I Don’t Trust My Twin Sister

“You probably didn’t expect it. And isn’t it natural to be embarrassed? It’s surprising that the crown prince of a country is trapped, but on top of that, the person he serves is in danger… me too. Do you feel like you’re going to break into a cold sweat?”

It’s good if it’s a cold sweat. I was on the verge of going crazy. This is my second time having the same experience. Even though I tried my best to protect it, I thought that I might not be able to protect it, so I literally couldn’t see anything. I forced myself to catch my breath for a moment and then said what I had to say.

“The princess knows that I am in conflict with the Marquis of Alpensia and the crown prince. Who do you think was responsible for this incident?”

“Well.”

Who could it be? The innocent way he tilted his head seemed cute.

“Who could it be? Does Lawrence know?”

“I don’t know, Princess. But I can make one guess.”

“Can you tell me?”

“It’s not difficult. Even if the Marquis Alpensia and the Crown Prince had some dangerous purpose, it cannot be said that they tried to isolate themselves by detonating a bomb in a place where there might be some danger lurking. In fact, there are stories from people who saw the Marquis Alpensia surprised. If you listen to it, you don’t think it was his doing.”

“And?”

“There’s no way I would risk my grandfather’s life and do something like this.”

“Interesting. So who else is left?”

Looking at her relaxed expression, I took out the things I had left as guesses one by one and put them into my mouth.

“Also, it cannot be said that they acted out of a sense of competition in a competing kingdom. If they mess with the crown prince, war is an unconditional condition. They did not want to fall behind in the arms race, so they were so eager to excavate Budum that they threw in such unreasonable measures to ruin the kingdom. It is difficult to think that this will lead to downfall. In that case, it would be right to think that this was done by someone who is targeting the crown prince, the most important person in this matter.”

She bobbed her chin once as if to ask him to continue, then lazily lifted her teacup.

“If it’s not me or the kingdom, if there is a third person targeting the crown prince, who would I think of first?”

“Um, is it me?”

“It may sound profane, but it’s true.”

The conversation, which has now returned to the main topic, has begun to contain tension. Fer Vi tilted the car leisurely and acted as if she wasn’t really interested, but it didn’t really matter to her. I just need to hear the answer to my question.

“Actually, it doesn’t really matter whether the princess did it or not.”

“So what’s the big deal?”

“Life or death?”

Her gray eyes stared at me. Her mouth opened as soon as she saw the movement of her gaze as she stared down at her.

“You wouldn’t have randomly selected the time to detonate the bomb. If you had calculated a specific time, would you have chosen a time and place where the people inside could survive, or would you have detonated it at a point where everyone was certain to die? I want to hear that. .”

“I see… Live or die.”

I muttered her words low and stared into Fervi’s eyes as she nodded. She seemed to be thinking for a moment, watching her attitude as her head ticked left and right like a pendulum. I was nervous and wanted to yell at her to answer quickly, but I had to hold back. I didn’t get an answer when she screamed, and there was no proof that Fervi was definitely the culprit.

I thought the worst case scenario was that she knew her answer but she was offended by what I did and refused to answer. Eventually she had to wait for her to open her mouth on her own. While one minute felt like a month, Fervi smiled.

“If hostages were worth taking, you would have decided to keep them alive, right?”

“Is this your opinion? Or is it certainty?”

“Of course that’s my opinion. But let’s see…”

I put down my empty teacup and seemed to be thinking about something as I tapped my fingers, then tapped the table and smiled broadly.

“I guess he’s alive.”

“Are you sure?”

“Hehe, I’m sure. My guess is not wrong.”

Was this purely speculation? Doubts arose, but there was no time to ask. She stared at Fervi, who was smiling round and round, and bit her lip slightly.

My first thought was that she was a monster, a monster. Beralt and Prince Deoreden were both trash, but they had at least some common sense. It was common knowledge, but Fervi felt differently. I had a feeling that she, smiling in the face of the possibility of people dying and, moreover, their families, would not be something that could easily be dealt with. Suddenly it dawned on her that she had stabbed her six-year-old half-brother to death. Is it because her emotions are out of sync that she feels differently from other people? Her eyes narrowed.

“Is there anything else you want to ask?”

“There is not. Thank you for joining the conversation today, Princess.”

“You’re welcome.”

She got up from her seat and gently patted my shoulder. I quietly looked into her eyes as she clicked her tongue and made a pitiful expression as if she felt sorry for him.

“I hope that Viscount Ajstain recovers.”

She nodded her head and turned around without saying a word. She expected more and more answers and wanted reassurance, but this was the best she could do. Although nothing could be confirmed for sure, it was time to join Ian, who was coming to the capital, and set off for the Okstein region. The moment she opened her mind, thinking of various ways to rescue her grandfather, a voice came from behind.

“Lawrence.”

