TLWRO 10

Chapter 10

“I feel like I’m about to choke…!”

Did I breathe too heavily? Was the sound of my eyes rolling too loud?
Could the sound of the bread I ate earlier digesting be heard from outside? Maybe I should have eaten later…

“Milton.”

Milton, who was deep in self-censorship, jumped up.

“Yes!”

“What did you do today?”

Milton barely answered.

“We contacted the Information Guild, which agreed to cooperate with the identity disguise, to inform them that we arrived locally and are carrying out the mission.”

“So?”

“Officially, Your Highness, the Duke, you will act as ‘Alter,’ affiliated with the Information Guild. Also, we requested the Guild to gather information on the pawnshop.”

“And?”

“…I ate bread.”

“What kind of bread?”

Milton opened his mouth with an expression like he was about to cry.

“Cream… cream bread with strawberries inside…”

“Milton.”

“Yes? Yes!”

“Do my questions sound like an interrogation?”

Tesah spoke shortly as Milton just moved his lips.

“So no answer means you can’t answer.”

“Yes? No, it’s just that…”

“Right. No matter how you hear it, my words won’t sound like expressions of interest.”

“Yesss…?”

If it were a threat, maybe, but expressions of interest?

While Milton was wondering what on earth this meant, Tesah said monotonously:

“That pawnshop owner seems to know I’m from the Moro Duchy. Though not sure of my status.”

“Yes? How? Could the mage who stole the sword have tipped her off?”

“She confidently said she doesn’t handle stolen goods. But considering the jewels stolen by Eibor circulated through that pawnshop, it’s hard to believe.”

Eibor.

That was the name of the mage who stole the sacred sword of the Moro Duchy.

After much effort, Tesah found a clue.

Tracking where Eibor disposed of the stolen goods led directly to the pawnshop across the street.

“Didn’t you say the magic tool for tracking the sacred sword also shone? It’s certain that place is Eibor’s stolen goods broker or money laundering source!”

There was one more piece of evidence.

Tesah’s cufflink clip was a magic tool designed to glow when detecting the sword’s energy.

Yet, the moment he entered the pawnshop, it faintly shone.

Unless Eibor stopped by that pawnshop, this was impossible.

“That woman must definitely be Eibor’s accomplice!”

“Moreover, there was another unusual thing.”

“What do you mean?”

“She wasn’t afraid of me.”

Milton was genuinely surprised.

“Wh-what?! That can’t be! Then she must be no ordinary person. Maybe a vicious crime broker deeply involved in Eibor’s crimes…!”

“That’s probably right. Magic tools don’t lie.”

But Tesah’s expression remained shadowed.

A year ago, a series of fires broke out in the eastern part of the duchy.

No culprit or cause was found, and everyone was at a loss, until that man appeared.

Eibor.

He discovered that the fires were a cunning curse and eventually caught the culprit.

Thanks to that, it didn’t take long for him to gain the duchy’s trust.

Before long, he became one of the duchy’s magical advisers.

Eibor was gentle and obedient, and his skills and reputation won him trust.

Everyone believed him.

Until the day he suddenly stole the sacred sword and disappeared.

Only one person had a gut feeling to distrust and watch him closely: Tesah.

“But…”

The red tobacco Tesah smoked in the pawnshop was actually a magic tool for interrogation.

Breathing in the smoke made one drowsy and likely to confess the truth.

Yet, even after inhaling, the woman’s attitude didn’t change.

She clearly and firmly denied dealing in stolen goods.

‘A young woman wouldn’t run a business with such a heavy burden alone. So when I offered her a job, I thought someone higher up would appear, but that was also refused.’

The offer to ‘buy me out’ was really a disguise employment proposal and a way to probe who was in the shop.

Tesah, who had only seen criminals during interrogation, thought this was how they would normally communicate.

But the woman refused without hesitation.

Her light purple eyes were filled with conviction.

“Why on earth is what she says not a lie as well?”

