Chapter 6

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Translator: Harry Potta

Chapter Title: The Princess Only Deals in the Real Thing 15

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‘Asking outright carries too much risk. Even the original owner of this shop—that woman’s “grandfather”—has vanished without a trace.’

Clack.

The door to the second floor opened.

Disappointingly, there wasn’t even anything resembling Rugenoht.

But then.

At that moment, the ruby clip flickered.

‘The direction?’

Tesah whipped his head toward where the light pointed.

It was toward the entrance leading to the first floor.

Which meant?

‘Rugenoht, or an Aiborr stained with Rugenoht’s holy power, must have stayed only on the first floor.’

He checked twice. Aiborr had definitely come here.

But when?

‘Checking the ledger would be the fastest way. Aiborr wouldn’t have shown up without reason.’

Recalling that there were no safes or cabinets on the way down, Tesah headed for the counter.

Important items were usually kept there.

But as he strode forward without hesitation, Tesah caught sight of what was under the counter and froze.

A woman was curled up there, lying down.

‘Why here?’

Had she fainted? Or been locked away?

Tesah rubbed his dry face and examined her, then let out a soft sigh.

“……”

She was asleep.

Tesah had no idea why on earth the woman was sleeping under the counter.

As he searched for the ledger anyway, he spotted its location and couldn’t help but chuckle despite himself.

“Good grief.”

She was using it as a pillow.

No wonder the magic-sealing artifact, the safe-cracking tools—none of it had worked.

There was no way to extract that thick ledger without waking the sleeping woman. It was the ultimate security measure.

Tesah stared for a moment at the woman snoring away on the hard book, then concluded there was nothing more to gain.

He was just turning to leave when he noticed a small bundle of papers under the counter.

Transaction records?

‘No, this is……’

Good morning! This is the second floor. Head straight down to the first floor, and the kitchen will be right there!

Go to the kitchen first—no other place!

(I know you’re suspicious, but you can trust me on this.)

Whoa, you made it! Clap clap clap! Open the cupboard with this note on it!

The color’s weird, right? Still, you have to drink it. Then check the drawer on the right—there’s a gift!

Ta-da! Candy!

The notes were clearly written with deliberate, pressed-down strokes, one letter at a time.

He couldn’t tell when, why, or for what purpose they’d been written, but one thing was clear.

‘These aren’t for her.’

They were notes for someone else.

As Tesah read through them and neatly restacked them in place,

“No……”

The woman groaned in pain. She huddled tightly, clutching her necklace.

“I’m sorry. Please don’t. Don’t take him away—no.”

It was a heartbreaking, sorrowful voice.

At a rare loss, Tesah froze in place.

What exactly wasn’t allowed? What kind of dream could make her sound so grief-stricken?

She couldn’t even cry properly, choking back sobs, until suddenly, her body went limp.

“No, Grandfather……”

Even after her voice faded, Tesah stood motionless for a long while.

2nd Street Hotel.

Hugo’s aide stared in shock at his count, who was now personally packing his bags after sending that painting to the pawnshop.

He’d done as ordered, but why on earth was he rushing off like this so late at night?

“You heard it too, didn’t you! We don’t know when he’ll barge in here, so we have to leave now!”

“S-Sir Count. You’ve said ‘you heard it too’ several times already, but honestly…… I didn’t hear anything.”

“What? Is there something wrong with your ears?”

“I only saw you sit down, stand up, slip, and come running out.”

“Can’t you shut up?! Why bring that up?!”

Hugo’s face turned beet red as he fumed.

“Argh! Whatever! Even if Uncle has ulterior motives, what can he do with just that one painting?! Right?”

Fearing he’d upset his superior, the aide forced agreement.

“Y-Yes, exactly. And it was just a worthless little picture, wasn’t it?”

“Right! Plus, I wrote a letter of attorney. Did I say I’d hand over all my assets? There’s still nothing Uncle can do— no problems at all! And besides.”

Hugo waved his gloved hand.

“I even wore gloves just in case! So even if he was planning to use my fingerprints, it’s impossible now!”

That, the aide couldn’t argue with.

As Hugo urged him to hurry with the packing if he understood, the aide bowed and left, thinking to himself.

‘Well, sure. He’s making a fuss about hearing something strange, but he was only gone a few minutes.’

What could go wrong?

“My sleep was so restless last night.”

It felt like a bad dream, but I couldn’t remember it.

‘Is it that “Worst Memory” spell? No, I drank the holy water, so it shouldn’t affect me.’

‘Guess I have nightmares even without magic.’

I stretched my stiff back and tilted my head at the flower petal on the blanket.

“Huh? Why’s this here? It was up in the attic.”

Did I miss it while cleaning?

I habitually checked the safe, confirmed nothing was amiss, tossed the petal into a drawer, and checked the time. Still a few hours until opening.

Which meant?

“Perfect time to head to the bank.”

The capital’s central bank.

I made a beeline for the VIP section.

“Excuse me, ma’am.”

But a clerk blocked my path.

“That’s the VIP area.”

“Yes, I know.”

“It’s reserved for nobles and major tycoons to handle their business.”

So, I don’t look like a noble or a tycoon, huh?

I flashed a bright smile at the clerk scanning me up and down.

“Yes, of course I know that too.”

“Then why are you doing this?”

“Because that’s the section for me.”

The clerk paled upon checking the documents I held out.

“I’m here to handle Count Hugo Lionet’s affairs?”

“Uh, um, well……”

“Yes, that was quite rude of you, wasn’t it?”

Grinning, I cut him off and turned toward the VIP area.

‘Non-nobles have it rough enough without this.’

Strictly speaking, as the Duke of Lionet’s granddaughter, I am nobility, but if this is how they treat people, I don’t need it.

No wonder guys like Hugo strut around like they own the place.

Muttering inwardly, I quickly reached the banker.

“Welcome. How may I assist you?”

“I’d like to check Count Hugo Lionet’s accounts. Oh, his territory is Pafong.”

Cough.

Bluntly stating my business and casually dropping “Count” without honorifics, I threw the banker off, but he forced a smile.

“Pardon me, but what is your relationship to Count Hugo Lionet?”

“Family.”

Not that I agreed to it. I swallowed the afterthought.

“Er, um, yes, I see. But even as family, we can’t allow account inquiries without……”

“Yes, not without proper authorization. But I hear there’s a way?”

Meaning I’d figured out how they checked Grandfather’s assets.

I pulled out what I’d prepared.

“This is a power of attorney signed by Mr. Hugo Lionet.”

Hugo’s “Property Transfer Agreement.”

I’d slipped an extra sheet of ink beneath it.

It must have felt thicker, but with the shock of that cane thwack, half out of his mind, Hugo hadn’t noticed.

Thus, I had his signed power of attorney.

“Let me play you what he said granting me this power. His own voice.”

Click. I activated the magic recording pen, and Hugo’s voice flowed out.

“Count Hugo Lionet. You proposed it first and delegated authority to me yourself. Right?”

“I told you, yes!”

The banker rolled his eyes, cross-checking with the system audio, then awkwardly spoke.

“Yes, we’ve verified the power of attorney and the voice recording. However, to substitute for his seal, there’s one more requirement, so I’m sorry, but……”

“Ah, you mean the fingerprint?”

Hugo had worn gloves yesterday.

It was a setback for my plan to obtain it.

But then I remembered something.

“Here you go.”

I grinned and pulled the item from my bag, holding it out.