When The Count’s Illegitimate Daughter Gets Married - Chapter 116

Chapter 116

What was in Ian’s arms were couple rings.

Two rings with a pair of diamonds named ‘Eternal Aurora.’

The Eternal Aurora was a very vivid, deep pink diamond. Assuming that the world mines a thousand ordinary diamonds a year, only one was produced. Even if it exceeded a billion gil, it was difficult to obtain.

‘I couldn’t believe that Lahema, one of the three major jewelry auction houses, offered it as the best product… I was lucky.’

Ian was standing in the corner of the banquet hall.

Eyes hidden in the dark saw the center of the party. There was Laritte surrounded by nobles.

‘With this is a couple’s ring, it would be perfect for confessing to have a great wedding.’

Ian thought.

If Laritte liked it, he could propose to her over and over again. If they proposed to each other every morning, looking at each other’s freshly awakened faces, they would achieve 3600 proposals in ten years.

It was not that important, anyway…

‘Can I hand her the ring when the party is ripe?’

The social world was Laritte’s world. Under the chandelier reflecting hundreds of lights, men and women in colorful dresses and suits gave her a pretty smile. Ian smiled contentedly next to the velvet curtain in the corner of the banquet hall.

He let out a low laugh.

‘Right. That’s normal. Because she deserves to be treated like that…’

In the first place, the only person who had been openly arguing with Laritte from the old days was the empress who was executed.

Two male nobles were caught by Ian while talking about Laritte, though when they saw her, they also rubbed their gloves and flattered her. When the others saw Ian alone, they plucked up the courage to talk to him but stopped in fear of his smile.

“Why does Duke Ian Reinhardt smile like that?”

“He may be planning a detailed plan to conquer the country across the sea. Look at that expression, isn’t that the smile that will put a steak in his mouth without care for dinner after lightly killing them.”

Not knowing what the people were afraid of, Ian drank a glass of wine while maintaining a villainous smile.

Hoho…

Hohohoho…

On one side, when people were startled to see him, the ladies from the hobby club approached Laritte.

“Duchess!”

They greeted each other warmly.

It was their first meeting after knowing that Laritte was dead, so they were deeply impressed with the reunion. Lady Marquis Stella Hove, hugged Laritte tightly, wiping her tears away. She was the representative of the club and a close friend who defeated Bartholdt along with Laritte.

Stella looked at Laritte’s complexion.

“You seem to be all right, Madam. Your skin is so white that it’s worrying, but you can’t fool my sharp eyes!”

“Yes. I am healthier than before.”

Laritte raised her arms as if to prove that she was alive thanks to magic. However, in the eyes of the ladies, there were only slender wrists.

“Madam should learn to eat diligently. Oh, my!”

After a long greeting, the daily conversation began.

Lady Floretta, a flower arranging hobbyist, patted her cheek and sighed.

“Come to think of it, I have something to say to the Lady. It’s a shameful story, so I’m only telling it here. I recently received a birthday present and was in a lot of trouble.”

Vivienne quickly recognized Floretta’s plight.

“Are you talking about the fake jewelry?”

“That’s it! Aahh! Thinking about it again makes me so mad.”

Floretta abandoned the modesty that nobility should have for a moment and ground her teeth. She then spoke about the recent fake jewelry case in the capital, which Laritte had not heard. She said that one or a few criminals made jewelry that looked very similar to the real thing and sold it at a high price.

Of course, it was similar to the current era. However, until now, the level of fake jewelry has dropped, so there was not much awareness.

“Because the two-thousand-gil necklace I bought at an Eastern Jewelry Auction was a fake. I got angry and went to argue, but it seems like they were replaced with fakes during the delivery process.”

“Did you get your money back?”

“I got a refund, but I couldn’t find the real thing! Only the criminal took the money, and the auction house lost money.”

“It is a place that is not inferior to the three major jewelry auction houses in the east. I can’t believe the scammer has reached that point!”

“They say experts can only tell the difference when they see the fake gems scattered in bright light. Everyone has to be careful.”

