“Why did you reject the Duke’s request? If handled well, it could have benefited your territory too.”

A friend asked Fiord as he was tidying up the cards on the table.

“There’s too much gossip. Getting involved with such a person has never ended well.”

“Well, that’s true.”

“No matter how much the rumors have died down, the label of being an illegitimate child doesn’t disappear.”

“Besides, who knows if they’ll discard us once they no longer need us after seeking us out? Rather than grabbing the wrong rope, it’s better not to grab it at all.”

The friends nodded, agreeing that Fiord’s decision was correct.

“By the way, I didn’t know there was someone as unlucky as you.”

“Oh, that lady? Well, I thought for sure Fiord would lose.”

The two looked at Fiord, giggling.

“Aren’t you guys being too harsh? Do you have so little faith in me?”

At Fiord’s question, the two looked at him as if it was such an obvious thing to ask.

“You guys…”

“But really, what would you have done if you had lost?”

“Yeah, would you have kept your promise if you lost?”

To the two’s questions, Fiord asked back as if it was nonsense.

“How could I possibly lose?”

“Wow, that’s creepy. He really didn’t think he would lose.”

Fiord answered nonchalantly as he finished tidying up the cards.

“No matter how bad my luck is, how could I lose to a lady who doesn’t know anything about the world?”

In games like this, luck is important, but other things are crucial too. For example, facial expressions.

Ravenne was someone who, as he expected, clearly showed her thoughts on her face. How could he, experienced in card games, lose to such a novice?

The only reason it took longer than expected was because, strangely, he could read anticipation on Ravenne’s face every time she picked the joker.

If it wasn’t for that, it would have ended much faster.

“Well, as you said, that lady was unlucky too.”

How did she manage to pick only the joker? Thanks to that, he won though.

Muttering to himself, as he picked up the cards left where Ravenne had sat, he suddenly noticed something strange about the surface of the cards.

Upon closer inspection, the corners were slightly indented.

After examining the cards with a serious expression for a while, Fiord burst into laughter.

“…Hahaha. I see. Prejudice, huh…”

***

The satisfaction of interfering with Ilion’s work didn’t last long.

Before even a full day had passed, a letter arrived from the Marquis.

Wondering what he had to say after already rejecting once, I peeked at the side.

‘Grateful for the Duke’s proposal, decided to reconsider… decided to provide the territory… hope this will help our future relationship.’

I only read a few sentences that caught my eye, but the content of the letter was clear.

He was agreeing to the proposal.

“Is this really from Marquis Sternran?”

“Yes. It arrived this morning.”

“Could it be someone playing a prank?”

“Here, you can see the Sternran family seal stamped on it.”

“……”

Sebastian showed me the seal as if to prove it.

I’m not asking because I don’t know that, Sebastian!

I’m asking because I can’t believe this is real!

“It seems the Marquis gained a great realization from his bet with you.”

Saying this, Ilion pointed to the middle of the letter.

[I would like to express my gratitude to Miss Rischefeld separately.
I never imagined you would try to lose the bet by using tricks.
It seems you were trying to give me a great realization.
Thanks to you, I realized how dangerous prejudice can be. Thank you very much.]

How on earth does one come to such a conclusion?

I stared at the letter with a puzzled expression.

It seems he noticed my trick, but what’s this about prejudice and realization?

Reading these incomprehensible words made me feel like I was about to cry.

“What about the back?”

“?”

Ilion looked at me.

“Show me the back too, please.”

I need more explanation on why he reached this conclusion!

However, Ilion put the letter aside.

“How much of my letter do you intend to read?”

That’s different from what you said yesterday! Talking about me being the owner of the mine and all!

Of course, seeing the content at the back wouldn’t change anything.

“Go and work now. Don’t you have a lot to finish today?”

You’re pouring oil on the fire, aren’t you?

And that evening, suddenly realizing that the resolution of the incident was thanks to me, I regretted not demanding a reward vacation from Ilion while kicking my blanket.

***

It had been over a week since I started helping Ilion. What I realized during this week was that Ilion clearly intended to keep me in the mansion under the pretext of punishment.

In the end, as he intended, I couldn’t go outside and couldn’t cause any trouble.

There was a limit to how much nonsense I could spout while pretending to be a pure-minded lady. It wasn’t just an hour or two, but being together for hours all day long, I felt like my mouth was going to rot from the sweetness.

Moreover, Ilion seemed to have developed some immunity to my attitude, now that he’s not even blinking an eye.

Just a week ago he disliked it so much, but now he even showed composure in responding.

Humans are indeed animals of adaptation.

As I was sitting on the sofa in the reception room, enjoying the morning tea time and sighing about the bleak future, Lily handed me a newspaper saying there was an article about me.

[Future Duchess Rischefeld Catches Casino Corruption!]

Reading the headline article on the front page of the newspaper, I clicked my tongue in disbelief.

It seems Ilion had already taken care of it, as the incident from that day had been changed to me conducting an undercover investigation to uncover casino corruption.

Wow, at this rate, it deserves a Nobel Prize in Literature? It’s a complete novel from start to finish?

