The Lady Only Deals With the Real Ones - Chapter 120

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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“This… is a magical tool?”

I asked hesitantly, and Luca answered gently.

“Yes. The Moro Duchy has advanced magical engineering. It doesn’t look like a magical tool, does it? That’s why it’s secretly popular among nobles and wealthy people.”

“Did you hear what this magical tool is used for?”

“Of course.”

Luca’s eyes curved slightly as he drank his tea.

“If you smell this cigarette smoke, you can only tell the truth?”

Luca’s voice reached my frozen ears.

“So they use it when making important contracts or big deals. To find out if someone is lying.”

“To determine if someone is lying… that’s what it’s used for.”

“Yes. Well, I’m not a smoker, and I don’t really have any use for something like this, so I’ll give it to you, Elisha. Just in case a customer comes looking for this kind of magical tool.”

Luca, who had greeted me saying he should go now, turned around and added.

“Still, be careful if someone comes to buy this, Elisha.”

The corners of his mouth curved up slightly.

“Just in case they might be a bad person who wants to pry into other people’s secrets.”

Luca left and the door closed.

Left behind, I pressed my forehead.

*

“Hm?”

Luca opened his eyes in the middle of the incense shop.

It seemed like he had dozed off at the counter, but why was he leaning against the display case in the shop?

Luca looked around in confusion and scratched the back of his neck.

‘I feel like I had some kind of dream…’

Did I slip and roll over?

Or did I unconsciously look for a comfortable place because I was tired?

Looking at the clock, about 30 minutes had passed since the time he remembered.

‘It’s already this late, I should hurry and get off work.’

It was when he was preparing to close.

He saw someone passing by outside the window.

The moment he recognized who it was, Luca’s cheeks turned red.

‘It’s Elisha!’

Luca had learned about her activities through newspaper articles.

Wanting to know more details, he bought this newspaper and that newspaper until they had piled up considerably.

Perhaps he actually wanted to collect the different photos of Elisha that appeared in each newspaper.

‘But somehow she looked upset… I wonder if something happened?’

Luca, who had become gloomy without realizing it, concluded that his timid self wouldn’t be able to ask directly anyway and became even gloomier.

As he turned around, he suddenly realized that the counter felt somehow empty.

“Huh? Where did the newspapers go?”

There had definitely been a stack of newspapers featuring Elisha next to the counter!

Panicked, Luca searched the shop, but not a single page of the bundle of newspapers could be found anywhere.

“What on earth is going on…?”

Luca looked dejected.

*

“Yes, then we’ll end the interview here.”

“…”

“Elisha? The interview and photo shoot are finished.”

Snapping back to attention, I bowed to the smiling reporter.

“Ah, yes. Thank you for your hard work, Reporter Estel.”

“Hard work? I’d love to do dozens more of such beneficial interviews! You’re the one who looks tired, Elisha. Are you alright? Shall I get you a cup of coffee?”

Estel, a reporter from Press Life Prism, was a sociable person.

I waved my hands dismissively.

“No, I’m fine.”

“Here, I’ll give you the typed manuscript, so could you read through it once? You explained technical terms about emotions, and I might have written something down incorrectly.”

“Ah, yes. I’ll do that.”

Sitting in a corner of the office, I flipped through the manuscript.

Fortunately, there were no incorrectly stated terms, but the content of the manuscript didn’t register well in my mind.

Actually, I wasn’t even sure what state of mind I was in during the interview.

‘Pull yourself together, Elisha.’

I squeezed my eyes shut and opened them when Estel knocked and offered me tea.

“You said coffee was fine, but at least have a cup of this. You must be thirsty.”

“…Ah, thank you.”

Coincidentally, what she handed me was peppermint tea.

It was natural that thoughts of the mint-scented cigarette came to mind.

I took out the cigarette I had kept in my pocket and looked down at it.

‘Come to think of it, you haven’t smoked since the first day you came, Alter.’

I had put up a [No Smoking Zone] sticker being mindful of him, but there had been no need to point it out since then.

Because Alter no longer smoked red cigarettes.

If that was the case, then really Alter was…

“What I’m looking for is stolen goods.”

