Chapter 5 – The Northern Speraum (Part 5)

“If that’s the case, then let’s turn to Armur from the Musen Trade…”

“No, you can’t!”

Before Reubellina could finish, the Countess of Pineus exclaimed loudly.

‘Got her.’

It was just as she had hoped – that the Countess would react this way.

“Why not?”

“The money invested by Count Phineus and the Musen Trading must naturally be different. So it would not be right for Musen Trading to calculate the pricing.”

“Countess, let me ask you one thing.”

Reubellina slowly rose from her seat, emitting an aura of aristocratic authority that silenced the room. Everyone held their breath, waiting for the Countess of Phineus’s response.

“Why was the price of shirts for the knights set at 200 rubles by Count Phineus?”

Her voice carried an imposing tone, resonating with power. Reubellina’s commanding presence filled the room with a forceful aura. Nobody dared to make a sound as they waited for the Countess of Phineus’s answer.

‘This, this is not right!’

The Countess frantically rolled her eyes. This was not the situation she had anticipated. She had planned to easily subdue the naive noble lady from the capital and publicly expose her foolishness, thereby highlighting the greatness of Count Phineus. But this had happened instead.

If this continued, it would have been better for the belatedly arrived Count Phineus not to come at all. If she could just quickly patch things up and leave, she might have been able to manipulate the documents of the shirt prices.

“Well, that’s…! It’s of course decided by the Count. I don’t know anything about it!”

“Count Phineus’ wife doesn’t even know about this?”

“Of course not! Only the Count knows about matters regarding the trade affairs! As the lady of the house, I only oversee internal affairs.”

“In that case, let me ask something else.”

Reubellina’s scrutinizing gaze made the Countess of Phineus feel uneasy. She had a foreboding feeling that she might not be able to leave the castle unscathed.

“How did you acquire the ring?”

“Pardon?”

“That jewelry.”

The gems adorned on the Countess’s fingers were not something an ordinary Countess could afford. Reubellina knew the true value of the jewelry, and she suspected the Countess of embezzlement.

Red diamonds that could be worth billions per carat.

‘At that size, it must be around 5 carats.’

“Th-This is a ruby produced in the southern mines…!”

At first glance, it might seem like a ruby, but Reubellina wasn’t fooled. It wasn’t a ruby; it was a red diamond.

“Enough.”

Reubellina firmly waved her hand. The Countess had no choice but to clamp her mouth shut. She tried to make an excuse, but Reubellina did not give her the opportunity. She gestured to the returning Heather.

“Remove the ring from the Countess’ hand. That is a red diamond that should be presented to the imperial palace.”

Red diamonds were an extremely precious gem. Centuries had passed since their discovery, but they were still rarely seen even in diamond mines. The red diamonds that emerged once in a few decades were legally prohibited from being possessed by anyone other than royalty.

If the emperor, who had no greed for jewels, were in power, this could have been overlooked. However, the current emperor was not someone to be trifled with. Just holding something that belonged to the imperial family could lead to the disappearance of Count Phineus from the empire.

“No, this cannot be!”

The Countess desperately tried to cover her hand, but she could not withstand the strength of the knight, Heather.

“Of course, the Countess must be detained as well. Until we find out where she obtained this red diamond, she is not to leave this castle.”

“Understood!”

Heather’s thunderous reply echoed through the room as she forcibly took the ring from the Countess’s hand and dragged her out. The Countess of Phineus resisted, but she couldn’t escape Heather.

“Ah!”

Reubellina clapped her hands and blinked as someone entered the room. It was someone who looked exactly like Heather.

“Lord Hemil! What is the meaning of this impudence in front of Her Grace!”

“Hemil?”

Reubellina unwittingly called out his name. A man with a face that looked exactly like Heather’s.

‘This is cheating.’

Heather was a beautiful woman, and the man who walked in now was just as handsome. The same hair color and the same eye color told her they were brother and sister.

“Truly impressive, Your Grace.”

‘Suddenly?’

