Chapter 4.8

After reluctantly guiding everyone to their rooms, the Lord, Philip, let out a deep sigh only once he had returned to his own chamber.  

“Father, what in the world is going on?”  

His son, Pharone, who had followed him in, asked with anxious eyes.  

“How would I know?”  

Already irritated, Philip snapped at his son’s question.  

He had been annoyed with his son for a while now—especially since the boy had stood there earlier, gawking at Lady Roiza with his mouth hanging open, completely entranced.  

“Why are you yelling at me?”  

Pharone, in a subdued tone, cautiously observed his father’s mood before continuing.  

“What do you think they know?”  

“There’s no way they know anything. Even if they did, what could they possibly do without evidence? Bringing all those women along—what on earth is he planning?”  

Philip spoke with deliberate boldness, but he couldn’t stop his mouth from going dry.  

They were simply here for a vacation. That’s all it was. It must be. I’m just overthinking because of my own guilt.  

He repeated these thoughts to himself over and over, trying to reassure himself, but the unease in his heart refused to dissipate.  

“What about that man? Isn’t Ruicen closely related to the Emperor?”  

“You don’t need to worry about him. Didn’t you hear him say it himself earlier? He’s clearly just here to have some fun.”  

If it were Ruicen’s eldest son, it might have been a concern, but as the second son, he wasn’t worth worrying about. Everyone knew the infamous story of how the second son had become the family’s troublemaker.  

Though the sharp glint in his eyes at the end lingered in Philip’s mind, the person to truly be wary of was Grand Duke Helio.  

“Why now, of all times? A delegate from the Grand Duchy of Morgan will arrive tomorrow. Shouldn’t we postpone the deal, even now?”  

“It’s already too late. Besides, who knows when they’ll leave? Every day we delay, the Grand Duchy might come up with more demands. We have no choice but to proceed in secret.”  

Philip found himself trapped in a situation with no way out. Clutching his head, he tried to stave off the headache that was beginning to overwhelm him.  

It had all started with the simple thought of saving a bit on taxes.  

As the popularity of pearls from Anes Mountain grew and sales increased, Philip began to begrudge the taxes he had to pay to the Imperial Family.  

He had thought, “What if I bypass the kingdom’s reporting process and export the pearls directly? I could make more money.” With that naive idea, he had begun smuggling.  

He sold the finest pearls to the nearby Grand Duchy of Morgan and pocketed the profits.  

At first, the Grand Duchy of Morgan eagerly bought the pearls, even at high prices. But over time, their demands became increasingly unreasonable.  

They forced him to sell pearls exclusively to them, which led to a sharp decline in shipments to the Empire. Eventually, they even began slashing prices.  

In years when pearl harvests were low, they demanded other local specialties in equivalent amounts.  

Having been compromised by his past smuggling, Philip had no choice but to comply with such unfair dealings. If the Imperial Family found out, his current position would be far from safe.  

The Grand Duchy of Morgan sent a delegate every month to inspect the pearls’ quality and execute the secret transactions.  

And tomorrow was precisely that day.  

“For now, go and find an empty hotel room immediately.”  

“There’s no way there’s an empty room at this time of year. If there were, Grand Duke Helio wouldn’t have come here in the first place.”  

Pharone grumbled in response to Philip’s order.  

“You fool. Offer them triple the money if you have to and make them vacate the room. We can’t let the Morgan Grand Duchy’s delegate stay in the same place as Grand Duke Helio. Surely, you can find at least one room.”  

“Didn’t you just say there’s nothing to worry about?”  

“Even if there’s no apparent intention, letting them run into each other is risky. Stop arguing and hurry up!”  

Philip waved his hand tiredly, signaling for Pharone to leave. He felt as though he had aged ten years in just a few moments.  

“Um…”  

“What now?”  

Philip, who only wanted to rest, could not help but feel frustrated with his son, who refused to let him.  

“Isn’t it about time I got married?”  

Pharone, now twenty-four years old, wanted to get married. However, on this tiny island, there wasn’t a single woman who caught his eye. He hadn’t even experienced romance, let alone marriage.  

“That’s true.”  

“So, I was wondering… Could you send a marriage proposal to the House of Roiza on my behalf?”  

Philip immediately snorted. It was an absurd suggestion.  

He had thought Pharone must have fallen for Lady Roiza after seeing his dazed expression earlier, but he hadn’t imagined his son would be foolish enough to utter such nonsense.  

“Ha! Just because we’ve become a little better off, you’re letting delusions get the better of you. Do you think the House of Duke Roiza would even glance at our family? Besides, the lady is currently a candidate to become the Grand Duchess. Are you out of your mind?”  

