One Day, My Dad Disappeared - Chapter 19

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 19
After confirming my suspicions at the Library earlier, the mountain ranges surrounding the Seg Region were indeed entirely composed of hematite-rich strata abundant in iron.
“The finest rubies emit that red glow because of a component called chromium, but iron is the worst thing for a ruby. Once even a trace of iron enters, the chromium that creates the ruby’s red color turns a murky black-brown.”
So while a ruby mine in the Seg Region was theoretically possible, the existence of a gemstone-quality ruby mine there was virtually impossible.
“The entire Seg Region, including the mountains surrounding it, contains soil heavily saturated with iron. In other words, I don’t know exactly where this ruby mine is supposed to be in the Seg Region, but a transparent natural ruby mine with not a single impurity anywhere in this area cannot exist. I can’t say whether the Lord truly has a ruby mine, but if he does, it would be nothing but dull, dead-quality black rubies—or at worst, solid black hematite.”
Oracle’s complexion drained to ash in an instant.
“Yet these natural rubies appeared? There’s only one answer. You simply crafted counterfeit rubies using red-tinted ore.”
“……!”
Oracle’s narrow eyes trembled visibly.
“What—what are you saying! Some girl reads a few books and spreads such slander!”
“We can determine whether it’s slander or not by testing the raw stone.”
I picked up the counterfeit gemstone.
“A—a test? What are you trying to do! Do you know how much that ruby is worth?!”
Terrified that his identity would be exposed, Oracle abandoned formality and shouted at me.
“As you know, harder minerals scratch softer ones. If this were a real ruby, the cubic zirconia would bear the scratch marks.”
“Stop!”
I unclasped the brooch from my dress and scraped it across the counterfeit stone.
Screeeech—
With a sound that raised every hair on my body, white powder cascaded from the fake gemstone as a clear, deep scratch was gouged across its surface.
“As you can see, the one bearing the scratch is this stone you claim to be a ruby. Isn’t that strange? My brooch is just cheap cubic zirconia I bought for a single silver coin at the market. A gemstone softer than cubic zirconia, and yet you call it a ruby.”
I thrust the distinctly scratched mark directly under Oracle’s nose.
“A mineral softer than cubic zirconia. This is probably not a ruby at all, but red spinel. Spinel differs from ruby only in crystal structure, and on the surface they appear so similar that even experts mistake one for the other, or so I’ve heard. But recently, a method to distinguish them has been discovered. Beyond scratching it against cubic zirconia like I just did, there’s another way. Like this.”
I opened the window and held the stone up to the sunlight.
“Spinel is a singly refractive mineral, so light passes through it in just one ray, like a diamond. But a true ruby……!”
“A true ruby splits the light into two rays like this.”
At that moment, a gentle voice broke in. I turned toward the doorway—as did Aidan and the dejected Oracle.
“Oh?”
It was that golden-haired man I’d met at the Library earlier. He flashed a subtle smile toward me, then extended the gemstone he held in his palm.
Between his long fingers, a ruby blazed with a light that put Oracle’s spinel in an entirely different class—a vivid crimson that pulsed with clear birefringence.
A genuine, superior-grade ruby.
With long strides, the man approached and placed the true ruby upon Oracle’s display table.
“I never expected to run into you here, Aidan.”
It was clear this man knew Aidan well. Aidan’s green eyes blinked closed beneath his long lashes, then opened again.
“Your Highness. I bow before you.”
My heart seemed to drop into an abyss.
Your Highness? This man I’d collided with in front of the Library?
He dismissed Aidan’s bow with a casual wave, then turned his gaze toward me. The corners of his mouth curved into a soft, intrigued smile.
“We’ve met before, haven’t we?”
At those words, Aidan’s eyes fixed on me—not speaking, but his gaze asked: where on earth could a commoner like you have met the Crown Prince?
“I left in such a hurry at the Library that I failed to recognize Your Highness. I apologize for my rudeness…….”
“Ha, of course you wouldn’t recognize me. My face isn’t spread across the realm, after all.”
He continued speaking with that gentle smile.
“My name is Adelian Suffleman—though you likely already knew that.”
Adelian, the sole heir to the Suffleman Empire.
By reputation, he was my age, and he’d passed the Academy graduation examination at the tender age of fifteen—a prodigy.
“I—I am Cynthia Violeta.”
As I awkwardly lowered my head, Aidan abruptly stepped between us. I was astonished—he of all people, who understood how discourteous such an action was, would do such a thing.
“Your Highness, what brings you all the way to this remote village? To conduct an undercover investigation in person, no less?”
“There’s been quite an uproar recently—counterfeit gemstones, starting from the Raiatos Kingdom. The claim that the source is our Suffleman Empire has led other nations to cancel all gemstone imports, not just rubies. His Majesty tasked me personally with resolving this matter. I never imagined this young woman would be the one to solve it.”
His gentle, sky-blue gaze settled upon me. His was a face one couldn’t look away from. So this must be what it feels like to stand before a work of art—unable to tear one’s eyes away?
“I discovered the evidence at the Library too, when I realized the Seg Region’s soil contained high iron content. But it took me a long time to reach this point. Yet you, Cynthia—you’re remarkable.”
“You’re too kind.”
My cheeks flushed with embarrassment.
“By the way, there’s no point running, you know.”
At Adelian’s words, Oracle, who’d been climbing the stairs, froze. When had he managed to get all the way up there?
“This entire area is surrounded by the Imperial Guard, and my subordinates are already at the Lord’s Mansion. It’s about time he was brought here…….”
Before he could finish, the sound of a carriage echoed outside. The moment I saw the Lord being led in with a gloomy expression, Oracle surrendered—both hands raised, head bowed.

From what I heard, they had mined spinel and subjected it to special crafting to pass it off as superior-grade ruby.
Thinking the risk was too great to sell domestically, they’d used overseas orders as a pretext and never sold any within the country. But recently, as the method to distinguish spinel from ruby became known, Oracle had decided he needed to stop this operation altogether.
But the Lord tempted him with one more scheme, and Oracle succumbed to the thought of just one final time. He stripped the Spinel from the mine and had it all processed.
The night they moved the massive haul, the cart lurched, and its contents spilled inside.
They’d deliberately chosen a moonless, overcast evening and couldn’t light torches, so they simply gathered what Spinel they could see. But when they arrived and checked, one piece was missing.
Night after night, Oracle searched the area trying to recover it—until Colin appeared at his door, holding the Spinel.
They tried to settle it with money, but when Colin refused and left, both men grew frantic. If he found another gemsmith and learned that this mineral was a counterfeit Ruby, everything would unravel.
“So when he found out you’d spoken to Chase about the Spinel, he decided he had to silence him at any cost.”
That’s why he sent assassins to retrieve the Spinel and tried to imprison Colin on fraud charges.
“So it wasn’t the Core after all.”
Aidan murmured. The case was solved perfectly. Colin would be released without charges, and the counterfeit gem had been exposed.
But in the end, Aidan and I had failed.
“Still, if we keep approaching it this way, we might find the real one.”
A soft voice cut through my attempt to find some encouragement in the situation.
“What approach have you been taking?”
The Crown Prince stepped closer to me. The scent of sun-warmed linen drifted from somewhere, brushing sharply against my senses.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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