Chapter 30
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How to Survive as the Villain's Younger Sister
Episode 30
Moreover, the seal impressed upon Borgil's contract was subtly different from this one.
I understood instinctively.
'The seal on the contract is a forgery, but this seal ring is genuine.'
My hands trembled violently.
The ring was large on my fingers, yet it appeared smaller than an adult's would be.
It belonged to someone who had not yet reached adulthood.
Among those I knew, there was only one person like that....
'...one person.'
Only one.
'Could the owner of this ring possibly be...!'
No, even if that were true, why was it in my pocket?
When had it gotten there?
My mind felt frozen, unable to process.
The shock was simply too overwhelming to bear.
But shock aside.
I would have to postpone understanding the situation.
"Will you be signing the contract now?"
I had to rescue my sister from the clutches of that wretched Borgil!
"No! You cannot sign it!"
I leaped from my chair and cried out.
"Young lady, do you understand where you are right now?"
Maran glared at me menacingly.
He believed I was interfering just when he was about to seal the deal.
"Dain, take the young lady outside."
Maran finally attempted to have me removed.
But Alexis stopped him and regarded me with a cool, measured gaze.
"Are you trying to say the contract with the Imperial Court is a forgery?"
Only Alexis truly understood my heart.
I nodded.
"That contract is fake."
"Even for you, you cannot make such an accusation without evidence in a place like this."
Alexis spoke with stern authority.
I pointed to the seal impressed upon the contract with my pale, slender finger.
"This seal here—it's a counterfeit Imperial seal."
"Good heavens! Now I've heard everything! Has a young lady such as yourself ever even seen an Imperial seal?"
Borgil laughed mockingly.
I hesitated for a moment.
'Should I reveal the Imperial seal ring right now?'
But there was no time.
The only way to stop the contract immediately was to produce the ring.
I withdrew the golden Imperial seal ring and held it high.
"Yes. I've seen the Imperial seal ring before. And all of you are seeing it now!"
Eight eyes fixed upon my small, delicate hand—no, upon the brilliantly gleaming golden seal.
"Th-the Imperial seal ring!"
Dain was the first to cry out.
Dain stepped closer and examined the ring carefully.
Then he exclaimed.
"The seal on the contract is different! The seal has three talons on the eagle's foot, but the contract only has two. And if you look closely, the feather patterns are different too—the seal on the contract is far more crude!"
Certainty rang through Dain's words.
At his words, Alexis's eyes widened in shock.
But it was Borgil who was most startled of all.
'If the contract were genuine, he wouldn't be reacting like that.'
Yet true to form as a seasoned swindler, he quickly regained his composure.
"Ha, where did this little brat get a toy to trick adults with! The seal on the contract is definitely authentic!"
"Th-that's exactly what I'm saying. Miss, where on earth did you get that?"
Maran also pressed me harshly.
In this moment, I had no words to counter Maran's rebuke.
A child suddenly producing a ring and claiming it was the Imperial seal ring—it was absurd.
It would be stranger to believe it outright.
'The only way to verify this ring is genuine is....'
"If you find it hard to believe, go to the Imperial Palace and verify it. I'll confirm it's real."
I spoke with shameless confidence.
I could feel their bewilderment, but that was enough.
"Why don't we at least verify it?"
"Dain! What are you saying?"
"Commander, no matter how young the youngest lady is, she carries Parkision blood. It's entirely possible she possesses such a valuable item, whether by chance or inheritance."
Simply planting doubt like this was enough to prevent them from signing the contract immediately.
That was when it happened.
"Ahem. Why would we go all the way to the Imperial Palace to verify some toy?"
Borgil demanded irritably.
"We'd be arrested for insulting the Imperial Court. A seal ring isn't something one happens to possess. Only His Majesty the Emperor or the Crown Prince can own one!"
Like a true swindler, he knew quite a lot about various things.
Because even I found myself at a loss on this point.
"Pardon? How exactly did you come to possess the seal ring?"
As the young girl fell silent, her cherry-red lips trembling, Borgil saw his opportunity and pressed harder.
'What do I say? I can't tell the truth. So how....'
"I'm certain I told you to put it away in the storage box whenever you finished playing with it."
It was Alexis's cold, measured voice that saved me.
