Chapter 82: An Unreliable Husband
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 82: An Unreliable Husband
It was a precious item, so I couldn't just sell it off recklessly.
‘But if I leave it as collateral, maybe I can borrow some money?’
Holding the sapphire necklace, I headed toward Barcot Bank in Gold Lane.
The bank manager, who came running out breathlessly to greet me, seemed a bit flustered when I said I wanted to borrow money. However, he readily handed over the massive sum of 150,000 Danir.
When I asked if he needed to appraise the gem, he waved his hand, saying that the Consort’s status was verification enough.
That money was then paid out to Alcent as an investment.
It was an amount three hundred times my own wedding funds. My hands trembled as I handed over the check.
If the investment succeeded, my personal wealth would increase anyway, so it was worth the risk.
‘Though if the investment fails, my precious necklace will be gone for good.’
“Since it’s come to this, I have no choice but to help Alcent’s business succeed however I can.”
“I’ll put out two of Cecil’s Recipes every week!”
Cecilia’s determination—insisting we had to publish the book quickly to at least earn back the interest—was strangely funny, and the burden on my heart was quickly lifted.
Fortunately, the problem was resolved.
Or so I thought.
Until I saw Loik that night.
The Grand Duke, who came to see me late in the evening, looked very grim.
“……Loik? Please, come in.”
It was still a bit awkward to call him by his name, but the atmosphere felt like I shouldn't address him as 'Your Highness.'
Normally, he was the type of person who would enter the parlor with a shy smile, his footsteps cautious just to be in the room. Today, for some reason, there wasn't a trace of a smile on his face.
Loik entered the room with heavy, echoing footsteps and stood before the sofa. Even while appearing angry, he waited until I was seated before sitting down himself.
“Did something happen?”
Loik, who had been looking down through his long eyelashes, slowly lifted his gaze.
“Sigh……”
Our eyes met, and he let out a small sigh to himself before finally speaking reluctantly.
“I thought you might have lost something…… so I came to return it.”
“Lost something? Me?”
I felt around my hair. The small jeweled pin Ferdin had given me as a wedding gift was still in place.
“Is it an earring?”
As I fiddled with my ear, Loik brushed his brow as if exasperated, then set a thin velvet box down on the table with a thud.
“What is this?”
The moment I opened the box, my eyes widened involuntarily. Inside was the sapphire necklace I had clearly left at the bank this morning.
“How did you get this?”
Loik looked thoroughly upset. Since he remained silent after handing over the box, I kept my mouth shut as well.
How much time passed in that stillness? Just as the silence was becoming uncomfortable, Loik’s low voice echoed.
“Why did you borrow money?”
I fidgeted with my fingers.
‘How much should I tell Loik?’
During the egg incident, I had barely managed to calm him down when he threatened to deal with Meisel himself. If he found out Meisel was involved in this too, there might be a real disaster. I couldn't let myself be the reason the Grand Ducal family and a long-standing vassal family turned against each other.
Perhaps because I seemed hesitant to speak, his expression darkened further.
“Is it something you cannot tell me?”
“No, it’s definitely not that.”
In the end, I briefly explained that I had invested in Alcent’s business to prevent Northern News from falling into other hands.
“So, I needed a bit of money……”
“Could you not have used the Privy Purse?”
“But I can’t use the Blenheim family’s money for my personal affairs.”
Loik bit his lip slightly.
“Was I really that unreliable?”
His voice trembled slightly at the end. Only then did I look closely at Loik’s face. With his lip slightly pouted, he was making a face I had never seen before.
That wasn't anger; it was clearly……
“Loik, were you perhaps…… hurt?”
“Hurt?”
Loik spoke while clenching his jaw as if trying his best to stay calm.
“As a husband who firmly believed his wife was doing well, only to find out she was going around borrowing money and even pawning her jewelry because she didn't have a few coins—how could I possibly dare to feel hurt?”
Loik’s voice shook. His eyes held a flicker of resentment that almost looked like sorrow.
Well, it wasn't exactly 'a few coins'……
“I was merely disappointed in myself for being such a man that you couldn't rely on me.”
Saying so, Loik averted his gaze. He looked completely sulky.
Loik spoke with great gravity, but for some reason, he looked quite cute. I bit my lip to stop myself from laughing.
‘You idiot, this isn't the time to laugh.’
I had been thoughtless. The Grand Duchess borrowing money with jewelry as collateral…… it was a matter that could have severely damaged the Grand Duke’s reputation.
