The Devilish Duke Can’t Sleep

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You have good eyesight

On the eve of the tea party hosted by Kahel’s aunt, Countess Mariela Delroot, Zairdelle, a jeweler, quietly visited Kahel’s office, carrying women’s jewelry sets and other items.

“Thank you for calling me again, Your Excellency.”

“I like people with a heavy mouth.”

Zairdelle hastily bowed his head.

The Duchy of Luave no longer traded with the fur merchant who had leaked Lena’s existence.
He regretted it till he hit the ground, but Kahel did not reverse his decision.
Most of the merchants he summoned kept secrets as much as possible, but Zairdelle was the only one who didn’t say a word.
Kahel praised him for keeping his mouth shut even in the presence of a fairly large intelligence fee.

“Look at the things I brought.”

Zairdelle spread various things on the thick velvet.
When he was told to bring something ‘for a young woman with purple eyes’, he somehow remembered the maid who was choosing jewelry together at the time, and he included quite a few items that would suit her lovely and cute impression.
That was his instinct as a merchant.
And, sure enough, after a while, the maid came in.

“Your Excellency…… I really don’t need these things.”

“There is something I need to do.”

“Yes?”

“You know that my aunt is having a tea party tomorrow, right?”

“Yes.
Of course.”

Because of that, the whole mansion was still busy preparing for the party, and in the midst of that, she was almost uncomfortable to death to have jewelry in front of her.
Of course, Lena wasn’t a chore maid, and she herself was determined to get used to her position after the last incident, but it was a conscience to be free on her own when everyone was busy.

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“You will have to attend the party tomorrow, too.
There is no need to feel burdened because you just need to show your face, but it is a problem if the employee under me is too shabby.”

 

“Oh, I see.”

Kahel glanced at Lena who was more cautious and was trying to figure out as she went through the items Zairdelle recommended, rather than when buying for her own.

“If I were to greet an employee of the place like you mentioned earlier, a calm, inconspicuous yet subtly luxurious pearl is the best choice.
A pearl with such a perfectly spherical shape will quickly be appreciated for its value by those who gathered.”

Zairdelle said, offering a set of cream pearl earrings and necklaces.

“Hmm.
It’s okay.
I’ll get it.
I want to see amethyst, too.”

“How about this? The maid’s eye color is such a beautiful purple, so it cannot be compared to that, but among the amethysts we have, I brought the one that best suits the maid.”

The three-piece amethyst set he presented was made of amethyst and diamonds, but it had a presence without being flashy.
Moreover, Kahel liked what Zairdelle had recommended.

‘Certainly, there is no amethyst more beautiful than Lena’s eyes.
You are a merchant with good eyesight.’

He nodded his head with satisfaction.

“Well.
That’s good, too.
I’ll take it.
And some fancy stuff.
Something good for a banquet.”

“Your Excellency!”

Lena, who had been watching Kahel and the jeweler by the side, called Kahel in a small voice.

“Oh, you don’t like it? Come to think of it, I didn’t ask the person who would become the owner.
I’m sorry, Lena.”

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“N, n, no, not that…… I really don’t need any more than this, Sir.”

Even though it was the middle of winter, Lena’s complexion, which was sweating profusely and trying to stop Kahel, was pitifully pale.
It was then that he realized that when it comes to giving jewelry to women, it’s not about picking things without the person involved.

 

“Really? I get it.
Then let’s stop here.
You can go.”

For some reason, when Kahel quietly retreated, Lena let out a sigh of relief and smiled brightly without realizing it.
In fact, just those pearls and amethysts gave her a headache, and it felt like she would be suffocating if she received more than this.

“Then, I will prepare the clothes you will wear tomorrow.”

“Well.
Do that.”

Lena bowed politely to Kahel and the jeweler, and then quietly left.
And after she disappeared, Kahel, who had been still for a while, looked at Zairdelle again after Lena’s presence had completely disappeared.

“Let’s continue what we talked about earlier.
Is there anything fancy?”

Zairdelle also calmly laid out the recommended jewels in front of him as if he knew that Kahel would not step down.

“She seems to be a shy person, so she doesn’t seem to like extremely flashy things, so I think this is enough.”

What he had pulled out was a necklace made of hundreds of half-carat and one-carat diamonds and pinkish ruby.
If Lena had seen it, she would have been frozen, but it was only ‘appropriate’ in the eyes of the aristocracy, who, when they attended small parties, would only tirelessly look at jewels that were much more splendid than this.

“I thought about it earlier, but your eyes are pretty reliable.
Good.
Let’s get this.
I’m going to buy it together with the stuff I mentioned earlier.
Oh by the way, pick out some headdresses and brooches too.”

Kahel completely trusted Zairdelle’s eyes, and he recommended the rest of the accessories, along with purchasing an additional hairpin to suit Sid.

