Chapter 29: 28

Chapter 28

****

Jeffrey treated me to a wonderful meal and kindly drove me home. I dragged my exhausted body back to my room, took a bath, and looked for the rose diamond necklace that had been tucked away in a drawer of my dressing table for some time.

“Huh?”

Strangely enough, I couldn’t find it no matter how hard I looked, so I rushed to take out the drawers one by one and poured all the things out on the floor.

Still, I couldn’t find it. I called the brown-haired servant and questioned her sternly, but she turned red, started crying, and only said she had no idea. Convinced that it was Celine, I ran straight to her room and roughly opened the door.

Celine, who was sitting at her dressing table combing her long platinum hair, looked at me with a casual expression.

“What are you doing here so late and without knocking?”

“Give it back.”

“What?”

Celine laughed scornfully and turned to the mirror again. I asked quietly, looking around her room with a blank expression.

“You took the necklace. Who else is there besides you?”

“You even think I am a thief?”

Celine tilted her head with a nonchalant look on her face. I walked over, picked up the oil lamp on the table and threw it on the floor. There was a sharp breaking sound and the kerosene in the lamp overflowed, wetting the floor extensively.

“Tell me. Where did you put it?”

“What are you doing? I’m going to tell father exactly what you just did.”

When I saw Celine screaming rather loudly, I felt a burning sensation in my stomach as if I had swallowed fire. I don’t like to waste my emotions, but that doesn’t mean I have the personality to just sit back and let them get to me. I tried to keep it moderate, taut.

The rising tension was completely cut off along with my patience. I lifted the matchbox on the console. When Celine saw me with the matchbox in one hand and the matches in the other, she finally grasped the situation and opened her mouth in surprise.

“Are you crazy?”

“If you don’t want to burn to death, give it to me.”

When Celine saw my eyes, wet and red with madness, she rose from the chair with a startled expression and sneakily pulled back.

“Father, father! Is there anyone outside?!”

I heard noisy footsteps outside in the hallway with a voice that sounded like a ripping scream. The butler and servants, who had come in after hearing the commotion, panicked when they saw the broken lamp and kerosene on the floor and the matches looking menacingly in my hand.

“Go and tell master!”

The butler hurriedly shouted, and I pulled the matchbox to light the match. Celine’s shoulders shook as I thrust out the lit match as if I were about to throw it, and she backed away and put her hand on the dressing table.

“I said give it to me.”

At my gloomily downcast eyes, Celine took the necklace out of her dresser drawer and tossed it to me. I snatched the necklace with one hand, blew out the match, and glared at Celine as if to kill her.

“Listen. Don’t touch mine. Don’t forget that you have more to lose than me.”

Celine sat up, her nerves releasing, and smiled with conviction on her wrinkled face.

“That’s important to you, isn’t it? Seeing how you’ve lost your mind.”

Soon there were heavy footsteps and the Admiral entered at great speed, pushing aside the servants and the butler.

“Father!”

The Admiral’s blue eyes brutally glowed as he stared at me when he saw Celine covering her face with tears trickling down her face.

“What’s going on?”

“You can ask sister about that. She stole mine.”

Slap!

With the sound of friction, my eyes flashed and my cheek burned. The Admiral’s large hand hit me hard on my cheek. I wobbled for a moment, but managed to regain my balance and stood, staring at the Admiral without blinking an eye. My mouth burst and I tasted blood in my mouth.

“Why are you hitting me? She stole from me.”

My words were met with an exasperated Admiral who lifted his hand again, his mouth twisting.

“Listen to me carefully.” (Diana)

I stared at the Admiral and Celine alternately with strong eyes without the slightest hesitation. I gathered up the boiling blood in my mouth and spat it out on the floor, rubbing my mouth as I continued to speak.

“The day anything happens to me, a written report of what you have done to me will be published in every newspaper and gossip magazine in Belford.”

I warned, declaring war against them. What Celine had found out about the necklace and her attempt to steal it was a sign that she was trying to declare war first and that there was no longer any reason to maintain a pointless cold war.

Luckily, I was going to receive prize money for the painting contest, so I could hire an errand runner, so there was nothing I couldn’t do.

In the Admiral’s position, even if he won the battle, he would want to avoid any hassle.

“What?”

Celine’s slurred voice broke through the confusion. The Admiral slowly lowered his hand, his face still expressionless. He looked down at me with unpleasant eyes, as if he was projecting a bad memory.

“Who the hell do you look like?”