The article was full of praise for how brave and great my actions were, with no trace of the reckless lady who went to enjoy the casino, only the hero of the century existed.

That wasn’t all.

[Duchess Celestine Purchases Land with Magic Stone Deposits!]

‘The real estate that sold the land thought they were dealing with an ignorant lady and sold the land at 10 times the market price, but the hidden value was 200 times! The Duchess’s excellent insight shone through. It’s said that the real estate owner regretted selling the land…’

When did they publish this article?

They even put out an advertisement saying that the Celestine merchant group’s investment had been decided.

Moreover, what’s with this title? We’re not even married yet, why are you making me a Duchess on your own? We’re only engaged!

Looking at the content alone, they didn’t create completely false facts, but I couldn’t shake off the feeling that I had been played by Ilion’s hand.

At this rate, far from tarnishing Ilion’s reputation, I was only enhancing his honor.

This won’t do. I need to take some measures quickly.

After folding the newspaper, as I was contemplating how to make Ilion angry this time, I spotted a porcelain vase decorating one side of the reception room.

It was a blue porcelain vase with beautiful flowers painted on it.

“Lily, do you think that’s expensive?”

“Of course it would be. It’s an item in the Duke’s mansion after all.”

Lily, who had answered casually, was now looking at me with suspicious eyes, wondering what I was up to this time.

Why is Lily’s intuition only good at times like this? She can’t figure out anything about me and Ilion.

“Is that so? Let’s go look at some artworks.”

“What? Suddenly?”

“Yes, if it’s artworks, the Imperial Art Museum would be good, right?”

Lily’s expression noticeably worsened. She seemed already anxious as I caused trouble every time I said let’s go somewhere.

“I’m going to be the Duchess in the future, how can I not have any knowledge about artworks? Let’s go and study a bit while we’re at it.”

It’s the Imperial Art Museum. It’s a wholesome place incomparable to the casino, isn’t it? As I gave a plausible reason, Lily finally seemed to understand and nodded.

“But aren’t you going to the Duke’s study today?”

“No. Today is a day off! He went to the Imperial Palace for the matter regarding Count Gardner.”

That’s why I have this leisure today. And I can’t let a day like this go to waste. I stood up, determined to accomplish something.

***

“Well, I thought there might be something fishy, but he was doing it quite blatantly.”

The Emperor of the Ionia Empire, Klaus Dior Ionia, looked down at Ilion with his usual languid face.

It wasn’t that he had given the permission without knowing what kind of person Gardner was. Rather, he had given it knowing full well.

After all, casinos are places where nobles’ money comes in, so what’s the problem if they earn money through illegal means that they got from exploiting their territories?

It’s all the same people and the same money anyway. This rigid Duke brought up this issue that had been knowingly overlooked and requested punishment for the Count.

“How should we punish him?”

“There happen to be many vacancies in the Imperial prison… put him in there for now. We’ll deal with him all at once during the harvest festival.”

“Understood.”

Ilion bowed his head, realizing what those words meant.

“Now that you’re here, I have something to discuss about the upcoming expedition.”

“Is it about Bellion?”

“Yes. For such a small country, it’s quite annoying being right in the center of the trade route. It’s irritating that they collect tolls faithfully every year. This time they said they would raise the cost, so I’m thinking of pushing them out with soldiers.”

It seems the Emperor’s conquest fever had flared up again. It had been quiet for a few months.

“…Yes, I understand. Then, for the expedition preparations…”

“Ah, no. There’s no need for the Duke to step in. It’s just a country smaller than a mere village after all.”

“Then how…”

“I think the Imperial Knights will be sufficient, but just in case, I’d like to borrow the Dawn and Radiance Knight Orders under your command.”

Dawn and Radiance were among the top 1 or 2 most capable knight orders under Ilion’s command. It was a waste to use them for the Emperor’s land-grabbing game, but he couldn’t express his dissatisfaction. Ilion bowed his head.

“I will prepare them in time for the expedition.”

“Oh, by the way, I hear your fiancée has been causing quite a stir lately. Lavender, no, was it Ravelli? I heard it was her merit that caught Gardner this time?”

“It’s Ravenne Rischefeld.”

“Ah, yes, Ravenne. I’m not good at remembering people’s names.”

The blue eyes curved pleasantly.

“I’d like to see her sometime. To think there’s such a capable daughter in a mere fallen count’s family. If I had known earlier, I would have taken her myself. What a pity.”

Ilion’s body flinched at Klaus’s unexpected interest. He was familiar with the Emperor’s way of speaking like this.

He was deliberately saying irritating things to provoke his subordinate and make them make mistakes in order to test them.

Of course, there might be such a reason, but Ilion thought it was also due to his original nature. He wasn’t exactly a person with a good personality.

Knowing this, he generally tried to exclude emotions from all matters related to the Emperor. It only tired him out to deal with him.

“It was just luck.”

So this time too, he intended to just let Klaus’s provocation slide.

However, sensing Ilion’s subtle emotional change, Klaus curled up the corners of his mouth and smiled. A woman who could make the Duke react when he didn’t even blink at any of his provocations.

He began to become more interested.