~Chapter 16~
Everything Ruby had said turned out to be true.
Balt sent other knights to catch the thief in the act of stealing weapons.
Thanks to that, the knight was caught right away and couldn’t even make an excuse.
Duke Lux immediately had the knight brought before him for questioning.
“Why did you steal weapons from the Duke’s household?”
“Please forgive me. My mother is sick, and I desperately needed money… I was tempted and gave in…”
The knight cried, tears dripping onto the floor.
But Duke Lux didn’t feel any pity.
“You knew exactly how valuable the things you stole were, didn’t you?”
“Yes, I know. I’m truly sorry…”
“And where did you get the illusion magic?”
“The thieves’ guild I sold the weapons to gave it to me…”
“So you sold all of them to the thieves’ guild?”
“Yes…”
Duke Lux rubbed his forehead.
If it were the thieves’ guild, they would have already covered their tracks and run away.
It was doubtful that they could get the stolen swords back.
“Don’t worry, Your Grace,” Balt said.
“You have a plan?”
Balt took a piece of paper from his pocket.
“Lady Ruby gave me an idea.”
“That child?”
Ruby had guessed it wouldn’t be good for her to directly face the criminal, so she didn’t come to the interrogation.
But she had already guessed how the questioning would go and had written down her plan for Balt to deliver.
“The thief didn’t just steal the weapons—he also stole the Duke’s weapon-making techniques. He was clearly trying to harm you. So, why don’t we register those techniques with the Empire so they’re legally protected?”
“Legal protection?”
The concept of legal protection wasn’t very common in the Baldur Empire.
Duke Lux had heard of it but had never seen it used.
“We should officially register the Duke’s weapon-making method. That way, anyone copying it can be punished under Imperial law.”
It wasn’t a new law—patent laws already existed in the Empire to stop people from stealing inventors’ ideas.
“With the patent, it will be legally recognized that all weapons made by this method belong to the Duke’s household.”
“And what would that do for us?”
“The thieves’ guild will probably auction off the stolen swords, advertising them as weapons from the Duke’s household to get a higher price.”
“You’re telling me to buy them back?”
“No. All we need is to find out when and where the auction will be held. Once the patent is registered, we’ll have the legal right to accuse them of stealing the Duke’s technology. Then we’ll have a reason to bring Imperial police to the auction. That way, not only can we recover the stolen goods, but from now on, no one will be able to freely trade weapons made with the Duke’s forging method.”
“…Huh.”
Duke Lux let out a short laugh, caught off guard.
Ruby had already guessed what he would worry about and prepared a solution—one he never would have thought of himself.
He prided himself on knowing Imperial law well, but he had never imagined using patent law like that.
He couldn’t deny that Ruby was incredibly clever.
She had found and solved a problem in the household that he hadn’t even noticed—within just a week.
He had been the one to tell her to prove herself, yet he was still surprised by her results.
“I need to meet that child. Bring her to me right away.”
“What about this man?” Balt asked.
Duke Lux glanced briefly at the knight.
“Strip him of his title and punish him under imperial law so he can never steal again.”
“Please, show mercy!” the knight begged.
“There will be no mercy,” Duke Lux said sharply.
He paid no further attention to the knight being dragged away.
His focus was on the note Balt had left behind.
Everything Balt had said was written on it.
The handwriting didn’t look like a child’s—it was mature and neat.
Seeing it, Duke Lux even wondered for a moment if an adult’s soul was inside the child’s body.
Of course, that couldn’t possibly be true.
“…An interesting child,” he murmured.
He didn’t even realize he was smiling as he stared at the note.
***
At that time, Ruby was in the garden watching her siblings play.
Thankfully, since the incident where they hurt her, Calix and Sasha no longer fight with weapons.
But that didn’t mean they stopped fighting altogether.
Ruby had long since given up trying to stop every little quarrel—it was just part of being children.
“Heh-heh, Sasha, you’re so short you can’t even catch me!”
“Ugh! I hate you, brother!”
“So what if you do?”
Calix ran away, teasing Sasha as usual.
Sometimes he would poke her in the side just to annoy her.
At first, Sasha only whined, but soon she got angry and tried to pull up a nearby tree.
“No, Sasha! That’s one Jackson’s been taking care of!”
Jackson, who was trimming plants nearby, looked at Ruby with gratitude for stopping her.
Luckily, Sasha listened and looked away from the tree—only to pick up an expensive-looking vase from the garden.
“Wait! That’s a valuable vase!” Ruby jumped up in alarm.
Sasha threw it at Calix.
Shocked, Calix instinctively caught the vase and fell backward.
“Calix, are you okay?”
The vase was almost as big as Calix himself.
Ruby hurried over.
“Hah… the vase is safe, noona.”
It seemed Calix had thrown himself down to protect the vase.
“You idiot. No matter how expensive it is, you should protect yourself first.”
She scolded him, then turned a stern look to Sasha.
“Sasha, put it back where it was.”
Sasha, glancing at Ruby’s expression, picked up the vase from Calix and returned it to its place.
It was so big and heavy that she was probably the only one who could lift it.
“And apologize to your brother.”
“But he—”
“Fine. Calix, you apologize to Sasha first.”
“Why? I didn’t throw anything at her.”
“You teased and bothered her. I saw everything.”
Calix groaned.
Unable to win against Ruby’s stare, he muttered, “…Sorry.”
“Huh? I can’t hear you,” Sasha said, pretending not to hear.
Calix’s eyes flashed in irritation, but Ruby’s sharp gaze kept him from doing anything.
“Mm-hmm.” He said it louder through clenched teeth.
“What was that?” Sasha teased again.
But this time, Ruby scolded her.
“Stop pretending you didn’t hear. Now it’s your turn to apologize.”
“Fine.”
Sasha puffed up her cheeks, then reached out her small hand to Calix.
“Okay. I’m sorry too.”
Calix took her hand.
“Ow, ow, ow! Don’t squeeze so hard!”
“I wasn’t squeezing hard.”
Ruby sighed with her hands on her hips at Sasha’s petty behavior.
After settling the quarrel, Ruby picked up Maria.
The quiet baby still wasn’t crying—so well-behaved for her age.
Ruby wondered how smart Maria would become as she grew.
“Maria, isn’t the weather nice?”
She sat in the shade so Maria wouldn’t be in direct sunlight.
***
“Lady Ruby.”
Someone called to her.
“Ah, Balt. Is everything taken care of?”
Ruby had expected him, so she wasn’t surprised.
“The Duke wishes to see you.”
“All right. Could you take care of Maria for me?”
Balt took the baby from her arms, and Ruby walked straight to the Duke’s study.
Without hesitation, she knocked.
Knock, knock.
“Come in.”
Ruby entered.
“You called for me?”
“Come closer,” the Duke said.
This time, he wasn’t just looking at papers—he was looking directly at her.
“You’ve heard my report, haven’t you?” Ruby said confidently, as if she already knew why he called her.
“How did you know all of that?” the Duke asked.
