# 47
---
In addition, at the bottom of the letter, it was written that the promised gift on the day of the equestrian competition would be considered payment for this deal.
This was an unbelievable matter.
Dunswell immediately wrote a letter to Evelyn. Ideally, he would have liked to meet her in person to ask for the details, but he imagined that he would be too busy directing the cultivation of blackberry seeds right away.
“How did you get these blackberry seeds?”
A few days later, Evelyn's reply arrived, stating that it was thanks to Lady Oakley of the Earldom of Leeum.
Thanks to her friendship with Oakley, she obtained information and secured seeds before the effectiveness of blackberries became widely known.
“Really cool...”
He wouldn't have known such a thing would happen when Evelyn became friends with Oakley. It seemed as if luck was smiling on his daughter-in-law. This explains everything from crab bisque to an equestrian tournament and the Kashyak bush.
Despite his busy schedule, Dunswell decided to give Evelyn a heartfelt gift and opened the door to the display room where the family heirloom was kept.
After passing through many trophies and treasures stored in the display room, Denswell's steps led him to a brilliant blue diamond necklace, as clear as the bright sky.
Dunswell took the necklace and put it in a velvet box.
When Amelia saw this, she spoke up.
“…Are you really thinking of giving the Heart of the Sacred Mountain to Evelin?”
The name of the necklace was “Heart of the Sacred Mountain.”
It is said to be made of diamonds extracted from deep within the Holy Mountain in the duchy long ago.
The blue diamond, emitting a mysterious light, was cut by the best jeweler of the time, making it an incredibly precious necklace. Its rarity was even higher now that diamonds could no longer be extracted from the veins of the Holy Mountain.
Traditionally, the daughters-in-law of the House of Duke Leonnok inherited the “Heart of the Sacred Mountain”, but after Chloe’s death, the pendant was kept in the exhibition room.
"What's the point of keeping it locked in the display room? Better give it to someone who fits it well."
“It is too early for that child to inherit it. The necklace is also of incalculable value.”
“Evelin’s achievement this time is also invaluable.”
“However...”
Dunswell, who was arranging the silk cloth inside the velvet box, rose and looked at Amelia.
“Amelia, you'd better not say more. You might be misunderstood as being jealous of your daughter-in-law. You're not that kind of person, are you?”
At Dunswell's firm words, Amelia closed her mouth. But she quickly softened her expression and spoke in a gentle voice.
“I was just suggesting that it might be better to give her something less stressful. But like I said, given her great accomplishment this time, such a gift… might not be so bad.”
Only then did Dunswell's stern face soften.
“Thank you for saying that. As you mentioned before, I hope you can look at Evelin without prejudice. She is a sweet and smart child.”
Seeing Dunswell laughing happily, Amelia secretly gritted her teeth, but outwardly spoke in a calm, cultured tone.
“I will keep that in mind.”
Returning to her bedroom, Amelia had to calm down her anger on her own.
She still couldn't believe how someone like her who had neither money nor connections suddenly managed to solve the duchy's salinity problem in one fell swoop.
And now Dunswell was extracting the Heart of the Sacred Mountain. He hadn't even looked at him since Chloe died.
He gave her all the power and respect as his wife, but he never gave her that necklace. Because he couldn't give up his attachment to Chloe.
However, he now gifted that important necklace to Evelin.
Amelia hit the armrest of her chair, trying to suppress her anger.
Not only was she angry at the current situation, she was also increasingly worried.
Time flew by, and Dyffryn would inherit the title of Duke in just one year.
She reached an agreement with the Marquis of Binford to divorce Evelyn and bring Rachel in as a new daughter-in-law at that time.
She had already received the new bride's dowry and deposited it in her personal safe. Although there was money left in the safe, she could not return it to the Marquis and void the contract, as she had other plans for that.
When she made the contract, she thought that divorcing the two would be an easy task. But for some reason, things not only got worse, they became more complicated.
