Chapter 32

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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 32
Chapter Title: My Sister, My Enemy, Cares for Me
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Wow, how did he figure that out?

“A lie?”

I asked again, surprised.

“Why do you think that?”

“Well... it’s a judgment based on more detailed information I heard from Iris.”

Theon’s face grew serious. He seemed to be methodically organizing something in his head.

“Rumors get inflated and exaggerated. To determine their veracity, you need other information.”

“Other information, you mean…”

“I heard about the Count and Countess’s romance, their personalities, and their discord before the scandal. And the conclusion I reached was that the scandal was a lie.”

He spoke with considerable confidence. He seemed convinced that his analysis was correct, no matter what the rumors said.

“The Count himself probably started it.”

“The Count... why?”

I asked again.

“To provoke his wife. After all, the Countess was the one who took a lover first.”

My eyes widened. This time, it wasn’t an act; I was genuinely surprised.

He knew that too? I hadn’t even expected that much.

Theon’s analysis was incredibly accurate. It was the true course of events in this incident, something no one in the Imperial Palace had managed to uncover.

This was an incident that had also occurred in my previous life.

When the Countess, bored with her marriage, had an affair, the Count, instead of pleading or getting angry, chose a radical method: fighting fire with fire to provoke his wife’s jealousy.

Look, such an amazing woman wants your husband!

He seemed to want to convey a message along those lines.

In fact, she returned to her husband six months later, but unfortunately, by then, the Count had already emptied his family’s fortune to pay for the scandal, handing it all over to Lucy Amalia.

I don’t know if they lived happily ever after in poverty.

And this bizarre tale would be revealed to the world by a certain footman who left the Count’s family because he wasn’t paid, but that would be about a year from now.

But to think someone had immediately uncovered the truth behind this rumor. It was the result of Iris’s intelligence and Theon’s insight.

It was as if their abilities had been proven.

“Amazing, Theon.”

When I offered genuine praise, he scratched the back of his head with an embarrassed expression.

“Oh, it’s nothing. I’m just a bit sensitive to rumors. If you have any other questions, please feel free to ask me anytime. I can find out right away by sending a letter to Iris.”

“Wow, you’d do that for me?”

Amazing. Even before I asked, he said exactly what I wanted to hear.

“Of course. If it weren’t for you, Lady, I wouldn’t even have been able to maintain my status as a knight. What’s more, you even went to great lengths to ensure I wasn’t punished for this recent outing…”

Before I knew it, Theon was back to his emotional self, about to sniffle.

“Anything Lady Harper is curious about, I’ll find out for you.”

“Wow.”

“Oh, and of course, the fact that I told you these things is a secret. As you know, my main job is to be your bodyguard.”

“Okay! I promise!”

I prepared to get to the main point.

Now I’ll ask Theon for all the information I need. No holding back.

“Then, please find out if there are any Acetran addicts among the nobles in the Imperial Palace.”

I asked without hesitation. Theon tilted his head, looking puzzled.

“Acetran? You mean that hallucinogen?”

“Yes.”

I nodded.

Acetran is a drug made from a highly addictive poisonous herb.

It’s mainly kept at gambling dens to fleece wealthy patrons, causing those who consume it to lose all self-control.

It’s said that once a person tries the drug, they not only lose the self-control to stop gambling, which they might have enjoyed casually, but they also constantly seek out the same drug, eventually squandering their entire fortune.

Many addicts exist, known and unknown, and according to Vittori’s research, it can only be cured with Yellow-Green Herb.

Hearing my words, Theon scratched his head again, pressing his lips together instead of nodding.

“...Is it difficult?”

I asked.

Was it too much internal information? Is his network still lacking?

“Oh, no, it’s not difficult.”

However, Theon soon shook his head.

“I couldn’t answer because there’s no need to find out.”

“Huh?”

“I already know. The former Count Rostian residing in the Imperial Palace.”

He answered fluently and without hesitation. My eyes widened as I stared at Theon.

“The former Count Rostian? The current Count’s father?”

“Yes. He fell into gambling, even handed his title over to his son, and now apparently lives in a gambling den. If he pushed his family to the brink of bankruptcy, it can’t be anything but drug addiction.”

Wow, what a gossip fiend.

How much news had he gathered in such a short time?

I looked at Theon with the face of someone seeing a hero, then took out a large butter cookie from the glass jar on my desk.

“Here, take it.”

“...What is this?”

“It’s payment for the information.”

When I said it confidently, Theon looked at the cookie with an adorable expression.

“Haha, you should keep such things for yourself, Lady…”

“Jena made it. I got the only one she had.”

The moment the chef’s name left my lips, Theon’s cheeks flushed. Jena was the kitchen staff he’d been flirting with.

“What, what did you say?! Give it to me!”

