Chapter 119
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 119
Bella, who had stepped back after Lady Hendrick’s introduction, soon returned. Her expression was clouded with worry as she addressed Jeremia.
"Ah, Lady Listerwell. Is something the matter?"
"I have something urgent to discuss, if you can spare a moment. It concerns Duke Kailas."
"Cedric? Hmm... Very well. I’ll hear you out."
Jeremia maintained her practiced smile as she followed Bella into the mansion’s corridor. Many guests were passing through the hall, but none dared to interrupt or speak to the Grand Duchess.
"What is it?" Jeremia asked once they were alone.
Bella glanced around as if terrified of being overheard, then leaned in to whisper. "I heard something rather concerning recently."
"There aren't many people in the Empire with enough leisure to worry about Cedric..."
"The Duke is already aware of the matter. I was simply concerned whether you, Grand Duchess, were also informed." Bella took a deep breath, looking Jeremia straight in the eye. "I heard that my cousin, Harriet, approached Duke Kailas with a memento belonging to the Late Duke. Were you aware of this?"
The moment the words 'Late Duke' left Bella’s lips, Jeremia’s smile froze.
"Roan... a memento of his? Are you referring to the Ruby Brooch?"
"Yes. It seems Duke Kailas had it stolen from him, but Harriet somehow tracked it down and retrieved it. Currently, the Duke is wearing that very brooch."
Jeremia gazed into the empty air, lost in thought for a moment, before turning her sharp attention back to Bella. "Continue."
"As for where it was found... I am truly sorry to be the one to tell you this, but it was apparently at a rather debauched party. It was being offered as a prize for an event, and Harriet seems to have actively pursued and claimed it."
"And who," Jeremia asked, her voice dropping an octave, "was the person who offered Duke Roan Kailas’s possession as a prize at such a sordid gathering?"
"I don't know the exact details myself. It’s simply what I heard from someone who attended—they mentioned seeing Harriet there."
Bella backed off, and Jeremia didn't press her further. Cedric would already know the culprit, and it wouldn't be difficult for her to find out herself if she set her mind to it.
When Jeremia remained silent, Bella’s brow furrowed with feigned pity.
"I’m worried because Harriet is such an unpredictable girl. She must have made some sort of demand, and Duke Kailas would have had to grant it to retrieve his father’s memento. Someone also reported seeing him with Harriet at the Albeman Bank outing recently."
"Are you saying Lady Harriet attended the Albeman Bank outing? She wouldn't have received an invitation."
"I heard she went as someone else’s partner. And frankly, that partner was... someone with a rather unsavory reputation."
Jeremia shook her head, a faint, incredulous smile playing on the corner of her lips. She looked utterly dumbfounded.
Bella let out a small, theatrical sigh. "I’ve been deeply troubled by my cousin’s actions, but I felt the Grand Duchess should be aware. Please, look out for Cedric."
"Look out for Cedric, you say? Hohoho! Don't you worry about that."
"Then I shall take my leave. I apologize for taking up your time with such an unpleasant matter."
"Not at all. It was quite interesting. Well then... I’ll go back in first."
Jeremia bid her farewell with a pleasant face, then turned and headed back toward the ballroom. Though her lips remained curved in a gentle arc, her eyes had grown cold and hollow.
* * *
After the party concluded, Jeremia did not return to the Kailas estate. Instead, she headed for the residence of Count Weaver.
Though she had arrived without notice, Count Samuel Weaver, the master of the mansion, greeted her with a gentle embrace.
"Welcome, Jeremia."
"I’m sorry for barging in like this, Samuel."
"This is a pleasant surprise, not an intrusion. It makes me happy to see you, so don't apologize."
He was Jeremia’s lover; they had been together for three years. Jeremia, who typically never maintained a relationship for longer than a year, hadn't even considered breaking up with him. This was precisely because Samuel was a man of little ambition.
He knew well that he could never be more precious to Jeremia than Roan had been, and he desired nothing more than to simply be by her side. Above all, he had a knack for reading the mood of the poker-faced Jeremia.
