The Lady Only Deals With the Real Ones - Chapter 144

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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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*

‘Interesting.’

Crescens thought while resting his chin on his hand.

‘I didn’t expect the Duke to come out like this.’

Of course, it could be a judgment made after careful calculation.

The Duke is quite cautious and meticulous, unlike his war-mad appearance.

‘He must have thought I might leak information to the Imperial family.’

So he might be trying to gain the upper hand by sharing information first, as if doing a favor.

However.

‘There seems to be another reason too, doesn’t there?’

Crescens gazed at Elisha from under his hood while listening to the conversation with his ears.

“I understand that the mage called ‘Eivor’ stole the Duchy’s sacred relic.”

Ailren, who had been reading the documents the Duke had prepared in advance, asked.

“But what makes you so certain that the same person also stole the Empire’s sacred relic? And how did you know about the Ruby Tablet’s existence in the first place?”

“I don’t think I need to answer the second question. You’re not really curious about the method, are you?”

There are countless ways to know the treasure list of the treasury.

Since it was a sacred relic given as a gift by the first Pope as a symbol of unity, it wasn’t strange that the Duke knew of the Ruby Tablet’s existence.

“The first question is… right. Wasn’t the initial theft on the day of the Founding Festival?”

“How did you…”

“Because I sensed it. The culprit’s aura.”

The Duke briefly explained about the tracking device.

A magical tool that tracks Rugenote’s aura had glowed on the day of the Founding Festival.

Listening to the story, Crescens chuckled quietly.

‘Hmm, there’s quite a distance from the treasury to the courtyard where the Founding Festival was held. No matter how good the magical tool’s performance, it would be difficult to detect from that distance.’

Moreover, if he had confirmed the signal, wouldn’t he have acted immediately?

So the method the Duke discovered was probably not the magical tool, but.

‘Information obtained from our Sister. Sister wouldn’t have said it directly, so he must have deduced it.’

He was hiding the source of information in case Elisha might be harmed.

“And I confirmed that a signal of the same intensity was detected at Count Delphia’s manor.”

“Then you’re saying that mage called Eivor was at the Count’s manor?”

“Yes. The discovered Ruby Tablet fragments will serve as evidence for my claim.”

Then, the Princess spoke up.

“But that alone isn’t enough to be certain, is it?”

“What do you mean, Princess?”

“The Ruby Tablet is a sacred relic. I mean there’s a possibility that the sacred power interfered with the Duke’s magical tool, causing an error. Isn’t that right, Cardinal?”

It was a reasonable point.

Crescens wrote words indifferently.

[The Duchy’s magical engineering level is high, but as Sister Katarina said, there is a possibility of interference.]

After confirming Crescens’s writing, the Princess said emphatically.

“Of course, if it becomes clear that it’s the work of the same culprit, the Empire will also cooperate wholeheartedly. But, so far.”

To summarize the Princess’s words.

“I think it’s just circumstantial evidence and the Duke’s word.”

If you have evidence, bring out more, something like that.

It was a firm and defensive attitude.

However, it wasn’t a good posture for negotiation.

“The Princess still seems to find me suspicious, but setting aside the fact that I have nothing to gain by fabricating such a story.”

As the Duke was answering now.

“Is there anything that can be used as physical evidence in a case involving a mage? Why don’t you just tell me to bring the culprit too.”

“That’s…!”

“You seem to be misunderstanding something. Right now, I’m not being interrogated, I’m extending my hand.”

The Duke continued speaking impassively.

“Don’t mistake this for a situation where only the Princess can choose whether to take my hand or not. I can also withdraw my hand.”

It was when the atmosphere froze in an instant.

“Excuse me.”

Elisha’s clear voice was heard.

“I’m being presumptuous, but I’d like to ask if we could start by appraising the Ruby Tablet from Count Delphia’s manor.”

Elisha’s tone was careful but not intimidated and straightforward.

“Your Grace the Duke is worried about losing clues by delaying time, and Your Highness the Princess is concerned about wasting investigative resources if it’s not the same culprit, right?”

The two people who heard Elisha’s summary seemed to realize immediately.

“But if that Ruby Tablet turns out to be fake, then all the assumptions we’ve made so far become meaningless.”

That the Princess and Duke’s goals weren’t really that different.

“And once the appraisal results come out quickly, won’t that also determine the direction of Duie’s interrogation? What do you think?”

“…Right, you’re correct. Then could you take a look, Elisha?”

And that there would be time to cool their heads while Elisha was appraising.

Hearing the Princess agree, Crescens smiled weakly.

‘That’s a solution worthy of our Sister. Though it’s not the method I prefer…’

A moment later.

“Yes. It’s genuine.”

Elisha seemed to hesitate for a moment, then quickly finished the appraisal.

The Princess spoke with a somewhat composed voice.

“…Since there aren’t many clues in this situation, I seem to have become a bit oversensitive without realizing it.”

It was a roundabout apology.

“Right. I never expected you to accept it immediately.”

The Duke’s attitude in accepting that apology also became slightly more moderate.

“Rather, ‘since there aren’t many clues in this situation.'”

The Duke, who had been tapping the table thoughtfully, continued with an “Ah.”

