Chapter 40

The Duke of Aston immediately kissed Claire’s forehead, ‘Indigo!’ and left.Claire, unaware of this, hugged the teddy bear and fell into a deep sleep.Duke Aston left the room and went straight to his office.As the door swung open, I saw a capable chief secretary, Gadin, who was just about to leave work.”Gadin, see if any port towns have been up for sale recently. Even very large ships.””Yes? Suddenly?”Gadin’s eyes, which were still sullen, grew even darker.* * *a few days later. Orphana crawled back.”I, my lord. that port…. Who has already bought it? The whole estate.””What?”No, has Viscount Tedler moved already?But it was at an auction where the old man bought the port…?’Besides, it’s not even for sale yet!’The estate owner made every effort to sell the land, but all failed, and eventually put it up for auction.But why? What’s wrong?’Mr. Lee…. No, what kind of guy are you? Who hijacked my harbor?’* * *”Happy Birthday. Happy Birthday. Our dear Claire. Happy Birthday!””Wow! Blow the candles, Claire! Hurry!”At Luca’s new month, Claire said, ‘Who!’ and blew out the candle quickly.Then, still blankly, he looked at the papers in his hand.Duke Aston said with a smile.”Claire, I’m still young, so I don’t know what it is…. That’s the estate that my dad bought for Claire. It’s a seaside town, but it’s very beautiful.””It’s written here as a port….””Five! Our Claire reads very well, yes it’s a port city. It’s Claire’s birthday present.”Duke Aston said with a bright smile and a proud expression.Claire looked down and looked at his papers again with a bewildered mind.The port named Tyrs was renamed ‘Claire Port’.’Look at the birthday present scale….’Only a few days ago, I had been thinking about who the hell was taking over the estate.’But it must have been my dad!’Ines also presented a document.”And the mother’s gift…. This is it.”Claire took it astonishingly.’The gift of the rich is paperwork. Documents are the best.’Claire admired herself and tried to look closely at the paper her mother had given her. But she didn’t even need to look closely.This is clearly the first page of the ship’s blueprint. I recognized the elaborately drawn picture of the ship as soon as I saw it.In addition, on the bow of the bow was written ‘Clairejo’. “Wow….””You said Claire wanted a boat? it is a passenger ship How do you like it?”Claire nodded her head several times unconditionally.’Wow…. How hard is your money?’Claire looked at her mom and dad with a moved expression. The Duke of Aston was moved by that gaze.”Honey, Claire is still young, so I don’t know what that is, but I think we felt our hearts. See what you like!””I know, right.”The Duke of Aston liked to pat his wife’s forearm. Ines patted her husband as if cute.”Look at my present, Claire!””Mine, mine first!”Luca and Lois quarreled and offered gifts.Claire calmed the two of them saying that she would understand, put the boxes side by side and untied the ribbon simultaneously.At Claire’s fair judgment, Luka and Lois watched the scene calmly.Almost simultaneously, when I opened the gift box, I saw a pendant studded with a jewel the size of a fist that felt unfamiliar.Guess who’s not twins…. The birthday present was the same. Besides, it was a gem of the same color.How much is all this…. It was clear that such a size would be a hefty price.”You, you followed me!””no it’s not? You must have followed!”At that time, Claire must be…. and pressed the metal that looked like a button on the end of the pendant.just as expected….「I like Claire the best!」The recorded voice of Luca resounded.It was the same when I pressed the other pendant next to it.「I like Claire the best.」It was Lois’s voice.The true nature of the gift was a magic tool with a recording function added.Luca and Lois glared at each other with spirits, and the Duke and Duchess looked at their two children with affectionate, calming eyes.”Claire, this is a gift from my brother.”And lastly….Claire received a small box from Elliot.’A gift from your best friend? Is there any other holiness like me?’Claire untied her ribbon, calming her pounding heart.Fortunately, these days, there has never been a time when a child’s instincts popped out and there was no trouble, but today was a little different.Because it was my birthday, I felt like a chimney to run around like a child.Besides, I received such nice gifts…. Can I be this happy?I didn’t know it was such a happy thing to receive a birthday congratulations from