19
Chapter 19
The Lie Detector Glasses were one of the 'Good Kid Starter Pack of Four' items given by default when playing as Ophelia.
It was an item that disregarded proper growth and the protagonist's human rights, so I never used it when playing the game.
But I'm using it after possessing her. And not on Leo, but on someone else.
I put on the glasses and looked at Lord Penadel. Then, a consistent waveform graph appeared above Lord Penadel. It looked just like the electrocardiogram machine screen used in hospitals.
I took a light breath.
I am now going to ask a very, very rude question to Lord Penadel, who is the Grand Duke's adjutant. Don't be intimidated even if Lord Penadel glares fiercely.
"Why does the Grand Duke want ownership of the mine?"
"I cannot tell you."
"Then I cannot accept the offer either."
I answered as firmly as Lord Penadel was. After a moment of silence, Lord Penadel finally opened his mouth in a reluctant tone.
"Your Grace… wishes to seal the mine."
No, but why? Although mining involves many risks, it is like a goose that lays golden eggs.
I probably wouldn't have believed it if I didn't have the Lie Detector Glasses.
However, the waveform graph above Lord Penadel was drawing a consistent width without change. It meant he was telling the truth.
Okay, next question.
"Is the Grand Duke someone who kills people for money?"
"He is not."
Truth.
"Is the Grand Duke a lecher?"
"He is not."
This is also the truth.
"Does the Grand Duke not hesitate to behead those who defy his words? Wait, think carefully before you say he doesn't."
"…He does not."
Truth.
At this point, I'm starting to get suspicious.
Of course, a lie detector is not 100% reliable.
Because it discerns lies through various physiological reactions such as heart rate, breathing, and eye movement, it does not function properly for people who show no physical or emotional reactions when lying.
'Could Lord Penadel be such a person?'
His answers are also mechanical.
I was nervous that he would grab me and shake me for being rude to his master, but it was all for naught.
I somewhat nonchalantly brought up the rumor.
"Did Grand Duke Valuashten really kill my family and usurp the title?"
Even as I spoke, I thought he would give a parrot-like answer.
For the first time, Lord Penadel gave a different answer.
"Why are you asking that?"
This is it.
I felt instinctively that the answer to this question would determine whether our contract would be made.
"Answer me."
For the first time, a human-like reaction came from the statue-like man.
His jaw tightened, and the eyes hidden deep inside the mask seemed to momentarily darken.
"…It is true."
I looked at him without a word.
To be precise, at the lie detection display floating above him.
The waveform of the graph, which had been consistent all along, was going wild.
* * *
Faint moonlight shone into the dark room.
The man cast a huge shadow of a demon as he looked down at the splendid scenery of Monteo, the royal capital.
Soon, the man took off the black half-mask he had been wearing all day.
Then, revealed under the moonlight was a handsome young man with a cold impression, as if carved from eternal snow.
The eyes, which had been shadowed inside the mask and looked as dark as the deep sea, now had a clear color like the pale surface of the sea, reflecting the light of the full moon.
The man was as still as a still life, as if recalling something.
"Did Grand Duke Valuashten really kill my family and usurp the title?"
Then, suddenly, the moment he caught sight of his own face reflected in the window.
"Ah."
He discovered that his eyes, which had been transparent like glaciers, had turned red, as if a drop of blood had fallen on white muslin.
The man, who let out an emotionless sigh, washed his face with his dry hands.
When he lowered his hands again, what was reflected in the window were cold blue eyes as transparent as glaciers, but without a trace of emotion.
Soon, the man's steps headed towards the ornate birdcage.
When he tapped the birdcage with his fingertip, the bird, which had been sitting on the perch with its head bowed as if asleep, creaked and raised its head.
The bird, made of mechanical devices and clockwork, blinked its eyelids a few times and then opened its beak, chirping.
-Your Grace! Why haven't you contacted me until now! How worried I was!
It was a voice so hoarse and rough that it was hard to believe it came from a small bird.
The man sat down on the sofa as if tired and replied.
"That's why I'm contacting you now."
-That's not what I mean… Ugh, never mind. What can I say to Your Grace? Are you doing well? I am diligently climbing the mountain of paperwork every day as Your Grace's substitute. Hahaha, thanks to you, I have lost my dream of being born as a high-ranking noble in my next life and having a subordinate like Your Grace to boss around…
"Penadel, you're noisy."
Only then did the mechanical bird's beak snap shut.
After a moment of silence, the mechanical bird opened its beak again without being discouraged.
-I'm asking out of concern, but you're really not doing anything, right? Think of it as being exiled for a year, and you must rest until mold grows on your body and mushrooms sprout.
"……."
-Your Grace? Why aren't you answering? Your Grace?
"…I got a job."
-Yes?
"I'm also getting married."
-Yes?
"I got a new job and I'm getting married."
-That's a happy new start. So who is it?
"……."
A heavy silence followed.
It was a long time before the mechanical bird, which had been keeping its beak tightly shut, opened its mouth again.
-……Yes?
"You heard everything."
-I forced you to take a sabbatical, but why are you getting a new job there… No, more than that, marriage?
To that, Cesar, the lord of the Northern Territory who had hidden his identity and come down to the royal capital, had nothing to say.
Clearly, it wasn't such a complicated problem when he had verbally promised the transfer of ownership of the Herrington Mine to the late Marquess Blanche.
Although the Marquess was weakened in his later years and did not have much time to keep his eyes open, he did not forget his promise with Cesar and prepared a contract for the transfer of the mine.
However, what came to Cesar was an empty contract and the Blanche family's lawyer, who informed him of the Marquess's obituary.
The Marquess had died before signing the contract.
The mine remained as the Blanche heiress's dowry, becoming frozen property that no one could touch until she got married.
For Cesar, who had to completely close the mine as soon as possible to prevent 'it' inside the mine from escaping, it was like waiting without a promise.
Cesar, who was worried about getting his hands on the mine, eventually came up with a method.
By talking about the romantic method of proposing and the realistic problem of divorce.
The reason he made divorce a condition was that he had no intention of fulfilling his duties as a husband.
Cesar had no intention of having an heir.
Cesar briefly summarized all these circumstances in one word and explained them to his adjutant, Penadel.
"That's how it happened."
-…Your Grace, I just had a very bad feeling. Something must have happened, right? I'll go to the royal capital right away!
"Stop talking nonsense and find out about Belinda Blanche."
As he said that, Cesar recalled the woman's hair, which was so red that it hurt his eyes.
It was rare to see such a primary color in the north, where everything is bleached white.
He had heard that she was a wicked woman who did not even show her face at the Marquess's funeral, desecrating the death of the deceased…
The Belinda he saw was so different from the woman in the rumors.
Far from being extravagant, she wore simple dresses every time they met, and the second time they met, she was alone, as if confined to an old annex without a single proper employee.
There, she was mourning the death of her family alone.
There are cases where rumors and reality are different, but isn't this gap too big?
It was as if someone had deliberately spread false rumors.
'Besides, that necklace…'
Just as Cesar's thoughts were deepening.
-That person is going to be our mistress!
Penadel's voice, which sounded somewhat excited, awakened him.
-Then, Your Grace, there was something I wanted to ask you.
There was a sense of relief in the following words.
When Cesar nodded, Penadel rattled off his words as if he could see the gesture.
