I Don’t Trust My Twin Sister

“Oh, not yet! Not yet! I’ll think again soon…sooner than later.”

 

I didn’t even want to look at the engagement ceremony anymore. If I failed once, I didn’t want to do it again. It was like my god. Ian was happy, then laughed and poked my cheek. This person has been like this since yesterday. I still looked after him because he was my man.

 

“Okay. I’ll look into it again.”

 

“Anyway…”

 

I became embarrassed for no reason. I turned around. I have to leave now. Feeling bitter for no reason, I slowly opened my mouth, but before I could, Ian came up to me and hugged his back from behind, whispering quietly.

 

“You’ll see it soon. And… You are very pretty and lovely today as well.”

 

I just laughed at his whisper. Oh, I really don’t want to go. I pushed my head back to rest against his chest and closed my eyes.

 

“…See you again.”

 

* * *

 

As I boarded the carriage that had come from Ajstain, Ian approached me, greeted me briefly, and handed me a bundle of documents. When I asked what this was, he put his mouth to my ear and spoke quietly.

 

“The information I found out from the guys who attempted to assassinate me that day. I was planning to give it to you a little earlier, but I didn’t want you to bring up these ugly memories, so I gave it to you late. I’m sorry.”

 

I was sorry, but I was just grateful for his consideration. I smiled and lightly patted his head. Seeing that, people around me let out a ‘gasping’ sound. Who in the world could mess up the Archduke’s hair like he was stroking a child? Probably not. Except for me, I felt like my nose was growing higher. When Ian smiled brightly, I thought it was cute, so I thought about it for a moment and called him out. He slowly approached me and put his ear to my ear. I looked around and kissed his ear like he had done to me. Then I heard sounds of surprise that were incomparable to before. I smiled innocently. what? What’s the problem? Ian did this to me too. After receiving the kiss, Ian blinked his eyes and opened his mouth wide. He laughed for a while, then poked my cheek a couple of times and smiled.

 

“Unlike others, kissing is not prohibited for me, miss…”

 

Was this man protesting against me now? Want to lift the ban? I overexerted myself and gave him a kiss…!

 

“Next time, please do it on my lips instead of there. Got it?”

 

Ian smiled and pointed to his lips. His face turned red. Come to think of it, we kissed and kissed, but why did our progress suddenly retreat? I quietly looked at his lips. It was attractive because it was red and thick…

 

“…I’ll think about it.”

 

“Positive review, I’m looking forward to it.”

 

It was a business-like answer, but it was extremely pleasant. I also smiled and said hello to Ian, then signaled to the driver. Soon, the carriage slowly began to move. He walked slowly inside and welcomed me. I also received his greeting, but soon enough, when I could no longer see him, I turned forward again and leaned back on the chair.

 

“Ha…”

 

It’s sad, but it’s also kind of happy. It was a strange feeling. What did they call this kind of thing? I tilted my head, wondering if it was bittersweet.

 

* * *

 

I returned to the castle late at night and greeted the grandfather who came to meet me, saying hello that I had returned and giving him a light hug. The warm embrace that patted my back was different from Ian’s. It was a perfume that made me feel a little more cozy and reminded me that this was my home.

 

“Good job”

 

As always, my grandfather did not ask me what the result was or what I did. I smiled at my grandfather, who checked to make sure I wasn’t hurt and greeted me with a word of thanks for my hard work. I wanted to tell him what happened with Ian. Ian and I no longer just show off our relationship, but we truly trust each other. What would I say? Would he be happy or concerned? I thought about it for a moment and then stopped. I didn’t want to talk right now. No, I thought maybe he knew. Because my grandfather always said that. After saying hello to my grandfather, I returned to my room, lay down on the bed, and looked through the stack of documents Ian had given me. I lay face down and started reading the five pages of the report one by one.

 

The title was written in large letters on the report van about Bod Bedul. The report continued downwards. Information obtained from him and incidents related to counterfeit currency. It was also about investigating whether the person behind Bod Bedil, the Marquis of Alpensia, and the person who wanted the original copy of the counterfeit currency were related to the fallen Marquis of Bepis… The original copy of the counterfeit currency, which was the original target, was recovered, but the rest has not been found. In addition to whether all counterfeit currency has the same appearance, it is necessary to determine how much counterfeit currency was printed. We have tried to interrogate Bodh Bedul to find out these things, but he has remained silent. Even though they used high-level torture that caused pain and psychological pressure, he did not open his mouth, so I think he was quite trained. I thought back to the face of the man who talked about being a free spirit. He certainly seemed stubborn. Or was it loyalty? Or fear? Among assassins, it was said that if a person was tortured and opened his mouth, he would eventually be attacked by the assassin’s guild and disappear without even a rat or a bird knowing. Was this man also afraid of such things?

