Celebrity Lady - Chapter 91

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

Celebrity Lady
Chapter 91
* * *
“This… what on earth…?”
Two identical pocket watches.
One was the one Lark had carried during the tournament, and the other was kept in the Imperial Palace.
After the first match ended, the messenger she’d arranged had brought the palace timepiece straightaway.
The two watches, whose hands should have aligned perfectly down to the second hand, were now running a full ten minutes apart.
Gulp.
Aristana, who had been staring blankly at the two watches, swallowed hard.
‘Did Naysen… did he really cheat?’
Unlike Lark, who could be infuriatingly smooth and inscrutable, Aristana had always appreciated Naysen’s kind and gentle nature—and now she was reeling from the shock.
The Equestrian Tournament was a noble competition honoring fairness and honor among knights.
Even if there were loopholes, everyone implicitly believed—trusted firmly—that no one would actually exploit them…
“Your Highness the Third Princess, there is one thing I must ask of you.”
Aristana recalled Madam Ruby’s voice from a week ago—speaking as though she’d foreseen Naysen’s cheating—and her mind drifted back to that first meeting.
* * *
One week earlier.
Madam Ruby had arrived in Ryubon carrying the championship prize she’d personally crafted—the Apante Tiara.
When Aristana came face to face with the actual “Madam Ruby,” now the most talked-about person in the empire, she was taken aback.
‘I thought she was a commoner…’
She wore a mask that concealed her face so thoroughly their eyes couldn’t even meet, yet there was an unmistakable elegance in the aura and gestures she projected.
The unshakeable composure when meeting royalty, the familiarity with aristocratic tea-party manners…
Watching the masked woman raise her teacup with such polished grace, Aristana was certain.
‘No… she’s nobility. She looks even younger than me, but which house does she belong to?’
“I beg your forgiveness for the rudeness of not removing my mask to properly greet Your Highness. It’s all part of my business strategy, you see.”
“Think nothing of it, Madam Ruby. Do you think I wouldn’t understand such things?”
“Thank you.”
“However, your request… wouldn’t it be wise to reconsider it once more?”
“Does my request burden Your Highness?”
“No, that’s not it. Rather…”
Aristana bit her lip, her expression troubled.
Madam Ruby had asked if Aristana could use her Spirit Power.
There was nothing wrong with that in itself. Only the application troubled her.
“I understand your concern, Madam. There are quite a few royal participants who hold knight titles, and one could suspect they might secretly use Spirit Power.”
“Of course, I trust the royal highnesses, but I worry there might be gossip about a tournament where knights honor fairness—and surely Your Highness as the organizer wishes for the competition to be beyond reproach.”
“Of course it is. But…”
Aristana, at a loss, added while rubbing her forehead:
“Naysen—I mean, the Second Prince—would never cheat. You’ve never met him, so you wouldn’t know, but…”
Madam Ruby was concerned that the Spirit Contractor princes might violate the rules and use Spirit Power.
More precisely, she was concerned about cheating by Naysen, the Second Prince and contractor of the spirit Poze.
“The reputation of the Second Prince has already reached me through rumor. I merely wish to leave no room for doubt about the fairness of the tournament.”
“True. If Naysen, as Poze’s contractor, were to use Spirit Power, it would be impossible to detect with the naked eye…”
As Aristana began to waver, Madam Ruby drove the final nail in.
“We at Blanc de Ruby crafted the championship prize itself… so this event is particularly meaningful to us.”
Aristana flinched, catching the subtext perfectly.
Use Blanc de Ruby’s publicity, commission us to make the prize for free—surely you’ll grant my favor in return, won’t you?
That was precisely what she meant.
‘This woman is a born businesswoman through and through!’
Aristana let out an embarrassed cough and nodded slightly.
“Very well.”
“I know it seems improper to monitor secretly, but if the Second Prince simply doesn’t use his abilities, there should be no problem, correct?”
“That’s true. I understand. We’ll do it that way.”
“I truly appreciate this.”
Madam Ruby, smiling beneath her mask, withdrew something from her gown. Clink-clink—a long chain rang out melodiously.
What she produced was a simple pocket watch with a chain attached.
“Then I ask this of you.”
* * *
When Aristana returned from her memory, the furious Emperor stood before her.
“What shameful conduct is this!”
“Father, please… don’t be so angry…”
The royal family had been summoned urgently to the VIP Lounge at the Tournament Grounds.
