Chapter 97
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 97
“As I’ve already stated, if you want an investment from the Ducal House, you must submit the data on all ingredients, their suppliers, and the active components of every medicine your company manufactures. I will make my decision after a thorough review.”
“Come now, Cedric. Let’s not make this difficult.”
“Is there any reason I shouldn't?”
As if he had been waiting for that exact opening, Albert spoke with a swaggering air.
“You want your father’s keepsake back, don’t you? That Ruby Brooch—your uncle placed it in your hands himself, didn't he?”
For a moment, Harriet felt the breath catch in her throat. She instinctively clamped a hand over her mouth to stifle a gasp.
‘Was Albert Kingsley really the fool trying to make an enemy of House Kailas? Why on earth would he do that?’
Harriet simply couldn't wrap her head around it. Even if he just stayed quiet, he would enjoy endless benefits as a close relative of the Ducal House. Why was he deliberately provoking Cedric?
“So, it was your doing.”
Albert didn’t flinch, even at Cedric’s chilling response.
“I know what you’re imagining, but you’ve got it wrong. I simply happened to come across it while visiting an underground auction house.”
“This is the first I’ve heard of an underground auction house.”
“You don’t know everything in the world, do you? Regardless, I spent a fortune to buy your uncle’s keepsake so it wouldn't be lost to some stranger. You should show a little sincerity in return.”
Cedric fell silent.
During that brief lapse in conversation, Harriet felt goosebumps prickle her skin. She couldn't tell if the chill came from a sudden gust of wind or from the sheer weight of Cedric’s suppressed rage.
‘One thing is certain. Albert Kingsley has crossed a line he can never come back from.’
Harriet knew Cedric Kailas’s true nature was nowhere near as gentle or kind as his outward appearance suggested. She almost felt sorry for Albert, but if one were to judge the victor of this exchange, Albert seemed to hold the upper hand.
Harriet understood the stakes all too well, having lost parents she loved dearly. If her parents had handed her an object just before boarding a ship and told her to ‘keep it safe,’ she wouldn't have been able to let go of it until her dying day.
She found herself sympathizing with Cedric’s plight—until he spoke.
“I refuse.”
“What?”
“What?”
Albert and Harriet spoke in unison.
Startled by her own voice, Harriet covered her mouth again and curled her body deeper into her hiding spot. Fortunately, it seemed they hadn't heard her over the distance.
“Cedric! What is your problem? It’s not as if I’m asking for a massive investment, and I’m even guaranteeing a return on the principal! On top of that, I’m offering to return the keepsake you were careless enough to lose!”
To an outsider, it might have sounded like a display of genuine brotherly affection. But Cedric replied with a cold, unperturbed expression.
“There is no way to know if you bought it or stole it. More importantly, my father would never want me to be strong-armed like this.”
“Cedric—!”
“That brooch likely isn't worth much in terms of raw currency. If you truly bought it at an auction, you’ve made a poor investment.”
With that, Cedric walked right past Michael and Albert, heading toward the exit.
The two men—and Harriet, who remained hidden—were frozen in bewilderment, left staring at his retreating back.
“That arrogant prick!”
Even in the presence of the Imperial Prince, Albert spat out a curse.
Michael looked back and forth between the direction Cedric had gone and Albert’s livid face, looking increasingly anxious.
“J-just calm down. I’ll call the Duke and try to persuade him one more time.”
“Forget it. It seems his father’s keepsake wasn't enough bait to hook him.”
“Still, we should try talking to him again. It’s the Late Duke’s keepsake; he’ll have to return it eventually...”
“Return it? Why would I?” Albert scoffed. “As that bastard said, if things stay like this, I’ll be at a loss. I can’t let that happen, so I might as well make use of it in my own way.”
“What are you going to do?”
“Well, let’s see...”
He pulled something from his pocket, examined it, and muttered to himself.
“Ah, yes! I’ll offer it as a prize at the upcoming Angelic Party. It’s a national hero’s keepsake, so it must have some draw, right? The guests will flock to it.”
