The Rogue, Genius, Chaebol's Daughter is a Baby Master Detective! - Chapter 18

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

A delinquent, a genius, and a tycoon’s daughter walk into detective school!
Chapter 18
“Ha-ru, are there villains in Saesak Class too?”
“I’ll investigate!”
Ha-ru spun in a circle, both hands gripping the tufts of hair that shot skyward from her head.
The friends gathered around Ha-ru swallowed hard. All except one.
A girl in a shimmering princess one-piece dress with lace socks and both sides of her hair braided up into bun-shaped topknots—her name was Baek Seol-a.
Seol-a, her arms folded in clear displeasure, glared at Ha-ru from a step away.
Seol-a was supposed to be the most beautiful in the world this morning. The Crown Hairpin her mother had bought her. She’d rolled across every inch of the Department Store’s floor to get it.
This morning alone, she’d adjusted the crown in the mirror more than ten times!
When the classroom door opened, everyone was supposed to rush to Seol-a.
Seol-a, you’re so pretty!
You look just like a queen!
None of the praise Seol-a had been counting on came. None of the bright eyes she’d anticipated. No one was looking at her.
The one making a loud fuss, spinning in the middle of the classroom, was the new student who’d arrived not long ago—O Ha-ru.
Even the friends who used to be close with Seol-a were playing with Ha-ru now.
“Ha-ru, do the Baby Detective Antennae for me too!”
“I heard you have to braid it a hundred times!”
A strange girl with strange hair. What’s so great about her anyway?
Seol-a dragged the toe of her Shiny Shoes across the floor with a sharp scrape. She let out a small cough.
No one turned to look.
Ahem!
This time she made the sound louder. Yun-a, who used to be Seol-a’s best friend, glanced sideways at her, then turned her head back to O Ha-ru.
How infuriating!
Even though he clearly saw the crown, she’d lost out to O Ha-ru!
That was when it happened.
“Childish.”
It was Si-u. Seol-a’s head snapped around.
‘Si-u is on my side after all.’
Just as Seol-a started to move toward Si-u, Ha-ru beat her to it by half a step.
“Si-u, you want Baby Detective Antennae too, don’t you?”
Ha-ru began waving the antennae in front of Si-u’s face, looking triumphant.
“I don’t.”
“Yes, you do. Your face says you’re jealous.”
“Idiot.”
Seol-a’s mouth fell open. She’d never seen Si-u talk this much.
No matter how hard she tried to get him to speak, he’d only say no or I don’t know!
‘This can’t be real.’
Seol-a’s eyes narrowed to sharp points.
Everything that was prettiest and most sparkly in Saesak Class belonged to Seol-a.
So Si-u too, and all the friends’ attention too—they all belonged to Seol-a!
Seol-a pulled the Crown Hairpin she’d so carefully fixed in place from her hair.
If Ha-ru became a thief, the friends would come back to Seol-a. Nobody wanted to be friends with a bad kid anyway.
While the friends were distracted by Ha-ru, Seol-a crept close to Ha-ru’s Yellow Bag, carefully unzipped it, and slipped the crown inside.
Once she’d safely zipped it closed, Seol-a steadied her trembling breath. She calmed herself and arranged her expression back into her usual princess face, then slipped in among her friends.
“I lost the crown my mom gave me.”
The classroom went silent.
“Can you find out who the culprit is?”
Ha-ru, who’d been spinning, stopped dead. The Baby Detective Antennae that had shot up to the sky swayed and came to rest.
The children who’d been making antennae along with Ha-ru began to murmur.
“A crown?”
“Yeah. A ‘Summer Country’ queen crown, like that.”
Summer Country was an enormously popular movie among the children.
“Is there a thief in Saesak Class?”
Who had talked about Summer Country the most? The friends began to eye one another with suspicion.
Ha-ru put down her hair and planted her hands on her hips.
“When did you lose it?”
“I still had it this morning, but it’s gone now.”
“Maybe you just left it somewhere and forgot about it?”
At that, Baek Seol-a folded her arms and let out a scornful laugh.
“Why can’t you find the culprit? You said you’re a detective.”
Ha-ru blinked. Seol-a lifted her chin defiantly.
“If you can’t find the villain, you’re not a real detective? In that case, I suppose you admit you made up all that stuff about the Baby Detective Antennae just for attention, and you’re actually just a strange-haired kid. That’s all.”
‘Is Seol-a already thinking I won’t be able to find them?’
Ha-ru hummed thoughtfully.
She ran her hand across her chin.
‘It’s a trap.’
If Ha-ru didn’t find the culprit, she’d be a liar. But if she accused just anyone, she’d be a bad child who suspected her friends without reason.
There was only one way to break out of the trap: find the answer faster.
On the detective show, they always observed the client first.
Ha-ru studied Seol-a carefully.
“You wore that crown this morning?”
“Yeah. Why?”
Ha-ru’s eyes gleamed.
‘This case is going to be easy!’
At that moment, text materialized before Ha-ru’s eyes.
Whoosh—
Ha-ru’s Case Notebook
Case Alert♪
Find the missing crown!
☞ Find the crown
☞ Walk on by
Ding♪
☞ Find the crown
Ha-ru’s second case♪
Client: Baek Seol-a
Please find my crown
“Would it be okay if I got the culprit right?”
“What do you mean by that?”
‘Hehe. Ha-ru’s watched that detective show ten times, after all.’
“This morning, all the kids in Saesak Class were staring at Ha-ru’s hair.”
Her friends exchanged glances. True. Everyone had been too busy imitating the antenna hair to pay attention to anything else.
“So there’s no way anyone could have stolen the crown. A thief would need two bodies.”
“Ooh!”
The friends gasped in admiration. The suspicious glances they’d been trading transformed into looks of trust.
Ha-ru’s eyes narrowed as she looked Seol-a up and down. There was a faint indentation on top of Seol-a’s head. That was definitely where the crown had been this morning! But her hair wasn’t messed up. Which meant someone hadn’t pulled it off—they’d carefully removed it.
‘Can you handle it when I name you as the culprit, Baek Seol-a?’
Ha-ru and Seol-a’s gazes collided with a thump.
Gulp.
Noticing the unusual glint in Ha-ru’s eyes, Seol-a swallowed hard, tension rising in her throat.
“The culprit is…”
“The culprit is in here.”
Before Ha-ru could confidently reveal the culprit, Seol-a hurriedly cut off her words.
“What are you doing? You call yourself a detective. If you want to find the culprit, shouldn’t you search the bag first? That’s where you’d find the evidence.”
Having regained her composure, Seol-a pointed at Ha-ru’s bag with a smirk. Ha-ru flinched.
‘Oh no, there’s an assistant hiding in the bag…’
“That—that bag is private!”
“Why? You have a reason not to show me?”
Seol-a’s lips curled into a sly smile. Ha-ru bit down hard on her lip. Seol-a strode toward Ha-ru’s bag and pointed at it with her finger.
“It looks suspicious, so you open it first.”
Ha-ru had walked straight into the trap, but she didn’t mind. After all, she had a pretty good idea who the culprit was! She opened her mouth with solemn determination.
“Ha-ru has an alibi.”
Ho-jun-i leaned over to whisper to a friend nearby.
“What’s an alibi?”
“I know! It’s when there are forty thieves!”
“Huh? Forty thieves? Are there forty thieves in Saesak Class?”
Si-u spoke quietly.
“An alibi is proof of innocence by showing you weren’t at the crime scene. You’re all dumb.”
The classroom stirred. Ha-ru continued as if she hadn’t heard.
“Like I said, Ha-ru doesn’t have two bodies. While you were all watching, Ha-ru was activating the Baby Detective Antennae.”
“So?”
Ha-ru grasped the Baby Detective Antennae by both hands at its base.
“The culprit is—”
Her friends swallowed hard.
The antennae swiveled with a soft chime, pointing straight at Seol-a.
“Baek Seol-a.”
“Eek. Seol-a’s the culprit?”
Everyone’s eyes fixed on her.
“Right. Seol-a’s the only one without an alibi. We all made the Detective Antennae together.”
“It’s alibi, not alibaba.”
Si-u muttered the correction again.
Seol-a’s jaw clenched.
“No way! That doesn’t make sense! The Crown Hairpin is mine—how could I be the culprit? You’re just saying this because you don’t want anyone to find out what’s in your yellow bag!”
“Under her desk.”

