🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 38
The Lady Deals Only with the Real
I roughly rubbed my eyes.
“Don’t cry. I don’t have time to cry.”
In my past life, I sometimes cried—out of sorrow, frustration, or worry for my grandfather.
But in this life, I know that crying doesn’t solve anything.
Besides…
“Looking back now, I sold my grandfather in my past life… At least, that’s what he must have thought.”
How must my grandfather have felt when he realized I had left the duke’s household? Hugo and Rosanne probably didn’t tell him the truth.
“My uncle’s granddaughter? Oh, the girl who ran off the moment she got some money?”
It must have been something like that.
“I won’t make that mistake again. So don’t cry. Don’t be weak.”
After rubbing my eyes clean, I stepped out.
“Still, praying in the sanctuary calms me a bit.”
I nodded to the priest standing at the sanctuary entrance, his robe draped over him. He paused, then returned the gesture.
I fiddled with my necklace on the way to the pawnshop. Today, I really missed my grandfather.
“I’ll dream of grandfather today.”
But the moment I trudged back to the pawnshop…
“Haah.”
The magical tool was unlocked.
The window’s lock had been released.
The thief who had been rolling around was completely gone. I grabbed the back of my neck.
“Right, that’s it.”
That magical tool was faulty, damn it…
Tonight, I planned to dream of catching a thief.
Belcato Nursing Home
The nurse attending the one and only VVIP room on the top floor of the grand building thought:
“Who exactly is this patient?”
He was old, yet looked strong enough to fold two or three young men like paper.
And his gaze? Even if you hadn’t done anything wrong, you’d feel compelled to apologize.
That wasn’t all. He had paid a year’s room fee in cash upfront and demanded complete confidentiality.
The nurse’s conclusion?
“A loan shark. A high-level one at that!”
Shivering, the nurse opened the room door.
“Here. Leave it.”
His voice was intimidating.
“That voice… it’s no joke.”
The nurse gingerly placed the pitch-black medicine and newspaper on the console and stepped back.
Though leaving was tempting, duty as a nurse had to be fulfilled. Such is the fate of a salaried worker.
“Exc-excuse me, but I need to make sure you’ve taken all your medicine…”
“Oh, right. I keep forgetting things these days.”
His loud, booming laugh filled the room. It sounded less like laughter and more like a tiger’s roar.
Even though he was a terrifying loan shark, his memory was surprisingly okay. The illness hadn’t progressed; he even seemed outwardly better.
Was it thanks to that pitch-black medicine, the nurse wondered.
“Memory-related illnesses rarely improve… usually they get worse.”
Healthy body, healthy mind…
Could it be that this patient wasn’t taking medicine, but enduring it with sheer willpower?
Just then, the nurse heard a gulp. Finally, he could leave.
But what caught his attention wasn’t the empty cup…
“Whoa…”
The way the patient flipped the newspaper was peculiar. Only using his thumb and index finger, flicking pages rapidly.
“Ah. Old habits die hard. Counting money must have been a habit from outside.”
“Just as I thought… a loan shark!”
“C-confirmed! All medicine taken! I’ll step out now!”
With a clatter, the nurse left and closed the door.
Michele lowered the newspaper after watching the door for a while.
They clearly mistook him for a loan shark, but he didn’t correct them.
Was it to hide his identity? Not exactly. It was so the scared nurse wouldn’t swap the black medicine with the water.
He saw his reflection on the pitch-black medicine. Michele saw his granddaughter in that face.
“Grandfather’s seal… give it to me.”
Her light purple eyes, innocent yet shadowed, smiled brightly.
“I thought we didn’t resemble each other at all…”
But those eyes resembled hers. Those eyes he had hoped wouldn’t resemble hers.
Michele sighed softly and opened the window. Rain trickled through the barely open pane.
“…I’ll do my best. So just rest without worry, okay?”
Elisha’s face, murmuring that she would protect the pawnshop, faintly came to mind.
Smiling bitterly, Michele poured the black medicine out the window.
Thunk.
He placed the empty cup down and checked the date.
“Come to think of it…”
He couldn’t leave this place.
“It’s suspected to be Mendax disease.”
It was incurable.
So, he could only hope that Elisha would make good use of what he taught her.
He had taught her many things: how to manage emotions, how to keep ledgers, how to count money quickly, how to negotiate advantageously…
“By now, Helena, Emma, and Crescenziano must have visited the pawnshop too.”
…and how to win people over.
But perhaps some of those didn’t need to be taught.
“How many people have you brought to your side?”
“I’ll protect it well.”
Elisha’s words echoed in his ears. Memories once buried slowly came into focus.
“Yes. I must protect it well, Elisha.”
Watching the rain, Michele finally said what he hadn’t before:
“…yourself.”
That was all he wished for.
News in the Ash-Colored City
It was officially announced that permits were being renewed.
People in the Ash-Colored City had already known, but anxiety remained.
“The renewal applies only here, and the deadline is midnight today… Ridiculous.”
Emma groaned in frustration.
“Thanks to Elisha, at least we found out a few days early.”
“Do you have a guarantor, sister?”
“Yes. I’m a rare case—a mage who still keeps in touch with family. My younger sister will come. She lives far away, and we might have missed the time otherwise.”
Emma’s mood brightened.
“Then Michele will visit for a bit too. Tell him to stop by.”
“…Grandfather is far away, so he probably won’t make it on time.”
“What do we do then?”
“We’ll get help from someone else.”
“Oh, I see. I was hoping to see Michele’s face for a change.”
Emma shrugged.
“So why are you here? Last time, you bought a lot of magical tools. Did a debtor or thief come by again?”
“Ugh… Don’t even get me started. But, sister, there’s a defective one here.”
“Defective?! That’s impossible for Emma’s magical tools!”
I handed her the problematic magical tool. Purple light leaked from her fingertips like a thread.
It was her first time seeing magic used like this, and she was fascinated.
“Hmm? Nothing’s wrong here.”
“Really? Then why did it happen?”
I explained the rogue knight incident and the thief incident to Emma.
After thinking carefully, she picked up the magical tool again. This time, geometric patterns appeared at her fingertips.
“Hm… Ah, I get it. There was interference from holy energy.”
“Holy energy?”
Both of those guys didn’t seem very holy…
“Wait… Could it be?”
“That thief had a relic. I took it from him, but could it have had an effect?”
“Hm, the sensed energy feels more direct. Not elegant and subtle like a relic, more like someone poured holy water on it.”
“Then the thief must have hidden something like holy water spray! No wonder he wore that long robe.”
Next time, I’ll have to strip him of it!
Emma frowned while scanning the magical tool with mana.
“But that rogue knight… hm, weird.”
“What’s weird?”
“Just… strange.”
“Yes! His manner of speech was very odd. He extorted politely, you know?”
You can tell personality with magic too? Incredible.
“No, not strange… he has something he shouldn’t have.”
Huh? Something he shouldn’t have?
