The Lady Only Deals With the Real Ones - Chapter 38

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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 roughly rubbed my eyes.

‘Don’t cry. Where do I have time to cry?’

In my past life, I sometimes cried.

From sadness and frustration, or because I was worried about Grandfather.

But in this life, I know that crying won’t solve anything.

Besides….

‘Now that I think about it, in my past life, I betrayed Grandfather. …At least Grandfather must have thought so.’

What must Grandfather have felt when he opened his eyes to find himself at the ducal house he had left?

When Grandfather asked where his young granddaughter had gone, Hugo and Rosaline surely didn’t tell him the truth.

Uncle’s granddaughter? Oh, you mean that girl who ran away after we gave her a few coins?

It must have been something like that.

‘I won’t make that mistake again. So don’t cry. Don’t become weak.’

After wiping my eyes thoroughly, I turned and left.

‘Still, praying at the sanctuary helped calm my heart a bit.’

I nodded slightly to the robed priestess standing at the sanctuary entrance, and after hesitating, she returned the greeting.

On my way back to the pawnshop, I kept fidgeting with my necklace.

Today especially, I really missed Grandfather.

‘I’ll dream of Grandfather tonight.’

But the moment I trudged back to the pawnshop.

“Huh.”

The magical device was disabled.

The window lock was undone.

Seeing the pawnshop where the thief who had been lying around had cleanly disappeared, I grabbed the back of my neck.

‘Right, that’s what happened.’

That magical device was defective, damn it….

Tonight I’m going to dream about catching thieves.

***

Belcato Nursing Home.

The nurse in the single VVIP room located on the top floor of the magnificent building thought.

‘What on earth did this patient used to do?’

He’s clearly an old man, but he looks like he could fold and throw two or three young people like origami.

And what about those eyes? Even though I’ve done nothing wrong, somehow I want to apologize.

That’s not all? He apparently paid a year’s worth of fees all at once in cash.

As if that wasn’t enough, he demanded complete confidentiality.

Considering all this, the nurse’s conclusion was.

‘He’s a loan shark. And a high-level loan shark at that!’

The nurse trembled as she opened the room door.

“You’re here. Just leave it and go.”

Even his voice is scary.

‘His voice projection is no joke….’

The nurse barely managed to place the black medicine and newspaper on the console before backing away.

She desperately wanted to just leave it and go as he said, but as a nurse, she had to fulfill her duties.

Such is the fate of a salaried worker.

“S-sorry, but I need to confirm you’ve taken all your medicine before I can leave….”

“Ah, right. That’s how it was. My memory isn’t what it used to be.”

When he laughed with that voice that was no joke, the room resonated. It was more like a tiger’s roar than laughter.

The scary loan shark patient who was even frightening when laughing did indeed have memory problems as he said.

But his prognosis was quite good. Not only was the disease not progressing, but he actually seemed to be getting better on the surface.

Could it be thanks to that black medicine that even he, a nurse, had never seen before?

‘Memory-related diseases usually get worse, not better – improvement is really rare.’

They say a healthy mind dwells in a healthy body.

Maybe this patient is actually overcoming it through sheer willpower rather than medicine…?

The nurse heard gulping sounds while thinking.

Finally, he could leave! Just as he looked up.

He saw an empty cup. But that wasn’t what mattered.

“Oh….”

The way the patient turned newspaper pages was peculiar.

Using only his thumb and index finger to flip through quickly, it was like….

“Ah. Habits are really scary. Maybe it’s from counting money outside.”

‘He really is a loan shark!’

“I-I’ve confirmed you’ve taken everything! I’ll be going now!”

The nurse rushed out with a clatter and the door closed.

Michele, who had been watching the closed door for a while, put down the newspaper.

He was clearly mistaken for a loan shark, but Michele didn’t bother to correct it.

To hide his identity? No.

Because then the frightened nurse wouldn’t see him switching the water glass with the glass containing black medicine.

“….”

His face was reflected in the black medicine.

Michele looked for traces of his granddaughter in that face.

“Give me Grandfather’s seal.”

