The Reason I Got Engaged to My Ex-Boyfriend - Chapter 34

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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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Episode 34

 

It was none other than Yudite.

 

“You’ve never been here before, have you? I’ve been seeing quite a lot of fresh sights lately.”

 

Yudite asked smugly with her arms crossed.

 

I looked at Yudite silently for a moment before speaking.

 

“If you want to pick a fight, at least do it with something that sounds plausible, Yudite.”

 

“….”

 

“Are you the only one with money? Are you the only noble?”

 

“…No, I literally just meant you’ve never been here before! I was just saying that because I suddenly ran into you here. Will you listen to what people have to say until the end?”

 

“You should get into the habit of saying important things first.”

 

Yudite, who had been left speechless and pouting, changed the subject.

 

“So why did you come all the way here with your employee? Leaving your fiancé behind.”

 

I was about to answer that I had one more person to meet, but hesitated.

 

There would be nothing good about letting it show that I was investigating murder cases.

 

Instead, I gave a different answer.

 

“My fiancé is a busy person. Chris happened to say he’d never been to a place like this either, so I brought him along.”

 

“Still, no matter what, a commoner….”

 

“Why? A noble practicing noblesse oblige by bringing a commoner to a high-end dessert cafe for their cultural life—how cultured of me.”

 

“What? There’s a cat?”

 

“Not a cat… Ugh, forget it, never mind.”

 

When will this girl ever understand what I’m saying properly?

 

I looked at Yudite with coldly annoyed eyes and waved her away dismissively.

 

Then Yudite glared at me with dissatisfied eyes and left.

 

“Huh?”

 

And coincidentally, just as Yudite disappeared, the guest I’d been waiting for appeared.

 

“Hey, Michael! …Hey! Over here!”

 

When Chris called out while even gesturing, his friend Michael, who had been looking around, quickly spotted us.

 

“…Good day to you.”

 

When the large man sat down, the table instantly became cramped.

 

I examined Michael with lukewarm eyes.

 

Even though they were both from hoodlum backgrounds, he was a man with a completely opposite feel from Chris.

 

If Chris was the smooth-talking, sneaky-looking con artist type, this one was mountain-sized with a bushy beard—more like a bandit, I’d say.

 

“You’re Chris’s friend? Michael, was it?”

 

“Yes? Ah, yes….”

 

Perhaps it was his first time meeting a noble directly, as Michael cautiously watched my reactions. He didn’t live up to his size.

 

I tapped the menu with the tip of my fan.

 

“Let’s order first.”

 

After each of us decided on our menu, I handed the menu to Chris.

 

Then Chris blinked and asked.

 

“Am I in charge of ordering?”

 

“Should I do it then?”

 

“….”

 

Chris quickly took the menu and went to place the order.

 

Before long, our ordered items came out one by one.

 

I waited until Michael had something to wet his throat before asking.

 

“About that proposal you received, I’d like to hear about the situation—is this something we need to discuss quietly among ourselves?”

 

When I gestured toward the tables divided by partitions, Michael shook his head.

 

“No, it’s not. Honestly, it’s not uncommon for people like me… I’ll lower my voice for the important parts myself.”

 

Michael, who took another sip of his shake, got to the main point.

 

“So… this happened about a month ago.”

 

Michael’s story went like this.

 

When working in the back alleys, there are people who come to assign dangerous jobs.

 

And usually, the higher up the person, the more dangerous the work becomes.

 

The man who came to Michael that day was also that type.

 

“His build was similar to mine.”

 

A man dressed in fine cloth, accompanied by three or four subordinates.

 

Though his face was covered with a mask, Michael said he instinctively felt this was someone he could never associate with.

 

‘That person must have been acting on someone else’s orders too.’

 

The fact that they haven’t been caught despite a princess being in charge means they’re no ordinary person.

 

Someone who’s the mastermind behind murder cases but has never stepped forward directly.

 

At the time, Michael thought it would be a kidnapping job at most when he met the client, and was surprised when murder was mentioned.

 

And the man added a peculiar condition.

 

Use a knife to carve a pattern on the hand.

 

Michael said he felt something was off there and refused the job.

