♡ TL: Khadija SK
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There was an eagle standing above the crescent behind Casilia’s back.
It was the emblem of the Scheringen family, embroidered onto a massive tapestry hanging on the wall.
The eagle’s sharp eyes were the first thing that all visitors to the Scheringen mansion saw upon entering.
The eagle, which ruled the sky by day and spread terror on the ground by night, had piercing eyes today as well.
The head of the Scheringen family also possessed a ring engraved with the same eagle pattern.
It was a ring used as the seal of the family head, carrying a fierce presence like the sharp eyes of the eagle.
“Wasn’t it written in the will? The person who possesses the Eagle Ring is the rightful owner of Scheringen. Neither His Majesty’s decree nor even the ancient noble family laws hold any authority over that ring.”
It was the emblem of the Scheringen family, a mark to identify the marquis, and a treasure passed down only from the previous head of the family to the next.
According to ancient family law, without the ring, the heir could not be recognized as the legitimate head of the family.
Even if the heir had been acknowledged by their father and possessed documents authorized by the Emperor granting them the title, they could not complete the succession without owning that ancient silver piece.
Neither knowledge, wealth, nor even honor could compensate for that ring, despite it being merely a symbol obstructing the path forward.
From Anette’s perspective, it was completely unacceptable.
However, Anette, who had become the Grand Duchess with the help of one such symbol—the Emperor’s Pendant—could not deny the value of the Scheringen Ring.
Anette felt cornered and bit her lips secretly, yet she maintained a calm, unwavering expression as she looked at Casilia.
“If you truly wish to be the head of this family, bring that ring. Only then will I personally acknowledge you as the head of this family, not just as my little niece.”
Casilia looked at Anette with the confidence that she would never find it.
In reality, Anette had no knowledge of the ring’s location or even its existence.
However, she could not show weakness in front of Casilia.
“In five days, gather all the family members in this mansion. There will be an opening banquet to welcome the new Marchioness of Scheringen.”
“I don’t think so.”
Anette and Casilia’s eyes clashed in the air, marking the beginning of their challenge.
***
“I’ll kill her.”
The fury in Anette’s voice was extraordinary.
As soon as she arrived at Flores Mansion, she jumped out of the carriage and stormed through the estate.
She put so much strength into her steps that her slender body made the ground tremble.
“How dare that woman insult me like that?”
Anette could not forget Casilia’s provocative gaze.
“Why did you say that? You don’t even have the seal ring. Based on Lady Casilia’s reaction, the ring might even be in her possession.”
Hans looked at Anette with an uneasy expression.
“Don’t worry. There won’t be any problems with me obtaining the title. And the matter of the ring won’t be a big issue either.”
“You have the head of the family’s ring?”
“Not yet.”
“Then you know where it is! Tell me where, and I’ll retrieve it for you. It’s in a place I can reach within five days, isn’t it?”
“We can reach it in five steps, not five days.”
“Pardon? But this is His Highness the Grand Duke’s office. I didn’t believe it when His Highness told me you still didn’t know this mansion well, but it seems to be true. I will guide you around from now on.”
“No. Today, I didn’t lose my way—I came to the right place.”
Anette grabbed the office door with both arms and threw it open violently.
Theodore, who was sitting in the chair at the desk, lifted his eyes from the papers in his hands and looked at the wide-open door.
A gust of wind blew through a small gap in the window he had left slightly open, rustling the papers he was reading.
“You must get permission before entering His Highness’s office….”
Hans urgently tried to stop her, but his reaction came too late—Anette had already stormed in.
And soon, the intrusion turned into an assault…
“You *** bastard… What do you think you’re doing to me?!”
It was an unbelievable sight.
Anette grabbed Theodore by his collar with a fierce grip.
Hans, utterly embarrassed, quickly closed the office door to prevent the servants from witnessing the scene, then hesitated as he tried to intervene.
However, Hans could not carelessly touch the Grand Duchess’s body, so he merely stood stiffly beside the desk.
“Leave.”
“But…”
“Your work here is done, so you may go.”
Theodore, who was being held by his collar, raised his right hand and signaled for Hans to leave.
Hans bowed and stepped back.
With a worried mind, he ruffled his hair in tension and glanced back once more before leaving the room.
Theodore’s shirt was wrinkled, and his collar was gripped tightly in Anette’s furious grasp, yet the corners of his lips were smoothly curved into a smile.
It was an expression that showed he found this unprecedented situation amusing.
“Welcome to my office for the first time. I don’t think it’s an occasion worth celebrating, but let’s hear the reason behind this escalating rage and violent assault?”
Anette roughly pulled off Maria’s ring from her finger and threw it onto the desk.
A sharp *click* echoed as the hard gemstone struck the solid wood.
It was like the sound of two furious people colliding.
The emerald gleamed with a resonant glow, while the dozens of surrounding diamonds reflected the faint sunlight streaming through the window, making it seem as if it were trembling and crying profusely.
“I don’t want this useless thing. You should have given me the Scheringen family head’s ring instead!”
Anette had barged in and dared to disrespect the Empress’s ring right in front of her son.
