"If you haven't done anything wrong, wouldn't there be no need for me to save you?"
I gave him a sweet smile.
Honestly, the fact that he is coming out this aggressively...
"It’s just like the culprit is caught red-handed. If you want to use me this actively, to this extent."
We cannot be certain yet that this man is an insider.
Above all, if you needlessly provoke Baron Belmand without evidence, he might run away like a lizard cutting off its tail.
I stared at Baron Belmand and pretended to be even more innocent for no reason.
"Do you realize you look extremely suspicious right now?"
Baron Belmand chuckled at me for saying that.
"I did it out of desperation, but come to think of it, it would certainly seem suspicious from the Marchioness's perspective."
"What if the Baron isn't a suspect, but just a womanizer who is madly in love with women?"
The Baron's gaze turned toward me.
"In that case, Baron, who do you think is the suspect in this attempted assassination? Is there anyone as well-connected in society as the Baron?"
I shrugged my shoulders.
"Instead of thinking you can use your handsome face to escape being a suspect, wouldn't it be better to choose to cooperate with us?"
"Yes?"
"I guess I do think you're handsome."
Covering his face, he leaned mischievously toward me and asked.
"I have eyes, you know? Anyway, from my standpoint right now, it actually feels like a confession."
I spoke even more innocently for no reason.
"So, if you really don't want to be misunderstood, why don't you just select the candidates suspected of being insiders and hand over the list?"
"Are you telling me to join the mystery?"
"It means you have to decide whether to stand as an actor in this mystery play or hide in the audience. Because the theater owner is watching."
"What if I hide in the audience?"
I narrowed my eyes.
"You know that audience members who enter without tickets are the first to be dragged out, right? Theaters are very strict about ticket checks these days."
I subtly pressured the man who was only thinking of hiding and watching, claiming that he had nothing to do with it.
"Especially if it is an audience member who pretends not to know until the very end and lurks backstage."
The sharpness in the Baron's eyes, having finally realized my warning that I would dig deep enough, had vanished.
He gave a sly smile as if nothing had happened.
"I won't have a choice."
“It’s kind of like that.”
I nodded.
'This assassination shouldn't have happened at this time in the first place, and the fact that it did means there was some kind of triggering event.'
I don't know exactly what that is, either.
Grand Duke Dischlie has been watching Lucian all along, so the cause must lie there.
'Maybe it's because Lucian became close with us.'
If the Grand Duke were to receive a report that Linea and I had become close with Crown Prince Lucian, from his perspective...
'He might have thought that Linea and Lucian, backed by both powerful families—the Duke of Lakan and the Marquis of Rivandel—might even be getting engaged.'
Normally, Linea at this point would not actually pose the slightest threat.
'The only things that have changed from the original are Linea's status and political standing.'
Given his personality like Walter's, the fact that he spoke to Linea first and showed an intention to become close to her might have been something his father told him to do.
'The Grand Duke is in a position to exert some influence on the Protocol Office.'
So, perhaps it was the Grand Duke's intention to seat Linea and Walter together in the first place.
'Considering that, he did ignore Linea.'
Since the Grand Duke has such a nasty personality and is someone who cannot hide his true feelings well, he might have displayed a contradictory attitude.
Thinking about it this far, it felt as if I had solved a part of a huge puzzle.
Having finished organizing my thoughts, I looked up at the Baron and spoke.
"If you won't accept it, it might be better to just leave the Baron to Carcel."
"That is a truly terrifying threat."
The Baron raised both palms at me. It was as if he were shouting, "Surrender!"
"Then I should also listen to the Marchioness."
He spoke with a bitter smile, his eyes looking as if they were smiling awkwardly from behind a mask.
"I have no choice but to look into whether there is anyone who could be a suspect, just as you said."
"I look forward to your help."
I nodded at him once.
The important thing is simply that the Baron is also in the most advantageous position to access inside information, but there is no direct evidence.
So, rather than falling out with the Baron, I had to at least pretend to join hands with him.
So that he might show me even the slightest opening.
Carcel also said this about the Baron.
- I interrogated them, but there was no reaction at all, even when I used a magic tool.
- Then Baron Belmand must be either a very cunning liar or a truly innocent person.
- Although circumstantial evidence abounds... even the people sent inside could not find any evidence to prove the Baron's charges.
Carcel did not personally tell me who his people were, but he did give a hint that he was holding hands with the Baron's lover and a few guests of the salon.
"Then, may I invite you to the next party one more time?"
"I don't want any unnecessary misunderstandings, so if you could also send an invitation for Carcel."
"Honestly, I don't like inviting men to the salon, but if you want, Madam."
The Baron, speaking in a playful tone, asked me.
"And since you're here, why don't you enjoy the party before you leave?"
"I plan to do so. Honestly, it’s a bit of a dilemma since more than half of the members are women, like a harem for a Baron, though."
Especially since the Baron was surrounded by several women earlier.
I thought it was going to be something like a fan meeting.
At those words, the Baron laughed, "Hahaha."
'I really don't understand the humor.'
And he was a man whose allegiance was unknown.
It is disgustingly suspicious, but at the same time, because of the playfulness that occasionally surfaces.
"I don't really like men."
“Oh, you’re a competitor?”
"Rather than that, I want to bring only beautiful things into my salon. Women are beautiful in their own unique ways, no matter what they look like, but men... well."
Just now, the temperature of the men's voices dropped sharply.
'So the Baron really was a man who couldn't resist women.'
"I don't want to let a man in unless he is handsome enough to please my eyes."
Upon hearing that, I made a face that openly showed contempt for the Baron.
Then, he let out a refreshing laugh from behind his mask.
"Since women want to come to my salon thanks to that indirect benefit, that is in my best interest."
"I'll stop there."
I eventually shook my head as if to say I wouldn't listen any further.
"If you have any information to share, please invite me to the next party."
"All right."
Suddenly, the Baron grabbed the Balto mask he was wearing, lifted it up, and took it off.
With the dazzlingly beautiful face of a gentleman, he smiled at me, his eyebrows curving.
"Still, it is polite to look a woman in the face when saying goodbye."
I understand why women were surrounding him.
The face that swept back its disheveled platinum blonde hair while wearing a mask and threw a mischievous smile at me was certainly attractive.
"Next time, I would prefer you call me Raphael instead of Baron. We are now comrades on the same stage."
He reached out his hand to me.
However, feeling the stares around me, I raised my palm to refuse.
"I’ll decline because I feel like strange rumors would start circulating if I even held your hand. And don’t forget that becoming a colleague is contingent on you bringing useful information."
"Then I will go to carry out the order."
After grinning playfully, the Baron stepped back.
The moment the handsome man with the striking physique turned his back on me and strode away, women began calling to him again.
He took off his mask, made affectionate eye contact with each woman one by one, and nodded.
Just then, I made eye contact with a woman who looked familiar.
"Uh!"
I wondered who it was, but their skin was darker than the people of the Empire, so I could recognize them at a glance.
“Princess Safiya?”
She showed no interest in me whatsoever, and desperately spoke to me while casting a longing gaze back toward Baron Belmand.
Safiya's cheeks were flushed, and her eyes were dreamy.
'You like the Baron.'
And then, a woman walked slowly toward me, having been watching them.
As I turned my head toward her, the woman opened her mouth and acknowledged me.
"Asha, I'm sorry."
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