🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 55
The Lady Only Deals in the Real Thing
At Bella’s subtle, complicated expression, Tesahe frowned.
“I know what you’re thinking, but that won’t happen.”
“What do you think I was thinking?”
“That woman tried to sway me. Isn’t that what you thought?”
“Nope.”
“Then what?”
Bella shrugged her shoulders.
“I was just thinking… you really do have something in common with your father.”
“Well, of course. I am his child.”
“Yeah, child. Aren’t you impressive…”
As though his only purpose was to make a report, Tesahe gave a slight bow and turned to leave.
Watching him steadily, Bella spoke.
“You’re not the only one with something to say.”
“Please, go ahead.”
“I did some digging too. While you were looking for Lugenot, I focused more on that bastard Aebor.”
Bella clenched her fist so tightly that her knuckles turned white.
Tesahe’s gaze lingered on her hand.
“There were a few others who suffered in the same way.”
“From my investigation, there were two cases.”
“Right. The tall wizard with green hair, green eyes, and glasses committed two crimes.”
Grinding her teeth, Bella pictured Aebor, his long green hair tied back, green eyes shining behind glasses.
After a moment of thought, Tesahe asked,
“So he disguised himself. Like how I use magic tools. But didn’t we already issue warrants while considering that possibility?”
Disguise magic and transformation tools both had limits.
Using magic to constantly maintain a disguise was a heavy drain on mana, and transformation tools could only alter partial features like hair or eye color.
So then—
“But an old man committed five very similar crimes.”
“…An old man, you said?”
“Yes. An old man with green eyes.”
Bella spat the words out.
“He worked as a butler in a mansion, stealing valuables. And he did it for months without being discovered.”
Her brow furrowed.
“There are only two possibilities. Either he has an accomplice, or…”
“Or Aebor’s magic is far more sophisticated than we thought. One of the two—but the latter seems more likely.”
“I agree. Be careful. That means Aebor can disguise himself as anyone.”
“Anyone…” muttering that word, Tesahe roughly raked a hand through his hair.
Watching him, Bella added,
“Of course, he can’t copy a person’s personality or character. Which means, to avoid being deceived, private conversations with close acquaintances could help. I know you’re not good at that sort of thing, though.”
“I don’t can’t, I don’t.”
“Well, we’ll see about that.”
Bella leaned casually against a pillar.
“So why are you here today? Really just to report?”
“I also came to receive the newly modified Lugenot-tracking artifact. They said they’ve improved sensitivity and divided the indicators into five levels for easier use.”
“And besides that?”
“I assigned Milton to investigate the hospital in order to trace the pawnshop owner, but there’s still no progress. I plan to personally visit and investigate soon.”
“Anything else?”
“Nothing.”
“…And yet you’ll still insist you simply ‘don’t’ have private conversations, Grand Duke?”
Raising one eyebrow, Tesahe bowed his head.
“I’ll take my leave.”
“Even if you’re busy, at least keep in touch from time to time.”
Whether he didn’t hear or simply pretended not to, Tesahe left without replying.
“That guy… someday he’ll get a taste of it himself,” Bella muttered, draining her glass of wine.
She stared at the empty glass for a moment, then rang a bell.
A nervous aide stepped in.
“Your Grace, you called?”
“Yes. Have the mages prepare a teleportation circle. I think I’ll be needing it soon.”
“What destination should we set?”
Bella poured herself another glass of wine.
“The capital of Preslipe. The Ashen Street.”
“Y-your Grace… you don’t mean…”
“What? Worried I’ll be away too long? The Grand Duke doesn’t use teleportation, so it’s a hassle for him to travel back and forth. But me? I can be there and back in five minutes.”
That wasn’t the problem.
Surely she wasn’t planning to pick a fight with the Grand Duke right in the middle of another nation’s capital?
Fear filled the aide’s eyes. Bella shook her head slowly.
“Do you think I’d go there just to see that brooding man? What about him is even remotely attractive?”
“Then…?”
“I’m curious. About the basis for judging him innocent.”
Bella’s crimson eyes glimmered coldly as she smirked.
“I’m the type who only believes what I see for myself.”
Shivering, the aide backed out of the office.
“Finally… I made it!”
At last, the Belcato Sanatorium came into view.
Panting, I collapsed onto the roadside after climbing the hill.
‘How many times did I transfer just to avoid being followed?’
From train to carriage to ship to tram, and then back to train again—it had been a grueling journey.
I wrote all the names under aliases and even changed clothes several times along the way.
I didn’t forget to check whether any fellow passengers were on the same route as me either.
‘Anyway, Hugo and Rosanne are far too busy with Nicholas’s matter right now. That’s why I waited for this timing.’
That first man I’d suspected of being someone’s aide had been a problem—but since he was clumsy, he didn’t seem like much of a threat.
After resting a while, I showed my ID and admission documents to the guards and passed through the main gate.
They seemed suspicious of me slumped half-dead outside the entrance, so the verification procedure was strict—but that was actually a relief.
‘This strict security is exactly why I chose this sanatorium.’
After navigating a maze of corridors, I finally reached the VIP ward.
Since Grandfather was VVIP, he stayed on the top floor of the building.
As it wasn’t visiting hours yet, they asked me to wait, so I sat down in the lounge.
‘Oh no, I can’t calm down.’
What if I burst into tears the moment I see Grandfather’s face out of sheer joy?
I mustn’t cry. That would only make him worry.
As I secretly practiced deep breaths, I remembered something and approached a staff member.
“I sent some herbs by mail a few days ago, but I brought fresher ones today. Could I replace them?”
“Ah, yes of course. You mean the regular package you send for the VVIP patient, correct? I’ll swap it out.”
“Yes, and please give me the old package.”
The staff retrieved the parcel from the [VVIP] herb storage and handed it to me.
I had been sending snow-mint roots under an alias, always packaged with other small items—like books or magazines Grandfather enjoyed, his favorite pens, or photographs.
But this time, there was something different inside.
Unwrapping the herbs, I smiled faintly.
‘Grandfather hasn’t seen this yet. I can tell him about it today.’
It was none other than Lina’s emerald pendant.
‘The postal service and sanatorium inspect packages, but they only check for poison or magic formulas. Holy power isn’t on their list—so this was the perfect method.’
When I needed to hide the pendant from Aylan’s eyes, the first person who came to mind was Grandfather.
He was the one person I could trust with it absolutely.
No one else even crossed my mind.
‘The only worry was that it might get misdelivered. But the Imperial Post is famous for never making mistakes.’
Smiling with satisfaction, I carefully rewrapped the pendant and tucked it into my bag.
‘It’s also why I had to postpone Lina’s invitation. To return the pendant, I had to come to the sanatorium.’
Checking the time, I realized visiting hours had begun.
But as I stood, I froze.
‘Why are the nurses suddenly rushing around? What’s happening?’
One of the nurses spotted me in the lounge and hurried over.
No way.
“You’re the guardian of the VVIP patient, correct?”
No way.
“I don’t know how to tell you this… but visitation won’t be possible today.”
“Wh-why? What… what happened? Did something go wrong?”
“The patient… isn’t waking up.”
Thud.
My heart plummeted.
“Guardian! Guardian, are you alright?”
When I came back to my senses, I was on the emergency stairwell, struggling to run upstairs—only to be restrained by security guards.
