Chapter 15
Roshanne crossed her arms and leaned back nonchalantly.
“Duke, did you give me money?”
“What?”
“Since you didn’t give it to me, I sent the bill your way.”
To anyone listening, it sounded as if she’d entrusted him with her money—bold and utterly shameless.
“Why should I pay for what you spent, Roshanne!”
“Because a child’s mistakes are the parent’s responsibility. I’m the child, and you’re the parent, right? Let’s each do our part diligently.”
Fighting.
Roshanne lightly clenched her fist and cheered as if encouraging him. The Duke, grinding his teeth, crumpled the bill in his hand tightly. Then, as if he wouldn’t let it slide anymore, he threw it to the floor.
“No. This isn’t mine; it’s the amount you used, Roshanne. I can’t pay this for you.”
The Duke glared at the bill he’d tossed to the ground, his stance unyielding.
“You made impulsive unnecessary expenditures. It seems you need to relearn the concept of economics. Pay for what you spent yourself, Roshanne!”
“But I don’t have any money.”
“That’s your burden to bear. You’re the one who spent recklessly knowing you had no money! I never raised you like this!”
Roshanne let out a deep sigh and crossed her arms, sinking into thought.
“Sell whatever jewels or accessories you have and take care of the mess you made.”
The Duke commanded firmly. This time, he had no intention of letting it go easily.
Not until she cried her eyes out, snot and all, begging for forgiveness…
“Really?”
Would he really help… No, but instead of crying, why does she look so pleased?
No sooner had the Duke finished speaking than Roshanne lifted her head sharply, as if she’d found a solution.
“Is it really okay to sell my jewels and accessories to settle this?”
“…Yes. They’re yours, so handle it as you see fit. But remember, when you sell them, they’ll fetch much less than their worth.”
“Did you hear that?”
Lightly ignoring the Duke’s words, Roshanne turned her head to look at the maids waiting behind her.
The maids wore deeply awkward expressions, unsure what to do as they glanced between the Duke and Roshanne.
“Those items I left with the merchants to sell back then.”
The maids flinched in surprise.
“There were quite a few people who wanted to buy them, right? I put it on hold for a bit.”
“Yes. But, miss, those are…”
“Go sell them.”
Roshanne said decisively.
“Send someone to the merchants right now and tell them to sell everything, without leaving a single one.”
At Roshanne’s command, the maid couldn’t even respond and subtly glanced at Duke Railaten. Seeing the maid check his reaction, the Duke furrowed his brow in irritation.
“The order came from Roshanne, so why are you looking at me?”
As if to say follow the miss’s command, the Duke jerked his chin, urging her to go.
“U-Understood, miss…”
In the end, the maids hurried out to follow Roshanne’s order.
“Ha. So you did have a plan for cleanup. Leaving items with the merchants to sell in advance shows that.”
“I thought something like this might happen. I hoped it wouldn’t, but I didn’t expect it to actually turn out this way.”
Roshanne drooped her shoulders with a sad expression. Seeing that, the Duke cleared his throat awkwardly, letting out a needless cough.
“And while we’re at it… Roshanne. Fix that strange way of speaking.”
“What’s wrong with how I talk?”
“I heard you used that tone with His Highness the Crown Prince as well.”
“The Crown Prince said that?”
“Ha… If you use that tone with royalty, you could be summarily executed for insulting the imperial family.”
“I haven’t insulted any royalty yet.”
At Roshanne’s murmur, the Duke paused.
“…Yet?”
So, does that mean she will someday?
“It wasn’t even a formal occasion, and to that brat…”
“Roshanne.”
The Duke, fearful that someone might overhear, scanned the surroundings and cut off Roshanne’s words.
It was the first time in her life someone had interrupted her mid-sentence. Everyone had always listened attentively to what Roshanne said.
Feeling far from pleased, Roshanne furrowed her brow.
“Duke. Even if I did insult royalty, they couldn’t summarily execute me right now.”
“What nonsense…”
“If the Emperor summarily executes me, he’d be destroying the center of the imperial faction with his own hands. Unless he’s an idiot, he wouldn’t do that, right?”
“…Oh?”
“And the Crown Prince needs to somehow keep the Railaten family on his side to safely become Emperor and hold onto that position—he wouldn’t cast me out. If the Crown Prince discards the Railaten family, he’d turn his back on all the nobles in the imperial faction. Wouldn’t that endanger his claim to the throne?”
“That’s… right.”
