Celebrity Lady - Chapter 129

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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 129
I crossed my arms and smirked at Victor.
“What do you think I’d say?”
“I’ll pay you back. I mean it. Once I get hired at the Mercenary Guild, rank me as an S-class. I’ll make ten million marks a month—I’ll pay you every single month.”
“A former Imperial House knight joining the Mercenary Guild? Are you actually insane? Stop being stubborn and get up. Let’s go home. Just promise me you’ll behave when we get there.”
“I can’t.”
“Why are you acting like a three-year-old? What’s wrong with you?”
“You’re patient, I’ll give you that. You put up with living under the same roof as Father and your brother, and you tolerate being used by the Crown Prince.”
Victor spoke quietly, and I didn’t hold back—I laid out everything I’d prepared to say.
“Let me be clear: His Highness has never used me. I started helping because I wanted to, and he’s kept me safe the whole time without putting me in any danger.”
……
“That near-kidnapping in Leubon? That wouldn’t have happened if you hadn’t been fooled by those people connected to the Second Prince and brought them along.”
“Yeah, you’re right. I’m sorry.”
Victor didn’t back down.
“My worry is that the Crown Prince, who knows your secret, will keep asking for your help in the future by talking about greater purpose and duty.”
He leaned close to my ear and whispered.
“You studied hard, right? Do you know how our ancestor—who had the same spirit as you—ended up living his life?”
“Victor.”
“The Altar’s whole complicated system of classifying spirits as dangerous and all that—it existed in the first place because of your spirit’s power.”
Victor pulled back and spoke with finality.
“Don’t get entangled with the Imperial House. If anyone comes looking for you trying to squeeze more help out of you, I’ll chase them away myself. It’s all for your sake, so understand.”
He turned his head away sharply, as if he didn’t want to say anything more.
I found his stubborn insistence frustrating, but I wasn’t angry. Just a sigh welling up inside.
Because I knew it all came from worry for me.
‘And this bastard mentioning Wishit—he doesn’t seem to have any doubts left.’
I was curious what he’d done to reach the conclusion that my spirit was Wishit just from seeing a diary.
Eventually, I sighed and sat up.
“Get up. Let’s go home.”
Victor gripped my arm without a word. His grip was so strong I couldn’t move an inch.
I sighed and spoke.
“Not to Father’s place. My place.”
“What?”
“I’ll put up your poor runaway self. Your rent is answering the questions I ask.”
I dragged a confused Victor outside, and told the Coachman who was waiting.
“Take us to Torsen 1007, please.”
* * *
On the outskirts of the Capital.
Torsen Street, number 1007.
……!
Victor’s jaw dropped as he looked up at the grand three-story mansion I’d purchased.
The Butler, who’d been clearing snow from the front garden, hurried to greet me.
“Young Miss? You should have called ahead. I didn’t know you were coming today, so I sent the servants home early…….”
“It’s fine. Today I just need a place to lay my head—that’s enough.”
I closed Victor’s gaping mouth with my own hand and smiled.
The Butler nodded, greeted Victor, took the luggage from his hands, and led us inside.
“Please come in. I keep the rooms clean and well-maintained, so you shouldn’t find it too uncomfortable.”
“Thank you.”
“It’s still a bit early for dinner—shall I prepare some light refreshments first?”
“Yes, please do that. And you can see how big my brother is, right? Since he needs to eat well, tell the kitchen to focus on meat for dinner.”
“Of course.”
As I chatted with the Butler and walked inside, I noticed Victor following slowly behind me.
He’d come in with swagger, but his face showed the awkwardness of a runaway depending on his younger sister’s place.
“What are you doing? Come on.”
“Uh, yeah.”
Victor scratched his nose, avoided my eyes, and shuffled along hesitantly.
The room the Butler showed him to.
I sat on the bed and began my interrogation.
“How did you know? That I’m a Spirit Contractor.”
“Am I an idiot? You expect me to believe that nonsense about seeing the future in a dream?”
“Fair enough. Let’s say you didn’t believe that. But the way you talk, and how you’re certain my spirit is Wishit…….”
I approached Victor and continued.
“You seem less suspicious and more certain that I’m a Contractor of the Wish Spirit. How did you get so sure?”
I pressed the silent Victor.
“Well? Aren’t you going to pay rent?”
“Ha……”
I carefully placed my hand near his ribs, where his wound would be.
“You didn’t just fail to summon your spirit—you couldn’t. You didn’t actually force your spirit to tell you my secret, did you?”
……
“Rent!”
“……Yeah. I asked. Forced them to tell me.”
“Wow, you really are insane. Did you think ahead? Why are you so reckless? What were you planning to do with my secret?”
Once I had confirmation of my suspicions, anger surged through me.
“If you were suspicious, just stay suspicious. Why go that far?”
Victor had been to death and back.
He’d been lucky enough to take the path to the living world at the crossroads, but it was a wound that could have easily gone wrong.
Since he wouldn’t receive the Protection of Indestructibility, the risks ahead would be significant…….
“You wouldn’t tell me yourself. But I had doubts, and I needed to know for certain. Why you suddenly got so close to the Crown Prince. Why the Second Prince keeps trying to target you.”
“And if you knew?”
“Because I know, I can help. You’d never escape the Crown Prince’s grasp of your own will, would you? The moment he talks about the empire’s future or greater purpose, you’d keep helping like a fool. I can’t stand that.”
“Ha.”
“Don’t be fooled just because the Crown Prince seems kind. He’s the one who desperately hid your secret. He didn’t even give me a hint, his own brother. What do you think that means?”
……
“That he’s greedy. Using you for himself alone.”
“Ah, I see.”
