“Of course.”

As expected, Petiz nodded resolutely, as if to say, “Trust me.”

“Call for the maid on your way out.”

Shortly after Petiz left, the imperial maid entered the room.

“You have summoned me, My Lady?”

“I wish to pay my respects to Her Majesty the Empress.”

“You mean… to Her Majesty?”

“We’ll be seeing each other in the future, so I thought I’d better say hello and wish her well.”

“I’ll try to get in touch with Her Majesty.”

“Please.”

The handmaiden bowed politely and left the room.

“You always go after the most vulnerable first.”

That way, doubts would start to sprout from small cracks. Doubts nurtured by suspicion had sturdy roots.

Once alone in the room, Arlen wiped the smile from her face.

* * *

“It’s a simple meal.”

Damon brought Ruby, who had been staring at the letter for the second day, something simple to eat.

“Thank you. Just leave it on the table over there.”

As she said that, Ruby didn’t take her eyes off the letter.

She’d spent all but minimal sleeping and eating time comparing the handwriting on the letter.

She sorted out the unique characteristics hidden in the handwriting and selected letters with similar characteristics.

She figured that while she couldn’t do it perfectly, it would be far more efficient than sifting through all the letters here.

After Damon left with the meal, Ruby wiped away the tears flowing from her eyes.

She had been examining not only the letters kept among the nobles but also all the letters stored elsewhere. Thus, she ended up looking at the personal letters Eli had exchanged as well.

His personal letters always mentioned Ruby.

The knights he had posted to guard her, the chamberlain at Devens, where she was staying, the carriages, dresses, furniture, and ornaments she would use—all of it was about her.

She knew Eli had taken care of her stay, but it was something else to see the preparations through the letters.

The more she thought about it, the more she wondered if things would be different if she hadn’t disappeared from Devens, if she hadn’t gone to Zenfield, and if he would still be smiling down at her.

With every letter she read, Ruby felt like Eli’s current situation was all her fault. Every time she felt that way, tears welled up. But Ruby wiped them away each time. Continuously wiping them made her eyes sore, but she couldn’t stop, afraid the letters’ ink might smudge if she cried too much.

Ruby immersed herself in the task, suppressing the sadness.

It wasn’t until late at night, on the third day of poring over the letters, that she was done sorting through them.

“It’s a request for handwriting analysis. Whatever the cost, please process it as soon as possible.”

Even though it was late at night, Ruby asked Damon to send the letters immediately.

“I’ll send someone right away.”

Soon, Damon returned after sending the letters.

“Are you leaving now?”

Ruby had finished getting ready to go out when he returned.

“I was going to.”

“It’s getting late. Why don’t you get some sleep and come tomorrow?”

Ruby shook her head.

“I have to go.”