“…Wow.”

And what was inside was something completely unexpected.

What could this be? A jewel? Do jewels this large exist?

Inside the black box lay a huge jewel on velvet padding, but the problem was that its size was so enormous that she wasn’t sure if it could really be a jewel. It was literally the size of a fist.

‘Is it… crystal? Surely not a diamond?’

Though she didn’t particularly enjoy accessories, thanks to her family’s jewelry business, she had seen most kinds of jewels, yet this was something she couldn’t identify.

It looked closest to a colored diamond, but it was black. She had never seen a black diamond in the market before.

The color distribution made it even more suspicious. The marquise-cut gem had a semi-transparent black color only in its central interior, while becoming clear diamond-colored toward the edges.

As she stared at it, its overwhelming presence made her hesitant to even try picking it up. Then, the Duke spoke.

“Please take it out and examine the surface carefully.”

The jewel she carefully took out felt strangely cold. Not the surface coldness inherent to the jewel, but rather… it felt like taking out a jewel from a freezer, emanating that kind of chill.

“Kyang!”

At that moment, Yolly suddenly jumped from her lap and swatted her hand.

Since she was carefully lifting the precious-looking jewel without gripping it too tightly, even that small impact caused it to slip from her hand and fly away.

When the jewel hit the floor with a clang, Saena felt her heart drop with it.

“H-Hey!!”

Though she quickly bent down in surprise, Yolly was faster. The creature instantly went down to the floor, grabbed it in its mouth, and scampered away.

“Grr!”

…Though it ended up being caught and lifted up by the Duke’s hand while trying to escape.

‘…Why are you doing this, really.’

Saena felt like crying. How many incidents would it cause!

While Saena was dying of embarrassment, the Duke, without any change in expression, dangled Yolly and removed the jewel from its mouth. Its fangs were visibly bared from how tightly it was gripping it.

‘…Oh no, did it get scratched?’

What should I do… Saena’s eyebrows naturally drooped. How should she punish Yolly to make it a proper lesson worth talking about?

The Duke extracted the jewel without much difficulty, took out a handkerchief from his chest, and carefully wiped it.

Then he handed it back to Saena.

“…I’m sorry. I don’t know why it’s being so troublesome today.”

“It’s fine, you don’t worry about it.”

“It might have gotten scratched.”

She received the jewel carefully, but with enough force not to drop it easily this time. Had it warmed up to body temperature already? When she took it back, she couldn’t feel the earlier chill.

How strange. As Saena tilted her head slightly and examined the surface, she despaired. There seemed to be lines all over the jewel’s surface, suggesting serious scratches.

Oh no, what should I do about this?!

“That’s a jewel that only comes from the mountains in the Kramer duchy. Don’t worry, teeth can’t possibly scratch it.”

“…Pardon?”

Then what were these marks?

Saena squinted and looked more closely. She could then see that the marks on the jewel’s surface weren’t scratches at all, but formed some kind of pattern.

‘Ah, like the box, this too has something engraved all over it.’

Saena held the jewel up to the light for a detailed look. The letters had no separate color and weren’t actually engraved. It was as if they were drawn on the jewel’s surface with ink the same color as the jewel itself.

You might say the letters only became visible when light passed through at certain angles.

She couldn’t explain how this was possible, as the surface felt completely smooth.

The engraved patterns were irregular. Some were too small, some too large, and rather than letters, they were more like stylized patterns, with some overlapping, making them difficult to read.

“Could I get some paper and a pen?”

At her request, he brought paper and pen from one side.

Squinting her eyes while examining the surface, Saena first picked out some familiar-looking patterns and copied them onto the paper. After separating and writing them down for a while, then recombining them in various ways, some form began to emerge.

“…It’s Arlesian.”

“That’s right.”

Was this what the Duke wanted her to interpret? It clearly seemed like no ordinary item, so why would he entrust the interpretation of such a burdensome object to her?

“This seems like a precious item, whatever it is… Are you sure I should handle it?”

