BOAD 14

14. The Reason for Starting the Play

“Mela, how about this? I think it would look good with your hair.”

Leofric, with exaggerated gestures, picked up a jeweled hairpin from the display and brought it close to my head.

With a serious expression, he seemed genuinely concerned whether the pin would suit me or not.

I awkwardly smiled and gently pulled his arm down.

“It’s okay, Leo. I already have plenty at home.”

“But Mela, that’s not enough. Didn’t I say you need to have beautiful things worthy of your beauty by your side?”

Leofric shook his head as if it was out of the question.

“Beautiful things worthy of my beauty…”

Unable to bear it, I forced myself to lower my head so that no strange reaction would slip out.

“Well, but…”

“Oh, do you not like it? Then shall we go somewhere else? I came here on purpose because I heard all sorts of goods come in, but…”

Again, I say this: Leofric really acted well.

How could he play the role of a husband who, without even blinking, is dissatisfied that nothing suits his beloved wife so perfectly?

No doubt, if Leofric becomes emperor, the nobles will be helplessly swept away by even a single expression of his.

“Are you okay, Mela?”

Again, his gaze was so soft it could melt me, and he met my eyes.

I told him several times that since it’s acting, he didn’t have to overdo it.

Acting.

Yes, acting.

He and I are currently playing “a doting husband who spares nothing for his wife” and “a luxurious wife.”

Because such acting is difficult for my personality, the ‘luxurious wife’ has become a wife who refuses kindness to get something better…

When I sighed softly, Leofric hugged me apologetically.

“Sorry, Mela. I got greedy wanting to give you the best, and it ended like this.”

“No need to apologize, Leo. Your heart is always full.”

“But I still want to give only the best to you.”

Too much. Too much.

Unfamiliar lines, unfamiliar physical contact, unfamiliar gaze.

I said before starting that if I didn’t like it, it was okay to say no — but is this something I can just refuse?

The absurd reason we started this play in the first place was for the sake of the country.

So, how did this come to be…?

Until the morning, the atmosphere had been calm and peaceful.

Just an ordinary, quiet morning, no different than usual at the Marquis’ residence.

The servants’ service was excellent, breakfast suited my taste perfectly, and Leofric treated me with appropriate distance.

If only Lord Deon, who came holding something in his hand, hadn’t come, I could have carried that mood all day.

With a silent face, he handed over what he held, then whispered something to Leofric.

Following him, Betty came in holding a pale yellow envelope.

“Madam, this is a message from Miss Hailey.”

Betty whispered softly as she handed me the envelope, and I tore it open without hesitation to check the contents.

[Certified. The last trace of ‘Isolde’s Tear’ is Waines Harbor.]

“What’s this?”

I understood the words ‘certified’ but suddenly hearing about Isolde’s Tear, which had disappeared years ago, was startling.

“That’s the whereabouts of the jewel you were searching for recently. Don’t you remember?”

“Me? I was looking for this?”

I handed the letter back to Betty, who after confirming the content, casually tossed it into the fireplace behind her.

Isolde’s Tear was a treasure passed down in the imperial family for generations.

A delicately cut, transparent blue diamond shaped like a tear.

It was known as a jewel favored by the first Empress of the Reinhardt dynasty and was treated like a guardian spirit ensuring the family’s peace and prosperity.

Because whenever the first Empress wearing Isolde’s Tear appeared, miracles were said to happen.

Rain came to drought-stricken areas, victories in war, and even early flower showers at small village festivals.

Whether true or not, Isolde’s Tear had adorned the Empress’s crown for generations.

But a few years ago, it suddenly vanished from the imperial treasure house.

No sign of break-in, no time when guards were absent, and yet Isolde’s Tear disappeared without a trace.

The Emperor imposed a strict silence order regarding the jewel’s whereabouts.

To this day, only rumors abound; no one truly knows whether the real Isolde’s Tear is still in the palace or not.

Seeing my surprised face, Betty made a slightly exasperated sound.

“You don’t remember again? That’s why Miss Hailey has been searching everywhere. You scolded her so much.”

“Sorry. I totally forgot.”

I’d been preoccupied with the changed Leofric.

Isolde’s Tear should have been the first thing I needed to find.

“Hailey has already started investigating…”

The reason for the investigation was clear.

In my previous life, I searched for Isolde’s Tear for Lloyd.

If the nobles learned the jewel, which was said to bring prosperity and wealth to the country, was lost, they would swarm like hornets.

