Let the Whales Fight, This Shrimp is Leaving! - Chapter 23

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

Chapter 23
If only this pin would pierce Joaquin Perez’s heart as well and cut off his breath.
“I would thank you even if you just died quietly, so please go ahead and drop dead.”
I muttered to myself, spitting the words out as I sat down at my desk.
I noticed a few unopened letters piled neatly in the corner, untouched until now.
‘Should I handle these first?’
One was a courtesy greeting from a noble family, while another contained a report on a task I had ordered.
After confirming that things were progressing smoothly, I opened the letter properly and slipped it into the bundled documents.
It was a file reserved exclusively for records and correspondence related to that specific matter.
Finally, only one letter remained.
My brow furrowed at the familiar, pungent scent of perfume and the cobalt-blue seal.
“Oh, goodness. Look at this.”
The bastard always somehow knows when he’s being talked about.
“Disgusting.”
Since there was no one else in the office anyway, I let out a clicked tongue without holding back.
Unwilling to waste even the effort of using a letter opener, I simply tore the envelope open and pulled out the contents.
—To Giselle, my jewel who must be shining brilliantly today as well.
“……Madman.”
Why doesn’t a demon just drag a guy like this away?
‘Should I ask?’
I pondered for a moment, thinking of Beval, but quickly dismissed the thought.
I was terrified he might make things even more troublesome under the guise of granting my wish.
—You always live such a busy life. To think you haven’t replied even once to the letters I send. I think I am starting to feel a bit lonely.
“What a joke.”
If you want to whine about being lonely, you should at least show the decency to clean up the women rolling around in your bed first.
My eyes skimmed dismissively over the handwriting, which was utterly dripping with affectation.
Sure enough, the most important part was confined to the last few lines.
—I cannot suppress my longing for you. Please allow us to dine together. I also have something important to discuss. I will visit in two weeks.
I pray you remain as brilliant as ever until then. To my sorrowful lady.
“Ugh.”
Ultimately, I couldn’t hold it in and gagged.
When I hurriedly rang the bell, Giselle rushed in and checked on my condition.
I threw up the sour fluid rising in my throat into the basin she held out, then rinsed my mouth thoroughly with clean water.
Giselle quickly tossed the letter sent by Joaquin Perez into the fireplace and burned it.
“I have disposed of it, Lady Idir.”
“Wash your hands. Burn those gloves, too.”
They’re ruined. Unusable now.
I soothed my upset stomach with cold water while watching Giselle execute my orders with disciplined movements.
“Ah. That was truly repulsive.”
If God had unleashed the most horrific calamity upon this world to punish humanity, it would surely approach us in the form of Joaquin Perez.
He possessed a bellicose and cunning nature, compounded by vulgar eloquence.
Despite being pushed far down the line of succession to the throne, he was a nuisance who didn’t hesitate to behave like a tyrant and wielded his power freely.
A notorious rake who couldn’t keep a woman away from his side for even a moment.
The filthiest trash on the continent.
A bastard who didn’t even know his place.
It would actually be better if he were stupid to match his behavior, but because his mind was needlessly sharp, he was all the more infuriating.
The reason I loathed Joaquin Perez to this extent was the marriage proposals that arrived without fail.
Those damn marriage proposals.
That bastard didn’t care a single bit whether I became the successor to the Plene Grand Duchy or not.
He was merely a man whose sole intention was to secure a path to advance into Adorif through me and procure supplies.
The reality of having to endure him despite seeing right through his transparent mind was another layer of my accumulating frustration.
“Joaquin Perez will be visiting in two weeks, Giselle. We had better prepare to receive him.”
Even if I was entirely reluctant, he was a prince of a neighboring kingdom.
He could not be treated carelessly.
“Should we clear out the Annex, Lady Idir?”
