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"I clearly said earlier that Blane burned the painting...?"
Blane had switched the paintings and sent a note through a maid carrying wine, saying he succeeded in the switch.
'What... how did this happen?'
Thwack!
Before Peidan could even sort out his bewildered expression, the lights in the hall came back on.
At the same time, Leticia's face came into his view.
A very bright face, smiling as if certain of her victory.
"I hope this has confirmed it's the real thing?"
Peidan blinked incredulously, then covered the part with the luminous signature with his hand and looked again.
But no matter how much he rubbed his eyes and looked again, the signature was still there.
"That's a relief. It's good that the precious painting will go to the person who has been longing for it."
At that moment, the thought that dominated Peidan's mind was.
Not the frustration that his plan had gone awry, nor the anger towards Leticia who was wearing a mocking smile...
'My 100 million gold...!'
It was his money that he had blown away on this one piece of paper.
The thought that his precious money was used to buy that piece of paper made his stomach ache so badly he could barely stand it.
As if reading his mind, Leticia added insult to injury.
"Oh, how would you like to pay? It's such a large sum, it might be difficult to manage all at once... but I suppose this kind of worry is meddling for Duke Farnese, isn't it?"
"W-wait a minute! I have no intention of buying this painting...!"
Peidan, who had been speechless and just opening and closing his mouth, belatedly came to his senses and tried to return the painting, but he couldn't bring himself to finish the sentence.
Because the nobles attending this auction were staring at him.
He couldn't say in front of them that he had no intention of buying the painting, or that his purpose was to humiliate Leticia.
In the end, Peidan had no choice but to nod, clutching his aching stomach.
Leticia smiled at him.
"Then I'll assume you'll be paying in full."
A victorious smile.
Only then did Peidan realize.
'That woman, she must have known about my plot...!'
It wasn't Leticia who was played by his scheme, but himself.
"Alright, please guide the guests to the banquet hall."
After instructing the maids, Leticia turned away, leaving Peidan behind, who was glaring at her as if he wanted to kill her.
A satisfied smile hung on her lips as she leisurely walked away.
'Well, the ducal family won't go bankrupt with just 100 million gold, but it will still be quite a blow.'
Just as she was trying to suppress her emerging laughter and go prepare for the banquet, she met the eyes of her waiting lover.
Leticia approached him and carefully brought up the topic.
"You were doing a great job as a decoy, weren't you?"
"Oh, were you caught trying to do some good deeds in secret?"
"You can see who's doing what behind the stage, you know."
It was Idris who had fiercely competed with Peidan for the betting amount until the very end of the auction.
"Anyway, thank you. Thanks to you, I squeezed a big sum out of that guy."
"It's a gentleman's pleasure to help a lady. But how were you so sure that he was the culprit?"
"...Ah."
"Of course, there was a possibility based on the circumstances, but you couldn't be sure without evidence, right?"
Leticia flinched at the sharp point.
'But I can't say that I have an amazing eye for distinguishing valuable things and people...!
"Just..."
"Just?"
"It's just a feeling. I have a good intuition for distinguishing bad things and bad people."
"Just a feeling?"
Idris let out a hollow laugh at her absurd answer.
It wasn't the kind of answer Leticia, who usually thinks and acts thoroughly, would give.
Leticia changed the subject before he could ask more persistently.
"Then what made you believe in me and pressure that servant?"
Just now, it was Idris's force that made Blane reveal the location where he had hidden the real painting.
Leticia knew that Blane was the real culprit, but Idris didn't have any reliable evidence.
If Blane was an innocent person, Idris's position would have been difficult for using violence against him.
But the fact that he stepped forward meant that he must have had something to believe in.
But an unexpected answer came back.
"I just had a feeling too. A feeling that you would be right."
Leticia burst into a ridiculous laugh.
His reckless appearance and her own appearance were very similar.
'At this rate, we're a fantastic partner.'
Idris looked at Leticia, who was chuckling to herself, and naturally reached out his hand as if it were the obvious thing to do.
"Then shall we go prepare for the banquet now?"
Leticia also placed her hand on his hand. As if it were natural now.
Behind the two people walking away hand in hand, Mikael appeared with a bright expression.
"Leti―"
He tried to approach while calling Leticia, but stopped when he saw Idris next to her.
And that call was never followed through.
"Ha, do you think I want to attend a banquet right now?"
Peidan, who was being led to the banquet hall by servants, eventually shook them off and stormed out of the building, fuming.
"My 100 million gold..."
The more he thought about the money that had flown away on just an old piece of paper, the more his stomach ached.
The more that happened, the more his anger towards Leticia consumed him.
Just as Peidan was grinding his teeth, an unfamiliar voice came from behind.
"To cheat on a husband who is so devoted that he would spend a lot of money to save his wife's face... it's a truly lamentable thing."
Startled, he turned around and saw...
"...Your Highness Grand Duke Zahir?"
"You must be very upset, Duke Farnese."
"Ah, yes..."
Peidan looked at Deon, who was comforting him, with a sullen expression.
First, it was because his pride as the only heir to the ducal family and who had grown up as a duke could not allow someone's pity.
Second, it was because he knew that Deon had once coveted his wife, Leticia.
At the time, he had disciplined Leticia, saying, "Isn't it because you're giving him room to do so," but in any case, he couldn't like a man who had targeted his things.
Deon came out shamelessly, whether he had completely forgotten about the matter or was pretending to have forgotten.
"I like cliché stories where good triumphs and evil is punished. Whether it's a play or reality."
"..."
"Of course, the same goes for the Duke's story."
"..."
"If you ever need my help, come find me anytime."
He even lightly patted Peidan's shoulder before turning around.
'I'm not some petty nobleman, I'm a duke, there's no way there's something I can't handle on my own.'
Peidan, who had been looking at the disappearing back with a sullen expression, remembered the 'something he couldn't handle' that he had temporarily forgotten, and began to writhe in pain once again.
"Ah, my 100 million gold!"
The most attention at the banquet was on my necklace.
To be exact, it was the yellow diamond necklace that Idris had won at this charity auction.
'If Peidan were here, he would have gotten the most attention.'
After all, he had donated a whopping 100 million gold at the charity bazaar.
'But since he blew 100 million gold in the wrong place, he probably couldn't attend the banquet because his stomach hurt too much.'
Peidan's expression when he confirmed that the painting was real and was about to die of stomach pain was still vivid.
"What's so funny?"
Idris, who had brought wine, looked at me, who was chuckling to myself, with a puzzled look and handed me a glass.
I received the glass and mumbled.
"Just... I'm happy that I successfully finished today's bazaar."
Of course, Idris also knows that I hate Peidan terribly and that I wanted to get revenge.
'But I don't want to openly reveal my dark inner thoughts.'
Is it because he's a good person to me? I especially didn't want to show him my ugly side.
"Well, let's raise a glass to victory."
I hid my inner thoughts and clinked my glass against his.
Fortunately, Idris didn't ask any more questions.
It was then that I was taking a breather, drinking wine with him.
"Lady Chloe."
When I turned around at the voice calling me, there was the chief of staff of the imperial palace.
"His Majesty wishes to see the young lady."
'His Majesty, me?'
Not just Idris?
I was surprised by the unexpected call and just blinked, but Idris answered instead.
"I'll be there soon."
The chief of staff, who was watching, corrected the imperial order the moment Idris, who naturally thought that we were both being called together, tried to take my hand.
"He only wished to see Lady Chloe."
Only me?!
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