The Lady Only Deals With the Real Ones - Chapter 13

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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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“…What?”

“Why? If it’s perfectly fine tea, there shouldn’t be any problem, right? So you drink it. Right now!”

Elisha’s pupils trembled as if dancing.

‘I knew there was definitely something in that tea!’

Hugo gripped his sword with his leather-gloved hand and spoke menacingly.

“Well, you can drink tea with just one hand anyway.”

It was a terrifying threat to cut off her hand.

‘Of course, I don’t actually intend to cut it off.’

There wasn’t any grand reason – Hugo just had a weak stomach.

He was getting motion sick even from the air freshener smell in the pawnshop.

‘But that girl has no way of knowing that. Well, she probably put sleeping pills in it? Planning to sneak away while I’m asleep.’

If it was sleeping pills, it would actually make things easier. He could just grab the sleeping Elisha’s arm and force her to sign.

“…Fine. I’ll drink it.”

Hugo watched with amusement as Elisha finally drank the tea.

Tears welled up in her large eyes after she finished drinking.

“Last time…”

Was she going to beg for forgiveness now?

Hugo was about to sneer when.

“I got scolded terribly for entertaining a customer on the street, so this time I prepared tea…”

Hm?

Hugo doubted his own ears.

“What did you say?”

“‘Didn’t I teach you how to properly entertain customers! I told you to always have a teacup ready so you can splash it in their face whenever things go wrong!’ That’s what he said.”

The strange educational policy wasn’t what mattered.

Who had said it was what mattered.

“You got scolded? By whom?”

“I’m definitely going to get scolded again today. Because I’m too soft-hearted, instead of splashing it on the Count, I drank it all up.”

“Un, Uncle knows about what happened that day? I thought he was sick? I thought he was lying down? No, more than that, what do you mean ‘get scolded again today’?”

‘Don’t tell me Uncle is here?’

Just as Hugo frantically looked around.

Thud—

A loud sound echoed from upstairs. Hugo jumped in place.

“Wh, what!”

Another thudding sound rang out.

What was really strange was that Elisha remained calm. As if she hadn’t heard anything at all.

“What’s wrong, Count?”

Hugo’s face turned pale.

He knew the identity of this earth-shaking loud noise.

When Michele was a duke and Hugo was a child.

Curious about the story that new weapons had arrived, Hugo headed to the duke’s training ground.

Hearing banging sounds from far away, Hugo wondered if they had brought in some kind of cannon, but froze the moment he opened the door.

“Who goes there!”

Michele was wielding an enormously large mace, swinging it at armored knights.

Bang. Bang.

The moment the knights were hit by the mace, they crumpled and flew like pieces of paper.

Hugo was so terrified by Michele, who turned to look at him with gleaming eyes, that he eventually fainted.

Only after waking up did he learn that what he thought were knights were actually practice mannequins, but the intense memory of that day never faded.

‘But that sound…!’

Wasn’t it coming from right above his head!

“Is, is Uncle testing weapons?”

“Oh. So our Grandfather does that kind of thing too?”

Elisha rested her chin on her hand. Her violet eyes were strangely cold.

“If you have ears, you should know! This is the sound of a mace hitting something!”

“Aha, so that’s why you’re afraid of Grandfather? I knew you were scared but didn’t know why. Now I understand, that’s good information.”

“What are you saying…!”

Just as the panic-stricken Hugo shot up from his seat.

“Who goes there!”

Michele’s shout struck his ears.

His legs gave out at the voice that was exactly like the one in his memory.

Hugo, who had collapsed, spoke urgently.

“Qu, quickly answer him.”

“Hmm? Why, what did he say?”

Hugo became more anxious at Elisha’s attitude of pretending not to know despite hearing it together.

“He, he’s asking who’s there! Quickly tell him it’s nothing, okay?”

“But there is something happening, the Count came. Besides, didn’t the Count tell me earlier to stop lying…?”

Whether she was naive or brilliantly acting naive, Elisha tilted her head.

But he had no choice. Michele seemed ready to come charging down any moment, and Elisha in front of him was his only hope.

“Please, I’m begging you. He would at least listen to his granddaughter’s words, right? Please?”

Hugo pleaded.

“There are such things as white lies in this world! Yes, just like what you said in the mountains. I won’t question you about the past anymore…!”

“So.”

Elisha summarized Hugo’s rambling words in one go.

“Let’s call it even?”

