PLMYP 57

Please Let Marriage Be Your Payment!,

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Chapter 57 —

“Ah, this is a little embarrassing. This back alley might look free and wild on the outside, but in reality, it’s all under our guild’s perfect control and management…”

“Enough of that. What about the investigation I asked you to do on the necklace?”

“Of course, it’s done.”

“Necklace?” Leonard blinked in confusion.

At that moment, Cellen pulled out a small box. When she opened it, Leonard instantly recognized what was inside.

“The necklace the 2nd Prince gave you?”

It was obvious why Irenea had asked Cellen to investigate it. Leonard turned to her, slightly surprised.

“So, you also thought the 2nd Prince was suspicious.”

“Judging by what you just said, Marquis, it seems you already suspected him too?”

Leonard gave a bitter smile and nodded.

“I’ve already had bad blood with him before. He’s not the kind of man to sincerely attend someone’s wedding just to celebrate. Especially my wedding.”

“Haha, so it’s just suspicion, then. Well, on our side, we’ve already uncovered certain connections.”

Leonard half-listened to Cellen bragging about her team’s skills and nodded.

“But wasn’t this necklace something His Majesty personally prepared?”

That was why, even while suspecting the 2nd Prince, Leonard had never dared to speak out loud about it.

“The 2nd Prince just used His Majesty’s name. That way, I’d be sure to wear the necklace at the railway opening ceremony.”

It was a gift supposedly given by the Emperor through his son. Irenea was expected to wear it in public to show gratitude to His Majesty.

“Still… If you plot something with an imperial gift and it’s discovered later, how will you deal with the consequences?”

“Either he’s confident he won’t be caught… or I’m just imagining things and he’s innocent.”

Irenea gave a cold smile and flicked the box with her finger.

She turned to Cellen.

“So, which one is it?”

“Fortunately, the first one.”

In other words, the 2nd Prince really had planned something.

“How is that fortunate?” Leonard asked.

“Think about it, Marquis. If he hadn’t tampered with the necklace, wouldn’t it be even scarier? Why would the 2nd Prince come all the way to the wedding, act polite, and then just leave quietly? That would be more worrying.”

Leonard admitted that made sense and nodded.

Cellen then pointed to the black stone at the center of the necklace.

“According to Wood’s analysis, this isn’t a gemstone at all. It’s a crystal container made to look like one. Inside it is poison gas.”

“What kind of poison gas?”

“It’s colorless and odorless, so no one would notice it spreading. But its toxicity is extreme—just a single breath could cause tuberculosis of the lungs.”

“As expected,” Irenea muttered.

Her reaction made it seem like she already knew, which made Leonard frown slightly.

“I’ve never heard of such a poison. Where could the 2nd Prince have gotten something so dangerous?”

“Where else? From an alchemist.”

“An alchemist?”

Leonard raised a brow, clearly surprised.

Seeing his reaction, Cellen scratched the back of her neck awkwardly, a gesture that didn’t suit her dress at all.

“What? Why do you look so shocked? Haven’t you ever met an alchemist before?”

From the way she looked at him nervously, Leonard became certain.

“So the alchemist is here, isn’t he?”

He paused, then added,

“That man you mentioned earlier—Wood?”

Cellen glanced at Irenea, as if asking, Is it okay to tell him?

Irenea simply smiled calmly.

“Yes. He’s the alchemist.”

Then she leaned her head against Leonard’s shoulder, her voice soft and playful.

“You’ll keep it a secret, right? He’s the benefactor I once told you about.”

“Benefactor? …Ah.”

Leonard remembered.

That day when he had taken the wine instead of her—when he had asked why she didn’t accuse Baron Callio, she had said she couldn’t drag her benefactor into trouble.

“If he’s your benefactor, then he’s mine as well.”

Leonard had never really intended to make accusations back then. He was simply a little surprised now.

“But one thing I’m curious about. That Wood—what’s his gender?”

“He’s a man. Why?”

“Don’t tell me you’re jealous…”

“I am not.”

