Chapter 77……………………………………..
Elliot asked his subordinate without losing even a trace of composure,
“What do you mean, big trouble?”
“A task force from the Imperial Palace has arrived! They say it’s a surprise tax audit!”
Elliot clicked his tongue. What a fuss over something so trivial.
“That was to be expected. The imperial family must be eager to find some fault with our Lady Liena and House Cassius.”
Recently, Liena’s reputation had been nothing short of impeccable. Society hailed her with titles such as the greatest business mind of the century and the second saintess.
‘Even so, it’s still far from enough. My lady is far greater than what the world knows.’
Even if one gathered every beautiful word in existence, it would not compare to the real Liena. Simply existing, she was dazzling.
And the Iber Company—entrusted to him by such a Liena. Elliot had staked his pride on making Iber the greatest merchant guild in the world.
“Where is the inspection team now?”
“They barged in and headed straight to the guild master’s office, saying they would search it first.”
“Rest assured. There is nothing for them to find fault with.”
“Y-Yes, of course.”
“The guild master is away on other business, so I will receive them in her stead. Let’s go.”
“W-Wait. There’s one more thing…”
“What now?”
At Elliot’s icy tone, the employee stammered.
“The person dispatched as the chief inspector is the Second Prince.”
“Terrence Belver Asterot?”
The newly emerged prince. Though born before the Crown Prince, he was not the Empress’s son and had only recently been acknowledged as a royal, thus being titled the Second Prince.
It wasn’t illogical. Anyone could predict that the Emperor would bolster the Second Prince’s position for the time being.
But why did unease creep up from deep within?
The answer was obvious.
‘There’s a connection between Idel Wallace and the Second Prince.’
The two had danced together at the Emperor’s birthday banquet. Moreover, Liena herself had once told Elliot she found their relationship suspicious.
Leandro, the young duke, had reportedly seen the Second Prince personally escorting Idel in the past. Elliot ground his teeth at the thought.
‘That fool. What use is saying that after the divorce is already finalized?’
Of course, Leandro—who had never met the prince before—couldn’t have known earlier. But that was irrelevant to Elliot. His loyalty was to Liena, not to House Cassius.
In any case, the pressing matter was dealing with the Second Prince. Naturally, Elliot had no concern whatsoever about the tax audit. His work was always flawless.
‘Second Prince, I’ll use this opportunity to uncover exactly what your relationship with Idel Wallace is.’
At first, he had dismissed Idel and assumed her connection with the prince was merely an affair. Now, suspicion was beginning to grow that it might be something more.
An hour later, Elliot felt a flicker of impatience.
It was within expectations that the Second Prince wandered around the guild instead of sitting politely in Elliot’s office drinking tea.
But why—
‘Why is he disregarding me to this extent?’
Even if he avoided private conversation, fine. But Terrence had not even exchanged the customary pleasantries one would normally share. After introductions, it was blatant disregard.
“Your Highness, you’ve now toured all administrative areas. Only the product warehouse remains.”
Elliot attempted once more to engage him, wearing a sociable smile.
“The Iber Company, as a proud member of the Asterot Empire, is fully willing to cooperate with the inspection. However, the ledgers and supporting documents we submitted earlier are everything.”
“……”
“I swear that Iber has always strived to comply with imperial law and will continue to do so. That is the philosophy of our guild master, Lady Liena.”
At that moment, a faint sound—almost like a suppressed chuckle—escaped from the prince’s back. A soft heh.
“Your Highness?”
“It’s nothing. Let’s proceed to the warehouse.”
When the Second Prince turned around, his face was expressionless. But Elliot was certain.
That man had just mocked him.
‘You insolent bastard!’
His patience was reaching its limit. Already irritated over Tara’s situation, now he was being ignored and ridiculed by this man. Elliot’s pride—perched at the very heavens—would not tolerate it.
Born into royalty by sheer luck, and strutting about despite being a fool. Fine. Search the warehouse for days—see if you find anything!
The inspection team thoroughly examined the countless goods stored in the warehouse. Yet the very man who had led them there, Terrence, appeared half-hearted, casually sweeping through the space. In truth, he had maintained that same lazy attitude all along.
Elliot felt deflated.
If this continued, the Second Prince—and even Idel, whom he suspected of being connected—might simply be pitiful fools.
‘Well, fine. Being pathetic doesn’t erase one’s sins.’
Both would be punished by Elliot’s hand. The audacious prince interfering with Lady Liena’s business. And Idel, who had caused tears to fall from Liena’s eyes.
Especially Idel—she grated on him more and more.
‘Still, don’t worry. I have no intention of taking your life.’
