Chapter 1

“It looks like Lake Peter.”

A man admired her silently.

Her clear green eyes reminded him of the crystal lake at the peak of Mount Puckert.

“She’s like a swan.”

Another man thought the same.

Her slender white neck and the white dress with its low neckline were breathtakingly beautiful.

This was a ball held in the Therman Empire.

A masquerade ball, held for the first time in a very long while.

Among all the guests, the woman attracting the most attention was a lady in a white dress with elegantly pinned-up brown hair.

Countless men tried to get a dance with her.

But every single one failed.

They simply couldn’t catch her.

When someone called, “Miss!”

She walked faster.

When someone called, “Young lady!”

She disappeared into the crowd.

Unless she was doing it on purpose, such behavior would have been impossible.

But surprisingly, she really was doing it on purpose.

“Where on earth is that man?”

Her eyes continuously swept across the nobles, searching for a specific person.

All while skillfully avoiding every invitation directed at her.

Then, at that moment—

Her green eyes widened.

At the same time, a lazy voice she had heard earlier replayed in her ears.

“Come to think of it, Shiorin, you’ve never met Baron Eric, have you? He’s a gloomy fellow who rarely attends social events. Instead, he plants people everywhere and gathers information through them.”

The woman, who had been standing still, finally began to move.

Click. Click.

Her heels struck the marble floor.

“But this masquerade ball will be hard for even him to refuse. First, everyone can wear masks. Second, the invitation inspection is so strict that he can’t send a substitute in his place.”

The dull violin melody was coming to an end.

She had to seize this opportunity before the next song began.

“I’ve never spoken to him, but I’ve seen him from a distance. He’s about two hand spans shorter than me, has blond hair and blue eyes. I heard he especially likes the color blue because it resembles his eyes. And most importantly…”

At last, Shiorin caught up to him and stepped directly in front of him.

“He’s got an unbelievably serious duck butt.”

“Would you care to dance with me?”

After confirming his distinctive backside, she gave him a seductive smile.

The man in the blue suit stared at her in surprise.

He seemed completely caught off guard by the invitation.

But Shiorin didn’t miss the opportunity.

Leaning close to his ear, she whispered softly.

“Because you’re a duck… I mean, because you’re exactly the type of man I’ve been waiting for all this time…”

At her gentle voice, barely louder than a breath, the man shivered.

His guard instantly crumbled, and he looked at her with softened eyes.

Just as Baron Eric, completely won over by temptation, awkwardly extended his hand—

“Mmm.”

Shiorin lightly wagged a finger and smiled sweetly.

Then she removed her white glove and tossed it beneath a nearby table.

…Because to use her ability, her bare hand was absolutely necessary.

Soon, the man and woman began moving together to the lively rhythm of the waltz.

Shiorin, who had been waiting for this moment, took a deep breath.

And finally—

The instant her hand settled on top of the baron’s thick hand—

Flash!

Her vision turned completely white.

Concentrating deeply, she felt dozens of scenes rush into her mind like strips of film.

Naturally, the owner of those memories was…

Baron Eric.

“Young lady, are you feeling unwell?”

Taking advantage of their closeness, the unsuspecting baron asked with concern.

“Not at all.”

She answered with a bright smile and continued dancing gracefully.

It was the most beautiful moment of the Crown Prince’s ball.

And having finally obtained what she wanted, she secretly smiled to herself.

Her name was Shiorin Berche.

A detective with supernatural powers who worked on Estreet’s Twelfth Avenue.

***

The power to see memories.

Honestly, it was the kind of absurd ability nobody would believe, not even a stray dog.

But what if someone was born with not one, but two unbelievable abilities?

The second one was…

Memories of a previous life.

She remembered her past life.

In that life, she had been Kim Ha-kyung.

A thirty-four-year-old office worker from South Korea.

The moment she first realized this, she screamed for an entire week.

After all, she had spent more than a decade studying, only to die in an accident.

And not just any accident.

She was hit while crossing a perfectly normal crosswalk on the very day she had been promoted to team manager.

“This has to be a dream.”

