Chapter 108
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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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Chapter 108
* * *
"Hmm, hmm, hmm—"
I hummed to myself as I ventured out into the Shopping District. I'd come with the intention of buying something, yet a persistent feeling that I needed nothing at all continued to wash over me.
Is this the power of a broken engagement?
"Young Lady, are you truly so delighted?"
"Put yourself in my position."
"I'm sorry. I'd rather not do that."
I shot a glare at Emma for her blunt refusal.
As I passed through the Shopping District, teeming with crowds, even the occasional brush of shoulders against mine failed to trouble me.
I'm a woman who's been released from her engagement, after all!
It was then that a newspaper being sold by a young boy caught my eye.
"May I have one?"
I perused a newspaper for the first time in quite a while.
As expected, it was filled with praise for The Emperor—what he had accomplished, what he was promoting, what he had achieved.
Yet now, none of it stirred any envy within me.
I'm free from my engagement, after all.
"The Emperor truly is remarkable in his consistency. Broad-minded, magnanimous, and wise. Wouldn't you agree, Emma?"
"My, your assessment has changed quite dramatically, hasn't it?"
"Now there's no possibility of marriage entangling us."
The Empress Edict can only be issued to one person once. The Emperor used that opportunity and had it revoked, thereby losing his authority.
Now The Emperor and I will never marry.
'Though I don't understand why he decided to break the engagement so suddenly, even knowing he harbored selfish feelings toward me.'
It's an answer I could never unravel no matter how much I pondered it. I shook my head firmly.
Even if The Emperor suddenly wished to marry me, he would have to either change the laws of The Empire or abandon his throne. One of the two.
'Why would he?'
Go to such lengths for me?
...A dreadful thought crossed my mind that he might, but I pushed it away.
In any case, there's no reason for him to abandon the throne. And unless hatred had mingled with whatever feelings he held for me, I couldn't imagine him changing the law just to marry me.
What am I that he would do such a thing?
'If he's finally grown tired of me, that's something to celebrate.'
And Father hasn't made any particular mention of the broken engagement either. That means there was already some sort of conversation between Father and The Emperor.
Whatever it was, Father wasn't the type to reveal it even if I asked.
'Now for the next matter... I need to get my brother married. Since he's been stubbornly refusing to marry, I haven't been able to escape marriage troubles myself.'
If my brother were already married, not only my parents but even Grandfather would have been more lenient about my own marriage prospects.
But my brother, the eldest in the family, hasn't married either. He doesn't even have a fiancée.
'I need to take care of my brother first.'
For my own happiness, I must marry off my brother before myself.
I feel sorry for him, but my situation is rather urgent right now.
The suspension period for Dale's and my marriage won't last much longer. If the deadline passes, we automatically become husband and wife.
If that happens, I'll need to visit several Temples just to get a divorce.
'But neither Dale nor I want a divorce.'
Yet I also don't want to end up in a marriage where we're forced to accept it after registering the marriage first.
I wanted to formally bring Dale into House Lockhart as one of our own.
I received the investigation report on Dale's background from Emma again.
The details of his suspicious activities were all laid out. I was amazed at how thorough it was—as if someone had been tailing him the whole time.
Fortunately, there was nothing serious.
After I left, Dale did take on some recklessly dangerous commissions, but the report indicated it was because he felt lonely and desolate without me.
'I told him not to do that.'
Fortunately, the report stated that once we reunited, he stopped accepting such work.
The Information Guild's intelligence capabilities were truly remarkable.
And now I needed that power once more.
Creak.
I stepped into the dilapidated Abandoned Building.
"...Are you sure people actually live here?"
"Of course."
Emma nodded and guided me inside.
The dreary structure, devoid of any signage or markings, looked more like it belonged to human traffickers than information dealers.
I proceeded inward with an uneasy feeling.
When Emma showed her credentials, a shadow-like figure appeared silently and led us Underground.
"This really isn't a human trafficking operation, right?"
"No, it isn't. Don't worry, Miss. Just trust me."
