In the banquet hall, nobles from near the Hathel Counts’ estate had gathered.
They carefully shot sideways glances at us, especially at me, the Imperial Chancellor Ortega and the other attendees.
“I’m sure they’re all curious.”
The male nobles’ murmurs were like a symphony to the ears.
“Why did the Duke of Blanchet marry? His looks are truly…”
“The Duke of Blanchet is a man, after all. Who would have thought he wasn’t interested in women…”
Even as they took their seats, the whispering did not stop.
“My head is spinning.”
Although it would be natural to get used to it among so many nobles, the sight of being a spectacle among them still hadn’t grown on me.
John, who had been sitting next to me, held my hand that lay on his knee.
“Should I tear those mouths to shreds?”
“…Huh?”
“But since your wife is beside you, you should endure it.”
His sturdy fingers pressed into mine, interlacing…
“Still, dear. There’s nothing to worry about. I’ll take care of everything.”
“Of what?”
“You used honorifics just now.”
“Ha, it’s hard to change that overnight.”
When I complained in surprise, John tilted his chin up with one hand and gave me a sly look.
“Then would it be better to punish you every time you honor me?”
“…Since when have you wanted to punish me? John, do you want to punish me?”
“Well…”
John squeezed the hand he held and stared into my eyes, a gaze so bold it made me feel embarrassed.
“I too end up wanting to make you cry without realizing it.”
“…”
“Your crying face is very exciting.”
It was a ruthlessly ruthless way of thinking, worthy of a schemer.
Displeased, John withdrew his hand.
“But it would be very unpleasant if anyone other than me made you cry.”
Looking at me as if I were cute, he whispered, his red eyes shining vividly.
“So tell me anything. I can handle it all.”
“Anything?”
“Anything. After all, there’s no one who can oppose me anyway.”
John’s voice sounded a little meaningful.
“Surely he’s not planning something else, right?”
Ding—the church bell rang at 9 o’clock.
I hurried to peek at the door. Betti, who had poked her head in, nodded and disappeared. It seemed whatever I had feared had been settled.
Count and Countess Hathel stood up.
The Count Hathel raised a glass of champagne and spoke boldly.
“Welcome to all the esteemed guests gathered at the Hathel manor!”
“It is a great honor that the distinguished guests have joined us.”
The Count Hathel’s wife followed by her husband and lightly raised her glass.
“Then, to the Empire-”
At that moment, just as the attending nobles were about to lift their glasses with the Countess Hathel,
a smile lingered on the Countess Hathel’s lips, and a thin tear slipped from her eye.
“Ah, I shouldn’t—”
~·~·*· . ·*· . ·*· . ·*·~·~
Countess Hathel respectfully bowed to the guests.
“I’m sorry for ruining the mood. I’ll proceed with the speeches again.”
“Margretta, is something the matter?”
A noblewoman who was unusually close to the Countess Hathel looked worried.
“No, it’s nothing. It’s not something I can say in front of the guests.”
“Darling, it might be better to say it, you know.”
The Count Hathel began to soothe his wife.
“It might be better to bring it up in front of everyone.”
The nobles around chimed in one by one.
“Go ahead and say it comfortably, Margretta.”
“Right. It seems a bit much to rush, so take a rest and then continue.”
Reluctantly, the Countess Hathel nodded and cautiously opened her mouth.
“You all may have heard that the Hathel family has been financially strained for some time. You may think it’s because my husband’s business failed.”
The Countess Hathel dabbed at her teary eyes with a white handkerchief.
“However, the reason the Hathel family fell into hardship was because someone did not repay the family’s money.”
“A person who did not repay money?”
“That person is…”
At the end, the Countess Hathel’s eyes fixed on one place.
Estelle was there.
The Countess Hathel’s gaze met Estelle’s, and Estelle blinked, navy-blue eyes wide in surprise.
“Are you talking about me?”
“…Yes, Countess Blanchet. Why have you not repaid the Hathel family’s money?”
Estelle was flustered.
The Countess Hathel wore a victorious smile as she looked at Estelle.
‘Dare to mock me?’
Estelle had already drawn in the attention of Ortega, the chancellor she had long sought, and even ruined her daughter’s betrothal.
“Perhaps the amount isn’t big to you, Countess, but it’s a great deal for us. Please at least return the principal.”
“I’m sorry, but I never borrowed money from the Hathel family.”
Everyone nodded at Estelle’s answer.
