Chapter 25

As soon as Carmine stepped out of the carriage, Diana locked the door behind him.

“Crazy man.”

It took tremendous patience to hold back the string of curses she wanted to unleash on him.

As the saying went, if luck is bad, even a fall can break your nose.

“Why does it have to be Carmine Pierce, of all people?!”

Was it just bad luck that struck out of nowhere?
She had only gone to Seneca Street to check the last place the dealer had been seen.
Yet she had run into him.
If this isn’t a disaster, what is?

“Even if I’m reborn, I could never be this shameless.”

A few years ago, the day after their first meeting, Carmine had immediately asked her to date him.
After being refused, he had changed his demeanor.
Though he left with surprising neatness, ever since, he seemed ferociously determined to devour her whenever he saw her.

She had hoped that his engagement would make him forget.
“Forget? Not a chance.”

Why did such a petty man never do just one thing?
His violent tendencies had grown increasingly blatant with the passing years.
Now, she barely even wanted to speak to him.

“I should install curtains in the carriage. And maybe a new lock too.”

While Diana muttered to herself, the carriage slowly drove toward its destination.

The meeting Ian had arranged took place at a café in a busy area.
Diana worried inwardly. Such a crowded location wasn’t ideal for a private conversation.

But to her surprise:

“Did he rent out the entire café?”

Thanks to that, there were no other customers in sight. Clearly, he was a meticulous man.

Diana arrived first and quietly waited. Before long, Ian appeared.

“You came early.”

“And you, Sir Ian, are a little late.”

“Am I mistaken, or do you look quite displeased?”

It was because of him. Thanks to Ian’s choice of meeting place, she had run into Carmine Pierce, a lovebug!

…She wanted to scream that, but instead, Diana decided to point out something more pressing.

“It’s a misunderstanding. But what’s with the bouquet of hydrangeas?”

“Of course, it’s a gift for Miss Diana.”

“Once you rent the whole café, there’s no need to pretend.”

“True enough. I suppose you’re right.”

“You really have no sense of gentlemanly manners.”

Still, since he brought it, Ian handed her the bouquet.

“After roses, hydrangeas… is this a subtle threat to dunk them in water?”

To avoid another risk of Carmine-style torment, she had to stay alert and act.
Diana ignored the hydrangeas in her line of sight and reported the current situation.

Ian frowned slightly when she mentioned they were still tracking the casino dealer, but he listened quietly to the rest.

“Tracking isn’t as easy as I expected.”

“Now that we know the last location, it won’t be long before we catch them. There have been no reports of them leaving the capital either.”

For a commoner to leave Ander’s capital, they had to pass through the South Gate.
Diana had stationed someone there. She couldn’t leave it solely to Orlando.

Yet no reports had come in. The runaway dealers were definitely still in the capital.
The problem was, where were they hiding?

“Have you thought about deploying the guards in the capital?”

Diana asked, feigning casualness though she already knew his answer.

“I did consider it, but these are dealers who caused losses to the royal casino. Publicly announcing a manhunt and taking tips might be fastest, but…”

“Of course, but the profit gained is small compared to the risk.”

Ian gently refused.

“If the details of the manhunt became public, the royal casino’s reputation would plummet. That would be unacceptable.”

Of course. Considering the ‘partner’ behind him, it was better to resolve this quietly.

“Since the topic came up, should I probe a little?”

Diana sipped her tea and continued.

“Understood. I’ll continue tracking this matter. There’s also something I’d like to propose.”

“I’m listening.”

“When the casino reopens, I want to eliminate the option of choosing ‘doll prizes.’ Is that alright?”

“……”

Ian’s expression became curious.

Diana, aware of that, spoke casually.

“I noticed some suspicious entries in the ledgers.”

“Suspicious entries?”

The royal casino had a system where chips could be exchanged for “limited-edition doll prizes.”
Naturally, most ignored it. People preferred converting chips back to cash rather than fluffy dolls.

“But a particular person chose the ‘doll prizes’ far too often.”

“Eccentrics exist everywhere.”

“No, if my suspicion is correct, this isn’t eccentricity but a deliberate scheme.”

“……Interesting. Do go on.”

Ian encouraged her with a smile, but Diana couldn’t openly revel in it.

“There was a peculiar street stall in front of the royal casino. It’s closed now, but it was a shooting gallery that bought prize dolls at outrageously high prices.”

“Continue.”

“The gallery sold the dolls back to the casino. On the surface, it seemed like a normal exchange of goods and cash, but it was a deception.”

The true purpose was to change the nature of the cash flowing through the process.
A form of laundering expensive goods into clean money.

“The gallery took clean money from customers playing darts and used it to buy the prizes.”

“Then the person selling the dolls couldn’t be traced through that money.”

“Exactly. On the books, nothing looks suspicious. But to maintain this system, there must be both a seller and a buyer.”

“I see. So?”

“So…”

It was already the third time.

‘This is too risky.’

Diana, without showing surprise, faced the man who had baited her three times and responded.

“…Which is why we should eliminate the doll prizes.”

“Hmm.”

Ian, seated, looked at her with a somewhat impressed expression.

I know how you laundered the funds. I even suspect there’s an accomplice.

In the original story, Diana Wellington had been used in that process…
Not with me.

Her suggestion, a subtle hint aimed at him, was like the hydrangea bouquet.

Ian applauded lightly.

“Excellent. Amazing, truly. If you had talked a bit more, no matter how capable you are, I might have had to kill you.”

“……”

“You nearly made me lose a valuable person.”

Ian smiled lightly, genuinely relieved, and simultaneously issued a warning.

“Just continue as you are now.”

“……”

“Do not cross the line, Miss Diana.”

She expected a response like that, but experiencing it in reality was even more unsettling.

‘So he doesn’t want to reveal the existence of his partner yet.’

Of course, the person laundering funds using the doll prizes was Ian.
In the original story, he had made his fiancée handle it, and Diana had been discarded like an object.

The word “amazing” seemed genuine, and his face even brightened.
And if she wasn’t mistaken, he seemed to be smiling a little…

‘Wait, that’s no mistake.’

Why had he become an even more pleasing squinting character?

“Sir Ian, why are you suddenly smiling like that?”

“Hmm? It’s only natural. I met a human among the monkeys, after all.”

“……”

He seemed sincere.
Even though she wasn’t in a game, her affinity toward him felt like it had visibly increased.

“We should get along well in the future. Today has been meaningful in that I can be certain of that.”

“Yes… well.”

“In that case, you may call me Ian from now on. I will call you Diana…”

“No.”

Diana cut him off before he could finish.

“Boundaries are something we must not cross.”

“……”

“Please call me Miss Diana, and I will call you Sir Ian.”

For a brief moment, his expression stiffened.
Did he find it unpleasant?

But she had to be cautious about growing close under any pretext. If he drew boundaries like he just did, all the more reason.

So she simply returned the words he used. But this time, he became a squinting character whose eyes were smiling.

What had irritated him this time?

‘In any case, he’s a difficult person.’

Unaware that her thoughts mirrored his, Diana lightly brushed her nose, still numbed by the scent of the hydrangeas.