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“Are you really saying that right now?”
“Then?”
When I asked again, Louise said that his face turned red, then blue, and then he just frowned.
“I’m not going to tell!”
“What.”
That’s because he is growing up, so that’s what it’s like. From the way Louise gets mad for no reason, it seems like he needs to get more vitamins.
“So, what happened with the investigation?”
I stopped talking about things that weren’t important and got right to the point. I was very curious about how things were going outside the palace.
“We’re looking for the culprit, centering around the Marquis of Orsay and the Marquis of Romford, but it’s not enough. First of all, I think the items stolen by the thief will be put up for auction in the back alley.”
“That’s right.”
Louise also looked at the things the major aristocrats did, which was something I had asked for a few days ago.
“Where are you going to investigate this subject and use it?”
“I also have an idea. Please watch out for me.”
“Is this not the end?”
Of course. This is the beginning. Maybe Louise was sarcastic, but he came up and pulled me on the cheek as hard as he could.
“Let’s see. Let’s see. How dare you tell a lie to your brother?”
Do you care about me and spoil me? So, I shook my brother’s hand and asked him again what he wanted in return.
“What do you want?”
“Tell me honestly. What is your relationship with the crown prince?”
I laughed out loud in front of Louis, who had become unnecessarily serious. I just shrugged my shoulders indifferently.
“As you can see, we are good friends.”
“A good friend?”
“Should I say allies instead?” Oh, you also know. Why did I come to the imperial palace?”
You know already. I pushed Louis in the chin on purpose because he didn’t seem to believe me no matter how much I told him.
“If you want to get down to brass tacks, I’m the one who made His Highness’s political position stronger.”
“It’s been a long time since I’ve been slapped.”
Even if the princess hadn’t actually extended her hand to me at that moment, as long as she stared down her nose at my mother, our families would have been enemies from the start.
I just poured a little oil on it. Sure, why not?
“On top of that, I don’t have any feelings for him.”
In the original story, Ciel really pushed Alex to the point of bending his ego. However, he did not even glance at Ciel and he pushed her away coldly.
Even now, we’re just friends, so we’re nice to each other, but we don’t know if it’s wrong. Who knows what the outcome will be if it continues to get in the way.
It’s not that we didn’t know from the beginning, but we just met by necessity in the first place. Still, seeing Louise come out like this, our strategy seems to have worked quite well.
“I don’t think so.”
“You can think whatever you like. If I really become a crown princess, please let my brother be a butler.”
“That’s funny.”
“And Louise. I have one more favour to ask.”
This is really a request for my personal greed. Louise might refuse, but for now, there’s no one else to ask but this idiot.
If I talked carelessly about Regina to Theo’s brother, he might find out who she really is.
“What’s the request?”
“Actually, there is one more thing I want you to know.”
There was no way to find out about Regina after she left the palace. She just said what she had to say and then disappeared. With a desperate heart, I calmed down and begged Louis to do it.
“It’s not that difficult, but why are you asking me to do that?”
“That’s because Louise is the best in this field.”
I don’t know anything about the back alley, so I don’t know how to question anything else. I was thinking about that, but all I could do with my mouth was endlessly praise Louise.
“No one knows information as quickly and in as much detail as you do, right?”
Louise smirked at my compliments. Maybe it would be good for my older brother, who acts like he doesn’t care about compliments but really does.
We used to fight like we were enemies, but I started to regret it. Louise told me to try harder because chances like this don’t come along very often.
“You are cool, have a nice voice, and have long legs.”
“Well. Of course.”
“You are handsome, strong, and smart.”
My eyes are on Louise, but my mind is thinking of Alex, and the praise continues. Only after listening to my praise close to ‘Yongbieocheonga’ for more than ten minutes did Louise express his deep satisfaction.
“Well, it can’t be helped if you’ve always respected me that much. Even though I try to keep an open mind, I have to listen to my cute little sister.
I guess I’ll never ask you again. It’s so cringeworthy and dirty. Damn you. The curse made my throat tighten, but the corners of my mouth still shook, and a smile stayed on my face.
“Why not. Take this.”
“What’s this?”
Louise handed me a big paper bag. As soon as I opened the folds, a sweet smell stung my nostrils.
“This is caramel candy!”
“Yes. Can’t you quickly tell me how nice your brother was?”
There was so much processed food that it was impossible to see it from the palace. The back alley makes me think of Regina once more. I don’t know what she’s up to now. I reached in to get the caramel candy on the bottom, but I grabbed something soft instead.
“What’s this?”
When I saw a mean-looking doll that looked like a girl, I frowned. The stitched face on the yellow surface is very ugly, no matter how you look at it.
“What do you mean? What is that? I picked it up because it looks just like you.”
“What!”
