"Uh, it’s……"

  There was no time to stop.

  Astana, who took the brooch box as if it was his own, immediately opened the lid.

  "Diamond brooch?"

  "What this big diamond……"

  Astana and the Empress muttered in surprise at the same time.

  Snap!

  Perez rose from his seat and took the brooch box roughly.

  "You……"

  The Empress glared at the sight.

  "How could you possibly do that?"

  Astana didn’t seem to believe that the brooch belonged to Perez.

  "It’s a brooch I gave him as a gift."

  I said with a humble smile.

  "Your Highness Second Prince, if you don’t mind, why don’t you show the others a little more brooch?"

  Show off more properly!

  Perez was very loathsome, but he obediently reopened the brooch box.

  Greed and envy flowed down from the eyes of the three who saw the best jewels shining.

  It’s the best! It’s thrilling!

  "Huh. The Second Prince has a good friend."

  The only one that had a mind to say was the Emperor who already had a large diamond.

  As far as I know, the Empress and Astana don’t own any diamonds yet.

  Angenas put in a few orders but I put their priorities at the back of my hand.

  So it will be very later for the Empress to get her hands on diamonds unless she buys them with more money than any other aristocrat.

  Originally owned by the Angenas, the mine is now mine.2

  This diamond was originally owned by the Empress and Astana.

  ’It’s mine now.’5

  There was something I really wanted to say to the two people sitting side by side and staring blankly at the diamond brooch.

  You don’t have this at home, do you?4

  * * *

  A few days after visiting Imperial Palace.

  I came to the Pellet office again.

  "She has wasted a lot of money."

  Clerivan said while turning over the papers with frowned eyes.

  After the Pellet’s banquet, I asked Clerivan for help again.

  Vestian’s performance was excellent enough to tilt Clerivan’s head over his affair, who knew that Vestian was approaching Angenas.

  So that everyone doesn’t doubt Vestian’s mind about Shananet at all.

  However, when I told him the scene I witnessed myself, he quickly rolled up his sleeves and secretly recognized it by mobilizing his remaining connections in Lombardy.

  "It’s weird that he hasn’t been caught in a while."

  "Is it that bad?"

  "Yes, of course, if you look closely, you’ll see something suspicious in no time."

  "I don’t think anyone suspected Vestian Schultz."

  No one else, Vestian Schultz, son-in-law of the Lombardy family.

  "Only those who know very well about the inside will know. There’s nothing wrong on the surface."

  Clerivan talked for a long time just by looking into it for a few days.

  Vestian got married 16 years ago.

  Then how much did he steal and make it his own in that long period?

  I shook my head because I didn’t even want to think.

  "And Vestian Schultz sent me a visit. He said there’s something he’d like to discuss for a moment."

  "Did he find out that Clerivan was investigating himself?"

  "He asked me directly the day of the banquet, so I don’t think so."

  "Hmm?……"

  What is he up to?

  With the mines it was supposed to go to Angenas being taken away by us, I had a rough idea of what he wanted to discuss.

  "Oh, and what about real estate? Did you acquire any real estate recently?"

  I remembered that Vestian had made a living for him, so I asked Clerivan to find out.

  "There’s a house that moved from Lombardy to Vestian Schultz about half a year ago. Strangely, he didn’t leave the right documents, maybe it wasn’t a normal move."

  “But if that’s the case, then the real estate manager in Lombardy did it…… Who the hell…… Ah."

  Who’s managing Lombardy’s property is none other than Viese.

  "You mean Viese had some knowledge of Vestian’s behavior."

  These Dumbas.

  It’s unclear whether Viese knew that Vestian was cheating.

  I thought Viese would at least know that Lombardy’s property was precious.

  "Well, if it’s in his interest, he’d give him more."

  Clerivan nodded in agreement with me.

  "so he’s the one who passed down the habit…… I mean, it’s like father and son."

  It was Belsach who was in charge of real estate management after kicking me out of my previous life.

  Hand over Lombardy’s real estate to close aides, it was exactly like his father’s do.

  "Like father and son……?"

  "Ah, it’s nothing. Then meet Vestian Schultz and listen to what he’s talking about."

  "Yes, Lady."

  "And if Vestian……"

  The reason why Vestian asked Clerivan to meet was obvious.

  So I made some moves and told Clerivan how to respond.

  * * *

  "Come on in, Vestian."

  "Long time no see, Clerivan."

  Vestian Schultz visited the Pellet’s office.

  It was only half a day after sending a call, he can visit.

