~CHAPTER 53~
Dianu was slowly realizing that she was not as patient as she had thought.
This will not do. I am going to go mad from curiosity.
At this point, it was no longer a matter of whether she would help Rision or not.
She wanted answers about where Baron Aldebaron’s slush funds were coming from and what role Bertona’s lace and scented oil played in it.
If she had not quarreled with Rision back then, she would have solved the puzzle by now.
Thinking that way only doubled her resentment.
After suffering like that for several days, an opportunity appeared from an unexpected place.
* * *
“Sister! Over here!”
Her younger brother, who had grown noticeably taller since she last saw him, came running over while waving cheerfully.
The moment Dianu tilted her parasol and revealed her face to greet him, sighs burst out among the male students clinging to the wall behind him.
One of them even let out a mischievous whistle before being mercilessly kicked by the others and falling off the wall.
They truly looked like a pack of wild dogs no matter when she saw them.
It was hard to believe that boys like these would be treated as gentlemen in high society after only a few years.
Beric, dressed in an academy outing uniform, lifted his hat slightly and smiled awkwardly.
“I said I was going to meet my uncle, but no one believed me.”
Being bad at lying seemed to run in the family.
Dianu shook her head gently and boarded the rented carriage she had arranged in advance.
Only after following her inside did Beric finally notice her attire.
“Did you have new clothes made? I have never seen that outfit before.”
“Hmm.”
“It looks expensive.”
Today, Dianu was wearing the outfit she had worn when she met Lord Balich on Saint Lusanna’s feast day.
There had been a reason for it then, but wearing it again made her oddly conscious of her side, even knowing it had been perfectly altered.
“Did no one teach you not to comment on a lady’s clothing unless it is praise?”
Beric puffed out his lips.
“If a miser like you suddenly shows up in luxurious clothes, it is only natural to be curious. There could be good news.”
“What kind of good news?”
“Like a wonderful suitor who fills your wardrobe…”
Normally she would have snorted, but this time she could not.
He is not a suitor, but it is true that an extraordinary man has appeared.
Not just her wardrobe, but an entire estate or even a castle could be filled by him.
Of course, it was something Beric must never know.
If he learned that his always exemplary sister had become the Emperor’s lover, how disappointed would he be?
Imagining his and their father’s reactions made her stomach feel like a stone had sunk into it.
Dianu changed the subject instead.
“So what do you mean by saying you need me to buy something?”
A few days ago, Beric had sent her a letter asking her to spare a single day, without any further explanation.
All it said was that he needed to go to the shopping district and required her help.
Dianu, who had things to verify regarding Baron Aldebaron, used the letter as an excuse to obtain leave.
Sir Roisen had looked troubled, but he could not insist on accompanying her.
There was no way to explain to Beric why a knight would be tailing her everywhere.
Beric scratched his cheek while avoiding her gaze.
“Um… please do not get angry and just listen?”
“What, are you picking out a gift for a girl?”
Faced with her shocked brother, Dianu shook her head.
“If you ask me for advice, is there really anything else it could be but a gift for a woman?”
“Uh… yes.”
“Is she someone worth getting angry over?”
Beric jumped in alarm.
“No. We had a joint ball with a nearby girls’ academy on Saint Lusanna’s feast day, and I met her there. She is my age, and her family is similar to ours.”
“I see. In that case.”
From the sound of it, his situation was far more proper than Dianu’s own.
“Even if you marry, it will be after you graduate from the academy, but do your best.”
Honestly, it would be a relief if Beric could at least get engaged before Dianu’s relationship with Rision became public.
There were worries in every direction.
Dianu leaned her head against the shaking carriage wall.
She did not even know whether she herself was ready to accept an apology.
* * *
The gifts Beric could buy with his allowance were limited.
After thoroughly questioning him about the young lady’s family, Dianu decided to add her own money and purchase something better.
“Thank you, sister. I did not expect to come to such a fine shop.”
Dianu led Beric to the shopping district she had once visited with Rision.
The most prominent store there sold all kinds of luxury goods for women.
Affluent ladies examined cosmetics and perfumes on display or received attentive service from clerks.
Dianu pushed Beric toward the waiting area where gentlemen accompanying ladies stood.
“Wait there.”
“What?”
“It will not take long. I have something to ask the clerk.”
The item Dianu was looking for would not be displayed openly on the floor.
Leaving the confused Beric behind, she headed toward the glass case holding the most expensive products.
Putting on the air of a lofty noble lady, she approached, and the clerk guarding the case greeted her with a bright smile.
She had dressed expensively precisely for this moment.
