NRAL | Chapter 30

~Chapter 30~

A Fake Always Shows

An answer came that no one had expected.

Everyone thought Eleanor would deny it, say she didn’t know anything, or accuse Nora of framing her. These were the kinds of responses the servants had predicted. Nora and Damian weren’t expecting anything different either.

‘She says it’s not hers. Does she really think that lie will work?’

Nora scoffed.

She thought Eleanor, who always acted so smart, would come up with a better defense than that. It was beyond pathetic—it was absurd. Nora felt like all her effort, preparing for Eleanor’s counterargument, had been for nothing.

‘Well, of course. She’s a noble lady, after all,’ Nora thought, full of sarcasm.

Eleanor had grown up like a flower in a greenhouse, completely unaware of how cruel the world could be. She had no idea what was coming for her.

Eleanor must have been naive enough to believe that since Nora was now acknowledged as the real daughter, she would live quietly, marry some decent man, and stay out of the way.

Unfortunately for Eleanor, Nora had no intention of letting her live the rest of her life in peace. ‘She’ll realize the truth after she’s kicked out of this house without a penny.’

Only then would Eleanor understand how precious the life of a lady had been, and how harsh and painful the world outside the mansion really was.

Nora was determined to make her see that.

“There’s no way. This earring was the one Father gave you for your birthday when he thought you were the real daughter, right?”

Once it became known that Eleanor had tried to frame her, their father would start seeing things differently. Of course, it wouldn’t happen immediately, but if things like this kept happening, it would naturally lead to that outcome.

Eventually, Eleanor’s reputation would fall so low that even finding a decent husband would be difficult, and the servants who had once followed her would all turn to Nora.

Just imagining Eleanor losing all her support and being thrown out of the house made Nora’s heart race with excitement.

Nora suppressed the smile that was about to appear on her lips and continued speaking in a sorrowful tone.

“Are you really going to claim you lost it and didn’t even realize? The gift Father gave you, the one from the royal family?”

“I already said, it’s not mine.”

“Oh my goodness, Ellie. Did you really do this? Are you pretending it wasn’t you? I trusted you…”

A single tear rolled down Nora’s cheek, drawing even more attention.

Eleanor raised an eyebrow and glanced around.

Among the gathered servants, a few younger butlers were missing. They had likely gone to fetch Duke Astria, so he could arrive just in time to punish her once the situation reached its peak.

‘Is this the climax Nora’s been preparing?’

If so, Eleanor knew she had to respond accordingly, as the leading actress in this play.

“Pfft.”

A small laugh escaped her. Though the sound was soft, the room was so quiet that everyone heard it.

And then, Eleanor let out a louder, hearty laugh.

“Hahaha! Nora, you’re so cute.”

The servants exchanged confused glances, unable to understand what was happening, while Nora, who had been crying, stared at Eleanor in a daze.

“Thank you, Nora, for becoming the real one in my place.”

Suddenly, the sound of laughter from that day overlapped in Nora’s mind, along with the memory of being slapped hard across the face. Her face instinctively twisted at the thought.

“Let me see that.”

Smack!

Eleanor snatched the earring roughly from Nora’s hand, her fingers stinging from the sharp motion.

“Hm… It looks a lot like mine. But no, it’s not.”

Eleanor examined the earring closely and then confidently came to a conclusion.

“Look, the shine of the gem is different.”

“What are you talking about? Stop trying to make excuses—”

“Oh, Nora. How can you be so clueless? There’s no way the royal family would gift fake gems. This is a fake. It’s not a real gemstone.”

Everyone’s attention turned to the earring.

The surface of the supposedly clear diamond was reflecting bluish and yellowish light.

Now that Eleanor mentioned it, the earring did seem to have a bit less shine. But whether that was just their imagination or because it really was fake, no one could tell.

“What’s going on?”

“She says it’s a fake?”

“So it’s really not Miss Ellie’s? Then did Miss Nora cause all this trouble over a fake earring by herself?”

“But why is there a fake earring in Miss Nora’s jewelry box?”

“Well, didn’t Catherine say that Miss Nora really wanted those earrings? Maybe she had a copy made and forgot about it?”

“Shh, shh! She might hear you!”

Unfortunately, Nora did hear them this time. Her once-sweet eyes now turned sharp and full of anger.

It was time to make a quick decision.

Had Eleanor really anticipated everything and prepared a fake in advance? Or was she just bluffing to get out of the situation?

Nora clenched her teeth and glared at Eleanor. Eleanor was trying to smile confidently, but the way her lips curled up seemed just a little bit awkward.

Nora didn’t miss that small detail.

“Then let’s call a jeweler,” she boldly suggested.

It was a daring proposal. If they did that, either Nora or Eleanor would be in serious trouble. If the earring turned out to be real, Eleanor would be caught lying, and her reputation would take a huge hit. If it was a fake, Nora would be criticized for causing such a fuss over a worthless earring.

Even Damian, who was on Nora’s side, looked nervous, his lips twitching. What if the earring really was a fake? Their father would be furious at the unnecessary chaos. His anxious thoughts were written all over his face.

But Nora was confident.