The Duke nodded as if he’d never even considered that far.
Even a child could figure out such a simple calculation, yet the Duke, who had been chained for so long by the massive collar of the imperial family, seemed incapable of even that much arithmetic.
‘I suppose I need to completely overhaul the Duke’s mindset from the ground up.’
It was precisely at that moment when Roshanne settled on her utmost priority.
“Miss.”
The maid who had dashed off returned once more. Roshanne’s face brightened, her eyes sparkling as she turned toward the maid.
“Did everything sell?”
“Yes. I sent someone to convey the message, and they confirmed they’d sell it all.”
“Good work. What about the money?”
“They said they’d send it to you through someone as soon as it’s received.”
Roshanne nodded with deep satisfaction. Likewise, the Duke, overhearing the exchange between Roshanne and the maid, nodded along contentedly.
“Yes, Roshanne. See? This is something you could handle on your own. From now on, take care of matters like this yourself.”
“Yeah. I didn’t realize it would be this straightforward.”
“The first time is always the toughest; everything becomes easier with practice.”
“Yeah. But it’s a little disappointing…”
Roshanne murmured, letting her shoulders sag.
“I was even debating keeping that ‘Mermaid’s Tear’ for myself because it was so beautiful.”
The Duke, who had been nodding with satisfaction, froze at the familiar phrase.
“Mermaid’s Tear?”
“Yeah.”
Alarmingly, the words were all too familiar.
“…What is that?”
The Duke asked, swallowing dryly. Roshanne blinked her wide eyes and replied.
“What do you mean? It’s the jewel from your jewel box.”
At her casual response, the Duke’s crossed arms dropped limply to his sides with a thud.
“You said to sell jewels or accessories, didn’t you?”
“You… you…”
“Didn’t you even look at the bill properly? Selling just my own jewels and accessories wouldn’t cover that amount.”
“You, you!”
“Don’t worry, Duke. I didn’t touch anything else. I only handled the items the Emperor personally gifted you. I left the official bestowals or anything with records untouched. Dealing with those would get messy. I just sold the ones passed under the table, without leaving any trace.”
The sleazy vibe clinging to them was so blatantly shiny that it was easy to tell them apart.
The Duke’s jaw dropped open so wide it nearly hit the floor.
“You, what did you just say?”
“Since they were personal gifts to you, selling them shouldn’t cause any issues. …Ah, but the Emperor who gave them might feel a bit hurt, so brace yourself mentally.”
No way.
Really?
It can’t be.
No way.
The Duke turned his wavering gaze toward the maid. Suddenly, he recalled how the maid had glanced at him for approval earlier upon hearing Roshanne’s command.
Nah. No way.
It must not be true.
“….”
The maid subtly averted her eyes from the Duke’s stare. At that instant, the Duke’s head drooped limply downward.
At his feet, he spotted the bill he had thrown away.
The astronomical figure leaped into his vision.
“This, insane.”
A curse burst out unbidden. The Duke glared at Roshanne with eyes bloodshot and bulging.
“Roshanne!!!!!”
The massive shout reverberated noisily through the garden. The startled maid and the gardeners all hastily bowed low.
Except for one single person.
“Duke. Calm down. Losing your temper like that isn’t healthy.”
Namely, excluding Roshanne, the very instigator of this chaos.
“You! You! You’re hell-bent on destroying our family! Our family!”
“I won’t destroy it.”
“The gifts bestowed directly by His Majesty! You! How dare you sell them!!”
“It’s okay. The Emperor can’t kill us yet, anyway? If we die, there’d be no house left to serve as the pillar for the imperial faction’s power, so for now, he…”
“You! You can spout such nonsense because you don’t know His Majesty the Emperor! If someone displeases him, he strikes them down without a second glance! His Majesty is…!!”
Ugh, so loud.
Roshanne nonchalantly plugged her ears with her palms.
“You’re freaking out this much over selling just a few trinkets?”
Roshanne, who had never once in her life felt fear toward the Emperor, murmured calmly.
“Alright, Duke. If the Emperor ever tries to kill us, I’ll step forward and save us. That settles it, right?”
He can’t kill us anyway. Not right now.
“You can even thank me if you want. After all, the strongest person in the empire became your child.”
“Roshanne!!!!”
Hmm. He doesn’t believe me.
But it’s the truth.
As she watched the Duke agonize over how to explain this to the Emperor, Roshanne’s eyes gleamed with a chilling light.