“The weather has grown cold and my skin has become rough, so I need scented oil. But I dislike using what everyone else uses.”
She looked straight into the clerk’s eyes and spoke firmly.
“Price is no concern.”
The clerk’s face lit up.
When he took out a small bottle from the case with gloved hands, Dianu had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep from smiling broadly.
“This is moon-iris scented oil from Arasas. Only ten bottles were brought into our shop, and five have already been sold. Its rarity cannot be compared to rose or lavender.”
Dianu tilted her head as if intrigued.
She barely restrained her right hand from reaching out.
“If it is from Arasas, you must have a permit.”
“Of course. We only deal in products with no issues whatsoever.”
“Hmm. I have heard cases where people paid large sums thinking a permit existed, only to later find the goods were smuggled. I cannot trust it without seeing it.”
The clerk looked offended.
“As you know, our shop has been operating here for over a hundred years—”
“Show me the permit, and I will believe you.”
“Pardon?”
“The permit. I cannot believe it without seeing it.”
The clerk hesitated, then asked her to wait and disappeared into the back.
Dianu clasped her hands behind her back to hide her impatience.
Please show it. I need to know who issued the permit.
If she aroused suspicion or if the shop owner came running out, it would be troublesome.
Before long, the clerk returned with a rolled document.
He carefully unrolled it and showed it to her.
“As you can see, it is a trustworthy permit.”
Dianu examined the name of the issuer and the seal stamped on it.
By the time she was reading it for the third time, the clerk quickly pulled it back.
“Would you like to smell the fragrance?”
Dianu smiled gently and nodded.
* * *
That day, Dianu repeated the same act more than twenty times while touring the shopping district.
By the end, Beric was begging her to please stop.
After visiting every shop that might sell high-end lace and cosmetics and demanding to see their permits, Dianu was certain of one thing.
The Church is involved.
Although every permit bore a different name, there was a pattern.
They were all issued by bishops or high-ranking clergy of the capital diocese.
Catalos and Arasas shared the same faith.
Thus, regardless of political conflict, exchanges among monks, theologians, and clergy had historically been free.
Bertona lace was made in convents, and moon-iris oil was used in rituals.
Either could easily be justified as being imported for religious purposes.
Given their high value relative to volume, they were perfect for discreet transfers.
So who would be bringing such luxury items from Arasas into Catalos?
The answer was obvious.
It had to be Ambassador Nixandor.
The Arasas ambassador to Catalos enjoyed extensive diplomatic immunity.
His residence, along with the Grand Temple, was one of the only extraterritorial areas in Catalos where imperial law did not apply.
The Catalos Empire did not track the ambassador’s assets or tax him.
Using this special status, Ambassador Nixandor could import small, rare luxury goods from his homeland.
It was hard to imagine Baron Aldebaron having such capability, so Duke Belua likely bribed clergy to obtain the permits instead.
Baron Aldebaron would then distribute the goods in small quantities through several merchant groups.
That was something any reputable noble house could manage.
She had to admit it.
It was an excellent money-laundering method that required the chess piece known as Ambassador Nixandor.
Judging by how Aldebaron’s daughter parades the means openly on her body, neither father nor daughter seems very clever.
Or perhaps Dianu’s very existence, straddling both the Emperor’s world and Bertona’s, was their misfortune.
After parting with Beric and returning to Oak Palace, Dianu immediately took out paper and a quill.
She began writing down the names of the clergy she had memorized.
The problem is identifying the merchant groups that distributed the goods.
She would need to trace them to catch Baron Aldebaron red-handed.
But as an ordinary customer, Dianu had no way to learn the distribution channels.
To uncover that, she needed power.
In the end, she had no choice but to inform Rision.
Dianu ruffled her hair in irritation.
The matter was too sensitive to entrust to a letter.
If it were conveyed through Sir Roisen instead of an administrator, crucial context might be lost.
That meant she had to seek out Neiron or speak to Rision himself.
Either way, she would have to go to the Imperial Palace.
It was time to end the cold war that had lasted nearly a week.
But even if I tell him… will he listen?
In the past, she would not have worried about this at all.
Rision had always listened to her opinions.
But that day, had he not said that he did not need her help?
As she anxiously chewed on her fingernails, an unfamiliar sound reached her ears.
It sounded like small pebbles striking a wall.
As if drawing her gaze, the sound grew louder.
Dianu soon realized it was coming from her bedroom window.
If the owner of the tapping hand had not suddenly poked his face into view, she would have screamed.
“Your Majesty?!”
Rision smiled faintly and waved at the stunned Dianu.
Her bedroom was on the second floor.
