Celebrity Lady - Chapter 29

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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
Episode 29
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“Have you lost your mind? Have you actually lost it?”
“Just the first verse. Just one verse.”
The entire time I was doing home workouts after arriving back, Wisht nagged me relentlessly.
He’d heard that I’d slipped a note to Lark, and now he was furious about it.
“Didn’t I tell you? That I was going to help the Crown Prince?”
“I never imagined you’d help him by charging forward so recklessly without thinking. You really are a fool.”
“Did I do something crazy enough to be called a fool?”
“Of course you did.”
Wisht added through gritted teeth.
“The Crown Prince is suspicious of his own aide, and he’s thinking of taking the man’s life. Who in this empire, at this moment, knows that besides the Crown Prince himself? No one. Unless someone crawled into the Crown Prince’s head and back out again.”
“That’s right.”
“And you’re blabbing about it? Am I supposed to think you’re advertising, broadcasting that you know the future? You’re going to spread rumors and make everyone suspicious?”
“Sure! You nailed it. I advertised and spread rumors.”
I answered plainly and finished my workout. Watching me calmly roll up my mat to put it away, Wisht let out a bewildered laugh.
“There’s no way to help the Crown Prince without revealing the fact that I know something. Even if there were, it would be incredibly tedious and roundabout. I don’t have the time or energy to devise such schemes right now. I’m too busy with my own affairs.”
“That’s—!”
“Listen to me.”
I calmed the agitated Wisht and continued.
“By now, the Crown Prince will have read my note and been quite shocked. He’ll know that I’m aware he suspects his aide is a traitor. So here’s the question.”
“…….”
“What do you think will be the first thing the Crown Prince does after reading the note? It’s an essay question. Take your time.”
“He’ll suspect you—wonder what kind of suspicious woman you are. A noblewoman who’s been cooped up inside her house, yet somehow knows secrets she shouldn’t, and moreover tries to save the life of that traitor he was about to execute? He’ll probably wonder if you’re siding with his political rival.”
“Good answer. If the Crown Prince were a fool, he’d go ahead and execute his aide as planned, despite reading my note, and then come interrogate me.”
In my previous life, the blonde-haired aide, who was practically an extension of Lark’s limbs, had his neck severed.
The aide had let slip evidence of collusion with some mysterious “rival,” and word spread not only to Lark but also to the ears of the nobles in parliament.
In the end, he was beheaded for plotting treason.
‘In truth, even a clever Crown Prince couldn’t bring himself to trust him—it was such a meticulous frame-up.’
I only learned that Lark’s aide had been executed on false charges long after the fact.
By that time, both the aide and Lark were dead, and more than ten years had passed since the Second Prince, Neisen, ascended to the Imperial Throne.
It was then that Victor, who’d been doing well as a knight under the new emperor, came looking for me, blind drunk, and let slip a careless remark.
“I really can’t believe I spent all those years, dedicating myself to the order of knights, for that crazy, insane emperor bastard…….”
“What are you saying, Victor? Why have you had so much to drink?”
“Ruby, do you remember His Highness Lark from back then? The one who passed away? Now that I think about it, there was no one better suited to be emperor than him…….”
At the time, Neisen had boasted to Victor about how he’d managed to eliminate Lark in the past, spinning it as a heroic tale.
Neisen must have misspoken while drunk as well—but by then, so much time had passed, and Neisen wielded almost absolute power as emperor, so he likely felt no need to guard his tongue.
It was a sad truth, but struggles over the throne were commonplace, and even the ruthlessness of killing one’s own blood to seize that seat was evaluated as a measure of ability.
“There was this aide of His Highness Lark’s, named Ren. You might remember him too—the one who had his neck cut off back then…….”
“Oh, yes. I remember.”
“The emperor said something like this: if he hadn’t dealt with Ren first, there would’ve been no way to assassinate His Highness Lark. The man was so terrifyingly skilled, and his loyalty was so unwavering, that he wouldn’t leave His Highness’s side for a single moment—he couldn’t even attempt it. That’s why he had to eliminate him first…….”
“My goodness. So that man didn’t betray the Crown Prince and get executed for it?”
“No. Isn’t it absurd? He was even framed because he was zealously investigating Neisen on his own…….”
That conversation was shocking, but that was all it was. So much time had already passed since Lark and his aide had died.