There was no way Eleanor had predicted her entire plan and prepared a fake in advance.

‘If she had, she wouldn’t have hidden the earring in a small jewelry box tucked away on a bookshelf!’

If Eleanor really wanted the earring stolen, she would have put it in the big jewelry box that had already been robbed once before, not in a small one hidden away.

That’s why Nora was so sure of herself.

“…Do we really have to go that far?”

Seeing Eleanor take a step back, both Nora and Damian felt certain they were right.

“I just want to be sure. If a gift from the royal family is missing and you’re trying to cover it up… I know you wouldn’t do that, but we still need to check, just in case.”

“Of course. It’s always better to be sure, so nothing comes back to bite you later.”

Nora and Damian were getting bolder, pushing even harder.

As Eleanor bit her lip, the servants watching grew more excited and whispered even louder.

Just then, a new figure stormed in with a loud shout.

“What is all this commotion?!”

Following a young butler, Duke Astria entered, frowning deeply at the unexpected chaos.

He arrived earlier than expected. Nora bit her lip in frustration and quickly began explaining the situation.

“I’m sorry, Father. It’s just that… someone placed Ellie’s earring in my jewelry box.”

“And?”

“Normally, it wouldn’t be a big deal, but it’s the earrings you gave her for her birthday. I thought I’d be framed, so I gathered the servants immediately.”

“Someone’s definitely trying to frame her. But then Ellie suddenly claims it’s not hers, saying it’s a fake! If she’s lying to get out of this, she’s insulting a gift from the royal family by calling it fake, so we’re asking for a jeweler to check it!”

Damian’s overly excited voice, eagerly accusing Eleanor, only irritated the Duke further.

He was already displeased with both daughters for causing trouble and with his son for trying to escalate things unnecessarily.

His annoyance boiled over, and he was about to raise his voice again when—

“There’s no need to make this a bigger issue, Father.”

Eleanor, who had been bowing her head apologetically, softly interrupted.

For a brief moment, the Duke wondered if maybe his children were right—maybe Eleanor had tried to frame Nora and was now trying to backtrack. If she was innocent, wouldn’t she be the one insisting on bringing in the jeweler?

“Hilda, did you bring it?”

“Yes, Miss.” But before that thought could settle, the situation was flipped on its head by the sudden arrival of a maid carrying a small box.

‘No way…’

Nora’s face turned pale in an instant.

The box Hilda was holding looked old and unremarkable, the kind a thief wouldn’t even bother opening, thinking nothing valuable could be inside.

Realizing this, Nora’s heart sank.

Before anyone could stop it, there was a click, and the box opened.

Inside was an earring—an exact match to the gold earring Nora was holding.

Even in the shabby box, the diamonds sparkled brightly, immediately drawing the attention of the servants.

“I told you, it’s not mine,” Eleanor said as she pulled out the earring and held it up to her face so that the onlookers could get a better view.

“They may look similar on the surface, but… a fake always shows its flaws.”

Her gaze pierced through Nora as she said this.

A fake that only looked similar on the outside. Nora quickly realized Eleanor was indirectly referring to her and clenched her fists tightly.

‘That b**ch did this on purpose…!’

She had deliberately shown off the earrings during the meal and placed the fake one in the jewelry box, planning this entire situation from the start!

“Just look at the difference in quality. It’s so obvious that this is a fake. Honestly, it’s harder not to notice. But, of course, I understand, Nora. It might be a bit difficult for you to tell the difference,” Eleanor added, mocking her.

In truth, the difference between the two earrings was just a slight variation in shine. Unless they were placed side by side, it would have been hard for anyone to tell which was real and which was fake.

Even Duke Astria and Damian hadn’t realized during yesterday’s breakfast that the earrings Eleanor had worn were fake. That’s how closely the replica resembled the original.

But this truth didn’t really matter to the servants. They found comparing the two young ladies and judging their superiority much more entertaining than sorting out the boring truth.

‘She may be pretending to be a refined lady, but if she can’t even tell something like that apart, I guess where you grow up really does matter.’

‘No matter how much she learns, it seems she’ll never match up to Miss Ellie.’

It was obvious what the gossiping maids would be saying after the commotion died down. Nora could easily imagine it and began to tremble with anger.

She couldn’t let it end like this. With a face full of venom, she started thinking furiously.

‘It’s not over yet. I can still demand an investigation into where this fake came from…’

If she could find out where Eleanor had the fake made, she could turn the situation around again. Just as Nora was about to open her mouth—

“Ellie, have you been keeping the birthday gift I gave you in such a shabby box all this time?” Duke Astria’s harsh voice interrupted, as he finally stepped in after watching the situation unfold.

Separate from the issue at hand, he seemed furious that Eleanor had kept his gift in such a worn-out, unremarkable box.

Thinking this was his chance to turn things around, Damian grinned and joined in.

“You kept Father’s gift in something like that? You must be out of your mind!”

“There’s no way I’d treat a gift from Father so carelessly. I originally kept it in my best jewelry box,” Eleanor responded, completely ignoring Damian’s comment, as if she hadn’t even heard him.

“Originally.” The Duke picked up on the choice of word and sensed something was off.