Chapter 38

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Translator: Harry Potta

Chapter Title: The Princess Only Deals in the Real Thing 44

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공녀님은 진짜만 취급합니다

44화

Alter's eyes, looking up at me, were fierce.

"The Holy Knight Captain resorts to violence against a citizen?"

His uniquely enigmatic gaze gleamed with menace.

He looked ready to grab Ayrun by the collar at any moment.

'No!'

Even in my dizziness, I staggered to my feet and barely managed to block Alter's path.

"That's not it!"

"Not it? Then what the hell is this mess I'm seeing?"

Alter shot Ayrun a sharp glare as he snapped.

To Alter, who hadn't seen the full context, it was a scene ripe for misunderstanding.

But.

'Ayrun really didn't push me.'

Ayrun hadn't laid a hand on me.

I'd been flung back by an invisible shockwave.

I couldn't say for sure if it was mana he'd unleashed, but one thing was certain.

'It wasn't intentional on Ayrun's part.'

The Ayrun clutching his head right now had tried to catch me when he saw me flying back.

But I couldn't explain the truth to Alter. It would be a sore spot for Ayrun.

'Besides, no matter how notorious the criminal, the guy's an Imperial Holy Knight Captain! If they fight, Alter'll end up like a smashed potato!'

So, I had only one thing I could say.

"Um, well."

I forced a smile and whispered to Alter.

"This knight was trying to pull another self-harm extortion stunt, so I figured it was my chance to give it a try too. It's my secret weapon, you know."

First, I needed to get Ayrun out of here to end this mess.

I turned to persuade him somehow and send him off.

"Lies."

Alter's voice, dangerously low, grabbed my ankle.

I looked up at him.

"You think I didn't see your face?"

"...My face?"

"Why are you covering for this guy?"

Alter let out a hollow laugh.

"Talking about some prince earlier, and now you've fallen for this knight? Or."

What?

I was about to retort when I saw Alter's expression and shut my mouth.

"...You're saying you trust this knight you've met just twice over me?"

It was a question I couldn't answer easily.

I did suspect Alter's true identity, after all.

But if asked whether I distrusted Alter the person himself.

'No, not that.'

Before I could reply, a metallic shing echoed from behind me as a blade was drawn.

Turning, I saw Ayrun rising, using his sword as a crutch against the floor.

Alter, unaware of the situation, took it as a threat. He drew his own sword and pulled me behind him.

'I need to stop this...'

But his commanding presence made my stomach churn.

It felt just like motion sickness.

"Hah, hah."

As I panted without speaking, Alter's eyes sharpened further.

"What are you doing to this woman right now?"

It was a powder keg ready to blow.

The moment I finally lifted my head to speak.

"Wait, let me explain..."

A familiar voice cut me off from somewhere.

"No. The explanation is mine."

A figure in a black robe stood inside the shop—unnoticed until now.

As the customer pushed back her hood, revealing her face.

Ayrun sucked in a breath, and Alter froze.

Pressing my chest, I murmured.

"...Rina?"

The voice, the small lips, the glimpse of green eyes.

It was Rina.

Ayrun's demeanor shifted upon seeing her. The oppressive aura he exuded began to lift.

My own breathing eased at the same time. It was like flailing in water and finally breaking the surface.

In my hazy mind, I tugged at Alter's arm.

"C-Customer."

What Rina's true identity was or how she'd returned didn't matter right now.

Ayrun's state was off, and in this volatile moment, anything could happen.

'She might think I'm up to something. If I recklessly draw my dagger again? Rina could be in danger!'

I looked up, meeting Alter's eyes, and mouthed silently.

Protect Rina.

His face hardened like frost.

Was he as overwhelmed by the holy knight's presence as I was? As I stared blankly, Ayrun's voice rang out.

"Your Highness, how did you get here?"

"I just came to check on the pendant I entrusted."

"You personally entrusted the pendant, Your Highness? This is a pawnshop. If you meant to sell such a treasured holy artifact..."

"No. You're misunderstanding, Sir Ayrun. I didn't pawn my mother's pendant at a pawnshop."