Everyone in the room stared at Alexis, whose demeanor had turned glacial.
"You didn't listen to me, played with it anyway, and stuffed it into your pocket, didn't you?"
She spoke with a terrifying reproach directed at her younger sibling.
Rather than frightened, I felt as though I were gazing upon an angel descended from the heavens!
I quickly nodded my head.
"I'm sorry. You told me to just look at it briefly and put it back, but it was so fascinating that I couldn't help myself...."
"When we return to the Territory, you'll face severe punishment."
"What is the meaning of this?"
Borgil asked uneasily.
Alexis regarded him with one corner of her mouth drawn up in a chilling smile.
"Though Parkision's renown has diminished from its former glory, in my grandfather's time, we enjoyed a friendship with His Imperial Majesty himself. That ring is a seal—a token of friendship bestowed upon my grandfather by the previous Emperor."
"!"
The room filled with shock.
I was equally astonished.
Alexis, who was suspicious and cautious by nature, was corroborating my lie.
And she didn't even know whether the ring was genuine.
'What does she know?'
I trembled as I stared at Alexis.
"The form of a seal doesn't change unless some great calamity like war occurs."
"Th-that's...."
"You dared to deceive me."
She spoke with a smile.
Alexis's handsome face was suffused with amusement.
But Borgil had turned deathly pale, as though he'd encountered the very messenger of death.
He frantically reached into his pocket and attempted to tear something open.
It was a teleportation scroll.
'He's trying to escape!'
But then.
"Aaaahhh!"
Dain, who had drawn his sword in an instant, severed the man's wrist.
Borgil collapsed with a scream.
"Shall I dispose of him here?"
Dain, without blinking an eye, pressed his blade against the blood-soaked Borgil's throat.
"No, wait!"
I cried out urgently.
Alexis regarded me silently.
"Why?"
Her tone was cold, yet her expression showed she was willing to hear my answer.
"If he's such a vile swindler that he deceived the Duke and even forged an Imperial seal, he couldn't have duped only us! There must be many people working hard to capture this wretched con artist."
At my words, Alexis smiled coldly.
"Quite right. We mustn't disappoint their patience."
It meant I would report this to the Capital Guard.
That was precisely my intention.
At that, Borgil Weaver clung to me desperately.
"N-no, Your Grace! P-please, just this once, and I'll give you every coin I possess...!"
"Would a clean beheading be preferable, then?"
"N-no, Your Grace, p-please, I beg you for mercy...."
In the end, Borgil Weaver was dragged out by Dain, bound tightly from head to toe.
A gag was firmly wedged in his mouth to prevent him from taking his own life.
Maran followed behind with a dejected expression.
It was as we exited the building.
"We are from the Capital Guard. Please identify yourselves.... Wait, that man!"
Armed soldiers surrounded the entrance.
They were startled at the sight of Borgil Weaver being dragged out, bound and helpless.
Alexis turned to their commander.
"What is this about?"
"We are the Capital Guard, here to apprehend the con artist Borja Keren following an anonymous tip. But who are you? Why do you have him in custody...?"
The guard commander's tone was imperious, tinged with suspicion.
"This is Duke Parkision."
Dain presented a sword bearing the seal of the Parkision Ducal House.
The guard commander immediately bowed deeply.
"Y-Your Grace, it is an honor to meet you!"
Alexis regarded the bowing commander with an expressionless face.
"Yet this man claims his name is Borgil Weaver."
"That is merely another alias of the century's greatest con artist, Borja Keren. He possesses over a dozen false identities."
The guard commander answered respectfully.
Upon hearing the name repeated, something seemed to click in Alexis's mind, and her eyebrows rose slightly.
"Surely you mean the con artist who travels throughout the entire Empire?"
"Precisely! In fact, he recently even defrauded the Princess herself."
"...Now that I think of it, I believe I overheard him carelessly mention the name 'Borja' at one point. I thought I'd misheard, but it was his real name after all."
The guard commander nodded in agreement, then asked with a note of admiration in his voice.
"The entire National Guard has mobilized to capture him without success. How did you manage to apprehend such a vicious criminal?"
Alexis looked down at me, the faintest smile tugging at the corner of her mouth.
Then she spoke.
"Good fortune."
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Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
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