The Emperor trembled with rage while his siblings, all listening to the report, nervously gauged his mood.
“You called for me?”
Just then, Naysen entered the lounge with a bewildered expression.
“You wretched boy!”
The Emperor, eyes bloodshot with fury, bellowed, and Naysen flinched.
In that moment, Aristana shut her eyes tightly.
“What is the matter, Your Majesty? Why are you so angry?”
“Did you violate the rules and use Spirit Power in a tournament where honorable knights compete?”
“Pardon?”
Naysen approached and shook his head in surprise.
“That’s not true. No such thing occurred. There must be some misunderstanding.”
“Misunderstanding, my foot!”
The Emperor pointed to the two pocket watches lying on the table in the lounge.
“One is the watch Lark carried during the tournament, the other was in the palace. If you didn’t use your power, explain how the same watch can show different times.”
“Ah.”
As though finally understanding, Naysen chuckled softly.
“Your Majesty, it is perfectly natural for watches to show different times. Is it not harder to find a watch that displays the exact correct time?”
“…”
“…”
“How can you prove my cheating by comparing two watches that may have shown different times from the start, whose error could have begun at any point?”
As a hushed silence fell over those assembled, Naysen continued prattling on.
‘Please, brother, just stop talking. Admit it quickly and apologize.’
Whether Naysen knew of Aristana’s burning distress or not, he even affected indignation.
“Your Majesty, I find this doubly offensive. Do you truly know so little of who I am? Would I ever betray fairness in a tournament of honorable knights?”
“Sigh.”
The Emperor closed his eyes firmly and let his body sink into the sofa, releasing a long sigh.
“Foolish boy.”
“Your Majesty?”
“Brother!”
Aristana finally pressed in, eyes squeezed shut.
“I’m sorry, but those two watches absolutely cannot show different times. They’re the same watch.”
“What? How could—”
Naysen’s words caught as his brow furrowed in sudden bewilderment.
Now he seemed to understand what scheme had been employed.
“I… copied it…”
“…”
Capyne, the spirit of the Third Princess Aristana.
Aristana was a Spirit Contractor with the power to Duplicate any object perfectly.
“You could argue that watches differ in their accuracy. To prevent that excuse, you need a watch that absolutely cannot show different times—an identical one. Please use your power to copy this watch, Your Highness.”
What on earth kind of woman was Madam Ruby? To have foreseen exactly what excuse Naysen would offer…
“You bring great shame upon the royal name.”
“Your… Your Majesty… that is, I…”
“Enough. Either conduct the rematch with honor, or admit your cheating and forfeit.”
“Your… Your Majesty!”
The Emperor rose and left the lounge coldly. The other royals, who had been glancing nervously at Naysen, followed in his wake.
Only Aristana, the tournament organizer, remained—forced to await Naysen’s decision.
A rematch? A forfeit?
Either choice would see his face dragged through the mud before all the empire.
Without using Spirit Power, there was no way he could beat Lark in a rematch, yet to publicly admit cheating before the entire realm…
“Brother? What will you do?”
Aristana asked, but Naysen could only tremble.
* * *
“Attention, spectators. Following a review of the first match conducted two hours ago, unfair circumstances have been detected. The match is hereby declared null and void.”
At the Third Princess’s announcement, the crowd stirred restlessly.
I watched the spectators’ reactions one by one with the relaxed composure of someone watching a show and eating snacks.
“What?”
“Unfair circumstances?”
“While a rematch should proceed, the participant Naysen van Rashmah Dekard has reported shoulder pain, making continuation impossible, and has requested a forfeit.”
‘Shoulder… pain…?’
Beneath my mask, I bit my lip hard.
The Third Princess Aristana’s effort to preserve the royal image through careful circumlocution was evident.
But the crowd gathered here were no fools.
“Wow. Did the Second Prince really cheat?”
“I mean, there’s no other reason a match would be voided like this.”
“I always wondered why the Crown Prince, so skilled in martial arts, fell so badly!”
“I believed in him! I believed in the Crown Prince!”
The spectators’ chatter reached my ears clearly.
“The Second Prince Naysen van Rashmah Dekard has forfeited, and the Crown Prince Lark van Rashmah Dekard is awarded a walkover victory. The next match will commence in ten minutes.”
As the trembling Third Princess’s announcement concluded, I finally burst into laughter.
“Bwahahaha!”
<Hey, hey!>
Wisht beside me nudged my ribs in alarm.
<Your laughter’s loud enough to be heard outside the mask. Quiet down.>
“Pffft. Ugh…”
Truly, was this not the triumph of justice itself!

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