Those light purple eyes that smiled innocently and brightly yet had shadows somewhere.

“I thought there wasn’t a single resemblance.”

At least those eyes resembled his.

He had hoped those eyes wouldn’t resemble his.

Michele sighed briefly and opened the window. Rain poured in through the barely opened window.

“…I’ll do well. So don’t worry about anything and just rest, okay?”

Elisha’s face, muttering that she would definitely protect the pawnshop, came to mind faintly.

Michele smiled bitterly and poured the black medicine out the window.

Thud―

Michele, who had set down the empty cup, estimated the date.

“Come to think of it….”

He cannot leave this place.

“We suspect it’s a disease called Mendax.”

Because it’s not a disease that can be cured.

So, he could only hope that Elisha would make good use of what she learned from him.

Michele had taught Elisha various things.

Appraisal methods, bookkeeping, how to count money quickly, how to make advantageous deals, and.

“By now Helena, Emma, and Crescenziano must have all visited the pawnshop.”

Even how to make people your allies.

But perhaps, he thought that might not have needed to be taught.

“How many people have you made yours?”

“I’ll protect it well.”

The words Elisha had spoken echoed in his ears.

The words buried in his memory slowly became clear.

“Yes. You must protect it well, Elisha.”

Looking at the rain, Michele spoke the words he couldn’t say back then.

“Yourself.”

That’s all I wish for.

***

The content about renewing permits was officially announced.

The people of Ashen Street already knew, but they were still troubled.

“Ashen Street gets priority application, so the deadline is exactly midnight tonight. It’s really ridiculous.”

Emma shuddered, going “Ugh.”

“Still, it’s fortunate we found out a few days early thanks to you, Elisha.”

“Do you have a guarantor, Emma?”

“Yeah. I’m a rare mage who keeps in touch with my family. My younger sister agreed to come. She lives really far away, so we almost couldn’t make it in time, you know?”

Emma, who had been complaining, brightened up.

“Then Michele will come after a long time too? Tell him to drop by when he comes.”

“…Ah, Grandfather is also far away right now and says he can’t make it in time.”

“Then what will you do?”

“So I decided to get help from someone else.”

“Oh, I see. I was hoping to see Michele’s face after so long.”

Emma shrugged and asked.

“By the way, what brings you here? You bought a bunch of magical devices last time. Did some debt collector or thief come by again?”

“Ugh. Don’t even mention it… More importantly, Emma, this one is defective.”

“Defective?! That’s impossible in Emma’s dictionary!”

When I glumly handed over the orb magical device, Emma gasped and took it.

Thread-like thin purple light shot out from her fingertips.

It was my first time actually seeing magic being used, so I was fascinated when Emma tilted her head.

“Hmm? There’s nothing wrong with this though?”

“Really? Huh, then why did that happen?”

I explained to Emma about the Ruffian knight incident and the thief being released.

Emma, who had been thinking deeply, picked up the magical device again.

This time, geometric patterns appeared at her fingertips.

“Hmm… Ah, I see. There was holy power interference.”

“Holy power?”

Both those guys seemed far from anything holy though?

‘Wait, could it be?’

“The Thief was carrying a holy relic. I did snatch it away in the middle, but could that have had an effect?”

“Hmm, but the energy I’m detecting is more direct. Rather than elegant and subtle like a holy relic, it feels like holy water was just dumped all over?”

“Then The Thief must have been hiding something like holy water spray! Ugh, no wonder he was wearing those fluttering robes.”

Next time he comes, I’ll strip him naked!

I listened to Emma’s words while having thoughts that would be trouble if anyone knew.

“Right. It seems closer to that. It’s a really thick feeling.”

Emma, who had been examining the magical device orb with her magic power while closing her eyes, frowned.

“But The Rude Knight… Huh, that’s strange.”

“What is?”

“He’s just a strange guy.”

“Right! His way of speaking was really peculiar. He extorted money so politely!”

Can you tell personality through magic power too?

I was thinking how amazing it was that such things were possible with magic.

“No, not that kind of strange… This guy, he’s carrying something he shouldn’t have?”

Huh? Something he shouldn’t have?

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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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