The Male Lead’s Sickly Aide is My Type - Chapter 108.1
Chapter 108.1
“Look at the seal here. The cut marks are clear, and you can see the wood grain. This is a fake seal made of wood, not our Duchy’s.”
Archen pointed to the seal at the bottom of the letter. Four lilies, the emblem of the Second Duchy. Indeed, faint wood grain was visible on the lily petals, along with sharp cut marks around the edges.
How did he find that? This man has a keen eye.
While Carinne admired his observation, he adjusted his glasses.
“The Second Duchy uses a metal seal. Do you have other letters sent from our Duchy?”
The merchant opened a drawer and retrieved another letter. Archen showed the seal on that letter to the merchant.
“The real seal has speckles. Please check.”
Archen handed both letters to the merchant for direct comparison. While the merchant examined the seals, he added.
“Speckles appear when using a metal seal.”
To summarize the lengthy explanation: woodblock prints show wood grain and cut marks, while metal prints show speckles. And the Second Duchy uses a metal seal.
The Black Raven merchant understood what she had easily grasped.
The merchant pulled out a few more letters from the drawer and examined them. A moment later, he admitted that the seal on the letter presented as evidence was different from the others.
“A forged handwriting and a fake seal? I almost fell for such a shallow trick. I’ll uphold the contract. I apologize for the misunderstanding.”
It was a straightforward apology.
The merchant took two papers from a file and signed each one. He handed the pen to Carinne, and she signed as well. After each took a copy of the contract, the merchant tossed the fake letter into the trash.
“I thought it was real because the handwriting and seal were the same. I’ll have to examine seals more carefully from now on.”
“Where did you get that letter?”
“My secretary brought it to me one day, saying it was in the mailbox. It seems your Duchy has as many enemies as our company.”
A wave of bitterness washed over Carinne as she listened to their conversation. Since possessing Carinne’s body, all she wanted was a comfortable life, but she found herself surrounded by enemies—Mustache, Giles, and now the nobles.
The merchant chuckled and continued.
“A word of advice: it’s best to remove a wrongly hammered nail as soon as possible. Well, I suppose you’ll do well, considering the blood you inherited.”
Inherited blood? Could he be referring to Duke Tricia?
But he wouldn’t be unaware of Duke Tricia’s personality, having exchanged letters with him. Duke Tricia was a notorious idler. It was puzzling how the Black Raven Company and the Second Duchy had formed a connection in the first place.
‘Come to think of it, how did this contract begin?’
Duke Tricia wouldn’t have personally secured the deal, and judging by the contract period of a little over twenty years, it wasn’t a long-standing, inherited agreement. Who was behind it all?
“And tell the Duke, if he leaks information one more time, I’ll sever ties.”
The Black Raven merchant knew everything. When he casually asked, “Did you find it?” Carinne had replied, “No.”
How much had he been talking about it?
Thus, the trade between the Second Duchy and the Black Raven Company was safely extended. Carinne and Archen left the building and walked along the city streets.
“Who could have done this?”
“The nobles.”
“What about Giles?”
“He’s not capable of orchestrating something like this.” Archen believed that even if Giles were involved, he was merely a pawn and the true mastermind was someone else. Carinne, who had secretly considered Giles a suspect, dismissed her suspicions upon hearing those words.
‘Of course, that idiot wouldn’t have thought of this scheme.’
He might know how to seduce women, though whether any woman would fall for him was another matter. Seducing was something anyone could do, after all.
While Carinne was mentally dissecting Giles, Archen added confidently.
“It’s definitely the nobles. They could easily find Duke Tricia’s handwriting in meeting documents, and since the Second Duchy’s emblem is widely known, forging a seal would have been easy.”
“We have suspicions, but no proof.”
Archen fell silent, seemingly agreeing with Carinne while also searching for a solution.
“But how did the Second Duchy start trading with the Black Raven Company? That merchant, he seems quite extraordinary. Duke Tricia wouldn’t have initiated the deal.”
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