Chapter – 22
I actually only knew Sezare Levin by name. But I had heard that name so many times that I was sick of it.
“Marquis Sezare Levin donated a huge research fund this time. He specifically requested Professor Kiana Prelay.”
He was someone who often requested magical tool development projects from the academy. He donated so much money that I barely remembered his name.
Even in my past life, when I became a professor, he directly made requests to me.
The academy strictly controlled outside access, so I had never seen his face. Every time a request came in, it felt like he was throwing money around without care.
“Just delay it a little more. If we hold out, he gives more money.”
The dean was very sensitive to money, so he intentionally kept delaying the requests. Every time that happened, Levin would raise the payment even higher, asking them to accept it quickly.
“Is it okay to keep delaying like this? What if he dies…”
“He’s a strong, young unmarried man. He lives in the imperial capital and hasn’t had a lover for years. He’s probably just obsessed with magical tools.”
“……”
A rich man who kept sending money to a small countryside academy just for specific magical tool research… clearly not normal.
But what mattered was that he clearly wanted something from me.
That meant I could make a deal—like a fake relationship.
Even if it was a deal, pretending to date someone wasn’t easy, but that man clearly had no interest in women.
Because in the original story, he had no connection with Melissa at all.
Even in the original, Sezare Levin appeared a few times. He was handsome enough that Melissa thought so too, but he never had any relationship with her and never did anything important.
Handsome, but not memorable. Just a side character.
I didn’t even clearly remember his face, but he was perfect as a contract partner.
“Joshua, if I remember correctly, the previous Levin Marquis was in his 60s… didn’t he have no children? Did he adopt someone from a branch family?”
When the dean said “young unmarried man in the capital,” I hadn’t cared before. But now I needed exact information.
So I asked Joshua.
“It wasn’t like that. Three years ago, barbarians invaded the western Levin territory and caused a huge disaster. At that time, a young man suddenly appeared, led the battle to victory, and saved the former marquis.”
The Levin territory was often attacked by barbarians. But at some point, I stopped hearing such rumors.
“I was only focused on magical engineering, so I stopped paying attention to history and politics. Everything feels new now.”
“After that, the same young man completely destroyed the barbarians, and the territory became peaceful. He even turned the ones who could be trained into soldiers for the Levin estate.”
“Oh.”
“So even the imperial palace started watching them carefully, because their military power became quite large. But they can’t officially integrate barbarians into the imperial army, so they’re just observing.”
“The previous marquis had no children, so he adopted that commoner and passed the title to him.”
“Wait. A commoner?”
“Yeah. An unknown commoner. He was an orphan who used to farm on a mountain slope. He didn’t even have an identity record.”
What kind of farmer-turned-commoner becomes that rich? From how much he funded the academy, he seemed born rich.
Joshua continued.
“He managed the territory well and came to the capital one year ago. No one knows why. He doesn’t attend social events, so he has no close connections.”
So the conclusion was: “no one knows anything.”
I tilted my head and asked sharply.
“Then how do you know he’s annoying? You said he has no connections.”
“Ah.”
Joshua replied honestly, sounding annoyed.
“I don’t remember the details, but he wasn’t wearing anything fancy, yet he had more presence than me. That part really pissed me off.”
So he really was handsome, just like the original said.
That was good news for me.
I originally planned to propose a contract relationship just based on conditions, but if I had to spend time with someone, it was better if he was handsome.
He might be strange, but if he had to be strange, better a handsome strange person.
“Anyway, go. Tell me as soon as you find where Sezare Levin is.”
“I’ll find his location and tell you. But why do you want to meet him?”
Joshua seemed worried.
So I kindly reassured him.
“Mind your own business and get lost.”
After sending Joshua away, I immediately turned to the spy maid.
“Spy, I need to go out again today, but before that, coffee—”
“Please wait, my lady.”
The spy maid cut me off with a scary expression.
Even I, who was usually bold, flinched a little.
“Do you remember the Duke’s orders?”
“…Huh?”
I searched my memory, but I didn’t remember being under house arrest.
