Now, Go Ahead And Stamp It

“Right now, the first priority is to establish that the evidence in question is related to Duke Krembel. Give us some of the confiscated items, including guns and gunpowder, and we will investigate.”

“Of course. I’ll send it through Lord Cheshire soon.”

“So for the time being…”

I won’t need any help.

Those were the words that followed.

But then a thought flashed through Ellen’s mind.

“Your Highness.”

Caden’s eyes snapped to Ellen.

“There will be a royal competition opening soon. I’m sure it was organized by Your Highness, is that right?”

“If it’s about the horse riding competition, then yes.”

Ellen smiled wryly at his answer.

“Is it okay with you even if something a little noisy happens?”

Caden’s eyebrows shot up at her question.

What the hell kind of trouble was she going to make?

“Did you have something else in mind?”

“Let’s just say yes, for now.”

“How about telling me exactly what that is?”

“Well, I’m going to work out the details now.”

When Ellen hedged her answer with a questioning smile, Caden let out a huff of disbelief.

She had a plan, but she wasn’t going to tell him right now.

However, the strange thing is that he didn’t seem to want to argue any further about what she had said.

Even though it was clear that she was running wild with frightening thoughts, the belief that she would somehow get what she wanted was lurking in a corner of his mind.

‘Maybe it’s the alcohol.’

The pounding in his chest was noisy.

The strange rumbling sensation was so unfamiliar it was almost unbearable.

‘Anyway… That’s enough.’

When kings of old saw a good general or a scholar, they chased after them because of their ability.

But now there’s one like them, and she’s sitting right next to him.

Caden glanced at Lord Cheshire, who sat beside him.

He’s not even drunk, and his face is quite flushed.

Lord Cheshire, who had known her for a long time, looked similarly flushed.

It was only natural that he had known her true nature before anyone else did.

He shook his head to himself, and when Ellen suddenly jumped up, he called out to her with a puzzled look.

“My lady?”

She walked towards the boxes that had been sitting in a corner of the room since earlier, took out a key from her pocket, and said,

“The 500 million gold I told you about will be paid to you in installments from this point forward.”

CLANG. The crates opened, revealing their contents.

“This… is everything?”

Caden asked, dumbfounded.

“Not all, there’s more, like I said, I’ll pay you over time.”

“No, I mean, no, no.”

Glittering golds reflected the light inside the parlor.

His heart dropped and began to beat harder.

​​This much gold in circulation in such a short amount of time. What kind of power does she have?

“I will use the support money gratefully. And as for the thing at the royal competition… I will keep it in mind.”

He’s lost Gillian, but that’s okay.

At least as long as we share the same goals, this amazing woman will be by his side.

With that, he accepted that he didn’t really have a choice anyway.

Ellen smiled at his acceptance.

“Thank you. Then, please send the guns and gunpowder you have acquired to me, Kryant.”

* * *

Gillian opened a cabinet that adorned one of the walls of his office and pulled out a flask.

It was his rule not to drink during normal business hours.

But today, he felt like he couldn’t do without it.

‘Of all things, we had to get caught producing the most difficult items.’

Gillian felt his head begin to ache again.

What winds had blown to bring the crown prince out to the Tempt loading docks?

As he recalled the erratic behavior of the Crown Prince, he felt his temperature rise once again.

‘The damned crown prince.’

There were more than a few things that bothered him.

How could he hit on someone’s wife right in front of her husband.

But he did it.

He dragged her out, danced with her, and as soon as the song was over, he darted out the door, warning her that he was coming.

It was an unbelievable incident that he tightly clenched his fists.

But he’s not ready to go directly confront the crown prince just yet, so he managed to endure.

But he wasn’t the only problem.

His wife’s behavior was even worse.

It was as if she had lost her mind.

‘Wasn’t the position of a Duke what that woman desired?’

Hw thought hw was holding up his end of the bargain. How had it come to this.

He’d given her the title of the Duchess of Krembel and asked her to dress modestly, but he hadn’t given her anything cheap to wear.

‘… And now, all of a sudden, we’re getting a divorce.’

Still, when he first heard it, there seemed to be a reasonable explanation.

What was the reason for coveting the position of a Duchess.

She must have wanted authority in front of others, and she couldn’t get it in the manor.

That was his fault, and he told her that he would delegate authority to her in matters of household management.