Leonard shot Cellen a look as if to say, What nonsense is that?

Cellen, realizing her joke had fallen flat, coughed awkwardly and returned to the subject.

“There are two ways to open this crystal container. One is the proper method. Wood opened the lid here and analyzed the gas inside.”

She tapped the top of the jewel.

“The other way is by force. If a special liquid is poured over it, a fine crack will form—just enough for the gas to leak out. The crack is so tiny it’s invisible to the naked eye.”

“In short, if I’m wearing this necklace, someone could splash that liquid on me and release the gas?”

“Exactly. In that case, you’d die within a week.”

Cellen lifted the necklace and held it against her collarbone.

“If you only breathe a small amount, it causes tuberculosis. But at this distance, after just ten minutes of exposure…”

She clicked her tongue sharply, mimicking death.

Leonard frowned and took the necklace from her.

“So this isn’t a gemstone—it’s a container of poison gas?”

“Yes. And it looks nothing like it, right?”

“Not at all.”

To any eye, it looked like an expensive jewel. Maybe a professional appraiser might have noticed, but who would dare appraise a gift supposedly from the Emperor?

If anyone else had received this necklace, they would have worn it without question… and died without ever realizing they’d been used.

The thought made Leonard sigh. Life as a noble wasn’t so different from life as a mercenary—always dangerous.

He placed the necklace back in the box and asked Irenea,

“So what will you do with it?”

“Of course, I’ll use it. I bet the one meant to splash the liquid on me is my uncle. If things go well, I’ll finally get rid of that disgusting man.”

Her bright smile showed she was actually looking forward to it.

Cellen sighed deeply.

“You always pick the most dangerous option. Why not just report this to the Emperor and say, ‘Look at what your son is doing’?”

“To do that, I’d have to explain why I doubted His Majesty’s gift, and how it was analyzed. Would you have me sacrifice Wood?”

“…Well, actually, I already came up with a plan.”

Her tone suddenly changed.

Irenea giggled and leaned in to hear Cellen’s plan.

“First, we’ll remove all the poison gas from the container. Instead…”

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“Then, we’ll be on our way. …Hmm?”

Irenea stood up after the conversation ended. But Leonard remained seated, lost in thought.

Unlike Irenea, who was impressed by Cellen’s plan, Leonard had frowned through it, asking if there wasn’t another way.

In the end, persuaded that it was the most reliable method, he reluctantly nodded. Yet he still looked dissatisfied.

“Ray.”

Irenea was about to tell him that if he truly hated the plan, she would scrap it—but Leonard suddenly lifted his head and spoke to Cellen instead.

“There’s something I’d like to request.”

“Oh, a request? I’m always open to those.”

Jobs from wealthy clients were always welcome. Whistling, Cellen sat back down and glanced at Irenea.

“Well, normally requests are handled one-on-one… but is it okay if our Lady hears too?”

She expected Leonard to nod immediately.

But instead, he hesitated, glancing at Irenea as if he didn’t want her to hear.

Sensing this, Irenea spoke first.

“Then I’ll go play with Julie for a bit. You two talk.”

“Uh… right. Okay.”

Even after she left, Cellen wasn’t sure this was the right thing. She glanced at the closed door, then asked Leonard curiously,

“So, what kind of request do you have? Just so you know, our Lady is the patron here. If she ever asks what you discussed, it’ll be hard for me to keep it secret.”

But truthfully, Irenea had always respected the guild’s rules of confidentiality. She had never once pried into other people’s requests.

Cellen only said this to test Leonard.

‘Don’t tell me he’s about to ask me to find his first love or something stupid like that?’

“If Lin asks, you can tell her.”

Leonard’s answer was immediate, without hesitation.

Relieved, Cellen thought, So it’s nothing shady, then.

But that only made her more curious.

“Then why send her out? You could’ve just let her hear.”

“Because… if she asks what it means, it’ll be difficult to explain.”

“Huh?”

Already his answer sounded vague. Before Cellen could question further, Leonard asked,

“Before that, tell me—what kind of help did Lin receive from the alchemist?”