my family.Elliot’s gift was a pretty necklace.”Wow.””I bought it with the pocket money I saved up with Cybill. Isn’t she pretty?”Meanwhile, with Cybill?Claire was moved. It was just happy to see her older brother and future step-sister already showing good relationship like this. “Now, shall we do this without the necklace?””Yes?”At Elliot’s words, Claire blinked her eyes. The necklace Claire is wearing was the pink diamond necklace the Empress gave her last time.’Every time I see Oscar, I have to emphasize this necklace.’For some reason, she thought that Elliot and Cybill had prepared a necklace for this purpose.Elliot was nervous and asked again.”Yes? Are you going to change it?””… Okay.”I’ll have to change it and wear it only when I go to see Oscar.* * *Meanwhile, the sepia palace of the capital city.The Empress’s father, Viscount Tedler, hurriedly entered the residence.”Father, why are you so dark?”Empress Maleah, enjoying a relaxing massage, raised her hand and let her maids go.As soon as Viscount Tedler took his seat, he said in annoyance.”How long has it been since the trade ship disappeared, and the investigation still hasn’t come out! Why!”Ha, that sound again….Empress Maleah exclaimed as if bored.”father. Why are you yelling at me? You said I had already asked the Emperor! Please wait!””Damn, what the hell is the Emperor doing, and we still don’t know! uh? Do you know how great the damage is now?””That’s why you should have taken good care of it!”Viscount Tedler turned on the lights in his eyes and looked at the empress. Empress Maleah also raised her chin and stared at her sister and her father.”… Heh, shivering asshole she became the empress. You are my daughter after all. It’s my child! Don’t forget whose blood you are.”At those words, Maleah was offended by her and turned her head away in a hurry.”It’s like a cheeky girl….”Viscount Tedler stared at his daughter, took a moment to catch his breath, and then spoke slowly again.”Someone is building a new coffee house in a downtown area. I wonder if he stole the green beans….””But he said that his trading ship had never been attacked by pirates. And would pirates run the coffee business? Who started the business?””No matter how much I look, nothing comes up, damn…. I’ll have to dig in the back somehow sooner or later. Anyway, ask the Emperor one more time today. The whereabouts of my trading ship. Send the knights quickly to find out!””… okay.””For sure, for sure! How much is that all! Damn it!””Stop being mad and go away!”When Maleah shouted, Viscount Tedler frowned and walked away.Maleah nervously threw her glass to the floor as he left.When she looked at the broken glass that crashed into the floor, she seemed to be relieved of her anger.’I am the Empress, how long will you give me orders?’Maleah was annoyed by her father, who came from time to time and pushed her for promotion over her business.Besides, he’s always nagging me to tell the emperor….’You have to be able to say it even if you want to!’Recently, the emperor has always been uncomfortable with planting for some reason.He hadn’t come to his place for a few days, so he didn’t have time to face his face and ask for such a favor, and he almost heard nagging if he had asked the emperor, who was in a bad mood, to find him quickly.She was able to ascend to the throne of her queen because she kept a close eye on the emperor.Empress Maleah was worried.’Why is His Majesty like that these days?’The courtiers belonging to the Imperial Palace, like the Empress Palace, were like strongholds that could never be bought.Then the only way left is to get information from the high-ranking nobles….’I’ll probably have to tie the ropes to the new high-ranking nobles myself…. I can’t trust only my father forever.’Clearly, when her son, Antonio, became emperor, she would also wield her own Antonio.’My son belongs to me, and he can never lose it to his father.’She’s been wielded by her abusive father since she was a child. Still, even Antonio couldn’t let his father wield it.It had to be herself who wielded her son.’You have to find a way.’Viscount Tedler was paying some high-ranking aristocrats with the money he earned from his business.But her information about him was not shared with Maleah. She must not believe her and just write her chess pieces for her business.’To keep my father in check, I need a high-ranking noble to join me, for example….’Yes, high-ranking nobles like the Duke of Aston.