GDASP 133

Chapter 133…

“…Well…”

Suspicious points?

Cynthia quietly traced her memory. Back when the carriage accident happened…

‘…Lu…’
‘What?’
Crash!— Crack!

Right before Elizabeth was struck by the carriage, she seemed to open her mouth to say something. What was it? She had definitely been looking straight at me…

Had she been speaking to me?

Thinking back on it now, it was strange. What had Elizabeth wanted to tell me?

“You don’t have anything, do you?”

“….”

“Stay out of matters related to the Baileys, Cynthia. It’s dangerous.”

Dale turned around without hesitation.

Cynthia slowly lowered the hand she’d reached out to stop him. As he said, she couldn’t learn anything more right now.

But someday…!

Cynthia bit her lower lip as she watched Dale’s retreating back.

It was too early to give up. One day she would hear the hidden truths from Dale and uncover everything.

“Then I’ll get going, Dale.”

“Go safely.”

Cynthia stood by the door and blankly looked at Dale waving toward her.

“You’re seeing me off so comfortably—it’s hard to tell who the actual homeowner is.”

“The homeowner is Cynthia. I only paid for it.”

“I’m leaving.”

In the end, she gained nothing from the cold-hearted Dale. If she had known it would be like this, she should have written down something the moment she entered the novel world…

Shaking her head, Cynthia turned toward the carriage of the House of Lumanov. Since she didn’t find anything here, it was time to visit the jewelry shop.

After riding the carriage to the central district of the capital, Cynthia entered the Grand Duke Lumanov’s restaurant located across from the jewelry shop where the Baileys supplied minerals. Thanks to Tesion’s prior arrangements, the staff immediately escorted her to a window seat on the second floor with a good view of the street.

Cynthia sat on the comfortable sofa and leaned closer to the window.

‘There are more people than I expected…’

The jewelry shop below was packed with people coming and going. Customers continuously entered and left carrying shopping bags in both hands.

Since the Baileys had an exclusive contract, all of those jewels must have been mined from the Luteria mine.

Could someone among them be involved in the suspicious money movement? Whoever it was, if she kept an eye on the carriage crest…

While deep in thought watching the store, she suddenly heard someone drop heavily into the seat across from her.

“There’s someone here already.”

Cynthia said without even turning around.

She didn’t know who it was, but someone must have wanted this scenic spot so badly that they just sat down without asking. She didn’t have the energy to spare for such people.

Even though she firmly expressed rejection, the person across from her didn’t budge.

—Tap tap.

Instead, he reached out and tapped the table lightly to draw her attention.

Ugh, seriously… Cynthia frowned and finally turned her head.

“I said I wasn’t—”

“Meeting you outside like this is even more pleasant.”

Huh? What the…

Seeing who it was, Cynthia reflexively widened her eyes.

A familiar pair of light green eyes stared at her.

Cynthia immediately stood up and scanned the surroundings. She saw knights Tesion assigned sitting or standing nearby.

They all had their eyes fixed on this direction, hands resting on their sword hilts, prepared to deal with the unexpected visitor.

“….”

“Sit. It’s not like I’m going to eat you.”

Castleton Bailey extended his hand toward the seat she had been sitting in.

Seeing that the knights were standing guard nearby, Cynthia cautiously sat back down. She glared at Castleton.

“What are you doing here? How did you know I was here?”

“I saw the Lumanov carriage in front. I came up to greet the Grand Duke—didn’t expect to find you here instead.”

Castleton shrugged casually.

Cynthia stared, mouth slightly open. How could he act so shamelessly in front of someone he had tried to kill?

“Your original eye color is quite attractive too. Though, the Bailey family’s green eyes suited you well.”

He interlaced his fingers on the table. The many colored gemstone rings on his thick fingers gleamed excessively under the restaurant lights.

Looking down at his hands indifferently, Cynthia spoke.

“Are you happy to have your precious Ritemper merchant group back?”

“It was ours to begin with. It simply returned to its rightful place—nothing more.”

His nonchalant response made Cynthia fall silent. She had nothing more to say to him.

Seeing that, Castleton lifted his shoulders.

“Don’t look at me like that. In a place full of Lumanov’s people, what could I possibly do to you? I’m here only to talk.”

Cynthia stared coldly.

The fact that he had even dared to come here, surrounded by Lumanov people, meant he wanted something from her.

“Duke Bailey, I’m not going back to the Bailey estate.”

“You might change your mind once you hear my offer.”

“Even if you gave me a billion mint, I wouldn’t go back.”

“Really? Then someone might end up getting hurt again.”

Castleton smirked.

Someone getting hurt? Cynthia’s brow furrowed. She recalled the coachman who had pointed a blade at her.

Her hands and feet instinctively turned cold. Under Castleton’s green gaze, the fear of that moment resurfaced.

Seeing faint fear on her face, Castleton smiled softly.

“Think carefully. We know so many of the same people, don’t we?”

At his words, multiple faces flashed in her mind.

Tesion? Dale? No way… Violet, who was still at the Bailey estate?

She had gained many precious people—and therefore many weaknesses. Cynthia steadied herself and spoke.

“The Baileys truly do stop at nothing to get what they want… so the rumors were true.”

“It’s not incorrect, so I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“I just want to ask one thing.”

“Ask away.”

Interpreting her question as a positive sign, Castleton nodded readily.

Cynthia swallowed hard and asked immediately.

“Did you harm Lady Elizabeth as well?”

His face, which had been relaxed until now, suddenly hardened.

“….”

After a long pause, Castleton forced the muscles of his stiffened face to move as he spoke.

“Who harmed who?”

“I asked if you harmed Lady Elizabeth. Covering it up as an accident.”

Castleton’s face reddened. She thought he might lash out, but he had more patience than expected. He inhaled and exhaled deeply several times.

“You must have read some bizarre novel. A fake accident? Why would we want to harm Elizabeth? If you use your head even a little, you’ll see how absurd that is…”

“You can’t know that for sure.”

“Cynthia White.”

Castleton growled her name. His green eyes now burned with irritation and anger.

“I’d stop with the unfunny jokes. Any further and I’ll take it as an insult toward House Bailey.”

“The Crown Prince said he was looking for me, right? And you want to turn me back into Lady Elizabeth Bailey.”

Cynthia fired back. Castleton said nothing and glared.

“Then how about this? Instead of Elizabeth Bailey, I, Cynthia White, will go meet His Highness myself. I’ll tell him I impersonated Lady Elizabeth all this time.”

“And you understand that impersonating a noble will cost you dearly.”

Castleton smirked.

Cynthia smiled softly back.

He didn’t know that Rykaion already discovered she wasn’t Elizabeth.

“Well, would His Highness really punish me? He seems to like me quite a bit.”

“….”

“Oh, but he might punish the Bailey family for sending a fake noble lady to the Imperial Ball. That could be seen as an insult to the imperial family.”

“You’ve lost your mind.”

“I simply hope you expend your efforts wisely and make a decision befitting the head of the Bailey family—wise and prudent.”