“Hey, Albert! Even so, that was your uncle’s item—a hero’s. To offer such a precious thing as a prize at that kind of party...!”
“‘That kind’ of party?” Albert retorted coldly. His tone was far removed from the proper etiquette required when addressing an Imperial Prince. “What exactly are you confused about? Just because you’ve had plenty of medicine lately, do you think you’re suddenly dignified and refined?”
“How can you say that!”
“Your Highness, why are you taking that tone? It offends a simple medicine seller like me. You should know better than anyone that the medicine you take is the lifeblood of ‘that kind’ of party. So don’t pretend to be so noble.”
“Albert...!”
While Michael stood there, shocked but not daring to reprimand him, Albert looked toward the exit where Cedric had disappeared and clicked his tongue.
“Hmph! Let’s see if he can still act so high and mighty once he sees Rowan Kailas’s keepsake dangling from a courtesan’s chest.”
He spat on the floor of the Empress’s Palace corridor and stormed toward the exit.
Michael stared at the spit with a contorted face, but after being barked at with a sharp “What are you standing there for?”, he flustered and followed after Albert.
Only after they had completely vanished did Harriet let out a long, shaky sigh and sink to the floor.
“Phew... I feel like I’ve just learned something I really shouldn't have.”
Suddenly, Trisha’s warning to be wary of the Kingsley family flashed through her mind. The true faces of the Kingsley father and son, who appeared so gentlemanly on the surface, were far more sordid than she had imagined.
Harriet sat there to catch her breath and calm her racing heart. As the flowers before her eyes came back into focus, a wave of revulsion washed over her.
‘Threatening someone with their parents’ keepsake?’
She imagined how she would feel if someone tried to bargain with her using her own father’s or mother’s belongings. She didn't need to think twice; she would be beyond furious.
In that light, Cedric’s judgment was correct. Forcing an investment in such a cowardly manner clearly meant the venture was rotten. If it were truly an ‘investment where no one loses,’ Cedric would have willingly provided the funds before any threats were made—especially since it involved his cousin’s business.
‘Now that I think about it, Cedric asked him to reveal the ingredients earlier. Why would he be hiding that?’
The <Angelic> produced by Albert’s company was marketed as a mood enhancer, a treatment for depression, and an aphrodisiac. If it truly had no side effects, it would undoubtedly be a ‘dream drug’ capable of raking in a fortune.
The fact that they were refusing to disclose the raw materials and medicinal effects meant they were hiding something serious.
‘Cedric isn't letting this slide because he’s ignorant. Albert Kingsley is forcing the investment precisely because Cedric knows too much.’
And though she wasn't certain, Harriet had a hunch about what those side effects were.
Michael’s behavior—flustered and subservient in front of a mere Viscount’s heir—and Albert’s taunt about Michael having ‘plenty of medicine’ pointed to a dark reality. For such an abnormal power dynamic to exist...
‘It’s an addiction. That’s the only reason an Imperial Prince would be dragged around by a Viscount’s son.’
Since Albert controlled the supply, anyone who couldn't live without the drug was powerless before him, regardless of their status.
‘So he’s nothing more than a drug dealer, and he’s openly threatening people in the Imperial Palace?’
Her anger began to simmer.
She recalled the brooch she often saw pinned to Cedric’s chest whenever they met. It was a slightly outdated design, but the large ruby was impeccably maintained—spotless and without a single scratch—encircled by diamonds that shone like a halo.
That brooch, cherished by Rowan Kailas and undoubtedly by Cedric as well, was currently in Albert Kingsley’s pocket. Would it be handled with any shred of respect when offered as a prize at ‘that kind’ of party?
‘The Angelic Party... It’s clearly a masquerade ball. If the drug is meant to enhance sexual desire...’
Just imagining it made her face flush. It would be a place rife with unspeakable debauchery. And in the most vulgar corner of that sordid party, Rowan Kailas’s keepsake would be displayed. Its meaning would be defiled, gawked at by the depraved.
Imagining it as her own parents’ item, the mere thought was as painful as having every bone in her body shattered.
Harriet massaged her aching legs, stood up, and slowly began to walk toward the exit.