I’m Not the One Who Seduced the Grand Duke Chapter 28

“Ah, come to think of it, you said you couldn’t remember what happened that night.”

Huh?

I was silently waiting for his answer when Leon suddenly spoke, saying that he had forgotten.

What is this? Could it be that an outsider did something else?

“That’s right. Actually, I was the one who filed the report. More precisely, I did it that day, right after we parted.”

“What? How?”

There was no way he could have known in advance that something like this would happen.

When I wondered what on earth had possessed him to do something so clever, he answered.

“So, that day. I believe it was after we had spent quite an honest and pleasant night together.”

“Ahem. Sorry, but I’d appreciate it if you could skip the unnecessary parts as much as possible.”

“Why? That’s the important part.”

Seriously!

I narrowed my eyes at him as if asking if he really intended to do this in the middle of such an important conversation, and he raised both hands in an easygoing gesture as though he understood.

“I noticed you weren’t wearing the ring you always wore. So I asked what had happened to it, and you said you had pawned it. For a moment, I thought I’d heard you wrong.”

She really managed not to get caught.

And this man really failed to notice.

At this point, I couldn’t tell whether that woman was stupid or Leon Obsidian was simply oblivious.

“Anyway. So the next day, I went to the pawnshop you told me about. But they said someone had already bought the ring. And they had paid a whopping ten times the price.”

“Ten times?”

“Yes. Which means they knew the value of the ring.”

What? They never told me that!

That damn pawnshop owner. He knew everything and kept his mouth shut!

When I went to the pawnshop to retrieve the ring, all I had been told was:

It’s already been sold.

It was a rather old transaction, so we don’t know the buyer’s information.

We’ll look into it as quickly as possible and let you know soon.

That was all.

It was the family signet ring, of all things. And it was sold for a high price immediately after they bought it. There’s no way they could have forgotten who the buyer was.

Something about this felt suspicious.

“So, just in case, I stopped by the city guard on my way back and filed a missing-item report. Of course, I filed it under your name.”

“But why didn’t the city guard investigate until now? If they received the report, they would have acted much sooner, and I would have been informed of the progress.”

“Ah, that’s because I filed the report through the general desk instead of the noble desk.”

“Why did you do that?”

“You never know.”

Selling the head-of-house signet ring to a pawnshop was an act deserving of criticism. It was embarrassing enough that I couldn’t openly advertise it and have the city guard or anyone else conduct a search.

“If we could find it quickly, I thought it would be better for you not to make a big deal out of it.”

“…That’s true.”

But that didn’t mean I could simply sit around and do nothing.

So, just in case, he had deliberately filed a record stating that the ring had been lost through the general desk, where things were handled less efficiently.

That way, if the record was ever needed later, he could bring it out.

“Either way, that was a very wise decision.”

“I’m glad. I want you to be able to achieve whatever you want and whatever dreams you have while you’re by my side.”

“……”

“I’m also confident I can create that kind of environment for you.”

Leon’s eyes curved softly as he gave me a gentle smile.

His voice was so incredibly tender that I felt as though I could abandon everything and lean on him.

Enough that I wanted to take the hand he was holding out and simply follow wherever he led me, one step at a time.

“I’m saying this just in case, but you do realize you’re seducing me right now, don’t you?”

“You don’t have to tell me.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

“Hoo.”

His reaction was one of genuine surprise, and I gave a small laugh before answering readily.

“I think I’ve finally gotten a grasp on the kind of man Leon Obsidian is.”

Other people saw him as nothing but an angelic, soft, gentle man of light.

But that wasn’t true.

He could get angry like anyone else, voice his complaints, and sometimes make choices for his own sake rather than always thinking about others.

In other words, he isn’t exactly the saint everyone makes him out to be.

“Well, even if that report hadn’t existed, the outcome wouldn’t have changed. Whether your reputation had fallen or not, in the end, I would have become your fiancé anyway.”

And for some reason, Leon Obsidian didn’t hide that side of himself from me.

“Ah, of course, unless you actually had feelings for Gerold. If that were the case, I suppose things would have gotten quite a bit more complicated.”

“That is absolutely not the case.”

I denied it, saying I had eyes and ears of my own, and a satisfied smile spread across Leon’s lips.

