IWTGHFW CHAPTER 61

Episode 61

With a loud crash, the porcelain vase behind him fell to the floor and shattered.

Oh dear, be more careful. What if someone comes?

“Baron Fesilian, right?”

“Uh, how did you… Where’s Holland?”

“Holland? Oh, you mean that idiot who was watching me? Don’t worry. He’s just unconscious for a while.”

I sat down in the chair Count Rev had been sitting in just moments ago. When I gestured for him to sit opposite me, Baron Fesilian gave me a bewildered look. But perhaps sensing there was something behind my brazenness, he brushed off his rear and sat down. Well, since you’re going to sit anyway, you might as well fix that expression.

“It’s better not to call anyone in here. If you want this to end neatly.”

I crossed my legs and spoke leisurely. The baron let out a long sigh and nodded. It seemed he realized Count Rev wasn’t going to help him, so he thought he had no other choice.

Come to think of it, I must have really grown bolder. When I was first kidnapped by the Poison Count’s household, I had been so terrified my hands shook. But now? I felt nothing. My mind was calmer than ever. And yet these people could genuinely threaten my life. Even now, if the baron simply raised his hand, the people outside could kill me.

Maybe my guts really had swollen. Trusting those swollen guts, I opened my mouth.

“The merchant guild’s secret—are you talking about the slaves sent to the emperor?”

“Wha—how did you… Damn that information guild! Selling information like that!”

“Don’t worry. I haven’t reported it to the higher-ups yet.”

I leaned back deeply in the chair, wearing the most relaxed expression I could manage. Seeing my calm demeanor seemed to make the baron nervous—he bit down on his finger with a snap.

If he had tried to restrain me by force, I was ready to knock him out with a wooden stick like before and escape. But luckily—or unluckily—he didn’t seem inclined to do that. If anything, he looked like he wanted to talk.

I let a little time pass before speaking again.

“Baron, you know why former Marquis Bareil was cast out, right?”

“Of course. Wasn’t it because of Carrie’s Bar?”

“Oh, Baron. Carrie’s Bar has been open for over ten years. I’m asking why it only became a problem now.”

“He must have gotten on the wrong side of His Highness the Crown Prince.”

“Not His Majesty the Emperor?”

At my words, the baron’s face contorted sharply. He leaned fully toward me and spoke.

“Why would His Majesty cast Bareil out? He was like one of his own limbs.”

“You do know you can survive even after cutting off a limb, right?”

“I’m not here to trade word games with you. I—”

“I’m not playing word games either. The reason the crown prince could take down Marquis Bareil through Carrie’s Bar but couldn’t touch the emperor—do you know what it is?”

The baron’s frown deepened. It seemed to be a habit of his to crumple his face when thinking, with no regard for how unpleasant it was for the person sitting across from him.

I curled my lips into a smirk.

“It’s because he cut off the limbs cleanly, you foolish baron.”

If the emperor had refused to let go of his “limbs” until the end, Bareil might have been punished, but he wouldn’t have been stripped of his title and property and cast out. Perhaps finding some truth in my words, Baron Fesilian stayed silent for a while.

But I didn’t have the luxury of giving him more time.

“Think carefully. What do you actually gain from doing the emperor’s dirty work?”

“Still…”

“You saw Count Rev earlier. The moment things get dangerous, they cut off the tail first. That’s just their nature.”

When plotting bad deeds, it’s crucial to reassure each other they’ll never get caught. Otherwise, weak types like Baron Fesilian crumble at the slightest prod.

In that sense, Count Rev’s earlier behavior was the perfect accelerant to make my words hit harder.

There was no point dragging this out further. I slowly rose to my feet.

“I’ll give you three days. Think hard during that time. Will you let yourself be used up and then thrown out with every possible crime pinned on you, or will you repent now and at least keep the bare minimum dignity of a noble? I’m giving you a chance.”

Looking down at the pensive Baron Fesilian, I turned toward the door Count Rev had used to leave earlier. As I expected, it led directly to a hallway outside. Without looking back, I walked quickly away.

Phew.

Once I felt I had gotten far enough from the building, a deep breath escaped from my chest. So much for “swollen guts”—my heart had been tense and twitchy the whole time. Only now did I clearly hear its heavy pounding in my ears.

I stopped a passing carriage and asked to be taken to the Metailer estate. When I opened the carriage window, the cool night air cleared my head.

