Chapter 60
Got Tricked Again (1)
‘So that’s why he kept pushing me away.’
Noel had already sent back dozens of proposals. I had wondered why he was so cold and decisive, and it turned out it was all because of… a woman.
“Interesting, as expected, Noel.”
Camilla murmured softly, her eyes gleaming with curiosity. The bodyguard beside her shuddered slightly at the eerie feeling she gave off.
“Well done, Huelingo. You delivered words I never expected to hear.”
Camilla spoke as she looked down imperiously at Huelingo, who was lying flat on the ground.
“You’ve had a hard time coming all the way here.”
“Oh, no, it’s nothing. Compared to the favor the lady has bestowed, it’s just—just a trivial matter.”
“No, no. It must have been exhausting coming with your tail and all, right?”
“Y-Yes?”
Camilla subtly leaned back and gave the bodyguard a nod.
Huelingo, still not grasping the situation, looked upward anxiously. That was when something sharp sliced through the air.
“Ugh.”
Huelingo’s cowardly face twisted in shock. Grabbing the scorching back of his neck, he choked and spat blood.
But Camilla felt it still wasn’t enough.
‘Caught, and yet leaving some room for ambiguity?’
She stepped forward gracefully and pushed Huelingo’s upper body over. Huelingo collapsed onto the floor, gasping with his mouth open, and soon lay still.
Yet no one present dared utter a word about Camilla’s actions.
“Hal, go.”
“Yes, milady.”
“Even if I get caught, find out which flower shop Noel frequents.”
Camilla looked at Hal intently, her lips curling slightly as she continued.
“And about that woman, too.”
“I will carry out your orders.”
Camilla glanced down at the blood on her shoes, a captivating smile gracing her face.
The next day.
“…Is it really necessary to go this far, Louis?”
“It is His Highness, the Grand Duke, who intends to gain her heart by stirring the lady’s sympathy.”
“Ugh.”
Aster sat half-upright on the bed, frowning. Pretending to be a patient with a healthy body was frustrating.
He brushed back his silvery hair with a blue tint and asked, annoyed:
“So, what did I ask you to investigate?”
“If it’s about the ointment from the temple, we are still investigating.”
Aster looked at Louis with surprise.
“Seems it’s not as easy as I thought.”
“The temple’s wards are unexpectedly complex.”
“Hmph. Is that all? If we set our mind to it, it’s not impossible to break through, old man.”
Louis paused briefly before continuing:
“This case has many variables. First, it has been confirmed that the ‘special ointment’ sold at the temple is completely fine.”
“Then it means someone only tampered with the batch supplied to the Wires family.”
“Exactly. That’s why we cannot act rashly. We haven’t yet determined how deep the interference goes.”
Aster rested his chin on his hand and nodded.
“So we need to be cautious.”
“Yes. If anyone finds out someone is digging into the temple at this time, the Wires family would be in the most danger.”
“Hmph. Makes sense. But we can’t drag this out too long. A long tail gets caught eventually.”
“We’ll find the person involved as quickly as possible.”
“Wouldn’t it be better to bring Ethan along? He has an incredible nose.”
“That thunderhead you mean?”
Louis shook his head.
“He’s the one who extorted thirty gold from the lady as snack money. Who knows what disaster he’d cause at the temple?”
“Tsk.”
Aster clicked his tongue at the thought of Soda, a gray-furred creature darting everywhere. Even when choked by his own hand, he would squirm and growl.
“Well, fine. If he’s your grandson, it’s your responsibility.”
Louis smiled.
“By the way, are you okay with returning the thousand gold to the lady? If the arsonist in Paradise seeking dreams finds out the Grand Duke is behind it—”
“It wasn’t me, it was Zeira. And it was you who agreed with it.”
“You’re passing the blame to me?”
“You advised that unless a leash of a thousand gold is in place, Lucy would escape immediately. That was you.”
“Yes. True. But I never mentioned the arson.”
“Anyway, it worked out well, didn’t it? As you said, we took over the pawnshop, cleared Lucy’s debts, and I—no, Zeira—handled that troublesome burden without issue. Can anything be more perfect than this?”
