Chapter 6 – Changes in Emotion (Part 5)

Tartenon’s somber eyes turned to Reubellina. She tilted her head and then opened her mouth to speak.

“Where is your aunt?”

“At the villa on the Northern edge of the Speraum estate.”

“Then who manages that place?”

“The knights patrol regularly. And some of the Northern nobles support my aunt.”

“Speraum seems quite complicated.”

Reubellina responded nonchalantly.

“So, the person who gave the red diamond to Countess Phineus was…”

“It was probably my aunt. She would be capable of that.”

“Hmm.”

Reubellina couldn’t agree with Tartenon’s statement. The red diamond was an extremely rare item that a noble without wealth could not obtain. While she did not doubt the Northern region’s resources, acquiring a red diamond here, away from the capital, was almost impossible.

‘Could she have allied with the royal family?’

It was certainly possible. Reubellina’s suspicion turned into conviction. If her inference was correct, the foolish attitude of Count Phineus and the ring the Countess had would also make sense.

“Even Count Phineus’s insolent daughter…”

“Count Phineus’s daughter?”

“Even though she runs the only trading company in the North, without someone backing her, she wouldn’t be able to act so arrogantly in the Grand Duke’s house.”

“That’s true.”

“If the Grand Duke’s butler were sensitive to such matters, seeing how he didn’t properly deal with Count Phineus’s daughter’s insolent behavior revealed a lot.”

Tartenon’s sharp gaze landed on her. Reubellina nonchalantly brushed off his gaze and pressed him for an answer.

“Was it your aunt supporting Count Phineus?”

“Yes. Viverna Speraum, my aunt.”

“So, that’s how Count Phineus could control the Northern trading company.”

“Exactly. But seeing that my aunt gave the red diamond to the countess, she must have discarded them as a losing card.”

“Abandoning a foolish family to tarnish Speraum’s reputation—it’s not a bad move if it could achieve that.”

Her pale, slender fingers tapped the table in the reception room. The sound echoed in the quiet room, catching Tartenon’s attention.

Reubellina stopped tapping as she realized his gaze was on her hand. The lingering intensity in his eyes made her fingertips tingle.

‘It’s a strange feeling.’

Tartenon’s eyes slowly moved away from her hand. As if he had no attachment to the hand now hidden, his gaze slowly traveled up to her white neck. Reubellina felt an unnecessary tension and couldn’t breathe properly.

At that moment, Tartenon’s blue eyes met Reubellina’s.

“Have you asked everything you wanted to ask?”

“No.”

Since Reubellina needed to resolve her doubts first, she did not hesitate to speak.

“Why are you being so kind to me?”

“What do you mean?”

“Even though we agreed on a contract marriage, this is too much.”

“Too much?”

“This situation is overwhelmingly favorable to the Duke of Asillious and me.”

“Oh, that.”

Tartenon smirked. His demeanor was both arrogant and confident, fitting the Grand Duke of Speraum, the conqueror of the North, so well that Reubellina couldn’t help but smile.

“That’s nothing you need to worry about.”

“Why?”

“Because the decisions I’m making now will surely benefit Speraum as well.”

“……”

He was right. Although the Musen trading company might secure its position in the North through this affair, they were still outsiders. Given the Northern region’s tendency to exclude those from other areas, the Musen branch could always be replaced by another trading company’s branch.

“If the Musen branch makes money, they’ll pay taxes to the North.”

“That’s obvious.”

“It can also instill some caution in the unruly Northern nobles.”

“True.”

The news that Count Phineus’s people were imprisoned had already spread throughout the North. Some nobles even visited Speraum Castle. However, Tartenon had ordered no guests to be received until the wedding, so they had to turn back.

Rumors about Reubellina had already spread in the North and showed no signs of dying down. It was enough that Heather had subtly informed Sandy. Tartenon’s drastic attitude had made the Northern nobles closely watch Speraum as it welcomed its new mistress.

Seeing her deep in thought, Tartenon clapped his hands together. The sound brought Reubellina’s attention back to him.

“Besides, I can earn points with my future wife, so it’s not a loss.”

Reubellina couldn’t respond to Tartenon’s playful remark. His bright blue eyes sparkled like jewels, and at that moment, she heard a loud thump in her heart. It was the same resonance she had felt when Inferno had saved her from falling off the horse long ago.

Reubellina couldn’t hide her confusion as her heart, which had never raced for anyone else, made its presence known. She didn’t understand why she felt this way. 

Tartenon’s bright blue eyes and his radiant smile seemed familiar.

‘Strange.’

Reubellina pressed her hand firmly against her rapidly beating heart, trying to think of other things. But the pounding in her chest did not show any signs of calming down.

She tried to breathe deeply to avoid being noticed. Her cheeks had already flushed red, blooming like a rose, but Reubellina did not know that. Nor did she know that Tartenon’s bright blue eyes had not left her flushed cheeks.

***

A week later, Armur led the trading company members and two hundred finished shirts to Speraum Castle. They were not allowed to enter the main castle and were directed to the knights’ quarters in the annex. Due to the preparations for the wedding, the security had been strengthened, and the entry of outsiders was restricted.

Paddington personally came out to guide Armur.

“It seems quite busy here.”

“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime celebration, after all.”

The castle servants, who were busily preparing for the wedding, were rushing around. Some were greeting Paddington, but most were too preoccupied with their tasks to spare time.

“His Grace is very busy, but he instructed me to make sure I see you before you leave.”

“Shall I just deliver the goods and leave?”

“Another servant will come to guide you in my place.”

Armur nodded understandably, as Paddington was too busy to stay and check the goods and quantity. Normally, as a butler, Paddington would not have left the guest, but today was special.

With both Tartenon and Reubellina busy today, it would be imprudent for Paddington to stay with Armur if something went wrong with the preparations.

After verifying the quantity and quality of the goods and handing them over to the knights, Paddington called two other servants.

“Please follow me this way.”

They followed Armur back to the trading company. Checking the other servant’s back, Armur followed the man who skillfully led them back to the main house.

“I never thought a noble lady from the capital would become the mistress of the North. It’s quite a turn of events.”

Armur initiated a conversation with the servant, who ignored him and pretended not to hear. So, Armur deliberately spoke again.

“Doesn’t the arrival of a new lady bring liveliness to the North as well?”

“We’ll have to wait and see.”

The servant’s cold reply made Armur narrow his eyes. It was surprising that a servant of Speraum harbored ill feelings towards Reubellina.

‘I should probe a little further.’

“Well, someone from the outside wouldn’t know the situation here well.”

“The North has its own set of rules. It’s hard to be accepted if you ignore those rules.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes.”

As they reached the second floor where Reubellina was, Sandy announced their arrival from outside.

“My Lady, someone from the Musen North Branch is here to see you.”

“Let them in.”

Reubellina didn’t lift her eyes from the documents she was reading, indicating her busyness. Armur waited for a moment, knowing she wouldn’t respond properly if he spoke now. 

Having seen Reubellina several times before, he wandered around inspecting the decorations—a typical merchant’s approach of broadening his perspective while he had the chance to be inside the Grand Duke’s castle. Reubellina glanced briefly at Armur before returning her attention to the documents.

When Reubellina finally turned the last page, she fiddled with a fan beside her and spoke.

“How was it?”

“There are still some who express negative opinions.”

“In what way?”

“They say the Northern customs should be upheld.”

“That’s nonsense.”