The Admiral, who had uttered one short word, walked away with a cold wind. He certainly wasn’t my real father, that’s for sure. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have gone this far. One by one, the butlers and maids cleaned up the area and wiped the wet kerosene off the floor. I stood up straight and looked down at Celine, who sat motionless and dazed.

“I didn’t mean to go this far, but the only way to get out of this hellhole is to accept the Lieutenant Colonel’s heart.”

Celine crumpled her face violently at my calm and cold tone. Of course it wasn’t true, but I was trying to make her feel a lot of pain and inferiority for not being able to have what she wanted. Just like me.

“I won’t let him go.”

With a twist of her mouth, Celine gave me a gruesome warning. Her green eyes, filled with hatred, were boiling with jealousy and anger.

***

*Celine’s POV*

***

Celine got into the car driven by her chauffeur and headed for the Lieutenant Colonel’s residence. She couldn’t stand Diana’s bullying, and she didn’t want to feel humiliated by the look on her face. Her sister, who didn’t talk much, had been so self-conscious about saying ‘yes’, seemed to have gone crazy at some point.

A few days before Diana was abducted. She (Diana) changed into a different person overnight and demanded better treatment. When Diana returned from Progen, she became more and more mean-spirited, firing the servants who ignored her like a rabid dog.

She (Celine) felt a vague sense of dread when Diana overpowered and held her (Celine) down with a single, strangely intimidating look, and stared at her coldly with her scary eyes. Even if Diana didn’t have to say any words, she (Celine) felt as if she was being controlled by Diana’s hand gestures and eye contact. Why would her father leave her evil sister (Diana) be?

If he left her be, Diana might take it all away. Celine bit her lips in frustration. Shuddering as she thought of Diana’s pale and expressionless face, Celine realized that she had arrived at the Lieutenant Colonel’s mansion and organized herself.

Despite the fact that she had informed him in advance that she would be visiting, it was a servant, not the Lieutenant Colonel, who greeted her at the entrance.

Celine felt uneasy and headed inside with a bitter heart.

“How may I help you?”

Jeffrey asked tastelessly as Celine was led into his study instead of the reception room. He didn’t get up, but sat at his desk in the study with a book. Celine was dumbfounded by the situation, not even a cup of tea was offered to her, but she tried to smile gently.

“Lieutenant Colonel, do you remember what you said to me at that time?”

“What words?”

Jeffrey, wearing thin silver-rimmed glasses that he only wore when reading, asked monotonously as he flipped through his book.

“You said you would find Diana for me. You were going to propose to me, weren’t you?”

“Oh.”

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At Celine’s question, Jeffrey’s eyes narrowed and a smile formed on his lips.

“Yes, it’s good to save your sister.”

“Then……when are you going to answer my confession?”

Jeffrey put down his book and swept his chin, then put his hands on the desk and crossed his fingers.

“I’d say that’s possibly an answer.”

How was not answering the question an answer? Celine’s face became paler. Clutching her skirt tightly, she spoke with a trembling voice.

“Do you… do you like Diana?”

Jeffrey’s mouth curved gently. He looked irresistibly amused. He tilted his head lazily and asked back.

“Why do you want to know?”

“I think Diana has a deep relationship with the Duke of Progen. She also had a rare jewelry necklace only from Medea, Progen’s ally, and posted a meaningful picture to the newspaper. I couldn’t bring the necklace with me, but the servants and butlers of the mansion were witnesses. “

“Have you ever told that story to anyone?”

“No, only to the Lieutenant Colonel.”

“I was the one who gave Diana the necklace.”

Celine’s green eyes went dry at the determined words of the man she loved. He said, “I gave it to Diana as a gift.” The fact that he called Diana by her name so intimately shook her heart.

“Why?”

“Should there be a reason? Miss Claire.”

The Lieutenant Colonel who answered casually was like a different person. It was as if he no longer had any use for her, since she had used her to achieve his goal.

“Thanks to you, I was able to save Diana’s life. Please have a safe trip home.”

Celine’s face became stunned. She remembered that she had asked her father to help the Lieutenant Colonel to go to Progen herself. Quickly standing up, Celine grasped the hem of her skirt as if she were tearing it off and endured the sadness that was building up.

“It is I who truly loves the Lieutenant Colonel. I am certain that Diana is in love with the Duke.”

“I’m afraid I can’t accept your heart, Miss Claire, when I went to rescue Diana, they didn’t seem to be in a relationship.”

He finally turned Celine down, even more so, he defended Diana. A brutal, certain, and obvious rejection. In the end, she had to admit it.

