Chapter 42
Ellington continued to nag because he was frustrated with the lord who only spoke carefree words.
“Sir, wouldn’t it be better to correct the false rumors? For the sake of the honor of Bellstein and the image of the Little Madam.”
The Duke, who had not been listening to Ellington, pricked his ears when Luciel’s name came out.
“Everyone knows that Bellstein has a villain image. Are there any bad rumors about Luciel?”
When he put Luciel’s name on his lips, the Duke’s mouth was strangely distorted. How dare they touch my little girl?
Ellington carefully looked into his master’s eyes and answered.
“……Yes, there is a rumor that she’s a child of unknown origin.”
“I think I know where it came from.”
The academy’s headmaster was not such a dull person to make fun of his mouth as he had a lot of sponsorship issues at stake, so the only thing left was the boutique.
In general, the boutique was the main place where the upper-class gathered and distributed rumors and information. However, the Duke pointed out that the boutique owned by Bellstein must be different.
Therefore, Florine Boutique gave the clerks training to keep the personal information they obtained while dealing with high-ranking aristocrats strictly confidential. However, they wouldn’t be able to get through the whole enlistment of the guests who had visited there.
‘More than anything else, something very annoying happened that day.’
The Duke’s eyebrows narrowed.
“I have a guess. Confirm my assumption.”
“Yes, sir.”
It didn’t take long for the current Duchess’s sister, the Countess of Serian, who is called the flower of the society, to get an answer.
“Sir, the answer has come.”
“I see, who spread the rumors? Is it the Marquis of Cavill?”
“It was the Marquis of Bellita.”
The face of the Marquise who was talking to Louivid in the boutique came to mind belatedly. As if unexpectedly finding another fly, his cold eyes narrowed.
“Is that so? If it was the Marquis of Bellita, wouldn’t they have seized fortune with the shipping business because they own ships?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Send a wizard to blow up the ships they have and disguise it as an accident.”
“……What?”
“This is a punishment for the sin of recklessly teasing our little, new daughter-in-law. Thanks to that, her reputation has gone down, so they have to endure this much.”
“……Oh, I understand, Your Grace.”
The Duke clenched his fists with rage, boiling like a wild beast, at the foolish who dared to touch what should have not been soiled.
In fact, if it had been the Marquis of Cavill, he would not have stopped at this level.
Although he could care less about Bellstein’s reputation, the shining, determined eyes of Louivid showed that he would coldly judge those who undermine Luciel’s reputation.
* * *
Penelope used to bite her lips in annoyance without realizing it when she thought about that day.
She looked younger than me but owns a famous clothing store in the capital!
Penelope was upset and her pride was hurt. None of the upper-class children who interacted with Penelope had a clothing store. No matter how much I begged my mother, it didn’t work, and her brother Maximus, who was not interested in her, would only laugh at Penelope, so she kept her mouth shut until now.
But today was the day her father was due to return.
“My father will be different. He listens to everything I want.”
Even as a child, Penelope’s green eyes were full of greed. Soon after, Penelope’s eyes twinkled when she discovered the carriage of her father, Marquis Cavill.
“Father! I missed you.”
“I missed my daughter too. Was everything well?”
Penelope, who was hugging her father’s arms as he got off the carriage, had a sullen expression on her face at the question.
“It was not a big deal.”
Marquis Cavill, who had moved to the study and listened to the whole story with Penelope on his lap, spoke in an angry voice.
“Duke Bellstein mentioned my daughter’s education??”
“Yes…… I was so scared. I was just trying to pick a dress…… but the most frustrating thing was that the Duke bought her a boutique in the city, Dad.”
At his daughter’s words, the marquis’ wife waved her hand and approached.
“Oh, honey. You don’t believe what a child says straight away, do you? It’s good not to offend the Duke of Bellstein. My liver almost dropped.”
(Note: liver is associated with courage in Korean. But in this case, it just means she almost died because of fear.)
“Pitch black Bellstein. What did they do to accumulate so much wealth……”
“Father? Do I have to stay like this?””
“Penelope?”
“I want the Florine Boutique to be mine.”
Although it was the immature words of a ten-year-old daughter, the Marquis of Cavill frowned at such excessive demands.
“……Honey, that’s for later. If things go well with this father’s business, then……Then I’ll think about it.”
“Business?”
“Yes, there is something this father has been looking for, for a long time. If we find it, maybe we will become very rich.”
Crystal Fairy.
