Chapter 35
A Certain Motto
“Of course, my motto is, ‘Return favors double, and enemies fourfold.’”
That was why I wasn’t planning to leave those young ladies alone. But before that, I needed to resolve my suspicions.
The duke, who had been scanning the documents with a settled gaze, finally set them down on his desk.
“So, the conclusion? Have you found the mastermind behind this?”
“No.”
The calm reply drew a look of disbelief from the duke toward Anje.
“I just received this myself. Honestly, I haven’t had the chance to examine all the details thoroughly.”
“But?”
“There were some oddities.”
Duke Saide’s gaze returned to the documents.
Everything about those mediocre families seemed ordinary at first glance.
“As far as I know, the Miller family is in a business partnership with Your Highness on the department store.”
Anje continued after seeing the duke nod in acknowledgment.
“Among the people who troubled the young lady, I noticed the name of Miss Cecile, the only daughter of Baron Miller. Of course, minor incidents could happen in youth, but as an academy student, that should have been long past.”
Duke Saide leaned back in his chair, arms crossed.
“I suppose that’s true.”
“If it were me, I would have intentionally maintained a good relationship with Miss Mariana. Especially if the families were tied together through business.”
“The department store’s profits reached an all-time high last term. Not only me, but Baron Miller also made a significant profit. Our relationship with him has been excellent, so it’s strange. Are you suggesting Cecile led the effort to harass Mariana?”
“No, according to Miss Mariana, it doesn’t seem like that. But even subtle complicity is something I can’t understand.”
From here, the details had been separately investigated by Gray.
Anje slowly blinked while checking the personal records of the Miller family listed in the documents.
A person without wealth or prestige is often deeply jealous.
However, unlike someone who openly displays jealousy, a person whose wealth or prestige is lacking, or whose elements have shifted unfavorably, can hide it entirely. No one notices their envy.
Jealousy, then, breeds lies, and those lies, in turn, feed further jealousy—a vicious cycle.
Anje’s gaze shifted to the personal information of Cecile, Baron Miller’s daughter.
‘Stubborn, overly conscious of others, full of bravado, suspicious, weak understanding, and blames others.’
Her chart itself is unstable, and she is particularly greedy.
Tsk. Anje clicked his tongue unconsciously, prompting the duke to glance at him in puzzlement.
“Baron Miller…”
If Anje were to say, ‘Her chart is overflowing with jealousy and greed,’ the duke might start doubting him.
The document didn’t mention any such thing, and Anje had never even met Baron Miller.
“What about Baron Miller?”
Duke Saide echoed, urging Anje to continue.
Choosing his words carefully, Anje spoke cautiously.
“…Are you aware that Baron Miller attempted to open a branch of the department store?”
Gray had hinted to Anje as if it were top-secret information, but apparently it wasn’t much of a secret, as Duke Saide simply nodded.
“A month ago, he even suggested I invest.”
Anje furrowed his brows.
Invest in a failing business? What a scammer!
“A month ago? Around a month ago, due to a lack of funds, construction was halted and the project went bankrupt.”
“Exactly what I thought.”
A faint smile crossed Duke Saide’s face as he leaned back in his chair.
“Although the city had a large population, it lacked wealthy consumers. I advised it was a reckless venture, but he didn’t listen. Still, the profits from the department store alone should have been enough to cover that failure.”
“They were scammed.”
“Scammed?”
“It seems he tried to recoup losses from reckless investments by putting money into a gold mine. Not long ago, newspapers had huge ads saying that gold had been discovered in a distant, hot land, but there were no funds to mine it. They promised huge profits to anyone who invested.”
“To invest in a distant and perilous land that one would never visit in a lifetime… preposterous. You’re saying Baron Miller actually invested there?”
Instead of replying, Anje tapped on the part of the document listing Baron Miller’s information.
