“Hoohoohoo.”
Look at the shining midday sun. The blue sky and fluffy clouds created an incredibly beautiful afternoon. Even the sound of the wind was beautiful.
Klisha shook hands with Willas, the branch manager of the Central Royal Bank, and parted ways with a bright smile.
She told him he didn’t need to see her off. Yet, he insisted on following her all the way to the front gate, giving her a bouquet of flowers, and also stuffed various gifts into an envelope before waving his hand.
‘As expected. You need money to be valued. Well, it’s not my money, though.’
Klisha accepted the ‘kind offer’ from the ‘kind Willas’ and received a magical product that allowed her to use the couple’s joint trust account even more conveniently, the so-called ‘Black Card_Titanium CLA.3’.
She had heard explanations about the issuance fee, service charges, annual fees, and so on, but she didn’t really understand what any of it meant.
From now on, no matter which branch she goes to, she could use it without any limit! Any identity verification! Just by confirming the password!
They said she could withdraw money as much as she wanted. What a wonderful world. As expected, the capital is truly different.
The black card was small and shiny. When she held it in her arms, it felt cozy and warm, as if it had been a part of her body from the very beginning.
‘The divorce papers have arrived, but I guess the administrative procedures haven’t been completed yet.’
She would have never thought that His Majesty’s trust account could be opened like this.
She also heard that the principal amount was so large that the interest accumulates at an astonishing rate. They said that taking out a little bit here and there wouldn’t be noticable. Couldn’t she spend a bit, considering it as ‘alimony’?
If it didn’t work out… Her father can just pay it back later. For now, she would surely find a way to solve it somehow as long as she could get home.
‘A married couple should help each other in difficult times. Once he knows that I’ve been of help, I’m sure my husband will be satisfied. What’s wrong with a husband taking responsibility for his wife? After all, I have to live the rest of my life as a divorced woman.’
A pair of red eyes lingered behind Klisha who walked away with light steps and a satisfied smile.
“Um, Boss. Are you sure this is okay…?”
“Perfectly.”
“However. If the Royal Family finds out…….”
“The joint couple trust account wasn’t opened by the branch manager.”
“That’s true… It was the Ministry of Finance…”
“Then, what’s the problem? Even if there’s an inquiry later, you can just shift the blame to the Ministry of Finance.”
“…… That’s right…… I suppose.”
Willas, in the VVIP room on the 2nd floor, was meeting with the Chairman of Tomma Holdings, the second-largest client after the Perza Royal Family, and the heir to the major conglomerate Ryuiken Group. As they spoke privately, he kept swallowing dryly.
‘Damn it. After Her Majesty the Empress, now it’s Tomma Ryuiken. Why is the bank Chairman absent on a day like today…..’
No matter how much he complained in his heart, it’s already spilled milk.
As the saying goes, if everyone is satisfied and happy with the outcome, isn’t it… better in the end?
Her Majesty the Empress, who returned with the Black Card, was happy.
And the Chairman Ryuiken, who proposed this, was also satisfied.
They also achieved good results, so they were happy.
However, what exactly is that Black Card?
It was the special No.1 exclusive card, which was so difficult to issue that it’s only given once every three years, with an entry fee of 100,000 ruels.
Willas cautiously opened his mouth, watching Eugene, who was looking in the distance outside the second-floor window.
“Haha… Um. Chairman Ryuiken, by the way, regarding the fund product I mentioned before.…”
“Yes. Well, we’re not strangers. I’ll have the details sent through my secretary.”
“Ahaha. Thank you.”
“Then, I’ll be on my way.”
As he watched Eugene disappear with leisurely stridey, Willas couldn’t help but turn to the Creator god, someone he usually didn’t believe in. It was as if, from the depths of his subconscious, he sensed that death was imminent, lurking somewhere far off.
***
Klisha stopped by Evanor’s high-end restaurant, ‘Blaise,’ and ordered various types of steak, enjoying a rare moment of relaxation.
At first, the staff frowned at the dress code that didn’t seem suitable for a high-end restaurant, but they were immediately won over when Klisha, who casually pulled out a black card from her pocket as if it were a mistake, behaved very, extremely, and incredibly polite.
She only ordered meat, but they brought a salad as well. She usually didn’t like to eat vegetables, but she appreciated the thoughtfulness.
“May I sit for a moment?”
As Klisha raised her head, a young man with black hair and red eyes was smiling brightly while pulling out a chair.
“…I thought I declined the kidnapping offer.”
“Haha. You may change your mind.”
Toma Ryuiken naturally sat down in the seat in front of Klisha, as if it had always been his spot.
“The Lady’s status is higher I thought. Would I be punished now?”
Klisha slowly replied, her small, red lips quivering.
“First of all, the day the assassins entered the Inner Palace.”
“…….”
“You should start by explaining why you were there dressed as an assassin.”
“How persistent.”
“Even so, I am!”
“Her Majesty the Empress?”
“…….”
Klisha shut her mouth. The former hero, the Red Lion of Schmarin…… she actually wanted to say that she was at least his cub. Tsk.
Eugene, his eyes appearing even redder under the lights, stared at Clisha and then opened his mouth.
“If that’s the case, let’s start with the Lady wearing a yellow uniform with 3358.”
“!”
The corners of Eugene’s lips curled up slightly.
“After all, there are things in this world that are difficult to explain with words.”
“…….”
“If I were an assassin, would the blonde knight have just let me go?”
“That’s a cowardly excuse.”
“Hmm?”
As Eugene gestured for her to continue speaking and looked at her with sharp eyes, Klisha began to mumble excuses without realizing it, feeling a little upset.
“So, the clothes I was wearing… how should I put it. It’s just that wearing a uniform is good to distinguish between people. So It’s sort of a uniform. Yeah.”