I heard that the fantastic being who constantly creates jewels has a big jewel inside. I received a secret tip that there was a woman with a big jewel inside, and I scoured the slave traders, but nothing came out. He had no income so far, but he believed firmly.
‘Somewhere in this world, there must be something there. Definitely.’
As long as it comes into my hands, I will not envy even the king of a country.
Penelope asked the Marquis of Cavill, who had been immersed in sweet dreams with a wriggling desire.
“What is that?”
“I am looking for a woman with eyes that shine like jewels. I’ll tell you the details later when I get the woman in my hands.”
“Eyes like jewels? Woman?”
Penelope’s green eyes widened.
“Come to think of it, that kid’s eyes were also very bright. Like a ruby.”
“What do you mean that kid?”
“The child of the Duke of Bellstein, which I was talking about earlier.”
“……Is that true?”
“Yes! Not only did I see it, but my mother saw it too.”
At his daughter’s words, the Marquis smoothed his beard and gleamed his eyes.
* * *
The next day, Ellington visited Luciel with the Duke’s approval.
“Ellington!”
“Little Madam, I have brought Hamel, a glass craftsman.”
“My name is Vincent Hamel.”
He was a middle-aged man with semi-curly brown hair, gray eyes, a moderate hooked nose, and a bubbly impression.
‘I think they kind of look alike.’
The craftsman Luciel remembers had freckles, thick hair, and a blunt and innocent look.
“I rushed when I heard that you were looking for me!”
“Mr. Hamel, I heard you have a brother.”
“Yes, the second went out to another country, and the youngest came back yesterday and came with me…… He’s waiting outside.”
“……! Can you call him over?”
Soon she was able to meet the youngest of the Hamel brothers.
The young figure of the craftsman Luciel remembered was certain. He looked a little awkward, but he wasn’t intimidated either. He just had a silent and gloomy look.
‘Yes, this is the person.’
Seeing the man’s face, Luciel was convinced.
“Thank you for coming like this.”
“Oh, it is only an honor to have you call us to such a precious place. Max, you too say hello.”
Vincent Hamel forced his youngest brother to bow his head.
“……I’m Max Hamel.”
Max sat there with a face that looked like he had no idea why he was called.
“The reason I called the two of you was because of the glass craft. It was a pity that Ivnak’s glass workshop was almost gone.”
At Luciel’s words, the two brothers exchanged glances with each other and continued.
“We feel the same way, but we may have to close the glass workshop soon. Because the Baluk Merchant Guild sells better than us.”
“Don’t do that. If you let people know the beauty of glass crafts, people will come back! I’ll actively talk to the Duke to support the workshop.”
“What? Are you really doing that?”
The two brothers looked at Luciel and Ellington with bewildered eyes. Then a large shadow came from behind.
“If we can verify your skills, we will review the support as our daughter-in-law said.”
The Duke was looking down at them with his arms crossed. The Hamel brothers fell flat on their faces in surprise, and Luciel showed courtesy by gently spreading her skirt.
“Du-Duke!” (Brothers)
“Thank you, Duke.” (Luciel)
“……Are you going to call me Duke again?”
When the Duke looked slightly disappointed, Luciel shook her head and stuck her lips out.
“Oh, it’s not that. I have to be formal in front of other people.”
“We are friendly, so I prefer an informal title.”
“Yes, thank you, father-in-law…..”
“That’s more like it.”
The Duke responded with eyes dripping with honey, and Ellington muttered with cloudy eyes from behind him.
“Your Grace, I’ve seen people being a daughter’s fool, but I’ve never seen one that’s a daughter-in-law’s fool…”
“What is that?”
Unlike when he turned to Luciel, Ellington did not dare to continue to speak with his cold eyes aimed at him.
With the permission of the Duke, work proceeded quickly. The two brothers happily went their way after promising to make and send elaborate glass crafts from their workshop.
The Duke remained in Luciel’s room and spoke,
“Luciel, I’m going to tell the vassals about this at the next meeting, what do you think?”
It was the Duke himself who asked for their skills to be tested. Besides, the Duke was a tricky and cautious man. This must have been a sneak peek of his prudence.
‘You can’t just say that you like it right away.’
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Luciel thought deeply and reported to the Duke,
“I don’t think it’s too late to reveal what the Hamel brothers are making after checking. If it is a glass artifact that the Empress doesn’t like, Bellstein’s honor could be tarnished. But I’m counting on them.”
Luciel smiled softly, and the Duke shook his head.
“Yes. You are right.”
The Duke turned his back and left Luciel’s room with a pleased face.