ITMWG 77

Chapter 77…

Not a lion, but a rat.

“How did you get here…”

Nadia was wondering if it would be okay to reveal that it was Prince Orca who was here right now, so she gave him a casual greeting, and he tilted his head, puzzled.

“It’s been a while since I arrived in the capital. It’s not strange to be walking around downtown right now.”

“Yes. I knew you had arrived in the capital. You left our territory in a hurry, and I also heard that you left some words about us for the security guard in advance when passing through the capital inspection. Thanks to you, we passed with ease.”

“Ah. Did the guard captain help you?”

Orca asked her with a broad smile. A thought flashed through her mind that he was somewhat like a puppy wanting praise, something quite unbecoming of the villainous prince. Fortunately, she became conscious that they were of opposite sexes before the compliments could slip from her tongue.

“Yes. Thank you for your concern.”

“I owed Aylesford a favour, so I just repaid it. Besides, the Baroness is my only admirer, so I have to pay more attention to her.”

“Uh, yes… It is an honour… ”

It seemed like it would be difficult for her to escape the image of ‘Prince Orca’s ardent admirer.’ If the conversation continued further, Nadia wondered if she should praise Prince Orca as his ‘ardent admirer’? Such a thing would be natural, right? So how should she praise him? … While Nadia was troubled, thankfully, the clerk quickly came between them.

“Greetings, Your Highness.”

Seeing that the clerk greeted him properly, it seemed like Orca wasn’t out to have fun while hiding his identity as a prince like Nadia thought.

“Are you here to pick up the watch you sent for repair? I shall get it right away.”

The clerk bowed politely, then quickly went into the back room and brought out a small box that looked fancy. When the clerk, wearing white gloves, carefully opened the box, a pocket watch as luxurious as the box was revealed.

“I replaced the magic stone, so there should be no problem now.”

Nadia saw a very small magic stone embedded in the area the clerk was pointing to. Anyone could see that faint light was fluttering around it, and it looked like it was full of mana.

But I don’t think it’s a very good magic stone.

Of course, since it was a magic stone embedded in the prince’s watch, it was by no means a low-quality item. However, what met her eyes was merely not satisfying enough, as she had only seen Aylesford’s magic stones, which were of the highest quality. Prince Orca must have sensed what she was thinking as he took the watch and placed it in his pocket, shrugging his shoulders.

“There are few items as good as the magic stones from Aylesford. They have not yet been distributed to the capital, so just getting this kind of stone is already a feat for a repairman.”

“I didn’t say anything though…”

When Nadia turned back at the clerk, she saw that he was concentrating on their conversation with his eyes widened.

“It was the highest quality magic stone we could find. Are you saying that the magic stone from Aylesford is of a higher quality than this?”

“Yes. I saw it myself. I’m sure you heard that a new magic stone mine was discovered in the Eastern part of the Empire?”

“Yes. There were a lot of rumours. Oh my! Could it be…”

The clerk’s eyes, which were already rounded at Prince Orca’s affirmative answer, grew even wider. In response, Orca smiled softly, as if he had been waiting for that reaction from the clerk, and naturally handed the stage over to Nadia.

“If you are interested, it would be a good idea to talk to the lady over here. She is Baroness Aylesford, the owner of the Magic Stone Mine.”

“The owner of the Magic Stone Mine!?”

The clerk’s eyes seemed ready to pop out of their sockets at any moment.

“Oh my, I almost didn’t realise the presence of such a precious guest and was being rude. I can’t believe I showed you such shabby watches…!”

The clerk became even more polite than before and pushed aside the pocket watches he had first shown her.

Those looked luxurious enough though.

Of course, compared to the watch that Prince Orca entrusted to be repaired, they seemed to have many shortcomings… Yet, the watches that the clerk hurriedly opened the safe and brought out seemed to be in even better condition compared to Prince Orca’s. Among them, one pocket watch entirely in black caught Nadia’s eye.