She repeated that cliché line at least fifty thousand times.

But no matter how many times she opened her eyes, reality never changed.

The only thing she could do was adapt to her new life.

Fortunately, she had been reborn as the daughter of a newly rich baron.

Otherwise, she might have completely lost her mind.

And so, after years of secretly cursing her situation and eventually reaching adulthood—

Her life of luxury turned out not to be so peaceful after all.

“Shiorin. You’re of marriageable age now. It’s time to prepare for marriage.”

Her mother spoke with a warm, gentle smile.

To Shiorin, who had only recently adjusted to noble life, it felt like a bolt from the blue.

“Mother… are you telling me to enter a political marriage?”

For someone whose previous life still felt like yesterday, it was impossible to accept.

She had even rejected blind dates in her former life.

How could she possibly agree to an arranged marriage?

However, her parents, who usually spoiled her endlessly, were completely firm on this matter.

In the end, the one who gave up was Shiorin.

“Forget the inheritance. I’ll live my own life.”

And so she headed for Estreet’s Twelfth Avenue.

A gloomy alley where nobles never set foot and even carriages rarely entered.

There, an old man named Bern Howard laughed as if he had just witnessed a soccer player score an own goal.

“I knew you’d end up like this. You were always talking about Sherlock Holmes or whatever. So you finally gave up being a rich baron’s daughter, huh?”

“…”

It was true.

Back when she had been Kim Ha-kyung,

her favorite book had been Sherlock Holmes.

That was why she had secretly worked as an assistant under the old man, who loved alcohol and gossip but was surprisingly skilled at detective work.

Whenever Howard couldn’t get paid, she secretly used her supernatural ability to help him.

In that way, they maintained a mutually beneficial partnership.

About three years later—

A letter suddenly arrived.

Shiorin. I have to leave for a while.

Entrust the Howard Detective Agency to yourself until I return.

…And then Howard vanished.

Leaving behind only that single letter.

“Wow. Hahaha.”

At first, the situation was so ridiculous that she could only laugh.

“…”

But lately, it had become increasingly depressing.

The old man was nearly seventy.

She was starting to wonder if he’d developed dementia and simply forgotten how to come home.

And so, after supporting herself alone for two years—

“You’re quite late.”

A cool night breeze drifted in through the open terrace window.

Under the unusually bright moonlight stood a platinum-blond man, smiling.

“The waltz selection was awful. It was unnecessarily long.”

Kicking off her high heels, she replied flatly.

Then she removed her corset.

The man’s eyes widened.

“Are you trying to seduce me right now?”

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

She shot back in less than a tenth of a second.

Finally able to breathe properly, she took a deep breath.

The maids had tightened her corset so much today that it felt like torture.

Still, thanks to that effort, she had successfully charmed the baron.

“Should I thank this man for that? But why should I? I’m the one who took the job.”

The man, who had been watching with amusement, was now standing right in front of her.

After fixing her dress, she looked directly at him.

The heir to the throne of the Therman Empire.

Crown Prince Sasha Colby.

“Your Highness, your guess was correct. Count Cotrin secretly met Baron Eric near Forks a week ago. And Count Cotrin signed the Pantel Mine purchase contract under a false name.”

As she delivered the information confidently, the smile slowly disappeared from Sasha’s face.

“Then… Count Cotrin really is trying to monopolize the mines.”

“Essentially, yes. The Pantel Mine, where gold was recently discovered, originally belonged to Baron Eric. If it ends up under Count Cotrin’s name, then more than half of the western mines will belong to him.”

Recalling the memories she had just seen, she spoke with a displeased expression.

“Hmm.”

Sasha stroked his chin before speaking again.

“So… where is the contract now?”

At that question, Shiorin suddenly brightened.

The moment she had been waiting for had finally arrived.

Seeing her obvious excitement, Sasha laughed in disbelief.

But the heart of a worker who had finally finished overtime could only beat faster.

Like an employee proudly handing in paperwork after an all-night shift, she answered eagerly.

“The contract is in Baron Eric’s villa. Under a flowerpot in the living room. There’s a safe beneath a green floor tile.”