Where Tara makes a deal, Hans mulls things over and Kyle is bothered by a certain lock of hair....
This chapter is dedicated to Shi Shi ! I'm so happy that you get this iconic scene! Also you know why this we chose this 100th Chapter to dedicate to you! We can never thank you enough!
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Episode 100. About a Year (27)
“… If you give me satisfactory answers to my questions, I'll let you meet the Count."
"Really?"
Let's make a good impression.
"If you don't want to meet with him, you can just leave."
"I've explained myself well enough, Your Highness."
"So?"
"My family is really...!"
I quickly covered my mouth with both hands as I suddenly remembered. I had almost acted rashly.
I had been conceited, thinking that my words alone would dispel the suspicions about House Elias. I'd almost committed the very thing he warned me against: 'overconfidence'.
The corners of Kyle's mouth twitched upward.
"I almost acted immaturely. I thank God for your generosity, Your Highness. Please ask your questions. I wish to meet with my father."
"Very well. Let's begin. About two hundred kilometers south of the Capital is the County of Reese. It's an agricultural region, and for generations, the Lords of Reese have been known for their great wealth."
"...."
Huh. That storytelling technique was.... I pouted, feeling like I'd been robbed of my own proprietary style, but that wasn't the point, so I focused on the story.
"Before the current Count, Philip Reese, took over the title, there was a time of great turmoil in the county. Baron Baro, a vassal who had been in Reese castle since its construction, tried to frame the next Count, Philip, and drive him out of the territory. The elaborate plot was carried out meticulously over a long period of time. Baron Baro bribed people to send appeals to the former Count, denouncing Sir Philip daily and near the end, he also interfered in the aqueduct project Sir Philip had designed for the peasants by having it shoddily constructed. This destroyed Sir Philip's credibility. When something went wrong and the cause was investigated, there was no clear evidence. He realized that Baron Baro was behind all of it, but the Baron managed to escape every time, leaving Philip unable to refute the accusations against him."
Kyle paused for a moment, then resumed.
"But Sir Philip eventually inherited the County and became the next Lord. How do you think he managed to do it?"
***
The administrators in the Treasury Department were wrapping up their work and getting ready to head home.
Hans, who always finished his work by mid-morning, was buried in a pile of information he had found in the warehouse when he suddenly looked up and gazed at the clock.
‘... Did something go wrong?'
It wasn't that Hans knew more about the dragon fruit than Josh.
He had just taken what he'd read in the book and boldly put it into practice. He'd only killed five vagabonds during his experiment. Fewer than he thought.
If it hadn’t been for this fruit and the unfamiliar herb, he would have chosen a different method.
But, as luck would have it, it worked better with dragon fruit than with any other vegetable or herb.
Hans had waited for a full day until he realized things weren't going according to his plan and muttered to himself, "... that was a little too blatant."
Hans sat down at his office desk and began to draw 1 cm radius circles over and over again on a clean sheet of paper.
The sound of the quill turning felt moderately pleasant.
“Whahahaha.”
Hans' quill stopped at the sudden loud laughter.
"Oh my god, running away at night! Does it make any sense to sell all one's possessions, and give up one's title to elope with a young mistress, leaving a small fortune behind? Hahahahaha."
"Shhhh. Aren't you too happy? I know you got promoted thanks to that... But doesn't it seem that you were hoping it would happen, First Secretary? Be careful, there are many eyes on you."
‘I'll have to get him to fix his laugh later.'
Hans glanced at the Second Secretary of the Ministry of Finance and then back at his quill.
The amount of money he had paid to the First Secretary as a kickback to give Jason Elias a chance, was a mere 200 gold, but it had nothing to do with Hans. It had come out of the Third Prince's pocket.
Hans smirked, calculating the damage Elias would suffer after being cleared of their charges and whispered under his breath.
"... At least a week until the final report is completed... In the meantime, the useless hunting dog has long been taken care of... The arborist in the garden department, now what method should I use and who should I order to do it?"
Hans's humming went unnoticed by the Treasury staff, who were still chatting noisily.
***
My heart began to race. I had never expected I would feel this way.
What should I do? This was fun!
I recalled the story several times. Sir Philip was the Second Prince and the former Lord was the current Emperor. Baron Baro referred to House Toulouse.
Therefore, Baron Baro's conspiracy could be viewed as House Toulouse's one.
The Sorbonne wine case, the leak of military secrets and the dragon fruit incident were all related to the Toulouse Family but there was no proof. Why? Because just like Baron Baro, the Toulouse family was good at covering its tracks.
I chewed my lip while thinking about a method.
"Is it difficult?"
".... It's more complicated than difficult."
“... Keep it simple, Third Secretary.”
I went from Tara Elias back to Third Secretary. That meant he had set aside some of his doubts.
I took a deep breath and met Kyle's eyes. A piercing gaze. The slight upturn of the corners of his mouth.
Is he looking forward to it?
"...If I were Sir Philip."
"And if you were?"
"I would have done two things: One, get rid of the Baron’s close supporters, and the other..."
