Chapter 60
60
"Second butler Sam was a drug dealer. Jane in the laundry room is a famous pickpocket. She even stole a count's seal."
I nodded, engraving Laura's words in my mind.
"Then what about Laura?"
"I don't have any criminal record yet!"
"Any plans to make one?"
"Not yet... but sometimes I get the urge to smash the heads of people who piss me off, so I might get a star soon."
Laura said, smiling shyly.
"Laura, you need to watch your language in front of the Young Lady."
Leah said sternly, and Laura, realizing her mistake, covered her mouth.
"I'm sorry! I don't have a criminal record, but I was born in prison, so my speech is a bit rough."
"Born in prison?"
"Yes. My mother was the leader of a cult. She found out she was pregnant after she was arrested. So she gave birth to me in prison, and I lived with her until I was three, and then my aunt took me in when I was four."
Because of that, Laura said it was difficult to find a job.
Even when she managed to find one, she was soon found out, so she went from noble family to noble family in The Capital.
"So I know most of the employees. I know all the employees of the five dukes, and also the employees of the marquises and counts. I probably know the rumors circulating in The Capital the fastest!"
Seeing Laura speak proudly, my eyes sparkled.
"Then tell me. What rumors are going around these days?"
"The most interesting one is about Constance's heir. He's having an affair with his fiancée's mother!"
Gasp!
Rough gasps erupted around us. Everyone seemed shocked.
What kind of new mess is this?
This wasn't what I was really curious about, but it was an exciting story that even made me go "wow."
The employees were all wondering when he would get caught, but the amazing thing is that it was a headwind. The fiancée is with Constance's heir's uncle...!"
Gasp!
Another rough gasp was heard.
I felt like I should go get some popcorn. I swallowed hard and listened to the story.
"Besides that. What other interesting rumors are there?"
"Lane's story is also interesting. Roabeng's Young Lady is completely smitten with her because she's such a wonderful woman. She even canceled her own tea party to go see her..."
"Something else."
"What else... Count Molliwood married an opera singer against the opposition of his retainers and his old mother, but it turns out the opera singer was also a man. What's even more surprising is that the count found out after the first night."
Then the maids involuntarily shouted, "How is that possible!"
Laura said seriously with her arms crossed.
"The place where they spent their first night was a dark opera house with not a single ray of light..."
The employees covered their mouths and screamed silently.
I listened intently, trying to remember Laura's story.
At that moment, something vibrated faintly in my pocket.
'A Magic tool for communication.'
This was a super-expensive Magic tool that I had recently bought with tears of blood.
It was so ridiculously expensive that I felt like I was crying tears of blood when I paid for it.
Even the mana stones that went into the communication Magic tool were very expensive.
Moreover, I didn't just buy one, but also Seria's and the Chairman's, and I was paying for the mana stones, so my back was breaking.
Because of such expensive items, the three of us rarely used them unless it was really important.
I secretly glanced into my pocket and saw Seria's code.
[The bait has been taken.]
It seemed that the Empress Dowager had finally bought the Luminous drug.
I patted my pocket and immersed myself in Laura's story again.
Adolph, one of the 21 Priests who managed the Central Temple, prostrated himself before the Empress Dowager.
"Greetings to Empress Dowager."
"Please, sit."
The Empress Dowager greeted him with her usual benevolent face.
Adolph, who had risen, sat down on the chair and scanned her expression.
'Damn old woman.'
She looked like a gentle lamb on the outside, but he knew very well how greedy that old woman was.
Five years ago, Adolph's subordinate, who had gone to the prison to offer a prayer of rest to a wanted criminal facing execution, returned with a pale face.
[I found out where the Original Bible is.]
[What are you talking about? We've been searching for it so hard, but we haven't even found a clue.]
[The wanted criminal knew the whereabouts of the Original Bible. It's in the Empress Dowager's secret archive.]
[That can't be... If the Empress Dowager had found it, she would have handed it over to us.]
[When I went to the place the wanted criminal told me, the Empress Dowager's people were guarding some warehouse. It's certain that there's an archive we don't know about.]
The wanted criminal's words were credible.
As a test, when he subtly mentioned the secret archive to the Empress Dowager, she immediately moved the location of the archive.
Afterwards, he even secured evidence that laborers had dug up the old highlands seven years ago under the Empress Dowager's orders.
'She pretends to trust the Temple so much, but behind our backs, she's scheming to steal the Bible?'
The Empress Dowager knew best that the Temple was searching the entire empire like crazy for the Original Bible.
He had to get his hands on it no matter what.
If he could get his hands on the Original Bible, he would be able to enter not only the Central Temple but also the Papal State.
So Adolph had been working hard for five years to coax the Empress Dowager, keeping it a secret from the Temple.
The Empress Dowager lifted her teacup with an indifferent expression.
"I heard that the Child of Destiny will participate in this year's Sowing Festival banquet. The Papal State will also be interested. I was curious how she grew up since Dubled never showed her."
Adolph replied nonchalantly, "Yes, well..."
He wasn't interested in an orphan girl who became the Child of Destiny because she was born on February 29, the year the oracle was given, with Divine Power.
Fortunately, her Divine Power had increased enough to save the Temple's face, but that was it.