"You don't seem to be in good spirits. Has something happened?"
"Hmm. There’s no fooling you."
Jeremia stepped out of his embrace, removed her gloves, and settled onto the drawing-room sofa. The Weaver household staff moved with practiced efficiency, serving warm mulled wine. Though winter had passed, nothing was better than spiced wine to lift her spirits.
Jeremia raised the glass and savored the scent of cinnamon.
"I had to learn of something vital to Cedric from a stranger’s mouth. And to top it off, I was told to 'look out' for him."
"A careless person, then. Or perhaps there was some ulterior motive behind the warning?"
"It doesn't matter which. That’s not the important part."
As the wine warmed her body and her lover’s presence put her at ease, Jeremia’s true emotions finally surfaced.
"Cedric... had Roan’s memento stolen."
"...The past tense implies it was recovered, then."
"Yes. Fortunately, someone found it and brought it back. But I had no idea. If he had only told me, he wouldn't have needed to rely on others."
"Perhaps that’s precisely why he didn't tell you? He likely knew that if you got involved, things would escalate."
Though she was the Grand Duchess of Kailas in name, she was still the Emperor’s beloved younger sister. If she had moved to retrieve her husband’s memento, the power of the Imperial Family would have intervened. Given Cedric’s personality, he wouldn't have wanted to be the center of such a scandal.
"Yes, I suppose so. Still, that brooch isn't only meaningful to Cedric. I was the one who gave it to Roan..."
Samuel gently wrapped his arm around Jeremia’s shoulders. Her nose was reddened with rising emotion.
"How could he not know that? He might have kept it a secret precisely because he knew. He wanted to spare you the pain."
"No. He hates me. Though, I suppose it’s all my own karma."
"That’s not true. From the moment Roan left that brooch as a memento, Cedric would have known that you and Roan loved each other. Though things went a little awry, the Cedric of today is a fine man; he’ll understand."
"He might understand, but he won't forgive me. That’s why he keeps his affairs from me."
In her naive youth, when she believed being loved was her birthright, she hadn't understood the weight of her actions. She hadn't known that her childish tantrums would lead to such consequences, eventually crushing her.
Jeremia took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "I shouldn't even hope for forgiveness. I’m still so selfish."
"Jeremia, you’ve regretted and suffered enough. Roan knew it all along, didn't he? He knew that you, too, needed a place for your heart to lean on."
It was true. Roan knew Jeremia yearned for endless affection, yet he couldn't fulfill that desire himself. He had accepted others loving her in his stead.
At the time, she had despaired, believing his acceptance was merely indifference. But as he departed for the war, he had looked at her with a face devoid of emotion and spoken words she would never forget.
"If you are happy, I don't care what becomes of me or how I am forgotten. Please take care of yourself, Jeremia. I’m sorry for everything."
"What are you saying? What do you mean by that?"
"Because my love was too insignificant... No, let’s not talk about this now. Until I return, stay well."
She had resented him for leaving her with those words. She hated him for making her look back on a love that was already over, and for pretending to be the "good one" while leaving her with the guilt. She had even resolved never to forgive him.
But on the day the news of his death reached her, Jeremia realized she had never once let go of her love for him. As she writhed in agony, feeling as if her heart were being torn in two, it was herself she came to loathe.
And it was Samuel who had silently stood by her as a pillar of support during that dark time.
"I always feel sorry, Samuel. I feel as if I’m only ever troubling you. I know you can't even be at ease in our own home because of Cedric’s watchful eye."
"I can endure any amount of hatred. Just never tell me to leave you, Jeremia."
Moved by Samuel’s unwavering devotion, Jeremia kissed his forehead, her heart full of mingled pity and gratitude.
Samuel, who was an expert at comforting her, knew exactly how to restore her vitality: by giving her a problem to solve.
"Still, no matter how I think about it, something bothers me. Who stole that brooch? What was the intention of the person who retrieved it? And why did the person who informed you bother to tell you something that was already resolved?"
Sure enough, a sharp, bright sparkle returned to Jeremia’s deep blue eyes.