Chapter 85
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 85
“Lady Tulia. Lady Sophia has arrived.”
“Send her in.”
I sat in the drawing room and waited.
Soon, the door opened, and Sophia entered, guided by the assistant butler. She looked wide-eyed the entire time. The moment she saw me, she tried to fix her expression, but she couldn't quite hide her shock as she took in the interior.
Right. You probably only ever came to see Tulia when she was stuck in that damn warehouse, didn't you?
And even then, it was only once or twice.
After being granted various authorities, my quarters had recently been moved to the ‘Moon Chambers.’ Aside from the Grand Duke and his wife, it was the finest suite a direct descendant of the Frezier family could occupy.
In short, it meant a girl who used to live like a beggar in the middle of nowhere had suddenly moved into a luxury penthouse with a prime river view.
From Sophia’s perspective, seeing someone who had been a total nobody suddenly rise to such heights was bound to be a shock.
“Sit.”
“Oh, right. Sure.”
However, she was still a direct descendant of Frezier, and Lilius and Aubrey had raised her to be the textbook definition of a lady—unlike Tulia, whom they had raised to be a fool. Consequently, Sophia was able to compose herself faster than I expected.
Seating herself with an elegant posture, Sophia spoke with a haughty air.
“I heard you prepared a gift to congratulate me on my engagement?”
“Yes. We are cousins, after all. Have some tea first.”
I offered her tea. While sipping it like a refined lady, Sophia’s eyes darted around, scanning the quality of the teacups and the carvings on the table.
This is where things differ from the game.
In The Milk Bread, Sophia Frezier was a minor character among minor characters, someone with very little presence. However, her setting established her as being very clever, ensuring she never came out on the losing end of a deal. Depending on which ending Corico chose, there were brief mentions of what happened to the supporting cast; in those, Sophia was always described as having secured a wealthy and prestigious marriage.
But right now, we were three years before the start of The Milk Bread.
Age is something you can’t ignore.
It seemed the Sophia of three years ago wasn't quite as capable as her counterpart in the game. It was only natural. Still, she was quite sharp for her age.
Which is to say, she was cunning.
She must have followed the assistant butler here with a mix of doubt and curiosity, knowing that I now held sovereignty over internal affairs. If she hadn't known that, she would have just told me to send the gift through a servant and ignored my invitation entirely.
“Grans.”
“Yes, Lady Tulia.”
“Bring them out.”
The assistant butler brought out three jewelry boxes he had prepared in advance.
“Th-three...?” Sophia muttered despite herself.
“Open them. All of them.”
“All of them?”
Sophia reached out hurriedly.
“Oh!”
She immediately covered her mouth with both hands.
The brilliant radiance. The massive size. The exquisite cutting. I let Sophia indulge in her shock for a moment.
“Do you like them?”
“They’re... not bad,” Sophia managed to say.
Contrary to her aloof answer, her eyes were busy darting between the jewelry boxes in a frenzy. That greed—it was magnificent.
It’s enough to make anyone’s head spin.
After all, those jewels were all bought with the public funds Aubrey had embezzled.
As if to prove they were a perfect match, Lilius’s wife, Aubrey, was incredibly greedy. Although she had technically returned the family’s jewels, she was undoubtedly plotting a way to reclaim a few of them once she resolved her current situation. For instance, that yellow diamond brooch that Sophia was clearly most enamored with.
You couldn't buy something like that even if you had the money.
The sheer audacity it took to pluck such a treasure from the family vault and keep it in her own jewelry box for over ten years. If even Countess Roxanne Frezier, the legal wife of Grand Duke Nigella Frezier, had been present at the main castle, she would have checked the ledgers for such precious items.
This is why it’s important to have the right people in the right places—especially in a family this large. With the positions of the high-ranking ladies left vacant, Aubrey, who held the lowest rank, had been able to run wild with her embezzlements.
“Tulia?”
Sophia finally tore her gaze away from the jewels and asked in a sharp voice.
“So, which of these do you want to give me? Are you telling me to choose one?”
“They’re all your engagement gifts.”
“Wh-what?!”
“It’s an engagement to the Crown Prince, after all. Did you really think I’d be petty enough to give you just one?”
“B-but...!”
“Besides, don't you know? I’ve been given full sovereignty over internal affairs.”
“...I heard about that.”
“Right? So I can easily do this much for you.”
I tilted my head slightly.
“But it’s a bit strange. Originally, Uncle Lilius and Aunt Aubrey held the power over internal affairs.”
“...”
“It might have been hard for them to give you something this precious every day. But surely they could have given you at least one for your birthday, or even when you passed the Academy entrance exam?”
“...Of course, I’ve received similar things before.”
“Is that so? I almost misunderstood.”
I smiled softly, but inside, I was thinking: Like hell you did.
They only ever had one child they truly doted on and spoiled.
“I suppose so. Tedric received things like this all the time from them.”
“What?”
In an instant, Sophia’s eyes widened.
“So, as their daughter, I’m sure you weren't discriminated against and received plenty as well. Treasures of this caliber, I mean.”
“...How, how do you know that? How do you know what Brother Tedric received from Mother and Father?”
“How do I know?”
I tapped my foot lightly.
“You know why I’m in this wheelchair right now, don't you?”
Sophia looked flustered and avoided my gaze.
I guess she’s heard.
“Tedric was kicked out. I have a bit of a nasty streak myself, so I looked into everything. Once I took over internal affairs, I found there were more records I could check than I expected.”
“...”
Sophia quietly bit the inside of her cheek. I stayed silent for a moment to let her imagination run wild.
Your head is spinning, isn't it? You’ve never received anything like this, have you? But I’m telling you Tedric got stuff like this all the time. Feel betrayed? Quite a bit?
Even if Aubrey tried to scrape some money together and demanded to know where the jewels were—insisting that, according to family law, she should be the one wearing them and managing the ledgers—I could just say I gave them to Sophia as 'engagement gifts for a direct descendant.'
After that, whether she screamed at me or got into a massive fight with Sophia to get the jewels back... it wasn't my problem. At the very least, I’d get to watch Aubrey’s blood pressure skyrocket.
And in the meantime...
It seemed Sophia had finished her calculations. More accurately, it looked like her anger was reaching a boiling point. It was written all over her face.
I asked nonchalantly, pretending not to notice.
“What are you going to ask Grandfather for as an engagement gift?”
“Why?! So you can interfere?!”
Her voice came out sharp. It meant she was very angry and had completely failed to control her emotions. It was the first time in my life I was happy to have someone’s sparks fly at me for no reason.
As I thought, she’s a million times easier to handle than that old snake Lilius.
“How could I interfere with an engagement gift?”
I blinked as if surprised, then asked with a bright smile.
“Oh, wait. Is it because it’s an engagement gift related to Tedric?”