Chapter 100

After some thought, Nerys decided to keep her black veil on at the dinner table.

Ever since coming to the castle, Nerys had always dined in the West Palace with her mother. So far, the only staff member she had seen there was Dora, but the small dining room on the first floor of the West Palace was always clean, and every meal was served warm and on time.

Thanks to that, Nerys had always been able to go without her veil in the West Palace. Now, sitting before the master of the castle at dinner with her veil on felt awkward. It simply wasn’t polite.

However, Cledwyn didn’t comment on her attire. Instead, he asked friendly questions, as if nothing else really mattered.

“Do you like the food?”

The food at White Swan Castle was delicious. And tonight’s dinner, with just the two of them, was a formal meal with at least a dozen different courses, all made from the finest ingredients.

But was that really the problem?

“…Yes. It’s good.”

“You answered slowly. If you’re worried about Lady Truydd, I would have been glad for her to join us. But I thought there were things we should talk about first.”

That last part was certainly true. Still, as far as Nerys was concerned, the only thing stranger than a formal dinner with just her and Cledwyn would be a formal dinner with him and her mother.

Why would a servant and her mother eat with their employer? It wasn’t as if the employer had visited their home or something.

But Cledwyn said it as if it were a simple truth.

Maybe this was northern culture? Nerys wondered seriously.

“Ellen told me you haven’t asked for anything extra. Since those rooms were empty before, I figured there’d be a lot missing. If you need anything, just ask.”

Nerys’s room was right next to her mother’s, and it was clear that special care had gone into preparing it. The intricately carved furniture, a table made from a single piece of jade, embroidered bedding, a balcony overlooking the courtyard…

Honestly, it was a little too much.

“I didn’t ask because there’s nothing I need. Actually, we need to talk about that. There are too many expensive things—don’t you think it’s a bit much for me to stay there?”

Except for the rooms Nerys and her mother used, every other room in the West Palace was closed off. Even without extra decorations, the ornate floors and ceilings were enough to show the building’s status.

Taking everything into account, Nerys had reasonable doubts that the West Palace was originally meant for the duke’s family. It was just… too carefully done.

Cledwyn replied, completely unbothered, “Why wouldn’t it be appropriate? It was empty, and now someone needs it.”

“What if people misunderstand?”

Nerys suspected Ellen had welcomed her so warmly because of where she was staying.

Maybe Ellen thought she was a candidate to be Cledwyn’s fiancée. Otherwise, there was no reason to put just a mother and daughter in a building fit for the duke’s family.

Cledwyn shrugged. “No one will misunderstand. Everyone knows I don’t care about tradition.”

…Really?

Cledwyn’s answer was so firm that Nerys’s resolve to question him before dinner wavered a bit.

But—

“It would be nice to have a duchess, though.”

Nerys usually didn’t care much about others, but lately she’d sensed a subtle tone in how Ellen treated her—almost as if Ellen hoped Nerys would settle in, since Cledwyn seemed interested.

If that was really what Ellen wanted, then Ellen was being unrealistic. Someone as important as the duchess had to be chosen with all kinds of political considerations.

To quietly seat a powerless minor noblewoman in that spot? Nonsense.

But as the advisor of White Swan Castle, Nerys could admit it was probably best to handle those “considerations” sooner rather than later.

Cledwyn chuckled. “Do you want to be?”

Even he… Nerys glared at him. It was hard to tell through the veil, but still.

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Think about it. You could bring in just about anyone and it’d be better than me.”

There’s also the issue of status… and—

For a moment, Nerys felt an ache in her chest.

For a powerful lord like Cledwyn, finding an heir was a critical issue. For the stability of his reign, and for the power of the noble house. That was why she thought he needed a duchess soon.

But she—

For all the years she was married to Abelus, she’d never had a child. Not once had she been pregnant.

Everyone in the empire, seeing the childless crown prince and princess, was obsessed with the question. What had the doctor said back then?

She didn’t want to think about it anymore, so she left that topic aside.

“And what about making me an advisor as soon as I arrived? That’s a position for an experienced elder, not a young upstart like me. Are you sure you’re okay with that?”

“I wouldn’t have done it if I wasn’t.”

“There was a lot of pushback.”

“That’s not what I’ve heard. I heard you put everyone in their place. No one will dare question your age or experience now… Is that all you want to talk about? Aren’t you curious about the gift I brought?”

She wasn’t curious.

But Cledwyn’s face looked so expectant that she couldn’t say so. Besides, there was no point arguing further about the advisor post.

She gave in.

“…What is it?”

“Gilbert.”

At Cledwyn’s call, the butler Gilbert stepped forward. He produced a wooden box, inlaid with geometric patterns made from different types of wood.

It didn’t look like jewelry, or stationery. Nerys tilted her head as Gilbert placed the box in front of her and slowly lifted the lid.

A radiance spilled out, as if the sunset-lit dining hall was suddenly flooded with light.

Blinding white, brilliant diamonds, rubies deep and dark as pigeon’s blood, sapphires blue as the deep sea, emeralds like a forest…

The box overflowed with gems of a quality you’d expect to see only in the imperial treasury.

Nerys’s eyes widened beneath her veil. As she stared intently at the jewels, Gilbert, wearing white gloves, stroked a barely visible pattern near the bottom of the box.

