CH 11.5

“As you can see from the papers, you took out a loan from Tenebris Merchants and paid it back a few months later.”

After a moment of embarrassment and speechlessness, Count Ezrada squared his shoulders at Owen’s words.

“What does it matter, I paid it back properly, it’s not a stain on your reputation. If you’re going to threaten me with this, you might as well stop now, it’s unsightly.”

“It’s ugly, la…”

“What the hell…”

“Don’t interrupt me.”

Count Ezrada turned to face Lucas, his frosty, mint-colored eyes glazed over with sweat.

He couldn’t help but wonder.

‘There’s no way you could have figured that out.’

At times like these, he thought, it was best to keep his wits about him. But before he could say anything more, Lucas spoke up.

“We all know what House Montefeltra’s main business is.”

The other councilors stiffened and fell silent as Lucas spoke in a high-pressure, bureaucratic manner without changing his expression.

But none of them responded to Lucas’s words.

Count Ezrada looked around and squared his shoulders. They were outnumbered, he thought, and there was no need to be afraid.

“Well, Owen.”

“Yes, my duke.”

“What are our criteria for selecting elders?”

“We look for families of high prestige first, heads of good families who can relate to the Duke.”

“You mean nobility, then?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“But none of them seem to know anything about etiquette. I’d be surprised to see Lady Ezrada, she’s a true stickler for etiquette.”

“…Yes, she is.”

Owen was a little surprised to hear Lucas be so sarcastic out in the open, not in private.

Count Ezrada jumped to his feet, unable to contain himself as her daughter was mentioned in the conversation.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing!”

Lucas sneered, his mustache twitching in anger.

“Owen.”

“Yes.”

“Tell Lady Ezrada to educate her family properly, starting with her father.”

“Yes, I understand.”

“This…”

Count Ezrada shuddered at the unbearable insult. He didn’t feel it necessary to be here any longer.

“If that’s the case, I’m going to go home. I’ll tell the good Old Duke what happened today.”

Count Ezrada was furious, referring to Lucas’s father. But Lucas didn’t bat an eyelid at his words, his expression still cold.

“It doesn’t matter if you go.”

“…Yes?”

The Count looked at Lucas in disbelief, expecting him to stop him, but he didn’t.

Lucas turned to the other elders, who still hadn’t said anything.

“If it were just Count Ezrada, I wouldn’t have asked you all to gather.”

Lucas leaned his briefly erect upper body loosely against the backrest.

“Owen.”

Owen sighed briefly, then busied himself, turning the rest of the papers. It was an evidence document that contained traces of illegal activities that the duke secretly took from each elder.

The duchy’s main business was mining, and there were so many mines that it was difficult for the Duke to manage them all, so the Senate divided them among themselves.

The mines that contained the magic crystals were controlled solely by the dukes, so the elders were unaware of the existence of magic crystals.

Aside from the magic crystals that were more valuable than jewels, there were not one or two mines with huge amounts of jewels buried.

They were busy lining their own pockets, knowing that Lucas’s father and brother left them alone.

But not Lucas. He collected evidence of their illegal distribution of jewelry through the Tenebris Merchants, which he runs himself.

They would never know that Lucas was the owner of Tenebris.

Their faces grew grim as they examined the documents, which detailed the amount and type of jewelry they had sold, where they had distributed them, and how they had spent the cash they had received for the jewelry.

Slowly studying their faces, Lucas asked.

“Is this still a council dedicated to the service of the Duke?”

At his grim warning, every elder in the room shuddered, their shoulders tensing.

Lucas swept his gaze slowly over their faces like he was admiring a masterpiece.

“Is there really a need for a Senate in Montefeltra?”

He asked again, and no one answered. Lucas’s eyes darted left and right with a mocking expression, then turned murderous.

In a low, throbbing voice that seemed to pierce the eardrums, Lucas spoke again.

“And your answer?”

Count Ezrada couldn’t hide his embarrassment.

Not just the Count, but also the Baron, Connor’s father. In a silence that could have fit a needle in a haystack, each man swallowed hard and turned their attention to Lucas.

* * *

Lila was packing with Jessie.

