Chapter 136: with translation of chapter title

Early morning.

Dawn City's Dawn Castle.

When the morning light passed through the exquisite carved glass and fell upon the equally exquisite dining table, the Duke was enjoying a more exquisite breakfast with his family.

He took a sip of refreshing mouthwash, spat it into the water basin the servant timely brought, the Duke twisted his neck, straightened his white napkin, then turned his head and smiled at the Duchess opposite him.

"Dear, this string of gold pearl necklace looks truly sparkling."

The Duchess was speaking to her seven‑year‑old eldest son; hearing this, she turned to her husband and smiled: "Really? I think so too."

Just then a ray of morning light shone on her; the golden sunlight and golden pearls complemented each other, making the already beautiful and elegant Duchess appear even more charming and noble.

The Duke belatedly noticed that his wife had acquired many more pearl ornaments.

Not only the gold pearl necklace, but also a gold pearl hairpin and gold pearl bracelets; each pearl was plump and large, obviously valuable at a glance.

He even discovered several strings of pearl ornaments on his young daughter.

"Dear, I don't remember you having so many pearl ornaments before?"

The Duchess was drinking milk; hearing this she shrugged: "They're all newly bought, costing a lot of money. Rade, don't make that face; these pearl ornaments are a good deal."

The Duke wasn't really short of money; his wife was perfect in every way—obedient, beautiful, and had given him a lovely pair of children.

But she loved dressing up too much, often spending huge sums on showy but impractical things.

Of course, the Duchess indeed needed some fine ornaments to keep up appearances, but he felt there was no need to overdo it, after all these were merely adornments.

So, he was not in a very good mood.

The Duchess was somewhat afraid of her husband; although her natal house was the ancient nobility of Aaron, its power had greatly weakened and could offer her little help.

She immediately explained: "Dear, these ornaments really are a good deal."

"Look, this string of gold pearl necklace—each pearl is top‑grade; I only spent 1900 Ogre, and this hairpin actually costs only 1300 Ogre."

The Duke had been impatient to listen, but as he listened he realized the price was indeed much lower than the usual market price.

At least ten percent lower! He was somewhat surprised: "Hmm~~ that really is a good deal; you didn't buy fakes, did you, dear?"

He didn't believe there were merchants who would voluntarily lower prices in this world.

The Duchess's charming face instantly showed an exaggerated expression of wounded pride:

"Dear, although my mind is indeed not as sharp as yours, you can't look down on me like that, can you?"

"Perhaps I am not knowledgeable about other things, but I am absolutely more expert than you on jewelry. Moreover, I didn't go shopping alone; I also brought the castle's jewelry appraiser."

The Duke also felt he had spoken too harshly: "All right, I apologize to you, Duchess; I shouldn't have doubted your professional ability."

He quickly glanced at all the pearl ornaments within his sight: "Did you just buy the ones you're wearing?"

"No, there are still quite a few; altogether it cost less than thirty thousand Ogre, right?"

"I originally didn't want to buy so many, but the noble ladies of Dawn City all went to look. Everyone knew their stuff, vying to snap them up."

"I thought I couldn't let you lose face, so I bought a few more."

The Duke had nothing to say: "All right, all right, let's leave it at that."

Breakfast returned to calm; after finishing, the Duke took a walk in the garden as usual.

While walking, one naturally sees the servants sweeping the garden and the gardeners tending the flowers.

As a result, he actually saw pearl ornaments again.

Although the quality of these ornaments was far inferior to those his wife wore, they were not especially bad.

Normally, the Duke would certainly not pay attention to this, but because of the breakfast incident he is today especially sensitive to pearls.

"Strange, how did all these pearls suddenly appear? Could someone have looted the Sea Fishman queen's treasury?"

Carrying this confusion, he came to his study, which had just been recently renovated.

Just as he reached the study door, he discovered his steward Bade waiting there, holding a document, his face grave.

The Duke entered the study while asking: "Bade, what's the situation?"

Bade followed him in and placed the document on the table.

"Master, the investigation report submitted by Mage Williamson of Shire County's Administration Department concerns White Sturgeon Island."

"White Sturgeon Island? What could possibly happen in that rundown place of White Sturgeon Island?"

The Duke couldn't fathom it; if not for his sister insisting on marrying to White Sturgeon Island, he might not even remember the name.

Bade shook his head: "Master, the messenger from Mage Williamson said it's very important and must be delivered to you as soon as possible."

The Duke lowered his head to look at the document.

The document was still inside its envelope, the magical seal intact, and the envelope bore five pentagrams drawn in blood‑red ink, indicating the contents were extremely urgent.

His heart gave a slight jolt; he immediately tore open the envelope and began to read.

As he read, the Duke's expression grew ever darker, his brows knitting tighter, his hands gripping the paper unconsciously tightening until his finger joints whitened slightly.

