C175
"Deborah, come to think of it, your birthday is just around the corner."
Duke Seymour, who was sitting across from me, suddenly said, looking at the chessboard. I took the queen and nodded.
"How about spending this birthday quietly without too many guests? We haven't been able to reveal who is behind you."
I hadn't shared the clues I found in my diary with my father yet.
"Although we have deduced the background, there is no conclusive evidence to investigate the imperial family."
The emperor's favorite queen is targeting me.
She was a very tough opponent, that's why I have a headache.
Lost in thought, instead of responding to my father's suggestion, I moved a black bishop across the board and took down the white bishop.
My father slowly rubbed his chin as he watched the black pieces rush toward the enemy camp.
"It's a bold move. Like you."
Like me?
At his comment, I suddenly felt a sense of exasperation.
I used to think of myself as shy and quiet, but how did this happen?
"But. I made a damn resolution that if there was a next life, I wouldn't live like a doormat..."
I gathered the horse, recalling that strong determination.
The pieces went back and forth several times, and in the end, my father's king was surrounded by my queen and my horse, and it was impossible to move.
"Checkmate."
He thought for a moment, moving his horse back and forth, and finally declared surrender.
"I sacrificed the bishop on purpose to push the king in this direction. Neither Enrique nor you will take care of this father."
He murmured regretfully and leaned on the soft backrest.
While playing, the sun had set, the sky was black, and snow was scattered in the darkness.
Amidst the silence in the office, Duke Seymour's silver eyes sank faintly.
He doesn't show it in front of me, but after I was ambushed in the Royal Library, he burned with strong hostility.
To some extent, he mobilized private soldiers to dust off even a group of cultists unrelated to black magic on a rainy day, bit Marquis François with a tax evasion case, and blocked Mia's financial line.
But even the Duke must know that cutting the tail, not the head or body, is useless.
"Father."
"Yes, tell me."
"This year, my birthday will be more special than any other as Princess Seymour. I had the most successful debutante in the empire and became the queen of the hunting competition, but it's boring if I stay silent, isn't it?"
"..."
"Of course, I have no intention of inviting guests to this house, obviously."
I whispered as if sharing a secret.
"I'm going to have a party on board."
"... A party on board?"
Upon hearing my words, he raised his eyebrows.
"Yes. I received a beautiful boat as a gift."
The sender of the astonishingly large gift was Isidor, a noble from the south with a large port and dozens of ships.
"Is it possible to bring that big boat to the capital?"
After floating the boat I received as a gift on the Renee River flowing around the Horun district, I decided to have a party on board.
"Tch..."
As he clicked his tongue, he slightly furrowed his brow.
I expected him to point out my vanity and luxury, but the words that came out of his mouth were surprising.
"As a father, I haven't decided on a gift for you yet, but they already prepared a boat as a gift. Who the hell came up with that idea?"
"..."
"I thought it was time to look for a couple of jewels. How did such an idea come up...?"
"I didn't expect Isidor to give me a boat as a gift."
The Duke suddenly asked for my opinion with a serious and solemn expression.
"Deborah. What do you think of mines where rubies are extracted?"
"It's really, really amazing. My heart just dropped."
"Isn't a mine better than a boat?"
"Hmmmm. After all, land is the best for people from the East."
There was no other reason to refuse an expensive gift, so I replied calmly, and the Duke cleared his stern expression and smiled gently, stroking my hair with his large hand.
"Yes. This is my daughter."
It was a bit vague to say whether it was a compliment or an insult, but my father seemed to be enjoying it, so I smiled.
-----------------------
"What the hell is that?"
Over the marine waters of the Renee River.
Those who witnessed the docking of a state-of-the-art, two-story ship with an elegant shape murmured in amazement.
The white ship, which appeared to be four or five times larger than a yacht or a small boat, caught the attention of passersby as it was hard to ignore.
And it didn't take long for people to know who the owner of the elegant ship was.
"They said Duke Visconti gave the boat to Princess Deborah."
"To present such a white and beautiful boat. It's so romantic."
In recent romantic novels, lords from the south with blond hair were in fashion.
"Don't you think it would be great to watch the sunset and the night view while sailing on that boat?"
"They say the boat was named 'Debiho (號*)' after the princess's nickname."
(N/T: ship suffix.)
While everyone envied Princess Deborah's special birthday gift, news that a lavender-colored diamond had appeared for sale at the auction house went viral.
Unlike pink diamonds, of which there were initially about three in stock, there was a rumor that the lavender-colored diamond was unique.
"A lavender diamond is coming out right now. It seems planned."
"Mmm... Yes. If it's lavender, a face immediately comes to mind."
"I think I know who it is even if you don't tell me. It's the person most talked about in the social world right now."
"The commercial insight of the jewelry dealer is unusual."
"Once you see it, you can't take your eyes off the mystique of that jewel."
A lavender diamond with the mystery of the dawn light.
It was like a jewel for Princess Deborah, and everyone thinking about what to give her for her birthday had similar thoughts.
"That lavender diamond... I don't think it's a bad gift for my sister's birthday, right?"
Belreck exclaimed with a punch.
"Who else in the Empire looks as good in purple jewels as she does? Let's get that item right away."
At that moment, Duke Visconti had presented a new boat, and his father had given him a mine, so he was out of the running.
It was well worth it.
"By the way, Belreck-nim..."
The vassal cautiously opened his mouth.
"What?"
"Rosad-nim also expressed his intention to participate in the jewelry auction. Before writing the price, I think it would be good to know the price range the other party is considering."
"Damn! Why does he always think the same as me?"
It wasn't just Rosad.
The Baslein family, who had greatly benefited from the insurance business, also participated in the bidding, and the news that even the 5th Princess entered the competition shook the social world.
"Princess. How much did you bid?"
Thierry asked with a curious expression, and the 5th Princess narrowed her eyes.
"This spy. Do you think I don't know you have a piece of a black heart for the princess? If it's a reasonable price, are you thinking of writing a slightly higher price than mine?"
"I don't have money."
Thierry said proudly.
It was true that he didn't have a penny in hand.
But in this case, it seemed he could borrow money from his mother. Because Princess Deborah was the benefactor who rescued his mother from the crack in the sky forest.
"Hmm. Right, I shouldn't have worried."
The 5th princess whispered the price she had written to win the bid with a pitiful expression.
The price was so absurd that Thierry choked back a smile.
"As planned, Princess Deborah's gift should be those strange breed of horses raised in the territory."
"Not a bad gift either."
"She's so competitive that I don't even dare to confront her."
"I'm not even sure if I can win the auction or not. The Seymour twins are raising prices competitively."
What is certain is that the behind-the-scenes competition is much fiercer now than in the days of pink diamonds.
Now the Seymour twins have the highest bid and even continuously tie it.
On the other hand, Isidor, the owner of colored diamonds and owner of <Diana>, a distribution company, was sipping tea while looking at the state of the bidding prices and the list of participants.
"Everyone is working hard."
After all, the person who would win the bid for the jewel had been decided from the beginning.
"Why does everyone think the boat is the only gift?
".... Do I look so stingy?"
Isidor flipped through the list of bidders, thinking it would be absurd if others heard him, and then stopped his hand.