ITMWG 93

Chapter 93…

Already good enough.

Chills ran down her spine as soon as Nadia realised the other party’s identity.

She already knew that Prince Orca was the ultimate villain, but she didn’t expect that his evil deeds would be connected to her in this way.

Furthermore, it was connected to the incident where Altair’s parents passed away due to conspiracy…!

However, if she thought about it carefully, in the story she read, Prince Orca and Altair didn’t remain on the same side until the end.

At the end, Prince Orca tried to kill Altair because he wasn’t as loyal as he used to be.

Of course, Altair wasn’t someone who would just sit back and let it happen.

Even as he was about to die at Orca’s hands, he managed to take the prince’s head with him. It was Altair who ended up creating the incredible ending of ‘All the main characters died!’ However, how they ended up falling out wasn’t described in detail. Hence, she didn’t pay much attention when she was reading the novel.

Besides, at that time, I mostly read the devastating parts on purpose to try to overcome my cowardness…

She couldn’t afford to be curious about the stories of the hidden villains.

But if I had known that such ground-breaking secrets, I should have been more curious about them!

Nadia felt belated regret and gently grabbed Altair’s arm, sweating from the tension.

“A-Altair… ”

Altair turned his head as soon as she cautiously called his name and frowned.

“Your complexion is not good.”

“That’s…”

Altair wasn’t the only one who reacted to her condition.

Dwinhoff, who had welcomed them, also widened his eyes with worry.

This was not the place to reveal the identity of the ‘high-up.’

Words halted on the tip of her tongue as Nadia’s grip on Altair’s arm tightened, and Dwinhoff came closer.

“The Madame doesn’t seem to be in good condition…I’ll take you inside, so you should take a short rest.”

Dwinhoff offered kindly, eyes filled with concern.

Altair never thought that the one behind a vicious insurance scam could have such an expression. Though confused, he kept his mouth shut.

This implied that the man standing before them was so good at tricking, that he even got passed Altair, who had a good eye for people.

First, I need to find a place for just the two of us.

“Let’s do that, Altair. I want to take a short rest.”

Altair’s eyes widened slightly when she said ‘I want to take a rest.’

Altair knew better than anyone that Nadia rarely said such vulnerable things.

Thanks to this, Altair realised that she had other intentions, and instead of refusing, he silently followed Dwinhoff’s guidance.

Dwinhoff guided them to a small parlour inside the gallery.

On the surface, it seemed like a place to buy and sell expensive paintings, so it was a well-furnished room to accommodate distinguished guests.

“May I have a glass of cold water?”

Nadia quickly asked Dwinhoff for water before a servant could come in.

“Of course. I’ll get it right away.”

Dwinhoff left the room without being particularly wary of her listless appearance, sweating profusely.

At times like this, a scowling expression would be somewhat better.

After confirming that Dwinhoff had completely disappeared, Nadia collected her expression and turned to Altair.

“Altair, is he still around-…”

“I don’t sense any signs.”

Altair answered as if he had been waiting before she could finish her question.

“You started sweating profusely as soon as you heard Dwinhoff’s name. Do you know him?”

“Well…it doesn’t really count as ‘know’… ”

It was difficult to say anything clearly because the awareness was one-sided.

Altair tilted his head at the ambiguous answer. However, there was no time for further questions. She had to tell him what she had realised before Dwinhoff came back with the water.

“Are you sure Dwinhoff is the scapegoat of the person who initiated the insurance fraud?”

“According to Blan, he approaches nobles in dire straits first and offers them ‘help’.”

“But it never got leaked?”

“Those who accepted ‘help’ are considered accomplices, so they wouldn’t go around telling others, and those who refused ‘help’ were silenced by death.”

“…”

Judging by the way they dealt with people so coldly, it was definitely Prince Orca that she saw in the novel.

“…Then I think I know who the ‘higher-up’ is.”

“What?”

Altair’s mouth dropped slightly at the bombshell statement.

It was a small change, but it spoke volume when the other person was Altair, who was usually stoic.

Nadia took a deep breath and lowered her voice.

“Dwinhoff’s master is the Third Prince.”

Altair’s face was slightly distorted as she pointed out the person.

“Nadia. I don’t think you’re just spouting nonsense. But I have to ask, how can you be so sure?”

“… Even if you think it’s nonsense, I have nothing to say. I can’t provide any evidence. But I’m sure the person behind Dwinhoff is the Third Prince.”

She looked straight into Altair’s eyes.

If she could provide sufficient evidence, she would have already said so.

However, Prince Orca’s secret society was what it was literally, ‘secret’. So there was no apparent connection.

And she couldn’t mention the novel, and that the relationship between Dwinhoff and the Third Prince came out of it.

Even I think it’s hard to believe.

Altair was a character who acted based on accurate evidence and information.