“Yes. First, move Glay Holdin to the spire, and Deyan Boislav Nemanic……”
I trailed off as a sudden thought struck me.
‘Wait a minute.’
I turned my head to stare at the map occupying one wall.
Dozens of small pins were stuck into it, all representing the suspects who had stayed at the Grand Ducal Castle on ‘that day.’
The pins painted in red signified strong suspicion.
In other words, it meant the person or faction that would benefit the most from the Grand Duchess’s death.
“……Giselle.”
“Yes. Please speak.”
“The camouflage in the forest wasn’t discovered, right?”
I shifted my gaze to the north of the map.
A single red pin was also stuck into the capital, where the imperial family of the Adorif Empire resided.
“Yes. It was handled thoroughly.”
“You also confirmed the henchman sent by Joaquin Perez.”
“Yes.”
“And he retreated immediately.”
“Yes.”
Since it was information reported just yesterday, there was no room for doubt.
Two countries that were practically mortal enemies.
And the two hounds that jumped out first from those two countries had fought.
Joaquin Perez had intentionally tried to draw Deyan in.
The reason, naturally, must have been his intention to eliminate the enemy leader.
‘But to retreat so easily after missing him right under his nose? Without searching until the end?’
Joaquin Perez was the type of man who would retrieve even Deyan’s corpse.
Knowing that fact, I had deliberately manipulated the scene so he couldn’t be certain of Deyan’s survival.
Only then would Joaquin Perez move.
I expected that if Joaquin Perez had even the slightest inkling about Deyan’s immortality, he would continue the search.
However, it seemed strange that he withdrew so submissively, and this must have been his scheme.
‘He plans to search secretly while pretending to come see me.’
Joaquin Perez hadn’t given up the search for Deyan.
I didn’t know why he was suddenly moving stealthily, but Joaquin’s anxiety might be mixed into the undercurrent of the letter that unilaterally announced his visit.
Since he surely wouldn’t have anticipated the unbelievable coincidence of me finding him, he must have intended to widen the search area starting from the nearby villages.
“It makes no sense to use such a bold move and then suddenly lie low. Joaquin Perez has something more up his sleeve.”
“I will attach surveillance.”
“Send people as well. Go to the harbor that Deyan Boislav Nemanic confirmed and check it yourself.”
“Yes.”
Giselle bowed her head.
‘Joaquin Perez will try to stay at the Grand Ducal Castle until he finds Deyan Boislav Nemanic, right?’
A good plan suddenly came to mind.
Was it said that the enemy of my enemy is my friend?
The Cordi Kingdom and the Adorif Empire were both enemies to me.
Even so, if I absolutely had to place the two countries on a scale, which side would it be better to lean toward?
“Giselle. If only Joaquin Perez and Deyan Boislav Nemanic were left as the only two men in the world, who would you choose?”
“I would take my own life.”
Giselle chose death without a moment’s hesitation.
I let out a small laugh at her reaction and stuck one more pin into Count Nemanic.
It was a pin painted in gray.
“I’ll choose the latter. I hate Joaquin Perez just a little bit more.”
I smiled brightly and pressed the gray pin down even deeper.
‘In any case, Joaquin Perez has probably finished most of his preparations for war.’
Considering Joaquin Perez’s impatient temperament, there was no time to spare.
If he plotted a war and reached the stage just prior to execution, the issue requiring immediate attention was not revenge.
‘Let’s stop the war first.’
I just needed to stop him from advancing into Adorif right now.
In a very peculiar way.
‘A method that will definitely make the bastard shrink back without giving him any pretext.’
I should utilize Deyan.
Of course, I couldn’t be sure how that man would react.
Carrying an uncontrollable variable also posed a great risk to me.
But while control was difficult, it wasn’t impossible.
“Giselle.”
“Yes, Lady Idir.”
“Can you go check on what Deyan Boislav Nemanic is doing?”
“I will go immediately.”
“Yes. Oh, and!”
Giselle, who was just about to turn around, froze right in that posture.
I smiled slightly toward her and requested softly.
“Tell him that I will be visiting soon, too.”

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