“Huh?”
The reaction of Maier's fiancée, Ember, to Whitney's question was utterly ordinary.
“A... Possessed, you said?”
“.......”
“What is that, exactly?”
The expression on Ember’s face, as she asked, was truly innocent—she looked as if she didn’t know a thing.
“Hm...”
Unlike her expression, however, Whitney wore a shady, ominous look, as he studied her with great interest.
“...Is she just a really good actress, or does she really not know anything?”
“......Why are you looking at like that?”
“Haha, it’s nothing. Really.”
As Ember’s face gradually began to pale, Whitney sighed regretfully and leaned back, returning to his seat.
“Well then, the two of you—aren’t you going to sit down?”
“.......”
“Since fate brought us together here, we might as well have a little chat about life, don’t you think...?”
He spoke casually, alternating glances between Maier and Ember as he sat again at the table where redia had been waiting, but the atmosphere was no longer suited to conversation.
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“...Let’s get going.”
“Ah. Wait—”
“Staying longer won’t help anything.”
Without warning, Maier grabbed Ember by the arm and pulled her along, snapping Whitney out of his musings.
“Huh. I thought you had a dessert to pick up...”
“...Probably a lie. Not that I ever believed it.”
As Whitney scratched his head at the sudden exit, redia muttered quietly beside him.
“Oh, goodbye then~!”
Just then, Ember peeked her head back in through the entrance, waved cheerfully, and vanished.
“.......”
Silence followed.
“Phew.”
As if a storm had passed, redia let out a long sigh and slowly dropped her gaze.
— shiver shiver shiver...
Princess Katarina, who had just monts ago been making a ruckus in the empty shop, was now trembling under the table at Whitney’s feet.
“...What are you doing?”
“I-Is he gone...?”
“You an Lord Maier?”
“Y-Yes...”
She shuffled over to Whitney’s side, trembling, and redia’s eyes turned cold in an instant.
“You’re neither weaker nor lower in status than him. What exactly are you so afraid of?”
“W-Well, I an... I’m technically on the run, am I not?”
Not noticing redia’s tone, Whitney simply asked the question, and Katarina stamred her reply.
“A-And even back when we were ‘friends’... he was scary sohow.”
“...How so?”
“He—he used to blackmail with my weaknesses, forcing to do things I didn’t want to...”
Hearing that, Whitney fell into thought for a mont before murmuring under his breath.
“...At the very least, Maier isn’t behind the incident with the posters.”
“Why not? I was pretty much convinced it was him...”
“Because Lord Maier isn’t the type to recklessly expose the leverage he holds. If he were to use it, he’d do it discreetly—not broadcast it so openly.”
With that, Whitney turned to redia, who was resting her chin on her hand with a sour expression, and gave her a quick smile.
“Wouldn’t you agree, Lady redia?”
“.......”
“...My lady?”
“...Yeah.”
Though she continued to glare at him, she eventually gave a weak reply. Katarina, who had been watching quietly, widened her eyes.
“Then... if not Maier, who is behind it?”
“...He may not be the culprit, but he could very well be the source of the information.”
“H-He gave the information? Then he’s... an accomplice?”
Katarina’s eyes darted, overwheld by the flood of information. Whitney, seeing this, gave a small smile but said no more.
“Well, that’s just a theory.”
“U-Ugh...”
“Anyway, let’s talk about this later.”
With that, Lady redia silently rose from her seat.
“Alright. If the talking’s done, let’s get moving.”
“Already? We still have plenty of ti left on the reservation...”
“I’m in a foul mood. I’d rather get away from this place quickly.”
“Well, if that’s how you feel...”
Noting her clearly unpleasant expression, Whitney didn’t argue and instead asked with a touch of curiosity.
“So, where to next?”
“...Hah.”
Letting out a sigh, redia gave a cold smile and answered.
“When you’re in a bad mood, the most logical solution is excessive spending.”
“...Ahaha.”
It was the kind of statent only soone from the upper class could make—tiless in its luxury. Whitney was montarily at a loss for words.
***
A few dozen minutes later.
“This place is...”
“W-Wowowowow...”
“What, first ti here?”
The place Lady redia led us to was so extravagant that even soone like —the heir to a count—and Katarina, a princess, were left speechless.
“As far as I know... even most high-ranking nobles have to tighten their belts for a year to afford anything here.”
And it made sense. The boutique we had entered was the Empire’s most luxurious shop, filled entirely with outfits that, in the original ga, could only be purchased using real-world currency.
For reference, that “real money” averaged out to about 300,000 won per item—or more, depending on the exchange rate.
Also, most of the items here were purely costic skins with no effect on stats or performance.
In other words, it was a zone dedicated entirely to throwing money away in the most fabulous fashion possible.
“Do I look like the Embergreen Ducal House is so re noble family?”
“N-No, it’s not that...”
“Even if I bought every outfit in this store, it wouldn’t put a dent in the duchy’s finances, so stop gawking like a yokel. It’s embarrassing.”
As expected, things like cost and restraint were aningless in front of Lady redia.