Rina took a deep breath and said curtly.

"I entrusted it to someone reliable... to a friend."

"Your Highness?"

"So go back now. That's an order from your 'master'."

Master.

The air shifted as she said it.

Ayrun hesitated, then bowed his head.

"My apologies. I was insolent."

The sound of Ayrun's footsteps faded as he left.

Rina, following him, paused in front of me.

Her face said she had a lot she wanted to say.

"...I rushed out so fast today, no money on me. I'll come back next time with the fee and retrieve it."

Tears welled in Rina's green eyes, just like that day.

But she didn't seem to need tissues today.

Had her mindset changed? Either way, it was a relief.

I managed a faint smile.

"Sure, Rina. See you next time."

I'd heard Ayrun call her "Your Highness", but I decided not to pry.

She'd said she'd return, so she'd explain when the time came.

"Thank you. And sorry... It won't happen again."

Leaving those resolute words, Rina turned and went.

Watching her retreating back, my legs gave out like last time.

As I started to collapse.

Something caught me from behind.

"Pull yourself together."

It was Alter.

Was my vision blurring?

His hazy expression somehow looked worried for me.

"You okay?"

"...Haha, guess I got drained..."

"Not funny."

"Yeah, not really... Just let me nap for thirty minutes. I'd love to pass out, but I've still got work..."

"Using me as an alarm clock? Wait, are you bargaining with fainting?"

Alter looked exasperated, then paused at my next words.

"Truth is... I was a little scared."

I blinked up at him.

"Glad you were here... as a customer."

"You..."

"So, please... do me a favor."

His peculiar expression was the last thing I saw before my consciousness faded.

Tesah gazed at the unconscious Elisha.

Her breathing was steady—she'd successfully negotiated with blackout.

"Unbelievable."

Tesah chuckled despite himself, then realized he was half-holding her.

He started to pull away, but sighed deeply.

She'd asked him as a favor. Something she could say because he was a customer.

A roundabout answer to his question about trust.

'Obvious. More of her usual nonsense, wordplay.'

Yet as he mulled her words, Tesah muttered.

"Can't just leave her on the floor, or who'd know what complaints I'd get."

Tesah scooped Elisha up and headed to the counter.

He didn't forget to close the door to the second floor.

He rolled up a blanket as a pillow and laid her down; she slept soundly, snoring softly.

"You've got a perfectly good blanket, so why use the ledger as a pillow?"

Only after saying it did it hit him.

Now was his chance to check the ledger.

The one with Aibor's information.

'Once I confirm the ledger, my business here is done. No need for tedious torture. Just wait for Aibor to show and arrest him.'

Tesah sat at Elisha's feet and opened the ledger.

But the words wouldn't stick.

Was he afraid she'd wake? No.

His mind was occupied.

'...In that situation, worrying about someone else.'

The woman Elisha called Rina was undoubtedly Princess Catarina.

Ayrun had called her "Your Highness"—no room for doubt.

Why would Elisha care for even a princess like that?

'She ought to resent her.'

This whole fiasco stemmed from the item the princess pawned.

So Elisha had been unjustly dragged into it.

'A pendant... Must be the Empress's heirloom. I'd heard the princess struggled after her mother's death.'

And why call Elisha a friend? If truly friends, the Holy Knight Captain wouldn't be clueless.

Considering Elisha called the princess "Rina"—not even "Catarina"—it seemed more likely the princess used a false name to approach the pawnshop.

'She only learned today that Catarina is the princess.'

In other words, their relationship was just shopkeeper and customer.

So why.

'She treasures this pawnshop so much. Cried her heart out over a leaky roof.'

Facing closure, why treat a mere customer's item like it mattered so much.

As Tesah flipped pages, it dawned on him.

Maybe the ledger hadn't registered because...

'Deep down, I already knew. ...That she's innocent, at least.'

Indeed, no record of Rugenoht.

No customer matching Aibor's description.

Just traces of Elisha's tireless days and nights of hard work.

Then.

'Her grandfather must be the one who started this.'

He needed to find that grandfather who'd dumped everything on his clueless granddaughter.