My Sister Took My Fiance And I Was Married To An Ugly Prince

32 - Settlement

While I was making a list of what was missing, Ramilio came back.

"I'm back, you look better than I expected."

Lucrezia felt her strength drain from her body; she was not sure what had happened to her agent.

"I was able to talk to him, but only briefly. He said that the bandits somehow demanded the documents for the safe deposit box where he deposited the jewels, so he gave them to them."

Lucrezia was dumbfounded.

I was wondering what he was after, and what he wanted with the safe deposit box certificate of all things.

"....It's a very specific kind of robbery. It's as if they knew in advance that we had the deeds to some expensive jewelry...."

"Yeah. I think I know who did it. By the way, where's the safety deposit box? Do you think we can get to it in time?"

"It's the Illuminati capital."

"I'm not so sure about that. We are at war with Rai...."

"I've heard that it's now with Telunya."

"It's still a long way away."

"But it is not so."

Lucrezia was educated as a marshal's wife, so she knows the geography of the country.

"That means...."

"It is possible that even if you send a message, the army will block your way and you won't be able to enter. It might be taken in the confusion...."

"In the confusion of the moment, ....hey."

I was thinking about the meaning of this reflexively, and then Ramilio spoke out in an uncharacteristically cheerful voice.

"You can't help it if that's the case. I'll buy you a new one. I'll buy you a new one. How much did they take?"

Lucrezia silently ran through the numbers, adding them up roughly to get a rough estimate."I think it's about...."

Ramilio's face tightened.

"You're a very rich man, aren't you....?"

"It's a shame, but I'm glad no one lost their life.

If you live, you will eventually get your money back.

Ramilio patted me on the back to comfort me.

"We can't do everything right away, but we'll make it one thing at a time. In the meantime, all we need is a set of jewelry for the parade."

Lucrezia's face lit up with joy.

In his mind, he had already thought that far ahead.

"I hope it will be handed down from generation to generation in Ramilio-sama's family."

"What are you talking about, you have it in your house too."
She must have frightened him with her gloomy eyes.

Lucrezia was happy, although she felt a little sad.

--The jewel was taken, but...

Lucrezia thought that she had gotten what she wanted most.

The most treasured thing was the encounter with him.

I'm not sure if it's because I've been thinking about this ....vaguely, but I think it's because I've been thinking about it.

I'm not sure what to say, but I'm sure you'll understand.

"...Ra-Ramilio, sama."

I'm not going to complain.

"No complaints. We're going to be a family, you and I."

It wasn't so much a complaint that I wanted to reject him outright, but it was still embarrassing to have him do this to me in public.

"I'm glad you're okay. I can't stand the thought of you being the one who was attacked."

Lucrezia's head boiled and she couldn't say anything anymore, so she gently hugged him back.

***

When I returned home, Duke Antonio had vanished without a trace.

Not a single note. I wondered where he had gone, leaving even Rosa behind. I asked Rosa, but she said she didn't know.

"Dad's missing from....?"

"Yes. The documents from the jewelry safe deposit box in my office have been taken as well. I don't know if your father is the culprit, but if he is, I doubt he'll be back."

Rosa seemed to be in a state of shock.

"I'm....?"

"Maybe he's planning to come and get us later."

It was comforting, but Rosa seemed to have seen through it. My sister suddenly began to weep, tears streaming down her face.

"Did... I get left behind....?"

Lucrezia couldn't help but feel sorry for herself when she saw her crying face.

"I'm not sure what to do...."　

A nobleman's daughter can do nothing without the protection of her parents. If I were to be thrown out of the house with nowhere to go, it would be better to join a monastery because it would guarantee me a minimum standard of living.

"If you want to join a monastery, I will prepare the deposit for it."

When Lucrezia said this, Rosa began to cry and whine in earnest.

"I'm sorry.... sister, I'm sorry...! I was so stupid...! Please, don't tell me to go to the convent...!"　

My sister was crying and apologizing desperately.

"I was jealous of my sister! That's why I said so many stupid things... I knew it was really bad...!　I knew...!"

Lucrezia looked over at her crying sister with an indescribable feeling.

"I'll be a good girl from now on...! Don't kick me out!...!"

--I'm in trouble. I'm not a saint either, so I have a certain amount of resentment towards what my sister did to me.

Lucrezia, too, has had a lot of help from her grandfather and his contracted agents to amass her fortune. It's not easy to ask Rosa to build a private fortune the way Lucrezia did.

"It's not up to me, it's up to you," she said. "I'm sure you'll be able to tell him how sorry you are."

"Say...! Yes, of course, I can...!"

"Okay, okay. Don't worry, Ramilio is very fond of me, and I'm sure he'll think better of me if I ask him."

--Rosa cried and clung to Lucrezia. She was such a fool just a few days ago. So, Lucrezia stroked Rosa's head until she stopped crying.

***