I Just Wanted Revenge, But Everyone Loves Me - Chapter 4
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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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Chapter 4
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“There’s nothing here.”
Rodrigo frowned as he cast his gaze across another document.
What he’d asked for was simple enough: information on the little brat who’d been shadowing me for the past month.
But remarkably.
‘All I have is a name, age, and charges.’
There was no way to verify even basic details—who her parents were, where she came from.
“If she’s a vagrant, it’s plausible. They drift through the streets, after all. Most of them have lost their parents.”
…….
“But there is one suspicious element.”
“Tell me.”
“The trial records appear to have been fabricated.”
At that, Rodrigo’s eyebrow lifted sharply. Sys cleared his throat at once and continued.
“The trial did take place, and the judge was real, but…there were no observers present.”
…….
“Even if people weren’t interested, the newspapers wouldn’t ignore it. They dig through every trial looking for a story. Especially when the suspect is unusually young.”
…….
“No one attended that trial.”
“Curious.”
“Indeed, sir.”
Sys nodded gravely. Rodrigo reviewed the documents once more.
Lost in thought for a moment, he soon gestured.
At the signal to approach, Sys quickly stepped forward.
Drawing near, Rodrigo whispered something to him.
Moments later, Sys nodded in acknowledgment of the order.
“I’ll summon her at once.”
* * *
‘Why does he want to see me?’
Pitter-patter-pitter-patter.
I climbed the stairs diligently, lost in thought.
A sudden summons while I was out for a walk—and from no less than the director, the highest authority in Iztail.
‘I haven’t done anything wrong…’
There were charges against me, true, but I’d caused no trouble here.
All I’d done was wander around muttering about wanting to sweet-talk a dragon.
‘And even that was all within the permitted hours.’
I’d never once moved about in secret.
“Go in.”
The guard opened the door at the very top of Iztail.
With a click, I peered cautiously through the crack before stepping inside.
A man was already seated on the sofa within.
‘He’s incredibly young!’
I’d expected the director to be stern and unyielding.
The blond-haired man with blue eyes appeared neither particularly young nor particularly old. With his slender frame and sharp gaze, he seemed a touch fastidious, but nothing more.
“Sit.”
The man fixed his eyes on me as I entered, gesturing with a slight nod. I hurried to the sofa opposite.
I grunted as I climbed onto the rather high seat, and he let out a small cough.
“Your name is Karin, I’m told.”
“Yes.”
“Your surname.”
“I don’t have one!”
My status as the young lady of a count’s household had to remain secret.
I lied with practiced ease and stared directly at the director.
“You’re aware you’re the youngest person here.”
“Yes.”
“They told me you were four years old, so I was curious what crime you could have committed. I looked at your records. There was something odd about them.”
Something odd?
I tilted my ear to listen, when the director suddenly asked:
“Who were you trying to assassinate?”
“I’m sorry?”
“I’m asking whose hand you put a sword hilt in instead of a sweet.”
“Um, well.”
That came out of nowhere.
But he asked, so I suppose I should answer.
“His Imperial Majesty.”
“…What?”
“I was trying to get rid of His Majesty.”
I glanced cautiously at his expression.
“Is that… not allowed?”
* * *
Meanwhile, hidden behind his massive desk while the two conversed, Rodrigo’s attention sharpened.
Assassination Requests: 388,112 counts.
Extortion and Blackmail: 4,829 counts.
There was no way a four-year-old had committed such absurd crimes.
So I asked who she’d tried to assassinate.
“His Imperial Majesty.”
……Is she in her right mind?
One could hate the Emperor.
He was certainly a bastard.
But to discuss imperial assassination so brazenly?
That was something else entirely.
“I was trying to get rid of His Majesty.”
…….
“Is that… not allowed?”
At her cautious question, Rodrigo genuinely began to worry about the child’s mental state.
An adult saying such things would be one thing. But this creature was only four years old, her frame so small she looked like a baby.
“Do you have some grievance against His Imperial Majesty?”
“Um, well. That’s…”
The child’s words trailed off as she shook her head.
Rodrigo found himself leaning in despite himself.
Did she harbor some grudge deep enough to boldly declare the Emperor’s assassination?
But.
“It’s difficult to say.”
At that reply, Rodrigo’s brow furrowed sharply.
“Difficult to say?”
“Yes.”
“If I report what you’ve just said to the Imperial Court, you could face additional sentences.”
…….
“And yet?”
“Yes.”
Even at Sys’s warning, the child answered confidently.
“I’ve already committed so many assassination requests and extortion and all sorts of things.”
…….
“Surely the Imperial Court already knows of my small wish to assassinate His Majesty.”
So telling them now wouldn’t have much effect anyway.
The child murmured softly.
‘……Hm.’
Rodrigo was genuinely flabbergasted by her audacious response.
She seemed frightened, yet she said exactly what was on her mind.
‘Whether to call that gutsy…’
Usually, those who harbored resentment toward the Emperor had lost family or friends, or had something else stripped from them.
This child likely fell into that category. Especially if she’d arrived here without parents.
‘Suspicious.’
Had she answered as expected, he would have dismissed her long ago. But her every answer defied prediction, and that sparked curiosity instead.
After questioning the child about her family and basic personal details, Sys soon sent her away.
The information she provided was limited, and without more, there was no reason to detain her.
“Certainly suspicious, sir.”
Once the child had gone, Sys offered his grave assessment.
The documents had been suspicious enough. Meeting her in person confirmed she was a figure to watch.
“What shall we do? Just say the word, and I’ll have her transferred to another facility.”
…….
“Her grievance against the Emperor is unclear, and she revealed nothing about herself.”
Experience spoke volumes.
That child was quite—very—dangerous.
But his thinking ran differently.
“Keep watching her. Don’t send her elsewhere.”
“But sir.”
“Revealing nothing about oneself has two possible reasons.”
To harm others—or.
“To avoid being attacked the moment one’s identity is exposed.”
…….
“We need to find out how she got here, who her allies are, what grudge she holds against the Emperor—everything.”
A normal prison would be different.
But this is Iztail.
That little girl could not have orchestrated this alone.
Forged documents sophisticated enough to pass scrutiny meant considerable expertise. For such a suspicious child to approach him—naturally he harbored concerns about potential threats to Bancadium.
“What are the odds a vagrant would have connections to someone of that caliber?”
“……None, sir.”
“Exactly. None.”
Which meant discerning her true identity was essential.
“Contact Veronica. Tell her to keep the brat under close watch.”
It was convenient she’d been assigned to this wing.
All the better.
“Understood, sir.”
Sys bowed at the order.
Rodrigo crossed his long legs and recalled the little brat from this morning.
She harbored resentment toward the Emperor.
She trailed after him.
And she lied with such shameless audacity about the forged documents.
‘How exasperating.’
Rodrigo turned his gaze toward the window, arms crossed. He could see the child not far off. Pitter-patter-pitter-patter. Her short little legs moved so earnestly.
At first, I’d thought her merely a tiresome brat.
But she’d struck something irritating in him—quite grating, in fact.
So I’d look into her.
Find out exactly who this brat was.
……All without realizing this was the little schemer’s design.
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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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