“Now I understand. The reason you couldn’t readily believe my words about a mage being involved.”

It was when everyone’s gaze turned to him.

“There were no remaining spell traces, were there?”

I can see it without looking.

By now, exclamation marks would be floating above the Captain of the Royal Knights and the Princess’s heads.

‘Then what about our Sister?’

Crescens, who concentrated his mind, used sacred power to expand his vision.

It was a method to see outside without pulling back his hood.

Crescens, who was looking at Elisha, raised one eyebrow.

‘As expected.’

She wasn’t surprised.

She was just wearing a somewhat resolute expression.

*

After some questions and answers and meetings continued, cooperation was established.

The Cardinal left first. It was time to go to sleep or something.

However, there was something else that bothered Tesagh more than that.

‘Where did she go, Elisha.’

Elisha and Ailren had left together.

No matter how much the Princess had permitted it and they had left the vice-captain as an escort, it was behavior that he couldn’t understand at all.

‘What could the two of them possibly have to do together at the Imperial Palace, really.’

Thus, Tesagh was left alone with the Princess.

‘At first I thought the Princess might have arranged this meeting expecting some behind-the-scenes discussion, but that doesn’t seem to be the case.’

The Princess, who had readily asked Tesagh questions when Elisha was present, was now silently drinking her tea after she left.

Rather than being uncomfortable with his fierce appearance like other people usually were.

‘She’s not even trying to hide her wariness.’

It didn’t seem like she was being wary simply because he was a duke from another country.

If anything, it was a similar attitude to what he’d encountered with Crescens at the hospital.

“Is there something bothering you?”

So he asked.

He thought she might become more uncomfortable if he asked directly, but frankly that wasn’t Tesagh’s concern.

The reason he bothered to make what was uncharacteristically close to small talk was because she was Elisha’s friend.

“There is. Something bothering me.”

At her response, Tesagh narrowed his brow.

“What kind of relationship do you have with Elisha, Duke?”

Did I hear that correctly, Tesagh wondered.

It wasn’t a matter of content, but of timing.

Wasn’t this not the kind of question to ask in this situation?

“Is it a difficult relationship to answer about?”

“I don’t understand why you’re curious about that. Isn’t that something you could ask your friend directly?”

He didn’t particularly have anything to say about it either.

…Since they weren’t anything to each other at all.

As he gritted his teeth with a strangely hollow feeling, the Princess smiled faintly.

As if she had been waiting for those words.

“Ah, that’s right. Elisha and I… we’re each other’s only friend.”

The Princess’s green eyes gleamed in the moonlight.

Green.

“It means Eivor can disguise himself as anyone.”

Was the reason those words suddenly came to mind simply because Eivor also had green eyes like her?

Tesagh had shared most information about Eivor, but had withheld a few things.

One of them was that Eivor’s disguise magic was expert-level.

‘They might indiscriminately suspect people, or perhaps think it’s a ploy to cause confusion.’

He had planned to tell them after trust was built, or after an actual case occurred.

But this seemed to be…

It was when Tesagh was about to speak.

Slam, the door opened.

“Lina? I heard you were secretly meeting with the Duke of Moro…”

The one who burst into the meeting room was Regent King Crodil.

Judging by his flushed complexion, he seemed to be barely containing his anger.

Then when his eyes met Tesagh’s, he flinched and put on an artificial smile.

“Ah, Duke, you’re still here. What brings you here? Without prior notice.”

His tone suggested that the Princess had stolen away something that should naturally have been his responsibility.

The Princess spoke evenly.

“A meeting? I simply invited him for tea since he was in the area.”

“Even so, you should have contacted me about such matters, what can you accomplish on your own!”

Tesagh observed the Princess’s reaction and came to a conclusion.

“Haha, though I’m inadequate, I’ll escort you to my palace…”

“Princess.”

That there was no need for him to stay any longer.

Tesagh, who had cut off Crodil’s words, asked in an indifferent tone.

“Is there any reason I should be conversing with Etewirn rather than Presrife?”

The Regent King’s face turned livid.

The Princess, who had been watching him, shook her head.

“No. Why would there be such a need.”

“I thought so. Then I’ll take my leave.”

Tesagh turned and left without even looking at the gaping Regent King.

‘Still, a princess is a princess, I suppose.’

Tesagh frowned as he recalled how boldly she had faced her uncle, more than he’d expected.

‘But somehow it bothers me.’

What bothered him wasn’t just her reaction from earlier.

What was the reason for calling Elisha, whom she treasured so much as her ‘only friend,’ to this uncomfortable situation?

If Elisha’s testimony was needed, couldn’t it have been handled in writing later?

Yet the Princess had specifically called Elisha. As if she needed to check on her condition immediately.

‘As if seeing her face in person was… the purpose, without thinking of the consequences.’

Tesagh was lost in thought as he was about to leave the palace.

When he turned around at the sound of hurried footsteps.

“Your Grace the Duke!”

Elisha was running toward him.

Tesagh, who had unconsciously smiled at the sight, doubted his ears for the second time today at her whispered words.

“Do you have cigarettes?”

…This time he must have definitely heard wrong.

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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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