Chapter 4 – Suspicion (Part 2)

As soon as Elysia returned to her room and was alone, she sat at her desk and unwrapped the silk cloth. To her surprise, instead of the ‘Ladies’ Newsletter,’ she found a large notebook. The moment she turned the thick cover, Elysia sighed deeply.

Inside the notebook, information about the Duke that had been published in the ‘Ladies’ Newsletter’ was neatly organized. It looked like a scrapbook made by an avid fan of the Duke.

‘There’s no way something like this was put together in a day; they must have been compiling articles about Duke Grendel separately for a long time.’

Elysia slowly flipped through the notebook, wondering if her mother had always been this interested in the Duke. The information in the notebook came from various sources, including the ‘Ladies’ Newsletter,’ rumors heard at ladies’ gatherings, and details from Tobias’s business contacts. The sources and contents were well-organized and clearly laid out.

Seeing the vast and detailed content and the obsessive organization, Elysia marveled at her mother’s tenacity, sticking out her tongue in disbelief.

However, it seemed a bit strange to think that this level of organization was simply due to having a fondness for the Duke. The information was so detailed that it made one wonder why it had been collected to such an extent.

Come to think of it, in her haste to check the contents, she had overlooked something written on the cover of the notebook. Turning the cover forward, she saw the title of the notebook written in her mother’s unmistakable handwriting.

[Candidate 1]

Only then did Elysia realize what this collection of articles was. It contained information about her first potential husband candidate. It wasn’t merely a scrapbook of ‘Ladies’ Newsletter’ articles about a handsome man her mother was interested in, but a collection of information about someone who might become her future son-in-law.

‘Mother… When you told me at the first ball that the brave one gets the handsome man, you really weren’t just saying it lightly, were you?’

It seemed her mother had very high hopes for Elysia’s partner. Judging by the amount of information gathered, it appeared she had been preparing for this for several years.

Seeing the title “Candidate 1” boldly written on the cover, Elysia could only think that her mother was truly remarkable. She wondered how many more candidates could there possibly be after this one.

‘Changes in body measurements… How on earth, oh! She must have found out through external tailors. I doubt those tailors sold the information only to us. No wonder those famous tailors seemed excessively wealthy… Hmm, what’s this? Ugh!’

Elysia was startled and dropped the notebook. She had discovered something astonishing in the section on changes in body measurements. The part Elysia read was labeled “Important Areas (Estimated).” Even as a tailor, one couldn’t see the Duke’s n*ked body entirely, so it seemed the estimates were made while he was in his undergarments, hence the “estimated” label.

Of course, in noble unions, the issue of heirs is an “important part,” so the measurements of that area were “important information.” However, she hadn’t expected such details to be circulated so openly.

‘But if it’s to this extent, the size seems too exaggerated, doesn’t it?’

Elysia briefly extended her arm to gauge the size written in the notebook but then felt embarrassed and shook her hand.

Apart from that, the notebook detailed the brand of writing instruments the Duke often used, the clothes he typically wore, his social connections, the level of swordsmanship he learned during his time in the southern knights, and even his exam scores from his academy days.

From the time he became of age to appear in society, the information included how long his gaze lingered on certain young ladies at balls, his dance moves, and even how many words he exchanged with whom. It seemed believable that the entire world had been closely observing Cassius’s life, resulting in this notebook.

‘If our quasi-Baron family could gather this much information, higher-ranking noble families must know even more, right?’

Elysia thought that the life of someone so distinguished must be quite tiring, and she wondered if Cassius was aware of how much information about him was out there.

Suddenly, it occurred to her that if the Serenze family knew this much about the Duke, the Duke might also know this level of information about her. Although she hadn’t been very active publicly and hadn’t attended the academy, still…

Especially when she thought about the body measurement section, her face suddenly flushed.

‘Does he know my bust size too?’

Elysia tried to calm her heated face and thought rationally. When getting clothes tailored at a dress shop, measuring the bust and waist was inevitable, so obtaining such information wouldn’t be difficult. If the staff at the Duke’s dedicated dress shop sold information for a few coins, it was unlikely that the staff at a shop visited by a mere quasi-Baron family would strictly keep secrets.

Feeling both embarrassed and frustrated, Elysia cursed the noble life in this country, where personal information was not protected, and continued flipping through the pages of the notebook filled with trivial details.

As she grew increasingly bored due to the overwhelming amount of information, Elysia was flipping through the pages when she suddenly stopped and went back to the previous section. Much of the Duke’s personal information was chronologically detailed and based more on objective facts than gossip, yet there were sections particularly marked as “speculation” or “estimate.”

‘Preferred diet, preferred scent, favorite color, preferred clothing style…’

All the sections concerning personal preferences that Elysia pointed out were labeled as speculation, with some marked as “according to the Duke’s instructions.” Since the information was gathered when Aisar, the previous Duke, was alive, the “Duke” mentioned here was likely not the current Cassius but his father, the late Duke Aisar. In conclusion, it suggested that Cassius’s likes and preferences were either largely unknown or dictated by his father, the previous Duke.

Despite being a compilation of highly objective information, the notebook revealed little about personal preferences, leaving Elysia with few topics to initiate conversation. Elysia opened the desk drawer and put the vast and useless notebook inside, closing it.

***

Returning from work at the Administrative Palace, Cassius noticed Pedro approaching him with a flustered expression. Sensing something was up, the Duke headed straight to his office with Pedro. As soon as the office door closed, Pedro reported.

“Today, an item arrived from the Serenze family for Madam.”

“Bring it here.”

“Well… Seti happened to come in carrying it and met Madam directly, so he handed it over to her. There wasn’t an opportunity to take it aside, so I couldn’t secure it.”

The Duke paused in thought before asking.

“Did she plan to intercept Seti’s return?”

“At that time, I was with Madam, explaining the Duke’s estate. She probably didn’t know Seti’s schedule… Oh! Just before that, she mentioned being tired from walking for a long time and headed to her room, so I thought of preparing tea and was heading towards the entrance of the east wing.”

Cassius wondered if it was a coincidence or not, but the circumstances were ambiguous. The housekeeper worried he might have made a mistake and watched his master’s expression, but, as always, he couldn’t read anything from it.

“It couldn’t be helped this time. In the future, there might be dangerous items, so have Aaron inspect any mail coming to Miss Serenze in advance.”

Pedro promised multiple times to do so before leaving the office.

Cassius hadn’t anticipated the mail would arrive so quickly, leaving him feeling caught off guard. It seemed neither Elysia nor the Serenze family could be underestimated. They might have been orchestrating something unique among the nobility through brokerage.

The Duke had already instructed Aaron to keep a close watch on the movements of the Serenze family and Elysia. However, Aaron primarily gathered information from outside the Duke’s estate. Since the item Elysia received had already entered the estate, Cassius needed to verify the item himself as soon as possible.

The item had been brought in using special wax, so it was unlikely to be left so carelessly that it could be retrieved by the housekeeper or maid. Even if they successfully retrieved it, if Elysia realized the people at the Duke’s estate were suspicious of her, she might become more cautious and hide it more thoroughly.

There was only one option left. He had to approach it directly when no one was in the room to confirm the identity of the item.

Cassius intended to examine the item while Elysia was out. It might contain important secrets or be something problematic, so he hoped it wouldn’t pass through the hands of Millie or Grace.

However, the opportunity Cassius wanted didn’t come easily.