Everyone’s gaze swung toward the space beneath Seol-a’s desk. There, partially hidden, gleamed the Crown Hairpin, glinting in the light.
“It really is the Crown Hairpin!”
“Oh. So Seol-a just lost it.”
Seol-a’s eyes darted about frantically.
‘This can’t be happening!’
“Wow. Ha-ru found Seol-a’s Crown Hairpin! She’s a real detective!”
‘Heh. Ha-ru is a brilliant detective with exceptional observation skills!’
Ha-ru rubbed her nose with a quick gesture.
Her hair hadn’t come loose, so the hairpin hadn’t fallen by accident. She’d wondered if maybe someone had set a trap on purpose, but then the gleam beneath the desk leg had caught her eye immediately.
Phew. Thank goodness Seol-a wasn’t a bad kid after all.
‘But why was the Crown Hairpin under the desk in the first place?’
Ha-ru tilted her head thoughtfully.
She wasn’t entirely sure, but still—
Detective Ha-ru had solved yet another case.
Ha-ru’s Case Notebook
Second case solved!
★Excellent work★
Good Detective Stamp [3/10]
She’d already collected three stamps.
Ha-ru made a V-sign with her thumb and forefinger and pressed it against her chin with a flourish.
“Peace—”
Ha-ru grinned widely.
“What do you mean, peace?”
Seol-a snatched the Crown Hairpin her friend had retrieved and glared at Ha-ru. But Ha-ru had no attention to spare—
because the words in her notebook had just changed.
Ha-ru’s Case Notebook
You’ve collected 3 stamps!
You are now promoted to Saesak Detective♪
Your Case Notebook will now upgrade♪

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