Chapter 45 – The Solty Royal Family’s Heirloom

Reneb’s composed and confident demeanor, surprisingly, threw Esica off balance.

“Are you trying to deny what happened in the past?”

“Since no one died, it would be more accurate to call it attempted murder. Besides, without verifying the facts, bringing it up recklessly seems like a rather dangerous topic.”

Reneb drew a clear, calm, and firm line with a voice free of emotion.

Esica let out a slight, sarcastic laugh and retorted.

“Well, whether your words are true or not, only those directly involved would know. Moreover, some countries treat attempted murder the same as murder itself.”

A tense atmosphere settled between them.

“So, could Your Highness clarify your intention in bringing up the past now?”

“My intention?”

“Yes, your intention. I can sense some hostility from Solty toward the Paradium Empire.”

Reneb deliberately shifted the conversation toward diplomatic matters between the two countries.

It seemed Esica hadn’t expected that, as her eyebrows furrowed slightly.

“My previous comment had nothing to do with Solty. Please refrain from making unnecessary assumptions, Lady Viscountess of Siren.”

Esica said this with confidence. Yet, Reneb noticed a defensive posture in how Esica hugged her arms.

Sensing Reneb’s steady gaze, Esica quickly let go of her arms and brushed her hair behind her ear.

At the same time, Reneb’s eyes drifted toward Esica’s ear.

‘Her earrings… are gone?’

As if sensing Reneb’s sharp gaze, Esica hurriedly clasped her hands together, hiding her bare ears.

“You’re not wearing the Solty royal family’s heirloom?”

Before her regression, Reneb had met the real Princess Adria.

However, they had met only once, and their conversation had been brief, so her memory of it was hazy.

Yet, during the conversation with Esica, a fragment of that previous interaction suddenly came to mind:

“These are earrings I received from my mother during my coming-of-age ceremony. In Solty, it’s customary to pass down jewelry from the previous generation during this ceremony.”

Princess Adria had worn large diamond earrings—not a trendy design, slightly old-fashioned but elegantly classic.

That had caught Reneb’s attention back then. She had even thought that if she ever had a daughter, she’d pass down her own cherished jewelry.

Of course, after giving birth to Kael, she never got another chance, and it remained an unfulfilled wish.

Recalling that, Reneb’s face had briefly shown a trace of melancholy before she quickly composed herself.

“Perhaps she just took them off while washing her hands.”

“Do you really need to remove jewelry worn on the arm?”

At Reneb’s question, Esica’s blue pupils flickered, but only for a brief moment.

She soon offered a relaxed smile.

“I think they loosened a bit because I’ve lost some weight recently. And, Your Highness seems to be mistaken—the royal heirloom is a ring.”

Her tone was casual, but Esica subtly crossed her hands behind her back, attempting to block Reneb’s view of her arm—an unconscious defensive gesture.

“Is that so? Then it seems I was mistaken.”

Reneb said this, yet her conviction only strengthened.

Earlier, she had deliberately tested Esica, and Esica had taken the bait perfectly, correcting that the royal heirloom was a ring, not arm jewelry.

‘Before regression, Princess Adria had received earrings from the queen as the Solty royal family’s heirloom…’

Yet Esica appeared completely unaware of this fact.

Esica narrowed her eyes, watching Reneb walk away, frowning.

‘Something’s off.’

The story she had recently heard from the Duchess of Durenburg had piqued her curiosity.

How Reneb had thrown Lady Viscountess of Trader into the frozen pond.

From that day, just like in the original story, Reneb had gained a reputation as a villainess.

Even a naive child would know that such an act was unforgivable.

Whenever people brought it up and cast contemptuous glances at her, Reneb would react nervously, almost as if having a seizure.

Even if she tried to explain her side, no one would listen, criticizing her for not taking responsibility.

Esica had planned to provoke Reneb using this story, expecting her to lose control and perhaps strike her, thus proving the rumors true. Public opinion would sympathize with Esica as the victim.

That had been her plan—approaching Reneb carefully to execute it.

But Reneb’s unexpected behavior had completely foiled her scheme.

Frowning gracefully, Esica glanced down at her own hands.

‘I’ve never even heard of a Solty royal heirloom.’

Esica recalled the order of Reneb’s gaze: first the hands, then the arms.

‘Yes, that’s correct.’

Reneb had once stared at her hands before, but she had assumed it was because of the roughness caused by housework.

Even if Reneb had noticed the roughness, Esica had already prepared her excuses—after all, hunting and embroidery were among the real Princess Adria’s hobbies.

