"Yes. If you're concerned about your heart, then the gemstone will be expensive. There are many people who would buy it at a high price. You also have a discerning eye."
Buy it at a high price... Nellurion's lips twitched slightly at those words.
"It's not time to sell her yet. She's still young, and we need to raise her value. And as you said, since the gemstone has a self-awareness, we can sell her after we've used her abilities to our fullest extent. If we use her powers well, our goals will be achieved faster, won't they?"
"Let's see about that. If she's a child who understands what you're saying, then it's natural to keep her in the house. But since she's already entangled with the troublesome Grand Duke, it's better to be cautious and make sure she doesn't get out of control."
"Yes, Father."
Even the cautious father would soon realize what he saw. How absolutely on their side Neris was, and how much value she possessed.
With that conviction, Nellurion nodded his head gently.
Someone knocked on the door. At the Duke's "come in," the door to the small study, where two men were sitting comfortably, slowly opened.
The Duke's butler bowed respectfully to the master and young master of the house.
"Lady Truede has returned and wishes to pay her respects."
"Neris?"
A bright smile spread across Nellurion's face. The Duke glanced at his son's face and nodded to the butler.
"Let her in."
"Yes."
The butler took a step back, and behind him, Neris was already standing. Although her nose was slightly red from the cold outside, she looked elegant and at ease.
Nellurion jumped up as if he were welcoming his own sister, and escorted Neris in. The Duke noticed that Neris didn't show any signs of intimidation despite being in the grand study for the first time.
Even ladies of higher status than Neris would normally show some hesitation when entering a room like this in a prestigious household. It was clear that she was not ordinary.
"Welcome, Neris. How was the Grand Duchess? Did she scare you? I was worried about you, wondering if you'd be able to come back."
Neris thought that the Duke's words were well-spoken, but she just smiled and nodded in response. She sat down on the small sofa in the study, which she was already familiar with from her past life.
"That's not your fault, Brother. If the Grand Duchess had ordered me to stay, you couldn't have come to fetch me. If that had happened, I wouldn't have been able to have a conversation with the Grand Duchess."
"Thank you for understanding. My goodness, your nose is red. You must have a warm cup of tea. I had sent a carriage to wait for you, and you came in it, didn't you?"
"Yes, Brother. Thank you so much. You're really thoughtful."
The carriage was probably sent to keep an eye on Neris and prevent her from running away. But Neris smiled brightly, pretending to be foolish, and the maid brought in the tea immediately.
"You're also a lady of our household, so it's inconvenient if you don't have a carriage to ride in. What did the Grand Duchess say? Did she offer to help?"
The question was whether Neris had used the power of the gemstone.
The Duke's eyes sparkled cunningly at Nellurion's question. Neris, pretending not to notice the observant eyes of the two men, looked down and showed a slightly uncomfortable expression.
"Yes. I'm very sorry, but... I used my eyes. Since I'm a gemstone, I was trying to find out about my lineage, and she said she wouldn't help me, saying it was a brazen thing to do... I know it was a reckless thing to do..."
"The lie about using her eyes was as red as a lie, but it was true that the Grand Duchess had agreed to cooperate.
In Trophur, the Morie Company would be able to operate freely, and in front of the people of the Elantria Duchy, they would match their words. The deadline was until the real culprit who killed Monika was caught. That was the promise the Grand Duchess had made to Neris.
"It was better than expected."
I thought I would have to persuade her for a long time and extract the benefits she would gain from this deal, but the story ended quickly. Half of the process I had anticipated was unnecessary.
It was unclear why the stubborn Grand Duchess had given in so easily. But at a time when we had a difficult goal ahead of us, it was a welcome development.
Neris, who was thinking back on what had happened at the Grand Duchess's, decided to just be grateful.
The Trophur's Rurand case was deeply connected to the Wells family, the Grand Duchess's birth family, and if they could catch the culprit publicly, it would cause a huge stir.
***
The long gallery of the Duke's family history, which was filled with the dark and quiet atmosphere, was where Neris was alone, gazing at the portraits of the previous Dukes and their families.
A pale and arrogant-looking girl, an old man who seemed to be angry, a middle-aged man who wore a crown on his body. The owners of the gemstone were few, and the ages of the people in the portraits were different, but the color was always the same.
Deep Tirian Purple.
A trait that made the noble society value purple eyes.
However, none of them had been painted with a gemstone.
Finally, her gaze fell on the first Elantria Duke.
A middle-aged man with a solemn and stubborn face, looking in the direction of the painter. A presence that filled the canvas, several times larger than life."
The man in the portrait, who had caught a dragon and seemed to have had a hard time, had a dark and neurotic face. He didn't look like the typical hero imagined by the common people... but more like a politician.
"The Honest Elantria."
That was the nickname of the man, Hubert Elantria.
If the legendary hero, the first Duke who had saved the world, had a more carefree face in the portrait, Neris would have wondered why his descendants looked like this.
However, the man in the portrait looked exactly like the current Duke or Nellurion.
The background of the portrait of the Honest Elantria was two coats of arms. One had a simple sun-shaped emblem used by the royal family at the time, and the other had a simplified leopard emblem.
The current emblem of the Elantria family was much more complex and refined, but it was different back then. At that time, people lived in tribal units rather than nations, and the leopard was the symbol of the Elantria tribe.