‘I didn't realize the bank would be so bad at keeping secrets.’
“I’m sorry.”
I leaned my face slightly toward Loik.
“It’s not because you’re unreliable, but because I didn't want to use the Privy Purse for private purposes……”
Loik, his head turned away, didn't budge. I leaned in a bit more.
“You must have been so hurt, right? Loik always tells me exactly who he meets and what he does every day.”
When I coaxed him in a soothing tone, his eyebrows twitched slightly, but his gaze remained fixed on the corner of the desk.
“Please don't be mad. I was wrong.”
At those words, Loik’s Adam’s apple moved prominently for a moment before he finally turned back to me.
“Do not say such things.”
The corners of his eyes had softened before I knew it.
“What could you have possibly done wrong?”
“I made my husband feel hurt.”
Loik ran a hand through his bangs as if trying to compose himself, then lifted his head with a look of resolve.
“……At the very least, please tell me first when you need help.”
He spoke with a rare, firm tone.
“I do not wish to hear news of you through the mouths of others.”
The nuance of his last words felt strangely unfamiliar. Come to think of it, while Loik had said 'no' many times before, this was the first time he had said he 'did not wish' for something.
“I understand. I’ll make sure to consult Loik first about everything.”
“You’re promising me.”
Only then did Loik seem to feel better, extending his pinky finger first.
‘As expected, our Grand Duke—no, Loik—is a fast learner.’
I hooked my pinky with his and gave a bright smile, all while resolving to have a stern word with that big-mouthed bank manager the next time I visited Gold Lane.
*
Gelfry, the President of the Merchant Association, stared at the investment return form before him with an air of irritation. It had been left by Alcent, who had visited just moments ago.
Tsk.
It wasn't an amount Alcent could never pay back, but it was certainly a sum that should have been difficult to obtain on such short notice.
‘I even made sure to spread the word so no one would lend him money.’
He couldn't fathom where Alcent had managed to get the funds so quickly. The opera business was bound to be profitable; now, he had failed to gain any real benefit and had merely recovered his principal.
‘Still, it’s a relief there was some harvest.’
A few days ago, Lady Meisel had come to the cafe again, huffing with indignation. She had abruptly asked if she could take over Northern News. Well, if one could call that arrogant attitude a 'request.'
— “My acquaintances and I have invested quite a bit in Alcent’s business, but……”
— “Anyway, you can do it, right?”
‘Is she trying to screw me over again?’
Gelfry recalled the ordeal he had suffered during the previous egg incident. He had agreed to gather the merchants at the Grand Duchess’s request, intending to put the daughter of Count Arbor in his debt. Instead, radicals had suddenly appeared and caused a riot.
He had nearly been dragged off to prison himself.
Fortunately, he had avoided suspicion, but he had been summoned by the Grand Duke, subjected to all sorts of humiliation, and then hounded by administrative officials for ages because of the order to 'clear the Grand Duchess’s name.'
‘After daring to drag me into such a mess, she has the nerve to ask for another favor?’
However, Northern News was a business Gelfry had been eyeing himself. The magazine’s influence had grown significantly of late, and it was an excellent tool for shaping public opinion in many ways.
Furthermore, ever since the first store entry fell through, the Grand Duchess had been thoroughly excluding the Merchant Association from the shopping district, leaving his current position quite precarious. If he could deal her a blow, it was worth a try.
— “I shall grant Lady Meisel’s request.”
— “Good.”
— “However, there is a condition.”
— “A condition? Are you planning to demand a price from me?”
— “Are merchants not humble beings who do not move unless there is a profit to be made?”
Meisel had flown into a rage, asking if he had forgotten who her father was, but Gelfry merely snorted in response.
— “Of course not. I would be perfectly fine discussing this matter with Count Arbor as well.”
At those words, Meisel’s mouth snapped shut. If she had thought this was something her father could know about, she wouldn't have sought out Gelfry in the first place.
— “What do you want?”
— “A small incident occurred recently in Gold Lane while Her Highness the Consort was present, did it not?”
— “I—I don't know anything about that!”
Meisel’s face flushed with agitation instantly.
— “It seems the activities of the radicals have increased since the Grand Duchess arrived……”
Gelfry spoke as if he hadn't heard Meisel’s vehement denial.
— “That new shopping district being built by the lake. Wouldn't it be the perfect place for radicals to cause an incident?”