Chapter 25 – The Duchess’s Judgment
It was a bright, sunny day in May.
At the northern Abner territory, inside the first excavation site of the Lides Mana Crystal Mine—
the dusty air shifted as the door of a field tent creaked open.
A slender woman in a dark robe stepped in, her hood pulled low over her face.
“Welcome,” said Joga, the middle manager in charge of the site.
The woman, Camilla Coel, simply nodded and walked toward the table set in the center of the tent.
Across from her, another person—also hooded—was already seated, waiting.
“Thank you for agreeing to meet me,” Camilla began politely, sitting down with practiced grace.
She reached for the teacup on the table and sipped calmly, pretending not to notice how tense the air felt.
“By now, I’m sure you can guess why I came,” she said smoothly, her voice soft and friendly.
But the person sitting opposite her didn’t reply.
They didn’t even move—just stared at her silently.
Camilla didn’t mind.
Negotiations, contracts, secret deals—
these were nothing new to her.
After all, she’d handled countless such talks on behalf of her incompetent husband.
Bribing a mine supervisor was child’s play.
Money could buy almost anything, and she had plenty of it.
“I hear the manager of the first excavation site is a member of the Abner branch family?”
She already knew the answer but asked anyway, just to show confidence.
The information came from a reliable source—someone who’d worked in this mine for over ten years.
Taking the other’s silence as confirmation, she continued,
“I used to know the previous manager, Baron Roman Tessell. We had… quite a few dealings, you could say.”
Roman—one of the Abner branch nobles—had taken plenty of her money in the past.
He was useless now that he’d been fired, but still, mentioning him might help.
“I worked with him on a small matter.”
Camilla gestured lightly with her hand.
At once, two attendants came in from outside, struggling to carry something heavy.
Thud!
They placed it on the table—a huge wooden chest, secured with a lock.
Camilla rose gracefully and turned the chest so it faced the other person.
Then she undid the lock.
Clack.
As the lid opened, the contents gleamed faintly in the dim light.
“Ah…!”
Manager Joga gasped, covering his mouth.
The attendants handed him a smaller chest, about half the size of the first one.
Camilla smiled faintly.
“The Abner family has been in trouble lately, hasn’t it? The rightful heir, young Lord Jayden Abner, hasn’t even been officially recognized. And as for the current duchess, Sharon Abner—she’s made many enemies among the branch families.”
Still no response.
Camilla didn’t mind.
She knew the branch families resented Sharon.
They’d been waiting for a chance to drag her down.
And a shared enemy always made negotiations easier.
“Honestly, I don’t like her either. We may seem close in public, but you know how it is—it’s all for show.”
At her signal, the attendants opened another chest.
Now two large boxes sat open on the table.
Inside was a dazzling display of treasure.
“These are Fairy Mana Stones from the Kingdom of Raul,” Camilla said proudly. “The second box holds a few other valuables.”
The faint light of the magical stones shimmered beautifully.
The person across from her seemed taken aback—just for a second.
Camilla caught that tiny reaction and smiled inwardly.
Got you.
These weren’t ordinary mana stones.
They were precious relics—remnants of the long-extinct fairies, far rarer than normal mana crystals.
“Everyone wants them,” she said smoothly. “Even the Magic Tower can’t get enough.”
The faint curve of a smirk appeared on her opponent’s lips.
Camilla’s pulse quickened. Yes… that’s the look of temptation.
Manager Joga was already gawking at his own smaller box like a child with candy.
Now it was time to seal the deal.
“If you cooperate,” Camilla said softly, “I’ll make sure you receive the same chest every quarter.”
A chest full of fairy stones—once every three months.
“That’s not quite a king’s ransom, but you’ll live very comfortably. Easily ten times a mine supervisor’s salary.”
Still silence.
Then, finally, the hooded head dipped slightly.
Camilla smiled confidently.
Perfect. He’s hooked.
Just like Roman had been.
She pushed the chest across the table toward him.
“I won’t ask for much. When the contamination reinvestigation begins in three days, simply replace a few of the inspectors with my own men.”
A brief silence followed.
Then—
“How amusing.”
Camilla froze.
That voice… it was familiar.
“Roman sold out his family for mere trinkets like these, did he?”
The hooded figure slowly pulled back their robe.
Silver-white hair spilled down over elegant shoulders.
Piercing violet eyes met hers.
And a faint, crooked smile curved on the lips of—
Duchess Sharon Abner.
“I must admit, it’s tempting,” said Joga from the side, his tone mocking.
Camilla just blinked, unable to understand what was happening.
“If you want, take the box,” Sharon said coldly. “But you won’t live long enough to enjoy it. Not like Roman, who got ten good years out of it.”
“P-please, Your Grace, I would never—!” Joga stammered, hastily closing his box.
Camilla’s ears rang.
Her mind went blank.
Why… why is she here?
This mine was a week’s travel from the Abner estate.
She shouldn’t even be in the north!
“Surprised, aren’t you, Camilla?”
Camilla lifted her trembling head.
Sharon’s sharp gaze bore into her like a blade.
“The reinvestigation ended two days ago. The one I mentioned happening in three days? A lie I spread myself.”
“My—my lady…”
“When I executed Roman, I reviewed the ledgers again. That’s when I learned why you’d been visiting my home so often.”
A bead of cold sweat slid down Camilla’s neck.
“I didn’t find you or your daughter charming, if that’s what you thought,” Sharon continued evenly.
“…”
“My servants—those you tormented and insulted—are still under my protection. They live in my house, eat my food. And yet you treated them like dirt.”
Her voice dropped, cold and cutting.
“But I still trusted you. After all, when I inherited the duchy and everyone abandoned me—when even the noble society turned its back—you were the only one who stayed by my side.”
Sharon’s tone was calm, almost conversational—the same tone she’d used when they’d once shared tea in the sitting room.
That made it even more terrifying.
Camilla’s teeth chattered.
“When you’d gossip about ‘how awful men can be,’ I thought—maybe you were a friend.”
The last traces of expression faded from Sharon’s face.
“Thanks to you, I’ve learned a valuable lesson. I must have trusted you more than I realized.”
Her hand reached slowly toward her waist—where her sword hung.
“Because the betrayal hurts enough that I could kill you here and now.”
Camilla’s eyes flicked to the hilt of the sword, and her body trembled.
Then—
“Wait! Duchess, no!”
The tent flaps burst open.
Someone came running in and flung themselves onto Sharon’s arm, hanging from it like a small monkey.
“Don’t kill her! Hitting’s okay, but no killing!”
The voice was high and childish.
And there, clinging to the Duchess’s sleeve, was—
Annelia.