Is it because Altair’s hair is black?

It may be a bit childish, but she liked the dark, matte black watch rather than the gold or silver ones. She also liked the fact that the surface glass had that pure transparent hue of the sky and thanks to that,  how the device worked internally was clearly visible.

“Is this perhaps to your liking?”

The clerk, who noticed that her eyes were lingering on one particular piece of luxury for a long time, asked tactfully. Next to him, Prince Orca also added a few words.

“It’s a good watch. I can feel the craftsman’s meticulous attention to detail.”

Since even the prince recommended it, her judgment wasn’t wrong after all.

“I’ll take this.”

“That’s a very wise choice.”

The clerk smiled and showed her the price list. It was within the expected price range, so there wasn’t much of a problem.

“Please send the payment to Baron Aylesford, who is staying at the Marquis of Vine.”

“Marquis Vine…Oh, so the madame is from the Vine family! Yes, I shall do as you asked.”

This time, Nadia deliberately emphasised the phrase ‘Marquis of Vine’, and as expected, the clerk responded positively. Marquis Vine’s reputation in the capital was solid, so Nadia planned to take advantage of everything she could.

“Would you like to take it right now? Or should I send it to you?”

“It’s a gift, so I think it would be best to bring it myself.”

“Yes. Then I’ll pack it for you right away.”

Perhaps because she decided to buy it right away without any bargaining, the clerk smiled brightly and went into the back room again. Feeling like she had accomplished something, Nadia let out a sigh of relief. But it wasn’t long until she noticed prince Orca, who was standing next to her, was staring at her. From his gaze, it seemed he had a lot to say.

“Did you mention Marquis Vine on purpose?”

Ugh. Was it too obvious to try to easily take advantage of the later Marquis’ fame…?

Nadia cleared her throat in embarrassment and quietly avoided his gaze.

“It is the truth that we are currently staying at the marquis manor.”

“Haha. Right. You must be quite tired.  Your cousin was a formidable person, Madame.”

“Ah.”

Come to think of it, Prince Orca went to the capital with Melissa. She looked at Prince Orca, wondering what had happened, and he shrugged his shoulders in response.

“It is not a gentleman’s virtue to speak ill of a lady.”

In the end, it meant that Melissa did something worth gossiping about.

How can he criticise someone so gracefully?

She thought the way he spoke was worth learning.

“Thank you for waiting, Madame.”

“Where are you heading next?”

He stated the question so naturally, as if they had been out and about together from the beginning.

❈❈❈

After Nadia left the Vine Mansion to go shopping, Altair took the initiative upon himself to walk around the mansion. Of course, it was an exploration under the pretense of taking a walk. Next to him was Cain, who was yawning long and in an uncharacteristically carefree manner. If Altair had been walking down the hall alone, everyone would have been astonished, but thanks to Cain’s sloppy behavior, the servants did not seem to be overly cautious even when the two of them walked around the mansion. However, contrary to his sloppy appearance, what Cain whispered to Altair was witty and sharp.

“There was no particularly strange movement within the mansion. I don’t think he invited you to the mansion with the intention of making an attempt on your life.

It was a small whisper, but Altair could hear it all.”

“They won’t make an attempt on my life. If I die, the property the Marquis covets will be passed on to an unknown heir. If there is someone they aim at….”

It’s probably Nadia. Altair didn’t necessarily say anything ominous. But Cain was also clearly aware of the situation. He also had his own doubts.

“But on the other hand, if the Madame dies, the relationship between Aylesford and Vine will completely end. So what good is Aylesford’s wealth, even if it is abundant? Wouldn’t it be better to coax her into handing over property?”

It was also a hypothesis he thought of when he didn’t know much about how the current Marquis had treated Nadia. However, Altair conducted a thorough investigation into the Marquis of Vine through Blan. He now clearly knew what the relationship between Nadia and the Marquis was like. However, since this was a matter of Nadia’s reputation, it was not an issue to handle carelessly. Instead of giving a lengthy explanation to Cain, Altair disclosed the plan that the Marquis might really have in mind.

