Chapter 10

“What is all this…?”

Shiorin stood frozen in place, looking completely stunned.

She wasn’t exaggerating when she thought this was the most extravagant meal she had ever seen in her life.

The long rectangular dining table was covered with luxurious dishes.

It looked as if someone had gathered every delicacy in the world and placed it before her.

Even though she had grown up in a wealthy baron’s household, she had never seen a feast like this.

And that glowing green fish…

Even the Crown Prince had once told her it was incredibly rare.

“Why are you still standing there, Detective? Hurry up and sit down before the food gets cold!”

“Ugh!”

Before she knew it, Catherine had grabbed her and pushed her into a chair.

Naturally, the person sitting beside her was Daniel Howard, who had recently returned from a long business trip and was faithfully contributing to the household expenses and water bill.

At that moment, Lady Sullivan, who was sitting across from them, smiled warmly.

“Thank you both for accepting our invitation. We prepared everything with great care. I only hope it isn’t lacking.”

“This is the kind of meal that would make even an emperor sit up straight…”

Shiorin awkwardly smiled at the unnecessary concern.

Meanwhile, Miss Sullivan, whom she hadn’t seen in nearly a month, smiled like a delicate flower.

Thankfully, she looked completely different from the broken woman Shiorin had seen in court.

Her eyes sparkled as she spoke.

“It’s an honor to see you both again. You probably have no idea how grateful my mother, Catherine, and in fact our entire Sullivan family are to the two of you.”

Catherine immediately nodded enthusiastically.

Lady Sullivan, clasping her hands together, added more.

“You may not know this, but the money Foldrin Argus stole was recovered. Baron Longstein acquired the shares of Lento Publishing that were registered under my late husband’s name. He said it had been his son’s dream and decided to purchase the company himself.”

Ah, so that’s why they could afford this fish…

“Thanks to that, our family was able to pay off our debts and start over. It almost feels as though we’ve gone back to the days before my husband died. Detective, you didn’t just save my daughter. You’re the benefactor of our entire family.”

Caught off guard by the praise, Shiorin quickly waved her hands.

“What are you talking about? A benefactor?”

But despite her protests, she couldn’t stop her cheeks from puffing up with pride.

Soon a grin crept onto her face.

“This is exactly why being a detective is so rewarding.”

Beside her, Daniel’s dimples deepened more and more.

But Shiorin didn’t notice.

Instead, she spoke in a gentle voice.

“Actually, the person who deserves your gratitude isn’t me. It’s Catherine. She came to me crying and begging me to save Miss Sullivan. Not once did she ever doubt her. I think it was Catherine’s faith in her that ultimately saved your family.”

The words were completely unexpected.

Lady Sullivan froze.

Both she and her daughter turned to look at Catherine.

As tears began gathering in their eyes, Catherine panicked.

“Oh, come on now, Detective! Why are you saying things like that? You know I can’t handle compliments! I just did what anyone should’ve done! You’re the one who solved everything! Honestly… Miss, let’s just give her the tickets already!”

The emotional atmosphere immediately shattered.

“Huh? Tickets?”

Sullivan hurriedly reached into her clothes.

When Shiorin received what she handed over, her eyes widened.

“Wait… this is…!”

They were two tickets to Patrang Theater.

Even nobles paid outrageous prices to obtain them.

For ordinary people, getting one was nearly impossible.

Patrang Theater was considered the finest theater in the entire Therman Empire.

Famous playwrights from all over the world gathered there to stage productions.

The actors were exceptional, the quality of the plays unmatched, and ticket prices were astronomical.

And the play currently showing there was none other than Bestia.

A masterpiece written by Pierson, widely considered the greatest playwright alive.

Even better, the lead role was being played by the beautiful actress Shafez Malone.

Shiorin, who had a weakness for attractive people, immediately became excited.

“Does this mean I’ll actually get to see Shafez in person?”

Overwhelmed, she instinctively covered her mouth.

When she checked the seats, she nearly fainted.

They were practically VIP seats.

It felt exactly like winning tickets to see her favorite celebrity from the front row.

Her cheeks turned red with excitement.

“How did you get these? These are unbelievably hard to obtain!”

Catherine smiled proudly.