"...I've noticed this before, but you're the most suspicious when you act like this."
"Oh my?"
Emma laughed brightly and took my hand. After descending quite far, a tightly sealed door came into view.
The moment I reached toward it, the door creaked and opened slightly on its own.
'Is there magic on it?'
I carefully stepped inside.
There was a man who appeared to be middle-aged.
"What brings you here?"
"..."
I closed my mouth and studied the man carefully. He seemed to have magic cast upon him as well.
'An illusion?'
I narrowed my eyes to slits.
I had wondered why an information broker would reveal his face, but it seemed this wasn't his real one.
There's a rumor that The Emperor bought the Information Guild.
Could this person be on The Emperor's side?
'That's why I deliberately came to the newly established Information Guild instead of the traditional one.'
My vision kept blurring with faint afterimages. It felt like I might see this person's true face, then again, maybe not.
I couldn't tell if my eyes were hurting or not.
I decided to respond conservatively. Fortunately, today's purpose didn't matter even if this person was The Emperor himself.
"What I want to know is about Samuel Lockhart."
"So you wish to know about your brother."
I didn't react and simply observed. Without me saying who I was, this Guild Master already knew my identity.
Of course, as a Guild Master of the Information Guild, they should be capable of that much, but here's what matters.
'They revealed it to me intentionally.'
Why?
As an Information Guild, they're doing something that would make a customer suspicious. Even though I showed a displeased expression, they didn't care.
'It seems deliberate.'
I lifted my chin.
"Do you want to talk with me?"
When I asked, the Guild Master's lips curved upward.
A provocation meant one thing clearly. They wanted to gain something here. It wasn't just me who had something to learn from this place—they also had something to learn from me.
And they weren't hiding that fact.
'Should I call Emma in?'
I thought of Emma, whom I'd left outside the door.
This feels like a trap. Is Emma safe?
"If I offended you, I apologize. I was curious why you'd make such a request when family would know your brother best."
"Knowing someone as family doesn't mean you know their personal preferences."
I began looking for the right moment to leave.
"Personal preferences, so that's what you came to request?"
"But it seems I came to the wrong place."
I naturally rose from my chair. The timing to escape seemed to be right now.
"Wait a moment."
Then the Guild Master stopped me.
"Why did you break off your engagement with The Emperor?"
"...? Are you asking me that?"
"Yes."
The Information Guild Master's attitude was confident.
This place seems insane. I definitely chose the wrong guild.
'I was trying to find suitable young ladies for my brother to marry, and this is what happens.'
I'd be better off going to an ordinary matchmaker instead.
I was trying to create the second phase of the thrilling project for a quick marriage.
"Sigh."
I placed my hand on the door handle.
Clang. Clunk, clunk.
"...."
I'd suspected it somewhat, but surely not. The door was genuinely locked.
'The original heroine wouldn't die like this, would she?'
"If I startled you, I apologize, but I needed to speak with Enya privately."
"Is this something even my maid knows about?"
"Emma knows nothing of this."
This time, I felt genuine unease. This person knew my maid's name and spoke of her with familiarity.
When the Guild Master opened the cabinet, the "real" Guild Master tumbled out limply.
"Kyaaaah!"
"As I said, if I startled you, I'm sorry."
"Does an apology fix this?!"
"Look. I didn't kill him."
The fake Guild Master offered me the wrist of the real one, who hung limp, urging me to touch it.
I shook my head. Who would touch that?
"I'm sorry. It's been so long since I've been out in the world, and I got a bit impatient.... I may have done something rather rough that I shouldn't have, but please don't mind it."
'So long?'
In that moment, I recalled exactly one person.
Someone who knew Emma, knew I was Enya, and spoke to me as an equal... Perhaps... only one.
Simultaneously, the middle-aged appearance vanished, revealing the true face beneath.
A woman in her thirties with the crimson hair that was the symbol of that house.
"Could you possibly be the Hexagon Duchess?"
At my words, the woman nodded shyly.
"I have something to tell you. Adeline."
She gazed at me with eyes that gleamed with an indescribable madness.
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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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