C113
I continued reading the letter.
[I am Angela. It's been a long time since we saw each other.]
Angela? Is she Ethel's childhood friend?
I don't know her last name because only the name is written on the envelope and the letterhead.
[I can't write it in the letter due to circumstances, but I have something important to tell you. We must meet in person and talk.]
It was a phrase that caught my attention for some reason.
Then, the letter unilaterally specified a date within a week and a location in front of the fountain in Spring Flower Park.
[I'm sorry. I'm not in a position to arrange a meeting with you calmly at the moment. I'll wait until you come.]
The letter ended with a sentence that seemed quite desperate.
[This is a very important matter about your life, so come see me just once.]
I checked the envelope again.
There was no return address either. The only name was "Angela."
The only information available was that the letter was sent from the central post office of the capital, judging by the postage stamp.
"Oh, about that letter," Laura said after looking at the letter I was holding.
"I wasn't going to give it to you because the content was strange, but I thought it might be an acquaintance of Ethel, so I included it. Was it in vain?"
"No. Good job."
"As expected, it was an acquaintance."
Looking at the content of the letter, at least it didn't feel like a stranger.
"But I don't think they're that close."
It's been more than two years since I possessed Ethel's body, but isn't this the first time I've heard this name?
However, she didn't seem like a snob who approached me because she wanted money.
Before that, I was the young Duchess of Cassius.
If this person, Angela, had just wanted money, she would have contacted me a long time ago.
"So, will you go there?"
I thought about Laura's question for a moment and then replied.
"Yes. I need to clear my schedule for that day."
There was a high chance that it was an ordinary person, but for some reason, I felt drawn.
In particular, I was curious about the "extremely important matter about my life" written in the letter.
So, I stored Angela's letter in a drawer and started organizing myself again.
Because there were so many letters, it took a long time to respond even with Laura's help.
Time passed frantically. I spent most of the time battling the waves of letters.
Meanwhile, what was memorable was the mischief between Count Wallace and Samuel.
Even though they had written a memorandum saying they would never appear before me again, they tried to enter the palace to meet me.
"A father wants to see his daughter, so why are they stopping me? I am the father of Ethel Wallace, the owner of the best magic stone mine!"
Laura, who personally witnessed the commotion that occurred in front of the main gate of the imperial palace, even used vocal imitations to tell me in detail what she had seen and heard.
When the palace guards tried to remove him, Count Wallace lay on the ground and shouted.
"That thing took my mine! I knew in advance that it was a treasure! Give it back! It's the property of the Wallace family!"
Now it was mine in name and in reality.
The mine regained its old name, Lucibiu Mine, and I was Ethel Lucibiu.
Unlike his father, who was finally beaten and expelled for causing disturbances in the imperial palace, Samuel tried to act cleverly.
Sharon said that since an article about the mine appeared in the newspaper, he had been consulting with one lawyer after another.
Asking if there was any way to invalidate the memorandum they had written and then reclaim the mine through a lawsuit.
The result was a resounding defeat. There was no way such a convenient method could have fallen from the sky, and since I had joined the imperial family, I didn't know what sparks would fly if they accepted Samuel's request.
Moreover, since he was bankrupt, what lawyer would welcome Samuel, who insisted on paying only after winning the trial?
After all the commotion, the two people belatedly sent me a long letter, probably because they had discovered the situation.
I skimmed through the letter, which appealed to my sympathy by detailing how needy they were, and then tossed it in the trash.
Since that part violated the contents of the memorandum first, there was no need to consider it.
I showed Samuel's promissory note to a debt collection agency famous for ensuring they collected the money and entrusted them with the job.
The upfront fee was already paid, and a reward for success was promised, and the company was determined to get the money by any means possible.
I said firmly.
"They must work within the limits of the law. Nothing illegal. Understood?"
They nodded enthusiastically, as if understanding what I meant.
The company got to work quickly, and thanks to that, it had already been two days since Samuel and Count Wallace no longer appeared in the capital.
"Fortunately, the countess seems to have regained some sense..."
This is also something Sharon told me. Countess Wallace seems to be her current client.
The goal, of course, was to divorce the count.
As lawyers have the duty to maintain confidentiality, Sharon did not tell me the details of the countess's circumstances, but it was obvious even without looking at them.