If the one who kidnapped me hadn’t been Baron Fesilian, if that building hadn’t been part of Fesilian’s merchant guild, if the last person left in the room had been Count Rev instead…

Then I might never have gotten out. Everything had been in Baron Fesilian’s hands, so just a little shaking was enough for me to slip free. But if it had been someone like Count Rev, who trusts no one and plans meticulously, my silver tongue alone wouldn’t have saved me.

I got lucky.

Lucky again. How many times had I been “lucky” since coming to this world?

Or maybe not. Maybe it wasn’t luck at all—just that so many dangerous moments had happened that surviving felt like luck.

Either way, I let out a sigh of relief as the Metailer estate came into view.

“So you’re saying we should give Baron Fesilian time?”

“Yes. I’m sure he’ll end up exposing the evidence to bring down Count Rev himself. I’ve seen plenty of people like him.”

Lives where mutual distrust always leads to ruin. I’d seen that type often enough back in Korea to be confident.

But Ron’s face was full of dissatisfaction. Instead of voicing it, he crumpled the document in his hand. I glanced at the crumpled paper and asked:

“What’s your problem?”

“No problem.”

“Don’t lie. Your whole face says you’ve got a problem.”

I snatched the crumpled paper from his hand and poked his cheeks. “You grumpy thing,” I muttered. At that, Ron’s face flushed red and he replied, “Nooo.”

Nooo? Why drag out the ending like that? Cute.

“It’s hard for me to just leave the baron who kidnapped you alone.”

“Well, I feel the same. I want to beat him up too. But you know—like kimchi and revenge, they taste better when they’ve ripened.”

“…What’s kimchi?”

“It’s a thing. Anyway, we’ll get proper revenge later. So he can never set foot on this land again.”

“…Hmm. If you say so.”

He still looked sulky, but he nodded at my words. He really was obedient. Where did something this pretty and cute come from?

I ruffled his smooth hair and told him to just wait a little longer.

Just a little longer.

When Narein’s identity as a prince is officially announced, when the Metailer family makes their political stance clear, when we have more evidence to bring down the emperor…

I said this while gazing at the darkening night sky.

It had been a while since Rozen summoned Orion, now the head of the special task force. When Orion entered the crown prince’s office, he stopped dead upon seeing the prince smiling brightly.

The crown prince smiling? Had the world gone mad?

Thinking it must be a hallucination, he rubbed his eyes, but the prince was still smiling.

“I’m afraid to know why you’re giving me the smile usually reserved for the second prince.”

“What reason could there be? Everything’s going well, that’s all. Oh, how’s the lady-in-waiting we sent into the inner palace?”

“No news yet. Nothing’s happened. She just went in, so it’ll take time for her to adapt.”

“That’s a bit disappointing. Would be nice if the evidence popped out right away.”

Still, with Narein confirmed as a prince of Aint and backed by the Metailer family’s power, things were going smoothly enough.

Rozen gestured for Orion to take a seat.

“It’s time for Sir Ron to act. We need to shut up those nobles demanding Narein’s trial.”

“You plan to announce that Narein is the prince of Aint?”

“Of course. Aint is already preparing to receive him. They’ve been putting up the prince’s portraits everywhere, haven’t they?”

Orion nodded. Indeed, Aint’s current moves were effective for welcoming the prince.

“Yes. They’re planting the image of a miraculously returned prince everywhere. Once Narein goes back, he’ll be a living miracle. The path to the next kingship will be smooth.”

“That Aint woman is clever. Using the situation like that.”

Praising the queen of Aint, Rozen picked up some documents from beside his desk and handed them to Orion.

“This is testimony from Marian that Carrie’s Bar sold the prince into slavery. And this is the record of the Aint prince being taken into the imperial palace as a slave. Enough to pressure the emperor, right?”

“Well, this is plenty… Though it’d be better if Miss Rose brought us decisive evidence.”

“We’ll pressure him with this first, and save the lady-in-waiting’s evidence for later. How’s the special team’s investigation?”

This time Orion handed over his own documents. As Rozen skimmed them, Orion explained briefly:

“A list of nobles who illegally increased their wealth. Baron Fesilian is on it, but I left him out this time.”

“Why?”

“Ail said to leave the baron alone for now.”

What, no concrete reason—just because Ail said so?

Rozen looked at Orion in disbelief, but Orion only gave him a “What’s wrong with that?” expression.