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Chapter 8
At Kilian’s blunt outburst, Father issued a stern warning.
“Watch your words, Kilian.”
“…I misspoke.”
“Yes. There are ears everywhere, so always keep that in mind.”
“Yes, sir.”
As my brother was scolded, I clicked my tongue softly and ordered the servants.
“Put everything in the storage first.”
“Yes.”
“Isanna… will you accept it?”
At my brother’s question—whether I would really accept the gifts the Emperor had sent—I wore a dry expression and replied,
“Since they were already sent, let’s just fill the family storehouse with them.”
“Isanna…”
My brother called my name like a discarded puppy.
I gave his back a light pat and instructed the servants again. Troublesome matters should be dealt with quickly.
“Separate the jewels and keep them aside.”
I was already imagining auctioning off the gifts the Emperor had dared send, and a deep smile spread across my face.
This is how divorce funds are gathered—little by little.
Thinking about all the money that would eventually come into my pocket instantly washed away the fatigue from my sleepless night.
Still, it seemed the Emperor at least understood basic etiquette.
“Master, young lady.”
“What is it?”
The butler, who was busy with the morning routine and organizing the gifts from the palace, looked troubled. Following his gaze, I noticed a letter in his hand.
“A letter from Count Ian Hameron.”
“Let me see.”
Remembering the letter I had sent Ian a few days ago, I quickly took it from the butler.
“He says he’ll arrive in the capital this morning. And then immediately…”
“Ah! Butler!”
A servant hurried over in a panic, causing the butler’s face to stiffen.
“What insolence is this, behaving so carelessly in the master’s presence?”
“S-sorry! It’s just… a guest has arrived.”
Ian and I really did have a lot in common. The letter had arrived, and now he himself had arrived as well.
A dry laugh escaped me, and I could feel my brother’s displeasure from beside me.
My brother and Ian had once been close enough to call each other brother. But at some point, my brother had begun to dislike Ian.
Ian and I still remained close, though.
“Isanna.”
“Ian!”
At the long-awaited sound of Ian’s voice, I brightened and walked toward him.
“Ahem, ahem.”
“Oh dear, I was rude. My apologies, Your Grace. And young duke, it has been a while.”
Father nodded in satisfaction at the sight of the son of his old friend.
But my brother did not return the greeting and simply turned away and headed upstairs.
Father glanced at him once, then offered Ian a greeting.
“You’ve grown well.”
“Thank you, Your Grace.”
“Yes, now that you’ve inherited the title, I suppose I should be more formal.”
At Father’s words as the Duke of Delorvant, Ian shook his head and said it was unnecessary.
“No, Your Grace. Please just think of me as Ian in private.”
At Ian’s respectful and friendly attitude, Father laughed heartily for the first time in a while and gave us space.
Once Ian and I were alone, I apologized on my brother’s behalf for his earlier behavior.
“I’m fine. More importantly, shall we go inside? The morning air is cold.”
“What on earth happened between the two of you?”
“…I’ll tell you later, when the time is right. Let’s go inside first.”
I was practically pushed into the reception room by Ian’s hand.
Whenever he got into awkward situations, Ian always handled things this way. I narrowed my eyes at him. He really never changed.
“Why?”
Clicking my tongue, I lifted my teacup and inhaled its fragrance. The refreshing scent of mint suited the cool morning perfectly.
“Did you receive the letter I sent?”
“Ha. I did receive it, but… what in the world was that content?”
“It said exactly what it said. What are you asking?”
At that, Ian rubbed his temple and shook his head.
“No, I mean where did you get that information?”
“Hm… let’s call that a business secret.”
“What?”
“That means you can trust it. I guarantee it under the name of Delorvant.”
Ian wore a grim expression and ran a hand over his face.
“There’s no way Viscount Pio would do that unless he’d completely lost his mind.”
“Well. Maybe he has lost his mind.”
“I already told my brother. The truth should come out soon.”
That was welcome news. As expected, Ian Hameron never disappointed me.
“Shall we have breakfast together?”
“Sorry, another time. I need to unpack first. I came here straight after arriving in the capital. Let’s eat later.”
“What a pity.”
“By the way… how are things lately?”
He was asking about the Emperor’s rumors. I replied with a faint sneer.
“Very well.”
“…Isanna.”
“Don’t worry. I’m perfectly fine. So make sure the mine is taken back properly.”
At that, Ian’s body flinched.
“You… don’t tell me this is because of the viscount’s daughter?”
I looked at him as though only now realizing it and replied,
“That’s not all. Let’s just say it’s for future… funds.”
“What…?”
“Oh, and you know the Orhacon distribution rights are being transferred to our trading company as payment for the information, right?”
At my casually tossed-out demand, Ian went speechless and looked down at me in silence.
At this rate, he’s really going to cry.