“She’s just a candidate; she hasn’t become the Grand Duchess yet.”  

Philip’s head throbbed at his son’s naive thinking. As if his troubles weren’t enough, Pharone was making them worse.  

“Ah, Pharone. You’re my son, but how can you be so foolish? Stop entertaining useless thoughts and focus on the tasks I’ve given you.”  

At his father’s scolding, Pharone’s face darkened, his small glimmer of hope extinguished.  

* * *  

The Lord’s castle was so luxurious that it could put most five-star hotels to shame.  

Even the room assigned to me was extravagant, and the dinner served was equally impressive.  

“They say Anes Island has made an enormous fortune from pearls, and it seems to be true. This place is even more splendid than the Grand Duke’s castle. I heard the quality of pearls has declined recently, so they’re not as profitable as before. But just how much did they make over the years?”  

Anne, who had come to assist me, chattered in awe.  

“Tourism alone must bring in a considerable amount of money.”  

Elena said this, but sne, too, was secretly amazed.  

After marveling at the castle’s opulence for a while, Anne added, 

“Well, our Grand Duke’s castle is much larger, though.”  

“At first, when I heard the hotel reservation wasn’t properly arranged, I worried we might have to turn back. But I’m so relieved it worked out. Still, isn’t it strange? Sir Dean isn’t the kind of person to make such mistakes.”  

“The hotel staff must have made an error.”  

“That’s exactly what’s strange. Normally, Sir Dean would double- or triple-check everything to ensure such things wouldn’t happen.”  

“Well, that’s true.”  

“I was also surprised by His Grace’s reaction. I didn’t expect him to let it slide so easily.”

It wasn’t so much that he let it slide as it was that he seemed to welcome the mistake. She recalled the conversation between Lennon and the Grand Duke on the ship. 

What kind of order had the Emperor given them?

“Oh my, how adorable! What is this?”  

Anne pointed to the pearl earrings neatly placed on one side of the vanity table. They were the earrings Grand Duke Helio had gifted earlier in the day.  

“Aren’t they pretty? His Grace bought them for me as a gift. Hehe.”  

The mere thought of them filled her with pride, and she couldn’t help but smile.  

“What? His Grace?”  

Anne, startled by her words, asked again in disbelief.  

“His Grace gave you such a cute gift? I can’t even imagine it.”  

“Well, actually, I wanted to buy them myself, but I didn’t have the money, so he paid for them instead.”  

“Still. Last time, I thought you were overthinking it, but now I’m starting to believe it. His Grace seems to have a special interest in you.”

“…Does it look that way? Really?”  

“When that lunatic showed up last time, His Grace took care of it personally, didn’t he? That’s when I became sure. His Grace definitely has feelings for you.”

“…You think so?”  

She knew she shouldn’t, but Anne’s words made her heart flutter once again. She told herself not to get her hopes up, knowing disappointment would be just as great. Yet, she couldn’t help but feel a growing sense of anticipation.  

“Oh! At the port, too. His Grace didn’t even get out of the carriage at first. But when you said you wanted to look around, he joined you. Isn’t that significant?”

“Come on, that’s a stretch. Aden is part of the Castia territory, so he was just inspecting it.”  

No matter how self-centered she might be, even she couldn’t believe it was to that extent.  

“Then why didn’t you wear them right away? If it were me, I’d have put them on immediately.”

“Well, I was worried they might get damaged or lost.”

“That’s not good. Think about it. If you gave His Grace a gift and he didn’t use it, how would you feel

“I’d feel upset. Really upset.”  

The answer came out instantly. She didn’t even need to think about it; just imagining it made her feel terribly hurt.  

“I’ll start wearing them tomorrow.”  

“Exactly! Let’s make these earrings the highlight of tomorrow’s outfit. What dress would go well with them?”  

Anne, now more excited than her, began rummaging through the dresses she had brought.  

“By the way, have you heard anything about Lady Adelina? She didn’t even show up at the dining table.”  

Looking at the flawless, milky-white pearl earrings, the pale face of Adelina suddenly came to mind.  

“What? Lady Adelina skipped a meal? Could she really be sick this time? Now that I think about it, she didn’t look well even when she got off the ship.”  

“Really?”  

By now, everyone was well aware of Adelina’s feigned illnesses and her notorious appetite.  

Hearing Anne’s words, she began to genuinely worry about Adelina.  

“Should I go check on her? I can’t help but feel concerned.”  

“Then I’ll ask Melissa where her room is.”  

Adelina was the kind of person who, even after collapsing, could easily eat more than one person’s portion, leaving everyone around her astonished.  

And yet, she had skipped dinner? Perhaps she truly wasn’t feeling well this time.