Amelia bit her lip.
No matter what, she had to execute her current plan perfectly.
She saw the “Academic Leave Notice.”
It was almost time for her son to return.
* * *
As Devrin stood in front of the gold-trimmed door, the guards stepped aside. After knocking on the door several times, Noston's voice came from inside.
“Come in.”
Upon entering the room, Devrin saw Noston reading a newspaper. After greeting him respectfully, Devrin sat down in front of him.
Noston folded the newspaper he was reading and spoke.
“The Duchy of Leonok must be blessed by its ancestors. It seems that everything they do ends well.”
Devrin's gaze fell on the newspaper Noston was reading. It contained an article about the Kashyak bush.
These days, it seemed like everyone was talking about this plant, which made Differin look a little tired.
“Where did you hear that the kashiak bush absorbs salt?”
“I didn't find out. As you know, I'm very busy managing affairs at the royal palace.”
Noston looked a little guilty. Most of his work was done by Differin on his behalf.
“So how did you get these seeds?”
"This was my wife's work. She has recently become friends with Mrs. Oakley and appears to have gotten the information from her."
"Huh, that's great. Not befriending Rachel from Binford but Oakley from Lyom instead."
Liom Trading Company has grown rapidly recently. With more investors due to this recent success, they have been doing aggressive trading with mutual funds.
Moreover, every commodity they brought was of good and unexpected quality, which increased their strength in the port day by day.
By contrast, Marquis Benford's trading company was sinking. The goods they recklessly brought were not sold, and with the inventory high, their money was not in circulation.
They were looking for investors, but it was difficult because everyone was flocking to Liom Trading Company.
'They deserve it'
Noston could not contain his joy when the arrogant Marquess of Binford faced a crisis.
It was because of Rachel. Noston had admired her for some time. He often sent her letters, but each time, he only received very formal replies.
The handwriting was elegant, unlike what was known for her poor handwriting, which made him doubt that it was written by someone else.
Rachel's situation was unpleasant, but Noston himf did not love her deeply enough to formally acknowledge her or consider giving her the position of Empress in the future, so all he could do was feel resentful.
But now that Marquis Benford was on a downhill path, she might consider becoming his mistress after all.
Noston smiled wryly, gathering his thoughts.
"Anyway, you're very lucky. Just a year ago, everyone was talking about this being a losing marriage, but now they're all saying you're taking advantage of your wife."
“Let's talk about work.”
Dyffrin answered coldly.
Recently, he had been hearing a lot about Evelin from all sides, and this made him uncomfortable.
“You're always cold.”
Devrin ignored Noston's grumbling and asked.
“Is Prince Fenris still calm these days? I thought he would definitely take revenge after being seriously injured that day.”
"I find that strange too. This lunatic won't stay still."
“He may be preparing for something else, but his close aides seem calm as well.”
"I don't know why he's acting up all of a sudden. It's fine with me, though. I've been sleeping with a dagger under my pillow for a long time because I didn't feel safe, even with the guards."
Dyffrin exhaled briefly.
“It is a good thing. So please avoid provoking Prince Fenris for the time being.”
"I plan to. I don't have many lives after all."
Noston shrugged.
The two engaged in a lengthy conversation about the situation of the local nobility, the Emperor's movements, and the positions of the neighboring kingdoms.
Dyffryn glanced at the clock, and spoke to Noston.
“I've said everything I need to. If there's nothing more, I'll leave.”
"Why don't you stay for dinner? The envoys from the Kingdom of Yedburg brought some beef as a gift. They say it melts in your mouth."
“No, thank you.”
Differin stood.
"You never find the time these days. You're still in the honeymoon phase, I guess."
“I have guests coming from afar today.”
Dyffryn bowed his head to bid farewell to the complaining Noserton.
“Okay, I'll see you tomorrow.”
Since this was not the first time Noston had seen Dyffryn act this way, he did not find it rude and simply waved his hand.
"Go."