Tia’s Smooth Life After Regression - Chapter 98

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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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Tiya’s Smooth Regression Life

Chapter 98

Tiya stood bravely in front of the gloomy iron gate of the Royal Investigative Bureau, like a hero who had come to defeat the demon king.

And she politely greeted the gatekeeper guarding the entrance first.

“Hello.”

The sharp-eyed gatekeeper was startled when he spotted Tiya, then looked puzzled.

She was a cute girl who looked to be about nine years old. But for some reason, as soon as he confirmed the girl’s face, chills ran down his spine.

The gatekeeper shook off his uneasiness and asked with a forced smile.

“What business does a child like you have in this ant hell?”

Ant hell?

Tiya rolled her eyes and looked around.

There wasn’t a single ant visible on the gleaming marble floor, and while the atmosphere was bleak, it didn’t look like hell either.

【Judging by the employee’s reaction, you didn’t come to the wrong place.】

At Winter’s words, Tiya carefully opened her mouth.

“I came to see my father…”

A daughter who came to her father’s workplace to see his face!

The gatekeeper, who had completely lost his wariness, smiled warmly.

However, identifying visitors was his duty. As a faithful gatekeeper, he asked Tiya.

“Your father works here. Well then, what is his name?”

“Shurkha Valoz. He’s a count, do you know him?”

At that moment, the employee’s complexion turned pale and his jaw dropped.

Only then did he realize why he had felt a chill upon seeing this cute face!

The gatekeeper immediately raised his voice toward the main building.

“Emergency, emergency!”

At his desperate warning, the Royal Investigative Bureau quickly became chaotic, and Tiya was escorted with utmost care.

“Did you confirm her identity?”

“Do we need identity confirmation after seeing that face? No wonder my spine felt cold!”

While being guided to Count Valoz’s study by a clerk, the reactions of the Royal Investigative Bureau employees who saw Tiya were varied.

“Why is such a young child in this ant hell?”

Some were flustered,

“Good heavens, the Deputy Inspector’s daughter?”

Some were shocked,

“Gasp! Little Guillotine!”

Some were frightened and all made the sign of the cross.

At this point, even Tiya couldn’t help but notice.

“My dad must be an outcast.”

【From what I can see, it looks like the count is the one ostracizing everyone else.】

After receiving everyone’s attention and finally arriving at her destination, the owner was away.

“If you wait here, His Excellency will return soon.”

The clerk who had guided Tiya to the study spoke while standing outside as if there were some kind of barrier.

After even the clerk left, Tiya was alone in the study.

Winter began to move to achieve the purpose of coming here.

This place was the heart of the imperial palace and the core of the Imperial Prosecution Office that inspected all nobles and officials.

In other words, it meant quality information was overflowing!

Winter immediately said to Tiya.

【First, take out those documents and spread them out.】

Perhaps she might discover not only information about other nobles, but also Shurkha’s weakness that she still hadn’t found.

However, Tiya crossed her arms and firmly shook her head.

“No. You’re trying to do something bad, aren’t you?”

Such a tiny thing acting like a stubborn old-fashioned person.

Winter clicked her tongue inwardly, but she had already learned how to handle Tiya.

Like gently peeling the shell off a bean placed in one’s mouth, Winter tempted Tiya with a subtle voice.

【It’s not doing something bad, it’s gathering information. We might be able to observe Count Montes’ movements, and maybe learn what the count found out in the Forbidden Zone.】

Tiya’s shoulders twitched.

Count Montes was tempting, but what shook Tiya’s heart more was about the Forbidden Zone.

Nothing was known about the book list of Sector 148 where Father had headed. She couldn’t ask outright, so what had Father been trying to find there?

【Just think of it as dusting off the documents.】

I’ll be the one doing the peeking.

Unaware of Winter’s unspoken words, Tiya stealthily headed toward the bookshelf full of documents.

Then she pulled out documents and turned them page by page so Winter could examine them.

The reading speed was tremendous, so from Tiya’s perspective, it really felt like dusting off documents.

Still, she was aware she was doing something bad, so she jumped in place every time she heard small noises from outside the door.

After skimming through for some time.

Winter clicked her tongue. As expected, information about nobles was gathered here.

Evidence of massive embezzlement by southern nobles and information that could be weaknesses of central nobles.

Moreover, there was an unexpected gain.

‘Count Montes and Duke Dantal have already made contact?’

In the future she knew, these two forces didn’t connect this quickly. If she had to guess the reason they moved differently than before—.

‘The princess must be quite concerning to them.’

It was an unexpected result, but there was nothing about what she wanted most—Count Valoz himself.

‘I thought he would be more thorough since Deputy Inspector is a position that inevitably makes many enemies…’

But I never expected there would be so little to gain.

“Is this enough now?”

Tiya hurriedly put the documents back in their places. Her heart was beating so fast she worried it might burst.

Winter, who had been examining the study with her arms crossed, tilted her head at an angle.

A strange sense of discord scratched at her nerves.

Shurkha Valoz’s weakness—in other words, it meant the driving force that made him, who had no emotions left, move.

The purpose that kept an emotionless human alive.

Winter had expected that purpose to be hidden in his actions as the emperor’s hound.

‘If I couldn’t find it at the manor, I thought I could find it here.’

Winter’s steps, which had been pacing back and forth in the room anxiously, suddenly stopped.

