ITMWG 96

Chapter 96…

This thick-skinned man!

Duke Viosques had no idea that Prince Orca was the ‘high-up’ involved in the incident.

After consulting with Altair, we decided to keep this fact a secret from the Duke.

Considering the relationship between the Duke and Prince Orca, it would be unlikely that he would believe our story, and even if he did, he might try to take his side and bury the truth.

After all, they were related by blood to the royal family.

No matter how kind and generous Duke Viosques seemed, he was still a nobleman with his own interests at heart.

This can be seen from the fact that he joined hands with us in order to pass on the family’s wealth and title to his granddaughter.

That’s why we shouldn’t openly show our hostility toward Prince Orca here.

Besides, Nadia had been seen having a conversation with Prince Orca at the palace event.

Since it wasn’t a situation where she could get away with lying about not being accquaintance, she thought it would be better to meet him first and find out what his intentions were.

Nadia smiled as calmly as she could and nodded slightly at the Duke.

“I do know him, but I was surprised that His Highness would come to visit me like this. Since he’s here, I should meet him.”

“Actually, I was surprised too. Prince Orca is a very quiet and shy prince, but he’s making such bold moves…”

Oh, quiet and shy, he says…

Duke Viosques tilted his head to one side as if puzzled, making an assessment that she absolutely could not agree with.

“Orca has been back in the capital for a long time, but he’s been staying in seclusion. He’s been getting a lot of attention thanks to the things he gave to His Majesty as gifts. It’s surprising that he’s making his first official visit to our mansion, and that he’s even coming to see you as a guest.”

Duke Viosques narrowed his eyes at her, perhaps sensing something between Orca and her with his animalistic intuition.

In other words, Duke Viosques, who was not particularly keen on political activities, noticed that Prince Orca was acting strangely enough.

I don’t know what his intentions are.

While grumbling to herself, she titled her head in a clueless manner, acting all innocent, making the most of her uniquely gentle facial features.

“He might be interested in the magic stones from our territory. Many people contact me because of that.”

“Ah, yes. That’s definitely something I want.”

The vague excuse seemed appropriate, and she could see the doubt in Duke Viosques’ eyes melting away in an instant.

Still, in truth, people were indeed very interested in the Aylesford magic stones.

Many nobles had already sent in a huge number of orders, and they had to increase the mining manpower at the magic stone mine right away.

Duke Viosques in particular had already ordered half a year’s worth of magic stones for the ducal family, and the imperial family had also ordered a huge amount of magic stones, becoming their biggest customer.

“For now, I’ve prepared seats in the study. I’ll show you there.”

“How I dare to be guided by the duke. If you could just send one maid-…”

“It makes no sense for the host to just sit back when distinguished guests meet in their mansion.”

Duke Viosques stood up first and extended his hand to me, seemingly would never yield.

“Come on, don’t refuse.”

How could a baroness refuse when the high duke had offered this much?

Nadia held onto his hand, sweating profusely from the burden.

❈❈❈

Unlike her stiff shoulders due to the burden, Duke Viosques’s escort was very comfortable.

He told her many interesting stories hidden in the Viosques mansion while they were moving, so before she could even notice, they had arrived at the study.

“The study is this way. I’ve already greeted Orca, so I won’t disturb you and will step aside. If you need anything, ring the bell to call for someone.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

After the Duke left, Nadia stood alone in front of the large study door, and the tension she had forgotten came rushing back to her.

She took a deep breath, bracing herself for the situation where she had to face a villain in an unfamiliar space, and then she heard a small cough. It was only then that she felt a presence behind the giant statue next to the entrance.

When she turned her head in surprise, Blan, who had hidden behind the statue as a shield, poked his head out slightly and clenched his fist as if to tell her to trust him.

“When did you come?”

Nadia whispered in surprise, and Blan grinned.

“I’ve been hiding nearby ever since you spoke to Duke Viosques.”

“I had no idea…”

“If I got caught by the Madame, that mean I don’t have talent as a knight, isn’t it?”

“Fair enough.”

Nadia burst into laughter at Blan’s teasing, but then suddenly remembered that Duke Viosques was an excellent warrior.

It might be easy to avoid her untrained eyes, but it would be hard to avoid his.

In amazement, she looked back and forth between the direction Duke Viosques had disappeared and Blan’s face, and as if he had read her thoughts, he shrugged and explained the situation.

“His Grace knows that I’m your escort. The lord has asked for his understanding. Marquis Vine, who we’ll soon face in court, might send an assassin to you… Considering that situation, has His Grace also understood.”

“But weren’t you trespassing on the first day?”

“That was an emergency, so it can’t be helped… I’ve apologised to His Grace.”

“He wasn’t angry, was he?”

