The Male Lead Is Targeting Me, Not My Younger Sister - Chapter 52

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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The Male Lead Has His Eye on Me, Not My Sister — Episode 52
Carl spoke with an easy, carefree tone.
“My, how surprising. However did you manage to figure it out?”
Lydia shrugged her shoulders.
“Just a matter of genre cliche, I suppose.”
“Genre…… what?”
“Such things exist.”
The privilege of a transmigrator.
“Anyway, you’re finished playing games now, aren’t you? We don’t have time, so sit down quickly. I have something of an impatient disposition.”
Carl and the masked man exchanged a glance.
“What are you doing? Going to leave a person this embarrassed?”
Only then did the two of them exchange places.
At last, Lydia could face the “real” master.
“Ahem, well. I never expected to be found out so quickly.”
Carl spoke with an awkward smile.
“In any case, allow me to introduce myself properly. I am Carl, master of Black Raven.”
He then extended his right hand, offering a handshake.
‘Hmm…….’
Lydia paused, studying that hand for a moment.
“Is something the matter?”
“No, well, nothing. It’s fine.”
The two exchanged a handshake.
Carl smiled brightly and gestured behind himself.
“This is my secretary, Zet. Better late than never for an introduction.”
“Goodness.”
Only then did the man standing behind remove his mask.
“My apologies. It was unavoidable due to the master’s orders. I beg your forgiveness.”
Good. At least this one knows how to apologize.
“It’s fine. Serving under the wrong superior teaches one to endure.”
Carl burst into hearty laughter at that remark.
“Ah yes, you’re no ordinary person, that’s for certain.”
“Ordinary?”
Does he know me?
“Such things happen.”
Carl winked.
‘Ugh.’
Lydia grimaced.
“Well…… in any case, there’s no need for me to introduce myself, is there? It seems you already know me quite well.”
“Of course. That’s my job.”
Carl snapped his fingers.
“For instance, I know exactly how many maids are employed in the baron’s household.”
“How many?”
“Five?”
“Wrong.”
“Oh dear.”
Carl added shamelessly.
“Truth be told, I haven’t a clue. My apologies.”
‘Can I even trust this fool?’
Lydia narrowed her eyes and fixed him with a glare.
‘Sigh, if only it weren’t the original work.’
As things stood, all I could hope for was that his actual skill was genuine!
“Enough with the wordplay. Let’s get down to business.”
Lydia sighed and set something down on the table.
Thud.
“What’s this?”
“An advance.”
Carl reached toward the heavy pouch.
“A million gold worth of Mana Stones in total.”
Carl hesitated.
“…… This is rather surprising.”
He was still smiling, but it was easy to see that his guard had gone up considerably.
‘But he won’t be able to refuse, not really.’
The Mana Stone was connected to Carl’s ability as well.
For him, it was literally a thing of life and death.
There was a reason Lydia had been able to sell it to him at such a premium.
“You need it, don’t you? Take it.”
“What makes you so certain that I need it?”
“You’ve been buying my stuff all this time. At inflated prices.”
Carl seemed to deliberate for a moment, then drew his pocket toward himself.
It was acceptance.
“It’s been a while since I’ve had such an amusing customer.”
Lydia studied him with a skeptical eye.
“That’s a compliment?”
“Perhaps.”
Carl, having recovered his composure, spoke with confidence.
“Well then, let’s hear the commission.”
He smiled faintly.
“What information are you looking for?”
Lydia brought out the words she had prepared.
“Let’s start small. I want to buy some information.”
“Start?”
“You weren’t planning to settle for one deal after pocketing a million gold, were you?”
“I didn’t receive payment in gold, but…”
“Should I convert it to gold value? The price would only go up then.”
Carl’s mouth snapped shut.
“…What information do you want?”
“I want to know about the Castel Family.”
“Ah.”
Zet, standing behind her, began taking notes diligently.
“What aspect specifically interests you?”
Lydia paused to gather her thoughts.
“The thing I’m most curious about is the Castel Family’s young lady.”
“Ah, you mean ‘that’ young lady.”
News of what happened at the tea party had already spread throughout the Capital like wildfire.
“But even I have difficulty accessing military secrets. And a million gold wouldn’t make the numbers work anyway.”
