The Lady Only Deals With the Real Ones - Chapter 163

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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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“I apologize, but since I’ve already been rejected, going there once more would be meaningless…”

“It has meaning. ‘Expensive accessories’ and ‘return visit’ are the key points. And one more thing.”

I nodded and added.

“Also casually mutter something like ‘The entry conditions are as strict as I heard.’ This time it will work.”

The knight put on a watch and a jeweled tie pin before heading back to the boutique.

Unlike the knight who walked away looking puzzled, Tesagh and Ailren seemed to have caught on to my intention.

“They filter entry not only by password, but also by clothing to determine class.”

“So they only accept customers who seem profitable.”

The outfit the knight wore was utterly ordinary casual clothing.

It was probably a choice born from his experience with missions requiring inconspicuous infiltration.

But this time was different.

“Are you perhaps giving this as a gift? Then I’ll wrap it beautifully as a service. No extra charge.”

“Ah. No need, I don’t need that. I’ll be using it myself.”

All the customers who visited the pawnshop chose flashy and eye-catching items.

If that was the entry condition, then ordinary clothing would actually stand out.

It was as I thought.

「Entry successful.」

My joy at my plan working was short-lived.

The knight’s voice coming through the magical device on the table was trembling.

「Ugh, what is this smell? …The scale is bigger than expected, I need backup!」

We looked at each other and immediately executed the operation we had planned in advance.

Several groups of knights entered at intervals.

One group pretending to buy clothes at the boutique.

One group acting like drunk customers who had only heard there was a gambling den but didn’t know the specific password or entry method.

One group acting as bodyguards, subtly probing when their master might come out.

While they were creating distractions, the elite personnel Ailren had pre-selected successfully gained entry.

And then next was.

“Well, I’ll be going now.”

Tesagh and I.

We were wearing magical disguise devices.

“Are you really sure about this?”

Ailren, whose face was too famous for magical devices to be of much use, wasn’t suitable for undercover investigation.

In fact, he was someone who should be commanding from headquarters while monitoring the situation, so infiltration wasn’t his role to begin with.

However, Ailren, who knew this fact better than anyone, clearly wanted to go along.

More precisely.

“Please, I beg you to reconsider, Lady Elisha.”

He seemed unwilling to let me go.

Ailren’s gaze briefly turned to Tesagh, then settled on me again.

His words, delivered with eyes that were unfathomably deep, sounded exactly like a plea.

However, unable to grant his request, I shook my head slightly.

“Duke is going too, and other knights have already entered. I’ll be careful and come back.”

“But…”

“That’s enough.”

Tesagh cut off Ailren’s words while putting on leather gloves.

“Now that preparations are complete, trying to dissuade her at this point will only make her uncomfortable.”

“I thought Duke would share my opinion since you ‘watched’ the series of incidents Lady Elisha experienced.”

Sharp words came back in response.

Ailren, emphasizing the word ‘watched,’ was essentially saying he found Tesagh unreliable.

The atmosphere quickly turned tense, but the words that came from Tesagh’s mouth as he swept back his hair were somewhat different.

“If I had only seen the incidents, perhaps. But I also watched how Elisha handled herself within those incidents.”

Ailren hesitated.

“I think there must be a reason why Elisha, who initially agreed to your and my persuasion, suddenly changed her mind.”

“…”

“I’ll hear your apology later. Let’s go.”

Tesagh walked ahead.

Though Ailren’s expression as he stood there as if bound, watching me, was concerning, there was no time.

I gave him a slight nod and followed Tesagh.

When I looked up at him after he stopped and waited for me as usual, his expression had darkened.

“Thank you for taking my side. I’m sorry you had to hear unpleasant words…”

“It wasn’t even something you said, so why worry about it. …What I want to hear about isn’t that guy.”

“You’re curious about why I changed my mind?”

“Yes. …Is it related to your ability, the reason you told only me?”

Strictly speaking, it was a reason unrelated to that.