The perpetrator traveled around the country, and no one knew where they would appear at a jewelry auction or a jewelry store. Still, the Central Army lacked manpower due to its original duties. If the Duchy’s soldiers did not move on a large scale…

Of course, everyone didn’t know how much power the Duchy had, so they could only guess whether it was possible or not.

Until then, Laritte did not closely regard jewelry scams.

Yes… What did she have to buy jewelry for?

After a while, Emperor Oscar Iasa appeared from the top of the banquet hall. As he said some tributes to Laritte and wished for her future, everyone applauded, and the mood ripened. Then, it was time to dance to the music from the cello and violin.

Ian approached Laritte, watched by other people.

“I have something important to say.”

Ian was serious.

She glanced up at him in the heat of the party hall. Ian thought she had answered, ‘What?’ but his heart was pounding in her ears, and he couldn’t hear well.

‘Oh, God. What’s wrong with me?’

He thought that saying ‘let’s have a wedding’ was just a way to remind them that they were a couple. Naturally, the appropriate skinship would follow…

But, really?

At the thought of his wife wearing pure white at the wedding and smiling brightly in the flowers, his skin heated with tension.

His mind was spinning round and round.

As Ian had said, he had something to say, yet he stood still, Laritte pushed her upper body toward him and called out his name.

“Ian?”

“Ah… Then can we go out to the balcony and talk?”

Soon, Ian and Laritte went out to the balcony of the banquet hall.

The hot air in the banquet hall disappeared as quickly as smoke, leaving only the cold early spring night air. The large curtain between the balcony and the banquet hall was pulled down, and the place they were in became dark.

Laritte placed her hand on a railing made of black lines.

“Phew!”

She looked at the scenery outside.

The banquet hall was located high in the castle, so it was usually located on the third floor of the building. Thanks to that, she could see quite a bit of the capital. Laritte exhaled as if trying to cool her burning cheeks, and looked up at the bright moon.

She felt more relaxed after drinking quite a bit of wine. She then turned her back and looked at Ian.

“So, what are you going to talk about, Ian?”

Ian hesitated and pulled out the ring box from his arms.

“I have something to offer you.”

At that, he got caught up in the tension and eventually dropped her ring box. Two rings with pink diamonds fell to the floor.

It was a big deal.

‘Sh*t…’

For a moment, he had some thoughts as his reason disappeared.

Shall I jump out of here now?

Or should I find a way to erase Laritte’s memories?

He didn’t know if it would have been right for him to die here.

“What ring is that?”

“That is… that is… Oh.”

As Ian hurriedly picked up the ring, a flaw was seen on the surface of the diamond.

Feeling strange, he dropped the ring back to the ground and stepped on the ring with the sole of the front of his shoe. The diamond, which could never be broken by this power, lost its original shape, and only the remains were left.

“Oh, my.”

Laritte recalled the ladies’ words when the jewel in the ring, which looked expensive at a glance, was shattered.

…Fake jewelry?

Meanwhile, Ian also despaired because he had already heard of such a rumor. It was an accident that could have been prevented if he hadn’t gotten it urgently because it had to be on time for the party. If there was a God, God was preventing him from getting along with Laritte!

Others say they build their relationship every night less than a day after they are married! How could this happen every time to him?

Frustration turned into anger and burned.

‘I don’t know where they live, but I will do everything I can to catch them in two days. And I will inflict pain like their limbs being amputated.’

Since they cheated such a large amount of money, they must now be preparing to escape by wiping their hands. However, Ian had no qualms.

The problem was the current situation.

Laritte looked up at Ian, who gave up on everything, with bewildered eyes. She didn’t know what it was, but Ian seemed to be very disappointed.

‘…Should I comfort him?’

Just then, fast-tempo music began to play in the banquet hall. Laritte smiled faintly because of the light drunkenness. Listening to the song coming through the crack in the door, she grabbed Ian by the neck and pulled him towards her.

“Laritte?”

Even though Ian was startled, he handed over his upper body to Laritte.

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