‘He thought I was hiding Rugenote and interrogated me. Even using a magical tool like this.’

My heart felt heavy.

Even after drinking the cold peppermint tea in one gulp, my mood didn’t improve.

I tried to judge objectively.

‘Right, Alter said he misunderstood at first. It’s a bit shocking that he used a magical tool, but… it must have been because finding ‘Rugenote’ was such an important matter to Alter.’

I had many customers today and even did a long interview, so I was in a tired state.

After sleeping and when my head cleared, I could think about it again.

I could also ask Alter about the truth.

Letting out a small sigh, I stood up.

“Elisha!”

It was when I was about to leave.

Estel came running over.

“I’m grateful that you chose our newspaper, and I’m also very thankful for the ‘proposal’ you made separately. It’s not much of a repayment, but these are photos we took before – would you like to take them?”

Glancing at the envelope, I could see several photos taken at the pawnshop last time.

‘Grandfather would be happy if I sent these to him.’

“Thank you. Then I’ll see you next time, Reporter.”

“Yes, get home safely!”

I put the photos in my bag and trudged toward the pawnshop.

Since the newspaper office and pawnshop were close, I arrived before long.

I opened the drawer while still carrying my bag, intending to organize the photos first.

‘Ah, this is…’

What greeted me were the photos of Alter that Crescens had taken.

I had just put away the photos that showed only Alter, not Malcolm, without properly looking at them.

It was when moonlight shone down on those photos.

I froze in place.

“It’s a tool that erases the magical interference of magical artifacts.”

Alter’s appearance captured by the camera that erases the magic of magical artifacts was…

‘Red eyes.’

His eyes were red without a single trace of ash gray.

That wasn’t all.

‘No tattoos, no scars either.’

That means, could it be.

‘This is… Alter’s true appearance that he was hiding with magic?’

Blood-red eyes. Moro Duchy.

A high-ranking official worthy of being entrusted with the mission to retrieve Rugenote, or a noble who would possess interrogation cigarettes.

The moment all those clues came together, I got goosebumps.

No way, no way!

I frantically ran to the attic and searched through the《Press Life Prism》.

As I flipped through the newspaper that also carried foreign news since it was run by nobles who didn’t need to worry about the imperial family’s reactions, I covered my mouth.

In the brief article that was published.

[…The coronation ceremony of Duke Tesagh Alister Moro of the Moro Duchy…]

Tesagh Alister Moro.

Along with that name, Alter’s profile was photographed.

The photo was blurry since it was secretly taken during the private coronation ceremony.

But knowing his face, I could recognize him immediately.

Beep—

I was sitting there in a daze when I heard the telegraph ringing and slowly went down to the first floor.

What came out was an urgent telegram.

…This is to inform you from Belcato Nursing Home. Someone just came asking about the whereabouts of our VVIP patient…

‘…What?’

…Our nursing home responded that we have no patient by that name, but we thought you should know.

The description of the person who inquired was a man with dark brown hair and his notably upright posture was a distinguishing feature…

Thump.

I felt my heart sink.

That’s when it happened.

Thump. Thump.

Heavy sounds different from my heartbeat came in succession.

“Here, over here. Miss Elisha?”

Someone holding a camera was knocking on the door.

I swallowed my saliva and spoke.

“We’re closed for business, and if this is an interview request…”

Pop.

The flash went off.

“No, no. That’s not why I came.”

Pop.

The flash went off again.

I staggered. It wasn’t because the light was blinding.

I kept losing strength in my body.

‘Something’s wrong with that light!’

Pop. Pop. Pop.

I could see the white teeth of the man mercilessly setting off flashes.

“I came to take you away. Hey, this thing works great, doesn’t it? You can’t even fight back.”

Closing my eyes was useless.

More importantly, had I locked the door?

I was frantically trying to press the button when.

“Don’t lose your strength now, us.”

Pop.

“Ugh…!”

I collapsed just before reaching the button and watched my bag spill over.

What rolled out of the bag was a dagger.

I reached out my hand, trying to grab it somehow.

However.

“Let’s go quietly. Okay?”

Pop.

With only my fingertips barely touching the dagger, I fainted.

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