Because.

‘When Chloe was rifling through my memories, I definitely saw it.’

I saw the newspaper articles I had read in my previous life.

Articles that seemed unrelated to Rionet, which I had read once and then erased from my mind, vividly appeared before my eyes.

And among them were articles highlighted in red…

[…Mysterious fire during party at Count Hestian’s mansion in the Empire, entire family dead…]

[…”No evidence to judge as arson, regret for tragic disaster” Regent King issues statement of condolence…]

News that all members of House Count Hestian had died.

And a month later.

[…”Hestian family tragedy actually suicide from fear of punishment” Revealed to have been den of corruption…]

[…Count’s illegally accumulated wealth to be entirely transferred to national treasury…]

There was an article about House Count Hestian’s wealth falling into the Regent King’s hands.

And wearing a mask that looked very ‘legal and fair’ at that!

It was a method I’d seen many times before.

‘This must be Crodil and Rosaline’s work from my previous life. Once they decided he had no more use, they pinned all the crimes on him and cut off the tail!’

I wasn’t particularly sympathizing with Count Hestian.

As a member of Crodil and Rosaline’s tea time, he must have done plenty of evil deeds.

He certainly deserved punishment.

But at least not in this way.

‘In my previous life, there would have been no Ailren to put on the brakes, so they probably concealed evidence among themselves and closed the investigation.’

The mindset of just killing off anything bothersome was utterly revolting.

And Crodil’s mindset would be the same in this life too.

If we missed even the slightest evidence from the gambling den…

‘He’ll try to cover everything up and cut off the tail using this same method again.’

That was why I insisted on going along.

‘We can’t miss even a single piece of evidence. If we give him even the slightest opening, Crodil will use every trick to conceal the connections.’

But this wasn’t something I could explain to Tesagh.

I had told him about my abilities before, but I couldn’t tell him that I was living a second life.

So I decided to tell a small lie.

“Yes. Earlier when Chloe cast the memory magic on me…”

Tesagh flinched.

Why is he reacting like that?

I continued speaking for now.

“I was able to see my own memories too.”

“…You were watching too?”

“Yes, I could see a little bit. Anyway, the person who spoke to Countess Devin back then also had a gambler’s hands. So my suspicion grew stronger.”

Actually, there was another reason I couldn’t tell Tesagh.

‘…If I had been watching Eloise carefully instead of thinking about other things, I might have been able to prevent it.’

The fact that I had deliberately looked away kept weighing on my mind.

So if there was anything I could do to help save Eloise, I wanted to help as much as possible.

I asked Tesagh, who seemed to be deep in thought about something.

“What did Countess Devin’s family say?”

“They contacted the hotel where the young countess was staying, but she didn’t check in today. For some reason, the Devin Marquis family doesn’t seem to think it’s serious…”

“…That sounds like a serious matter to me.”

“I think so too.”

Tesagh gestured with his eyes.

“Let’s enter first and then look for the young countess. So, what’s your plan this time? …Should we pretend to be lovers again?”

“Hmm, loving couples probably wouldn’t come to a gambling den. My outfit is also a bit different. So this time.”

After taking a deep breath, I looked at my reflection in the boutique door.

Me wearing pants and a jacket, with my hair twisted up and hidden, topped with a newsboy cap, looking like a silver-eyed boy.

Combined with Tesagh, who was covered in scars and tattoos, had his shirt unbuttoned, and was suspiciously adorned with gold accessories?

‘That’s the only option.’

A moment later.

“Th-this way, please allow me to guide you.”

I had only mentioned the word “emerald,” but the employee immediately stiffened with a forced smile and led us to a corner.

I chattered away, deliberately suppressing my voice so the employee could hear everything.

“Big brother, oh no, you told me not to call you big brother when we’re outside.”

“…”

“Boss, could I try playing a game too? I’m always just counting money, so today I’d like to try counting some chips!”

That’s right.

The so-called loan shark and thug syndicate.

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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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