The Lady Only Deals With the Real Ones - Chapter 225

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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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***

Tesagh had several principles.

One of them was that he must not carelessly use force against citizens, excluding his aide.

“….”

But right now, Tesagh was struggling with the urge to snap a certain citizen’s arm clean off.

‘Cedric Calamaine.’

Tesagh wasn’t the type to pay attention to other people’s gossip.

It was natural that he had no interest in singers or actors.

But even so, Tesagh was well aware of Cedric Calamaine’s name.

Because.

‘Isn’t he the bastard famous for his womanizing!’

Cedric was a man more famous for countless scandals than his acting skills!

And such a guy was requesting an appraisal from Elisha?

That alone was enough to raise his blood pressure, but what he was asking for was to appraise himself? From head to toe at that?

“Interesting.”

“Y-yes? Are you talking to me?”

“That’s right. I thought I’d had quite a variety of experiences, but this is my first time seeing someone with spare lives.”

“Aaaaah-!”

“Tesagh, calm down! At least put down my appraisal tool bag before fighting, that thing is incredibly expensive!”

“Appraiser, I’m sorry, but are the appraisal tools really the problem right now?!”

After a great commotion broke out.

Fortunately, Elisha, who had succeeded in protecting both the appraisal tool bag and the client’s life, gestured.

“Shall we sit?”

Tesagh sat with his usual expression. In other words, he looked extremely angry.

But even while receiving Tesagh’s gaze with his entire body, Cedric’s face remained remarkably smooth.

Whether his face was thick-skinned, whether he was good at acting, or whether he had noticed that Elisha held the initiative in the conversation.

Either way, he was a human that didn’t sit well with Tesagh. His brow furrowed even more.

“You said you want me to appraise yourself, but is there some kind of collectible auction event? Are you curious about how much one of my autographs would sell for, something like that?”

“No. That’s not it.”

“Then are you about to sign a new contract and want me to set your fee? But I don’t know that industry well, so objective judgment would be difficult.”

“Haha, that can’t be it. If that were the case, I wouldn’t have contacted you, Appraiser. My request is exactly as I said.”

“Then surely not.”

In contrast, Elisha, who had been speaking surprisingly calmly, frowned slightly at the last words.

“You’re asking me to put a price tag on the person called ‘Cedric Calamaine’?”

“Yes. Exactly right. I’ll speak directly, Appraiser.”

“….”

“If I retire and enter into a contract marriage with a noble princess, how much could I get?”

Cedric raised the corners of his mouth charmingly.

For someone saying he would put himself on a contract, it was a smile without a shadow of doubt.

“As you can see, I’m young and handsome.”

“Well, each person has their own beauty.”

“…Just to be sure, are you saying I’m ugly, Appraiser?”

“I tend to respect other people’s opinions and preferences.”

“…Ahem. Anyway, the point is I’m suitable as a trophy husband. Even more so because of my low status. Wouldn’t I be quite a competitive contract partner in the eyes of noble princesses?”

Cedric smiled with his eyes while running his fingers through his fine hair.

“So I’d like you to put this ‘Cedric Calamaine’ up in your shop, Appraiser. I’m confident you won’t lose money on it….”

“Pathetic.”

Tesagh cut him off.

Cedric, who had hesitated, answered sweetly as if nothing had happened.

“It might seem that way to Your Grace the Duke. A mere commoner daring to aim for marriage with nobility is absurd.”

“Everything about you is pathetic, including what you just said, but the fact that you chose the wrong person to talk to is especially pathetic.”

Tesagh knew how Elisha worked.

He also knew her professional ethics and her serious attitude toward appraisals.

But Cedric, being from Moro Duchy and having only encountered pawnshops that did illegal business, didn’t know this fact.

“Pawnshops originally handle all kinds of things. Buying expensive things cheap and selling them expensive. Whether it’s humans or objects, there’s no real difference for people like you, right?”

Just like himself when he first met Elisha.

Of course he was angry about the low-level request, but Tesagh was even angrier at the thought that Elisha, who took pride in her work, might be hurt by those worthless words.

“I can see that you don’t take your work seriously. Well, what can you expect from someone more famous for scandals than skill.”

Cedric’s eyes wavered for a moment.

“But the person in front of you is different. Elisha would never accept such a request….”

“I’m thinking of taking it.”

“Taking… what?”

Did he hear wrong.

Tesagh turned his head with a creaking sound.

“It’s not a common request, right? Honestly, it’s somewhat intriguing.”

“Elisha?”

It was when the flustered Tesagh was about to speak.

“So, Cedric. ‘Let’s check it out’.”

‘Let’s check it out’.

It was a code between Elisha and Tesagh alone.

That very code meaning there was something to investigate, so please wait a moment.

“I’ll give you a notebook, so try writing about yourself. Think of it as writing a resume.”

“A resume…?”

“Yes. In a way, you want to get a job, right? Somewhere that pays a lot. The format is free, so try writing it out, and I’ll read it and make a judgment.”

“You’re really straightforward, Appraiser! Good.”

Elisha gave a subtle wink to Tesagh, who was standing there dazed.

***

Much later.

“So you’ll accept my request, Appraiser?”

“It’s not confirmed yet. This is my first time with a case like this, so I need to think about how to set the commission rate. Well, I’ll decide quickly and contact you.”

“Haha, if that’s the reason, I can wait as long as needed.”

“Then that’s it, the tea was good. Tesagh?”

Holding Cedric’s ‘resume’ in one hand and leading the somewhat dazed Tesagh with the other, she left the reception room.

The manager who had prepared the tea was standing in the doorway and bowed deeply.

She was a woman with a strict but somewhat tired impression. She looked about the same age as Cedric.

“I apologize on behalf of Cedric for his rudeness, though it may be insufficient. I’m truly sorry.”

“It’s fine. It’s not something you need to apologize for. By the way, you call Cedric by his name quite casually?”

Rustle, I opened the notebook with the resume and found a name.

“You’re ‘Ide’. You’re from the same hometown as Cedric? A friend who’s been his manager since his first debut stage.”

“Yes, that’s right. But how did you… did Cedric talk about me?”

“No, he didn’t talk about you. But.”

Thud.

I closed the notebook and smiled broadly.

“There are people in this world who show more through actions than words.”

“…Ah.”

“Well then, I’ll be going.”

As we came out of the manor, dawn was already breaking.

In the cold air, Tesagh finally seemed to come to his senses. After opening and closing his mouth for a while, he finally asked.

“Elisha, are you really thinking of accepting that guy’s appraisal request?”

I answered immediately.

“Oh, no way. You know our shop doesn’t have display cases big enough for people to fit in.”

Tesagh, who had been looking at me as if to say ‘That’s the problem?’, coughed at my next words.

“More importantly, Tesagh, did you know that guy was famous for being a playboy? I thought Cedric was some kind of criminal from the Moro Duchy when you said you’d come along.”

“….”

“You were worried Cedric might hit on me, weren’t you?”

“Well, yes. Since he actually did hit on you, I don’t think my concern was unfounded.”

I shook my head with a smile.

“Hit on me? No, he wasn’t.”

“Asking you to appraise him from head to toe? Hah, Elisha….”

“No, I mean he wasn’t hitting on me. He said that for Ide to hear outside the door.”

Tesagh, who had been grabbing the back of his neck and about to collapse, stopped short.

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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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