CHAPTER 51……….
When I went to the office, Duke Canel was waiting. Chief aide Eunice was with him.
“I saw in the papers that, thanks to our family’s treasure being lent out as bait for the phantom thief, the department store drew a lot of customers.”
The duke looked at me with an indifferent face as he spoke.
“I did give orders not to report to me, since I don’t want to hear about the results of every little thing you do… but with all the noise it’s causing, I can’t help but be a little concerned as head of the family. So—did it bring in some sales?”
“A little, yes.”
I answered humbly as I opened the file I had brought.
₩300 million.
The deposit slip issued by the bank had the figure written in large print. The dates covered from opening day to the day of inquiry.
“Oh?”
Duke Canel raised an eyebrow slightly.
“More than I expected.”
Eunice stared fixedly at the papers. Then, absentmindedly, she muttered:
“A copy?”
It was a small voice, but in this quiet office, it could not be missed.
“What about it?”
I narrowed my eyes and asked back.
“She’s right. This deposit slip is a carbon copy traced over the original. But it’s not like we’re submitting it to an institution—it’s just for the family to see. What does it matter if it’s a copy? No one has ever made an issue of that before, so why now? Do you suspect I forged it?”
“……”
Eunice fell silent, looking troubled.
“My apologies, my lady. I have a habit of nitpicking down to the smallest detail, and I spoke thoughtlessly. Please don’t take offense.”
The duke turned to her.
“What’s the problem?”
“Nothing, Your Grace.”
“You can’t say right away? Is there something wrong with this deposit slip?”
Under his icy command, Eunice had no choice but to open her mouth.
“It just struck me as strange, and I spoke without thinking. The revenue shown there seems different from the amount I heard.”
“Heard?”
I asked sharply.
“And how would you know? This is our company’s internal record, never released to the public. However others may speculate, it’s all baseless guesses.”
“I’m sorry. It was information I thought highly reliable, so I…”
“The amount you know is different from this?”
Duke Canel cut in.
“So, how much?”
“…It shames me to say…”
Eunice trailed off, glancing at me.
The courteous yet competent chief aide’s face—but in her eyes flickered a thrill of victory.
Got you red-handed, didn’t I?
That was the look.
No—you’re the one caught red-handed.
I thought back.
In that moment, suspicion became certainty.
The papers had buzzed with speculation about our store’s sales: “All show, no substance” versus “Surprisingly decent returns.”
But no one knew the truth. Except me—who compiled reports from every store branch—no one did.
And those reports weren’t even sent by regular mail. Benjamin had his younger brother deliver them.
There was no way Eunice knew the real numbers. She must have secretly read the letter I had written to request falsification and thought she’d uncovered the truth.
So she coaxed the duke into arranging this meeting, expecting to expose me by pointing out the fake deposit slip.
Too bad, Eunice—the trap was for you.
I shouted:
“So are you saying I forged the sales figures just to puff up my results? Is that what you’re implying?”
It looked, to all appearances, like I had something to hide.
That very attitude broadcast my supposed guilt, loud as a street crier.
Eunice, who had been cautious until then, seized the moment, now fully convinced of her victory.
“I don’t believe my lady acted with malice. But if one works hard and still finds the results lacking, such temptations can arise.”
“What?”
The duke’s eyes grew sharp.
“I had no expectations of you to begin with. If it were losses, and you admitted it honestly, I wouldn’t even be disappointed! I thought, though you still do frivolous things, you were at least trying to live earnestly. But you inflated the numbers?”
“F-Father! It’s not true! I swear it’s unfair!”
“Silence! Bring out the original—at once!”
“No!”
I hugged the file tightly.
“You can’t have the original! Please, Father!”
“Are you defying my order?”
“Your Grace, please calm yourself—it’s bad for your health.”
Eunice interjected.
“My lady, failing to achieve results is not shameful. But falsifying them is unworthy of a noble daughter.”
She looked at me politely but coldly.
“This business is already a topic of gossip. If word spreads that you fabricated numbers, our house will become a laughingstock again. Is that what you wish?”
“……”
Reluctantly, I handed the file over.
The duke, face like carved ice, opened it. And then—he found the original, hidden at the very bottom.
“…What?”
A look of astonishment crossed his face.
“……?”
Eunice, too, was struck dumb.
The copy I had shown was forged. But the original bank slip carried this figure:
₩3,000,000,000.