“I haven’t looked into the details, but recently, various banks have been sending urgent notices. The Miller family’s desperate situation is spreading quietly through rumors. It’s practically certain that Baron Miller will soon sell his shares in the department store.”
“Then Marquis Crow will take over. He always looked uneasy whenever the department store was mentioned.”
“You want to partner with Marquis Crow?”
“Of course not. Baron Miller is greedy, but he lacks the guts to overreach. Marquis Crow, however, is different.”
The combination of Duke Saide and Marquis Crow as major shareholders… even a smoothly running department store would soon collapse.
After briefly considering this pairing, Anje shook his head.
“Marquis Crow has probably already started moving.”
“But Baron Miller hasn’t sold his shares yet. If there were any change, I would have been notified first. Anyway…”
Duke Saide scraped the documents with his index finger pointed straight.
“So this explains why Mariana keeps people at a distance. Surely her mother knew about this all along, so I don’t understand why no one mentioned it to me sooner.”
“She was probably worried about causing trouble for Your Highness, who is at the frontlines. When the matron learned of this, it was already after the young lady had graduated. It was a past matter, so raising it now would have been awkward. But the young lady still carries emotional scars.”
His cold blue eyes fell on Anje.
“Being in the intelligence profession makes a difference, huh? You’ve only recently come to this house, yet you seem to know more about our family affairs than I do.”
“Well…”
It was information gathered from casual conversations with the staff, but if miscommunicated, it could have sounded like tattling.
Anje hesitated, searching for words.
“When you dine with the staff every day, you naturally hear various stories.”
“Hmph. That could be true.”
The duke nodded more readily than expected and rose from his seat.
“Then let’s do this.”
‘We?’ Anje felt a chill run down his spine.
“Continue having breakfast and lunch with the staff as usual.”
“….”
“Dinner will be with me. We need to share updates on work and coordinate for upcoming events.”
Good heavens. Even imagining it made Anje feel nauseous.
“…Your Highness, I’m sorry, but with the banquet approaching, I plan to start a diet tomorrow. So I won’t be eating dinner.”
The duke leaned forward, bringing his face close to Anje’s. His sky-winter-blue eyes scrutinized every corner of Anje’s face.
“You don’t seem like you need to lose weight… but if that’s necessary, I’ll just watch you eat.”
“….”
No effect at all. Overwhelmed by the pressure, Anje averted his gaze.
“Then it’s settled for tomorrow, and you may leave for today.”
Stepping out of that room, Anje felt as if the sky might collapse.
With a heavy expression, he moved weakly toward his room.
“Brother isn’t such a bad person.”
Mariana said, offering tea in a small, vintage floral cup.
“On the contrary, he has quite a kind side.”
The matron handed freshly baked cookies to Anje while nodding in agreement.
Kind…? A kind person wouldn’t push someone mercilessly without giving them a moment to breathe!
And when did he ever say, ‘Stop daydreaming and just work’?
Seeing Anje’s sulky, misbehaving look, the matron subtly shifted her gaze and fumbled with the decorative pouch on her wrist.
She soon pulled out two small boxes and handed them to Anje and Mariana.
“What is this, Mother?”
“Spring is approaching, and pink diamonds are in fashion. Although flashy, they might suit young ladies.”
Before the matron could finish speaking, Mariana unwrapped her box and gasped.
Inside was a headpiece of pink diamond petals encircled by golden vines.
“Why aren’t you opening yours, Anje?”
His gaze fell on the box in front of him.
“Is this… mine?”
“Of course. Do you think I’d place something not meant for you there?”
Shrugging at the brusque reply, Anje looked at the box.
“Isn’t this meant for Miss Hildegarde?”
The matron wrinkled her nose.
“I heard she’s already taken a liking to someone else.”
Before Anje could respond to the surprisingly blunt phrasing, Mariana quickly opened his box.
“It’s beautiful!”
Inside was a butterfly brooch with small wings encrusted with pink diamonds.