According to the oracle, the child who would save the world would descend with the mark of God.
However, the re-verified Divine Power of that child was too ordinary to save the world.
Moreover, she didn't have the mark of God, and there was an ambiguous aspect to the part about 'descending'.
Even though she had increased her Divine Power, there were many rumors within the Temple about whether she was real or fake.
"More than that, how is your illness today?"
"It's much better. Winter is always hard, but I feel better now that spring has come."
"I have prepared Holy Water. If you bathe with this, you will feel much more comfortable."
"Oh my, how grateful I am."
Seeing the Empress Dowager laughing, Adolph said in a subtle voice.
"By the way, Your Majesty. The archive you said you would show me before..."
"Now that I think about it, I'm embarrassed to show it to you. It's not like there are any particularly precious ancient books."
Adolph's eyes hardened.
'This old woman...!'
When her skin disease became severe, she acted like she would do anything if she could just receive his treatment, but now she's completely shut her mouth.
Adolph said with an awkward smile.
"Any book that Your Majesty has touched is a precious treasure. If I read the books you own, I might be able to find something that will be more helpful for Your Majesty's illness next time."
"Oh, that's right. You don't have to come separately to help with the treatment from next time."
"...Yes?"
"I've found a good medicine."
"Medicine?"
"I heard it's a medicine that makes you younger."
The Empress Dowager put a medicine bottle on the table and said.
"It may be a trick, but the effect is good. It's much less itchy than the Priest's treatment."
The Priest's face twisted.
That was a medicine that even the Temple was paying attention to.
The number of nobles who wanted treatment had already decreased because of that medicine.
As a natural consequence, the amount of donations was also decreasing, so he wouldn't be able to save face when reporting to the higher-ups.
'The Hope Merchant Group, was it?'
It was a place that kept bothering him.
Five years ago, when he tried to pressure Dubled with Spinelle, he ruined the job because of that merchant group that suddenly appeared.
Not only that, but they also lowered the market price of Spinelle ridiculously, causing the value of the Spinelle mine owned by the Temple to plummet.
In the end, they had no choice but to sell the Spinelle mine, which had lost its usefulness, and now the Hope Merchant Group was monopolizing Spinelle in the market.
'Damn bastards.'
Adolph clenched his fist tightly.
Ahead of the banquet, I went to the shopping district with my brothers to buy dresses.
As the most bustling area in the empire, it was crowded with people even on weekdays.
"You have to walk without letting go, okay?"
Isaac said, holding my hand tightly.
"Yeah, even if you look away for a moment, you'll get swept away by the crowd."
Henri also warned, holding my other hand.
I answered, "Okay!" and put strength into my hands.
'This is near the Temple, so I must not let go of my brothers.'
I made up my mind and walked bravely. Fortunately, the dress shop was close, so we were able to arrive without any problems, even though there were many people.
As we entered the store, a clerk and a long-haired man who seemed to be the owner rushed out.
"Greetings to the precious ones of Dubled. I am Melbein of Melbein's Atelier."
The man with a greasy face rubbed his hands together.
'Melbein?'
Melbein was a designer popular with duchesses and marchionesses.
His dresses were so expensive that it was difficult for anyone who wasn't a high-ranking noble to even see them.
So the wives of most families would repair and wear Melbein's dresses for years.
"The Little Master and the Youngest Master are dazzling as always."
At Melbein's words, Henri and Isaac sat on the sofa nonchalantly.
"A design that suits the Little Master has just come out. It's a two-button suit with silver embroidery on a pure white fabric..."
"Never mind my clothes, take care of my sister."
At Henri's words, Melbein finally turned his gaze to me.
"This is the Child of Destiny..."
"Dubled's Young Lady."
When Isaac frowned and corrected the words that were about to follow, Melbein, startled, nodded, saying, "Ah, yes!"
"My shop has many lovely clothes that suit the Young Lady. Aliana!"
When he clapped his hands, clerks in green dresses approached.
"Dubled's Young Lady, we will show you the clothes."
Smiling brightly, she approached and led me to the hanger.
Meanwhile, Melbein was clinging to Henri and Isaac, chattering.
"I heard that you bravely annihilated the enemy in the first battle. This Melbein was so moved when I heard the story...!"
It seemed that he had no interest in me, who was not the Duke's biological daughter.
The events in Dubled, which was far from The Capital, couldn't have spread this far, and in the first place, Dubled was a very closed place, so rumors didn't spread well, so he didn't know that I was really loved like a biological daughter.
"How about this dress? The lace on the chest was designed with great care by Melbein..."
They showed me various dresses, but I didn't particularly like any of them.
When my reaction was lukewarm, the clerk left to bring a design that hadn't been displayed yet.
I was looking at the dresses hanging on the hanger when my eyes widened.
'Ah, I wanted to wear that in my second life.'
It was a dress with a lace collar and voluminous sleeves.
'That was the design from this period.'
This dress, which was hanging in the Melbein Atelier's display window, looked like something only a princess in a fairy tale would wear.
I remembered thinking, 'If I wear it, will I look like a princess too?'
I really liked that design. I was holding the dress up to my body when.
"That one!"
A youthful voice was heard.
It was a girl my age with smooth black hair and amber eyes.
"I like that one."
At the girl's words, I blinked.