“Yes! That’s it!”

“So you want me to tell Grandfather?”

Hugo nodded desperately with an earnest face.

“Fine, Count Hugo Rionet. You proposed it first and delegated the authority to me. Right?”

“I get it already! Why make it so complicated when you’re just saying you’ll cover for me with Uncle! So please, somehow!”

Then Elisha clicked the pen tucked in her apron. As if she had been waiting for those words.

Hugo was trembling without even thinking to guess the meaning of her words.

Watching him, Elisha opened her mouth indifferently.

“It’s okay, Grandfather. Nothing’s happening on the 1st floor.”

It was a very soulless tone, but at those words, the upstairs became quiet.

Just as Hugo was about to sigh in relief, Elisha came and sat in front of him.

“Are you okay?”

“Do I look okay?!”

“Grandfather has been plotting something anyway. I tried to dissuade him somehow, but it’s fortunate you didn’t run into him today.”

It was a worried expression, but in reality it was a warning that came without giving him time to breathe.

Imagining a mace flying right at his nose, he asked stammering.

“You st, stopped him?”

“I don’t really know the full circumstances, so I just do as Grandfather tells me. But the Count doesn’t seem like a particularly bad person.”

“Uh…?”

“After all, you’re the only relative who came to visit him when he was sick. Well, you gave me spending money too.”

His dazed and frozen mind started working.

So, all this trouble was…

‘Something Uncle ordered?’

“Though you have a pathetic generosity worse than an ear pick, giving only silver coins while keeping all the gold coins… and the habit of shouting first and asking questions later, plus the pretense of carrying a sword you can’t even use…”

After those words, nothing really registered in his ears.

‘So I was deceived by Uncle? Not by this girl? She really is just a stupid kid who knows nothing?’

This was a matter of pride.

If he hadn’t been fooled by some mountain girl he’d been looking down on all along, but this was all Uncle’s plan?

Then he wasn’t an idiot for being deceived. Uncle was just smart!

“You try to write fraudulent contracts yourself but then accuse others of being scammers, with that strange mindset of ‘when I do it, it’s romance, when others do it, it’s adultery,’ but anyway…”

Hugo looked again at Elisha, who was muttering something.

‘Right, there’s no way this girl is that clever.’

So that innocent, clueless face was real after all?

“But the fact that Grandfather will come looking for you soon doesn’t change…”

“What?! He knows I’m staying at the 2nd Street Hotel?”

“Oh, he knows more than enough now.”

Elisha slyly covered her mouth and watched his reaction.

“He was so angry, saying ‘Unless The Forest of Cologne is returned, I will never forgive that Hugo bastard!'”

“…What? Did you say The Forest of Cologne?”

The Forest of Cologne. That was just some insignificant painting.

“Yes.”

“Just bring that back and it’s settled? Just that?”

“Yes. Grandfather doesn’t want to be angry either. If just that comes back, I could put in a good word for you.”

Hugo pulled over the Property Transfer Agreement he had brought out on the table to make Elisha sign.

It felt somewhat thick for some reason, but he didn’t care.

After scribbling with his pen, Hugo wrote ‘The Forest of Cologne’ and his name in large letters and signed with a flourish.

“There! Tell Uncle that I’ll send The Forest of Cologne right away!”

Hugo was about to say a few more words to Elisha.

Since he had shown such an unseemly side of himself today.

Just as he was about to speak, he saw Elisha’s eyes roll upward.

What? Before he could even think, once again.

Bang!

At the sound from upstairs, he fled in panic.

“I-I must be going!”

Hugo’s aide jumped up, then sat down, then whispered, then watched his superior who had suddenly bolted out in bewilderment.

“Count?”

After bringing even a sword, where had all that spirit gone?

“Aaaaah!”

He seriously wondered what Hugo had eaten wrong as he ran away.

‘Why is he acting like that? Like he heard thunder or something.’

The pawnshop was quiet though.

***

After watching the aide peer around in confusion before moving away.

I lowered the hand that had been covering my mouth.

“I even got to see Hugo begging.”

The laughter I’d been barely holding back leaked out.

Hah, this is what living is all about.

“Emma is the best.”

Emma was a mage from Ashen Street.

The security magic I had requested from her was incredibly effective.

“Oh, about the last magic among what you commissioned. You know that can only be used once, right? I have no idea where you plan to use it though.”

The magic I had commissioned was none other than ‘worst memory.’

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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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