As the son of the ring’s owner, Theodore could have considered her actions deeply insulting. However, he did not rebuke her for her sudden rude behavior or words.
That was because he understood the reason for her anger.
Instead of responding to her furious words, Theodore reached beneath his desk, running his fingers along the wooden surface until he opened a hidden compartment.
In the palm of his hand, which emerged from beneath the desk, was an eagle standing atop a crescent moon.
“Is this what you want?”
“This is what you should have given me from the beginning.”
Anette stared at Theodore with resentful eyes.
She had been caught off guard when Casilia demanded that she bring the ring.
She hadn’t even known what the family ring truly meant, but it was clear that it was an indispensable item for inheriting the title.
If it was truly something that granted a person the family headship just by possessing it, then if Casilia or Bjorn had it, there was no way they would have remained idle without showing it and claiming the position for themselves.
If Casilia had raised the finger bearing the eagle ring and simply complained of a headache, every member of high society would have acknowledged her as the new Marchioness of Scheringen. There would have been no need for her to go through a complicated and dangerous scheme to have Anette committed to a mental hospital.
However, if Casilia’s finger remained bare even now, that meant she never had the ring to begin with.
casilia must have assumed that Anette didn’t have the ring for the same reason.
So then, who had it?
The wicked Anette—the one who had foreseen her own death and whose body had been reincarnated into the present Anette—would undoubtedly have anticipated the future chaos of the succession war.
Surely, the wicked Anette had stolen the ring either before her father’s death or at the moment of his passing.
Yet, Theodore had never asked a single question about this crucial ring.
That meant…
“You had it from the beginning.”
It meant Theodore already possessed the ring, so there had never been a need to search for it.
“You were the one who gave it to me.”
“You knew I was going to Scheringen Mansion. This whole ordeal could have been settled easily with just one damn ring. So why did you hide it?”
“I even used the Emperor’s Pendant to make you the Grand Duchess. I ignored the law to process all kinds of legal documents and acquitted you of murder charges. What more do you expect me to do?”
“I didn’t even know there was a family ring!”
“You should have known.”
“How the hell was I supposed to know that?!”
“Do I have to teach you how to walk too? You should have found out somehow and gotten ahead of everyone else.”
His merciless eyes were on full display today.
Those blue irises weren’t human—they were empty, frozen ice.
“Don’t misunderstand. Just because we live together as a married couple doesn’t mean I will actually become your husband.”
It was a chilling warning.
Anette’s heart boiled with anger, but Theodore showed no signs of irritation.
He even looked bored as Anette’s grip gradually lost its strength.
For a brief moment, Anette was so shocked that she almost lost her footing and collapsed to the ground.
“How long are you going to keep testing me like this?”
Her voice was hoarse and subdued.
She couldn’t afford to collapse, so instead of weakening her legs, she softened her voice.
Anette realized that Theodore was testing her yet again.
To her, it felt like another trick to assess how she handled problems that seemed impossible to solve—like her inability to find the ring.
But she couldn’t understand the reason behind it.
Why was Theodore discarding his pride over something so trivial?
Was he trying to mock her over something ridiculous?
The blazing momentum she had carried since the moment she had flung open the door had disappeared, leaving only emptiness behind, which was reflected in her weak voice.
But instead of shouting out loud, her voice dropped even lower.
“How long are you going to keep playing these ridiculous games with me? It’s already hard enough to walk in shoes that don’t fit me, so why do you walk beside me only to throw obstacles in my way?”
(T/N: She means that it’s already difficult to live in a world different from her own, so why is he standing beside her, making things even harder instead of helping her?)
She asked him because she was genuinely curious.
“I said I would cooperate with you, but I never said I would be your sl*ve. I’m not asking you to do something as difficult as loving me, nor do I want something as simple as friendship. Is it really that hard to ask you to treat me with professional courtesy as a business partner?”
Anette asked quietly, her voice laced with exhaustion.
Why are you tormenting me?
What’s the purpose of these tests you don’t even need to conduct?
Anette had yet to raise her voice, so her tone remained low and weary, but Theodore had no intention of accepting this tragic display of a worn-out woman.
“You’re not going to cry now, are you?”
The moment Anette saw the sarcastic expression on Theodore’s face, her mind snapped back into focus.
Regaining her composure, she straightened her body, which had been leaning tiredly against the desk.
“You don’t deserve to see something as precious as my tears.”
Her voice regained its strength.
“I was wrong. Now that I think about it, His Highness has no reason to offer me any favors. But you’re just as mistaken as I am. Just because you sit on a grand chair and take pride in a status higher than mine, that seat will never become a throne. Not unless I cooperate with you. Without me, you are nothing.”
Anette finished speaking with a long, deliberate pause.
“I’m done with your damned tests. This will be the last one I take.”
“Is that all you have to say?”
“Yes. I’m leaving this place.”
Anette smirked and turned her back on him with arrogance.
And as she walked away, without hearing a single farewell from Theodore, she reached for the door handle, stopped, and opened her mouth to speak to him one last time.
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