“I’m not asking you to steal investigation records. I’m more interested in her past conduct—before all that.”
The military probably wasn’t getting any reliable information from the Castel young lady anyway.
‘She’s already half-creaturified.’
At best, they’d manage a few words when her sanity briefly returned. Getting meaningful information from that would be difficult.
But what mattered more was…
“I want to know who approached the Castel young lady over the past six months.”
The Ampule that the Castel young lady had possessed.
Analysis had revealed it matched exactly with the one Willeta had carried.
‘It’s definitely the work of the same person.’
But why the Castel young lady had been selected as that chess piece remained unclear.
She didn’t even know who was behind it.
‘There are strong suspects, but…’
She couldn’t be certain yet.
So she would find the person who had delivered that object to her.
That was Lydia’s goal.
“Hmm. People who approached the Castel young lady, you say.”
Carl folded his arms and fell into thought.
“Everyone who approached her?”
“Yes, everyone.”
“That won’t be easy, but… understood. I’ll give it a try. Is there anything else you need?”
“Of course there is.”
Lydia hesitated before speaking.
“…Please investigate whether the Castel Family had any connection with my family in the past.”
She had thought hard about this question, truth be told.
‘Should I even know this?’
All evidence pointed to something having gone wrong in her parents’ generation.
Whatever it was, Lydia honestly wasn’t prepared to face it.
One misstep and she might confront her deceased parents’ failures.
But one cannot evade the truth forever.
“For instance, my late father—the previous Baron Preston—might have defrauded the Castel Family, or something of that nature.”
As a member of her house, Lydia bore the duty of facing those failures.
“I may speak out of turn, but isn’t your assessment of your father a touch harsh?”
“I love my father, but that’s separate from trusting him. I simply don’t.”
The family was hardly grand, but any man who had squandered a noble house in a single stroke couldn’t have been in his right mind.
“In his later years, Father caused many incidents. I’ve been worried whether those troubles kindled a grudge with the Castel Family.”
Carl shrugged.
“Then I’m entirely at your service. Whatever you desire, I shall provide.”
Good. That was good.
The die had been cast.
When the conversation wound down, Lydia rose from her seat without hesitation.
“That’s all for today. Truth be told, I have more to ask, but I’d like to see how you handle this first task before deciding on the rest.”
“Ah…… So I’m being tested?”
“Yes, well. Do your best.”
“Fear not. I shall deliver results that will thoroughly satisfy you.”
Carl winked playfully.
He was a handsome man of the likable sort, yet something about his expression felt like a mask.
Lydia studied that composed face for a moment, then let slip a remark.
“Good. Next time, let’s meet with our real faces, shall we?”
“Pardon?”
“I hope I can pass your test as well, Master.”
For the first time, bewilderment flickered across Carl’s features.
“Wait, what do you——”
“Goodbye.”
Lydia finished her farewell and swept from the room.
Carl watched her departing silhouette and let out a hollow laugh.
“Ha.”
How on earth had she known?
* * *
Carl Luston.
Master of the information guild Black Raven, and a Transcendent—one of the pillars of the empire.
“That’s just incredible.”
The man chuckled and snapped his fingers.
In that instant.
His entire appearance transformed as if by magic.
Blue-haired and radiant with beauty, he murmured to himself.
“Still…… quite fascinating.”
Indeed.
Carl had actually known about Lydia for some time now.
A great deal about her.
He had first discovered her at the Military Academy.
‘Precisely because of that bastard Ludwig.’
Back in his hot-blooded cadet days.
He had dogged that man relentlessly, desperate to surpass him.
And in doing so, he had found Lydia.
‘A woman whose movements kept suspiciously overlapping with his.’
It took him far too long to realize she was the reason for Ludwig’s presence.
He had tried approaching her to learn how to counter Ludwig—and had gotten his teeth knocked in for it. But that hardly mattered now.
The point was, Lydia Preston had approached him first!
“Hand me what you wrote down.”
Carl took the notebook that Zet had filled in.
“Castel, then…”
All the better.
Cowering and holding his breath all this time had been humiliating enough as it was.
“I’ll look into this myself.”
“Sir?!”
Zet recoiled in shock, but Carl merely flashed a grin.
At last, the moment for his counterattack had arrived.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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