A Day In The Grand Duchess’ Life (3)

Alicia had been hovering around Reichardt for days now.

Those violet eyes kept flicking toward him.

Each time, Reichardt would watch Alicia drifting near him, then scoop her up and head for the bedroom.

They were happy days.

The Rune Empire’s imperial family specially designated the Tessen Grand Duke’s office as territory of the Grand Duchy of Tessen.

Reichardt suggested moving his office outside the imperial palace, but the Emperor and all the ministers of state refused.

At present, his office was set apart on its own.

Even before, Reichardt’s office had been an independent place within the palace.

In the end, it was the same place anyway.

Ultimately, only the name changed.

From “Grand Duke Reichardt of Tessen’s office” to “Grand Duchy of Tessen Administrative Office.”

Reichardt’s office was still Tatus Tower.

Nothing looked different from the outside, but on paper, many things changed.

Small jokes also went back and forth between the knights who chose the Grand Duchy side and obtained dual citizenship, and the palace knights.

‘Hey, that’s grand-duchy land.’

‘Says the people who trample imperial land whenever they want.’

‘We got grand-duchy nationality and were reborn on paper. I got cramps in my head filling out those applications.’

They were having a great time with it.

“How has Alicia been lately?”

Reichardt blurted out as he listened to Roderick’s report.

Judging by Alicia’s recent behavior, she clearly had something to say to him.

He thought there must be a reason she could not easily say it.

The Grand Duke’s words sounded casual, as if in passing, but Roderick did not take it as anything unusual.

Roderick, standing to report, gestured at a chair.

“May I sit?”

“Sit.”

At Reichardt’s permission, Roderick pulled a chair over in front of the desk and sat.

“If you ask how Her Grace has been, it’s difficult to choose where to begin.”

Roderick’s face as he spoke was very serious.

“Is something wrong?”

Reichardt lifted his gaze from the documents he had been reading.

He pushed the papers in his hand aside.

But his expression did not change from when he had asked the question.

“Shall I begin with the unpleasant part?”

“Begin.”

“You may not recall, so I’ll briefly give the background. When Your Grace and Her Grace became betrothed, the imperial house provided Her Grace the fortress of Ludern on a temporary basis. At present, Lady Alicia returned Ludern Fortress to the Grand Duke upon marriage in formality, but in practice, Her Grace remains the one using it.”

Reichardt listened with an indifferent face.

“Before Her Grace received Ludern Fortress, there was a person who managed it under imperial orders. You may not care, but even after Her Grace took residence, the administrator of Ludern Fortress was not changed. Viscount Caruso remains in charge of Ludern.”

Roderick spoke with a leisurely expression.

“Continue.”

Reichardt showed no interest even at the mention of Viscount Caruso.

It was not the important part.

“Viscount Caruso has one peculiar trait. He is an explorer who searches for a treasure island and a treasure ship he read about in a book as a child. People ridiculed his far-fetched hunt for a treasure ship. But surprisingly, there were many who shared his purpose. He consistently had investors and partners.”

Roderick was beginning to get to the point.

“…Did Alicia invest in Viscount Caruso?”

Reichardt, who had been expressionless, furrowed one eyebrow.

Roderick, who had carefully laid down background for the main point, felt all the wind leave him.

And he was shocked.

“H-how did you know?”

Roderick’s shock did not end there.

“Viscount Caruso found the treasure ship, didn’t he?”

At Reichardt’s words, Roderick’s mouth fell open.

“Yes….”

The Grand Duke Roderick served had always had something unusual about him.

But he was not someone who startled people like this.

‘Your Grace—how did you know?’

Roderick tried to ask again.

“Is there a problem with Viscount Caruso?”

“No, there isn’t.”

When Reichardt, who had been guessing like a sage, finally missed, Roderick felt slightly relieved.

“There isn’t?”

At Reichardt’s question, Roderick heard the reaction he had been waiting for and opened his mouth.

“Yes, there is no problem with Viscount Caruso. But you could also say it is a problem involving Viscount Caruso. I don’t know how you knew, but as you guessed, Viscount Caruso found the treasure ship.”

Reichardt looked steadily at Roderick, who was speaking with excitement.

It was a warning look that said, hurry up and say it.

“The problem began with where the treasure ship was located. It was found in a place that is a cave at low tide, but submerged by seawater at high tide. To extract that enormous amount of treasure, you need technicians. If you know there’s treasure there, who would give up?”

“Don’t drag it out.”

“Don’t rush me, Your Grace. We still have a long way to the main point. In any case, Viscount Caruso understood the situation and asked for help from the only investor at the time—Her Grace.”

Roderick crossed one leg over the other and spoke leisurely.

“In truth, it was almost like gambling for Viscount Caruso. Her Grace might help him recover the investment—but couldn’t your fiancée, who holds vast funds and power, simply take the treasure map and drive him out?”

Reichardt was displeased, but he did not show it.

