<CHAPTER 47>
“Countess, this is unrelated to the current matter, but there’s something I’d like to ask you.”
“…Why do you ask?”
The Countess replied warily. Claire narrowed her eyes and pointed at the woman’s neck.
“That ruby necklace you’re wearing—it’s been looking awfully familiar to me for quite some time.”
Claire tilted her head slightly and called for her maid.
“Isn’t that right, Becca?”
“Yes. It looks exactly like the ruby necklace the young lady lost from the set of jewels she bought from Marco Bazaar.”
As if waiting for the cue, Becca pulled an order slip from her bosom. Alex felt his heart drop into his stomach.
The Countess, unaware of the truth, protested indignantly.
“Are you saying I stole your necklace? That’s absurd!”
“I don’t believe that either, of course. However… if you received it as a gift from someone in my household, that would be a different story, wouldn’t it?”
Claire stepped down from the terrace and approached the Countess. The Countess clutched the necklace and hesitated.
“Where did you get that necklace?”
“…I-I bought it myself!”
“Then you can prove that, can’t you? You must have an order slip or a purchase record, just like I do.”
Of course, she had nothing of the sort.
Biting her lip, the Countess quickly changed her story.
“I misspoke. I didn’t buy it myself—I received it as a gift from an acquaintance.”
“From whom?”
“Why should I tell you that?”
“You don’t have to—if you’ll just do me one favor.”
Claire smiled mysteriously and slowly stepped back from her.
Once they were far enough not to block others’ view, Claire said,
“Turn the necklace over.”
“Why would I…?”
“Countess, if you truly feel wronged, I’d appreciate it if you would cooperate.”
Theodore applied pressure at just the right moment. Reluctantly, the Countess turned the necklace over.
The gold-backed side looked ordinary at first glance, but upon closer inspection, the initials “C.L” were clearly engraved.
“I always have Marco Bazaar engrave my initials on every jewel I purchase,” Claire explained.
To be precise, she had started doing so after provoking the Countess at the dessert house.
Thanks to that, even the necklace Alex had secretly slipped in was faithfully engraved with her initials.
“What a coincidence, Countess—your necklace has my initials on it.”
Suddenly, Claire reached out and snapped the necklace from the Countess’s neck.
“…!”
The brilliant ruby, which the Countess had been so proud of, now dangled from Claire’s fingertips.
“I never gave you this necklace. So, who exactly gave you my necklace?”
“…”
The Countess’s lips clamped shut, her face ashen. She had no more excuses.
At the same time, a wave of humiliation washed over her—realizing Alex had stolen his niece’s jewelry and presented it to her as a token of love.
“Hey, stop that!”
Unlike the half-defeated Countess, Alex charged at Claire with a flushed, furious face.
“Give it back!”
“Ugh!”
He roughly grabbed her arm and tried to snatch the ruby necklace away.
But then, a strong grip seized the back of his neck, and someone kicked him.
“Argh!”
Alex sprawled disgracefully to the ground, Theodore looking down at him with icy contempt.
Seeing Claire’s reddened wrist, Theodore’s brow furrowed.
“You need treatment right away.”
“I’m fine. Not now.”
Claire whispered quickly. She couldn’t leave at such a critical moment.
Reading the firm determination in her green eyes, Theodore sighed silently and turned a frigid gaze toward the Marquis.
“You should re-educate your son. Don’t you dare show me those filthy habits again.”
“Y-Your Highness…”
The Marquis, sweating profusely, could only remain silent. The Marchioness, meanwhile, let out a scream and rushed to her son.
“Alex, are you all right?!”
“It hurts, Mother…”
“Oh, my poor baby! Does it hurt badly?”
Even in this situation, the stepmother’s fawning over her stepson was absurd. Claire turned away in disgust.
“How pitiful, Countess—accepting gifts stolen from someone else.”
Her sincere pity only made the Countess’s face burn with shame.
