Episode 53
“That is……. It is not perfectly preserved. It is true that the time magic field was created, but there is no law that it is necessarily perfect.”
“…….”
Lucerne explained the rest.
“That corpse, the lower body is in a jelly state. It melted and stuck to the bottom of the secret vault. It's something that sometimes happens in the magic field.”
Elisha realized why Lucerne wouldn't let her see the body as she talked about her lower body earlier.
Elisha changed the subject.
“By the way, do Arien and Marco know the secret of that place?”
When she sees Ian and asks, he gives her opinion.
“I don't think I know. If you knew, would you leave that land alone, no matter who owns it? The personality of the Cartier family……. Uh……. Well.”
“Why are you looking at me?”
Ian looked at her as if she was going to curse at her master while talking. Lucerne passed it off with a snort. Everyone who knew that the people of the Cartier family were demons and demons who were crazy about gold.
Elisha agreed inwardly.
'Okay. Right. Neither Marco nor Merha know the value of that land.'
If I had known there was such a device, I would have set fire to state-owned land and everything. Or even a corpse would have been disposed of somehow.
“Then why did you want to buy that land?”
Nora asked innocently.
“It must have been because it was embarrassing. It was land owned by Listralpo. Besides, I heard there was a knife mark on Listralfo's belly.”
Elisha sneakily induced people's thoughts this time as well. Before she could explain further, Lucerne replied.
“Those who killed Lystralf would never have found the body. Then you want to own everything related to it. You're right. I hate it. That's it.”
Lucerne said calmly.
“Ristralfo was fond of luxury. He used to have a riotous day in Yuryf. He must have thought of building a villa there. I sang about building a villa with hot springs. I only made a secret safe, and it seems like he died before the villa even went up.”
“Do you know him?”
Elisha said she was unexpected.
“Because I was in the temple when Lystralpho was alive. He ran into it occasionally. He was arrogant, but he wasn't a bad guy.”
“…… Ah.”
Elisha nodded her head.
“Anyway, I think it's right that Listralfo ran away. If it was a secret underground vault hidden beneath the ground, only Listralpo could have opened it.”
“I know.”
Lucerne nodded.
“Then an attempt to kill Listralfo in the vicinity, no. There must have been a murder. Then what Marco wants to buy is the land that was the scene of the murder of Ristralpo.”
Nora let out a small exclamation.
“Ah, so Arien wanted to buy the land under borrowed name from the real estate office.”
“It's really amazing.”
Elisha pretended to be surprised, but inside she felt pleasure. After all, Lucerne was a man who could not be compared to such geniuses as Jacob and Marco. With a few hints from her, he guessed the facts.
'If I were a teacher, I would have wanted to give a student like Lucerne a perfect score, as well as give an award with my pocket money.'
If he knew, it was something he would growl and want to punish in reverse. Elisha decided to cut the needle and drive the wedge.
“Then what if we steal that body? It's evidence of Merha's crimes. It's true that they sold the wrong person's body anyway.”
“The corpse is preserved in a special magic field. If it is moved incorrectly, the whole body can turn into jelly.”
Lucerne said.
“Then…….”
Ian and Nora faced each other. Elisha leaned back in her chair and slowly closed and opened her eyes.
“Whoever gets his hands on that land will have a weakness that will destroy Marco.”
No one asked, but they exchanged glances involuntarily.
Elisha was truly satisfied. If I had worked with the Jacobs, I would have spent at least four years moving them like this.
* * *
Lucerne instructed Ian and Nora to do some things.
“Then let's have a little talk with each other.”
Lucerne rode up with Elisha on her horse, still with her whip at her waist.
Widely. Widely.
Lucerne paced the room for a while, slowly whipping him with the palm of his hand. He seemed to be thinking about something.
“I know that I can't become the head of a family just because the other candidates for head of the family are ruined.”
“Yes. I know. And that's not the 'way to be the head of household' that I was talking about.”
“Ah. Okay. That you're going to open?”
Lucerne smiled. Then, as if exploring, he asked.
“How long did you know?”
“I knew that Arien was aiming for an unexpected piece of land. Jacob and Carol know that too.”