I stopped moving my legs and twisted my waist. Fervi was looking at me with an expressionless expression on his face. She tilted her head slightly to her dull face, as if it contained no flattering emotions. Fervi looked at me and spoke quietly and very slowly.

“If you ever need my help, come to me anytime. Maybe I can be of help to you.”

What does it mean? I looked at her quietly. The woman, who was somewhat creepy to listen to, bit her lip slightly and nodded her head at her expression and voice.

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

At my words, she relaxed her expression and smiled brightly like a newly bloomed flower bud, as if it had never happened before.

“Then I hope there are good results.”

* * *

After finishing the conversation with Fervi, I quickly walked out of the inner building. There was nothing more to see here. There was nothing good to see since it was adjacent to a yard that had nothing to regret. The carriage rattled at my signal to get on the carriage and take off. However, it did not go far and stopped at that spot. A voice came from the coach seat.

“Miss, a guest has arrived.”

“A guest?”

Suddenly, I rolled down the window of the carriage, wondering if it was some kind of guest. A familiar face caught my eye. I got up from my seat, opened the cup, and smiled at the man who came to see me.

“It’s been a while since I last saw you, Duke Safeldric.”

He welcomed me with a gentle smile. He took off his own hat, placed it in his hand, bowed slightly, looked at me, and slowly opened his mouth.

“I thought you were in tears, but fortunately you weren’t.”

Instinctively realizing that it was a story about his grandfather, he nodded with a bitter smile on his lips.

“I know that it won’t help me.”

“It’s a wise and correct decision, but it’s not a bad thing to cry. After crying a lot, this sexual judgment is bound to come into play.”

“We haven’t even confirmed whether my grandfather is alive or dead yet, so there’s no way to know.”

He nodded his head with a relaxed expression.

“You seem to have become much stronger because of what happened so far, and you feel more mature than before. Even before, you didn’t look like you were your age, but now you’ve grown more than then.”

“Thank you for your positive evaluation. I would like to talk more if possible, but I have a busy way to go…”

Duke Safeldric opened his mouth as if following my words, which were becoming blurred at the end.

“I was surprised when I was asked to be able to talk to Princess Fervi, but I thought there must be a reason.”

I paused slightly and looked into his eyes.

“Did you find the answer?”

“Unfortunately, I wasn’t satisfied.”

“What a pity.”

Duke Safeldric clicked his tongue lowly and shook his head slightly. He rolled his eyes for a moment and looked like he was thinking about something. I waited for a moment, and then his voice came out.

“I don’t know if it can help, but I brought it just in case.”

He handed me a piece of paper folded into a square. He wanted something, so he took it and found that it was quite thick to the touch of his fingertips. Was it a fairly wide piece of paper folded? I looked at Duke Safeldrick and he nodded. As soon as I received his permission, I slowly unfolded the old paper so as not to tear it. Inside the slightly yellowed paper were strange drawings.

It was a drawing that seemed to be modeled after animal symbols, arrows, and a treasure chest, with no clear intent. At first glance, it looks like a treasure map, but why? He raised his eyes as if asking why he handed this to me. Duke Safeldrick calmly opened his mouth.

“This is a document from a corpse that was found not long after entering the tomb when the tomb was discovered. I don’t know how it was analyzed, but there is an assessment that there is a high probability that it is a map as it was found inside.”

“A map…”

“I made a lot of effort to acquire and analyze it half a year ago, but there was no real gain. I made a few copies and gave them to the exploration team, but they were useless because they were impossible to interpret. I don’t know how helpful they will be, but… Your grandfather, Viscount Aztain, is someone who means a lot to me, so I will provide whatever help I can.”

I took a deep breath at his explanation. Duke Safeldrick’s heart lifted my heart. He folded his map again neatly and placed it in his arms, then bowed his head deeply.

“Thank you so much for your help.”

“I just sincerely hope that my teacher returns safely.”

After a few casual conversations, the duke said he would send someone over, and then parted ways. After that, I took the map out of the carriage again and looked at its contents. It was so weak that it would tear if touched, so it had to be handled with care. The various signs drawn on a fairly large background were difficult to understand. Some rooms seemed to be marked with arrows and others with swords, which seemed to indicate traps. Was it okay to infer the place where arrows were pouring out and where the sword was a trap? Was the skull mark poison? He tilted his head and lowered his eyes.

“What on earth are animals?”

I thought that since it was a place that had been hidden for hundreds of years, they probably didn’t have traps made with animals. Would it be that sloppy?

However, there were more than one or two places with animal markings. What is the reason for drawing this mark in more than 30 places? Moreover, there were no overlapping animals. Dogs, pigs, and chickens were the basics, but reptiles and even insects that could hardly be considered animals were also indicated. Does the place where the snake is drawn mean a snake den? It was difficult to understand.

 

—————————————————————

Translator Note: