Translator: Nox

Chapter 19

'Second Prince?'

I stared at the person before me, utterly dumbfounded.

'Why is the Second Prince here?'

Zikfriden Valkaid. Zikren, the Second Prince, for short.

The founding ancestress, the 'Mother of All Dragons,' had passed down the bloodlines of every dragon race to her descendants, just as her name implied.

Among them, Zikren—with his red hair alone making it obvious—was the one whose Red Dragon bloodline had manifested.

He was the complete opposite of Aldensis.

Unlike his brother who buttoned his uniform all the way to the collar, he wandered around in skimpy clothes that looked like they were made from scraps because they were too hot.

He was hot-blooded, quicker to use his fists than his head.

The only thing he had in common with his brother was an overwhelmingly intense presence.

The conference hall erupted like a kicked beehive at the arrival of the ever-topical Second Prince.

"Your Highness, what brings you here? Shouldn't you be at the Imperial Palace Grand Ball by now? What on earth is going on?"

"It's all because of this old lady."

Everyone turned toward the sudden voice.

A short old woman who had been sitting quietly in the corner, unnoticed by anyone.

She stood and removed her wide-brimmed hat.

"Lady Peruvia!"

The attendees hurriedly paid their respects.

Lady Peruvia. A name I'd seen in the papers.

A 70-year-old imperial relative attending as a VIP at this merchant conference. She was the emperor's aunt by blood and close to the crown prince brothers.

She devoted herself solely to overseeing the imperial workshop's music box production.

But the merchant group leader who'd handled her music box sales for the past 30 years was retiring, so she needed a new one.

'From the description alone, she seems completely unrelated to that night's murder.'

I observed Lady Peruvia closely.

The old lady, sometimes called the 'king's aunt' in the papers, looked cheerful and unassuming.

Her blue eyes sparkled as she said,

"That's right. I'm here. Everyone, don't mind me and carry on with what you were doing."

"No......"

The event staff were flustered by the unexpected situation.

"You should have said something when you arrived. Why were you hiding in the temporary seats?"

"I came early to gauge the atmosphere."

Zikren replied.

"Lady Peruvia's music box business might seem trivial to others, but it's a precious pastime and pension for her. We must find the right person. And......"

He paused there.

"This was supposed to be a secret, but actually, there's another important purpose to this conference."

"Pardon? What's that?"

Instead of answering, Second Prince Zikren strode over and yanked back a curtain on one side of the hall.

Large letters were revealed.

<Selection of Imperial Secret Project Contractor>.

The hall buzzed once more.

"Imperial secret project?"

"That's right. My brother and I are jointly undertaking an important project. We can't disclose the details due to circumstances, but we plan to select the contractor here today."

"Why hold such an important conference on the same day as the Imperial Palace Grand Ball? Was it intentional?"

"Exactly. It was this old lady's idea."

The king's aunt smiled gently.

"My music box business is precious to me. Those who prefer dancing over business can go enjoy the ball. I wanted to talk only with the real deal—merchants whose eyes turn red at the sight of profit. The crown prince and Second Prince agreed it was a good plan."

I see.

The merchant leaders exchanged glances.

There had been rumors that the reclusive old lady was out of touch with the world and unaware of the ball date, but it turned out everything was planned.

They deliberately overlapped the dates so the Crown Prince could handle high society at the ball while the Second Prince attended the merchant-only conference to find a contractor.

"This was a test in itself! We passed by sheer luck!"

"Exactly."

Zikren replied.

"There were too many even at C-rank, so we first filtered out the flies. But......"

He turned with an extremely displeased expression. His gaze ended on me.

"I never expected we'd fail to catch the biggest fly."

Our eyes met in midair.

Zikren's gaze was so intense it felt like thunder was crashing in the background.

'Enemies meet on a single log bridge, huh.'

Aristina and Zikren were mortal enemies—more like dogs who fought at every encounter.

'What? I clearly came here to avoid those scary brothers, but even backing away, I stepped on a landmine? Talk about rotten luck.'

I was flabbergasted. Given Zikren's personality, I figured he'd never share space with me. He'd leave, or I'd leave.

But he couldn't storm out now since he had to conduct this major secret contract here. So what was the answer?

'......I leave.'

Sure enough. Zikren's burning golden eyes narrowed vertically like a reptile's pupils.

"Duchess Aristina, you're technically a merchant group leader and passed the entry criteria, but......"

"Yet you're going to use your power to kick me out anyway?"

I cut him off swiftly, and Zikren bristled.

"It's not baseless! You're a party destroyer! Most parties you've attended ended in fights or incidents midway! And......!"

He slammed the desk.

"Who always had to drag your flailing self out? Me! Just seeing you gives me trauma!"

"You look way too imposing for someone suffering trauma."

"Moderator!"

Zikren ignored me and called the event staff.

"As far as I know, there's a measure for issues before the conference starts: decide by attendee vote! Right?"

"That's correct."

"Good! Let's do it. Vote on whether to eject Duchess Aristina."

"Pardon?"

I looked at the moderator in panic.

"Moderator! Did I do anything wrong today? Break rules or cause a scene?"

"N-No."

The moderator sweated profusely, caught between us.

"Surprisingly, Duchess, you've been the most rule-obsessed among all the merchant leaders here."

"Hear that? How does voting me out make sense? It's just mobbing one person. Can a prince do that?"

"Hmph!"

Zikren's lip curled.

"Meaning you'll definitely get kicked out by vote—you admit it too?"

"......"

"You know it. Everyone here will vote to eject you! That proves how many wrongs you've committed! This vote is payment for your past sins! Pay up, Duchess Aristina!"

Why was he so eloquent today?

Zikren, who favored brawn over brains, holding his own like this.

He must have prepared thoroughly. This contract must hold real importance for the prince brothers.

'What on earth is it?'

Whatever. Not my business. I had a fire on my foot right now.

For me, this went beyond business—it was life-or-death survival in this world.

"......!"

Our eyes clashed fiercely again.

Then the moderator awkwardly interjected, hands full of paper ballots.

"W-Well...... I must obey His Highness's command, so......"

"That's right! Distribute the ballots now!"

"I'll sue if you do!"

"Distribute them right now!"

As the moderator squeezed his eyes shut and began handing out ballots under the prince's order.

"Wait!"

Someone rushed over, showed a document, and whispered something.

"Hm?"

The moderator's expression turned strange.

The next moment, the ballots about to be distributed vanished back into his hand.

Zikren asked with a puzzled face.

"Why?"

"Your Highness, regrettably, the vote is impossible."

"Why? It's by the rules!"

"It is, but......"

The moderator showed him the document he'd just received.

"An investor has already attached to the duchess's 'Black Rose Merchant Group.' That means operations have commenced, so we can't eject that group by vote."

I was shocked hearing the explanation.

'An investor?'

Not just me—everyone looked incredulous. Zikren scowled and asked,

"Who invested?"

"W-We can't disclose that. We've sworn never to reveal anonymous investors' personal info."

Anonymous investor. Duke Karnel, maybe?

Did he secretly intervene to prevent my humiliation at the conference?

I considered it, but no, it didn't fit.

Duke Karnel had zero interest in my attending this conference. He wouldn't know the situation in real-time.

Even if he did, he'd let me face the embarrassment. He believed daughters needed to taste the world's bitterness.

'No matter how I think about it, not the duke......'

I tilted my head, lost in thought.

'Who on earth?'