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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 26
Chapter Title: Rumors and Requisitions
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“Something like a potion that’s beneficial to warlocks.”
“!”
“In any case, it might have been sealed away because it was more useful to the enemy—warlocks, that is—than to humanity at the time.”
“That’s quite interesting.”
Isaac, having finished laughing, casually joined the conversation.
“You’re saying that if we develop it properly, it could be useful to us?”
What a strange coincidence. For the recipe that Saint Elisa went to such lengths to hide to find its way, after 300 years, into the hands of a warlock like me.
If Elisa found out, she’d probably rise from her grave.
“Conversely, even if it’s a potion beneficial to divine power, it doesn’t matter. We can just pretend the research is taking a long time, and dragging it out would be to our advantage.”
After all, just being near divine power makes my stomach turn.
“So… can I do the research?”
Yulia’s eyes sparkled.
“Only up to the point of non-dangerous experiments. I’ll do my best to acquire some corpses, so just wait for now.”
“Wow! You’re the best, brother! I’m so happy~!”
Yulia leaped up and rushed at Edmond. If Isaac hadn’t caught her just in time, her ribs might have been crushed once again.
Whether she knew it or not, Yulia simply beamed, happy to be able to practice alchemy again.
***
“By the way, Your Highness, why did you ride in a separate carriage from the Duke's daughter?”
Werner asked Tristan, who was flipping through documents. In his opinion, Tristan wasn’t the sort of person to show consideration for a noble lady’s potential scandal.
“She said that riding in the same carriage wouldn’t look good to others. It was my oversight for not considering it beforehand.”
“I see. I also failed to consider it, as I thought there would be no issue since I was accompanying you.”
That was a large part of why Werner hadn’t mentioned it earlier. He’d figured that while two people might be a problem, three would be fine.
“Still, it seems your suspicions about the Duke’s daughter have been somewhat resolved, haven’t they? If there were anything suspicious, you would have ordered a raid on House Walker immediately.”
From Werner’s perspective as well, there was no reason to doubt Emily any further.
Hadn’t she proven her talent for reading the remnants of dark magic at the academy herself? At the very least, no one else could pinpoint the location of a moving monster like she could.
‘As for the assassins’ missing bodies, perhaps the Holy See collected them to avoid leaving behind unnecessary evidence.’
Moreover, the Emily that Werner had seen in person was an incredibly kind person. She would smile when their eyes met, and her manner of speaking was gentle and affectionate.
She had a soft, yielding presence. She was also a courageous woman, willing to stand before a monster to protect her younger brother, despite her own lack of strength.
“Isn’t she quite a decent person?”
That was Werner’s overall assessment. As one person to another, she was quite likable.
“Perhaps.”
“Are you still on about that? ‘A friend to all is a friend to none,’ that sort of thing?”
A playful tone crept into Werner’s voice. Tristan, his eyes still fixed on the documents, retorted curtly.
“That carriage we rode in today. It was new. It seemed to have been made recently.”
“…Pardon?”
“A tax is levied when a carriage is purchased. Which means, if one were so inclined, one could find out how many carriages a certain family has bought.”
Only then did Werner realize that the document Tristan was looking at was a list of families who had purchased carriages in the last five years.
“However, there seems to be no record of House Walker purchasing a new carriage recently.”
“But…”
“What reason would there be to secretly acquire a new carriage? Aren’t you curious?”
Tristan murmured softly.
***
I was working, flipping through documents, when I felt a burning gaze on the side of my face. For a while now, Jamie had been blatantly staring at me instead of doing her work.
Finding it difficult to ignore any longer, I turned my head toward Jamie.
“Is there something on my face?”
“I saw everything.”
“Pardon?”
“The carriage His Highness the Crown Prince rode in today. That was a House Walker carriage, wasn’t it?”
“…”
It was a plain carriage with all the family crests removed. How on earth did she recognize it?
“I just happened to see it. I’m probably the only one in the entire palace who knows.”
But Jamie knowing meant that soon, everyone in the imperial palace would know. Forty-eight hours, at most? It might even take less time.
‘This has become a nuisance.’
I sighed inwardly but managed a troubled smile on the outside.
“He came by yesterday, saying he had something to discuss with Duke Walker. It got late, so he just ended up staying the night.”