Esica had tried to mislead Reneb by calling it “arm jewelry,” but fortunately, Reneb hadn’t fallen for it.

Still, a sense of unease lingered.

Biting her nails anxiously, Esica’s eyes widened as a thought struck her.

‘Maybe the royal heirloom never even existed…?’

Even if that were true, there was no immediate way to confirm it, and the thought drove her nearly mad.

When Esica left for Bascher, the king of Solty had wanted to assign a maid to her, just in case.

But by Icar’s orders, no Solty nationals except the princess were allowed to enter Bascher, so Esica had to come alone.

For a while, she had benefited greatly from this. The maids were loyal to the Solty king, reporting every one of her actions, which naturally limited her behavior.

‘I should send a secret letter to Solty to confirm the truth first.’

Her thoughts were in disarray, but one thing was certain: her status as a fake princess must never be exposed—especially not to Reneb.

‘Why did I have to fall into a pre-original scenario? If I’d possessed her pre-story self, I could have easily gotten rid of Reneb.’

Irritably, Esica kicked a small stone out of the way. It scratched a tree in front and tumbled to the ground.

A maid, cautiously observing her, suggested:

“Your Highness, it’s getting chilly as the sun sets. Perhaps you should head inside?”

Esica, in a thin dress, nodded reluctantly.

Though she had challenged Reneb, having failed to gain any advantage, she trudged toward the guest room, then twisted her lips in a small smile.

‘Let’s see how long she can act so high and mighty, relying on her noble status.’

Imagining Reneb breaking out in hives and struggling to breathe after eating a peach lifted her spirits.

A guest awaited Esica in front of the guest room.

“Duchess of Durenburg?”

“I thought it necessary to have a private discussion with Your Highness, so I came despite the late hour.”

“Let’s go inside first.”

Once inside the reception room, the Duchess got straight to the point, unlike usual.

“It seems His Majesty has begun investigating Baron Shaban.”

Baron Shaban…

“Was he the person selected to deliver something to Paradium’s guests?”

Esica’s brows furrowed. She looked annoyed at the thought of how the situation would be handled.

Quickly, the Duchess added:

“There’s nothing for Your Highness to worry about. Even if Baron Shaban is investigated belatedly, no evidence will surface.”

Esica gave her a suspicious look, prompting the Duchess to continue:

“Baron Shaban did not personally deliver the item to Paradium’s guest at the palace.”

“Then it’s easy enough to claim the item was swapped midway.”

Esica finally smiled.

“Exactly. Moreover, how could Baron Shaban have known that Paradium’s guest was allergic to peach? Isn’t that right?”

“That’s true.”

Even if Reneb, suffering from a peach allergy, questioned Baron Shaban, claiming he did it intentionally, he could always claim ignorance.

Of course, it would be a sudden disaster for Baron Shaban, but he had agreed to such terms when selling his title: until a generational change occurred and a new name appeared on the nobility registry, he was not to mingle in the capital’s social circles.

But what choice did he have? When selling a title, one must accept the consequences.

“Then it depends on whether Paradium’s guest eats the peach or not.”

“She will, definitely.”

“May I ask why Your Highness is so certain?”

“I have the ability to see the future.”

Esica had no choice but to answer this way; she had no way to explain the original story.

“Ah…”

The Duchess briefly opened her mouth in surprise, then closed it.

“Then there’s no harm in trusting you.”

Meanwhile, Icar was in his office, receiving Baron Shaban’s investigation report.

“Your Majesty, it seems the Shaban family has effectively fallen from grace.”

Dhan, reading the report, paused in surprise, then cleared his throat and added:

“Ahem, it appears they even sold their title.”

Icar was aware that the sale of a fallen noble’s title occurred discreetly, though it was clearly illegal under Bascher law.

However, unless the noble was powerful, it was difficult to monitor all nobles, especially those far from the palace.

Moreover, buying a fallen noble’s title didn’t immediately grant one a name on the registry.

Some cautious buyers would only act as nobles locally, while the braver ones were adopted by the fallen noble’s children to inherit the family name.

Over generations, one could fully cleanse their status and become a legitimate noble.

This was clearly a loophole in the law, but Icar did not interfere.

He judged that any noble on the verge of bankruptcy due to poor territory management should be removed by any means necessary for the empire’s sake.

“I see.”

Icar spoke with an indifferent expression; Dhan’s report confirmed what he already knew.

“Then who purchased the title?”