“We didn’t know what you’d like, so I asked Marta. She told us you’d been talking nonstop about wanting to see Bestia. After hearing that, Miss Sullivan and Lady Sullivan worked very hard to get those tickets.”

“Wow, really? Thank you so much, everyone!”

Watching her react like an excited child, Lady Sullivan smiled warmly.

Miss Sullivan laughed as well, then suddenly clapped her hands.

“Oh, right!”

Her eyes sparkled.

“Detective, do you know Aaron Bellion? The second son of Marquis Bellion. He’s the one who got us the tickets.”

Pfft.

The smile hanging on Shiorin’s face vanished instantly.

Even Daniel, sitting beside her, noticed the sudden change.

Like a robot shutting down, Shiorin slowly turned her head.

“Aaron Bellion…? How did that happen?”

Catherine answered instead.

“I was asking Marta about it, and apparently he overheard us. He said he already had tickets and offered to make a deal. So Lady Sullivan bought them from him.”

Miss Sullivan nodded.

Shiorin pressed a hand against her forehead.

At that moment, Daniel leaned closer.

“So you know the second son of Marquis Bellion?”

Everyone else immediately looked at her as well.

“Haha…”

She laughed awkwardly and waved her hands.

“Know him? Not really. I’ve just heard things through detective work.”

“Hmm, I don’t know about that…”

Catherine narrowed her eyes.

“The moment he heard your name, he got awfully enthusiastic.”

“He really did, Detective.”

“He was extremely enthusiastic.”

All three women agreed at once.

“…”

The combined pressure of four pairs of eyes settled on her.

Still, Shiorin stubbornly pretended not to notice.

She enthusiastically waved the theater tickets around.

“Wow! Look at these!”

“…”

“…”

The reaction wasn’t great.

But there was no way she could explain.

Because explaining her relationship with Aaron would reveal that she was Baron Berche’s daughter.

“Aaron, you idiot. Why did you have to get involved?”

Aaron Bellion.

The second son of the Bellion family, the most influential family in the distribution industry.

Since childhood, he had followed her around like an annoying little puppy.

At one point, he had even manipulated things behind the scenes just to end up in the same classroom as her.

His smooth-talking face had annoyed her endlessly.

No matter how hard she tried to avoid him, he always appeared somewhere.

Like some kind of noble version of Hong Gil-dong.

And when she turned nineteen…

The first marriage proposal sent to House Berche had come from the Bellion family.

It wasn’t difficult to guess whose idea that had been.

“And after I rejected it, Aaron practically became bedridden.”

She thought that would finally be the end of it.

But then—

“Aaron Detective Agency…? You? Are you joking?”

“Hey! I’m not joking! I’ve always been interested in this kind of work!”

A few months after she ran away from home, Aaron showed up at Howard Detective Agency.

Then he proudly handed her a flashy golden business card with the absurd words Aaron Detective Agency written on it.

He followed her after graduation.

He followed her after she rejected his proposal.

She was so moved by his relentless persistence that she immediately tore the card into pieces.

Then she shouted at him until old Bern Howard, who had been sleeping drunk upstairs, came running down in shock.

She couldn’t even remember exactly what she said.

But it was probably something along the lines of:

“Please disappear from my life.”

The last thing she remembered was the look on Aaron’s face.

For once, he had seemed genuinely hurt.

That had been years ago.

And yet…

“You’re still alive and bothering me, you squid-faced prince…”

“I really don’t know him that well.”

Shiorin quickly changed the subject.

“He probably just heard about me from Marta. You know how she advertises my detective agency everywhere. She’s always worried I’ll starve to death. Honestly, it’s all thanks to Marta’s connections.”

Rolling her eyes, she skillfully escaped the conversation.

Daniel, innocent as ever, immediately nodded.

“Ah, I see.”

Moments like this made him a very useful assistant.

The others finally seemed satisfied.

Miss Sullivan smiled brightly.

“Then why don’t you enjoy yourself a little today? You said you didn’t have any plans this evening, right?”

“Uh… yes!”

Still busy attacking the rare fish on her plate, Shiorin answered absentmindedly.

Catherine gestured for her to continue eating.

But all three women were wearing suspiciously similar expressions.

Which meant they were clearly hiding something.

And as it turned out, Shiorin’s suspicion was completely correct.

The moment the meal ended, she discovered exactly what they had planned.