Tesah looked at the business card on the desk with a complicated expression.

The card he gave her was also a magic tool.

Because it was thin, it couldn’t hold much magic power, but while touching it, it transmitted surrounding sounds.

The woman’s voice flowing from the card echoed in his ears, whispering as it had just moments ago.

“Your name is pretty.”

At this point, there was only one way to find out what was true.

Tesah, running his hands roughly through his hair, muttered:

“I have no choice but to check the second floor myself.”

***

“Hmm… ten million gold.”

Checking the account list I pulled from the Central Bank during a break, I shook my head.

‘Grandfather didn’t secretly lose it in investments or gamble it away, right?’

The account in my grandfather’s name that came to me had about ten million gold.

It wasn’t exactly a small sum objectively.

But considering the nature of the pawnshop business where cash holdings are important, this means…

‘If only cash matters, it’s basically peanuts.’

I was disappointed by the brief inquiry, so I came all the way to the distant Central Bank just in case, but the details were the same.

‘For now, I’ll keep that money as emergency funds.’

Thinking rationally, that probably isn’t all of grandfather’s personal wealth.

‘The amount visible through the bank is only ten million gold.’

The Rionet family wouldn’t have thrown me out of my past life just to steal ten million gold.

Still, since I inherited everything except the house, I can’t just be complacent thinking it’s somewhere else.

To prepare for family members who’ll come rushing with red eyes, I need to know the scale of grandfather’s assets precisely.

So where else could it be?

I smiled. Something came to mind.

‘When will Hugo come?’

First, I’ll deal with that coward Hugo.

2. I always do my best regardless of the opponent

“Damn it, damn it.”

Hugo bit his nails.

The avalanche of debt reminders alone overwhelmed him, and on top of that, his older sister, Lady Rosanne, was also pressing him.

“I said I’d prove you right about uncle’s business. How much longer do you expect me to wait for your ‘proof’?”

Lying to buy time had its limits.

But he couldn’t report this failure either.

‘How can I say I got fooled by a twenty-year-old girl…!’

He couldn’t say he’d lost Uncle Michele, who was sick, and only ended up with a mountain of debt.

So he had to do something. He had to make that girl sign a proper contract!

Hugo anxiously waited for the aide who had gone on reconnaissance to return.

“Count! I checked the pawnshop!”

“How is it?”

“Business seems pretty good. About five people come and go every hour…”

“Do I look like I care about that?”

Hugo frowned deeply.

“Did Uncle go there or not?!”

Hugo wondered how Michele, who was supposed to be ill, disappeared.

There was only one conclusion. That damn girl had whisked him away in advance. But where?

Hospital? Secret warehouse? Safe house?

Or could it possibly be… the pawnshop?

“No, he wasn’t there! I watched all day and didn’t see him even once! I asked customers who came out, and none saw him either!”

“Are you sure?”

“Of course! If Your Grace had been in the pawnshop, no matter how sick, wouldn’t you have come out at least once? It’s a store you cherish so much.”

The aide’s words made sense.

Hugo remembered his uncle as a thorough perfectionist.

He wouldn’t have trusted or entrusted anyone else, even his granddaughter.

‘Unless there was a really unavoidable circumstance, like being away.’

Hugo was more afraid of his uncle than his sister.

Only when he was sure his uncle wasn’t there did he finally gather courage to go to the pawnshop.

“I’ll secure my uncle’s whereabouts later and go fix the contract first.”

“Yes, Count. Anything else to prepare? Documents or…?”

“Bring a sword. A very sharp and fierce-looking one.”

“A sword?”

“Yes.”

Hugo ground his teeth.

“I’ll fix that arrogant girl’s manners this time!”

The aide brought the sword and thought:

My lord really intends to seriously fight a twenty-year-old girl…

But doesn’t that seem a little… undignified?

Unaware of the aide’s thoughts, Hugo slammed the door and stormed out.