Celine hurriedly left the study, suppressing her despair and shame. Jeffrey picked up the book again as if nothing had happened. Quiet footsteps could be heard in the back of the study, and someone poked their head in to admire him.

“Jeffrey, did you dump that pretty lady without mercy?”

Jace, who was behind the bookshelf in the study, watched Celine leave from the window.

“Yes.”

“Amazing. She’s the eldest daughter of the Admiral, isn’t she? I got to see an interesting sight.”

Jace asked as he fixed his monocle and warmed his hands by the fireplace.

“Are you seeking revenge on the Admiral’s daughter? Wouldn’t that be too cowardly a revenge to take?”

Jeffrey shook his head.

“Somehow.”

“Good luck with that. I’m not going to risk my life to keep mother’s will. I have to do new business, and entrepreneurs are driven only by profit, so there’s no separate country, war, enemy, or friend.”

Jace, who had been tapping his fingers like an abacus on the stove, showed a carefree smile.

Hurrying out of the mansion, Celine got into the parked car and shouted coldly to the driver.

“I have someone to see. Go to the city.”

‘Do you think I’ll sit still and watch you two connect? And Diana, I won’t leave you alone. What the hell did I do wrong?’

The mask of innocence has long since been removed from her face. Celine gritted her teeth as she looked out the car window at the city passing by, not hiding her intense resentment.

***

Vincent, who had gone to the munitions factory to work on a new project, headed for Noah’s office with a stack of papers.

“Here are the results of the internal measurements.”

“Leave it and go.”

Noah leaned back in his chair with a sardonic look on his face, looking out the window. He saw Vincent stand and squirm for a moment, so he slowly turned his head and asked,

“Why?”

“I heard about His Majesty’s order.”

“Yes.”

“I don’t want to lose my job, which pays a lot of money, and I don’t want to be taken away for questioning.”

“What are you worried about, son of a prestigious family?”

Vincent was actually worried about Noah’s safety. He was his superior, but also a great brother.

Noah’s cloudy blue eyes narrowed as he looked at Vincent.

“There are many ways to do this. Either the two empires finish their negotiations quickly, or Progen conquers Belford completely, or Progen’s government is converted to a republic.”

Vincent ruffled his neatly flowing auburn hair as he thought of the example of the Republic, which had executed its king in a revolution and changed its state system.

“Even if they succeed in overthrowing the corrupt regime, their approval ratings are not high since this is the best heyday since its foundation. The power was concentrated, and all the divided forces were assumed to be imperialist.”

This was the era of imperialism and capitalist industrial revolution, when the powers were angling to occupy colonies, and the influence of the nobility declined as feudalism collapsed and was replaced by a despotic monarchy based on a centralized system, with an appointed bureaucracy managing the government.

Progen was an empire with a strong totalitarian ideology that emphasized the group over the individual, where the monarch was the state and only one person monopolized political power.

“That’s right. It’s practically impossible, isn’t it? Especially for Progen.”

“Right. Even if we’re close to defeat, it’s hard to conquer Belford, one of the strongest powers, unless there’s a new weapon, and it takes a long time to negotiate a truce in an advantageous situation. Is it different from the past?”

Noah nodded and shifted his stance at Vincent’s observation, “It’s all impossible.”

“If it was the Duke centuries ago, the aforementioned things would have been fully feasible, but not now. I at least make possible judgments realistically and don’t do reckless things that are unlikely.”

It was Noah who had made possible what ordinary people had previously thought impossible. But out of the numerous options, he only chose the one that had a realistic chance of success.

All of them described him as “crazy” because it was a decision that was so risky, in addition to being so far out of the realm of popular thinking. Noah’s fingers explored the open map on his desk.

“At this point, the only thing we can do against the country is the country.”

“Which means…………”

Vincent’s eyes widened as he thought of someone else. It was the United Kingdom of Medea, a maritime powerhouse with a national strength on par with the Progen Empire. The queen of that kingdom and the emperor of the colonial empire, the mighty ruler known as the Iron Queen, Grace II.

“Naturally, you will have to accept the risk and pay the price for what you get.”

Vincent nodded with a sigh as he looked at Noah’s blue eyes.

“I understand.”

Despite the fact that the Emperor’s order had come down that no one could defy, this crazy Duke didn’t seem to mind at all. He was smiling, but it didn’t look like a smile at all.

Has that man ever really smiled? It would have been the same when he saw her (Diana), his own masterpiece and artist.

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