Reubellina chose to remain silent, unsure of how to react. She was usually one who did not easily get flustered, but in this situation, she could not find the right words.

She had only managed to drag out the Countess of Phineus. Not even the Count himself. And there were plenty of noble families in the North that needed to be dealt with. Upon examining the documents, it was clear that embezzlement wasn’t an isolated incident, and evidence of fraud against Tartanen could also be found.

‘But why is he praising me so?’

“My name is Hemil.”

The man, who had been clapping, bowed respectfully. A refreshing smile graced his face as he displayed the courtesy of a knight towards her.

“I’m thoroughly delighted to witness this.”

‘Ah, I’ve heard that somewhere before.’

“I never thought I’d live to see that arrogant Countess Phineus being dragged out. It’s more than I could have hoped for.”

“It’s just the Countess, though.”

Reubellina had never heard of a noble behaving with such impudence in the Grand Duke’s castle and not being able to be removed. Such a thing would never happen in the Duchy of Asillious where Reubellina had lived.

In the duchy in the capital, any noble who made Reubellina uncomfortable or spoke out of turn would be promptly ejected. Even if there weren’t any outstanding knights in the duchy, such actions were possible.

“The atmosphere in the castle wasn’t great because we couldn’t do anything about someone as insignificant as the Countess.”

Hemil’s eyes, devoid of laughter, sank. Maintaining his proper etiquette, he continued speaking.

“I wonder how Count Phineus will react when he finds out…”

“Oh, you don’t need to worry about that.”

Reubellina smiled softly.

“I’ll be sending someone directly to the imperial palace.”

“Someone?”

Hemil repeated her words with a worried expression.

Reubellina hadn’t planned to take such drastic action without preparation. Once the deed was done, Tartenon’s knights would take action.

‘If I’ve gone this far, I can’t just sit back and do nothing.’

If she really didn’t respond at all, she would have to reconsider the marriage contract with Tartenon. If he couldn’t weed out the nobles who dared to take advantage of the North after setting the stage like this, then that meant Tartenon lacked the capability.

She could forgive kindness, but not incompetence. That was one of Reubellina’s core beliefs.

She gently laughed and extended her hand to Hemil.

“By the way, how long are you going to keep this up? You may rise.”

“Ah, yes.”

Hemil stood up and stood next to Paddington. Paddington tried to signal him with a look, but he did not avert his gaze until the end. Hemil remained steadfast, not flinching under the butler’s scrutiny.

“Your Grace! I’ve carried out the order and returned!”

Paddington’s stern gaze didn’t waver even as Heather swung open the door to the study without knocking. When she entered without permission, Paddington’s gaze shifted again. But Heather, like Hemil, ignored Paddington completely.

“What are you doing here?”

“What do you mean?”

When Heather gave him a pointed look, Hemil avoided eye contact. It was clear from her expression that Hemil’s presence in the study was unusual. The blunt Heather did not hide her displeased expression as she spoke.

“This is completely different from what you said before!”

“I, I never said anything!”

“Didn’t you say you couldn’t accept this capital lady as the Grand Duchess of the North?”

“When did I say that?”

Reubellina was overwhelmed by the ongoing argument between the two knights. Knights bickering in front of her was a sight she had never seen even in the capital.  

“Enough from both of you!”

Paddington shouted at the two, who were ignoring Reubellina’s presence and continuing their quarrel.

“How amusing, these siblings.”

“For your information, I’m the elder sister.”

“Heather, you’re older?”

“Yes, Your Grace. That one is my younger brother.”

Hemil couldn’t say anything in response to Heather’s mocking. 

“Even though he looks like this, our father is strict, so he doesn’t dare to act carelessly towards me.”

As Hemil’s gaze grew more hostile, Reubellina coughed lightly.

‘That expression means he intends to settle the score someday.’

Reading the emotions in Hemil’s eyes, Reubellina resolved not to interfere in their family squabbles. There was nothing more tiring than dealing with knights who possessed both strength and intellect.