The effects of the suddenly held banquet became visibly apparent within a few days. The image of House Blake within the Capital’s high society improved dramatically.
The Ducal House had, until then, rarely opened its doors to outsiders.
‘Even when Duke Blake returned victorious a few years ago, they only held a victory banquet at the Imperial Palace and let everything pass quietly without doing anything at the Ducal estate.’
Because of that, House Blake carried not only a mysterious image, but also one that was closed-off and gloomy.
However, everyone who attended this banquet seemed surprised by how bright, spacious, and splendid the Ducal estate actually was.
House Blake was already receiving tremendous attention from the entire high society.
Rumors about the heavenly beautiful Ducal estate and the handsome Duke, who was more sociable than expected, spread rapidly.
Ah, of course, along with rumors about the pathetic Baron Lansval.
After all, when two or three people gathered, wasn’t gossiping together about some pathetic person everyone knew always such fun?
***
“Hey, Gerald. Stop sleeping and wake up already.”
A thin, wrinkled hand adorned with rows of large gemstone rings smacked Gerald’s shoulder with a sharp sound as he slept, even snoring with his nose.
Gerald groggily opened his eyes at Helga’s sharp voice, then winced as the spot where he had been hit began to sting.
“Ah, damn it. Why are you starting this first thing in the morning?”
“The sun is already high in the sky. Get up and tell me about yesterday’s banquet.”
Helga herself had had high expectations for the banquet the day before, so she had come first thing in the morning to press her son.
Unlike other noblewomen, she lacked people in high society who could serve as her ears, so it couldn’t be helped. No, even if there were, it would hardly be easy for them to relay yesterday’s fiasco to her.
“So did that Krone half-wit pull her weight yesterday?”
It was a question about whether Evelyn had faithfully introduced Gerald to the nobles as they had intended.
“Yeah, well, she did something, I guess… Oh, and Duke Blake kept pretending to take care of her, but really he was subtly trying to talk to me, you know? Heh heh.”
“Hmph, I suppose the Duke does have an eye for people. But you say he took care of her?”
“Somehow wine splashed onto her dress a bit, and he took her away and lent her a really expensive dress.”
Gerald carefully left out the fact that he himself had been the one who spilled the wine.
“Oh, right. She wore the dress you gave her as an engagement gift, Mother, but they said it was unusable and threw it away!”
“What? That thing threw away my gift?!”
Helga immediately raised her voice. Thick veins bulged along her thin neck.
“No, they said the Duke threw it away.”
“Hah, what would a Duke know about women’s dresses to say whether it’s usable or not? It was that half-wit, she must have whispered nonsense to him.”
Helga vented her anger at the undeserving Evelyn.
“After seeing the Ducal estate and trying on expensive clothes yesterday, her eyes must have gone up for no reason.”
Seeing his mother’s anger turn toward Evelyn, Gerald felt relieved inside and chimed in.
“That dress yesterday, it was a Rena or something? They said it was from some atelier like that.”
“What?! Re-na?!”
Knowing the reputation of the Rena Atelier, Helga was now snorting like an enraged bull.
“Hah, if that thing gets a taste for money, it’ll be a real problem. I’d better call her in early and tighten the reins.”
As Helga fell silent, busy thinking up ways to torment Evelyn, Gerald let out a sigh of relief, pulled the blanket over himself, and turned away.
***
Still tired from coming back late after yesterday’s banquet, I nevertheless pushed myself up from the bed.
Since I had decided, for the time being, to enter House Lansval in this life as well, there were many things I needed to take care of beforehand.
‘First, I should find out where Rosie is.’
If I learned it in advance, and if luck was on my side and the child had been quietly sent off somewhere like a relative’s home, it might be possible to extract her without making a fuss.
To find a child, commissioning the information guild would be the fastest option. But that was expensive.
‘There’s no way someone like me, the unwanted burden of this poor House, would have money.’
Aside from the portion I had paid back to Gerald from the money I won gambling, I had used the rest to repay part of the debt secured against our estate.