He took the cookie as if it were a treasure.

“Hmph, you’re too generous, Lady. To give me something so precious for such trivial information…”

Watching Theon’s smile spread happily, I thought about the next stage of my investment.

Count Rostian, I’ll prevent your bankruptcy.

That way, you’ll pay handsomely for passage later.

***

“What?! What happened to Gale?”

The first Prince of the Empire, Calein Ignisius Bayan, roared, his voice echoing through Axion Palace. The knight reporting to him flinched.

“Well... we did apprehend His Royal Highness the Second Prince, but it seems Sir Osmond suffered a mishap in the process.”

Bang!

Calein’s fist slammed against the wall. His face contorted with rage.

“Tell me what kind of mishap he suffered in that damned Luperne Duchy!”

“That is…”

“Don’t hide a single thing! Tell me everything!”

The reporting knight stammered, struggling to explain, before finally opening his mouth.

“So, he chased some suspicious individuals and inadvertently jumped into a portal…”

“...and vomited disgracefully.”

“And somehow he met Sir Aramis Mueller…”

“...who fought Osmond when he was twelve and made him cry.”

“And they clashed swords…”

“...and he was trampled again this time. It seems he’s had terrible training.”

“Wait, who keeps interrupting?!”

Calein shouted.

Listening closely, another voice kept interjecting every time the knight reported something.

Moreover, the tone of that voice carried a subtle mockery towards the Imperial Knight Commander.

Calein scanned the room, looking for the audacious person who dared to interrupt his conversation with the knight.

“Your Royal Highness, Lady Luperne has arrived.”

A timid maid’s voice came from a corner of the room. Only then did Calein notice Callista standing by the doorway.

As always, she wore a sneer, showing not an ounce of respect for Calein.

“Wh-what?! When did you come?! How dare you just barge in without reporting!”

Calein shouted, his voice filled with fury. But Callista stood in the same posture, not even batting an eyelid.

“I apologize, Your Royal Highness! I actually reported my arrival earlier…”

“Then make sure I can hear you!”

At his reprimand, the maid lowered her head.

“You yell at everything, Your Royal Highness, so of course, people can’t hear you.”

Callista sighed deeply and said. Calein’s anger deepened further.

“You, you weren’t the one who interrupted earlier, were you…?”

“Yes, it was me. Isn’t it obvious?”

Without permission, she walked past the door and directly in front of Calein.

“It’s been a while, Your Royal Highness.”

Callista stood rigidly, not even bowing her head once as she greeted him.

“Callista of Luperne greets Your Royal Highness.”

Her piercing blue eyes, fixed on Calein, shone dangerously.

“H-H-Huh?!”

Calein cried out involuntarily.

Because in Callista’s hand, as she approached him, was a long sword.

Although she held her arm down towards the floor, it was a real sword with a gleaming, sharp blade.

“How dare you... how dare you enter with a sword! Why didn’t the guards stop her?!”

“Oh, this, you mean?”

Callista raised an eyebrow, as if amused.

“It’s something the Commander of the 2nd Knight Order left behind in the Luperne Duchy.”

She quickly raised the sword and thrust it towards Calein, the sound of the blade slicing through the air echoing in the room.

Whoosh!

His shoulders flinched.

“I merely came to return it personally, so please don’t misunderstand, Your Royal Highness.”

As Callista finished speaking, she plunged the tip of the sword into the floor at Calein’s feet.

Calein, unable to dodge in time, let out another scream.

Gah!

Thud!

Fortunately, the sword didn’t pierce Calein’s instep but instead embedded itself precisely half a finger’s length from the tip of his right foot, vibrating violently.

For a brief moment, Calein’s face turned ashen.

“Is this indeed an item belonging to the Knight Order?”

“Im-impudent!”

“I asked if it was.”

“...It is.”

Calein answered, flustered. But after speaking, he felt as if the roles of questioner and questioned had strangely reversed.

He cleared his throat once, then changed his expression and glared fiercely at Callista.

“You speak well, the Luperne family dared to disobey the Imperial Knight Order’s command and even attacked him, so this is an act of treason…”

“Those in plain clothes didn’t show their identification and immediately drew their weapons to attack a civilian.”

Callista cut him off without giving him an inch. Every single word struck his ears like a blow.

“Surely that wasn’t Your Royal Highness’s command?”

“Th-that…”

At Callista’s words, the surrounding servants widened their eyes, staring at the two of them.

Calein’s face flushed, and he fell silent. If he admitted Callista’s words now, it would truly be an act of tyranny by the Imperial Family.

Calein even hoped this incident wouldn’t reach the Emperor’s ears.

“Then please dismiss your attendants. I have something important to say.”

Callista looked directly at Calein and said. The chilling aura seemed to freeze anyone who witnessed it.