 

‘A pattern on the hand?’

 

Suddenly, I recalled what Viscount Racon had said at the Security Bureau.

 

That there was a pattern on the back of the murderer’s hand who came to silence him.

 

“Do you happen to know what kind of pattern it was?”

 

“Yes? Ah, well… I refused right away, so he didn’t tell me that much.”

 

I drew a picture on a tissue with the pen I got from Chris.

 

The pattern that Viscount Racon had shown me at the Security Bureau.

 

“Was there anyone among those who came that day who had this kind of pattern?”

 

“Uh… Well, even if someone had such a pattern, I wouldn’t have seen it. They were all bundled up so tightly… But.”

 

Michael looked at the tissue with a serious expression and continued.

 

“I think I’ve seen this somewhere else.”

 

“You think you’ve seen it? Where?”

 

“Well, there’s a guy named Teddy among the people I work with. He suddenly disappeared and….”

 

At those words, Chris, who had been stealing Michael’s cake, opened his eyes wide.

 

“Teddy disappeared? How did that happen?”

 

“I don’t know, he was always bragging about how he’d clean up this lifestyle before dying, how he’d live better than that Chris bastard, all kinds of boasting, then maybe he really went off to live a new life….”

 

“Don’t interrupt, Chris.”

 

I had been listening tensely and glared sharply at Chris.

 

Then Chris quickly shut his mouth, and Michael continued.

 

“That guy had this kind of scar on the back of his hand. When I asked what it was, he just smiled awkwardly and left. I thought he’d joined some cult or something and was going to corner him and interrogate him, but he suddenly disappeared….”

 

Unfortunately, it didn’t seem like Michael knew anything more.

 

I drew another pattern on the tissue.

 

The eagle pattern that was supposedly carved on Sister Marie’s body.

 

“What about this pattern?”

 

“Oh, I’ve never seen this one directly… but isn’t that the pattern from those articles about nobles and whatnot lately?”

 

Hmm, it seems he knows nothing about the eagle pattern.

 

I said something vague in agreement and put away the tissue.

 

“Lastly, was there anything special about that man? It doesn’t have to be physical characteristics.”

 

“Hmm, he seemed really sick or something.”

 

“…What?”

 

“Well, he was fine at first, but his voice got hoarser as time went on, and by the end it was half voice, half coughing. Maybe he’s someone who doesn’t usually talk much….”

 

“….”

 

I fell into thought with a suspicious expression.

 

I had gotten much more information than expected, but somehow it wasn’t easy to piece it together.

 

Michael, who had finished his shake and cake, stood up from his seat.

 

We watched Michael walking toward the train station, then headed to Boutique Street.

 

‘It was fine at first, but his voice gradually became hoarse and he started coughing…’

 

Could he have allergies?

 

I pondered deeply, then asked Chris.

 

“Chris, what does your friend do for work?”

 

“Pardon?”

 

“What kind of work does he do in the back alleys? From what I heard, the requests seem like side jobs, so he must have steady work. Like scamming naive young ladies like you.”

 

Chris hesitated, then let out a voice as small as an ant.

 

“…makes…”

 

“Makes what?”

 

“Aphrodisiacs… love potions.”

 

“…”

 

I could see why he was on the Security Bureau’s blacklist.

 

“Should I get you one?”

 

“No thanks. Isn’t there any process or ingredient that Michael specifically handles when making those?”

 

When we were sitting in the cafe, I caught an unfamiliar floral scent from Michael.

 

Recalling that, I asked, and Chris shook his head.

 

“He doesn’t handle anything specific, they all sit together and manufacture everything collectively. …Probably?”

 

The former hoodlum who used to handle scams didn’t seem to know much about the love potion manufacturing team.

 

“Then ask your friend and get me all the ingredients used to make love potions.”

 

“Ah, yes! Understood.”

 

Chris nodded earnestly.

 

The next day, Chris came carrying bundles of ingredients used to make love potions.

 

I sat in a corner of the Boutique, spreading the ingredients on the table as I fell into deep thought.

 

Whether the measurements were important or not, when looked at separately, they were all commonly used plants.

 

‘The problem is…’

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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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