As soon as I left the garden, I ran into Erich and Johan entering the mansion, and a guest who seemed to have visited for this banquet.
“Why is the lady here……”
At first, Johan frowned slightly, but immediately introduced me.
“This is my wife, Estelle Blanched.”
“Good day, Duchess Blanched.”
The guest bowed his head and greeted me politely. As soon as I saw his face properly, I couldn’t help but be surprised.
“Lexius Fulman?”
It was the man I saw in the black canvas portrait.
‘Weren’t only those who pledged their loyalty to the Blanched family and passed away in the black canvas portrait?’
But I don’t understand how a perfectly living person can be glaringly staring. Then the man was noticeably flustered.
“My lady, what are you talking about? Why would the name of Sir Lexius Fulman suddenly come out……”
“Ah, I must have been mistaken for a moment.”
The black canvas portrait is originally a grotesque portrait, so I think I mistook it for someone who looked like it.
‘I should have passed it if I didn’t say it.’
The problem was that I was so surprised that I called out his name. Johan’s sharp gaze was directed at the man. The atmosphere seemed to get even more awkward somehow.
In order to alleviate the atmosphere I ruined as much as possible, I examined the man’s appearance.
‘The answer at times like this is compliment.’
Then, the garnet brooch attached to the man’s chest shone unusually brightly in the sunlight. Not only garnet, but also diamonds were embedded nearby, making it very flashy.
‘It seems to be a different design from the usual brooches for men.’
Nevertheless, if it was a brooch worth doing, there was no doubt that this man was a very cherished brooch.
“That garnet brooch is very pretty. It suits your dress and brooch very well.”
“…Excuse me?”
The guest asked back with a pale face. It was a response that was definitely different from what I expected.
‘It must have been a brooch with a big story.’
So there was no doubt that he was surprised as soon as I mentioned it. Then, Erich seemed to say something. Johan stopped Erich’s words by raising his hand at the right time.
Johan asked, staring straight into my blue eyes.
“The brooch of Jasper’s own work is flashy indeed. Does my lady like that kind of brooch?”
“If the Duke gives it to me, I will be happy with any brooch. But I don’t think that brooch seems to be my taste.”
If there was a lesson I learned from childhood, it was that the safest choice in an unknown situation was to pretend to be calm.
I laughed as if nothing had happened.
“Then I’ll go now. I won’t be able to attend, but I hope you have a good time.”
After saying goodbye, I turned my body as calmly as possible. As soon as my face was out of sight, a sigh of relief came out, probably because I was relieved.
‘I’m tense again, what is this.’
After all, Johan’s judgment that prevented me from attending the banquet was accurate.
After Estelle had left the scene.
Johann looked at Duke Gasfear with a poker face.
“Do you understand what my wife meant?”
“I, I really don’t understand. An amethyst brooch? As you can see, sir, I am not wearing any brooch.”
There was no brooch on the Duke’s person.
“Really? Then why did my wife call out the name of Lexius Polman when she saw you?”
Duke Gasfear had nothing to do with Lexius Polman.
But the reason why that sentence was particularly meaningful was because he was investigating the amethyst brooch case at the time when Lexius Polman, a loyal subject, was murdered.
It was also a case that disappeared automatically when the Duchy of Blanchet was caught for treason.
“I really don’t know anything about it. It’s clear that the lady is trying to slander me. After all, she is a woman from Libertan! She is probably trying to create chaos in the Duchy of Blanchet…..”
As Duke Gasfear looked around with a pale face, Erich caught him with skilled hands.
“We’ll know the truth once we check.”
A dry laughter slipped from Johann’s indifferent lips.
“Whether my wife has misspoken, or if you have really committed an unthinkable act.”
“……”
“If my wife has blabbered nonsense, I will sincerely compensate you.”
As soon as Duke Gasfear was dragged into the basement, he confessed to his crimes.
At the time, he accepted an amethyst brooch as a bribe in return for dealing with a corruption case at an orphanage in the capital, and when he was caught in a mistake, he murdered Lexius Polman.
Luckily, the Duchy of Blanchet was destroyed, and he was able to escape the situation.
Johann looked at the amethyst brooch that had come from Duke Gasfear.
‘Duke Gasfear vomited blood and died as soon as he was asked about the magic that hid the amethyst brooch.’
It was a magic that even Johann, who was wellversed in magic, didn’t notice. Johann recalled Estelle, who was talking about the amethyst brooch as if it was only natural.
‘How the hell did my wife know about that?’
The sudden proposal from Libertan, the wife’s actions that he could not understand the purpose and method of, and the past incident that was inadvertently resolved.
He needed to check.
By the time I found Betty, it was almost dinner time. I didn’t need to have dinner with the nobles, so I ate alone.
Honestly, it was a pleasant dinner without any interruptions. I even had dessert twice.
However, as dinner came to an end, I began to worry about practical problems. Since I don’t know what I did wrong, understanding the situation is the priority.
‘First, I’ll visit his office tomorrow and check Johann’s reaction…..’
After finishing the meal and returning to the room, Johann was waiting for me in the room.
“My wife. Did you have a good dinner?”
Wearing only a robe.
My Step-brother Is Obsessed With Me (Female-dominant)
A gentle female protagonist vs pitiful in the early stage, and a sick male protagonist in the later stage
Cheng Songer transmigrated into the body of a vicious cannon fodder female supporting character with the same name as her in a female-dominant novel.
In the original story, the cannon fodder female supporting character was inhumane, committing domestic violence, gambling excessively, being lustful, and even wanting to sell her stepbrother to a brothel for money.
As luck would have it, she just happened to transmigrate at this time.
Seeing Cheng Qingzhi biting his lip, enduring the tears in his eyes, looking pitiful, her heart softened.
She stuffed the money back into the Madam’s hand and reached out to him.
“Brother, come home with me.”