But she said no.

She just wanted a divorce. He didn’t know what was wrong with her, and it really drove him crazy.

‘No one ever looked down on Cromwell as if they were looking down on lower-class people, and Ellen could move around as a Duchess at any party without any shortcomings. I always worked hard for that. But why on earth!’

Gillian sipped his wine.

‘Besides, when am I going to make the Prince’s acquaintance again…”

As Gillian sipped a drink, and then two, a theory suddenly flashed through his mind.

No way.

‘You’ve decided that it’s better to try to get acquainted with the crown prince, rather than the duke, who’s… lower in the line of succession?’

Now that he thought about it, something clicked.

He would have laughed it off as improbable if it were the woman he knew before. But this woman was different.

She was no longer the woman who was worried about losing what she has.

She kept repeating that nothing was needed no matter what he said, and as a result, she became more daring in her actions.

Gillian’s stomach began to churn.

Is it really the crown prince?

Despite sharing the same blood, fate is determined by nothing more than who you were born from. Such a foolish and pathetic owner of an unremarkable face!

BANG!

Gillian slammed his glass down roughly.

He could see the stack of papers, but he couldn’t bring himself to read them.

It was then.

KNOCK KNOCK. There was a knock on the door from outside.

“…Come in!”

The door cautiously opened at his nervous reply.

“The lady has left Cheshire. That’s the report I received, her destination seems to be the Kryant manor.”

“Have a carriage prepared at once.”

Gillian sprang to his feet at the report.

He had to get back before the crown prince did something more to his wife.

Before the bastard took something more from him.

* * *

A carriage emblazoned with the Krembel family crest raced across the capital.

The Krembel estate was basically a stone’s throw from the capital, Istazan.

The two cities are separated by the Tempt Canal, which means that if you can cross this natural moat, you’ll be there in no time.

Thanks to this, the journey from Krembel to the capital was only an hour or two by horse-drawn carriages, but the Krembel family’s coachman was absolutely dying for those two hours.

Are we there yet?

Why are we crawling?

Gillian kept asking, and each time the Krembel family coachman had to resist the urge to jump.

In time, though, the carriage pulled up in front of the Kryant mansion.

Gillian knocked on the door and an elderly man stepped out.

He introduced himself as the mansion’s butler and asked the purpose of Gillian’s visit.

“I beg your pardon, may I ask for what business do you have here?”

“Ellen Krembel. Is she here? Go fetch her.”

But the man cut her off with a polite tone.

“I’m sorry. The young lady is not here at the moment.”

“No way. I’ve just finished checking. How dare you lie to me now?”

“She is indeed not here.”

“Well, then, fetch the Count.”

“I beg your pardon. The lord is not here at the moment either.”

“…Then where is the Count?”

“I’m sorry. I am not authorized to disclose my master’s whereabouts.”

Gillian began to grow impatient with the old man’s rambling.

He leaned down and cupped his temple.

“…Do you not know who I am? Gillian Krembel, Duke of Krembel, married to the Count’s daughter.”

“How dare I not recognize you, Duke Krembel. But I am not authorized to reveal their whereabouts.”

“…It seems you don’t wish for a comfortable retirement.”

“Unless it is the will of His Majesty the Emperor, the Father of all people, I cannot reveal it to anyone else.”

“Ha!”

Gillian was dumbfounded.

To think that this fellow would look down on him while complaining about the imperial throne.

He began to get genuinely angry.

Of course, Kryant’s butler was only making a point.

But to Gillian, whose face was contorted with anger, it seemed like a condescending attitude.

“You… tell this story well to your master. It’s not like I don’t have a clue where he might be.”

It was no secret that the Count was busy with business these days.

If that’s the case, he would be at his workshop complex, or perhaps at a boutique or salon, given that it was the social season.

But just then, a horse came galloping up behind him and halted behind him.

“Your Grace!”

It was his messenger.

“It wasn’t just one carriage. I have word that the other one is bound for Caramillo, the salon of the Kryant family!”

“So it is. I’m going to Caramillo at once.”

Gillian spat out the words with a grunt.

He turned his carriage around and headed for the place where the messenger had come from.

But even at Salon Caramillo, he couldn’t find a single hair to indicate that Ellen was there.

No wonder.

She was at Boutique Thalia at that time