Still, Victor came to the conclusion that he could no longer serve under an emperor who’d seized the throne through methods that violated his own moral code, and he retired that very day.
That was the end of my memories of Lark.
“That aide, Ren, was such a capable obstacle that the Second Prince felt he had to eliminate him first. In other words, if the Crown Prince is to avoid being easily assassinated, keeping him alive is the bare minimum braking mechanism absolutely necessary. So I have to save him.”
“What a saint. You’re trying to save everyone, both this one and that one, yet you’re acting like there’s nothing to worry about even though you might die.”
“Your concern is valid too. The Crown Prince will wonder how I came to know this secret and will be wary. He certainly won’t believe my note outright—he’ll suspect me first.”
“Right. There’s no telling when the shocked Crown Prince might storm in here.”
“He’s not so foolish as that. I imagine he’ll at least try to have a conversation with me first. After all, he’ll be curious about how I know this fact.”
“So the key is making the Crown Prince believe you? How do you plan to do that?”
“What do you mean, make him believe? I know the entire future, so shouldn’t I just tell him to cooperate if he wants?”
Wisht’s jaw dropped.
“Is this really insane?”
“Perfectly rational. I hate the headache of going round and round. I’ll provide information about the future, and the Crown Prince will cooperate without suspicion, smoothly and straightforwardly. That way we can get to the happy ending without wasting time.”
“Listen, bring your mind back to earth. If you’re going to reveal that you know the future, then necessarily you’ll have to expose that you have a Spirit Contractor to do it.”
“I suppose so. In fact, I’m planning to tell him about the Spirit anyway.”
“……?”
Wisht seemed to have given up on thinking altogether, his expression turning blank and deflated.
“Of course, I’ll lie about some things. Above all, I must keep secret the fact that I have a Wish Spirit.”
“Lie?”
“Yes. I’ve judged the Crown Prince to be fundamentally a decent person, but regardless of that, the fact that there exists a Spirit Contractor bound to a Wish Spirit becomes a threat to him.”
There’s a good reason why the Wish Spirit is classified as a danger category.
What if a Wish Spirit Contractor harbors even the slightest ill intention? Replacing the Imperial Throne or destroying the world would be well within reach. For Lark, who will one day become the master of the empire, there could be no greater threat than that.
“No matter how many times I protest that I have no intention of misusing the Wish Spirit, the Crown Prince will have no choice but to be wary of me. He might even try to eliminate me by any means necessary. That would be rather inconvenient.”
“So what lie are you planning to tell?”
“Sigh, you’ll see that unfold slowly. I’ve sweated a lot and I think I’m starting to smell. I’m going to wash up now.”
As I pushed past Wisht to head toward the bathroom, he blocked my way.
“No, wait! Tell me everything first!”
“My mouth hurts! Move!”
Quickly crossing the room to avoid being grabbed, I suddenly stopped dead.
“That’s right.”
“What.”
Turning around, Wisht was glaring at me with his arms crossed, his expression full of displeasure.
“Of course, the plan I’ve laid out so far has quite a lot of variables.”
“Good that you realize it at least.”
“The Crown Prince might not even think to talk it over twice and simply storm in to destroy me and our house.”
“…….”
“Or I might try to talk it through, but the conversation could fall apart because things don’t go the way I want them to, and ruin everything.”
“Right. You should have thought of these obvious possibilities from the start before you made your move.”
“Of course I thought it all through before I sent the note. That’s why I threw down a risky gambit.”
“You do love living dangerously. Do you have ten lives?”
“Two will do. I still have two wishes left.”
“Ah.”
Wisht let out an exclamation.
“So from the very start, if things went wrong, you were planning to use a wish to fix it—that’s why you acted so boldly.”
Now that he understood, I nodded to him.
“When those worst-case scenarios I mentioned actually happen, I’ll use my second wish. I’m telling you this in advance because there’s no time to waste.”
“Fine. What wish?”
With only two wishes remaining, and resolved to never leave one unused no matter what happens, I truly have but a single wish to spare.
‘I’ve decided to spend this precious wish for you.’
Picturing Lark’s face, I silently hoped he would make the wise choice.
But if, contrary to my hopes, he didn’t act cleverly enough.
“I’ll need to completely revise the plan from the beginning…….”
Well, what can I do? If we fail, we try again.
“Turn back time to before I meet the Crown Prince today.”
* * *
The next day.
Duke Diolus’s Residence was turned upside down.

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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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