"And the other?"
"I would have set a trap."
Kyle's expression didn't change. It was just that it was so straightforward.
He was going to bore a hole in my face....
"...."
"Are you satisfied?"
“What kind of trap should he set?”
"... This is a bit tricky. If he plays using the same tricks as the Baron did, it could prove fatal to Sir Philip's legitimacy later."
“Third Secretary.”
"Yes."
"Legitimacy can be sorted out later. What is the use of it if you can't become the next Count?"
"...!"
"You can defend your legitimacy once you've become the next Head of the House!"
"Oh.... I didn't think of that."
Shaking his head, Kyle stood up as if his business was done and I quickly got up as well.
"... Your Highness? May I still see my father?"
"I'll let them know so you can meet him."
As Kyle nodded and gathered his papers. I squeezed my eyes shut, gathering my fading courage. Then I opened them up and spoke.
"I have a favor to ask."
"...Did I hear you wrong just now?"
When he turned his questioning gaze back to me, I took my chance and blurted out, “Even if the charges are cleared, could you keep my brother Jason in custody for one more day?”
"...Why?"
" Because it'll give me an advantageous position in the competition for next Family Head... Hahaha."
My conscience pricked me again, but there was nothing I could do about it.
"Why would I do that?"
"Hmmm. For the sake of your hard-working subordinate in Durben...."
Kyle crossed his arms over his chest and stared down at me with those icy eyes.
"...."
"You could feel sorry for your poor subordinate who, as soon as she came back to the Capital, has been running around trying to resolve this huge incident that broke out..."
"..."
"Or you could show pity for your subordinate who has trained hard, lost weight and was poisoned not too long ago...."
"..."
This man was never on the losing side of a deal. Time for my final argument.
"... If there is anything you want from me, I'll do everything in my power to help you."
"...What could I possibly want from a Secretary who's already working for me anyway?"
My forehead throbbed for a moment under the swell of anger, but my expression remained calm, thanks to my incredible patience.
"Well... It doesn't have to be work related... But private... You can ask me a personal favor."
"Why would I? I don't see the merit in this..."
"You never know! I may be of great assistance to you in the future. Absolutely!"
Kyle stroked his chin and seemed to weigh his interests carefully.
I wondered what was going on in his head, but then realized it was better not to, since it would probably be more complex and elaborate than I could imagine.
Sheesh. Had he been a businessman, he would have been the richest in the Empire. He was already wealthy anyway.
"... Very well. In exchange, this will be recorded in the investigation log, and you'll include it in your report. After that, you will be solely responsible for this favor, Third Secretary."
As expected... There would be no special treatment.
I felt like I'd gotten the raw end of the deal.
Still, at this point, I needed to get rid of Jason and show the Countess what I was made of, so I nodded emphatically.
Haaa.... It was hard to ask for a favor.
***
When the guardsman handed Tara the report he'd brought in, she frowned and reluctantly began to fill it out.
Kyle was about to leave her as she focused on her statement, but then thought differently and sat back down in his seat, looking at her with his arms crossed.
His gaze slid down from her lips, which were nibbling on her index finger as if trying to figure something out, to her thin neck and prominent collarbone, then slowly back up to her face.
‘She's thinner’.
He wanted to ask why she was losing more weight, but the idea of asking such a trivial, mundane question was so foreign to him that he kept his mouth shut.
While she was writing her statement, Kyle, who was reading the report from the Security Department raised his head as something caught his eye.
A darker shade of red than her hair, stones the size of his little fingernail dangled from her ears. The one on the left side was fine, but the one on the right was caught in her hair.
‘...Is that a garnet? It's her birthday soon.'
He glanced down at the earrings again, and the light reflected from the lantern stung Kyle's eyes. He frowned.
‘… That lock of hair is annoying...’
Yes. Just like last time, and it still kept getting on his nerves. Without thinking, he reached out to touch it, but stopped again.
‘...Why?'
As soon as the question crossed his mind, he immediately became annoyed with himself and moved his hand forward.
‘Why shouldn't I? I'm just removing something that is bothering me. It's not like me to put so much thought into such a small action.'
With a flick of his fingers, he removed the tangled strand of hair from her earring.
"...What?"
Startled, Tara shrugged her shoulders as her eyes narrowed and her pupils dilated.
A rabbit, trembling in fear as it was chased by a hunting dog came to mind.
‘Why... is she scared?'
Kyle wasn’t aware of it, but he was particularly curious about every action and reaction today, especially hers.
"The light was reflecting on it."
He pointed to the lamp with a jerk of his chin, and she gave him an 'ah...' with an understanding expression.
" You could have just told me..."
"..."
Kyle picked up the report again, gently clenching and unclenching his fist. The texture of her hair lingered in his hand longer than he'd expected.
Editor's Note -
This iconic scene in the manwha is much more detailled here. The tiny little tidbits from Kyle's POV are fantastic and give much more depth. Also, he's totally, (albeit unaware himself), checking our favorite girl out! LOL
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