Chapter 7 – Part 9

The three left the temple and traveled in a carriage.

“Where are we going?”

Ruby asked Emily and Leton, not knowing where they were going.

With Leton with her, Gardner decided to stay by Eli’s side at the temple.

“It’s a jewelry store. According to the documents my brother sent, they exchanged jewels as payment for a contract killing, so we’ve seized them all.”

Emily tapped a box full of jewels beside her with her hand.

“The information the Marquis sent me said they were paid in jewelry, so I’ve been to every jewelry store in the area.”

Leton explained further, handing Ruby the paper he had been holding.

By the time Ruby had finished reading it, the carriage had stopped in front of a jeweler’s shop.

“Welcome, Marchioness Grit, Lady Grit, and Viscount Bogar.”

Cash, recognizing the Marquis of Grit’s carriage, greeted the three in front of the jeweler’s shop.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you.”

“It’s been a long time. I’ve been waiting for your letter.”

“Then, can we proceed with what we asked for now?”

Ruby greeted her with a simple nod, and Emily dealt with Cash with familiarity.

“Sure. Let me show you inside.”

As usual, they headed beyond the jewelry display to the most secure room.

Ruby and Emily sat down on the couch, and Leton placed the box he had brought onto the table.

“I wanted you to take a look at these jewels.”

“What are we looking for?”

Cash seemed surprised by the larger number of jewels than expected. Emily shrugged her shoulders, indicating she didn’t know much either.

“Anything unusual about the jewelry that Cash would recognize.”

“Okay, give me a second.”

After leaving the room for a moment, Cash returned with a small magnifying glass.

He then began examining each jewel meticulously, categorizing them as he would on the table. Sometimes he would nod as he inspected a jewel; other times he would furrow his brows, but he diligently continued sorting them.

After a considerable amount of time had passed, Cash finally straightened up after examining all the jewels. Just when they thought the jewelry appraisal was over, he took out a ledger from a safe deep inside the room.

He opened the ledger, which detailed the gems’ shapes and features, and began to compare two of the three categorized gems to the pictures in the ledger.

It’s done.”

After finishing the comparison, Cash spoke.

“What do you think?”

Leton asked.

“Well, for starters, the gems here didn’t come from our jewelry store.”

“What about the jewels next to them?”

“These are the jewels we gave to the Marquis’s mother.”

There were a couple of other pieces set aside, including the one Emily recognized immediately.

“If it’s the Marquis’s mother… Lady Grit?”

Emily’s guess was roughly correct. Unlike the two, who had already guessed the involvement of the marquis, Ruby was surprised and asked in confusion.

“Yes.”

Emily’s curt reply suggested that she’d been expecting this since she’d brought the jewelry.

Ruby couldn’t understand why Marie would pay someone to hurt her, even if it meant selling the jewelry she treasured so much.

But she put her thoughts aside when Leton asked Cash a question.

“How do you tell them apart when they look so similar?”

“Although the jewels may look similar, their craftsmanship differs. It could be considered a characteristic of our workshop artisans.”

In response to Leton’s question, Cash explained.

“These are the characteristics I write down whenever a new piece of jewelry comes in, and I also write them down when special people buy them. It’s been a while since the Marquis specifically ordered it after he took over the title.”

They finally understood the detailed drawings of the jewels in the ledger.

“Then, what does this categorization mean?”

The jewelry that wasn’t for sale here and the jewelry that was given to Marie Grit as a gift. Even aside from those two, there were jewels categorized separately.

“These are the jewels we sent to other nobles upon Lady Grit’s instructions.”

“Who is that?”

“To Lady Arlen Miles.”

Cash explained, showing them the ledger.

At that moment, Emily and Leton exchanged glances, both remembering the last time they had seen Arlen in Shuban, when she had confronted Eli.

Ruby, however, didn’t catch their gaze, nor did she understand.

* * *

“Why did Lady Miles attack Eli and me?”

Ruby asked the two as they rode back to the temple.

The joy of finding the culprit was brief, and then there was nothing but incomprehension.

“You do know that His Majesty and Lady Miles are having an affair, don’t you?”

“I heard from Eli that they were getting married soon and that Eli had spread the word about the Emperor’s relationship with the princess.”

Emily nodded.

“That’s why Lady Miles couldn’t go out into society and had to hold a wedding as if to patch things up. Bearing a grudge for that is the most plausible reason.”

“And she’s sending an assassin for just… that reason?”

It was the most valid reason, but even that sounded ridiculous to Ruby.

“If that’s the reason, I should be the one sending more assassins to her.”

As for Arlen, despite the fact that the relationship between her and Eli that people around her were speculating wasn’t true, she kept her mouth shut for her own benefit and also showed off how proud she was at the numerous parties held in Shuban.

The disrespect Ruby had to endure because of something that wasn’t even true was beyond description.

But Arlen, unlike Ruby, was sending assassins without even thinking about her own actions or acknowledging her mistake.

Dumbfounded, Ruby could only laugh.

“We’ll have to make sure to get back at them properly.”

Ruby muttered, her face turning grim. It was the most furious look Emily and Leton had ever seen on her face.

“The jewelry isn’t enough. We’ll wait for the handwriting analysis and then figure out our next move.”

