Chapter 150…………………………………………
Voices filled with surprise burst out from all over the glass greenhouse.
“Y-you…!”
“Idel Luciviu?”
“Why is Baron Luciviu here?!”
That’s right. The person who suddenly appeared and threw Lisamo into confusion—
was me.
With the help of the Duchess of Luciano, I had already entered the greenhouse before Lisamo began.
All I did was sit in the seat she had prepared and wait for time to pass, but honestly, it was mentally exhausting…
Listening endlessly to people praising Riena made me feel as if I had gone back to the time before I divorced Liandro, and the psychological fatigue was immense.
Well, it seems like all the members have gathered by now, so there’s no need to wait any longer.
“How dare you come here!”
“Leave at once!”
The looks from the members staring at me slowly began to change from shock to hostility.
Just like the Duchess of Luciano, they seemed to recognize me as “Riena’s enemy.”
“Just a moment.”
At that moment, the president of Lisamo tapped the armrest.
“The Duchess of Luciano must have her reasons for bringing Baron Luciviu here. Let’s hear what she has to say.”
“I-I…”
Suddenly receiving everyone’s attention, the duchess stammered and glanced at me.
I was about to step in if she looked too troubled, but although hesitant, she continued speaking.
“Baron Luciviu… is actually a better person than we thought. I misunderstood her and spoke ill of her behind her back, but when I later apologized, she generously forgave me.”
It seemed there was no need for me to intervene.
“You all need to clear up your misunderstandings about the baron as well. That’s why I invited her here today.”
By the time she finished speaking, the hesitation and timidity that had been visible on the duchess earlier had disappeared.
She now looked like the confident woman the Duke of Luciano had loved—someone capable of admitting her mistakes.
“So what you mean is…”
The president opened her mouth while looking at the duchess.
“You didn’t invite Baron Luciviu here as a member.”
“…Yes.”
“And Baron Luciviu hasn’t changed her mind and started liking Lady Riena either?”
I answered that question myself.
“That’s correct.”
The president carefully examined me from behind her rabbit mask, then smirked.
“I see. Then there’s no need to hear anything further. Leave immediately, Baron Luciviu.”
“President, the baron is—!”
“Silviana, what is the most important fundamental principle of Lisamo? Only those who love Lady Riena may enter.”
Despite the Duchess of Luciano trying to stop her, the president’s attitude was firm.
“But Baron Luciviu doesn’t even meet that basic principle. She has no right to be here.”
Cold gazes from the Lisamo members, including the president, were directed at me.
“Leave at once, Baron. If you refuse, we’ll have no choice but to drag you out.”
As if they truly intended to remove me by force, several Lisamo members slowly approached me.
Did they think I would quietly back down?
“That’s strange.”
I looked straight at the president and spoke.
“Before being Lisamo’s meeting place, this is inside the Luciano estate—specifically the glass greenhouse that the Duke of Luciano gifted to his wife, isn’t it?”
“So?”
“By what right are you trying to expel someone whom the Duchess of Luciano formally invited? Isn’t that right, Lady Margaret?”
At that moment, the president—no, Margaret—froze so clearly that it was noticeable even through the mask.
“…So you knew who I was. I believe this is our first meeting, Baron Luciviu. Did the Duchess of Luciano tell you?”
The duchess shook her head vigorously.
Since that was the truth, I supported her.
“I simply deduced it from several facts.”
“And what might those be?”
I raised my fingers and counted them one by one.
“First, you’re an elderly lady who cherishes Lady Riena dearly.
Second, even though you’re the president, you were seated in a higher seat than the Duchess of Luciano, who is of the imperial family.
Third, just now you addressed the duchess simply by her name—Silviana.”
Combining all of that information…
“I concluded that the president must be Lady Margaret Dia Asteroth, the aunt of both His Majesty the Emperor and the Duchess.”
“With just that…?”
“It may have been long ago and many may have forgotten, but the story of how Lady Margaret unusually appeared in public at Lady Riena’s debutante is quite famous.”
After a certain incident, she had lived in seclusion and rarely appeared in public, so even that single appearance had drawn great attention.
“No matter how much I thought about it, among elderly ladies who cherish Riena, the only one who could treat the Duchess of Luciano so casually was Lady Margaret.”
(In truth, it was information I had learned through Walking Only the Flower Road After Regression.)
