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Chapter 22
“What?”
Haren moved to Travis’s side and examined the report he was reading.
The report, which assumed that the woman’s death was connected to a past fraud case, also detailed what kind of scam the deceased woman had previously fallen victim to.
The man, who had claimed to be the illegitimate son of a noble, went around saying that once he was acknowledged by his family, he would take her as his wife. Believing that marriage would make her a noblewoman, the woman trusted him completely.
At some point, the man said that in order to gain his family’s recognition, he needed to run a business, and he constantly complained about having no money. Wanting to help him somehow, the woman gathered all her assets and gave them to him.
On the day she brought him all the money she could scrape together—her parents’ money, her relatives’ money, her friends’ money—he vanished without a trace. She went to the family he had mentioned, but they simply drove her away, saying that no such person existed.
The investigation concluded that there was, in fact, no such person, and that the woman had likely been the victim of a marriage fraud.
The report also included a description of the man.
An average build, neither large nor small, with a greasy-looking smile. A plain face with brown hair and brown eyes. A boastful way of speaking and a hot-tempered personality that flared up easily, yet someone who used all manner of sweet words when seducing women.
When Haren saw the note that, notably, the man had a large black mole between his neck and shoulder, he let out a small exclamation.
“Ah!”
Haren recalled Sebastian, who was currently locked up in prison. Having once struck him hard, thinking the mole was a bug, Haren remembered Sebastian’s mole clearly.
“You mean the stalker we caught at Espin’s house?”
“Yes. Doesn’t he seem similar somehow?”
“That could be. Should I go and interrogate him?”
“No. I’ll go myself.”
“Hah… to be deceived by a con man like this, lose her entire family fortune and even the people around her, and now her own life as well… This woman really had it rough.”
At Haren’s words, Travis nodded.
“Trace his movements day by day from the time he was arrested at Count Leon’s estate. Then we’ll find out what kind of person he was in the past.”
At Travis’s words, Haren’s mouth fell open.
Getting off work on time had just gone completely out the window.
I left the Ameron Ducal House and headed straight for the information broker. Unlike last time, once the doorkeeper confirmed my face, he immediately opened the door leading up to the second floor.
“Ha… I really can’t get used to these stairs.”
By the time I practically crawled up the stairs in my heels and reached the second floor, Robert was already waiting there.
“You said we’d talk next time, but you came right away. From what I can tell, my lady, you’re quite impatient.”
“Hey, but aren’t these stairs exhausting?”
“They’re fine.”
“Ha… am I the only one who finds them hard?”
As I followed him into the room, still catching my breath, Robert handed me a glass of water.
“So? Did you find out what you were going to look into?”
“Yes. But since when did you start speaking so casually?”
Between taking off his mask as soon as we entered and the way he spoke and acted, Robert was treating me as though we had known each other for a very long time.
“Now that you mention it.”
Robert laughed as if he found it odd himself.
“I guess I just feel comfortable around you, my lady. Maybe because you know who I really am, I don’t feel the need to hide anything.”
Answering lightly, Robert sat down and crossed his legs.
“So you can speak comfortably too. There’s no need for noble etiquette between us. We’re on the same side.”
“Alright.”
There was no reason not to. He was a bit older, but that was Espin’s age—my actual age was about the same as his.
Seeing me speak informally without hesitation, Robert let out a short laugh.
“Huh. I didn’t expect you to switch so quickly.”
“Robert. Do you know the art dealer who’s been famous among noble ladies lately?”
“Robert, huh…”
As if hearing his name anew, he repeated it once.
“I’ve heard of him. They say he’s a viscount who studied in the Kingdom of Bornor. His name was Blitched Monjas, I think.”
“Yes, him.”
The Kingdom of Bornor, bordering the southern part of the Empire, was a place where the arts were highly developed. It was especially renowned for its long history in fine arts and its art education.
People from all over the continent studied abroad in Bornor, and having studied there was something universally acknowledged.
“Hmm…”
As if he had already caught on, Robert nodded with a knowing look.
“I actually thought something was strange.”
“What was?”
“Lately, that man’s been handling more high-priced art deals. Rumor has it he sold a piece to the Ameron Ducal House for 200,000 Ritas.”
“That’s right. A work by Melchasky.”
“Melchasky? He sold one of his works?”
Robert looked genuinely surprised to hear that it was a Melchasky piece.
It must have been something the noble ladies kept quiet about, and even within the Ameron Ducal House, only the Duchess and Flaria knew that the piece was by Melchasky—so it seemed he hadn’t learned that detail yet.
“Yes. He said he found the attic of the mansion where Melchasky lived. But that’s probably a lie.”
“Of course. If any of his works had remained, I would’ve found them much earlier.”
“Exactly. He’s committing fraud with cleverly made forgeries.”
And worse, he was doing so by imprisoning someone and depriving them of sleep to force them to produce those forgeries.
“Forged works… But can we actually prove they’re fakes?”
“That’s something we’ll have to think about. So I want you to look into the house Melchasky supposedly lived in, his family, and that viscount as well.”
“That won’t be difficult. And about the foundation you mentioned…”
Robert opened the paper envelope on the table.
“I’ve reviewed several approaches. In the Empire, gathering fraud victims will be looked upon unfavorably. To begin with, the reason sentences for fraud are so light is because the nobles and the Emperor made the laws that way for their own convenience.”
“Then? What are you going to do?”
“We have no choice but to gather people privately—secretly help them. To do that, I think setting up a trading company and running it as a business would be a good way to fool people’s eyes.”
“That’s a good idea. Then please look into people who’ve suffered from fraud as well.”
Even though I was giving him orders almost like a secretary, Robert didn’t show the slightest displeasure. For him, it wasn’t particularly difficult work anyway.
“When can you have the information?”
“I’ll have it by tomorrow.”
“Then I’ll come get it tomorrow—”
“You don’t have to.”
“Huh?”
Then how was he planning to deliver the information? At the estate, there would be my father, the countess, Rose, and plenty of eyes watching.
When I looked at him in confusion, he gave a sly smile.
“Actually, when Count Leon’s household dismissed all their servants at once, I found it suspicious, so I planted one of my subordinates. In your estate.”
“How did you do that?”
“That’s my trade secret. It’s something I do all the time, so it was easy.”
Unable to keep my mouth shut at his absurd remark, he kindly propped up my dropped jaw with the paper envelope.
“Your jaw’s going to fall off.”
“You’re a terrifying man.”
“Don’t be too scared. There isn’t a single major noble family that doesn’t have one of my people. It’s nothing unusual.”
“That makes it even scarier.”
He really was the Empire’s top information broker for a reason. Noble households had their own procedures for hiring staff, and the fact that his people could pass all of them was frightening.
Their infiltration capabilities were truly alarming.
“Do you perhaps have someone in the Imperial Palace too?”
He pursed his lips slightly and shrugged with a cryptic look.
“Who knows.”
He does. He definitely does.
That was a face that said, without a doubt, that he had.
“Don’t worry. My subordinate will deliver it. From now on, if you have anything to say, just go through that person. If something urgent comes up, get in touch.”
Robert was smiling calmly.