Louis sighed, exasperated by Aster’s shameless reply.
“…In the end, Your Highness is right.”
“Then that matter’s settled. What about those guys?”
Aster leaned back, bored, and asked casually.
“They left the western region two days ago, so they should arrive by the afternoon.”
“I see. Later than expected.”
Suddenly, a glint of madness appeared in Aster’s previously languid eyes.
“Still, we should thank them, right? They played a hidden part in retrieving Lucy.”
“Even if unintentionally, they did have a major impact.”
If Marquis Milan hadn’t passed the debt to Simon, it wouldn’t have been so easy to draw her in. Of course, even without the marquis, his competent steward would have found another way.
Aster whispered with a cold smile:
“In any case, they are endlessly grateful to me.”
Aster intended to return what he had received—be it gratitude or punishment.
Knock, knock.
“Your Highness, the lady has arrived.”
“…!”
Hearing Logan outside, Aster quickly buried himself under the covers.
Louis looked at the curled-up Grand Duke like a startled rabbit and spoke with a smile toward the door:
“She may come in.”
With a click, the door opened, and Elusiana, her dark brown hair neatly tied up, entered cautiously.
“Hello, butler.”
“You’ve come early today, milady. Was it difficult to get here?”
“No. Lady Haila guided me, and she even gave me a key to the entrance.”
Elusiana awkwardly took the key from her bosom.
“I’m not sure if it’s okay for me to have this. It would be disastrous if I lost it.”
The key she held was an artifact that deactivated the wards of the Sestain Grand Duke family.
Merely possessing it allowed one to safely pass through the front gates, making it far too valuable for a mere maid.
“Don’t worry. The Grand Duke family’s key can only be used by those it’s engraved to.”
“Oh, that’s a relief.”
She often forgot she was in the magical Sestain Grand Duke household. They replaced the need for servants entirely with magic.
So this artifact was hardly an uncommon item.
Elusiana carefully tucked the key away and naturally looked toward the bed.
“Is the Grand Duke still sleeping?”
“Yes. He must have been very tired.”
“Did the pain flare up overnight? You seemed exhausted yesterday.”
Elusiana’s voice was soft, her worry genuine.
Louis responded with a warm smile, looking at his commendable granddaughter:
“Thanks to your concern, His Highness is unharmed.”
“Phew, that’s a relief. I was really worried.”
Elusiana breathed out, relaxing, and smiled faintly.
“But how can you endure being in such pain so often? Even small efforts leave you breathless. Is there really no cure?”
“It will get better gradually. His Highness’s condition requires time.”
“Hmm. Then, can we reduce his workload a little? He seems to have far too many daily responsibilities.”
“Hmm.”
Louis nodded, glancing at Aster asleep in bed. Red pupils rolled rapidly behind his narrow eyelids.
“That could be possible. I hadn’t considered that.”
He met her gaze subtly and continued:
“Then, milady, could you spare me a moment?”
“Huh? Spare you a moment?”
Elusiana blinked, her eyes naturally following Aster. She had been discussing the Grand Duke’s condition, so why was she being asked for time?
“And… what about His Highness?”
“Sir Logan will be here.”
“Oh, then… that’s fine.”
“Then, please follow me.”
Elusiana collected her worried gaze and followed the butler out of the room.
Pitter-patter.
“Here you go.”
“Thank you.”
Elusiana took a sip of the tea Louis prepared and set down the cup.
“What is this about?”
“Ah, I’ll tell you shortly. But first—”
Louis smiled softly.
“Do you really not need the thousand gold I advanced?”
“…Huh? Oh, well… haha. Somehow it turned out that way. Thank you for your concern… I’m sorry for the trouble.”
Elusiana scratched her head awkwardly, thinking it was a stroke of luck to receive the gold back from the Grand Duke.
It was suspicious that the Grand Duke happened to be passing Paradise Seeking Dreams at the time and caught the arsonist and thief.
“That’s fortunate. If you need it later, just let me know.”
“No, it’s fine… really.”
Debt was truly exasperating.
Elusiana curled her fingers tightly, her grip firm.
Louis gazed at her calmly before getting to the main point.