That pattern was actually a hidden mechanism. Suddenly, a tiny handle popped out from the lower section. When Gilbert pulled it, a small drawer slid open.

In the center, on black velvet, sat a pair of earrings—gold flowers set with hundreds of tiny diamonds, each with a large, luminous teardrop pearl dangling below.

There are no truly common gems at this level, but pearls were special. Unlike other jewels, pearls formed entirely at the whim of the mother-of-pearl, and as time passed their luster faded. Even the most magnificent pearls, once born, could not retain their value forever.

In her previous life, Nerys had never owned really fine pearls.

Megara, however, had once had a rare pair. During a brief trend when men in high society gifted pearls to the women they loved, Abelus had presented Megara with a diplomatic gift brought from a foreign land—a pair of white, teardrop-shaped pearls that became the envy of everyone once made into earrings.

The pearls Nerys saw now shone far more brightly than Megara’s ever had. This time, her mouth fell open.

She had never done anything to deserve such a gift. That pair of pearls alone could buy an entire estate.

“…What is this?”

“A gift.”

“Why are you suddenly giving me a gift?”

“Does a gift always need a reason?”

“If it’s something this valuable, yes.”

And pearls only came from warm seas, so they’d be even rarer—and costlier—here in the north.

Nerys couldn’t help but look at Cledwyn with suspicion.

Did he know the worth of these stones? Was he trying to sway her? Nerys felt tense.

“Think of it as making up for not greeting you myself. The last runaway elder caused a commotion I had to quell right away. I should have had it handled before you arrived, and I apologize for that too.”

“What lord goes out to greet his own servant?”

“If it’s important, it can happen.”

“If you neglected your duties for something like that, I’d be disappointed instead. And now, if you give me something so nice, what am I supposed to do?”

“No need to feel burdened. Use it as political capital, or if you ever get mad at me, just throw it at my head.”

Jewels…?

It was clear Cledwyn wasn’t going to take the box back, no matter how uncomfortable she looked.

Nerys could only nod, still awkward.

“Thank you. I… I’ll use it when I need to.”

After all, having money did make her job easier… If trouble started somewhere else, she could always donate it.

The chef’s painstaking courses kept coming. Nerys occasionally glanced at the box, and sometimes at Cledwyn, as she ate. The northern delicacies were genuinely delicious.

After dinner, the two went to Cledwyn’s office. Of the several offices the duke had in the main palace, the one he usually used was slightly larger than Nerys’s and its walls were lined with books.

Arriving among the books made Nerys feel oddly at ease—maybe because of her memories of meeting him in the library as a child.

With Gilbert’s help, the two sat at a table in the office. Nerys, hesitating, glanced at Gilbert as he poured the tea, and he responded smoothly.

“If you need anything, please let me know.”

“Thank you.”

“Of course, Advisor.”

Nerys had been so busy with the flood situation that she’d never really spoken with Gilbert before, but he greeted her with the skill and warmth of someone who’d known her for years.

Click. Once Gilbert left, only the two of them remained. Cledwyn smiled, looking at Nerys across the table.

“Well, what did you want to talk about?”

“I have something to show you.”

“Go ahead.”

“Just a moment.”

Thump, thump.

Nerys’s heart pounded in her chest.

She knew better than anyone how dangerous these eyes could be in the wrong hands.

She wasn’t going to say anything about her abilities, but what did it matter? If Cledwyn really wanted, he could claim she was a ‘royal’ himself.

He was clever; he’d use it in the best way.

But he—

He—

Nerys didn’t think he’d ever use it to harm her.

‘What a naïve thought,’ she chided herself. But after all, she’d already taken a chance on him by bringing her mother here…

Her delicate hand slowly reached for her hat.

With a soft motion, she removed the pinned hat from her head. The black veil that had hung from it and hidden the upper part of her face fluttered away.

Fully revealed—her Jeweled Eyes.

Cledwyn’s gray eyes sparkled too, but their shine couldn’t compare to the true brilliance of her Jeweled Eyes. Deep purple, bright crimson, blue-tinged scarlet… countless hues and depths gleamed across hundreds, thousands of facets.

Like a brilliant-cut gem crafted by a master.

Seeing the real Jeweled Eyes for the first time, Cledwyn couldn’t take his gaze from Nerys. Feeling self-conscious under his steady gaze, Nerys finally looked down and spoke.

“…I know they look strange… That’s why I asked Gilbert to leave, so I could show you. Whether or not to reveal it publicly—I’ll let you decide…”

The imperial family’s Jeweled Eyes were a deep navy, never as dazzling as Nerys’s. Even Nellusion sometimes stared at Nerys’s eyes, saying he felt the pride of his own family in them.

But Cledwyn’s response wasn’t the shock Nerys expected. It wasn’t confusion, or even a sense of betrayal.

He looked at Nerys’s eyes as if they were a priceless treasure, but there was no greed in his gaze. Rather, he—

He looked at her as if she were something lovely.

 

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(T/N: Still not back to a regular upload schedule, but I’ll be uploading at least 5 chapters per series every week, in order based on the most recent series I picked up. No fixed days yet, but I’ll keep the bulk uploads coming as best as I can!)