“He was rather amused. He said it seemed the security of the ducal house was terrible enough for this to happened and had the urge to gather all the soldiers.”

Listening to Blan, Nadia was reminded of the loud training sounds of knights and soldiers in the duchy’s training ground every day after Blan suddenly showed up.

She was so surprised and always thought that ‘So at the Duke’s residence, all knights and soldiers are this motivated!’

But turned out the culprit was Blan…

“Anyway, don’t worry and go in. If anything happens, I will deal with it right away.”

My tense heart eased at his resolute tone.

Blan was one of the knights Altair trusted the most. So she could trust him too.

She nodded to Blan and carefully opened the study door.

As she entered, she saw Prince Orca sitting at the desk reading a book.

The sight was so beautiful, like a painting.

At least looking good isn’t something I can criticise him for…

Nadia was momentarily dazed at the peaceful scene, but she managed to come to her senses.

“Your Highness.”

When she greeted Orca, he put down the book he was reading and straightened his posture.

He had a smile on his face as always.

“It’s been a while. I’ve heard a lot about the madame lately…I came to cheer you on.”

“Cheer me on?”

How could the person who created this situation say that so calmly?

Nadia was so shocked by his shamelessness that she couldn’t help but let in show on her face.

Prince Orca, who immediately noticed her reaction, narrowed his eyes and tilted his head in confusion.

“It seems you don’t welcome my support.”

“Of course I don’t. It’s not like you’re giving me the medicine to my sickness.”

At first, she intended to hide her emotions to figure out Prince Orca’s true feelings, but when she actually met him face to face, it was hard to act rationally.

How many people can be composed when faced with someone who killed their parents, their husband’s parents, and may have killed many other people’s families?

If Prince Orca had come to see Altair, Altair would have suppressed his emotions and tried to figure out what was on his mind, but Nadia had a hard time being that calm.

“Honestly, it’s hard to understand why you came to see me like this. I knew you were shameless, but to this extent… I didn’t know you were so thick-skinned!”

Even though she really wanted to shout ‘You thick-skinned human being!!’ but she thought would be too much for her own good and decided against it. Still, this should be enough to convey her anger.

“Thick-skinned… ”

Prince Orca looked somewhat bewildered and touched his cheek with his hand.

It was even more shocking because it seemed to be a way of measuring how thick his skin was.

“You seem to want to find out about our movements through me, but I won’t say anything. I don’t know anything anyway. Just go back.”

“Wait a minute, Baroness.”

“Aren’t you leaving? Fine, then I will.”

As Nadia firmly declared so and turned her back, Prince Orca followed her quickly and blocked her path.

She looked up at Prince Orca’s face with discontent, and he was looking at her with sheer bafflement.

“Am I your enemy? I feel like that’s how it is.”

“Then you’re saying that’s not it?”

“No. I don’t know why you thought I was your enemy in the first place.”

His tone and actions didn’t seem like he was feigning ignorance.

However, the circumstances all pointed to Prince Orca being ‘that person’.

Was this simply because Prince Orca’s acting skills were so great? Was it why playing dumb came so natural to him?

When Nadia frowned in confusion, Prince Orca shrugged.

“If you tell me how you came to think that way, maybe we can find the answer together and solve it.”

“…”

“Of course, since you seem to have strong reasons for your suspicions, it’ll be hard to talk about it easily. Hmm…”

Prince Orca looked down for a moment as if he was thinking hard, rubbed his chin, and then met my eyes again.

“Anyway, I think I’m the one who seemed flawed right now, so I’ll have to give you something that will earn your trust. This wasn’t the way I originally planned to give it to you. I thought it would be in a little softer atmosphere. Since it was supposed to be a meeting with my admirer.”

Prince Orca smiled and took something out of his coat. It was a large envelope that seemed to contain documents.

Nadia was staring at the envelope with a wary look, and Prince Orca shook the documents lightly as if telling her to hurry up and take them.

She was suspicious of his attitude, but she thought it would be better to figure out the contents.

She quickly snatched the documents and looked through the contents inside.

And as soon as she confirmed what was inside, her mouth dropped open.

“This-, this is…?”

Prince Orca calmly answered, looking at her who was too stunned to speak.

“This is an insurance policy. It belonged to the previous baron couple of Vine.”

“This, how did you-…”

“Right now, the question of ‘what’ is more important than the question of ‘how’.”

Prince Orca smiled and tapped the bottom of the document with his finger.

She followed his gaze and saw that her name, ‘Nadia Vine’, was imprinted there.

It was the space where the name of the insurance beneficiary was written.

Nadia raised her head in surprise and Prince Orca naturally took the document back from her hands with a teasing smile.

“With this, you will never lose in court. What do you think? Don’t you need this document?”

Merry Christmas y’all ^^ Hope you have a wonderful holiday with your loved ones!