Are you saying I’m this ugly? I want to scold him for something, but I can’t even curse at him right now because I’m in an untenable situation. People say that you can avoid murder if you use patience, patience, and patience three times.
We’ll see if we can find Regina. I have to pay back my older brother’s good favour three, no, ten times over.
I shed tears of blood as I endured Louis’ arrogant teasing.
* * *
“I’ve heard that you’ve been getting letters from Young Master Louise almost every day lately?”
At dinner time, Alex’s question left me speechless. I didn’t want to be caught investigating the back alley, so I purposely didn’t answer and only scooped up the soup innocently.
“Why are you avoiding looking into my eyes?”
“Oh, when did I?”
Anyway, he’s like a devil [1]. I laughed for no reason and asked Merryl to bring me more soup.
“The soup is so delicious today.”
“Tell me honestly. Are you up to something else?”
Alex didn’t seem to have any question that I was behind the theft of the jewels. I feel like I have to say I did something I didn’t do in front of those red eyes that seem to see through everything. I almost finished the soup and sighed.
“There is no such thing.”
It looks like I’ve already been caught, but Alex didn’t ask me any more questions and instead brought up another story.
“I’m thinking of going to church soon. Do you have any other plans?”
I’m dying of boredom because I have nothing planned. If it’s going out, that’s great, but I didn’t like the place.
“A church?”
“I had to meet with the priests to prepare for the Thanksgiving event. I thought it would be boring if you stayed in the prince’s palace, so why don’t we go out together?”
It’s a church. Our empire believes in a monotheistic god, like what Christians believe in. Although religious power is not very strong, religious leaders are called popes and have their own autonomous regions near the capital.
Even priests do not use their healing abilities as if they were using magic, but rather, they literally listen to people’s prayers and comfort them, like churches and temples, technically speaking, they play a role close to shamanism.
Their main role is to take care of orphans. People say that among children who have been abandoned, there are often children who can hear God’s voice. I thought I had heard that the current pope came from an orphanage.
I heard that since the pope wasn’t from a noble family, he didn’t have a problem with Alex’s lineage, but rather became his staunch supporter.
On Alex’s mother’s side, he treated her as completely out of the world, but at least if it wasn’t for the Pope’s help, Alex might have been out of line by now.
I think it would be good to talk to him at least once. Alex asked me about it before I did.
“When was the last time that you went?”
“Well. I think I went there for a wedding.”
I don’t remember it very well because it happened a long time ago. Even now, important nobles and members of the imperial family used to have their weddings in churches so that the gods could bless the happy couple. Why did Alex’s ears suddenly turn red?
“It’s a wedding.”
“What’s wrong with you?”
“No, nothing.”
Anyway, it doesn’t matter. It will take time for Louise to investigate anyway, so I decided to accept Alex’s offer calmly.
A few days later, on the morning of the church visit, I received a regular report letter from Louise. The letter finally contained information about Regina.
[No one knows where the father and daughter are.[They don’t live at the mansion very often.]
Judging from the context, it seems to be Regina’s current situation, but when I read that it wasn’t clear where she was, I was surprised and quickly moved on to the next line.
[The women often disappear. A few days ago, someone witnessed a conversation with a government official because of the management of the mansion.]
At least she’s still alive. I’ve been having nightmares for the past few days in case something big happened, but I finally let out a sigh of relief when it looked like she got out of there safely.
“Thanks god.”
“Why are you like that?”
I shook my head and hid the letter.
I changed into an outdoor dress because I have to go to church today. While Meryl went to get my clothes, I reclined on the sofa and read the contents.
[The auction is next Wednesday at 00:00.]
I can see the sprouts of the person who will become the next minister of intelligence. Louise really did keep all the information I asked for. I still have time before next Wednesday, so I folded the letter without worrying.
“Are you sure this is okay?”
“You are going to the temple. I think wearing a fancy outfit would be rather a nuisance.”
Today, I wore a floor-length dress to go out with a neat jacket. Wearing an ocher-colored jacket and maroon skirt, I looked more like an academy student than a lady, so I turned around in front of the mirror.
I’m used to looking at myself in the mirror now. Louise had given me snacks to put in my dress and set-in bag. I carried a big bag out of the room with Meryl.
“Miss. I’ll keep it for you at least until you get to the door.”
“It’s all right.”
I was sincerely relieved to hear that Regina was safe. I was worried that something bad had happened to Regina instead, as I had saved Greta, who should have been dead, as planned.
When I came down the stairs and headed to the hall, Alex was standing there, already ready.
“Your Highness?”
He said he was just going to a meeting, but today he looked like he put a lot of thought into how he dressed. Alex picked up my bag right away. He was wearing a uniform that he didn’t usually wear.
Notes:
[1] Like a devil means: Amazingly precise and accurate in action or guessing