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It was already a time when Marian's mood couldn't be worse.
Lately, things hadn't been going her way at all and it all started ever since Reytan back to the Travel family. From the moment he appeared, he had been nothing but an irritation to her.
And to make matters worse...
"The Blue Trading Company withdrew their investment? You're saying Reytan took responsibility for the investment money you were supposed to return?"
"They decided to reallocate it to a family support project... So in a way, it worked out. Brother Reytan graciously-"
"Brother? Are you out of your mind?"
Lately, that fool Yossel had even started calling Reytan "brother." Marian could hardly believe it.
Yossel, who had always despised Reytan as the illegitimate son, was now showing him respect? It was something she couldn't ignore.
So, Marian hired a skilled investigator to look into what had happened between the two.
"He lost two billion konas of investment money to gambling?"
"Yes. But Master Reytan took over that business and repaid the lost funds using the family support budget."
Marian was so dumbfounded she couldn't even laugh.
A gambling addict digging his own grave was one thing, but Reytan's so-called "family support project"? That was another matter entirely.
'That must be stopped.'
Apparently, he was working with a small tailor shop called Trang Boutique, barely more than a hole-in-the-wall. Marian immediately tried to buy the building to kick the shop out, but even that didn't go as she planned.
Around the same time, a Daily Sunrise article came out, featuring Lucian Alexis's post-prison outfit, which unexpectedly became a trend.
Crowds started flocking to Trang Boutique, and once the landowner caught the scent of profit, he stopped answering her calls. On top of that, with Reytan frequently visiting the Hispoth town, the hired thugs Marian sent began to lose their nerve and back off.
"Interfering with business or threatening the landlord is too risky. The boutique has temporarily closed, and if Reytan Quartz Travel catches on…"
And then, just yesterday...
Hearing the amount of net profit from the jeweler that was to be paid to Baron Oldman only made her anger flare even more. Her monthly settlement from her fifteen-percent stake amounted to seven hundred million kona. Considering that autumn was the jeweler's off-season, the figure would multiply several times over during the winter peak. And if calculated over an entire year, how much would that be?
'Ten years, twenty, thirty…!'
Marian's fury swelled so much she felt like she might burst if pricked with a needle. She couldn't shake the thought that Baron Oldman was robbing her blind.
'How did it come to this…?'
The dwarves had made an offer. They would consider a trade if she brought them a flawless gemstone.
To build up achievements that could earn her entry into the Diamond House, she had asked her father for a chance to prepare the gem herself.
No, before that.
"I went into his study to deliver my performance report… and I happened to see a letter."
That was what Edgar had told her when he brought her the information. He said he had found a letter from the dwarves in Lassek's desk drawer, and that's how she learned of it.
Even so, she couldn't exactly hold him responsible for it. After all, Edgar was her husband, they were on the same ship, bound together.
Suppressing the rage boiling up inside her, Marian looked at Edgar, who was pacing anxiously in the bedroom.
"...What are you doing, exactly?"
"Oh, dear, you're awake."
It was as if he had been waiting for her to speak. Edgar hurried over to her as she sat on the sofa. He gently took the fan from her hand and began to wave it slowly as he said.
"I just came back from the main house-"
"The main house, again?"
Marian's eyes narrowed sharply. The way she looked at Edgar was as though she were staring at a useless burden she couldn't throw away.
"Well… I…"
Edgar trailed off timidly. Marian flicked her fingers irritably. She needed to know, what nonsense had he seen or heard this time?
"Speak."
"Your father… he's been looking for the belongings of his late second wife."
"And?"
"I thought… maybe if he can't find them, he'll give up?"
"Give up? Don't be ridiculous. Do you know my father at all? He'll do whatever it takes to find them-"
Wait.
A chill suddenly crept up Marian's spine. She hadn't inherited her father Count Travel's full intuition, but she had a fair bit of it herself.
"..."
Her fingertip brushed against the edge of her fan. As she slowly lowered it, Edgar's face came into view, deathly pale, dark circles deep beneath his eyes.
"Don't tell me… you."
"W-what?"
"You're the one who took those belongings, aren't you?"
***
"Miss Berry, you mustn't try to gallop just yet, alright? You need to match your breathing with the horse while walking first, that way you'll be more stable when you start running later."
"Yes! I'll be careful!"
It was already her third horseback riding lesson.
The riding instructor, seeing my eager response, let go of the reins he was holding.
"Then why don't you take the horse around the arena once by yourself? I'll watch from here."
The pony I was riding was a lovely light brown color, with white fur around its legs that looked like it was wearing socks.
As we began to slowly circle the small training ground, I kept my eyes fixed between the pony's perked-up ears.
[The jewelry box is still inside the wardrobe!]
Aqum, who had just returned from the Sapphire House, was giving me an update on the jewelry box's situation.
I whispered back softly to it.
"Where's Uncle? Are Aunt Marian and Uncle Edgar still at the Sapphire House too?"
[They went out before I left! Marian looked furious! I'm not sure exactly why, but I think it's because of the jewelry box!]
"What? Why?"
[I came out of the wardrobe because she was yelling so loud! She was shouting about why he brought something so useless home, and what would happen if Father found out! When she told Edgar to return Julia's keepsake, he said he couldn't do that! And then the two of them went out together.]
"Huh… What's that supposed to mean?"
I tilted my head in confusion.
"Wait, no one could open it? Even with a key?"
"I wouldn't know if that's true or not, I never tried to open it myself. It's probably in the room where your grandmother's keepsakes are kept. Want me to bring it to you?"
"No~ I was just curious, that's all!"
If Uncle Edgar was somehow connected to that jewelry box, then the most likely explanation was that there was something inside he wanted to hide, something he couldn't remove, because he couldn't open it.
Click.
But wait, last time, the lock on the jewelry box had definitely come undone.
The lock itself had looked quite ordinary. If it was a simple key mechanism, a locksmith could've opened it easily.
And Uncle Edgar wasn't so thoughtless a man that he'd fail to try something as simple as that. So then… why hadn't he?
Anyway, that means Aunt Marian has found out about the jewelry box too. Which means… the hiding place might change.
I started to feel impatient.
'There's definitely something inside Grandma Julia's jewelry box. But it's too big for Aqum to bring out for me…'
Whoosh! Thud!
Suddenly, everything went dark, like a total eclipse, and then, as the ground rumbled beneath me, the light returned.
"Huh…?"
"Hey, slowpoke."
I turned my head toward the voice.
All I could see at first were horse hooves. Following the long legs upward, I found Calypso staring down at me.
"Y-Young Master C-Calypso! You're not supposed to jump over the fence! And especially not over people! That's dangerous!!"
In the distance, I could hear the riding instructor shouting.
The arena where I was riding and the main riding grounds were divided by a single fence, and Calypso had just leapt over it, and over me, in one jump.
"At that speed, you'll never finish circling the arena. You'd be faster walking."
"……"
"What? Why are you looking at me like that?"
It was obvious he had come here just to tease me, but when I simply stared back at him without saying a word, he suddenly looked awkward and unsure.
Calypso was Aunt Marian's only son.
'My cousin who lives in the Sapphire House!'
Grinning widely, I looked straight at him and said.
"Brother Calypso!"
"...Hey, I told you not to call me—"
"You're such a good rider!"
At that, Calypso's hand tightened on the reins, his composure faltering for just a second.
***
"Exactly! That's why I'm saying I must meet Baron Oldman in person!"
Bang. Bang.
Baltar's iron-like fist pounded against the wooden table. Jena quietly slipped earplugs over the rabbit-folk's ears and said to Baltar.
"You're being too loud."
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