“Her Grace proposed a new contract to Viscount Caruso when he came asking for help. Explorers and investors had always drafted contracts. The previous contract was simple: whenever Viscount Caruso learned new information, he would inform the investor, Lady Alicia, first. When they drafted the new contract, Viscount Caruso and Her Grace set detailed terms. The terms were reasonable, so Viscount Caruso agreed.”

Roderick kept dragging it out.

“So what’s the problem?”

Reichardt finally frowned.

“Because work could only be done at low tide, Her Grace and Viscount Caruso decided to find an assistant. That assistant was Baron Appel’s house, which owns enough merchant ships to be compared to carriages. Baron Appel accepted his niece’s proposal on favorable terms. Up to here, it is a just and beautiful story.”

Roderick looked at Reichardt as if expecting a response.

“I see.”

Reichardt replied shortly.

“With the excavation of the treasure ship, Viscount Caruso became wealthy in one stroke. It was all thanks to Her Grace’s generosity. In the new contract the two drafted, after deducting the costs of retrieval, Viscount Caruso took seventy percent. Baron Appel’s house handed over the immense treasure to Viscount Caruso as-is, and must have found it quite bitter.”

Roderick’s story was heading somewhere increasingly unclear.

“And Alicia?”

“Her Grace recovered the investment and left only profit equal to the investment.”

At Roderick’s words, Reichardt’s face turned irritated.

He realized he still had not heard the one thing he needed to hear.

“Your Grace, isn’t it easier to understand if you hear the story with the background firmly in place? Viscount Caruso was moved by an investor like an angel. Having found the treasure ship he had longed for, he decided to search for the treasure island as well. This time, he proposed that Her Grace join him not as an investor, but as a partner.”

Roderick smiled meaningfully.

“Alicia accepted.”

Reichardt cut in blandly.

“…Yes. How….”

“And he found the treasure island too. So?”

Reichardt cut Roderick off mercilessly.

At the urging, Roderick pursed his lips.

“The treasure island contract was different from an investment. They made an agreement on business rights. They decided to split profits equally between Viscount Caruso and Her Grace. It was his way of expressing gratitude for her earlier investment. As you guessed, Viscount Caruso found the treasure island unbelievably quickly—far faster than the treasure ship.”

Reichardt nodded, as if he had expected as much.

“That place is Pearl Island. It is called that because the waters around the island are full of pearls. Only Viscount Caruso, Her Grace, and Baron Appel know its location. The Appel family has staked everything on this venture. They even established a separate merchant company dedicated to Pearl Island.”

“That’s incredible. How did Baron Appel’s house get involved in the business?”

An island surrounded by pearls would be enough to throw high society into an uproar.

“It is only my guess, but I suspect Pearl Island is an uninhabited island within the Ispee Sea ‘Mole Zone,’ which Duke Ririn’s house governs at will. Her Grace leased the business rights to the Mole Zone from the Ririn side on a long-term basis. Duke Ririn’s house once received a favor from Her Grace, so they readily lent the business rights. The term is a full one hundred years. Hearing of that lease, Baron Appel’s house said they wanted to join Her Grace. Once again, we believed the three-party collaboration would go well, but Baron Appel’s house demanded half the profits from Viscount Caruso’s side—unlike with Her Grace, the holder of the business rights, for whom they gathered pearls free of charge.”

Reichardt’s expression turned ambiguous.

“Hm.”

Roderick, on the other hand, looked delighted.

“Viscount Caruso is already wealthy from the treasure ship. He may have a pile of gold coins large enough to last a lifetime. So Viscount Caruso accepted Baron Appel’s excessive demand. In the Pearl Island business, strict secrecy matters more, and the fewer people who know, the better. Do you understand? At present, when pearls are harvested from Pearl Island, fifty percent is Her Grace’s share, and only about ten percent of the remaining pearls become Viscount Caruso’s. Baron Appel’s house set the ‘security costs’ extremely high.”

Alicia’s business seemed to be going smoothly.

“But what’s the problem?”

“Viscount Caruso’s son and daughter are protesting the unfairness of this contract. The one who actually carries out the business is Baron Appel’s house, but since it was Her Grace who brought Appel in, they claim Her Grace must resolve the issue.”

Reichardt’s brows knitted sharply.

“Your Grace, there are many children in this world who think their father’s possessions are their own. Viscount Caruso and his wife apologized to Her Grace for their children’s behavior, but the Viscount’s son and daughter continue to protest to Her Grace.”

Roderick spoke cheerfully about an unpleasant matter.

“What is Alicia doing?”

“She is ignoring them.”

“She’s doing well. If the issue grows, what will happen?”

Roderick shook his head.

“That will not happen. What the Viscount’s children want is for the Appel family to withdraw from the business, and for them to take even Her Grace’s share. But if that happens, who will bring in the pearls? Viscount Caruso is not a fool. After many years exploring treasure ships, he has likely been approached by people offering investment only to steal his information. Appel’s exploitation is somewhat severe, but you cannot deny they are a good business partner for keeping secrecy.”

“So only Alicia is being pestered.”

“Yes—something like notoriety. For reference, Viscount Caruso’s children do not know where Pearl Island is at all.”

Roderick finished with a faint smile.