 

I looked down again and turned the paper to the next page. There were many different things written down, but I didn’t find anything particularly interesting. The report, organized by date, had many small stories toward the end. But one of them caught my eye. Bod Bedeul, who claimed that… reacted very slightly to the question of whether the children of the Marquis of Bepis were alive somewhere. I thought it was an illusion because it was such a brief moment, but this was the first time that a man who had not responded for a long time responded even for a moment. It was highly likely that the group behind Bod Bedil was related to the children of the Marquis of Bepis. At the same time, we interrogated Piero with the gold mine tax investigation materials, but there had been no response since then. After that, more words continued, but most of them were small details. He put the papers on the table, collapsed and closed his eyes. My eyes were tired when I read in a dark room using weak light. He pressed his eyelids with his fingers.

 

By the way, were the children of the Marquis of Bepis really connected to the Pierrot clan? If they were really creating the above harmonized currency, the problem becomes bigger. Gold coins that were distributed and mixed up in the market could not be easily distinguished. In the end, there was a high probability that the empire would secretly bury this fact. If there was a rumor that the imperial gold coins, which had the highest value among the currencies circulating on the entire continent, were mixed with counterfeit currency, there was a high probability that trade with other countries would suffer. The empire doesn’t really matter, but it would probably be difficult for merchants to make transactions if they didn’t provide collateral other than gold coins. Then…

 

I narrowed my eyes. The currency was a problem, but the bomb made from the essence of fire, which was presumed to be being made using that money, was more problematic. Ian said that if just five explode, a city would disappear from the map. It was truly a powerful destructive force. If they were to build a bomb that could only be used for military purposes, and that could only be owned and manufactured with imperial approval, there was a greater chance of human casualties than economic chaos. I should have met them and talked to them before that happened… Now that I thought about it, Ian told me that he had been in contact with Pierrot, but I couldn’t ask him what happened.

 

“Uhm…”

 

Should I send a letter? Tording Piero, the owner of the Pierrot merchant house, was known to be sneaky and perverted, but he was a very cautious man. In reality, he was a man who argued with me for days on end for his own gain. I talked to him, suppressing the urge to stick a ballpoint pen into his sinisterly flaring nostrils, but in the end, I was unable to come up with a satisfactory transaction. I was going to persuade a man like that to take a descendant of the Marquis Bepis and see if he is making a separate essence of fire? It was almost impossible. First of all, the important thing was whether it was possible to create the essence of fire. They won’t be able to mobilize a returned wizard, so should they ask around and ask witches and alchemists? I closed my eyes while wondering if there was anyone who might know more about this. I was so tired. I was very sleepy, probably because I had traveled a long way.

 

“…I wonder if Ian is sleeping too.”

 

Even as sleep washed over me, his image came to mind. Immediately after that, he burst into laughter and lost consciousness.

 

* * *

 

After eating late in the morning, I sat down in my office. I had been away for a week and this place seemed strangely unfamiliar. I rubbed the desk for no reason, turned the chair around, looked out the window, and then lifted myself back up to the desk. As he adjusted his posture, someone knocked on the door.

 

“Yes.”

 

The person who opened the door and came in was Butler Fievel. He bowed his head and handed over the payment documents he had accumulated. Until now, my grandfather and his retainers had handled the affairs of the merchant, but the business I started required my approval.

 

“Did you have a good trip? I should have said hello yesterday, but I was busy with other things…”

 

“I heard about it from your grandfather. I heard you were on a business trip?”

 

“Yes, there are a lot of guests in the fortress, so I thought I would have to get the necessary supplies myself, so I moved.”

 

He was a man of integrity. He smiled at Fievel, stamped the approval document, and handed it over. He accepted it politely and opened his mouth again.

 

“Ah! By the way, there is a customer who has been coming to see me for a few days now… Would you like to meet him? He is still in the parlor.”

 

“Who is it?”

 

“This is Count Nemir.”

 

“Ah.”

 

The owner of the Nemir family who made investments for the future of medicine and the enormous wealth of the Ajstain family. I got up from my seat.

 

“Could you please take me here? I’d like some tea, too, please.”

 

“All right.”

 

I looked out the window while waiting for Fievel to leave with a greeting.

 

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