Chapter 35

Now, looking back, she realized how right Sophia had been.

‘Sophia Barrett’s words were true.’

Information was wealth.

Take Jack, for example. His immense fortune ultimately stemmed from his ability to acquire investment information before anyone else.

‘If only I’d had more information myself, I wouldn’t have been left so powerless.’

The thought left a faint bitterness in her mouth, but it was enough that she understood it now. So, after agreeing to attend the imperial ball as Millein’s partner, Adeline had sought out Jack at once, making him a single request.

“Mr. Hatzfeld, could you purchase an item for me at tomorrow’s auction in Solide?”

Solide.

Even its name seemed to proclaim its worship of wealth. Solide was a place where luxuries unobtainable at any ordinary department store were traded, always through legitimate means. The goods sold at Solide ranged from antiques to fine art, and some rare treasures appeared only once a month, available exclusively at auction.

“I know your company invests in art as well. You’re planning to attend Solide’s auction tomorrow, aren’t you?”

At her words, Jack rested his chin in his hand and regarded her thoughtfully before he shook his head in disbelief.

“How strange. I’m certain there are no spies in my company, yet somehow you know everything—from the railway being laid in the Monaghan estate to my plans to attend the auction at Solide.”

“As I said before, I have my ways. Nothing so crude as espionage, I assure you.”

Naturally, she couldn’t explain that she had died and returned to the past, so any detailed explanation was impossible. Fortunately, since Jack and Adeline had entered into a contract, he seemed largely unconcerned about the source of her information. And so, even as she risked arousing his suspicion, Adeline made her request.

“At the end of the auction, there will be a ring set with a yellow diamond. I’d like you to purchase it for me.”

“Are you asking me to get you an engagement ring?”

“No, it’s because I expect someone else will try to obtain it.”

A ring set with a yellow diamond.

It was once the ring of the Barrett family’s founding matriarch, and among their most treasured heirlooms, passed down through generations.

‘In the end, though, it was said to have been sold off since they were unable to withstand the weight of poverty.’

It was Sophia’s grandfather, the man who transformed the Barretts into the wealthy family they were today, who had sold that ring, using the proceeds to launch his business. Though his enterprise flourished and amassed a great fortune, he was said to have carried deep guilt to his final days for having parted with their family heirloom.

So much so, in fact, that he made it his dying wish for the ring to be recovered.

‘In the past, it seemed Sophia had managed to retrieve the ring.’

During her marriage to Julian, Adeline had once crossed paths with Sophia. As acquaintances, they exchanged a few polite words.

—It’s been a while, Sophia. Is that ring on your hand new?
—Isn’t it lovely? It’s the ring my grandfather asked me to find. You wouldn’t believe how difficult it was to recover!

It was then that Adeline first heard the story behind the ring from Sophia, the tale of how she had managed to reclaim it through the auction at Solide.

And now, she intended to use that knowledge to her own advantage.

“If you purchase the ring, the Barrett family will pay nearly any price to reclaim it. It may not be a treasure in anyone else’s eyes, but to the Barretts, it’s something they are desperate to recover.”

Given that Sophia had bought the ring at auction in the past, Adeline knew Jack would have little real interest in keeping it for himself.

“It’s hardly something you need, is it? Sell it back to them for a fair price.”

“No loss for me, then. Is that all you ask?”

“No.”

 The ring was nothing more than bait, a lure to draw Sophia all the way to the imperial ballroom and ensure she danced to Adeline’s tune.

“When you sell the ring, deliver it directly to Sophia Barrett.”

In exchange, she must come to the imperial ball and seek me out.