Celebrity Lady - Chapter 123

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Celebrity Lady
Chapter 123
Roben blinked in surprise for a moment, then nodded with a smile.
“Right. The Second Prince’s answer would make excellent counsel indeed. In a nation with the Slavery System, slaves are part of one’s property—so certainly, one could choose a slave.”
“Ah, then the Second Prince could claim his father’s entire estate intact, all in his hands.”
As the Emperor, who had been listening, interjected, Roben laughed.
“Quite so. But tell me, Second Prince—how did such a thought occur to you? Why did your father fail to deliver a proper will from the start?”
At the follow-up question, Nathan froze mid-smile.
At the same moment, Lark too was caught off guard.
‘I didn’t write that specific answer on the note. Can Nathan answer this?’
Given that he’d managed the slave answer, this next question shouldn’t be impossible—but…
Nathan’s expression was clearly faltering.
‘Oh no.’
Today’s mission from Rubetria to Lark was: ‘Make Nathan feel good by letting him think he’s beaten the Crown Prince.’
For that, the finish had to be flawless too.
Lark opened his mouth quickly.
“Nathan.”
“Yes, brother.”
“I heard your answer well. As your elder, I find myself a bit embarrassed. If it’s alright with you, might I answer the King’s next question in your stead?”
A brief silence fell.
Lark’s sudden intervention seemed, on the surface, like he was stealing his younger brother’s spotlight for his own honor.
Nathan, thinking that reasonable, offered a rueful smile and nodded.
“Yes, brother. I yield to you…”
Lark cleared his throat and spoke at once.
“With the father abroad and having no son in the house, only a greedy slave could safely guard and transfer his wealth.”
“Exactly.”
“It was likely your father’s scheme, fearing the slave might pilfer the estate. Once the slave heard the will that all property would go to me, there was no reason to steal from his master anymore.”
“Right. And so he passed such a will to his son.”
Roben nodded as if understanding. Yet his expression was not one of joy.
The King turned again, swiftly, toward the Second Prince.
“Second Prince, your counsel today has been of great help to me. A most clever answer. There could be no better solution than this!”
Perhaps he sensed the younger brother’s plight, overshadowed by his more accomplished elder, and praised him all the more.
“Indeed, the royal house of Deccard proves sharp-witted across the board. Talent is not confined to the Crown Prince alone.”
“You are kind to say so.”
As the King marveled, the Emperor regarded Nathan with an air of surprise. His eyes shone with satisfaction and warmth.
‘Wow…’
Nathan felt his lips curling up of their own accord and forcibly pressed them down, stealing a glance at Lark ahead of him.
And then he noticed.
In that fleeting moment, Lark’s expression was breathtaking.
Defeat. Humiliation. And jealousy.
Every emotion Nathan had ever felt toward Lark was now mirrored on his brother’s face in reverse.

The moment Nathan issued the command to Pose.
Time within the Grand Banquet Hall froze.
Roben and the Emperor stood rigid, their faces locked in warm, satisfied smiles.
The siblings gazed on in wonder at him.
And.
Lark’s humiliated expression—far too precious to witness alone.
“Ahhhhh!!!”
Nathan roared.
Never had he felt such an exquisite surge of emotion.
Nathan drew out the note from Rubetria—his talisman of fortune, kept always beneath his clothes—and pressed his lips to it again and again.
“Oh, my goodness. My goddess of luck. Damn, this is mad. Absolutely mad!”
Clutching the note, Nathan clasped his hands in prayer, chattering with excitement.
“Hmm.”
Pose, unlike Nathan, wore an unmoved expression, studying the paused Lark with his emotions laid bare.
“Look at that bastard’s face!”
“Yeah, yeah… Aaaah!”
Nathan caught the flying Pose and rubbed his own cheek against the spirit’s repeatedly, lost in the intoxication of victory.
No matter how many times he looked at Lark’s face, it thrilled him. If he could, he’d preserve it exactly as it was, a permanent specimen.
“That’s right—you feel it now? What defeat tastes like.”
Nathan grinned wickedly.
This was his first victory.
* * *
That evening, in the Imperial Palace.
The Imperial Knights’ barracks.
“What, these insane bastards…”
Victor Diolus, who had come for a surprise bedtime inspection of the First Knight Company barracks, trembled at the bewildering sight before him.
The walls of the barracks were plastered thick with boutique promotional posters.
Alongside the name , the shop proprietor ‘Madam Ruby’ was plastered across like a billboard.
In the poster, she sat with silver hair and a half-mask, dressed in a black fur gown, her legs crossed with an air of aloofness.
“Unbelievable…!”
Victor, his rage mounting to the tips of his hair, began tearing the posters from the walls.
Rip, rip, rip!
“No, don’t!”
“Deputy Commander!”
“Why are you doing this? Why?”
The knights cried out as the posters were mercilessly torn from Victor’s hands.
“Hey! Do you lot even have your wits about you?!”
“Ugh…”
“Madam Ruby…”
“These insane…”
At the sight of them, eyes glistening with tears, Victor was flabbergasted.
The fame of this boutique proprietor, appearing daily on broadcast panels throughout the realm, had reached the heavens.
Listening to the knights’ chatter, he gathered that nine-tenths of their conversation revolved around this Madam Ruby. The dignity of the Imperial Knights had been utterly destroyed.