“Madam, what kind of dress should I put in?”

“Well… first, I have one to wear within the manor and one to wear to the hunting tournament, so put that in there, and then…”

The bag Lucas had given her was enormous in terms of the amount of items it could hold.

No, why didn’t he give me something this good last time?

…When she thought about it, she grumbled.

Lila fumbled around with her pouch, embroidery supplies, and books in the subspace ring Michael had given her.

“Well, shouldn’t that be enough?”

She’d put it off as long as she could, they had to leave tomorrow.

“But really, why are they inviting us? I heard they never invited us before.”

In Lucas’s words, they never called the Duke of Montefeltra to an imperial hunting contest.

Listening to him, the duchy and the imperial family didn’t seem to have a good relationship.

“My lady, I’m done.”

“Good job, Jessie.”

“Shall I bring you tea?”

“Of course, thank you.”

Jessei’s face was radiant as he smiled, pleased with her words. She still had a few pimples, but they were almost gone.

With the acne gone, Jessie was beautiful. Lila took a good look.

“Oh, and don’t forget your new outfit. Don’t tell me you didn’t pack them because they were a waste.”

Jessie was taken aback by Lila’s words.

“Still, how could I wear expensive clothes like that?”

She asked, just in case.

“You’re coming with me to the hunting tournament. Of course, you’re supposed to be in the waiting room at the palace, but you still have to dress up to get in.”

Jessie was being trained as a handmaiden, but she was ignorant of the capital or the imperial court.

She looked at Lila with a worried expression.

“Are you sure you’re okay with me? Wouldn’t it be better to take another maid?”

That was what worried Jessie the most. That Lila would be embarrassed by her lack of knowledge.

“As far as embarrassment goes, I’m more of a problem than you are.”

Lila let out a small laugh, as if she’d heard something funny. Jessie flushed at the sound of her innocent tone.

“That, madam.”

“Yes?”

Lila, who had been sitting on the couch, lifted her head to look at Jessie. Stepping closer to her, Jessie asked cautiously.

“Can I ask you a question?”

“What is it?”

“I was wondering why you wear such strange makeup when you look so beautiful…”

Jessie was genuinely curious. When she first saw Lila’s bare face, she thought she was dreaming.

She had never seen anyone so beautiful and mesmerizing in her life.

She was even more surprised when she realized it was Lila, whom her employers dismissed as an ugly child.

She told her not to ask why and not to tell anyone, that she just knew, but she was really curious.

She knew it was rude, but she asked.

Lila stared at Jessie for a moment before opening her mouth.

“Um, how should I tell you?”

She didn’t really know what to say. She can’t be honest, can she?

This was a moment for creativity. Lila imagined.

If she hadn’t gone the original route, what would have been the point of the ugly makeup she’d been wearing?

What could the ugly makeup have done to help her now?

It helped her to be where she is now.

To be able to come here, to meet Lucas, to meet Michael.

And meeting Vincent and Jessie.

Lila gathered her thoughts and spoke.

“I wanted to find someone who could truly care about me, a friend or a lover, someone who would love me for who I am, and not what I am on the outside.”

Jessie couldn’t take his eyes off the mauve lashes that fluttered like butterflies.

Lila was a picture of beauty, her jaw set, her eyes staring into space, her voice languid.

Her dress flowed effortlessly over the couch like a single flower, and her long hair, which cascaded down over the dress, was as soft as silk.

“They say everyone has a duality, but… I’ve often wondered what it’s like to be different on the inside than on the outside.”

As she spoke, Lila felt as if what she had been thinking for ten years was becoming clear.

“The outside and the inside can’t be perfectly the same. If you’re human, it’s unavoidable. But if possible, I would like it to be the same person on the outside and inside. So the ugly makeup I’ve been doing has been worth it.”

Lila locked eyes with Jessie and smiled wistfully.

“Because I met you, and I met Vincent, and I met Michael, and I met the Duke.”

“…”

Jessie was frozen by her expression, unable to reply. She looked so natural and relaxed, it was beautiful.

“Yeah, really.”

Lila kept nodding and muttering to herself.

It really was, and it was worth the ten years she’d endured.