Liselotte, holding the telescope she had brought along, scanned the street below the second floor through the window attached to the VIP room.
Eren narrowed his eyes as he looked down at the small figures and asked,
“Do you know what Hezela’s daughter looks like?”
“I don’t.”
“…Then how can you be so certain you will find her?”
Liselotte held up the crumpled purchase list she had folded up and brought with her.
“Who do you think I am?”
“Liselotte Keilos.”
‘What an honestly straightforward answer.’
She pressed the telescope back to her eye, searched carefully, and promised,
“Just wait. I will find her.”
Liselotte’s interests were intensely selective.
Just by looking at the fabric of a dress, she could tell which merchant guild had supplied it, and just by seeing the lace, she could identify which artisan had woven it.
That was not all. Knowledge of most jewelry, ornaments, shoes, and accessory designs across the continent was stored in her mind.
Just by looking at the list, she could already picture exactly what the items looked like.
‘In the past, she used this impressive knowledge to torment the maids attending to dresses, but still…’
At a time like this, Liselotte’s abilities seemed like they would be quite useful.
For anyone who looked to be around the age of Hezela’s daughter, she ran a full assessment from head to toe.
“Hmm, that brown-haired woman does not overlap with the purchase items, except for shoes sold by the Beige Salon. And even the shoe color is different.”
Behind her, Eren leaned closer.
Trying to look outside past her as she sat by the window, his upper body pressed clearly against her back.
For no reason, the area around her back felt itchy.
In the midst of that, as he continued to look outside, he let out a short hum.
“Hmm…”
A low voice resonated near the nape of her neck like a shallow vibration.
Caught off guard by the strange sensation, Liselotte quickly raised one hand to stop him.
“J-just think of it like how you can tell different monster species apart.”
She gave a light shiver of her shoulders and deliberately focused on the telescope.
After watching for a while, a woman dressed in a tacky style boldly stepped down from a carriage before her eyes.
A bonnet embroidered with pink flowers and set with diamonds. A vivid pink ribbon that did not suit her dark brown hair. A red ruby necklace and earrings that clashed with her pale green dress. And on top of that, a blue parasol.
‘This is driving me crazy.’
If she had not known, she might have thought it was just an eccentric outfit… maybe. But to Liselotte, whose aesthetic sense sat right on the crown of her head, it was a painful sight.
And every single combination matched the list of purchases Hezela’s daughter had made over the past three months.
“Found her.”
Without even a second look, Liselotte lowered the telescope and hurriedly handed the magic stone brooch case to Eren.
“Please place an incantation on the brooch. It won’t be on yourself, so it’s fine, right?”
After seeing him last night, Liselotte felt she had gained a vague understanding of the Word of Command.
At the very least, incantations placed on others or on external objects, rather than on oneself, did not seem to pose a major problem.
And it was best to avoid stacking too many incantations.
When she looked up at him with bright eyes, Eren naturally swept his gaze around.
“No one will be able to hear anything in this room except me and Liselotte Keilos.”
For a moment, she thought she saw a sharp glint flash in his eyes. When he used the Word of Command, his voice became especially low and frightening.
Since the Word of Command did not work on her, the only things she could discern were these small, external changes.
A faint breeze brushed lightly across her field of vision.
The space had already been quiet to begin with.
Even after he finished speaking, nothing about how it felt to her had changed.
“Did you do it?”
“Those outside will not be able to hear it. It will not affect you, though.”
Standing beside him as he quietly muttered while holding the magic stone brooch case, Liselotte held the brooch and waited obediently.
The risk of outsiders hearing the incantation had been blocked, so next came the brooch.
Perhaps finding her gaze burdensome, Eren asked calmly,
“What should I say?”
“Is it possible to prevent someone from lying when it’s needed?”
“Once the incantation is activated, it won’t take effect a second time. Is that acceptable?”
“Why?”
“Magic stones contain innate magic, so even if magic is infused from outside, it repels it. This is a low-grade one, so I can make a single-use incantation, but anything beyond that would be difficult.”
“Hmm, then that means it will work at least once no matter what, right?”
“Preventing all lies would be difficult, but forcing a confession is possible.”
‘Wow… what a waste to use such an ability like this.’
A confession, of all things. With just that, countless crimes could be solved.
In truth, she could not trust that everyone who sought her out would speak only the truth.
Most people spoke only in ways that benefited themselves.
But if she had Eren’s ability…!
Just as she was imagining developing a lie detector, charging rental fees, building a structure with it, and establishing a merchant guild under her own name.
A voice with an even, flat cadence cut through her thoughts.
“What should the activation condition be?”
Only then did she return to reality, smiling brightly as if nothing were wrong.
“Make it activate after the person lies three times!”
Just as the incantation was nearing completion, a booming voice echoed down the corridor and into the room.
“Do you know how much money I’ve spent here? Do you really think you can ignore me like this?!”
At the same time, Liselotte reacted on pure reflex and hurriedly snapped the lid shut on the case in Eren’s hand.
She did not need to see who was shouting to know exactly who it was.
“See? I told you Matella would come on her own.”
Stretching her lips into a long smile, she whispered mischievously, like a child about to play a prank.
“We’re not going to meet her directly. Let’s just let her glare at Person No. 1 she happens to run into.”
Stepping out of the VIP room, Liselotte leaned slightly over the railing and looked down.
All the clustered customers were staring in the same direction.
At the end of their gaze stood Matella, wearing a green dress.
She was shouting at the shop manager.
“Are you kidding me? Are you saying there’s nothing you can show me in this shop?!”
“I’m very sorry, Miss Matella. At the moment, another customer is trying on all of our products.”
The guests on the second floor, who had come out to watch because of the shouting, muttered among themselves.
“What’s her problem? If there’s nothing, she should just go somewhere else.”
But she could not go anywhere else, which was why she had come here.
High-end boutiques did not accept just any customer, in order to preserve the value of their artisans’ names.
Often, one needed an introduction, proof of sufficient wealth, and even confirmation of which family they belonged to.
Because of that, before debuting in high society, young noble ladies often endured countless tea parties just to be introduced to such boutiques.
For reference, Liselotte made use of the Imperial Family’s free pass. Since there was no one in the Perida Empire who could defy an Imperial order.
By that standard, Matella did not even meet the conditions to so much as browse a high-end boutique.
She had no referral, her financial means had not been verified, and she had no family backing.
‘Even aside from that, this shop must have felt more comfortable for her.’
***
Recently, Matella had become addicted to buying expensive, high-priced jewelry.
After making a few large purchases, the shop attendants began bowing to her of their own accord.
Perhaps it was just her imagination, but unlike before, no one looked down on her anymore.
Instead, even if she bumped into someone in passing, rather than glaring back, they would repeatedly bow and apologize.
A life with money really was deeply satisfying.
Up until just yesterday, the shop staff had treated her with special consideration.
But now, with an expression completely devoid of apology, the manager merely repeated the same obligatory response.
As a result, her anger refused to subside.
“No, just how incredible does this person have to be to buy everything all by herself…!”
“Oh my, excuse me!”
Just as her voice was rising at full volume, the sharp click-clack of high heels echoed through the shop.