“Oh, come on. The rumor has already spread like wildfire. I heard he personally attended your younger brother’s parent observation day at the academy. With you, no less.”
It was true, but her tone was strange. Jamie glanced around hurriedly before whispering in my ear.
“I heard that after you two get married, you’re planning to adopt your youngest brother and raise him as your son.”
“What?”
“They’re saying Andrea Walker will soon become Andrea Bellonde. Is that not true?”
I had no idea where such a ridiculous rumor could have possibly started.
“It’s not like that. We went to the academy together simply because His Highness happened to have business there, so I accompanied him.”
“Emily, there’s no need to hide it from me, is there? You can just be honest. You know how tight-lipped I am, right?”
As she said this, Jamie made a motion of zipping her lips. I’d sooner trust a cat to guard a fish market.
“So, when did it all start? You two always seemed so indifferent to each other while working together, so I never thought anything of it. Ah, was it when you two went on that business trip alone? Or was it when His Highness praised your work ethic?”
When I shook my head at all her suggestions, Jamie’s eyes widened.
“If it was before that, then don’t tell me… it was from the very beginning, when you first started working here?!”
How did the conversation get to this point?
“Wow~. Now I see, you’re quite the strategist, Emily! That’s amazing. Love is something you have to fight for, after all.”
With that, Jamie winked, as if she knew everything. This is driving me crazy. It was obvious she wouldn’t listen even if I tried to explain that it wasn’t true.
‘I expected rumors to fly, but I never imagined they’d be this ridiculous…’
Of course, Tristan being the Crown Prince would naturally draw more attention, but this seemed more intense than usual.
‘If the rumors have spread throughout high society… they must have reached Natalie’s ears by now.’
Just the thought of being harshly interrogated by Natalie already gave me a headache.
“Anyway, for the return gift to the Grand Duchy of Ghellain, it would be better to prepare some rare liquor instead of jewels.”
“Ah~. That would be better. The Grand Duchy is a cold and barren place, after all.”
“Yes. And here… if we revise this part of the speech for His Highness the Crown Prince’s birthday celebration…”
Jamie was instantly engrossed in my words. Say what you will, she was still a competent secretary.
Besides, Tristan’s birthday was not far off. We had been preparing diligently, but we still needed to review everything meticulously again and again in the time remaining.
‘It looks like I’ll be working late for a while.’
The Crown Prince’s office was already nicknamed ‘the Star of the Imperial Palace’ because its lights were said to never go out, even late at night.
‘In a way, is this a blessing in disguise? It means His Highness will also be pulling all-nighters here.’
As luck would have it, this made it difficult for Tristan to visit the ducal estate for a while.
If I was going to secretly acquire more corpses, now was the perfect time.
***
-My lord, who do you think I am! Eh? The big shot of the black market! Donald, at your service! Of course, even for someone like me, being asked to procure a freshly deceased corpse is a ta~d unreasonable, or so I thought, but the word ‘impossible’ isn’t in my dictionary! Well now, after I shook down the ledgers my father left me…
“Get to the point.”
-Yes, sir. I was thinking, how about we procure the bodies of executed criminals?
Donald said, rubbing his hands together eagerly from the other side of the video sphere.
“Executed criminals?”
-Yes. As you know, the Bellonde Empire carries out capital punishment, does it not? It’s typically by hanging. They’re cremated afterward, but the body of an executed prisoner technically belongs to their next of kin. However, in cases where the family is unknown, there’s a grace period. If no one comes forward, the body is cremated on a set date.
“Hmm.”
-So, if we were to sneak the body out during that grace period and just leave a record saying it was cremated! It’s the perfect crime, and no~body will ever know. That’s what I’m saying.
Listening to Donald, it sounded like a rather good plan. As long as there was no risk of getting caught.
“Are you planning to bribe the warden of the morgue?”
-Hehehe. No need for bribery. I’ve already got one of my own men planted in there.
Donald then added, ‘Information on who died and how is quite valuable, you see.’
He may look oafish, but he was every bit the kingpin who ruled the underworld.
“Good. In that case, how many bodies can you supply right away?”
-My lord, you ask as if it’s even a question! Is this Bellonde Empire not a massive empire that occupies a quarter of the continent!
Donald exclaimed, his voice brimming with excitement.
-My answer is ‘as many as you want’