“Isn’t Countess Blanchet rarely seen outside the house?”
It was well known that Estelle never left the mansion.
“How could one lend money to an adopted child of Libertan? If you met at all, without clear evidence, would you?”
One nobleman, holding the Countess Hathel’s sleeve, asked with a worried voice.
“Did Countess Blanchet really lend money? And even if you met, without solid evidence…”
“People may wonder that. Fortunately, we have documents to prove our side.”
The Countess Hathel summoned a maid who returned quickly with a sealed envelope labeled confidential from the study.
“Ultimately, we must reveal these documents to everyone. Here, please look at this promissory note and the mortgage.”
Nobles trembled at the amount written on the promissory note.
“My goodness. One hundred thousand gold?”
“Have you not been repaid a hundred thousand gold? That is a huge sum…”
One hundred thousand gold could buy a large house in a city; it was a fortune equivalent to about 3-4 years’ income for many noble families.
The Countess Hathel held up the contract and the mortgage for all to see.
[Estelle Libertan.]
The crowd began to murmur, and Estelle’s pale face went pale as if she would faint.
“I— I really did not.”
But Estelle, with elegance, straightened her back and stared at the Countess Hathel.
“I never signed such a mortgage. If I had been a proxy, wouldn’t the contract magic have required the principal signer?”
The Countess Hathel tapped the mortgage with her finger.
“If you don’t believe me, take it and verify for yourself whether the name matches, madam.”
The Countess Hathel handed the mortgage to Estelle. Estelle took it and examined it carefully with her navy eyes fixed on the signature line.
“My signature is here. But I never agreed to such terms…”
The Countess Hathel silently smiled.
‘Perfect success.’
There was a reason to cry out in front of people; it was all worth it.
‘Now that the ridiculous commoner is discarded or the duke will reimburse this money, right?’
The situation had become irreversible.
The Countess Hathel pretended to be sad, and forced her mouth’s corners down.
‘No one will find a manipulated contract; even if it is inspected by any magical tool, there will be no manipulated evidence.’
It was a somewhat ridiculous situation.
As Estelle said, Estelle had never borrowed money from the Hathel family. Of course, the Libertan duke’s case was the same.
Naturally, the promissory note was fake.
‘But the mortgage signature is real.’
No noble would see through this trap. Until the arrival of Baron Penultima, the Countess Hathel hadn’t thought of this method at all.
‘Baron Penultima, your sacrifice I will gladly accept.’
The late-night, urgent visit of Baron Penultima. He presented a bag, saying it contained conditions of the deal.
‘I kept this here for use in a hurry. But there’s a condition. As the owner, you must secretly search all the guests’ rooms.’
Inside the bag was a mortgage with Estelle’s name on it.
‘What can you do with this empty mortgage?’
Of course, the contract magic could verify that it was indeed a contract. But that was all. A mortgage with some names written on it could do nothing.
‘What do you want me to do with this?’
‘With this mortgage, isn’t it possible to use a forged promissory note to demand money from Countess Blanchet?’
‘What kind of madness is that? The contract magic would detect any manipulation!’
The contract magic judged that any alteration after the contract had been signed as a manipulation. So nobles behaved cautiously before signing.
‘Of course, if it’s normal. But just once, you can manipulate it.’
‘You can manipulate it?’
‘Precisely, there is a flaw in this mortgage. It was initially guaranteed by the Libertan Duke as the guardian’s authority. If the party is not the signer, variables can arise in contract magic.’
So usually contract magic does not sign or guarantee via a proxy. It’s to guard against possible variables.
‘Explain it quickly.’
‘At that time, by chance, the guardian’s proxy document disappeared halfway through, and the contract magic completed. That’s why the contract magic got all tangled.’
‘Then…’
‘Yes. In simple terms, if the Countess Blanchet’s guild holds the mortgage before she grips the document by hand, we can manipulate it to what was signed at the time!’
In such situations, normally the parties would be summoned to the palace for a trial. But Estelle was different. The parents who had signed the contract on her behalf had been arrested for treason.
‘So, how do you cause the Countess to touch this document? And she’d have to know all about it for it to work, right?’
‘That was my concern.’
‘Besides, your theory is just a guess. You don’t know if it will really work.’
Baron Penultima shrugged.
‘If you don’t believe me, bring your children and try several times. Many trials have succeeded.’