‘I treated it as lodging fees for staying in this mansion until I leave for House Lansval… After that, whether the estate gets taken or not is none of my concern.’
After thinking it over, I finally took out my jewelry box and opened it. Inside were the jeweled accessories I had received as birthday gifts up until I was twelve.
‘If I sell just one of these, it should cover the cost of a guild commission.’
Back before my father fully sank into gambling, and when there had still been hope that I might manifest an ability, I had received such expensive gifts on my birthdays.
‘Not knowing I’d die so young, I treasured these bits of jewelry like an idiot.’
I let out a dry chuckle and picked up a jeweled hairpin.
When I said I was going out alone, a flood of worry and protests poured out of Sally.
“Alone?!”
“It’s daytime, and I’m just going to take a quick look around the market. What’s the big deal?”
“Then let me go with you at least!”
Sally looked ready to untie her apron on the spot. But setting aside selling the hairpin, I couldn’t let her see me making a suspicious request to the information guild.
If she asked what was going on, I wouldn’t be able to tell her the truth.
“No, no. You said you have a ton of things to do today. Don’t worry. I’ll stick to the main roads and be back before sunset.”
Only after promising the worried Sally several times that I’d be careful was I able to leave the estate.
***
The city was unusually crowded today. I was being swept along by the crowd, bumping into people here and there, walking along in a daze.
‘Ugh… Just my luck.’
Then suddenly, a black coat made of the finest fabric completely filled my view. It was the broad back of some tall man.
‘What?’
The man walking right in front of me was very tall with broad shoulders, and even though his build was lean and solid, he gave the impression of being a very large presence.
When I looked up, I caught a glimpse of his profile, and oddly enough, he was wearing a half mask that covered the area around his eyes.
Masks were usually worn by people who wanted to hide something, those with something shady to conceal.
However, here in the Prasen Empire, as masquerade balls among the nobility had become objects of admiration for commoners, there were now quite a few people who wore masks simply for fashion.
It was something like the ubiquitous black masks of 21st-century Korea.
Just as I was thinking that the man’s jawline seen from behind felt oddly familiar—
…Smack!
Thud!
The man walking in front of me suddenly stopped, and I slammed my forehead into his back, rebounding and falling onto the ground.
“Ugh, that hurts…”
Still sitting on the ground, I looked down at my stinging palm. The skin was scraped, and a little blood was showing.
My left ankle throbbed as well, as if I had twisted it slightly. It was hidden by the dress so I couldn’t see, but my right knee was probably scraped too.
But perhaps because the street was so crowded, or because his body was as solid as armor, that large man walked on without even realizing that I had collided with him.
‘Sigh. Should I just count it as my own fault for not keeping my distance?’
Letting out a sigh, I planted my hand on the ground to stand up. But something felt off.
“Huh?”
It seemed I had dropped the clutch I was holding when I fell. Where had it gone?
As I looked around in a panic, I saw my clutch in the hand of someone standing right beside me.
“Uh, that’s mine!”
When I spoke and lifted my head, a stranger in shabby clothes was standing there.
“Tsk.”
He shot me a sideways glance, tossed the clutch into my arms, then immediately turned and ran off.
Did he pick it up thinking it had no owner when he saw it on the ground? And then just like that?
‘What a strange person.’
I felt a little displeased, but since I got it back right away, I figured it wasn’t a big deal. I brushed myself off and stood up.
After wandering through the crowded district a bit longer, I finally entered the largest and most ornate jewelry shop I could find, glancing sideways to check the word ‘Buying’ written beside the sign.
The interior of the shop, which I entered cautiously, was even more splendid than it looked from outside. Finely crafted jewelry dazzled from every direction, flaunting its brilliance.
‘Is it really okay for someone as shabby as me to come into a place this precious…?’
It was a shop so luxurious it made me reflect on my modest appearance. There was even only a single customer inside, and he was a well-dressed gentleman.
Perhaps sensing my gaze, he lifted his head. Embarrassed that it might look like I had been observing him, I quickly turned my head away as well, but even in that brief moment, I could tell.
‘He’s incredibly handsome.’