  "I should’ve come before."

  Vestian said with high air.

  He sounded as if he was sorry that he couldn’t care.

  Clerivan’s straight eyebrows twitched invisibly.

  He Hasn’t figured out the situation yet.

  Confused, Clerivan looked straight at Vestian, crossed one leg, and placed his interlaced hand on it.

  He also raised the corners of his mouth and laughed at them.

  "Even if you had come earlier, I wouldn’t have met you. I’d have been too busy to make time for Vestian."

  It meant he couldn’t afford to meet you.

  Watching Vestian’s eyes twitch, Clerivan continued leisurely.

  "So, what brings you here today?"

  "This is very disappointing. Do we only see each other when we have something to do?"

  "Yes."

  Clerivan said plainly.

  "We don’t have personal relationships enough to sit face to face."

  And Clerivan’s icy gaze swept Vestian from head to foot once.1

  He pointed out his arrogant attitude as if he had visited his subordinate’s office.

  Clerivan was no longer Lombardy’s employee.1

  What was more regrettable was Vestian.

  Clerivan could always get up and go to meet someone much more important and valuable than Vestian.

  "Khome."

  Perhaps aware of it, Vestian took his back off the sofa’s backrest and sat down straight away.

  Only then did Clerivan’s sharpness abate a little.

  "The reason I’m here today is that……"

  Vestian glimpsed, checking the closed office door.

  "The invitation to the last banquet."

  "Yes."

  "What happened……"

  "If you don’t tell me exactly, it’s hard for me to answer. Are you saying there was something wrong with the invitation to the last banquet?"

  "No, it’s not that."

  It was even pathetic to see Vestian smiling hard.

  "There was a person at the banquet who didn’t seem to receive an invitation from Pellet……"

  "Oh, Lady Maria Patron?"

  Vestian’s face hardened for a moment when his mistress’s name came out.

  He tried to smile again after that, but it wasn’t the same smile as before.

  Meanwhile, Clerivan was again admiring Florentia’s ability.

  She told him two things about Vestian as if she had predicted it.

  Indeed, one of them came out.

  Clerivan was ’as expected’ and moved again, under his expressionless face.

  "Whoa……"

  Vestian washed his face.

  And the face revealed was a little different from what Clerivan had ever known.

  "Since when have you known?"

  Skimmed away the fake smile from his handsome face, all that remained were shiny eyes.

  "I don’t think that’s the big question right now."

  "……Then I’ll ask you again. What the hell were you thinking? Did you want to see Shananet collapse in shock in front of all of them?"

  It was too poor for an excuse for someone who cheated.

  Worry about your wife.

  Clerivan laughed in vain.

  "It was just a gesture of goodwill. I thought Lady Patron might want to come to Pellet’s banquet. It must be hard for her to get a place in society since she recently moved up from the Schultz estate."

  Vestian flinched.

  It was because he realized that Clerivan knew more about Maria than he thought.

  "Now that she has been to my banquet, which is said to have been a feast of the century, it’s much easier."

  It was true.

  Maria Patron had become close to the high-ranking family she had found on the spot and had succeeded in stepping into society to some extent.

  "I thought she’d rather be thanked."

  At the words of Clerivan, Vestian’s head began to spin quickly.

  Clerivan seemed to invite Maria to the occasion with real goodwill.

  There was no sign of condemning himself for having cheated on Shananet.

  Vestian asked carefully.

  "So it was really a good invitation?"

  "The longer you work in Lombardy, the more you see, hear, and feel."

  Clerivan replied with a nod.

  "I’ve come to think of you better since I found out about Lady Maria Patron."

  "I can’t believe you’re being positive……"

  After catching his breath, Clerivan uttered what he had prepared.

  "It was refreshing, I guess."

  Vestian was about to burst into laughter.

  He sees that even Clerivan despises Lombardy!

  In a way, he was like an ally of Vestian himself.

  He felt relieved and relaxed.

  "Yeah, that’s right. Lombardy’s humans are not long-lasting."

  When he misunderstood that Clerivan disliked Lombardy like himself, Vestian’s words and actions were outspoken.7

  "Is that why you came out on your own?"

  "Well…… I guess so."

  "Haha! You made a very wise choice! I’m jealous!"

  Vestian smiled, leaning back to his head.

  "And the last Lira coal mine. You’ve been a very skilled man!"

  "Thank you for the compliment."

  "Then I felt very lighthearted because I thought it would be easier to talk about."2

  "……Say it comfortably."

  Clerivan instigated him.