Chapter 197
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 197
Not long after.
A grand banquet was held at the House of Robens, one of the most influential families in the Brillant Empire.
The current state of high society was grim.
While the fact that the position of Crown Prince had become vacant was a welcome development for some, the scandal caused by Sophia Frezier had been too massive and of such poor character that it cast a shadow over everything.
It was the House of Robens that finally threw open the gates of the frozen social season.
Everyone had been walking on eggshells, waiting to see who would be the first to break the ice, when this large-scale banquet was announced.
This was possible because the Marchioness of Robens was the daughter of the late Empress. Although she was a half-sister to the current Emperor, Alexander, siblings were siblings nonetheless.
For this reason, the Marchioness of Robens held a more secure status than other nobles.
Always prideful of her lineage, the Marchioness was haughty and arrogant.
Even the poised Marchioness hadn't dared to send an invitation to the Crown Prince, but she had meticulously sent invitations and gifts to other VIPs.
For instance, the beautiful Crown Prince Benjamin of the Sorsen Kingdom, and Prince Klaus, the foreign prince who had traveled from the Summer Continent.
‘I only received polite replies in return, but it’s not bad.’
This was because, quite unexpectedly, Marquis Aster Frezier and Lady Tulia Frezier had attended!
The guests were thrilled by the elevated prestige of the banquet, and the Marchioness of Robens felt as if she were walking on air.
‘To think Tulia Frezier would attend! And with the Marquis, no less!’
In the past, the Marchioness of Robens had looked down on Tulia. That was back when she was a child, wandering around in dresses that were clearly outdated.
Consequently, the Marchioness had felt disgruntled as Tulia’s reputation grew, but to think the girl would be foolish enough to attend her banquet!
‘Well, I suppose all girls that age are the same. They can’t help their desire to show off.’
The necklace around Tulia’s neck was the incredible Blue Diamond Necklace, which rumors whispered had been a gift from Prince Klaus.
She had surely attended the banquet just to flaunt it, but to the Marchioness of Robens, it was a welcome sight.
She decided she would have to host another lavish banquet next month.
‘I’ll send an invitation to the Crown Prince then.’
If she visited him personally and emphasized their kinship, it would be difficult for him to ignore her.
“It truly is a magnificent night. Could there be another party as beautiful as this?”
“Indeed. Among noble banquets, nothing can compare to one held by the Robens.”
“The guests are of such high caliber that I feel my own status rising just by being here.”
The nobles, desperate to receive another invitation from the Marchioness, were busy flattering her incessantly.
Just as she was laughing behind her fluttering fan—
“Kyaaaak!”
An ear-piercing scream rang out.
Startled, the host, the Marchioness of Robens, rushed toward the center of the hall.
“What is happening?!”
“I-It’s a disaster!”
The nobles shouted, their faces pale.
“Someone has stolen Lady Tulia’s necklace!”
“What?! The necklace?”
“No, what kind of noble would possibly…!”
“Watch your tongue! How could a noble steal a necklace? It must be some filthy commoner with sticky fingers!”
Banquets, by nature of the large crowds, often suffered from lapses in security.
Furthermore, grand noble banquets were like a feast for petty thieves, given the many nobles who arrived adorned in opulence.
Therefore, the host of a banquet had to ensure that servants and knights circulated discreetly to prevent theft without dampening the festive mood.
Of course, since perfect security was impossible, small items like ladies' fans or gentlemen's handkerchiefs were occasionally lost.
But a necklace…!
“And it’s the Blue Diamond Necklace that Prince Klaus supposedly gifted her!”
“Good heavens, I heard Prince Klaus brought that as a continental heirloom to symbolize peace and harmony between the two continents.”
As a woman with a plain face intentionally whispered this, the banquet hall instantly erupted into a clamor.
“I heard that necklace was a gift from Prince Klaus to express his affection for Lady Tulia?”
“I heard the exact same thing!”
“But was that just any ordinary necklace?”
“Well…”
“Even if it contained feelings of admiration privately, wouldn't it hold a much greater significance publicly?”
“You’re right!”
“I saw it with my own eyes earlier. It was a treasure so brilliant and majestic it could blind you. It’s a treasure that our Brillant Empire could easily consider a historical relic…”
As the conversation among the nobles flowed in the desired direction, the woman who had first sparked the topic smiled and vanished into the crowd.
Like darkness melting into the shadows, the woman returned to the appearance of a high-ranking noble family’s head maid in the blink of an eye.
The woman was none other than Adel.
Adel wiped away parts of her face with a handkerchief.
The noblewoman with the plain, featureless face vanished from the world.
All that remained now was the massive wave that Tulia had orchestrated.
“Lady Tulia! What on earth happened?”
The Marchioness of Robens, who had come running in a panic, turned deathly pale upon seeing Tulia with tears in her eyes.
Tulia Frezier crying was a problem, but the real issue lay elsewhere.
It was the Grand Duke and the Marquis of Frezier, who were radiating terrifying fury on either side of her.
“Someone touched my neck while the chandelier flickered for a moment…”
“How dare they!”
Grand Duke Asis Frezier let out a roar of rage.
“Where is the Marquis of Robens? How does a high-ranking noble family manage a banquet so poorly!”
Marquis Aster asked in a voice thick with reproach.
“Marchioness. What are you doing not locking the mansion doors immediately? Are you planning to let the thief escape?”
The glares from the two giants of the Frezier family were so fierce that the other nobles were busy averting their eyes.
“Y-Your Grace…!”
A short while later.
The Marquis of Robens, who had arrived with a pale face, frantically tried to manage the situation before eventually stepping out onto the terrace to engage in a desperate, frantic spat with his wife.
“Do you think that was just a simple piece of jewelry?! What are we going to do now?”
Even if it were just a simple accessory, it was an item easily worth tens of billions of gold. More importantly, the honor of the House of Robens had hit rock bottom.
Now, no one would attend a banquet hosted by the House of Robens. They might never receive an invitation again for the rest of their lives. To this couple, the invitations sent by lower nobility were their entire world!
“Can we search every single one of these distinguished guests? Even if we could, do you think the House of the Grand Duke would stay quiet if we just let this slide?!”
There wasn't a soul on the continent who didn't know that Grand Duke Frezier cherished his granddaughter like a treasure.
Furthermore, this could escalate into an international issue involving the harmony of two continents!
Furious to the point of madness, yet unable to fathom the magnitude of the aftermath this incident would bring, the Marquis of Robens repeatedly punched the terrace wall.
“…Calm down. There is one way.”
“A way? What way?!”
“The fact remains that His Majesty the Emperor of this empire is my brother. That is our way out…”
Thus, the Marquis and Marchioness of Robens went to the palace the very next day, knelt before the Emperor, and reported the incident. The Marchioness, in particular, shed floods of tears as she begged for help.
Ultimately, the Brillant Imperial Family decided to dispatch the Imperial Knight Order.
All for the sake of recovering that precious treasure, the Blue Diamond Necklace.