She clutched and released her dress hem repeatedly, about to speak—
“That’s not true! I never dated a woman like her! I didn’t give it to her!”
Leaning on his mother, Alex shouted hoarsely.
Watching him thrash about, the Countess felt the last traces of affection and passion drain away.
Realizing she would be made the sole scapegoat if this continued, the Countess let out a hollow laugh.
“Fine. I received the young lady’s necklace from Alex.”
“Why would my uncle give it to you?”
“…You know why. Because we were in love!”
Since things had come to this, she had no intention of shouldering the blame alone.
At her declaration, Alex blanched and shouted as if coughing up blood.
“That’s nonsense! I never loved you!”
“It was Alex who approached me first!” the Countess shot back.
They had first met at a party. She had been sipping champagne alone when Alex approached with a charming smile.
“Beautiful lady, why such a sad face?”
“Ah, well…”
“Lonely without a partner? If you don’t mind, I’d be happy to keep you company.”
His handsome looks, gentle tone, and outstretched hand had been irresistible to her.
Even when his attitude began to change, she still preferred him to her useless husband.
“I was just taken in by sweet words,” the Countess said tearfully.
But Claire’s gaze remained cold.
“Don’t make excuses. Will you also blame others for bullying Lady Merrison?”
“…!”
The Countess’s lips trembled.
Even if she could claim Alex had lured her into the affair, bullying Nina had been her own doing—driven by jealousy.
Still, the Countess felt wronged.
“You young ones know nothing…”
Her jealousy toward Nina came not only from Nina being Alex’s fiancée, but also from her bright future—something the Countess lacked.
“My husband was already in his fifties when we married. I was in my twenties… Do you know what it’s like to be forced to marry such an old man?”
Oh, Claire knew.
Priscilla, too, had been forced to marry a man seventeen years older and become his second wife.
So Claire could understand the Countess’s despair and resentment… but—
“No matter how much you try to rationalize it, your crimes can’t be justified.”
That was all. She had no intention of sympathizing with any of the Countess’s other actions.
“You trampled others and hurt them to feel superior and satisfied. But that doesn’t actually solve anything.”
“…”
The Countess hung her head in silence.
Claire glanced around. Alex was still sitting pathetically on the ground, while the onlookers stared at him with scorn.
That was enough.
“Your Highness, let’s go.”
“All right.”
Theodore gently supported Claire’s arm and turned away. They went up the terrace and reentered the hall.
One by one, others began to follow.
“What a filthy sight.”
“Young Master Ravello is truly disappointing.”
“I never want to see those two again.”
As people left, each remark struck the Marquis’s family like a dagger.
Before long, only the Marquis’s household and the Countess were left in the terrace and garden.
“We’re ruined… ruined…”
The Marquis raked a hand through his hair, his hollow mutter echoing even in the darkness.
Thus, the party came to an abrupt end.
Claire calmly saw off the guests, hoping they would quickly spread news of Alex’s scandal.
Once nearly everyone had left, Nina—having calmed her father and sent him home first—came alone to Claire.
“Lady Ravello, are you all right?”
“I should be asking you, Lady Merrison.”
They had planned this together from the start, but knowing something in theory and witnessing it in person were very different.
The latter’s shock was far greater.
However, contrary to Claire’s concern, Nina smiled with relief.
“I’m perfectly fine. I do wish I could’ve cursed out Young Master Ravello, but… I’m satisfied enough.”
“That’s good to hear.”
Claire smiled faintly, then suddenly lowered her voice.
“Lady Merrison, may I ask you a favor?”
“Anything.”
“Please have your father demand the maximum possible alimony from House Ravello. And make sure to take it to court.”
Nina’s eyes widened, then she looked worried.
“Will you be all right? What if it causes you trouble…”
“It won’t. Don’t worry—just take them for everything they’ve got.”
Claire smiled brightly. In fact, it would only benefit her.
Because today’s revelation was not the end—but the beginning.
