Chapter 155

Reynold sat down on the sofa with a sunken face, fiddling with a dagger.

Tiredness was accumulated from useless events, and the cheeky Prince of Bellstein gently scratched his pride.

Reynold wheezed with his angry face as he remembered yesterday’s ride in the red carriage.

It was indeed a reunion after a long time. It’s rare for her to find a suitable shell that fits her perfectly.

“Mother.”

“Welcome, my dear son.”

She said, hugging Reynold while wearing the husk of Marquise Baluk.

“It is a shame that the Crystal Fairy has not yet been found, Prince. I need to work a little harder. If you think about it, the jewelry eyes might have been hidden with some kind of magic.”

“Then what do we do?”

He asked in frustration.

The merchants at the Guild of Baluk were working diligently and secretly looking at everything from different ethnic slaves to commoners in different parts of the empire, but there was little profit.

“Now we have to find another way. It is said that fairies have pure mana. It is easy to find if it’s a child of low status, but in the case of a noble…it’s difficult to track.”

“Then, would a banquet like today be an opportunity?”

“Yes. My son is also smart. Release the mage to look at all the girls in the banquet hall. Not a single one should be missed.”

Thus, he closely examined the noble girls in the salon banquet hall, especially those with a history of adoption, and a list of girls with clear pure, and transparent mana was compiled.

They even checked out the past of the adopted child in detail. If it was a Crystal Fairy, there would be no real bloodline linking the family.

However, he remembered the little animal-like child that had been attracting his attention since the last time.

Princess of Bellstein.

She turned out to be from Count Orbia. They couldn’t find any other information, because the Count was missing and the family seemed to be ruined.

After the Literary Salon ended, according to the reasons he had analyzed, Reynold decided to go to the little thing and check it with a magic tool that measured mana.

Of course, there were personal interests as well, regardless of whether she was married or not. But someone blocked his way.

“What’s the matter, Your Highness the Prince?”

“I have business with the Prince’s wife.”

“You tell me. I will pass it on to her.”

Blood-red eyes like flames. In contrast to his fair face, he was a boy with a bloody atmosphere and a force that was quite terrifying.

No one has ever looked at him like that. Besides, this wasn’t the first time. When he visited Bellstein for the wedding reception, Prince Bellstein had eyes full of hostility.

How dare you show hostile behavior to the Prince of this country?

So, Reynold glanced at Kizef and suggested that they go to a secluded place to talk in order to scare him.

But everything was damned.

He could do nothing.

The Prince suspended himself in the air with a <Fly> spell and then warned him.

“……Keep away from her.”

Sususu.

There were no further words, but something black appeared out of nowhere and grabbed his neck.

‘Is this the magic of darkness I’ve only heard of?’

“Ouch……Ugh.”

Overwhelming hostility and killing intent suffocated him and released his throat.

“Cra……crazy guy. Attack magic is a felony against the Imperial family. You’re done-!”

But Kizef’s red eyes rolled low.

“It’s not magic. It wasn’t something I did.”

“……Wh-what? If it wasn’t you, who else would have done it?”

When Reynolds asked back while touching his sore throat, Kizef said while staring into the air.

“……It would be better not to know.”

“You cheeky guy! I’ll fix your bad manners.”

Angered, Reynold quickly took the sword from his waist and branded it in his hand. Then Kizef turned around and said.

“I will accept your formal application for a duel later, You Highness the Prince.”

As Kizef said so, something black tied Reynold’s hand so he couldn’t move. He went to the outdoor fountain to wash his face and then walked away to the crowd again.

Reynold groaned at his humiliation and gritted his teeth.

“I will never leave you alone!”

As long as I work with mother to complete the sword, Bellstein is nothing!

‘Whether it’s the Prince or the Duke, I will take everything you have and trample it down.’

* * *

After eating, Luciel received two pieces of news.

The first news came from Gillard through the Duke’s communication port.

The location recording of the diamond brooch, a tracking magic tool, unexpectedly stopped at Marquis Manor in the Eastern Territory in the southeast, which had been vacant until now.

One good thing was that Penelope never let go of the diamond brooch.

Thanks to this, they were able to see some of the employees walking in and out of the Marquisate. But the Marquise was nowhere to be seen.

After listening to the communication together, the Duke said.