The next day, the gates of the Luave mansion, which never opened, were wide open and many carriages passed through the gates.
The tea party at the house of an ordinary noble was a small gathering where a few close friends gathered and chatted, but the tea party at Duke of Luave’s residence during the New Year’s Celebration was large enough to be considered a party without ‘tea’.
Moreover, it was rumored that Liddell of the Santella family would also attend this tea party, drawing even more attention from the people.

It was Damien’s older sister and Kahel’s aunt, Countess Delroot, who hosted the party, but everyone would suspect that this was a party hosted by the Luave family.

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“Oh my, Lady Santella! You’re dazzling today.
You must be busy, but thank you for coming.”

Mariela greeted Liddell with a perfect attitude, like a woman from the Luave family.

“Thanks for the invitation, Madam.
The parties Madam hosted were always the best, so I’m really looking forward to today.”

Liddell also smiled brightly without any sign of entering the back of the enemy line, and she hugged Mariela lightly.
Anyone who saw it would have misunderstood it as something between an aunt and a niece who were close to each other.

The tea party was to be held in a huge glass greenhouse on the Luave residence.
Outside the window, the signs of winter were still evident, but inside the greenhouse-like house built with thick glass, early flowers were in full bloom and the green leaves exuded a refreshing smell.

“Wow, this is great.
You can’t see a greenhouse of this size unless it’s in a Duchy.”

“That’s right.
Compared to this, our mansion greenhouse is literally like a warehouse for growing plants.”

“Oh! Look at that! The daffodils are so pretty!”

Those who attended the party admired the large greenhouse and the flowers that were fragrant in it, and slowly set out to find a place to sit.
When most of the guests were seated, someone walked out from the inside and sat quietly next to Mariela.
It wasn’t a loud appearance, but everyone’s eyes were focusing on him.
Because that person was Kahel.

However, no one was making a fuss because the party was hosted by Mariela.
And when everyone was quiet, the employees of the mansion entered one after another in a modest manner, placing a dazzling tea biscuits plate on each table, and pouring precious tea into the cups of nobles on one side.

They acted so naturally, so people wouldn’t know what they were being skeptical about, but those with real discernment got tired of figuring out how much money went into today’s tea party.
The price per gram of prepared tea was comparable to the price of gold, and the desserts topped with cold cream were made by top-notch patisserie chefs.
The teacups were all limited edition products from the Baden region, famous for the finest ceramics, and the flowers adorning the table were difficult to see in this winter.

“As expected of the Duchy.”

“I know, right.
I feel like I am in a royal palace.”

People once again felt the status of a Duchy and looked with anticipation at the sumptuous refreshments set before them.
And as the tea was poured in, the soft tone of a stringed instrument began to be heard from somewhere.
At that sound, Mariela got up from her seat and looked around the audience.

“Thank you to everyone who took the time to attend despite your busy schedule.
I hope you all have a warm and enjoyable time.
The tea was prepared with the black tea of ​​the Kingdom of Akella.
Separately, we prepared young leaf green tea from the Tartan Empire and oolong tea from the Eivur Kingdom, so if you do not like black tea, it is okay to call someone and ask for another tea or milk.”

With Mariela’s guidance, the tea party started naturally.
People were busy with Mariela’s side, glancing at Kahel, who quietly lifted his tea, while checking the truth of rumors heard during the New Year’s Celebration or listening to news.

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In particular, they seemed to be interested in Luahalla, who shared a few words intimately with Kahel.
The Queen’s dress, which has been a hot topic throughout the ceremony, was made under Luahalla’s direction.

About the second time when everyone’s tea cups were emptied, Liddell, who was chatting with Mariela and the other ladies, spoke to Kahel with a somewhat perplexed look on her face.

“It’s been a while, Kahel.”

“I saw you at the banquet on the second day of the Celebration, Liddell.”

“Except for formal meetings like that.
It must have been more than half a year since we met in such a private place?”

“Well, yes.
Because we’re both busy.
Didn’t Lian come with you?”

“Don’t tell me.
Yesterday he attended a lot of banquets and only came home at dawn.”

“Lian is still energetic.
Please tell him I said hello.”

“Of course.”

All eyes were on the two of them.
Liddell paused for a moment until the curiosity reached the peak, and then sighed.

“By the way, Kahel…… What do you think about the collective punishment?”

“It is a random question.
For what reason?”

“No, just because.”

Kahel guessed the reason why Liddell asked this question, but answered calmly, pretending not to know anything.

“I am reserved.
When a sinner has contributed greatly to the crime, I think that the family should also be blamed.
Of course, the collective system itself will become a practice that will gradually disappear.”

“Then, do you think there is a high probability that a lady will actively participate in her father’s sins? Maybe because of her father’s authority, she knew it was a bad thing and yet had to pretend it wasn’t?”