Seeing Ian’s eyes grow moist, I awkwardly smiled and patted his back.
“I’m joking. I’m not saying to monopolize it, just give us priority rights.”
“Isanna… what you’re asking me right now is… haaa… never mind. We’ll deal with the Orhacon matter later. I’m leaving.”
“Don’t forget—priority rights.”
“Hah, fine!”
Ian climbed into the carriage while ruffling his hair, and I gave him a noble smile and repeated once more,
“Count Hameron. Don’t forget. The priority rights must go to our trading company…”
“I understand! Then I’m off! Let’s go!”
Ian snapped his head toward me with an irritated expression, and I couldn’t help but laugh.
He really was fun to tease.
Joking around like that made it feel as though I had gone back to those days.
Am I seasonal? It’s still far too early for autumn.
Chuckling to myself, I strolled through the garden before going back into the manor.
What a peaceful morning it was, not seeing the Emperor’s face. Maybe I really should just abandon inheritance and everything else and live in the countryside.
“No, no. I can’t think like that. Isanna.”
I steeled my resolve once more and kept walking.
* * *
House Beyrne.
A family just as venerable as the House of Delorvant, with considerable influence in political circles.
Ian Hameron was the second son of that proud House Beyrne.
He had an older brother five years his senior.
But because of frail health from birth, his brother had always served as a kind of figurehead heir.
How unfortunate.
Even knowing he was a figurehead, his brother always did his best.
As if struggling to prove that his existence had value.
When Ian was young, he pitied his brother’s desperate efforts—but at the same time, he looked down on him.
He thought it was all meaningless anyway.
That thought changed after he saw his brother, feverish through the night, still reading without stopping even while tears streamed down his face.
Ah. This was the right person to lead Beyrne. It had to be him.
Back then, Ian had felt unbearably ashamed of himself for having mocked his brother while intoxicated by glory that had been forced onto him by others.
And besides, that time he had also said something wrong to the Delorvant heir and got an earful for it.
“Lord Kilian really hasn’t changed.”
Of course, there was another, much bigger reason why Kilian had begun to dislike Ian.
“Isanna…”
Ian was glad to see his friend’s face after so long, but the information she had given him made his head ache.
To invade another territory and smuggle out underground minerals—this could escalate into a territorial conflict.
Still, it seems she’s given up on the Grand Duke Salavar, so that’s a relief.
Thinking about all the running around he had done to try to connect her with the Grand Duke, he couldn’t help but laugh bitterly.
“Ha… so now it’s the Emperor. She didn’t really seem to like him much.”
He knew the rumors circulating in the capital. In fact, the rumor had spread far beyond the capital and was known by the whole nation.
That Lady Delorvant had no warmth in her manners, so His Majesty the Emperor was looking for another woman.
If Isanna had heard that rumor, she might have grabbed the back of her neck on the spot.
Or perhaps she already knew and had simply reached a state of enlightenment.
I wish she would just give up…
There were only two things he truly regretted in life.
The first was not confessing before Isanna fell for Grand Duke Salavar.
And the second was not proposing to her before the Emperor did.
Ha…
By the time he came to regret it, Isanna was already Calisers Karvandeka’s fiancée.
“Should I just try persuading her to live in the countryside with me…?”
For a moment, the faces of the family members he loved, along with the tired, lifeless eyes of his respected brother, floated into his mind.
A crazy Emperor like that could probably make it happen.
Maybe all I can do is help with whatever Isanna asks for.
He could ask his brother about the distribution rights, and his brother would likely agree without hesitation. After all, they had worked with Delorvant Trading for a long time.
But that wasn’t the important matter.
What really concerned him was whether it was truly okay not to stop Isanna this time.
I enjoyed reading in the cold pre-dawn air after such a long time.
With each turn of a page, the soft rustling sound echoed through the quiet room. It was a calming sound.
But the silence didn’t last long.
Sudden, urgent knocking shattered my concentration. I frowned slightly and looked to see who the intruder was.
“Lady.”
“Butler. What is it so early in the morning?”
The unexpected visitor was not Lima, but the butler who had served the ducal house for many years. I sighed and told him to come in.
“I’m sorry, Lady. But I have something urgent to report.”
The butler looked slightly out of breath, which told me it really was urgent. Since it was the butler and not just any servant, I decided to hear him out.
“So what is it?”
“A letter has arrived from the palace.”
“Then it must be from Count Talarun.”
“Well… the Emperor himself…”
“I brought it here personally.”
At the voice I was absolutely not supposed to hear here, I quickly turned my head.
You… why are you here?
At the Emperor’s sudden appearance, I froze completely and could not speak.
The view of the ducal estate behind him looked wildly out of place.
As I stood there in a daze, the Emperor spoke again, and only then did I regain my senses.
“Have I perhaps intruded?”