‘Contract magic is sensitive and can be altered by even a small variable, but there is a guarantee of success…’
‘If that worries you, there’s no helping it. This is the only legal way to drain huge money from Count Blanchet.’
If this scam went wrong, Count Hathel would be ruined completely. He would have tried to manipulate contract magic to deceive Count Blanchet, and even the Emperor might not protect him anymore.
‘Very well. I will listen to you.’
Still, there was some leverage. Here stood Ortega the Chancellor, who would block Blanchet and execute the contract.
The Countess Hathel called her daughter and tried several times. As Baron Penultima said, it really worked.
If Estelle’s hand touched this manipulated document.
‘That was my biggest worry…’
To touch the document while being cornered would be foolish.
Now there was no way to stop this scam.
The only evidence, Baron Penultima, had been secretly imprisoned in the dungeon and died.
Around the room, nobles spoke for the Countess Hathel.
“Even with physical evidence, she denies it.”
“The Hathel family is truly unfortunate.”
At that moment, John wrapped Estelle in his arms.
“My wife would never lie.”
“…John.”
“Why not prove it with the contract magic, then talk?”
The Count Blanchet’s threatening words caused a hush among the others as they eyed the duke. The Countess Hathel nodded as if waiting for this.
“As you wish. We are blameless, after all. But I’d like the mediation of Chancellor Ortega for this matter. With him, it’ll be precise.”
“Correct. The Chancellor is the Emperor’s administrative proxy, so he should have the most precise contract magic.”
Rote spoke up on the Countess Hathel’s side, and Chancellor Ortega nodded quietly.
“Very well. This is a complicated situation, so I will verify it immediately.”
Chancellor Ortega showed a ring to the Blanchet and Hathel ducal families.
“This ring is a treasure of the royal house, permitted only for the Chancellor’s use. It also has a function to distinguish contract magic.”
It was a ring with a blue gem surrounded by ancient patterns.
“The function itself is similar to ordinary contract magic. If the gem turns red, it indicates manipulation; if the gem remains gold, the contract magic was perfectly executed.”
Ortega’s green eyes fixed on Countess Hathel like a serpent.
“Of course, we must verify who is the true party, but…”
The Countess Hathel involuntarily tensed her body.
‘I didn’t expect the treasure to come down from the palace…’
But surely Duke Ortega had said it would be similar to ordinary contract magic. Then it should emerge as it had been tested in the study.
“Good. We are on solid ground.”
“…But Countess Hathel.”
Estelle, who had hitherto been quietly in John’s arms, lifted her head.
“If this document is proven fake, what kind of compensation will you offer?”
“What?”
“Of course, Countess Hathel may feel wronged. But I would have been wronged and nearly forced to pay a huge amount if I were in the wrong.”
Estelle’s gaze had reddened as if she had cried.
“Moreover, this concerns the honor of Count Blanchet as well, doesn’t it? You won’t let this go, will you?”
Estelle’s eyes showed her as gentle and kind, polished by good upbringing.
“Of course we will.”
“Oh, that’s a relief.”
Estelle smiled brightly at her husband.
“John, how much compensation is appropriate in this situation?”
“Well, typically ten times the amount of the attempted fraud.”
The Countess Hathel gasped in disbelief at the word “fraud.”
“A- fraud?!” “Why are you surprised? If my wife lied, there’s a possibility Hathel’s family could be involved in the fraud as well.”
“That… isn’t true…”
This was not the outcome the Hathel Count had anticipated. Even if the plan failed, they hoped to claim they were victims and walk away…
“Then it’s settled! I swear on the Blanchet duchy that I have never signed that mortgage.” Estelle flashed a pure, innocent smile like a child.
“Then Countess Hathel should also swear on her family.”
“…”
“Can you swear?”
“That’s…”
Her navy eyes shone brightly.
But the Countess Hathel felt a strange fear at those gleaming eyes.
‘Why do I feel like I’ve walked into a trap?’
Suddenly everything became unstable. Yet she could not stop midway.
Lotte looked at Chancellor Ortega with innocent resolve and spoke.
“Your Excellency, please proceed quickly. There’s no need to delay.”
~·~·*· . ·**##^^##**· . ·*·~·~
Hey there, It’s Green Rose 😉
Since I human I might have make some mistakes while translating so please if you find them let me know here in the comments or in the Discord group so I can correct them and be careful in the future so they do not repeat.
Thank you so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed this chapter.
~~~Next Chapter~~~
Next chapter will be released Tomorrow.
See you then!!