Retracing her path and counting her steps, her gaze turned to the emperor’s portrait placed in the center of the room.

“Winter, what are you doing?”

After a moment, Winter, who hadn’t answered, buried her head in the wall, then passed through with her entire body and disappeared.

“…Winter?”

Just as Tiya was blinking her eyes.

【I found it.】

“Kyaang!”

Like a stuffed deer head, Winter’s head suddenly popped out above the emperor’s portrait.

Then Winter, who had completely pulled out her body, curved her lips with satisfaction.

“What did you find?”

【A secret study that would be built in this kind of office.】

“A study?”

Winter pointed with her fingertip at the bookshelf behind her and concluded.

【There’s a secret space behind this wall. It seems like there’s some kind of mechanism.】

Important information must have been stored there.

Winter stroked her chin and pondered.

【It looks like it’s sealed with high-level magic. I’ll have to set aside a separate day to infiltrate.】

At Winter’s words, Tiya put her ear to the wall and tried knocking, but nothing particularly strange was noticeable.

“It just looks like a wall-“

“What are you doing?”

“Kyaaah! I didn’t steal anything!”

Startled, Tiya raised her voice like a guilty thief caught red-handed.

When had he entered? Father was standing at the doorway.

Shurkha watched Tiya, who was clutching her pounding heart, with an unreadable expression before looking around the room.

It seemed like she had been talking to someone. But there was only Tiya in the room.

Then Shurkha spoke coldly.

“Don’t stand so close to His Majesty the Emperor’s portrait.”

At the unexpected words, Tiya blinked and quietly took a step back from the portrait.

“This much?”

“More.”

Another hop backward.

“This much?”

“More.”

Only when Tiya hopped another step back did Shurkha’s gaze finally drop.

At the same time, Winter and Tiya’s eyes met.

Both of them realized immediately.

【There’s something there.】

‘There’s something there!’

Beyond the wall with the portrait, there was something Shurkha wanted to hide.

* * *

The place called the Royal Investigative Bureau, named for being the King’s Sword, was an organization established to serve only the Emperor, headed by the Minister of Inspection.

Due to its immense power relative to its size, it sometimes became a hotbed of corruption.

However, the Royal Investigative Bureau under Shurkha’s watch was cleaner than ever before.

Thus, the nickname attached to Shurkha was ‘The Guillotine.’

The moment corrupt solicitation or bribery was discovered, heads would roll immediately.

Therefore, when Shurkha came to work at the Royal Investigative Bureau, employees would bow their heads low and pretend not to see anything, focusing only on their work.

But today, they were united in following Shurkha’s movements with their eyes.

A young girl was firmly holding the hand of the merciless Guillotine!

‘That Guillotine!’

‘I guess even emotionless humans are different with family?’

‘But why does his expression look so menacing?’

While the employees were conversing with their eyes.

Tiya, who had used ‘Father’s Time’ to hold Shurkha’s hand and come out of the study, narrowed her eyes at the sudden silence that fell as soon as they emerged.

And the eye contact the employees were sharing!

Tiya was certain.

‘I knew it. My dad is being ostracized!’

Bad adults. What’s wrong with our dad!

Of course, he’s a bit cold, unreasonable, doesn’t smile, doesn’t respond when people talk to him, and only moves for money.

‘…Now that I think about it again, maybe my dad is the problem.’

Tiya’s expression became resolute as she changed her thinking.

“Dad, wait a moment.”

Tiya briefly let go of her father’s hand and stood before the employees.

Confirming that everyone’s attention was on her, Tiya cleared her throat and began bowing her head as she crossed the employees’ desks.

“Please take good care of my dad.”

“I didn’t teach my dad properly. I’ll go home and scold him well, so please get along with our dad.”

“My dad is shy, but he’s not a bad person.”

Tiya made eye contact with each and every employee of the Royal Investigative Bureau as she greeted them.

With the person in question right behind her, Tiya’s fire-attribute filial piety mercilessly struck him down, leaving the employees unable to cry or laugh, only stammering.

But when Shurkha showed no reaction for a long time and just followed behind his daughter, their expressions began to soften one by one.

Tiya even took out candy from her handbag and placed one in the hands of each employee she made eye contact with.

“This isn’t much, but it’s my small token of sincerity. Please keep it.”

“Oh my, you really shouldn’t do this.”

Even as they said this, the employees carefully accepted and treasured each piece of candy Tiya gave them.

Before long, fond fatherly smiles appeared on the employees’ faces.

It seemed their superior, the Guillotine, was ultimately just a helpless father after all.

‘Come to think of it, he seems to have some humanity today. Though his expression is still menacing.’

‘Of course. Seeing such a cute daughter would melt even a frozen heart. Though his expression is still terrifying.’

It was when the employees who had shaken hands with Tiya stood up to see off Tiya and Shurkha.

Shurkha, who had gotten into the carriage, quietly gestured for the clerk.

Cold words like thin ice fell into the clerk’s ear as he quickly approached.

“You accepted bribes quite openly.”

“Yes, y-yes? M-me?”

Shurkha pointed to the clerk’s hand, which had gone deathly pale. In his hand was a piece of candy he had received from Tiya.

“No, this is just-“

“If you don’t want your head to roll, collect them all and return them to my desk.”

Leaving only those words, the carriage departed.

“…”

Humanity, my foot.

The Guillotine was still the Guillotine.

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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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