Three billion.
“……”
The duke stared at me blankly.
“Sales were three billion?”
“Yes.”
“So you didn’t inflate the numbers—you reduced them…?”
“Yes…”
That was the truth.
I had told him—it was a blockbuster. Our short-term sales totaled three billion won.
“Ah, honestly!”
I stamped my foot as if in frustration.
“Just look at Father’s face! You nearly had a heart attack just from seeing the numbers! I knew it! I nearly fainted myself when I first saw them!”
Then, with a pitiful look, I gazed at the duke.
“I’m sorry, Father. I only worried for you. Perhaps three billion is nothing to you, but it’s enough to make the papers. For your daughter, who only ever disappointed you, to suddenly bring in such results… I feared the shock might give you a heart attack. So… I reported only a tenth of it, three hundred million, to spare your heart.”
“……”
“I never meant to lie to you. How could I dare deceive Father? My plan was to divide it into ten reports of three hundred million each, easing you into it.”
I pulled nine more crumpled slips of three hundred million each from my pocket and laid them out miserably.
“So yes, Eunice was right—it was falsified. As a noble lady, it’s shameful. But before that—I am your daughter!”
Like a puppy drenched in the rain, standing miserably at the door with drooping ears—that was the image I conjured.
“……”
The duke’s face paled.
“I-I… I never meant…”
He stammered, then jerked his head toward Eunice.
“……”
Her face was blank as paper. Frozen in silence, she bowed low until her head nearly touched the floor.
“My apologies. I judged the information as reliable, but it was my error, and I gravely offended the young lady.”
That’s what you get for sneaking peeks at letters.
That false address I’d scribbled? By now, that decoy letter was probably wandering the post office as a ghost.
Of course, the actual forgery I had entrusted to Sophie’s team. This time, since it only needed to look fake, they whipped it up quickly.
And Eunice swallowed the bait perfectly.
The duke had always trusted her careful words, but this must have damaged her standing somewhat.
“No offense taken.”
I shook my head.
“Even I can hardly believe the results I achieved. So how could anyone else? It’s natural I’d be doubted.”
Then, gathering the file, I bowed to Duke Canel.
“That concludes my report. Since even a reduction is falsification, I’ll reflect on it. My apologies for the disturbance.”
I wrapped it up perfectly to the very end, then left the office.
Out in the hall, my lips curled upward, unable to hold back.
So, who’s the one humiliated now?
But the satisfaction was brief.
Confirming Eunice’s malice toward me so clearly sparked a new level of vigilance.
Why?
No matter how I searched my memory, I could find no reason Eunice might bear a grudge.
Then is it self-interest? Does my downfall somehow benefit her?
In the renewed suspect list, after the top three had been ruled out, Eunice wasn’t ranked particularly high.
She wasn’t especially entangled with Aristina, and at the time of the incident, she had been in a meeting with the duke.
But given this, I had to consider she might be deeply involved in the crime.
I need to investigate her.
I immediately gave Benjamin a secret order:
“Find out if there are any rumors circulating about the duke’s chief aide, Eunice Gillian. Anything—debts owed, strange sightings, whatever you can.”
But a few days later, Benjamin returned with unexpected news.
“I’m sorry, Master. I tried to dig up even a regular shop she frequents… but there’s nothing at all.”
“Nothing?”
“Yes. It won’t be easy. One of my errand boys poked around a bit, but some strangers followed him and asked why he was digging.”
“What?”
“Oh, don’t worry—he covered it up smoothly.”
“That’s not what I mean…”
I felt my heart sink.
“Benjamin… that errand boy wasn’t your little brother, was he?”
“Hm? How did you know? My younger brothers love this sort of work, and I make good use of them. They’re quite capable.”
“You said brothers, even? Oh no! Benjamin—forget this request. I’ll handle it myself.”
Eunice was no ordinary opponent. I couldn’t risk Benjamin or his little brothers’ safety.
I’ll need another method.
Then, in my mind’s eye, I saw a small key.
‘You’ll know whether we can make a deal or not if you come find me. We’ll talk then.’
Luellian’s offer.
If I could uncover information about Eunice through a trade with him, that would be the best route.
Though meeting him alone was daunting—he, who led such a secret double life—if I prepared some protection, maybe it could be a safe exchange.
It just might work.
I took out the key he had given me and looked closely.
On the metal surface, a name was engraved:
.