“Please eat first. You must have your meals properly from now on.”
Then I remembered. My grandfather had ordered the spy maid yesterday to strictly control my meals and sleep.
“And no more coffee, my lady.”
The spy maid said firmly.
“Excessive coffee and stimulants are temporarily forbidden.”
“Who decides what ‘excessive’ means?!”
“The family doctor of the ducal estate.”
Hmph. I should try bribing the doctor later depending on the situation.
“Is the doctor still Kyleon?”
“Yes, my lady.”
“Hm… he’s been there since I was young.”
“Anyway, you must eat first.”
“…Okay…”
Overwhelmed by her pressure, I shrank a little.
After being forced to eat a proper meal with all three nutrients, afternoon came.
Then Joshua’s messenger arrived at the ducal estate.
“……Huh…?”
I frowned while reading the letter.
“…Club house?”
That’s… an illegal gambling house.
<Wow, Kiana. That Sezare Levin guy sounds like a total thug.>
Ppiyak, sitting on my head, tilted its head.
“Yeah…”
<Isn’t it dangerous to go somewhere like that?>
Even Joshua had written something similar at the end of the letter.
“Hm…”
A club house… According to the original story, it was a place that would need to be dealt with sooner or later.
Well, meeting Sezare and dealing with it at the same time didn’t sound bad.
I stood up quickly.
“Spy, let’s go.”
“Dress me properly. It looks like I’m going to destroy an illegal gambling house today.”
Chapter – 02
Someone Returned
The “Club House” was a kind of resting place where so-called “wild noble troublemakers” gathered to hold various social gatherings.
However, like most closed-off societies, it had gradually become filled with pleasure-seeking and corrupt culture.
There were no windows in the Club House. Because of that, people could spend time endlessly in its flashy, dreamlike atmosphere.
Everyone who entered wore fancy masks. Hidden behind anonymity, they easily became more reckless and immoral.
Some groups casually played pocket ball. Others drank while playing bowling.
There was also a large gambling hall where people played cards and roulette.
Of course, the gambling was illegal.
But because the Club House was extremely closed-off and even high-ranking officials often used it, inspections were usually quietly ignored.
Inside, there were two men wearing masks, sitting among the crowd while ordering strong alcohol and hiding their identities.
They were Sezare and Laniac.
Their eyes were quietly fixed on the gambling hall.
“Marquis, are we really doing this today…?”
At Laniac’s careful muttering, Sezare nodded.
“Yeah. Today.”
Sezare smiled slightly without moving at all.
Laniac swallowed nervously and looked at their target for today.
Orka Sedes.
A former knight of the imperial knight order who once taught swordsmanship to young royals.
Five years ago, he suddenly retired and has been wasting his fortune at the Club House gambling tables ever since.
“Strange.”
Sezare muttered lazily with a faint smile.
“Even though he comes here every day, he never goes bankrupt. He shouldn’t have had that much retirement money.”
He had also been part of the hunting trip six years ago when the Crown Prince disappeared.
That made sense, since Orka was the Crown Prince’s swordsmanship teacher.
That hunting trip was made up of people closest to the Crown Prince—it was essentially an event for him.
“Someone….”
Sezare quietly looked at Orka, who looked several years older than his real age due to alcohol and indulgence.
“…must have given him a very large amount of money.”
Orka laughed loudly while betting big amounts of money, sometimes winning, sometimes losing.
As Sezare quietly watched him, he slowly stood up.
“……”
Laniac, who was also about to stand up, suddenly widened his eyes.
A young woman had calmly walked over and sat down at Orka’s blackjack table.
Even though she wore a yellow bird-shaped mask, she was clearly noticeable.
A checkered dress. A checkered ribbon.
Everything about her stood out.
“Th-That… that woman….”
Laniac, who looked even more intimidating because of his large build and bear mask, asked seriously.
“…Isn’t that Lady Kiana?”
Sezare’s eyes narrowed.
Laniac quickly added, almost out of breath:
“The same Lady Kiana you said you would have a ‘pure, mutually beneficial relationship’ with, Marquis!”