On the surface, he seems to push everything through with force, but in reality, he only acted when he was sure that he would win.

When she thought about that, she could guess how absurd her statement must have sounded to Altair.

Her heart, anxious from telling him this huge discovery, had calmed down. Her gaze, which had been on Altair, also sank to the ground.

Now, Altair’s feet were the only thing in her field of vision.

Her head was spinning as to how she should prove the reliability of her claim to Altair.

“…Alright, I understand.”

At that moment, Altair’s indifferent words were thrown over her head.

“The ‘High-up’ is the Third Prince.”

Nadia raised her head when he recited it as if it was nothing special.

Altair had already started thinking, deep in thought, not even paying attention to her gaze.

She thought that it was unlikely, but looking at Altair’s actions…

“You-, You really believe me?”

When she asked with rounded eyes, Altair finally came out of his thoughts and looked at her.

“Didn’t you tell me to trust you?”

“That’s true. But how could you believe it so easily? I didn’t have any evidence!”

“…I didn’t expect to be criticised for believing it.”

Altair shrugged his shoulders as if he was dumbfounded.

“This is already good enough of evidence for me.”

“Which part is?!”

“That was what you said. You’re the basis for that information.”

“…”

It sounded simple, but wasn’t at all.

That was him basically saying that he would trust her enough to willingly believe such absurd things.

Well, when I think about it that way…

The tip of her nose became strangely tingly.

The emotions that rose from her chest spread to her whole body, so much so that her eyes felt hot.

“Why do you trust me so…”

“Why? You’re not the kind of person who would hide something or lie.”

Altair snickered and spoke firmly.

“My wife’s thoughts are all revealed on her face.”

“…What would you do if I was hiding a big secret?”

Since he had trusted her with his whole heart, Nadia felt a sense of guilt, as if her chest had been stabbed with a needle.

“Hmm… you said it as it is a possibility”

Altair frowned slightly at the strange expression on her face.

Nadia quickly shook her head, wondering if she had made a mistake.

“Right. It’s just a ‘possibility’.”

“But why is your expression-…”

The moment Altair opened his mouth while carefully examining her expression, Dwinhoff returned with water.

“I brought water for the Madame…”

Nadia felt Dwinhoff looking at them with suspecting eyes, perhaps sensing a strange atmosphere, so she quickly took a sip of the water so as not to arouse unnecessary suspicion.

She didn’t ask for the water because she wanted to drink it, but her heart felt a little calmer as the cool water went down her throat.

“Thanks to you, I feel better now. It’s not a return favour, but I would like to purchase a painting you recommended.”

“It would be an honour if you would display our painting in Aylesford. I have a good one for you.”

Dwinhoff clapped lightly as if he had been waiting for the words to naturally escape the situation, and the two entered a room with a large painting hanging.

But Nadia was focusing more on Altair rather than the picture.

Since Altair had given her such strong trust, she also felt that she should tell him the real basis for her conclusion.

Of course, this is really absurd…

She wanted to tell Altair that she already knew the story of this world, and that she already knew who Altair was, what kind of person Orca was, and what would happen in the future.

It was a truth that she had kept this to herself without telling anyone, but she felt that Altair would nod his head indifferently, saying ‘Really?’ as if it was just a trivial matter.

This wasn’t a decision she made simply to make herself feel better.

She wanted to give Altair the trust that he had given her.

Yes. When we get back to the mansion…we should talk.

The moment she made that decision in her mind, Altair’s face hardened.

His gaze was fixed on the huge painting that Dwinhoff had shown.

What on earth was the painting that made Altair react like this?

As soon as Nadia turned her head in confusion, she could see why.

The huge canvas was filled with red hue. It was a blazing fire.

“Fire symbolises passion. If you hang a painting like this in your castle, you’ll gain a strong energy. It’s a masterpiece.”

The painting, layered on top of each other with rough brush strokes, was clearly a masterpiece, but the subject matter wasn’t the best one.

To Altair, fire wasn’t passion.

When she looked at Dwinhoff instead of Altair, who was staring intently at the painting, he was still explaining the painting gently.

Of course, she couldn’t hear a single word of his explanation.

A collaborator of someone who committed insurance fraud by fabricating a fire accident brought this painting.

Wasn’t this an obvious provocation?

While Nadia was trying to read Dwinhoff’s intentions, Altair approached the painting silently.

Dwinhoff, who was diligently explaining the painting, turned quiet at his approach.

Altair stared at the painting for a moment, blanked, then smiled at Dwinhoff.

“It’s a nice painting. I’ll buy it.”

“…you will?”

Dwinhoff asked after a short pause.

Altair nodded, still smiling, his gaze now on the painting.

“It’s very good. I never…refuse things like this.”

His eyes held a strange mixture of coldness and heat at the same time.