“Isolde’s Tear? But everyone knows that’s in the imperial treasure, don’t they?”

“Yes. Everyone believes so. But even the Emperor can’t deceive his people forever.”

That fact was the catalyst that made the anti-emperor nobles support Lloyd.

So this time, I must get it first.

Isolde’s Tear itself is a powerful weapon.

At that thought, I considered using this fact to my advantage.

Maybe with this, I could break up the nobles before Lloyd builds his power.

Just as I thought I must move immediately and raised my head, I met Leofric’s gaze, who had been watching me for some time.

“What are you thinking about so deeply?”

“…Ah.”

He smiled softly.

I smiled awkwardly, unsure whether to tell him about this or not.

Although Isolde’s Tear last appeared in Waines, I had only brought Betty, the only one who would act for me.

Leofric could make things easier by helping, but…

The problem was, I might have to tell him why I was investigating Isolde’s Tear.

I couldn’t honestly confess that I was doing it for Lloyd.

When I remained silent, Leofric kept smiling and met my eyes.

Then with a joyful look, he asked,

“Wife, do you like jewels?”

Neither he nor I spoke about the letters we had received.

As we moved by carriage, Leofric briefly explained the tasks ahead.

From this, I guessed roughly the contents of his letter.

He said he needed a ticket to ‘somewhere in the back alleys.’

If my past memory was correct, it probably meant an illegal auction place for black-market trades.

To get the admission ticket, he had to play the role of a rich, foolish noble.

One who spares no expense on luxury and appears crazy about spending money.

A good idea.

But after glancing at him, whose appearance seemed far from the description, I suggested he play the role of a rich noble who loves to spend money on his wife.

I proposed the opposite role to myself, a wife who loves luxury very much.

And here we are now.

In Waines, at the most famous jewelry store known for having the largest and most splendid jewels.

“If you don’t find anything you like, shall we return to the capital?”

“Hmm…”

“Indeed, all rare things are in the capital, right? I heard Madame Leman’s boutique just got some rare silk recently, shall we go there?”

He had been extremely committed to his role since earlier.

Leofric gently brushed my back and glanced again at the display case.

I smiled awkwardly, pretending to encourage him by not answering.

“I was hoping to find something at least similar to Isolde’s Tear…”

Muttering with a displeased face, Leofric caught the owner standing beside us looking anxious and cautiously asking,

“Have you ever seen Isolde’s Tear, sir?”

“Oh yes. Any noble in the empire should have seen it at least once.”

“But isn’t it known that Isolde’s Tear was stolen years ago?”

“Who said it was stolen? I myself saw it clearly in the imperial castle not long ago.”

“Is that so?”

“It’s the royal treasure, so naturally it should be in the royal palace, shouldn’t it?”

People are ridiculous.

Leofric answered lightly, and the jewelry owner with a stylish mustache twitched his lips slightly.

He looked eager to say something; I exchanged a glance with Leofric.

“Have you ever seen Isolde’s Tear, sir?”

“It’s a jewel that’s hard to see even once in a lifetime, madam. Especially here, far from the capital. We’d be lucky just to hear about it.”

When I asked curiously, Leofric cheekily shook his head with a ‘no way’ expression.

If he hadn’t become a politician, what else could he have become?

Clicking my tongue in my mind and pretending to smile at him, he returned my smile with pure joy and continued,

“Well, since you don’t know such a jewel, I understand why there’s nothing here that suits my wife. No, even if I robbed a country, it wouldn’t be a waste for her.”

“Enough, Leo. People will gossip.”

“Who would dare gossip about me cherishing my wife? Speaking of which, didn’t you say you liked the silk from Fernan recently? Shall we buy a workshop in Fernan?”

“Oh, stop it. You’re overdoing it, Leo.”

This was no longer acting but sincerity.

I fought the goosebumps spreading all over my body and lightly tapped his arm.

How on earth is he so natural with these lines?

He can’t be practicing in front of the mirror every day.

While I was lost in silly thoughts, the owner kept hesitating without saying a word.

Doesn’t want to talk, huh?

I gently pulled Leofric’s sleeve.

Just as I was about to lead him to a place where we could get a ticket more reliably than this lukewarm place—

“Instead of buying an uncertain workshop far away in Fernan, how about purchasing one more precious jewel for the madam tonight?”

The owner, who had been twitching his lips and holding something back, opened his mouth with a solemn face.

No, he took the bait.