Although the leopard on the coat of arms had very pointed ears, unlike a real leopard, such things were common in heraldry. It was a practice to imagine an unseen animal as sacred and use it as a symbol for one's group.
"Why did you have to catch a dragon?"
It must have been a life-or-death situation. What was the reason behind this calculating man's decision to risk everything to defeat a dragon?
"If your eyes were really a gemstone, why isn't it depicted that way in this portrait?"
There were too many unsolved mysteries. Neris's delicate face clouded over. But she soon took a deep breath and looked straight at the first Duke.
"It doesn't matter what happened in the past. The important fact is that the royal family still wants to kill me, and the Elantria family still wants to use me."
She was here to avoid being used twice.
"Wait."
Neris whispered a small promise to the man in the portrait.
"When I burn all the paintings in this gallery to ashes."
The sound of a door creaking open was heard immediately after her words ended. The person who entered through the door smiled when they saw Neris.
It was not a warm smile, but a mocking one.
"Miss Neris."
Valentin, who was still fond of Delma, closed the door behind him with a smirk.
"It's been a while, Delma."
"That's right."
The way the maid spoke to the noble lady was impolite, but Delma seemed to think she was on equal terms with Neris and approached her without hesitation.
"I was looking for you, Miss."
"Why?"
"Why, Miss Neris? You didn't show up, and Nellurion-sama was worried. He thought maybe you had gone somewhere you shouldn't have."
How ridiculous.
This mansion seemed peaceful on the surface, but there were eyes watching everywhere. Neris knew she couldn't escape from this house on her own, and Nellurion was well aware of that too. There was no reason for him to worry about anything else.
Moreover, even if Nellurion suspected Neris's disappearance, there was no reason for him to ask Delma to search for her. Of course, Delma's words were just a ridiculous excuse.
"Maybe you were thinking of finding fault with me somewhere, where no one else is watching."
"A place you shouldn't enter?"
"It's a specially designated mansion, with rules for each room, so if you enter carelessly, you'll be punished severely."
Delma's explanation seemed reasonable, and the content was actually true.
However, Neris could see right through Delma's intentions. She was trying to intimidate Neris and restrict her actions from now on.
Delma's face turned slightly annoyed at Neris's cold, unresponsive attitude.
"What's the point of trying to intimidate me, when the Elantria family is nothing special anyway?"
Delma didn't know the value of the gemstone. She just thought that it was a rare trait that appeared in the royal family, and that Neris had inherited it from her mother.
And since there had been several marriages between the Elantria family and the royal family in the past, it was likely that the gemstone had been passed down through Neris's mother.
So, didn't Neris owe everything to this family? From being able to enter the Academy to everything else.
Delma wanted to see Neris's face distort in anger. So, she put on a difficult expression and spoke strongly.
"It's like that from here on out. This is a place where only noble people can enter. If you're not a member of this household, you need to be a special guest, especially someone of high status. Of course, I want to keep it a secret, but..."
"That I entered here?"
"Yes. I'm just a maid employed by the family, so what can I do? I believe you'll understand, Miss. Later, if the Duchess finds out about this and scolds me, how can I bear it?"
It seems like Delma is trying to manipulate Neris and restrict her movements, while also trying to intimidate her by mentioning the rules of the mansion. However, Neris is not easily intimidated and can see through Delma's intentions.
Delma deliberately mentioned the name of the Marquise instead of Valentine. It meant that she held a high position in the family to the extent that she could be directly reprimanded by someone like the Marquise.
However, contrary to expectations, Neris showed no signs of being disheartened or angry.
"Well, if Valentine cherishes you, the Marquise will surely listen to you."
"It's an excessive honor."
"Then I can't intervene. It can't be helped."
"Pardon?"
Delma didn't understand why the conversation took such a turn. Neris walked gracefully and cheerfully towards the gallery's door. Without hesitation, she opened it and approached the person passing by.
"Who are you here to see?"
The gallery had several doors, and the one Neris opened led to a passage frequently used by high-ranking servants.
A slightly older maid with a prim appearance happened to be passing through the passage. She approached and promptly answered Neris's question.
"I am here to attend the Marquise."
"Come here and help me a bit."
Delma narrowed her eyes. Help with what?
The maid who entered the gallery following Neris was the Marquise's chief maid. Delma referred to her as the old fox with nothing to do.
"What are you up to, Miss Neris?"
"You must be out of your mind. You're still standing straight!"
Neris reprimanded Delma in a cool voice as she followed the maid into the gallery.
Delma felt a chill she couldn't explain. And shortly after, she was angry at herself for feeling intimidated by the young girl.
"What are you implying?"
"According to you, only family members or particularly high-ranking individuals can enter this gallery. That means only nobles can come in."
Indeed, that was true. Unless they were there for cleaning. Delma nodded with a guarded expression.
"Yes. Why?"
"You seem to have forgotten due to receiving my brother's favor excessively. Did you think of yourself as a noble?"
"I...!"
Delma's lips fell silent as she was about to argue that she was a member of the household.
A governess. A maid. No matter how valued in the family, they were not family.
Neris gestured to the Marquise's chief maid.
"It might come to three slaps. I'll be watching closely, so don't think you can get away with it."