He would merely make the rest of her life… unpleasant.
Elliot smiled darkly to himself.
“Something feels strange.”
Terrence’s sudden remark snapped Elliot’s attention. They were returning to Elliot’s office after finishing the warehouse inspection.
“What seems strange, Your Highness?”
It was an utterly ordinary corridor.
But Elliot felt a flicker of unease.
In truth, there was something hidden within this corridor.
“This wall.”
The Second Prince moved along, knocking on the corridor wall as he walked. Elliot’s heartbeat quickened involuntarily.
“Is there an issue with the wall?”
He asked with perfect calm.
There was no way it would be discovered. He had checked countless times. Simply knocking would never expose that place. Absolutely not.
As expected, Terrence passed right by the critical section while knocking along the wall.
Afterward, the prince tilted his head for quite some time, as if puzzled.
Someone had definitely informed him of that place’s existence.
‘Is there a traitor? If so, who?’
As Elliot’s mind raced, his body suddenly stiffened.
Their eyes met.
The prince—who had been ignoring him all this time—was now staring directly at him.
“Y-Your Highness?”
“Vice Director, is something the matter…?”
The others present seemed to sense the odd tension and glanced between the two men.
Suddenly, the prince turned his gaze elsewhere.
Elliot reflexively followed—
And froze in shock.
The prince was staring precisely at the hidden section.
Before Elliot could speak, the prince walked over and knocked on it.
“This part sounds different. It feels hollow behind the wall.”
Don’t spout nonsense!
Elliot wanted to shout. When constructing that hidden space, would he really have made such an amateur mistake?
‘I knocked on it, shouted at it, even kicked it countless times! That wall is flawless!’
There was definitely an informant.
And the moment that certainty struck him, the prince’s strange behavior finally made sense.
‘He’s trying to frame me as the informant!’
Ignoring Elliot the entire time, then suddenly making eye contact when discovering the wall—how would that look to onlookers?
‘They might think I signaled him. That the earlier disregard was just to conceal our collusion.’
Elliot quickly scanned the subordinates nearby. These fools were certainly capable of believing that. Indeed, they were already glancing between him and the prince suspiciously.
Clever enough to try something like this.
But that was as far as it would go.
Elliot was confident. Even if the prince knew the location of the hidden space, opening the entrance was another matter entirely.
He approached the Second Prince.
“You believe there is space behind this?”
“It seems so.”
“The blueprints show nothing but an ordinary wall. I can’t tell from knocking.”
“Are you certain there is no hidden space?”
“To my knowledge, there is not.”
“May I confirm?”
“As you wish.”
“Hmm. It feels like there should be a button nearby that opens it.”
Fool.
That wall required a passcode. And only three people in the world knew it: the guild master Liena, acting guild master Cecil, and Elliot himself.
In contrast, the existence and location of the hidden space were known to the construction workers and the mage who placed the security spells. All were loyal to Cassius—but it seemed someone had succumbed to the prince’s persuasion.
After searching the wall for quite some time and finding nothing, the prince changed tack.
“If there’s no button, perhaps it’s a passcode.”
“And what might that be?”
Since the prince was clearly guessing, Elliot answered indifferently.
“Well. Nothing comes to mind.”
“Haha, shall I just say something at random?”
“…By all means.”
What was with this confidence? As though he truly knew the code.
No.
Bluffing, surely.
In the end, the prince would give up and attempt to break the wall. But that would be futile as well.
‘If they try to force it open, the security spell will activate.’
A fire would immediately erupt within the hidden space, and all documents would be incinerated at once.
Troublesome, yes—but better destroyed than seized.
“Hmm, what shall I say first?”
The Second Prince slowly parted his lips.
“……”
Silence followed.
Soon, the prince frowned and stepped away from the wall.
Elliot nearly burst into laughter.
As expected! Pretending to be clever without knowing anything!
“Jack.”
At the prince’s call, one of the men from the inspection team stepped forward. The prince handed him a sheet of paper.
“I wanted to say it myself, but that would be impossible. I’ll grant you the honor.”
Jack’s hands trembled as he unfolded the paper.
“Y-Your Highness, you want me to say this?”
“Yes. Loudly. So everyone can hear.”
“But—”
“Don’t want to?”
“N-No, sir. I obey, Your Highness.”
The man, pale-faced despite merely having his shoulder patted by the prince, stood before the wall.
“Your Highness, what on earth—”
Elliot stepped forward, sensing something terribly wrong—
And then Jack shouted at the top of his lungs:
“Lady Liena’s cuteness is number one in the world! Her cuteness will save the world!”
The blood drained from Elliot’s face.
It was the first line of the long, long passcode.