“You bastards get paid by the Crown and won’t train, just spend all day desperate to gossip about women!”
“No, no, no…”
“We’ll reform, we’ll reform…”
“Now you’re even posting this garbage on the barracks walls? Are you mad?”
“Deputy Commander, aren’t you a man too? Why won’t you understand how we feel?”
Just then, one of the knights—the one who had mourned most pitifully over the torn Madam Ruby poster—suddenly turned on Victor.
“What?”
Clutching the poster like it was treasure, glaring at his superior with wounded eyes—!
Victor’s mouth fell open.
‘Since when is it acceptable to glare at a commanding officer?’
What in the world was happening to the knight company? The men who had always obeyed orders had gone mad.
If both Victor and Madam Ruby were ever to fall into a river at the same time, Victor suspected these fools would unhesitatingly abandon him to save her…
“Deputy Commander, don’t you like Madam too? They say she’ll finally reveal her face at the New Year Festival. Aren’t you excited?”
Another knight asked, his eyes sparkling with hope.
“Sigh…”
Victor let out a long breath and pressed his throbbing temples.
That woman, that woman, that woman!
‘She’s my sister, you dumbasses~~~!’
That was right. Victor knew Rubetria’s secret.
The day he’d visited his sister for a meeting while she was in quarantine at Leubon—the day he’d nearly made the life-defining mistake of being fooled by his silver-haired, half-masked sister.
Even now, the memory made his scalp crawl with chills.
“Argh!”
The image of ‘s proprietor, Madam Ruby, had been broadcast to the public after that.
…But among the knights with their gaping mouths, Victor alone could not laugh.
It was obviously his disguised sister!
The silver wig, the mask covering her face—!
“That Madam Ruby causing a stir across the realm right now—that’s you, isn’t it?”
“Yep, that’s me~”
“That’s you? Have you lost your mind? What the hell are you doing out there?”
“Don’t tell anyone~”
It was absurd enough that she was running a business when money was no issue, but now she was selling her face everywhere and about to reveal her identity.
Victor’s heart withered.
“Hehehehe.”
“Madam Ruby is the best!”
Yes, precisely because of these dark-minded fools’ eyes and gossip that his sister kept appearing on their lips—
“Everyone, prepare for bed!”
Victor barked the command, and the knights reluctantly squirmed into their bedrolls.
“…?”
Just then, something jutted out from the headboard of the slowest knight’s bunk.
Victor quickly grabbed and pulled it. It was a large sheet of paper with colored ink scrawled across it.
♡Ma
♡dam
♡Ru
♡by♡
“No, you insane…”
“No! We can’t! We worked so hard on this! We’re going to hold it up in front of the shop at the New Year Festival!”
“You’ve all lost it. Hand it over.”
“Nooooo!”
Victor mercilessly snatched the paper from his subordinate’s hands and tore it to shreds.
The knights watched helplessly as scraps of paper scattered through the air…
Victor’s face flushed crimson as he issued his command.
“From this moment forward, not one mention of this woman anywhere in the Imperial Palace. Not in the barracks, not in the dining hall, not in the baths, not in the training grounds… If I hear even one more word about ‘Madam Ruby’ or the ‘New Year Festival’ spoken carelessly to my ears—”
Bang. Victor stamped his foot once, and everyone flinched.
“I will show you what hell is.”
Faced with Victor’s deadly serious anger, the knights all cast their eyes down.
Then.
“Victor, were you here?”
A voice suddenly rang out from behind. Victor turned around.
It was Lark.
“Your Highness? What brings you to the barracks at this hour?”
“I was looking for you. I need to ask you something urgent.”
“What would that be, sir?”
Victor stammered, caught off guard.
The floor of the barracks was still scattered with torn shreds of Madam Ruby’s posters…
‘This is bad.’
Lark’s gaze swept slowly down to the chaotic floor. Then he bent down gradually and examined the torn pieces.
‘When this guy gets angry, he’s the scariest.’
His expression had hardened completely.
It was like the calm before a storm.
‘He’s figured out that the barracks was in chaos. He won’t just let this slide.’
The Imperial Knights neglecting their duties and conducting themselves so lazily was exactly the sort of thing to fall squarely into Lark’s disfavor.
After a long silence, Lark rose quietly, and Victor swallowed a sigh.
‘Damn fools.’
All the knights had instinctively dropped to their knees.
“Pack your things.”
Victor’s breath caught.
Pack your things?
It wasn’t merely an order to leave the barracks. It meant stripping them of their knightly rank.
‘This is harsh. They really did step in it big time.’
Though it seemed severe, given Lark’s temperament, it was perhaps warranted.
Victor hesitated—should he step in and help?
But then, all the kneeling knights’ eyes suddenly fixed on him.
‘What? What are you looking at?’
Victor froze and looked forward.
Lark’s gaze was directed at him too.
“…?”
“What are you doing? Pack your things.”
Blink, blink.
Victor blinked blankly, then slowly raised his index finger, pointing at himself.
“…Me?”
Lark nodded.
“Yeah, pack up right now. You need to go home immediately.”
Understanding finally dawned on Victor’s face, his eyes widening in disbelief.
“Me? Why me?!!!”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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