Chapter 2
1.
“My beloved princess, I will give you everything in the world.”
Count O’Hara, Evangeline’s father, was unlike any other noble.
If one wanted to describe him kindly, he was a free spirit.
If one wanted to be honest, he was an utterly doting fool who spoiled his daughter so much that he completely lost all sense of reason.
Fortunately, high society in Roark preferred the first description.
There was only one reason for that.
He was the richest man in the Empire.
House O’Hara had always been wealthy and respected, but in the imperial capital of Roark, that alone wasn’t anything special. As the capital of the Bellice Empire—the greatest nation on the continent with thousands of years of history—it was filled with ancient noble families.
House O’Hara had simply been one of many.
Comfortable, but never truly exceptional.
That changed the moment the current Count O’Hara inherited the family.
Having spent much of his youth studying overseas, he developed an aggressive and adventurous personality. He first expanded his business through tobacco plantations and breweries in the colonies before making a bold move into the mining industry in the southern regions.
Many people mocked him, saying he had gone mad for risking his entire fortune on a single investment.
In the end, however, he succeeded spectacularly.
No…
Calling it merely a success hardly did it justice.
One after another, he struck the largest gold veins and gemstone mines on the continent. Within only a few years, he rose to become the wealthiest man in Roark’s high society.
And the sole heir to all of that fortune—
His only daughter—
Was Evangeline O’Hara.
The Count divorced his wife because of irreconcilable differences before their daughter had even turned one.
After that, he adored Evangeline beyond reason.
From childhood, he never left her side for even a moment, taking her all across the continent with him.
Among nobles, where girls were normally raised at home learning etiquette and preparing for marriage, his way of raising his daughter was nothing short of revolutionary.
“If she’s my daughter, she should be able to do anything.”
Horseback riding.
Swordsmanship.
Card games.
Foreign languages.
Whatever Evangeline wanted to learn, he taught her, regardless of whether it was considered suitable for a girl.
After spending her youth traveling freely beside her father, Evangeline finally settled in the imperial capital of Roark shortly before making her debut in high society.
Count O’Hara’s approach to her marriage was just as unconventional.
Instead of following the usual custom—letting his daughter debut in society, comparing suitable suitors over several seasons, and slowly negotiating marriage proposals—
He overturned the entire system.
My daughter deserves the finest husband.
That was all that mattered to him.
There was no reason to waste time comparing candidates.
Before the social season had even begun, the Count marched straight to House Teze.
Although even the greatest noble families hardly dared to approach the ducal house, Count O’Hara, born with the instincts of a businessman, saw an opportunity where everyone else saw impossibility.
After all…
Wasn’t it always the richest mines that everyone else was too afraid to dig?
Carrying a portrait of his daughter along with documents proving her immense inheritance, he met with the previous Duchess of Teze, Decarno’s mother.
The two reached an agreement that very day.
In simple terms, the Count boldly declared,
“Search the entire world if you like—you’ll never find a better future Duchess than my daughter.”
The Duchess readily agreed.
An unknown young lady suddenly becoming the future daughter-in-law of House Teze naturally caused an enormous stir throughout high society.
People whispered that there must have been some secret deal behind the scenes.
Others regretted not trying to arrange the match for their own daughters first.
Rumors spread endlessly.
But the decision had already been made.
When Duke Teze himself—the acknowledged leader of all the Empire’s noble families—unexpectedly agreed without objection, the matter was settled.
Then, as more and more people saw Evangeline’s breathtaking beauty with their own eyes, praise for the couple spread rapidly.
Before long, everyone accepted the marriage as inevitable.
Of course, the noble families that had long hoped to marry their daughters to the Duke did not give up so easily.
Their final hope rested on a single condition set by the previous Duchess.
“I wish to personally teach the next Duchess of Teze in my own home.”
Everyone expected the free-spirited young woman who had grown up abroad to fail under the strict and noble Duchess’s guidance.
Instead…
Evangeline exceeded every expectation.
She never once caused trouble.
She never once rebelled.
She proved herself even more perfect than the previous Duchess herself.