Eugene asked with a meaningful smile.
“Uniform? What about 3358?”
“That’s! I mean, based on the order we entered….”
“…You are assigned numbers according to the order you entered?”
“Yes.”
Eugene’s red eyes darkened.
“Then does that mean that Lady is the 3,358th number?”
“That’s right. I! I’m the 3,358th. Originally, giving numbers makes it easier to call us, and it also helps us not get confused when we hear them….”
“…….”
Eugene slowly folded his arms and leaned back in his chair.
‘Ian Perza. You’re a pervert. Classifying your women by numbers. Even the military doesn’t do that. Do the Emperor’s women have no human rights?’
For some reason, Klisha, who was eating meat so voraciously, looked a bit pitiful, and he felt sorry for her.
Issac Mezerin’s daughter, and Ian Perza’s woman.
From Eugene’s perspective, she was a mortal enemy. Yet, in a way, the fact that she wasn’t entirely detestable was because of her ability.
‘No, the more I think about it, the stranger it gets. Ian Perza, did you lose your mind because you were too busy playing in the battlefield since you were young? As for your tastes…… Well, let’s put that aside. Aside from that, you dress your women in such a beggar-like outfit and call them by number?’
The misunderstanding was deepening.
At the same time.
From the restaurant across the street, a sharp gaze was watching the people in the restaurant through a telescope. It was Eugene’s adoptive father, Homer Ryuiken.
He was worried where His Highness the Archduke, who was raised like gold and jewels, had gone in the early morning breeze. He went to the room to find the lady who didn’t seem like one, then to the bank, and now he followed her to the restaurant and even sat across her while she was having a meal.
‘No. Why on earth! How did I raise you!’
Homar turned red in anger from head to toe. Tears began to form in his wrinkled eyes.
“Duke. Eugene. Did you lose your mind because you’ve been through war since you were young? Why a woman like that! Absolutely not…… I absolutely cannot forgive you!’
Another misunderstanding was deepening.
* * *
Late afternoon.
Not only was there a hole in his bank account, but he was also being misunderstood for a pervert by the enemy leader. But the person in question was still shining like the midday sun. Before going out, he stopped by the office and summoned his aides.
It was obvious that they were both passing off their work onto each other and not actually doing anything. They were probably arguing about the importance of the work, the scope of their duties, and whether the matter was actually their responsibility or originally supposed to be handled by him.
And in the end, he became the villain. No matter how much of a genius someone is, there are times when they need a push and encouragement to get their head straight. Who else would handle such a task…. if not him?
Also, he would like to check the abilities of those fools who go around calling themselves the ridiculous ‘Seven Guardian Stars of the Empire’.
“So. Have you found that lady?”
“Yes?”
“What? You haven’t found her yet?”
“No. Your Majesty ordered us to catch the guardian bird just…… this morning. The capture team hasn’t even finished packing yet…….”
“So? Are you just going to rely on that and do nothing? What exactly do you even do?”
“…..No, I’ll go out and look for it right away.”
The powerless workers staggered out to their employer’s constant nagging and scolding.
Watching this, the ever-consistent Emperor shouted again.
“Are your heads just for decoration? Where do you think the young lady would have gone? She’s either in Schmarin or the capital! Go out and find her, do something, move!”
“Understood…….”
Boom!
Before they could even finish speaking, the office door slammed shut. They almost got blown away by the force. This damned workplace… The aides forcibly swallowed his sorrowful tears.
9th Conference Room of the Second Palace.
Except for Mirhi, who was packing his things with a sad expression, the rest of the aides conducted the meeting with rather serious expressions.
“…..What should we do? Should we make a missing person flyer?”
“But we don’t even know where she is. We can’t spread it across the Empire.”
“But if we don’t do anything, there’ll be chaos again. If we want to show some results…….”
“Let’s just spread them in the capital first…….”
“…….”
“Nevertheless, what do you think of this?”
The Minister of Justice, Feron, who had been diligently writing something with a pen since earlier, looked up with a confident expression.
「THE MISSING」
> Name: Klisha Mezerine
> Characteristics: Red hair. Almond-colored eyes. 21 years old. Female. (She’s a beauty, according to rumors.)
> Handsome reward upon finding the person.
“Hmm?”
“It looks fine. Then, let’s make a hundred copies of it for now…….”
“Let’s do that. I’ll bring one to His Majesty too…….”
At that moment, the blonde knight, Lian, shook his head and interrupted the conversation.
“Who would read that these days? You should do it this way.”
「★★WANTED★★」
> Name: Klisha Mezerin (Shasha Rin). 21 years old.
> Characteristics: Red hair. Almond-colored eyes. Female. Escapee. (Rune Operator, Fierce Aura)
> Bounty: 10,000 Ruel.
※ An additional 10,000 Ruel will be rewarded for bringing all limbs intact.
“Lord Lian. How long have you been here?”
“When did you draw that…….”
When Lian gestured, Mirhi, the External Cooperation Officer, muttered while receiving the draft.
“If we put up a wanted poster with this kind of content and the Viscount finds it out later…”
“It’s fine.”
Lian smiled brightly while fluttering the ‘Report on the Personal Information of Unknown Person (ver. FINAL)’ written by the Royal Guard.
“It’s not like we’re falsely accusing his daughter. Print out about ten thousand copies of it and spread them out around the main square. She should still be in the capital.”
“…….”
The aides fell silent for a moment. Usually, they followed whatever this person suggested, but nothing ever turned out well…
But what could they do… in this damn world where bloodline is everything.
No one in the 9th Conference Room of the Second Palace had the power to stop what His Highness the Grand Duke Lian Barthier de Perza wanted to do.