The most important things to Victor are my safety and freedom.
Because of that, even in a conversation that seemed to have no common ground, I came to a realization and nodded.
“I have to admit it. I made a mistake. I hid everything from you on purpose because of your nature, but I got it completely wrong. Everyone else could not know, but you should have known everything.”
In fact, telling him everything might have been the key to preventing Victor’s rash actions.
“Listen carefully.”
I honestly admitted my error and continued.
“Why did I hide the fact that I’m a Spirit Contractor? Even if I’d been treated as half-complete my whole life, I could have broadcast it to everyone.”
“……Why did you hide it?”
“Those spirits classified as dangerous—you know, the ones the Altar warns everyone never to contract with?”
I turned and went back to sit on the bed.
“They all have powerful abilities, but the Altar says never contract with them, so nobody does, right? There’s no one in the empire right now who’s contracted with a dangerous spirit.”
“So why did you?”
“Keep listening. But doesn’t it seem odd? Human greed isn’t that light a thing. Does the Altar’s control really work that well?”
Victor’s brow suddenly furrowed. His eyes showed he sensed something sinister.
“It’s not that there’s no one who contracted with a dangerous spirit.
……
“They all died.”
“What?”
“You studied history too—you’ve heard those stories, right? About people who were fascinated by the beautiful Spirit Spring, chose to stay there instead of returning to reality, and never came back……. You know those kinds of stories.”
I smiled at the shocked Victor and continued.
“It’s all lies. In truth, they were all people who contracted with dangerous spirits, and because of that, they were sealed away by the Sealing Stones at the Altar.”
“What?”
“Surprising, right? You couldn’t possibly know. It’s not exactly an ethical system of control, so only three people know about it.”
I held up three fingers.
“The High Priest, the Emperor, and the Crown Prince.”
……
“Was I kind? Helping the Crown Prince for the sake of greater purpose? That’s ridiculous.”
……
“Victor, I sought out the Crown Prince just to survive. I negotiated to guarantee my own life.”
I stood and approached Victor again.
“Why did the Crown Prince desperately hide my secret even from you? Because he’s greedy, using me for himself alone?”
“Ha……”
“No. He’s desperately working to protect my wellbeing. Making sure the secret doesn’t leak anywhere.”
“Hey.”
Victor gripped my shoulders, fear in his eyes.
“Don’t you know how incredible your spirit’s ability is? Nobody can touch you! With your ability, you don’t need to sit quietly and get sealed—”
“Yeah, you’d think that, wouldn’t you? But think about it a little more. Me, deliberately. Why did I have to hide everything and make the Crown Prince my lifeline?”
I spoke with a sad expression.
“That ability isn’t free. No matter what situation arises, I’ve left myself a minimum chance to survive, but nothing more than that.”
“What do you mean……”
“My wishes have a limit. From the start, there’s no room for the Crown Prince to use me or do anything else with me. It’s completely useless. Pretty, but hollow!”
Victor’s grip on my shoulder went slack.
“Yet he’s defying the Imperial House rules to protect me. When you see him next, I hope you apologize. Understand?”
Victor, whose expression had been confused, suddenly turned pale.
“Damn it. Father and my brother—”
“Wait.”
I grabbed Victor’s arm as he almost bolted from the room and asked.
“Do they know? That I have a spirit?”
“I……”
“Yeah, you must have told them. It’s okay. His Highness the Crown Prince will have handled it, and neither of them is the type to carelessly blab. What worries me most is……”
I smiled gently and poked Victor’s chest.
“You.”
“I won’t tell. I absolutely won’t.”
“I’m sure you won’t.”
Now that Victor knew his sister’s life was at stake, he wouldn’t tell my secret even if a blade was at his throat.
‘I should have done this from the start. Tsk.’
I swallowed a sigh and spoke.
“I’ve said all I need to say. Now let’s fix you—you’re not even able to summon your spirit anymore. What exactly did you hear when you forced your spirit to speak?”
I added, hoping desperately it wasn’t.
“You didn’t hear that my spirit is Wishit, did you?”
Victor stared at me intently.
The weight of taboos differs for each spirit, so I don’t know for certain. But still.
‘If he forced them to reveal the spirit’s very type……’
There’s no taking it back.
If Victor broke a taboo of that magnitude, he’d never be called a Spirit Contractor again for the rest of his life.
I waited with wavering eyes for Victor to open his mouth.
* * *
The home of spirits, the Spirit Spring.
This kingdom of spirits, which could rightly be called paradise, had an ominous atmosphere lately, for all its beauty.
“Bolder made trouble.”
“Made trouble, made trouble.”
Two rabbit-like spirits hopped about, chattering.
Bolder, whose connection with his contractor had been severed, had returned to the Spirit Spring and wandered about searching for someone, his steps heavy.
Thump, thump.
The earth shook with each step of the massive stone-like figure.
“Bolder, you idiot!”
Then Bolder’s steps halted.
At the center of the Spirit Spring.
A magnificent tree rang out with a booming voice.
“Bilkin, ma’am.”
The trunk of the ordinary-looking tree twisted and contorted, and an angry woman’s face emerged.
This spirit, who lay eternal roots in the Spirit Spring, was named Bilkin.
She had once been a spirit who heard all the world’s sounds at the beginning of time, but when Diolus the First established order in the realm of spirits, she became the keeper of order in this place.
“You fool! You worthless wretch!”
Bilkin vented her frustration angrily.
The lower spirits around her giggled and pointed at the characters carved into Bilkin’s trunk.

Pose
Bolder

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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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