“Marquis Vine has a daughter.”

“Ack.”

He forgot that Cain was whispering softly and accidentally spoke aloud.

“That strange woman? You don’t mean… is he planning to get rid of the Madame and replace with her?”

“Perhaps.”

“Haah??? How is the idea of making his nephew-in-law into his son-in-law possible?”

“Nobles would do anything to protect their family’s status and wealth.”

Cain was a knight, but Altair was a noble. He knew the nature of nobles all too well. It was very important for him to keep his wits about himself to prevent his wealth and title from being taken by the wrong people. Didn’t he also hastily get married to prevent such a situation?

“So, don’t let your guard down around Nadia. You didn’t forget to assign escorts to her when she went out, right?”

“Yes. As per your request, I assigned three with her.”

Cain then shook his head.

“If you’re going to be so worried, why didn’t you decline Marquis Vine’s invitation? It would be much easier if that were the case.”

“If you want to catch a lion, you have to go into the lion’s den.”

The Vine was not a simple family. If he planned to expose them, it’s better to do so from the inside.

“So you’re practically saying that Marquis Vine is the lion, and the Vine house is the lion’s den?… Isn’t that a bit excessive?”

Cain frowned as if he couldn’t agree. When Altair narrowed his eyes as if wondering what he meant, Cain said, pointing to the Marquis Vine who was approaching from them.

“Comparing Marquis Vine to a rat alone is already too nice for his own good, and for that, a rat’s hole would be enough. Take a look. Even now, when he heard that we were wandering around, he came running like a rat.”

As soon as Cain’s whisper ceased, Marquis Vine raised his voice at Altair as he got near, pretending to be cheerful.

“Oh my, I can’t believe we meet here like this. Are you feeling better from the journey?”

“Then I guess I should treat you to a proper dinner today. Vine’s dinner is very delicious.”

“I would be happy to attend if you invite me.”

“Invite? There’s no need for such a formal saying. By the way, there are a lot of people who have heard about your stay here and want to greet you. Since you probably don’t have many connections here, I’d like to introduce you…”

Although it seemed like he was considerate of Altair, his intention was actually to show off his influence.

“Thank you.”

As Altair lowered his head, pretending to be humble, the Marquis Vine smiled faintly. But that smile only lasted a brief moment.

“But I have a lot of appointments scheduled in advance through letters. I think it would be difficult to make time for it.”

“Letters…? You don’t know much about the capital’s nobility, do you? The starting point is very important. Once you make a wrong arrangement, it becomes very difficult afterwards. Who did you make an appointment with?”

“I have an appointment with Duke Viosques.”

“Vi-Viosques?!”

Duke Viosques was the emperor’s father-in-law. He was a true capital nobleman that even the Marquis could not find fault with. Even though Altair clearly knew this, he tilted his head, playing dumb.

“Perhaps the Marquis thinks he is unsuitable as a starting point for networking? If you have any advice, I would be happy to listen.”

“Well, that can’t be possible! Don’t go around saying things like that.”

The Marquis quickly denied it, perhaps because he was worried that rumours would spread that he had bad-mouthed the Duke. Seeing him flustered, Cain clicked his tongue and murmured ‘rat’, and Altair also laughed inwardly. But of course, it was not the right time to reveal hostility right away.

“Actually, there is a favour I would like to ask of the Marquis.”

“Oh, what is that?”

When the shrunken Marquis turned pleased at the word ‘favour’, Altair placed his right hand on his left chest and bowed respectfully.

“I would like to place flowers at the grave of the former Marquis and his wife. Isn’t it only right for me to greet my wife’s parents?”

The marquis’ smug expression stiffened again upon the mention of ‘the grave of the former marquis and his wife’.