Chapter 29

Translator and Editor: Maru and Aki

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Chapter 29

“Are you telling me…the first portrait isn’t Quincy?”

“Where in the world did you see Quincy that you are greatly mistaken like this?”

He was so confident in the information he brought to the point he was upset by Ravia not believing it was accurate.

And so, that leaves Ravia with a question,

‘So I didn’t offer a deal to the real Herod?’

Which confused her even more.

Ravia put the portraits side by side for a moment and quickly came to her senses.

She didn’t have the time to be hesitant even if there was a disruption in her plans.

‘I should’ve expected the possibility of my plan not going exactly the way I planned it.’

Both Herod and Tidwell are shady people who dwelled in the underworld. She was careless to believe their words right away.

Ravia admitted her mistake.

‘This situation isn’t the worst. At least, I can recognize their actual appearances.’

If she wasn’t able to recognize the faces in the portraits, she would have certainly felt so dejected, but fortunately, she could as they were familiar.

The reason as to why they were familiar to her is because the actual appearances of the two were each other’s.

The ‘uninvited guest’ she met at Velocio Theatre, whom she thought was Quincy, was actually Herod.

A fiery-looking man with red eyes and red hair.

‘Now that I think about it, his behavior was definitely slightly too mischievous for someone who is just a subordinate.’

I believed he was Herod’s subordinate, so I asked Crow Tit to look into him because I thought he was one of Herod’s trusted subordinates that held an important position in the organization.

Since the beginning, I genuinely thought that the one I’ve been meeting with was the real Herod, but to think it’s just his subordinate…

‘No wonder it felt a little weird.’

At least, she finally understood the reason as to why his voice when they met again differed from when they first met.

It wasn’t Herod, so it only made sense that there was a subtle difference in his voice.

‘As expected, I should’ve checked his face when we first met.’

It was a mistake. Even if that was the case, the water had already spilled, so there was nothing she could do.

Again, the situation was not the worst.

Knowing that the Herod she met at their first meeting was the real Herod, Ravia came to the conclusion that Herod must’ve made a decision to send a substitute instead of meeting her again in person.

He just acted accordingly in a situation where he was still suspicious of her.

It wasn’t a big deal.

However,

‘This irked me.’

Ravia looked down at his portrait irritatedly.

No, in fact, what she felt was more complex than that. Since what irked her wasn’t the fact that Herod had deceived her.

And that is because he only did the best he could in a situation where both parties weren’t able to trust each other.

Therefore, it wasn’t a problem.

The problem is that she failed to realize that.

She was angry at the fact that she put herself in a situation where she couldn’t even get angry after getting deceived.

When did I stoop this low?

I thought I’d be able to take any humiliation to survive since I even put up with faking a smile in front of my deceitful brother…

But I belatedly realized that it’s only possible when I’m confident that I have deceived my opponent.

Haha. A wry smile appeared on her lips.

‘It’s been a long time since I’ve been deceived.’

Ravia was used to deceiving others rather than being deceived by others.

It’s an ability the pinnacle of society, a position where many people despised her and tried to undermine her, needed to have.

Because there are always people who wish to stand at the top, she had to regularly step on people in order to set an example to others.

‘I can’t help it.’

Since Herod deceived her, he must deal with the consequences even if she starts acting in a way he never expected her to.

Whenever there was a person who tried to stand at the top, she had no choice but to step on them in the same way she always does.

Ravia laughed bitterly and said.

“Crow Tit.”

“Yes, miss?”

“Do you remember the cafe I bought you from?”

“D-Do you mean the place where you had a haircut?”

Crow Tit stuttered as he knew exactly what her words meant. Meanwhile, Ravia smiled and tucked her hair behind her ears, which revealed the chunk of hair below her right ear that was cut off.

There was a building called ‘Cheshire Cat’ in the downtown area.

The place, which consisted of a cafe on the first floor and a beauty salon on the second floor, seemed ordinary on the outside, but they also accepted special orders from guests who knew their secret code.

-I’m going to cut my hair. Is that possible?

It was the secret code used by guests who came to buy a messenger.

The reason why the buyer’s hair was needed when there were many other means is…

“That’s right. You were able to get a hold of a portion of my hair in Cheshire.”

because the messenger wears a small pendant made from the client’s hair instead of embroidery thread.

Hair was a symbol of alliance. Ravia said as she pointed her forefinger at the small pendant, which shook every time the masked man moved, he was wearing.

“I’m aware that you might be part of Cosmo or any other organization, but as long as you’re wearing it…”

“I’m yours only.”

Crow Tit lifted the pendant and kissed it lightly.

“Why, do you want me to repeat the oath?”

“I’m sure you know the reason. Anyone can turn their back on me.”

“Are you doing this because you’re afraid that I’m connected to them?”

“Yes. I’m in a situation where I can’t trust anyone.”

“By anyone, does that include me?”

Ravia did not answer. She just quietly looked at Crow Tit for a moment.

She would always remain silent during critical moments, and he knew it was her way of saying yes.

Haha. Crow Tit smiled dryly and opened his mouth.

“You already know that the highest value of a messenger is trust. The moment we sell you false information, our life as a messenger is over.”

Talking about trust in front of him was equal to an insult. Ravia understood what he tried to convey to her.

However, she judged that it was necessary to say it clearly. It served as a warning for him to not attempt anything stupid.

For that reason, Ravia remained silent. At this point, Crow Tit understood what it meant and sighed. Because it was a sign that he lost.

“Alright then. Let’s hear what incredible task you want to give to this unreliable messenger.”

When he raised both hands in surrender, Ravia subtly smiled and gave him an order.

Upon hearing the order, the playful smile that had been sitting on his face gradually disappeared. When his smile faltered, the atmosphere around them became intense.

“Miss, are you serious? You might die.”

His warning must’ve been sincere.

I mean, of course he’d be worried.

It’s something even a complete stranger would feel.

Ravia let out a self-deprecating smile as she pondered on the question asked to her.

Or was he worried because he’s on my side?

“You don’t know anything, Crow Tit. Even now, I’d be dead if I make a single mistake.”

“No, I know that, but….I don’t understand. Do you want to live or die, miss?”

“I always want to live.”

Ravia smiled. It was a faint smile that reminded him of a broken butterfly wing.

“I don’t want to die. If I die, wouldn’t that make my life even more of a failure?”

Even if I fail, I don’t want to be the only one who suffers.

Her following words were cold and resolute.

After realizing that she was inside a novel, Ravia never wanted to die, not even once. Because of that, she always planned ahead.

However, after finding out that she had been deceived, she tried to look back on her actions for the first time.

And realized that she was always on the verge of failure.

“Sometimes, I can’t understand what you’re thinking about, miss. Why would someone, who seems to have grown up sheltered, step foot into the underworld all of a sudden…”

“You’re crossing the line, Crow Tit.”

“…..”

Crow Tit shut his mouth at her sharp words. After a long silence, he opened his mouth.

“You’re crazy, miss.”

“Thank you for the compliment.”

Perhaps because he was unhappy with her answer, Crow Tit pursed his lips for a long time before reluctantly accepting Ravia’s order.

Obviously, his words were rather unpleasant, but Ravia fully understood why he said such words.

Since her plan of backstabbing the leader of the underworld will sound crazy to anyone.

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