~Chapter 31~
At that moment, the atmosphere felt like a funeral.
Norman, with a subtle shift in his tone, spoke up with a hopeful remark.
“Not knowing the exact cause doesn’t mean it’s impossible to heal. It’s just slow, but with dedicated effort, it’s an illness that can be healed.”
“Thank goodness it’s not incurable.”
Merrick nodded positively at Norman’s words.
“So for the time being, it would be best if only those who comfort the young lady approach her.”
At that, Samantha pointed directly at Ethan, bursting into laughter without hesitation.
“Did you hear that? You’re not allowed near my daughter-in-law for now. Stay in your place. You’ll scare the child.”
“……”
Ethan was stunned but said nothing.
He knew the reason behind his silence.
Samantha stood up and smoothed out her crumpled dress.
“Well, I suppose I’ll have to go see her now.”
“M-madam…!”
“Hmm?”
Norman hurriedly blocked Samantha’s way.
“I still have something important to tell you—”
“We’ll talk later. I need to see the child’s face first.”
“But…!”
Norman, still not sure what to do, blocked her again.
“This is something very important.”
“……”
Had it been anyone else, Samantha might have told them to get out, but Norman was the long-trusted personal doctor of her family.
“Go ahead.”
What was this important matter?
Everyone stared as Norman, taking out a handkerchief, wiped his sweating temples.
“Towards the end of the consultation, I used a trauma meter on the young lady.”
A trauma meter was a device used to measure how much pressure someone applied just by hearing the name of a certain person.
“The lowest reading, 0, means no trauma, and a reading of 10 would indicate a response strong enough to cause a seizure just from encountering the person.”
Norman had secretly given the trauma meter to Riden without telling her it was for that purpose, and during their consultation, he naturally mentioned people at the villa, checking the risk levels.
“I’m curious about Ethan’s reading.”
“You’re only interested in my reading?”
“Of course. That child likes me.”
Samantha was quite confident.
She had helped the child in the costume room.
She treated the child kindly, and when Riden said she should come to the villa, she responded immediately with an excited “Yes!”
“Even if you dislike men like him, how could you not like a mother-in-law like me?”
Samantha, teasing Ethan openly, made Merrick absentmindedly glance at the books in the study.
‘Mother…’
A sad premonition flashed across his mind.
“Let’s start with the first son.”
Merrick revealed the number 2.
It was expected. The three of them exchanged glances without changing their expressions.
“And the second son…”
Norman, who had been hesitant, suddenly raised his fist.
He extended one finger.
“1?”
Ethan’s score was lower than Merrick’s?
Samantha’s eyes widened in surprise.
But then Norman raised his other hand, curling his thumb and index finger to form a circle.
It was 0.
“10?”
“…Yes, madam. The second son had the highest reading.”
“It’s gone as far as it can.”
After Samantha, Merrick muttered under his breath.
“‘How dare you try to be loved by me in a political marriage. How bold and shameless.’ That’s what he must have been thinking.”
Ethan bit his lip.
“I didn’t say anything like that.”
“And for you, madam…”
Again, Norman couldn’t bring himself to speak.
Norman stretched out his finger and formed a 1.
“1.”
At the satisfactory score, Samantha’s eyes narrowed into a sharp line.
Then, Norman lowered his head and, trembling, raised his other hand to make an 11.
The study fell silent.
Instead of the speechless mother, Merrick spoke up.
“Didn’t you say the scale stops at 10?”
Norman’s face looked like someone who had committed a crime as he responded.
“The meter malfunctioned…”
It malfunctioned? 11 appeared? How was my chick…
Samantha’s bright red eyes began to glow faintly white.
After lying down for a while, Riden gathered her thoughts.
‘If I’ve made up my mind, I should say it now.’
Just as she had secretly prepared for it, the plans she had been working on were all completed yesterday.
She had always intended to speak up as soon as she was ready to break the contract.
Though she had been momentarily shaken by the kindness of Merrick and the others who had helped her with her debut, her heart had hardened again after meeting the regretful man yesterday and collapsing.
‘If I stay here any longer, it’ll end in a nervous breakdown and a short life.’
Even the Duke’s personal doctor had given her a worried look.
Riden was exhausted.
She pulled the bell rope and called for a maid.
The maid who arrived informed her that all the members of the Duke’s family were in the study.
Without hesitation, Riden stood up and headed toward the study.
She knocked on the door, and upon receiving permission to enter, Riden lifted her head and composed herself.
It was a very important moment.
When she opened the door and entered, all eyes were on her.
“I have something to say. Please follow me.”
Riden led them to the wine cellar in the villa’s basement.
She remembered it was to the right after entering, but couldn’t recall the exact location of the bricks, so she asked Corel for confirmation.
‘Corel said it’s the fifth brick from the pillar.’
She had the servants move all the oak barrels filled with wine and began feeling along the wall.
It was something they could have stopped, but the Duchess and the Kenwolf brothers merely watched quietly.
After a short while—
‘Here it is…!’
What Riden had been looking for revealed itself.
It was really there. A brick that looked slightly different, one she could only notice if she looked closely, seemed to hide a secret mechanism.
She let out a sigh of relief.
Ordering the servants to remove the brick, a hidden lever appeared inside.
When she pulled the lever down, a deep rumble sounded as a floor entrance opened, revealing a passage leading to a secret room.
“……!”
The eyes watching Riden demanded an explanation.
“I’ll give you the full explanation below. Please follow me.”
She led them down the stairs.
Then, a truly astonishing sight unfolded.
The room was filled with piles of silver coins, ornate jewelry, and valuable treasures.
“As you all know, this villa originally belonged to the Duchy of Reuben. These items are war trophies that were never recovered at the time.”
It was unmistakably a treasure trove.
“It seems that Baron Dolomi, who managed the villa in place of the Duke, discovered this treasure trove by chance. Unfortunately, he didn’t report it. However, he didn’t use it either. He must have been afraid of getting caught trying to launder stolen goods.”
Samantha, who had stepped closer, examined the jewelry.
Having grown up surrounded by various precious jewels, she easily recognized that the pieces in front of her were in the traditional Reuben duchy style.
Riden, quietly watching, continued.
“But his daughter was fearless.”
Henji had seemed quite excited about receiving a dress from the Duke’s exclusive tailor.
She wanted to wear jewelry that matched the dress, and she had stepped into the forbidden area her father had strictly warned her against.
Trying on various pieces to see which would look best with the dress, she had caught Riden’s eye, which led to trouble.
‘To think I’d see the most famous collection of Lady Donimaks in person.’
It wasn’t because it was the most expensive. In fact, the jewelry found here was of lower quality than many of her other collections.
Even so, this collection was famous because it had been the most controversial.
One of the items had been found in a territory of Lady Donimaks, and there had been a debate over whether it truly belonged to her collection.
She had loved showing off her collection and flaunting all her pieces to the world, which made it puzzling why she had kept this particular collection hidden.
‘In the end, it will be revealed through her son. This is something even Lady Donimaks didn’t know was hers.’
Even though she hadn’t known, it came from her estate, which meant it belonged to her.
The real Lady Donimaks’s background and characteristics, not just the artifacts, seemed to have been fully incorporated into the Duchess’s story.
‘So then…’
How much of the real events had the author managed to incorporate into the novel?
Just then, the knights she had asked to search the Baron’s room returned.
“Did you find anything?”