“It’s only one day, so it’s unreasonable to expect an income.”

“That’s right. Still, it’s nice to be able to see the inside of the mansion. It will be possible to track their next steps.”

“We have also deployed some surveillance personnel near the mansion.”

“Why don’t you plant a spy on Baluk Guild as well? I think we can get a closer look at the movements and goals of the Marquise.”

At Luciel’s suggestion, the Duke rubbed his chin.

“Well, that’s a good idea, but it’s quite difficult to dig inside because we don’t hire many outsiders. Buying someone from the insiders is also not easy.”

“Maybe the Marquise manipulated the people to make her have more advantage. She is a woman with enough strength to do that.”

The Duke also nodded his head at Luciel’s guess.

“It’s a possible story.”

“I’m most anxious because it feels like she’s sacrificing someone for the Soul Eater.”

“I’ll try to figure out what they’re up to. Did you hear that, Ellington?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Thank you, Dad.”

It might take some time to uncover Baluk’s entire plot, but I’m not afraid.

‘Because they won’t be able to perfect the sword. As long as I and Bellstein are there.’

While Luciel pondered inside her head, the Duke’s sluggish gaze shifted to the other side. He saw a young brown-haired man waiting his turn to report.

“Now, shall we listen to Ellington’s report? That guy has been staring at me ever since.”

The Duke said, stroking Luciel’s fluffy hair. When it was finally his turn, Ellington said.

“Little Madam, it’s about the glass workshop. In the aftermath of the presentation of the Literature Salon, the reaction was already explosive. It is said that all three of Ivnak’s remaining workshops with the initial H were flooded with inquiries. Of course, the Hamel workshop was the most common among them.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yes. They said that Max cried because he was very happy.”

“But how did they hear the news so quickly? There would be no communication system or video system.”

“Ah, the Duke supported the future of the glass craftsman with an investment.”

“Oh, Dad did?”

“I paid half and half with Count Gallius. He insisted on paying with me, the proposal was also originally requested by the Count.”

“Wow, that’s great.”

At the good news, Luciel’s face bloomed, and the Duke’s mouth raised.

“In my opinion, glass craftsmanship is pretty good. Did you say it was made like stained glass? Let me buy one later.”

“You have to buy it now. It might be hard to find soon.”

“……Yes. If we do this well, wouldn’t Ivnak’s glass crafts be revived even if we don’t make glass crafts for the Empress’s birthday?”

Luciel was also moved by their excitement. But she thought it might be too early to be happy.

“……Whether Ivnak’s glass craft can survive remains to be seen, isn’t it?”

Luciel smiled and her eyes gleamed. Sometimes the Duke wanted to look into how this little child’s head was spinning such ideas.

“I don’t know which star you fell from, but I know you are a blessing in disguise.”

The Duke stroked Luciel’s cheek and got up. Looking up at him, Luciel asked.

“Dad, how long will we stay in the Capital?”

“Why, do you want to stay longer? You can stay for a few more days if you wish. But I’d like to leave tomorrow.”

Luciel held his hand and shook it immediately.

“No, I also want to go home when I’m done with my work. The Capital is fun, but my home is better. I miss Grandpa, Grandma, Leoni, Bessie, and Eva too.”

“That’s a delightful remark. Because it means that the Duke of Bellstein is your home to which you want to return.”

“My house, my home…….”

“……Luciel, let me see your hand.”

The Duke spread his large palms, and Luciel placed her small palms against his.

It was a cute-sized maple leaf-like hand, it reached less than half the size of his large and long hand.

The Duke’s red eyes were neatly folded.

“When your hand touches the second joint of my index finger, you too will be an adult. Even now, Luciel seems to be happy, but you’re too busy. A child’s time is short in life and an adult’s time is very long, so play more so you won’t regret it.”

“……Dad.”

Luciel fell in his big arms. As he said, the time of a child is short and the time of an adult is too long, but one thing was clear.

No matter how many lives she lived, she would be the happiest right now.

Luciel poured out jewels she had created with emotion.

“I love you Dad!”

“……I love you too.”

Her laughing voice seemed to melt him away, but his forehead narrowed as he checked the pen in his shirt pocket.

“Heck, I turned off the pen’s recording function. Say it one more time.”