After a long while, he slowly set down the document and said: "You may withdraw; go fetch Master Ande."

After a moment, Master Ande walked over.

"Close the door."

"Click~" the door was shut; the confidentiality sigil on the door automatically activated, cutting off communication between inside and outside.

The Duke whispered: "The Baron of White Sturgeon Island is plotting rebellion!"

Ande shuddered all over, his face showing extreme astonishment.

It's not his fault; the duty of the Black‑Iron Guard is to defend Dawn City.

Especially Dawn Castle; investigating a poor little island a thousand miles away is outside the Black‑Iron Guard's remit.

Moreover, there's no need to tell him; one should instead seek the generals of the Storm Fleet and have them lead the fleet to suppress the rebellion.

But since it has been said, Master Ande naturally cannot pretend not to have heard; he cautiously said: "Your Grace, this... this... what right does a mere baron have?"

"By marrying my sister!"

The Duke raised his hand and flung the document onto Ande mage's face, shouting lowly: "If you hadn't hesitated that night, none of this trouble would have followed!"

Ande mage hurriedly picked up the document and examined it closely, growing more shocked: "Wilson mage wouldn't just make this up, would he? This is too outrageous!"

What "Northern Weilan maritime trade is bustling, various northern counties are frantically transporting people and goods to the islands."

What "In Shire County, from noble ladies down to laundresses, all wore beautiful magical devices from White Sturgeon Island."

What "Pearls are everywhere, and pearl ornaments in Shire County's market are so abundant they're practically free."

It feels like a tale made up by a wandering bard.

The Duke gritted his teeth and coldly snorted: "I don't know about other matters, but pearl ornaments are indeed flying everywhere, even landing on my wife!"

"I wondered where all these pearls came from—turns out someone really robbed the fish people!"

Ande mage also noticed that many noble ladies had acquired extra pearl ornaments, and immediately believed the investigation report a bit more.

But still, that's not his responsibility, so he remained silent.

"I want you to immediately send people to investigate the city and show me how many pearls that baron has sold in my city!"

This falls under Ande mage's purview; he immediately nodded: "I'll go check right away!"

"Get the results as soon as possible!"

Ande mage nodded, quickly left the study, and sent his subordinates to scout the situation in the city.

In order to swiftly complete the Duke's task, he worked very hard, conducting a very detailed and conscientious tally for about half a month, then placed an investigation report on the Duke's desk.

The report's content was extremely detailed and tedious; the Duke couldn't be bothered to read the process and went straight to the results.

"It is estimated that approximately 670,000 Ogre worth of pearls were sold."

The Duke's hands trembled slightly as he looked: "Just Dawn City alone sold 670,000?"

"That's roughly the figure."

"Weilan has twenty-five counties, each with a major city, surely they all sold there—how much money would that bring in?"

Ande mage said softly: "Combining Wilson mage's investigation results, the total value is estimated to exceed 5,000,000 Ogre."

The Duke nearly jumped up: "5,000,000 Ogre? Just to buy a pile of pearls that can't be eaten or used, only to look at?!"

The entire Weilan duchy's annual fiscal revenue is only 11,000,000 Ogre, and half of it was just snatched away! The Duke suddenly thought of something and immediately shouted: "Immediately send people to all Dawn Banks to conduct a tally, to see how much gold remains in the bank vaults!"

"Yes, Duke."

Ande mage immediately set to work.

This is somewhat troublesome, because Dawn Bank not only has a headquarters but also many branches, distributed throughout various places in Dawn County.

But since it is the Duke's wish, Ande mage naturally handles it with full effort.

With the aid of rapid information exchange from various spirit-transmission mages, he and his subordinates spent ten days compiling the detailed situation.

The result was that the total coinage of banks everywhere was at least 7,000,000 Ogre less than the previous year! That's 7,000,000 Ogre, 70 tons of gold, over thirty percent of the total! Upon receiving this data, the Duke was so shocked he nearly choked on his hot tea.

"Could all this money have been taken by White Sturgeon Island?"

He didn't believe White Sturgeon Island could do such a thing silently.

This is too ruthless! Ande mage shook his head.

"Your Grace, Duke, the investigation time is too short to confirm this."

"The only thing we can be certain of now is that a large portion of this money has definitely flowed into White Sturgeon Island. And White Sturgeon Island now is undoubtedly extremely wealthy."

The Duke flew into a rage, rose, lifted his hand, and slammed the table hard with a roar.

"What a damned thing!"

This is not just rebellion; it's already gaining momentum!

The Duke immediately shouted: "Bei De~Bei De~~"

"Old servant here!"

Internal Affairs Chief Bei De pushed the door open and entered.

"Immediately convene the upper nobility council; I want to suppress the rebels!"

That day, a full two months had passed since the pearl trade ended.

(End of Chapter)