Was it just my imagination? Before I denied it, I could have sworn his eyes had briefly gone unfocused, as though he were staring into the distance.

“Anyway, I’m glad things worked out. I don’t want you getting caught up in any controversy.”

“I think I’ve already gotten caught up in enough controversy. I became the enemy of every woman in the empire overnight.”

“Couldn’t you make an exception for me? After all, you did get me.”

“I haven’t completely decided whether I’m going to keep you yet.”

“So you’ve more or less decided. Got it.”

“……”

Wow. What is with this man?

They say you can’t spit in the face of someone who is smiling, and because he simply smiled brightly again after saying something like that, I had no choice but to quietly shut my mouth.

“Back to the main point, if the theft charge is proven, he’ll receive a maximum sentence of fifteen years. Of course, perhaps he knows that himself, because he’s currently claiming that he bought it from a pawnshop.”

“So he effectively confessed, then. That it was all fraud.”

“Exactly. In this case, he may avoid a theft conviction, but he won’t escape the fraud charge. And even though it was technically just a transaction involving stolen property, the item in question was a Zaherette heirloom. If he knowingly purchased it, it will be difficult for that to be taken into consideration.”

In other words, there was no escaping punishment.

Because of this incident, Gerold Valentine had practically been buried alive in aristocratic society and high society.

And beyond that, Sylvia Oscar, who was also being investigated as an accomplice.

Well, I suppose this is enough.

The people who had tried to get me into trouble could no longer set foot in this world.

It was quite a satisfying result.

“Surely you’re not going to say our date is over now that you’ve gotten your questions answered? I’d like you to pay attention to me.”

“That’s not it, but… is there anything else we’re supposed to do?”

When I asked if he had plans for afterward, he nodded.

And then—

“I came here today to seduce you.”

“What?”

No, what on earth was this man planning to do?

 

***

 

Capital. Blanche Ducal Estate.

Blanche was one of the two ducal houses in the empire and was a prestigious family among the few most distinguished noble houses.

Its head, Edgar Blanche, was the chairman of the political council as well as the head of the Senate of all nobles.

“You look terrible.”

Faded blond hair and sharp green eyes.

Edgar Blanche did not have a particularly impressive build, but he possessed an upright posture and dignified gaze as he looked down at the man before him.

The man was practically bowing to the floor.

Count Valentine.

Tsk, tsk. I heard he suffered a serious blow after foolishly crossing Zaherette and Bernstein this time.

The reason the count had come to the ducal estate was simple.

He had come to borrow money.

They said the lawsuit costs and settlement alone would be astronomical. So he really has ended up in this state.

The duke clicked his tongue as he thought, a cigar hanging from his mouth.

The damage Blanche had suffered because of the incident caused by the count’s children was considerable, especially since House Valentine’s finances were already in poor shape.

It was only because they had never made it public, but Blanche and Valentine had maintained a fairly friendly relationship.

But that would now become a thing of the past.

I’ll give him enough money to get by and then cut ties. We can’t have this mess spilling over onto our side.

Having reached that conclusion, the duke casually tossed a bundle of papers onto the table before him.

A bundle of checks rolled across the floor.

“I hear the amount you’ll have to pay in compensation because of the trouble your children caused this time is substantial. This should put out the immediate fire.”

“Yes. Thank you… for taking the trouble, Your Grace.”

Count Valentine swallowed his humiliation as he picked up the checks.

“You should never have crossed Marquess Zaherette. Though, to be fair, you’ve always had a tendency to look down on the marquess. I keep telling you to accept it already. Really.”

The duke clicked his tongue again and spoke as though offering advice.

“The times have changed, and the world of the nobility has changed with them. The marquess is practically a symbol of that.”

“……”

“It’s hard to find a noble family in the capital that has no connection to that house. And you went and crossed them… No wonder the investors had no choice but to pull out of Valentine.”

“Even so, she’s nothing but a girl young enough to be my daughter. She only rose to that position because she was lucky.”

“……”

The count, who had been silent until then, spoke through gritted teeth.

His bloodshot golden eyes burned with fury.

Oh?

Interest sparked in the duke’s eyes as he watched him.

After silently staring at Count Valentine for a moment, the duke smiled and handed him a glass of whisky.

“You have no intention of backing down, do you?”