CH 6.06

“I went through the list.”

On second thought, there were a lot of porters coming and going as I was in the rocking chair.

I didn’t care because I was busy thinking about what to give Lacius, but it turned out everything was for me.

I approached the pile of presents with a slightly bewildered and unsure feeling.

“There could be something dangerous, let the knights check first.”

Although it was clear that they were bribes, Lacius did not ask me not to accept them. He was rather worried about my safety. But I was a bit uncomfortable about it.

Under the contract, I was allowed to accept bribes. My goal was to collect everything, so why do I feel like this?

‘Why does Ziontin’s contemptuous gaze come to my mind so clearly..? ‘

I can already imagine the kind of expression she’d make if I accepted these. Besides, what would people think of Lacius?

‘He’s the presiding judge and a knight’s commander. What will happen if his fiancee receives bribes?’

As soon as the knights approached at Lacius’ command and tried to unwrap the gifts I closed my eyes tightly and stopped them.

“Wait.”

“Nia?”

“I won’t take them. Send them all back.”

The knights exchanged bewildered looks. Even Lacius had a face that seemed to wonder why.

Only one person smiled happily and nodded as if he had guessed my feelings. Theobalt.

With tears in my eyes, I spoke again firmly.

“They are all bribes, aren’t they?” Then I won’t take anything. This kind of thing could hurt Schweiden’s name.”

The faces of the knights brightened at my explanation.

“You’re very thoughtful.”

“To think that even your heart is beautiful. You are amazing, miss.”

Praise came from all over the place, but I’m not happy. It just feels sad. This is the reason I accepted the contract in the first place.

But I knew what was right and what was wrong. I know how hard it was for Lacius to say that he was fine with me accepting bribes.

Well, Lacius must have hoped for that to a certain extent.

He must have figured out that if Schweiden’s name gets damaged, interest and popularity in him could diminish.

But this guy sometimes worked like he didn’t know what a break was. He attended a knight’s training the day before yesterday, but the next day, he woke at dawn to immediately read and analyze the trial materials. In the afternoon, he attended a meeting at the Imperial Palace and returned late at night.

Perhaps the young ladies fell in love not only with his outward appearance but also with this trait of his not spending a day in vain. And I can’t let my sudden appearance ruin him.

“But Nia—.”

“Then you should send it all back now!”

Lacius tried to say something, but I cut him off. And when I shouted, Lacius shut his mouth.

Seeing is wanting*, even if I want to look at it, I won’t.

*(when you see something, you will have the desire to have it.)

Looking back, I remember never going into department stores because I was afraid of wanting something. And without a doubt, not seeing a person should work too… 

“By the way, miss.”

Then, Theobalt caught my attention.

“This looked different.”

“Pardon? What is it?”

“It’s a package from Lady Narnia Zerpienter, but my intuition tells me this isn’t a bribe.”

“Narnia? Oh, that might be..!”

Is it the evidence? But the liquid inside is important, so how can she just put it in a package like that?

Startled, I carefully accepted the package Theobalt handed over. If the liquid leaked out, the bottom would have been wet, but touching the dry package, seemed like it wasn’t the case.

“I’ll open it.”

“Ah, yes.”

Lacius took the parcel from my hand. Then my fingertips slightly bumped with his.

‘Ah, my heart.’

It was unintentional, but my heart fluttered. I’ve already made up my mind many times that I shouldn’t covet him, but why is it so hard to do?

Falling in love with someone is something that happens out of nowhere, like being hit by a comet… However, I shouldn’t fall for him.

Every time I breathe, my heart ached. And I couldn’t figure out what kind of spell I was under.

“A glass?”

At that time, Lacius unwrapped the package and took out a round sphere from it.

A glass floated inside the transparent plastic-like sphere, and I recognized at a glance that it was the strawberry champagne glass from that day.

“Right, that! The champagne glass from the day of the opening party.”

“Is it from that day?”

“Yeah, but wow… This is amazing. How did she keep it intact?”

I must have underestimated the potential of crazy fans too much. The glass of strawberry champagne I drank was preserved in very good condition.

From lipstick marks to champagne drops left in the depths of the inverted triangular glass. It was all vivid enough to make me recall the memories of the day immediately.

Lacius handed over the plastic sphere to Theobalt and explained.

“Vacuum magic.”

“Vacuum magic?”

“It’s a magical technique for gathering evidence when an incident happens, and it’s a magic developed to preserve even a drop of blood in perfect condition.”

……?

Does such a thing exist in this world?

Well, since there is a court, evidence is very important.

Terran was a far more advanced country than I expected.

“Come to think of it, did you say Narnia Zerpienter?”

“Yes, my Lord. From what I recall, she is the fourth of the seven daughters of Count Zerpienter.

“So that’s why.”

“Perhaps Count Zerpienter is having a headache too.”

“I heard that his 4th daughter is causing trouble, but if she did this herself, she is quite good at it. Send her a message so she can work at the courthouse later.”

“I understand, My Lord.”

Why do I feel like the only one who has no idea what they’re talking about? Feeling alienated, I poked Lacius on the arm.

“What kind of household is Zerpienter?”

“Count Zerpienter is the head of the Court’s Ministry of Magic Investigations. His daughters work there too.”

“Oh, that’s why Narnia knows how to do that….”

That’s great. I guess I could say that her talent was well utilized. More than anything, I was grateful. Thanks to her, I got the evidence in my hands.

“Lacius, do you know anyone who can analyze this?”

“I do.”

“Then can we do it quietly and secretly without ever telling anybody else? And it must be someone you can trust.”

I was very serious. It was a preparation for the unexpected after all. If Villainess #1 tries to kill me in the end, knowing her obsessiveness and tenacity, I must have something to attack her with.

Even the princess knew I collapsed after drinking champagne that day. But of course, we have to find another piece of evidence to prove that it was Peridot who put the paralyzing drug in the champagne. Without any evidence, our efforts would be useless.

“Okay, I will proceed with it.”

“Thank you.”

I hope it works out well so that it becomes one of my shields. 

I waited till Lacius was done changing. Since he left work early, I decided to ask him to go to Evershal with me. My body gets cold when I call my paintings out, so it’s not a good idea to be alone.

While Lacius is present, I was thinking of finally ‘calling’ the rides out.