[CHAPTER 72]
“Cora, did anyone come into my room while I was away?”
Cora, who had been tidying up the dress Dianu Ortensa had worn to the Erbinjel Grand Duchess’s residence, came running over.
“Why do you ask, Miss Dianu? Did something go missing?”
“No, it is not that.”
Dianu Ortensa quickly waved her hand because she could see the anxiety flooding Cora’s face.
It was not strange for her to worry.
A lady’s belongings going missing was every maid’s nightmare.
For a noblewoman as well, it was an even more troublesome issue than a lost item.
If the maids’ possessions were searched in the name of finding a thief, the trust between master and servant would be completely destroyed.
But what if nothing was missing and only the position had subtly changed?
“The order I put the letters in seems to have changed…”
Murmuring that, Dianu Ortensa took out the neatly stacked letters from the drawer.
Everyone had their own way of organizing letters.
Dianu Ortensa sorted them in the order she had opened and read them.
However, when she returned from the Erbinjel Grand Duchess’s residence and opened the drawer, the letters were arranged by the dates they had been sent.
“As if someone rummaged through the drawer, messed them up by mistake, and then rearranged them based on what they thought the original order was.”
It was a plausible situation.
Letters were usually organized by sender or by date.
“Was there any letter that someone else must not read?”
Dianu Ortensa hurriedly skimmed through the letters one by one.
Cora hovered nearby with a tense expression, but Dianu Ortensa did not even have the composure to explain the situation to her.
The letters from the Erbinjel Grand Duchess and Rision were the concern.
However, both of them were meticulous about security.
They did not put anything in their letters that must not fall into another’s hands.
Even after confirming that no letters were missing and that none contained information that would cause serious trouble if leaked, the unease did not fade.
“Who did this?”
In the middle of Oak Palace, there were not many people who could secretly enter a lady’s bedroom and rummage through her drawer.
Both the culprit’s identity and their unknown purpose were troubling.
Dianu Ortensa bit her lip and put the bundle of letters back into the drawer.
Only then did she notice something she had not seen before.
It was the check Rision had given her, carefully hidden in one corner of the drawer.
***
“That check is nothing more than a piece of paper unless the recipient personally goes to the bank to receive it. And you said the check itself was not missing.”
“Yes. That is right. But…”
What bothered her was the fact that someone, possibly with malicious intent, had discovered the existence of the check itself.
However, Dianu Ortensa could not easily explain her anxiety to Rision.
She herself did not know exactly how it could become a problem.
“Even so, the fact that someone rummaged through your drawer is a serious issue.”
“Yes. It is.”
“Should we replace all the maids, just in case?”
At Rision’s suggestion, Dianu Ortensa shook her head.
“There might not be a culprit among the maids.”
“They seem the most likely.”
“That is exactly why we cannot do that. We need to wait for a mistake and catch them.”
If all the maids were replaced indiscriminately now, any clue to identifying the person who searched the drawer would disappear as well.
Rision tapped the table lightly with his fingers.
It was a habit he had when thinking.
“It would be reasonable to assume it was the Belua Duke. It would be easier to search your drawer than mine or my aunt’s, and perhaps the goal was to extract some kind of information.”
“Yes. I think that possibility is the highest as well.”
If it were not related to Rision or his close associates, Dianu Ortensa had no information worth infiltrating the palace or recruiting an insider to obtain.
Even though there were no important letters, she somehow felt as if she had caused trouble for Rision.
Rision lifted Dianu Ortensa’s chin, which had drooped, and made her raise her head.
“It will be fine. The fact that I wrote a check for the Crown Prince’s tutor is not particularly valuable information.”
“Yes…”
“More importantly, the fact that someone dared to invade your space is unforgivable.”
His eyes, cooled to an icy calm, showed that his anger was genuine.
“If they can rummage through your drawer, it may mean they can do other things as well. We should strengthen the security of Oak Palace.”
Dianu Ortensa desperately hoped that none of the maids were the culprit.
She herself might endure it, but if Rision discovered it, the punishment would not end with mere dismissal.
“Since things have turned out this way, I should hurry to the bank.”
“This is troublesome in many ways. I should have given you gold bars instead of a check.”
She was not used to such blatant flattery, nor did she think she would ever be able to enjoy it.
With a weary heart, Dianu Ortensa took out the check and placed it on the table.
“Please deposit it under my name.”
“Of course. We will take care of it immediately.”
There was not even a procedure to verify her identity.
Sir Marek Loisen was practically an identification card walking on two legs.
Before Dianu Ortensa could even finish a cup of tea, everything was completed.
On the way out of the bank, not only the bank manager but dozens of clerks poured out and bowed deeply.
Customers coming and going stopped to watch with curious expressions.
Dianu Ortensa almost snatched the parasol Sir Marek Loisen was holding and opened it.
Only after covering her face did she feel slightly relieved.
Sir Marek Loisen seemed unable to immediately understand her reaction.
He looked at Dianu Ortensa with a puzzled expression as she climbed into the carriage and let out a sigh of relief.
“Are you very uncomfortable?”
“Of course I am. They are blatantly flattering me.”
“Are merchants not always like that?”
“Before coming to the Imperial Palace, I never received treatment like that.”
Merchants had always been kind to Dianu Ortensa, but that was the minimum courtesy shown to a lady.
This kind of cloying attitude felt unfamiliar to the point of being unsettling.
“Then you will have to get used to it now.”
“Ah… Right. Once my relationship with His Majesty becomes known, everyone will be like that.”
If she became the Emperor’s acknowledged lover, behavior like the bank manager’s would become the norm.
There would also be people who openly approached her to gain something.
She had no way of knowing what they might whisper behind her back.
Her head already ached at the thought.
The look Sir Marek Loisen gave Dianu Ortensa as she sighed was subtle.
“That is not what I meant…”
But perhaps he changed his mind mid-sentence, because he closed his mouth ambiguously.
After studying Dianu Ortensa, who stared at him with wide eyes, he spoke carefully.
“His Majesty cherishes Miss Ortensa greatly.”
“Yes? I know that.”
“Far more than Miss Ortensa realizes.”
She could not tell what he was trying to say.
As Dianu Ortensa frowned, Sir Marek Loisen’s expression grew increasingly complicated.
“No, I mean… That is not it.”
He fell silent.
“What is wrong with him?”
She sent him a questioning look, but Sir Marek Loisen did not yield to the unspoken pressure.
He merely opened the window leading to the driver’s seat and instructed them to head to the lawyer’s office.