Two years passed after she entered House Teze.
By then, no one questioned whether she deserved to become the next Duchess.
During that time, it was Evangeline who conducted the funeral when the previous Duchess passed away.
It was also Evangeline who inherited the western residence and gardens—the traditional symbol of the Duchess of Teze—following her mother-in-law’s wishes.
As the only heir of House O’Hara, backed by her family’s enormous fortune and her father’s unwavering support, she firmly established herself as the queen of high society.
That remained true…
Until the very end of her twenty-second birthday.
“Explain everything in detail. What exactly happened?”
She immediately summoned Philip, the manager of the O’Hara Trading Company, and clasped her hands tightly on her lap.
Her father had left for Addis in the Eastern Continent a year ago.
His return wasn’t far away.
At least…
She had believed so.
He should have been preparing to sail back to Bellice now for her wedding, which was only a few months away.
Instead…
He had vanished without a trace.
“How could… all the ships have sunk…?”
“M-My apologies, Young Miss. We only received the news ourselves not long ago.”
Philip’s face had turned deathly pale.
The shocking report had left him completely shaken.
“It seems the Master finished settling all of his business in Addis two months ago and set sail. Unfortunately… his fleet encountered a violent storm in the Rieman Sea…”
“Could there be some mistake? In his last letter Father said he wouldn’t leave until next month. How could he have sailed two months ago?”
“Th-That is…”
Philip hesitated before answering.
“The Master wanted to surprise you by returning early. He ordered us not to tell you.”
“…Ah.”
Evangeline pressed her lips together and rubbed her forehead.
Knowing her father’s cheerful personality, she could easily imagine him doing something like that.
The faint hope that this might all be a misunderstanding slowly disappeared.
“…Then Father really…”
“The accident was so severe that there appear to have been no survivors. Several days later, a merchant ship from another country found pieces of the wreckage while passing through the area.”
“Are you certain?”
“To be honest… we don’t know the details. We only know that every ship sank… and that the Master is missing.”
Having delivered nothing but terrible news, Philip lowered his head in shame.
He expected the young mistress to collapse into tears.
Instead…
She remained surprisingly calm.
She slowly blinked her clear pink eyes.
She looked like a living doll.
Beautiful…
And strangely composed.
“So… Father’s body hasn’t been found.”
“No. But considering the circumstances…”
“Search the nearby seas and islands immediately. We must first determine whether there are any survivors. Also investigate exactly what cargo was on the ships and how much, if anything, remains. Report every detail to me.”
Her calm voice carried firm authority.
Although she now stood as the future Duchess of Teze, only two years earlier she had spent her life sailing across the world’s oceans aboard merchant ships with her father.
She had never directly managed the company, but she certainly hadn’t forgotten how the business worked.
“What are you waiting for? Move.”
“Well… about that…”
Contrary to Evangeline’s determination, Philip looked even more troubled.
Despite her calm response, she had overlooked one critical fact.
“There is no longer enough money to do that, my lady.”
◇ ◆ ◇
Inside the Senate chamber of the Imperial Palace, a long conference table stretched across the room with Decarno seated at its center.
After mechanically reviewing one agenda item after another, he finally set down his fountain pen.
It was his silent signal for a brief one-hour recess.
“Your Grace, shall I bring you another cup of tea?”
“No. That’s unnecessary.”
Duke Decarno shook his head at his aide, Michael.
The break wasn’t for his own sake.
If he didn’t interrupt the meeting now, most of the nobles present would continue nodding along without understanding a single word he was saying.
As expected, nobles quickly began filing out of the chamber.
Taking advantage of the moment, a man in a navy uniform casually approached him.
“How many hours has it been now? You’re making everyone work to death. Just what I’d expect from a Teze.”
“…”
The remark bordered on outright disrespect toward the Duke, who was technically the Empire’s supreme military commander.
Yet the man spoke without the slightest hesitation as he sat down across from him.
He was Phylon, the eldest son of House Summerton.
A Navy Colonel.
And one of Duke Decarno’s very few true friends.
