Chapter 78
Under Stefan’s orders, Bell had returned to Courtney, combing through the vast desert like searching for a needle in a haystack, gathering information about Rita.
He had been instructed to dig into the connection between Rita and the late Count of the Burke family, so Bell began making discreet inquiries wherever he could.
“Is this where the Burke estate used to be?”
“Yes, it is, but…”
“Do you happen to know a Raphael Burke?”
“Raphael? Not really…”
After going around the entire town and asking various people, Bell finally found an elderly woman who remembered Raphael.
“Oh, that little boy? I vaguely remember him.”
“Do you know why the Burke estate was relocated?”
“Well, it was a long time ago, but there was an unfortunate accident.”
“What happened?”
The old woman, rummaging through her memories, glanced at Bell’s face. It had been years, but she was hesitant to speak about another family’s affairs.
“What’s your connection to the Burke family?”
“I work with them.”
“You mean with their merchant company?”
“Yes, sir.”
“And why do you need to know all this?”
“There was a major incident involving the Burke family earlier this year. It seems it may have been caused by an old grudge.”
“You don’t mean… Raphael died again?”
“Again?”
What followed was truly shocking.
It turned out that Raphael’s real name was ‘Rafael’, and he was actually the twin brother of the deceased Raphael. After the original Raphael died in a freak accident, falling into the estate’s fountain, Rafael had lived under his brother’s name ever since.
It was likely due to the traditional noble custom of prioritizing the firstborn son. Not wanting to stay in the estate where their eldest had died, the Burke family had even relocated.
“Were there any families with the surname Edwin living nearby?”
“Edwin? Never heard of such a name.”
“Then do you remember a woman named Rita?”
“Rita? There was a girl with a similar name…”
After thinking for a long while, the old woman finally recalled, slapping her knee with a bright smile.
“Ah, ‘Canolita’! She used to be called Rita when she was little.”
“And her last name?”
“If I remember right… it was Lewin. Yes, Lewin.”
“Lewin? Are you sure?”
“That’s right. Rita was the youngest daughter of the Count of Lewin.”
According to the old woman, Rita had spent her childhood with the Burke twins. She had even been the only one who could tell the identical twins, Raphael and Rafael, apart.
“Rita must’ve been devastated. She witnessed Raphael’s death herself.”
“Then she must have known that Rafael was living under Raphael’s name.”
“Probably… she knew, yes.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“She knew, but she didn’t want to accept it. Rita went around singing every day, saying she would be Raphael’s bride.”
“Are you saying Rita’s memory was affected?”
“A more accurate way to put it is that she manipulated her own memory. She insisted that the one who died wasn’t Raphael, but Rafael.”
“Dear god…”
Later, the Lewin family fell into decline due to some incident, and the Count suddenly died. The title was passed on to an uncle, who sent off his three nieces in arranged marriages as if they were items for sale. Rita had been only twenty at the time.
“So Rita was married off?”
“Well… I don’t know about that. There were rumors that she disappeared around then.”
The old woman clucked her tongue with pity, as if mourning Rita’s fate.
‘Pity? My ass. The delusional Rita brainwashed Rafael into thinking he was Raphael and begged him for love. When her feelings weren’t returned, she grew vengeful. And 20 years later, she commissioned the sinking of the Burke merchant ship.’
Given all this, it was no wonder they hadn’t been able to easily find evidence of Rita’s crimes. Who could have predicted her actions, when she didn’t even operate with normal logic?
On top of that, she had even faked her identity, changing her name from ‘Canolita Lewin’ to ‘Rita Edwin’, making it nearly impossible to track her down.
—
Meanwhile, Finn was completely devoted to my training. He had prepared a full curriculum, as if he had always expected this day to come—so much so that even Stefan was left speechless.
“You said you were too busy to even eat or sleep…”
“I told you, I’m serious about running the accessory shop.”
“…That’s true.”
Finn glanced disapprovingly at Stefan, who had been tailing us all day, and asked,
“Your Grace, don’t you have any pressing duties?”
“Nothing urgent today.”
“Then why not pay a visit to Count Burke and Miss Hazel?”
“It’s about time they started handling things on their own.”
“Are you planning to learn gemstone polishing or jewelry crafting as well?”
Stefan remained silent—clearly not having any such intentions. Finn, with a cool smile, added frostily,
“I don’t teach students who have no will to learn.”
“I do! I want to learn too!”
“And why, all of a sudden?”
“…To discover better raw gems?”
“That’s something you should learn at the mines.”
“…To sell more jewelry?”
“You can learn that from a sales clerk.”
As Stefan’s excuses failed one by one, his brows knitted tighter and tighter. Feeling a bit sorry for him, I stepped in gently.
“Finn, wouldn’t teaching one or two students at the same time be more or less the same? If anything, teaching both together might make your lessons even more efficient.”
“That’s true. Then, following the duchess’s advice, I’ll allow one more listener to join the class.”
“Thank you, Finn.”
While I thanked him readily, Stefan, who should’ve been the one to say it, just stood there dumbly, so I nudged him in the ribs.
“Ow—uh, th-thanks.”
“I hope you mean that,” Finn replied, his words laced with meaning, and then turned away from us.
“This way, please.”
Finn led us to the gem polishing area and began his lecture.
“A rough stone, no more than a lump of rock, becomes a brilliant gem adored by many thanks to the hands that polish it. The way a gem is cut determines its grade.”
“Ahh…”
“The cutting style varies depending on the type of gemstone. Diamonds are usually polished into a round cut, emeralds into emerald or square emerald cuts, and colored stones into oval cuts.”
“I see.”
“Metal accessories can be melted and reshaped, but gemstones can only be cut once—and that one cut determines their value. So, they must be handled with great care.”
Finn clearly took immense pride in his polishing skills. Not only were unfamiliar technical terms flying nonstop, but his delicate touch with the gems proved his mastery.
“Would you like to see this diamond?”
He carefully picked up a newly polished stone and held it between his thumb and index finger, showing it to us.
“This is a round brilliant-cut diamond. The top part is called the crown, and the bottom is the pavilion. Each should reflect eight arrows and eight hearts. Take a look.”
As Finn moved his fingers, both Stefan’s and my eyes followed, and a satisfied smile spread across Finn’s face.
“The border between the crown and pavilion is called the girdle. If it’s too thin, the gem becomes fragile; too thick, and it loses beauty.”
“Wow…”
“Diamonds come in every color. Most are pale yellow, and the closer to colorless they are, the more valuable. Occasionally, some display vivid red, which is extremely rare and highly prized.”
At his words, I suddenly remembered the pink diamond I had donated to the temple. Knowing now how rare it was, I could understand why Rita had trembled with fury when I gave it away so easily.
But Finn’s next explanation wiped away any regret I felt about the pink diamond.
He said pink diamonds were so rare that one might only find a single small stone at the farthest edges of a mine. Because of this, they were often mined using the labor of small children—making them one of the most exploitative gemstones.
‘No wonder Stefan despises those who consume pink diamonds.’
After spending the entire morning immersed in diamonds, we had a quick and simple lunch. In the afternoon, the lesson continued with colored gemstones, and Finn spoke endlessly, not even seeming to tire.
I admired him for it, while Stefan looked completely overwhelmed, shaking his head.
“Tomorrow, I’ll begin explaining gem crafting.”
“You’ve really worked hard today, Finn.”
I expressed my gratitude—part admiration, part sympathy—and pride lit up Finn’s face.
“It was thanks to the duchess’s attentive listening. It’s an honor to have such an excellent student.”
And of course, he left out Stefan’s name entirely—very much on purpose.