“It’s something that’s worthless to some and precious to others. It has no value as a jewel anyway. Black diamonds aren’t for circulation.”

“…Black diamond? You mean this huge thing is a diamond?”

It was surprising enough that such a large carat gem existed, but what’s even more surprising was that it wasn’t just any diamond but a black diamond.

“Black diamonds are only mined in the Kramer duchy, and have traditionally been used for purposes other than jewelry.”

“Other purposes…?”

“Let’s just say purposes related to hunting demonic beasts.”

Ah, that makes sense.

“Black diamonds are only used in jewelry exclusively for the Duchess of Kramer throughout generations. We can’t sell them to others. They’re too easy to trace, so they can’t even be put on the black market.”

How fascinating…

Saena stared at the ‘enormous’ jewel in her hand with wide eyes.

“As long as you don’t lose it, you can handle it roughly. It’s the kind of thing that just needs to be kept.”

“Yes…”

That was somewhat relieving to hear. Though it didn’t resolve her questions about why she specifically had to take on this task.

“But… um, Your Grace. If it’s about interpreting Arlesian, there must be plenty of experts better than me.”

“Well.”

What does ‘well’ mean?

“I’ve met several Arlesian experts, but haven’t seen any satisfactory skills.”

“……”

“You read it the fastest.”

“…Me?”

It seems like a compliment, but I’m not sure whether to believe it or not.

“Besides, interpreting this requires a certain level of security, so… Hmm.”

“……”

“Having you help would clearly be better for keeping secrets than openly commissioning a scholar.”

That makes sense, but then again, who would dare gossip about the Duke’s business?

Plus, there was one more problem.

“…But you might get rumors about being associated with me.”

After all, they were both unmarried. If people learned about their frequent meetings, they would inevitably gossip.

They would write all sorts of stories using their wildest imagination.

“…About that, well.”

The Duke also seemed slightly troubled, holding his chin while deep in thought.

“For now, we’ll maintain secrecy using unmarked carriages like today, and if necessary, we can explain it’s related to Arles-Promesa work — that should be fine.”

“Are you sure that’s alright?”

“As long as what you’re interpreting and its contents don’t leak outside. If worst comes to worst, we could hold an ancient artifacts exhibition or something. Make it look like it’s related to that.”

“Ah…”

That makes sense. Saena nodded.

Actually, Saena had no plans to marry, but she didn’t want to cause unnecessary trouble for the future Duchess.

After all, having rumors about your spouse’s past, whether it’s true or not, wouldn’t be particularly pleasant.

“Alright. I’ll leave that part to you, Your Grace. Please try to minimize any gossip.”

“…Understood.”

“And as you know, I only studied this as a hobby, so I’m not sure how well I can do it. I’ll try my best, but I can’t promise perfect translations.”

“That aspect also doesn’t need much worry. Just do what you can, that’s enough. Even partial interpretation would be considered a great achievement.”

“Yes. Then how should we proceed?”

Regardless of how excellent the results might be, Saena was happy just to be able to work with Arlesian again legally(?).

Especially since it was something she had been consciously trying to restrain herself from.

“I don’t want to pressure you with deadlines. You can proceed at your own pace. However, since this item can’t be taken outside… you’ll need to come here to work whenever you have time.”

“Ah, then… shall I visit weekly? Which day works best for you?”

“Does any day work for you?”

“Yes. I can adjust to your schedule, Your Grace.”

“This box can only be opened by me… so you’ll need to visit when I’m here. Is that… inconvenient?”

Huh, it opened just fine earlier though?

He must have unlocked it beforehand.

“Not at all. Um… I know you’re busy, so I’ll try to stay quiet and leave.”

“…That’s not necessary. Your visits bring me joy as well.”

“…Pardon?”

“Wednesday would be good.”

I think I just heard something strange.

The Duke, showing no particular reaction, offered ‘Wednesday’ while seeking Saena’s agreement.

“…Yes. Wednesday. I understand. Then… I’ll visit then.”

And so, a strange but continuous meeting arrangement was established between the Duke and Saena.