“Well, Silviana isn’t the type to casually reveal my identity to others. I also asked Lady Riena not to talk about me to those around her.”
Margaret removed her rabbit mask.
“Baron Luciviu, you seem far more intelligent than I expected.”
A faint trace of goodwill appeared in her eyes.
“There were many young ladies at that debutante, yet you discovered that I had attended specifically to congratulate Lady Riena.”
“Actually, when I was staying at Cassius Castle, I saw several portraits with the initials ‘M.D.A.’ engraved on the back of the frames.”
“I see. Now I’m a little interested. I’d like to hear what you have to say.”
“P-President!”
“But the basic principle—!”
“What did you say?”
“Ah, n-nothing.”
Several members tried to protest but fell silent once they met Margaret’s gaze.
That pressure didn’t come merely from her status as royalty.
Margaret was a remarkable person who always ranked first or second when citizens of the empire were asked who among the living they respected most.
The greatest authority in monster ecology.
A distinguished scholar who had devoted her life to monster research.
Thanks to her studies, humanity’s understanding of monsters had greatly improved, and monster-control technology had advanced significantly.
Some skeptics claimed she was overrated simply because she was royalty compared to other scholars with similar achievements, but…
‘Even though she could have lived a comfortable and wealthy life as a royal, she chose to dive into such dangerous research. That alone makes her extraordinary.’
Moreover, Margaret had experienced a deeply tragic accident in her personal life but still did not give up her research.
Very few would deny that she was worthy of respect.
And now, she had given me a chance.
“Baron, tell us your story.”
I looked around at the members whose faces were filled with dissatisfaction.
“What I want to talk to you about concerns Lady Riena—the very person this gathering revolves around.”
At that moment, a male member near me shouted hastily.
“Are you trying to slander Lady Riena? It’s useless! Do you know how strong the bond between us and her is?”
Another member chimed in.
“That’s right! Petty attempts to sow discord won’t work against true faith!”
These people sure said embarrassing things without the slightest shame.
“Sowing discord? Not at all. I simply wish to discuss the newspaper article from today—just as you were planning to.”
With a gentle smile, I walked up to the member who had been talking about bonds earlier and snatched the newspaper from his hands.
“You’ve all read this article about the Baby Rabbit Trading Company, haven’t you?”
When I spread open the newspaper, the members spoke one after another.
“Of course! How could Lisamo possibly not read something like that!”
“Ah, such an innovative business! Just reading about it makes me excited!”
“As expected of Lady Riena! She’s not just selling goods—she’s creating a new era!”
“I knew investing a fortune in the Baby Rabbit Company was the right decision!”
“Isn’t the name amazing? A Warp Gate project!”
Warp Gate.
It was the new business prominently featured in the newspaper article about the Baby Rabbit Company.
According to the article, Warp Gates would be installed in major regions across the continent, and by using one, a person could instantly travel to another location where a gate had been installed.
In short, it was like a fixed teleportation artifact.
But compared to existing teleportation artifacts, which had very short ranges, the Warp Gate could transport someone from the northernmost to the southernmost end of the continent in an instant.
Moreover, unlike traditional teleportation artifacts—which were unsafe and could only transport non-living objects—the Warp Gate could safely transport living beings.
If realized, people would no longer need to travel for days or months by train or horse between regions with Warp Gates.
It would truly be a revolution in transportation and logistics, and a leap forward for humanity.
The article published in this morning’s newspaper had thrown the Asteroth Empire into a frenzy.
If anyone else had said such a thing, it would have been dismissed as the ramblings of a madman.
But the source of the information was none other than the Baby Rabbit Trading Company.
And its owner, Riena Cassius, had already demonstrated miraculous artifacts to the world through the Iber Trading Company she previously ran.
If the Warp Gate project succeeded, Riena would not only recover her damaged reputation—she would become the greatest figure on the continent.
‘If it succeeds, that is.’
The article claimed the reporter had interviewed Riena directly, but I knew she was not in a situation to meet reporters right now.
After all, just yesterday I had received a letter from Isaac Cassius saying that nothing unusual had happened.
Which meant the person who released this article had to be Isaac, who was actually managing the Baby Rabbit Company.
Why would he do that?
There was only one answer.
Isaac intended to lift Riena to the very peak—before throwing her down into the abyss.
