She was not the only one; she was sure that none of the specialists who were present could bear the responsibility.

Therefore...

“Mr. Hodgkin, what do you think about this?” she whispered to an elderly man by her side.

The elderly man stroked his beard and smiled. “This is a real red emerald.”

Lina smirked.

Everything was going the way she expected. Afraid that he would have to bear the responsibility of missing out on the real national treasure, the elderly man lied.

After all, no one had ever seen the emerald seal. Although there were records of it in history books, the descriptions had been vague. There were no mentions of its shape and the material of the seal.

If the few of them said that the emerald was real, who else in the world would dare to refute them?

Getting involved in the matter would spell endless trouble for them, after all.

She was certain that no one would intentionally step into troublesome waters like these.


“A good eye, Mr. Hodgkin. I, too, think that the red emerald is real.”

At that, she turned to look at the others around her. When she saw their agreement, she let out a sigh of relief.

Who cares whether or not this thing's real? As long as I get past today, I'll be internationally famous tomorrow. Think about it. How great of an achievement will it be to find the emerald seal that has been lost for thousands of years for Chanaea? My name will be written in the history books!

“Our specialist team has come to the conclusion that this is the red emerald from ancient times. Although no text can prove our speculation, since this thing has re-emerged in the world, it must be none other than the real thing, for no one would forge an antique of thousands of years.

The moment she uttered those words, the people in the space cheered.

“Oh my goodness. T-This really is the emerald seal that the Haju people of Chanaea had lost for thousands of years.”

“The specialists and the expert antique appraiser, Vespera, have agreed that this is the emerald seal, so it has to be it. We've finally found the national treasure!”

“Master Vespera is amazing! She managed to decipher whether the item was authentic or not. Truly nothing less from a master. I'm impressed!”

Below the stage, Ingrid Wolcott drew her brows together as she looked at Bailey. “Ms. Jefferson, what do you think? Is this red emerald really the one from ancient times?”

Bailey shook her head. “This is simply a high-quality replica. However, it has to be identical to the real emerald, for the one who made this must have had the real item to copy from. In other words, the real red emerald has appeared, but someone had swapped it out for a replica at one point.”

Ingrid began looking at Lina as complicated feelings washed over her. “It looks like Ms. Young is an imposter. Although I've never met Vespera myself, I've heard a little about her character. She would not have needed to lie for fear of getting prosecuted. If the seal were fake, she would have been honest about it.”

A laugh escaped Bailey.

It looks like she knows me well. She's right. If I were on the stage, I wouldn't have lied and would have told the world that this was fake. I would have said to them that someone had taken the real away.

Right then, Raiden went on stage. Instead of looking at the specialists and Lina, he looked right at Bailey and asked, “Ms. Jefferson, you're a woman of great knowledge. May I know if this red emerald is real?”

The moment that question left him, everyone was rendered bewildered.

What? Why is Mr. Fletcher consulting someone who knows nothing about appraisals?

“Mr. Fletcher, I think we have no need to heed Bailey's opinion.”
The Novel will be updated daily. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

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