“Is the little ghost peeking into Jacob's office?”
“Yes.”
Elisha spoke briefly. She actually knew more than that. However, she did not want to further raise suspicion in Lucerne.
“And?”
“That's all. Just……. Most of what happened today is a coincidence. Now that I know Carola and Arien want something. I wondered if there was some conspiracy in it.”
“It sounds very plausible, as if it had been prepared in advance. It's not flawless, but it's not to the point of digging into it either. So, this time too, should I just skip it because I'm looking at pretty collateral?”
“…….”
“What do you think, Elisha?”
Elisha's heart started beating anxiously. After all, Lucerne was not an ordinary bet. It wouldn't be easy to move him at will.
But the value of this land will not end here. It was absolutely necessary to deal with Jacob and Marco in the future.
“And the rest……. You found them all.”
“Okay. I have reasoned very diligently, just as you intended. The suspense is all over our marriage.”
“…….”
“If you were so clever, you would have taken into account all my suspicions now. Our little ghost.”
Widely. Lucerne wrapped her hand around the whip.
“You met Marco yesterday.”
Goosebumps appeared on Elisha's back. Meeting Marco on the terrace last night was really coincidental. Even Elisha was harassed by Marco.
“Did you doubt that me and Marco were dating?”
“Use your imagination a little more. Will my doubts end there?”
He acted like he was telling a bad joke. Elisha bit her lip.
“Ask me one thing. Why in the world are you so sure that I will become the head of the family, and want to be the head of the household?”
“It is the way I live. If Jacob or Marco becomes the family head, they won't leave me alone. Probably both of us will suffer. The imperial family might protect you, but……. It won't be me.”
If Lucerne asks the imperial family for active protection, the imperial family will try to replace Elisha first. The imperial family had long wanted Lucerne to be her sire.
“That said, I don't think they will leave me alone even if I get a divorce. I know because I suffered from them……. These are people who never let go of a door.”
“But. Were we already deeply intertwined? Seeing yesterday, everyone knew that you and I were doing perverted things.”
Lucerne said languidly. Elisha almost lost her composure for a moment, but this time she did not yield to his provocation. She spoke calmly.
“You may not believe it, but……. I think you are a better person than the other grandchildren. At least……. That's what I've seen over the past few months. Just thinking about someone like Jacob becoming the head of the household and grabbing all the wealth in the world is terrifying. I want excellent people to rise to high positions. At least you are the general who saved this country.”
“…….”
“When I said I wanted to be your subordinate, I meant it.”
After hearing that, Lucerne was silent for a few seconds. And he put the whip down on the desk.
“It's getting sweet, so there's nothing more to say. My wife.”
Lucerne approached Elisha. Elisha's chin went up.
“Actually, I am embarrassed.”
“…….”
“I can handle being a bit suspicious. The fact that you might have a 'something' relationship with Marco is causing my blood to well up. Only Jacob was suspicious, but Marco doesn't know again. Because my wife is not an ordinary woman. You should be pretty.”
Elisha doubted her ears. What does this matter now?
“I'm confused about what the hell you and I signed.”
“Our contract is a contract in which I will make you the head of the household and then I will be free. To be free, you must be free of debt.”
At Elisha's words, Lucerne smiled darkly.
“Yes, that is very realistic.”
“…… If that's not enough, I'll give you loyalty as a bonus. Asking other men for information, there will be no need to work hard if you are materialistic like this.”
Elisha spoke with all her heart so that Lucerne's doubts would disappear. At those words, Lucerne's expression became a little more subtle.
“Yeah, it's nice to get something from our ice wife.”
“…… If you like, just ask for one.”
A look of pure disgust crossed Elisha's face.
“Don't ever associate me with a man like Marco. Just thinking about it makes me nauseous.”
Lucerne raised her eyes and saw Elisha. Elisha was furthermore unable to comprehend the English language. Elisha was just being a bit cheeky with him. But Lucerne suddenly……. When she saw the disgust on her face, her mood seemed to improve.
“You don't know.”
Lucerne removed her face from Elisha.
“Then let's have a reconciliation kiss.”