Kyle plots how to deal with Orlando, while Tara takes the reins as temporary Family Head.
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Episode 103: About 1 Year (30)
"I want Mrs. Laura Paliport to be officially escorted by a security detail. There should be around ten knights. We must make it obvious that we're protecting her."
"Yes, Your Highness."
Nick replied cheerfully, but he couldn't understand why so many people needed to be officially attached to Mrs. Paliport.
Then, suddenly, he realized he never understood and followed everything his Lord did.
Nick gave up trying to understand because there was always some reason for his Master's actions.
"Well done. What about Orlando?"
Nick replied straight away.
“He continues to keep quiet and claim innocence. The other Scorpion operatives we captured are parroting the same thing as him. Should we obtain a confession even if it requires torture?”
"No. Torture is counterproductive in this case. If a false confession is made under duress, all our hard work will be for naught."
"But we have Hugo, who confessed to everything, so we don't need Orlando's confession, do we?"
"Nick Bright."
‘Ah... He called me by my full name again.’
Nick quickly straightened.
"Yes, Your Highness."
“We have a strong suspect in our hands, so are we just supposed to neglect those believed to be a part of the crime just because there are no credible witnesses?”
"Your humble servant was short-sighted. I shall immediately do a hundred...!"
"That's enough. I'll punish you when this is over with. Bring Orlando and Hugo Jones back to the safe house."
"Yes, Your Highness."
"...Now. I wonder whose betrayal will be the most dramatic."
***
At the same time.
The Duke of Toulouse paced back and forth in his office, wearing only a robe over his pajamas.
The man stood in front of the office door wearing a black uniform, and he was holding his forearm tightly with his other hand, as if he had been injured.
"...What am I supposed to do in the face of such sloppy work?"
"I'm ashamed, Your Excellency. I knew that the Second Prince would attempt to secure the Baron, just as you warned me, but I didn't expect him to pull off this kind of trick so quickly."
“...The two groups appeared at different times? Pretending to be completely unrelated to one another? That clever bastard.”
The Duke huffed.
"...Yes. At first, we thought it wasn't the Second Prince's people. They seemed intent on killing the Baron outright. Somehow, while fighting to protect him, another group suddenly appeared. In the chaos, the Baron disappeared. It seems that the Second Prince planned to trick us into thinking they were unaffiliated, so they could distract us while he sent another team to extract him."
"That's the kind of snake he is, miserable bastard. What about Laura Paliport?"
"The Second Prince has already assigned knights to her, and very openly. We're trying to find a way in, but with all of those knights following her, Lady Laura has been unable to leave."
When the knight finished his report, only a bloodstain remained on the floor. The Duke looked away from the it.
Bang!
He slammed his fist on the desk.
"...Damn him! He was supposed to be distracted by the assassination case..."
The Duke was furious that Baron Paliport had fallen into the hands of the Second Prince, and had high hopes for the assassination.
"It will take a long time to find out the cause, and the Prince won't be able to spend his time on another case until the attempt on the Emperor's life is investigated... At least there's that."
Even if he had the Baron with him, he would have to solve the attempt on the Emperor's life before he could report his findings on the military intelligence leak.
There was still time, and Laura Paliport was the least of his worries; she would come at Franz's request.
Even if they were ordered to protect her, the Imperial Guard would not transgress into Prince Franz's bedchamber.
He reasoned that he should visit the First Prince today and ask him to meet with Laura.
The thought calmed his restless and nervous mind somewhat, and the Duke went upstairs to his bedchamber to catch up on lost sleep.
And when he entered the First Imperial Court that afternoon in good spirits, Prince Franz was nowhere to be found.
"... He left immediately after being informed that a new horse had arrived at the ranch he patronizes. He said he won't return until the day after tomorrow."
The Duke had to suppress the deep urge to slit the throat of the First Prince's Butler.
Hepushed down his boiling anger and turned away. All he could do now was to swallow his words.
“What is he thinking… worrying about horse racing at a time like this…? Damn him.”
***
Elias Mansion, morning.
"...ss? Miss? Come on, wake up. It's almost ten o'clock in the morning."
"Uhm... Ten more minutes...."
"I can't.... Miss, there's a huge crowd of people in the hall right now, and they're waiting."
“Ah, Beth... Just 10 more minutes...!” I complained.
My eyes flickered open in astonishment. I stared up at a ceiling and canopy that felt both strange and familiar.
It was my room... I was back!
I jumped to my feet.
"Miss?"
"Who's here?"
“Leaders from each branch of the family business and the elders of House Philippe have arrived.”
I shook my head.
“Outsiders are prohibited from entering our mansion. It was guarded so that no one other than immediate relatives could enter, so how?”
"Yesterday, just before you returned, Imperial Guards came to the mansion and informed them that anyone with a verified identity could enter."
“...I thought it would take at least another week. Well, no use in stalling. That aside, did the Countess summon the elders of House Philippe?”
Beth nodded so hard her head almost fell off.
"Yes, Miss. She sent someone to House Philippe as soon as she heard others could get in."
"And now they're all down there wanting to grill me?"
“... Is this bad, Miss...?”
Beth looked down at me anxiously, her grip tightening on her arm.
"No, this is very good. The chess board is laid out perfectly. How benevolent of the Countess! This is a great opportunity to have ourselves a nice exorcism. Hahaha."*
"Miss...?"