At this point, although they could roughly guess what the situation was like and how Marie and Arlen got involved in it, just those suspicions couldn’t move the situation forward. It wasn’t too late to reveal everything after securing enough evidence.

“Leton, do you mind if I ask you a favor?”

“……Of course not, My Lady.”

Leton, who had been absentmindedly staring, replied when his eyes met Ruby’s.

“Can you find out what’s going on with Lady Miles and the duchy, even if it’s just the little things, like who they’ve been seeing lately, what their finances are like, and if they have any family businesses or investments.”

“I’ll see what I can find out.”

“Thank you.”

It was time to repay Arlen in the most shocking way possible.

* * *

“They had tea?”

The news that Arlen and Katrina had met and had tea had reached Shannua that very afternoon. Shannua had asked him to tell her if anything happened between the Empress and Arn.

Of course, he already knew that Arlen had asked the Empress to tea first.

“Yes. They had tea in the greenhouse.”

“So, what did they talk about?”

It wasn’t too difficult, since practically everywhere were the Emperor’s people.

“Her Majesty told Lady Miles not to worry about her.”

“Not worry? About what?”

“She said that she knows the feelings of His Majesty and the Lady of Miles, so she won’t come between you. She also said that she was certain that His Majesty’s…… affections would never be directed toward the Empress.”

Brandon replied cautiously.

“And how did Arlen respond?”

“She didn’t say anything.”

“……I see.”

The Emperor remained silent. It was a phenomenon that sometimes occurred when he was lost in thought during conversations.

“I should sleep at the Empress’s palace tonight.”

After finishing his contemplation, he said, Surprisingly, it was Brandon who was surprised at his words.

“Let this conversation reach Arlen.”

“What? …….”

The two were very much in love and about to be married, so it didn’t make sense that the Emperor would order him to tell her something that would ruin their relationship. Of course, neither did traveling to the empress’s palace at this point.

But perhaps he was trying to take control before marriage, Brandon speculated, and he set out to carry out his orders.

“I explained to the chamberlain that His Majesty doesn’t need to come.”

Those were the first words Shannua heard from Katrina when he arrived at the Empress’s palace after finishing his work for the night.

“I must have been too busy to hear.”

Despite Katrina’s refusal, Shannua strode into the room, an easy enough invasion that she didn’t even bother to keep him from entering.

Shannua naturally laid down on the bed.

“Now that you know, you can leave.”

“If I leave now, what will happen to my reputation?”

Katrina’s sharp words didn’t faze him. He didn’t move, as if he had no intention of leaving.

“You may already know this, but I spoke well of it to Lady Miles.”

“Yes? What did you say?”

“I told her that I don’t want to get involved in Your Majesty’s love affair. So, if you want to have a love fight, do it without me.”

“A love fight…….”

“Yes.”

“I guess this is a love quarrel in your eyes.”

“Isn’t that so? ”

Katrina looked like she didn’t know what else to say.

After a moment, Shannua pushed himself up and stood in front of her.

“If I walk out of here now, your reputation will go down with me. Are you okay with that?”

Katrina said, not avoiding Shannua’s gaze.

“I’m already a ridiculous empress no matter what I do. You made that yourself and you don’t even realize it.”

“So you’ll have to convince her that you’re above her, or else you will have a hard time dealing with her.”

“…….”

“It’s about showing her that I respect you as Empress as much as she should, and that will only be clear if we are in sync. You shouldn’t act like you did when you told Arlen that we have no affection for each other.”

Shannua’s voice sounded more angry than amused.

Katrina, however, flinched at his mention of something she hadn’t even told him about.

It didn’t make sense that he didn’t know what had happened in the palace, and Katrina soon grew quiet.

“If you know all this, why did you come here?”

“I’m telling you, this isn’t a love affair. Once you’re in the palace, you’re expected to follow the law. Arlen should be no exception.”

Katrina’s eyes flickered with intensity at Shannua’s steady words.

“……What are you doing this for?”

“I’ve already said. It’s for you, who will continue to fulfill your duties as Empress by my side, so…….”

Shannua lightly touched the center of Katrina’s lips with his index finger.

“You must cooperate.”

“…….”

“I mean, don’t let Arlen use my affection as a springboard to walk all over you.”

It was a paraphrase of what she’d said to Arlen in the greenhouse. But the intent of the words was to discourage her behavior.

“That’s only for me…….”

“Isn’t that a good thing,” Katrina was about to ask, but closed her mouth in her middle. The emperor will answer that it is for her anyway.

Katrina reminded herself that she had promised herself she wouldn’t care what happened between them, and she would do whatever the emperor wanted.

That way, if the Emperor and Lady Arlen got along, she could always get out.

“No.”

Shanua tilted her head and looked at Katrina for a moment.

There was silence in the room for a moment.

Despite the uncomfortable silence, Katrina lowered her gaze, making it clear that she had no intention of saying more.

“……Then let’s go to sleep.”

Giving in, Shanua grabbed Katrina’s wrist and led her to the bed. Katrina followed his movements meekly, unlike a moment ago when she had been screaming her displeasure with every fiber of her being.

TL NOTE: More advanced chapter of this story is already up to the site. Visit dusk blossoms for more advanced chapters and stories