Chapter 6
“…I’ll escort you inside.”
The elderly butler came out to greet Helene at the mansion entrance.
The silence before he spoke made her uncomfortable, but Helene knew the reason and followed him into the mansion without saying a word.
The mansion’s exterior was grand, and its garden matched in splendor.
It looked as though every flower in the world had been planted in the endless garden.
Even rare ancient trees, usually seen only in foreign lands, were there.
The garden was so vast that the distance from the front gate to the main house was considerable, but she didn’t even notice how long they walked—too mesmerized by the garden’s beauty.
Their footsteps echoed through the marble corridor, announcing the arrival of a stranger.
The mansion, decorated like an art museum, made Helene shrink her shoulders in discomfort.
Without the butler, who clearly knew the house well, she might have gotten lost in the maze-like structure. Finally, they arrived at his room.
The butler knocked and announced,
“A guest has arrived.”
Normally, one would mention the name and status of the visitor, but the simple “guest” was the butler’s subtle way of putting her in her place.
As the door opened, Blaine came into view.
Even as he leaned against his desk, his tall stature was undeniable.
His arms were tightly crossed, exuding the arrogance of the world’s greatest tycoon.
His dark brown hair, streaked with gray, swayed slightly in the breeze.
Though his features were finely sculpted, the sharpness of his eyes and jawline, and his cold blue eyes, made it impossible to feel any warmth toward him.
“It’s been a while, Godfather.”
Their last meeting had ended terribly, and Blaine wasn’t sure how to greet Helene.
He wanted to ask straight away what she came for, but that wouldn’t be polite for a nobleman or a gentleman.
Still, he couldn’t bring himself to offer some empty pleasantry like “It’s been a while” or “Good to see you.”
So Blaine chose silence and let her speak.
“I see… I didn’t think we’d ever meet again,” he said.
“I apologize for breaking our promise. But you won’t regret this.”
Helene wasn’t known for her patience.
She would try to butter up Blaine, but the moment he ignored her or didn’t respond how she wanted, she’d self-destruct like a fool.
Blaine expected another one of her episodes today.
“You’re a businessman and a renowned investor, aren’t you? I hear many entrepreneurs from across the empire seek your support.”
“That’s true. But I never invest lightly.”
It was no surprise. Just like many other desperate merchants, Helene had shamelessly come to him.
“Of course… That must be why you’re so successful. Would you perhaps be interested in my business idea?”
“Sorry. I don’t have the capacity right now.”
Rejections were a part of Blaine’s daily routine. Yet being turned down without even explaining your idea—now that was the ultimate humiliation for any entrepreneur.
Blaine’s defenses were tighter than she expected.
“That’s fine. But if you change your mind, feel free to contact me anytime.”
Surprisingly, Helene backed down immediately.
Blaine had half-expected her to throw a fit and was even preparing to call the guards.
Her calm retreat was unexpected and oddly irritating. Blaine couldn’t help but think she had wasted his precious time. He was tempted to throw her out right then.
“Well then, if that’s all…”
“Then, how about this?”
Helene pulled out a small box made of red velvet from her bag.
It was the treasured heirloom of the Emeldia family that she had carefully kept until now.
A tiara set with the world’s largest and most beautiful emerald, known as the “Breath of the Goddess.”
It was traditionally worn by Emeldia women at weddings and high-society events.
The emerald gleamed like the mythical breath of the earth goddess that was said to blind those who gazed upon it.
‘How did she…?’
It shouldn’t have been surprising.
Though hard to believe, this red witch was once the woman Raoul had chosen.
This tiara was Helene’s final bullet.
When she could no longer manage her debts, she had planned to take it and flee in the night.
“Keep it safe… and pass it on to our daughters…”
Raoul, pale and near death, had held her hand and pleaded sincerely.
Though Helene had claimed Rebecca’s clothes and jewels as her own the moment she entered the count’s home…
Even she never dared wear the tiara, believing it wasn’t truly hers.
“You dare try to sell that?”
Blaine’s voice rose sharply.
He had met many terrible people in his business life, but none were as awful as Helene.
To her, Emeldia was nothing more than a source of money and a stepping stone.
She knew Blaine was obsessed with collecting the fallen Emeldia estate, which is why she brought the tiara to him—knowing he would pay the highest price.
The best way to deal with people like her was to avoid getting entangled.
Swallowing his anger, Blaine picked up the checkbook from his desk.
“Fine. How much do you want?”
If he could just get the tiara, he’d never have to see her again.
Pen in hand, he gestured impatiently for her to name her price.
“100,000 gold.”
Blaine was stunned—it was lower than expected.
100,000 gold was a price even a pawnshop would offer easily.
Did she not understand the tiara’s true value?
Even better.
Blaine quickly began writing.
“But I have a condition. If I come back within half a year with 200,000 gold, you must sell the tiara back to me.”
What the hell was this now?
Blaine felt more and more like she was toying with him.
“If you won’t buy it, I’ll take it straight to a pawnshop.”
Her eyes burned with a threatening fire.
Once it went to a pawnshop, the “Breath of the Goddess” might be dismantled and sold off in pieces.
Blaine had already been buying up every asset belonging to the fallen Emeldia family—mines, lands, everything.
For a man so obsessed, this would be the worst-case scenario.
Now she said she’d come back to reclaim it?
And offered to pay double?
Her condition was so unbelievable, he had to ask:
“Fine. Just tell me one thing. What business are you even starting?”
Helene’s red lips curved into a graceful smile.
Blaine, annoyed, had to admit—she had hooked him.
“Raising children.”
“…What?”
Blaine was completely lost.
Neither “children” nor “raising” fit someone like Helene.
By “children,” she likely meant the three sisters. After destroying Emeldia, she had the gall to now call them her daughters?
So she meant to marry off the sisters to wealthy nobles and make a fortune.
It was the typical last-ditch effort of ruined nobility.
Blaine scoffed inwardly.
‘I should’ve known…’
Helene was so confident she could marry off the girls that she sold the tiara for cheap, planning to buy it back for double. She was delusional.
…Though maybe, just maybe, she could pull it off.
After all, that’s how she became a countess herself.
Blaine recalled the noble ladies who clung to him like moths at every social gathering, brushing against his shoulder or fluttering around him in glamorous outfits.
“Fine. I’ll give you the 200,000. And when you reclaim the tiara, that price still stands.”
He wrote the new amount on a blank check.
As he handed it over, he asked one final question:
“Do you think 200,000 gold is enough to make three girls catch the eyes of men?”
Helene let out a rude, crude laugh in response to his sarcasm.
The kind of long, belly-deep laugh that made Blaine feel even more insulted.
Still chuckling, Helene boldly snatched the check from his hand and said,
“…Well, who knows? If you’ve taken an interest in my business, then next time, you come find me.”
Leaving the tiara on the desk, she strolled confidently out the door.
Blaine’s sharp business instincts told him—
She wouldn’t be bothering him ever again.
I am more surprised that the tiara survived until then !!