Beth called me in a much quieter voice.
"What?"
"Your smile... I'm scared..."
"Huh. Really? Wonderful. I will utterly destroy her with this very smile on my face! Beth, go and get me my most dignified, regal, classy, and sexy dress I have. One they will hardly dare look at!"
"...Miss....."
"Huh?"
“... There’s no way I'll be able to find something like that. We only returned from Durben yesterday!” Beth grumbled.
She went straight to my closet, flinging both doors wide open.
"Hehe. I guess there isn't? Fine, fine, just bring me something clean."
Beth started looking through my closet with a determined expression as if she wasn't listening to a single word.
“Hmm… If I alter it to drastically reduce the size, cut off the sleeves so they don't show, and add some padding, hmm…”
I looked at Beth and shrugged.
“If there's nothing there, not much can be done. I'll just wear my clothes from yesterday. Yesterday’s dress was my nicest. Once this is over, I'll call the family seamstress. Anyway, I'm going to wash up.”
I slid out of bed and headed for the bathroom. Beth nodded nonchalantly, her eyes still fixed on the closet.
"...Yes, Miss. You go wash up first. I think I can get you into decent shape, if not to the extent you asked for."
"Ooooh.... Beth, you're just like a professional designer...."
"...What?"
"You're the best!"
I gave her two thumbs up and disappeared into the bathroom.
***
As expected, the hall was crowded.
They were gathered in groups of twos and threes, talking with serious expressions on their faces.
The shareholders discussed among themselves, while the leaders of the Philippe family were gathered in their own conversations. The Countess sat on a chair in the hall, while my mother stood chatting with Dylan. Logan stood among the shareholders and Chloe stood by the elders of House Philippe.
The Elias family's top lawyers and employees from the business wing were also gathered on one side of the hall.
"...I haven't seen Aria since yesterday."
Beth answered my whispered question while smoothing out the wrinkles at the back of my dress.
"I think she's in the library. When I asked Cindy, she said she's been in there almost every day." Beth answered in a lowered voice.
She patted the wrinkles smooth with her fingers and then scanned my appearance once again.
‘... I can't believe how elegant my Lady looks today...!'
Beth's eyelashes fluttered as she felt tears well up in her eyes.
Everyone caught sight of me at the same time. As one, the gaze of the crowd turned on me as I descended the stairs. None of them could hide their surprise.
I was not the same Tara I'd been yesterday. The nobles who had seen me yesterday were stunned, but those who hadn't seen me since I left for Durben were even more dumbfounded.
"Wow, she looks so different!?"
"Oh, my God. Is that really the fifth child?"
"She looks completely different from how she was rumoured to be."
Beth squared her shoulders and stood to her full height.
My auburn hair, loosely braided and hanging down my back, accentuated my heart-shaped face and made me look truly lovely.
We had used makeup to touch up my skin tone, and applied a light shade of lipstick and eye shadow. I also wore my garnet earrings to counteract the innocence and youthfulness of my facial features.
The neckline of my dark purple dress was cut in a wide U-shape along the line of my collarbone, exposing my shoulders. It was sophisticated and simple, unadorned save a thin ribbon at the waist with voluminous skirts that spread from my waist in a bell shape. The design projected confidence and poise.
With every step, the crowd caught tantalizing glimpses of my light golden slippers glittering beneath my skirts.
I stopped on the landing in front of the final staircase.
"I heard you have all been waiting patiently for me to arrive. Greetings. I am Tara Elias, the Fifth child of House Elias."
With a polite bow, I lifted my head and scanned the hall, where the crowd of people milled about. The hall buzzed all over, people chatting in groups with a variety of expressions on their faces.
Despite standing in front of so many people, I didn't feel nervous at all. It was strange. Perhaps some part of me had been looking forward to today.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the Countess sitting in a chair by the side of the hall, looking at me. She was trembling, fire in her eyes.
Mother and Dylan looked worried, Chloe looked nervous, and Logan looked expectant.
What exactly was he expecting?
A white-haired nobleman with the cane stepped forward and introduced himself as the Head of House Philippe.
A voice rumbled through the hall, "Since I have a stake in House Elias's company, I have some questions I would like to ask."
"Of course, Sir. Ask away."
"I hear you were summoned as a witness. What happened, and is there hope for House Elias?"
"I...!"
The man took a harsh breath, as if struggling with a bad lung, then cut me off. He had never intended to let me respond and was clearly focused on making a point.
"This is highly irregular! Why were you called as a witness when you have been in Durben for nearly seven months? Is it possible that you have conspired against our family in this matter? Did you plan something in advance that we are unaware of?"
“Hah.”
“Oh, my. To suggest something of that nature…”
His question was tantamount to outright asking whether I had planned the assassination myself.
_____
Editor's Notes -
* In the original Korean Tara suggests they have a Mudangcham, a shamanistic exorcism and sword dance 무당 칼 춤추듯. In addition to major religions like Buddhism, Korea has a long history of shamanism. Shamanistic dances are a big part of their cultural tradition, and ceremonial dancing swords are often used during exorcisms to help drive away evil spirits. In this scenario, the Countess and her meddling family are the evil spirits.
I love Tara’s dress in the manhwa, but I’m a little disappointed we don’t get to see her in purple!
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Beth to the rescue~