Honestly, I wanted to buy her sothing myself—but seeing the price tags on the clothes outside made my hands tremble so hard, I wasn’t sure I could manage it.
“And you, Your Highness... why the strange expression? I thought you were used to this kind of luxury?”
“.......”
“...Hey.”
redia turned toward the princess, who was spacing out next to .
“That’s the won’s section.”
“Oh, uh. Haha. Right.”
“The n’s section is on the opposite side.”
We had agreed earlier that, for the sake of disguise, I wouldn’t refer to her as ‘Your Highness’ in public—but even so, redia’s tone ca off as a little too aggressive.
“Well then, Sir Whitney! Shall we go pick out so clothes togeth—”
“No. Whitney’s coming with .”
“W-What?”
“Obviously, he needs to help pick out my outfits.”
Thankfully, Katarina didn’t seem to catch the implications. But even she looked a little flustered at redia’s follow-up.
“R-Right. That makes sense...”
“If you see sothing you like, go ahead and pick it out. I’ll buy a few pieces for you.”
“...N-No need for that, really.”
Still, whether it was because she was technically a fugitive or just because redia’s gaze was too intense—
“W-Well then, I’ll be off!”
After a mont’s hesitation, the princess waved and scurried off toward the n’s section.
“.......”
After seeing off Katarina, I silently followed behind Lady redia as we walked into the won’s section—then carefully asked her a question.
“You separated Her Highness on purpose, didn’t you?”
“I’ve got two things I’m curious about right now.”
As expected, she gave a small flick of her finger to activate a soundproofing spell—(which still takes more than three minutes to cast)—and spoke to .
“First: why did you show such interest in Maier’s fiancée?”
“...Hmm.”
I furrowed my brow, thinking for a mont about how much I should say.
“You’ve never shown interest in another woman before. Especially not a stranger.”
“.......”
“Do you know her from sowhere? If so, why—”
Her questions kept coming, leaving no choice but to speak.
“When I whispered to her... did you notice anything suspicious?”
“...Suspicious?”
“Like a shift in her expression. A sudden twitch. Anything at all.”
Lady redia tilted her head for a mont before replying with certainty.
“There was nothing.”
“I see.”
“She didn’t show any unusual reaction. Just the sa one any sane person would have when looking at that face of yours.”
“...Ah.”
That’s odd. I could’ve sworn I kept my expression as harmless as possible to get a read on her.
“Well, even so, nothing stood out.”
“...Got it.”
Though a bit disheartened, I still trusted redia’s observation.
“So? What did you whisper?”
“That...”
Despite the added confusion now swirling in my mind, I had to answer.
“I thought... maybe there’s soone else out there like .”
“...In what way?”
I couldn’t bring up “Possession” directly, so I softened the language. But redia still gave a baffled look.
“I an, soone who might have started interfering in this world before I even began acting... A true puppet master.”
When I elaborated, she glanced at and lowered her voice.
“...Did you just admit you’re that kind of being?”
“No, I’m the opposite. I’m the hero who protects the world, rember?”
“Haa...”
She sighed for so reason and then, more seriously, asked again.
“So, you think Maier’s fiancée is one of those?”
“I’m not sure. I probed her earlier, but I didn’t get anything useful.”
redia fell silent in thought, then looked in the eye and said quietly:
“Alright. I’ll do so personal digging too.”
“...You believe ?”
“Isn’t it a little late to be asking that?”
“Ahaha...”
Even without telling her everything, she still stood on my side.
We’ve co too far to betray one another now—but still, it was touching.
“So, what was your second question?”
“Oh, that.”
Her next words made instantly regret asking.
“That idiot prince you’re dragging around.”
“...Excuse ?”
“There’s sothing really off about him.”
Seeing her face turn cold, I felt a chill crawl down my spine.
‘Wait... did she figure it out?’
Her sharp gaze toward Katarina earlier—don’t tell she realized she’s a woman in disguise...?
“That kid...”
“...Yes?”
“...Does he like n, by any chance?”
...Wait, WHAT!?
***
anwhile, at a café not far from the boutique where Whitney and company had entered...
“...You weren’t too shaken, were you? That bastard Whitney didn’t do anything, did he?”
“No. I’m fine.”
Maier, sounding uncharacteristically concerned, asked the question. Ember gave him a soft smile to reassure him.
“Phew... That’s good.”
“.......”
“Wait here. I’ll go rent the first floor.”
Wiping sweat from his brow, Maier spoke with a complicated look and walked off.
“...Not bad.”
Ember, watching his back with a sweet smile, suddenly murmured ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) coldly—her expression not changing in the slightest.
Then, she pulled a hand mirror from her coat.
— What happened?
And in that mirror, what appeared wasn’t Ember’s own face—but that of the supre leader of the black mages, the Great Shadow.
“I’ve finally figured out why our plans kept going wrong.”
Speaking with an unsettling familiarity to a being even the Emperor could not address as an equal, Ember whispered—
“Whitney Ringaarden... He’s one of us.”
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