Chapter 66 – 66
Climbing into the carriage, Euro gave a light wave to Elon, who kept bowing toward him. Then, he spoke to Dent.
“It’s a relief. It doesn’t seem like he’s the type to run off with everything just to live well on his own.”
“Pardon?”
“Usually, when people make a huge sum of money all at once, they lose their minds. They might just vanish with the loot, regardless of whether their wives and children starve. But he doesn’t look like that kind of person.”
“…Considering the auction house storage fees and the investment funds, the fact that he stayed in Silon and earned small amounts to pay them back suggests he isn’t naturally a bad person.”
“Right. It wouldn’t have been strange if he had fled in the middle of the night long ago.”
Judging by the amount of relics he possessed, it seemed there would be an enormous profit even after repaying the investment.
Furthermore, once the performance of breaking the statue at the spring festival took place, the value of the gemstones—which weren’t worth much right now—would skyrocket.
“The design is unique, so it’ll be popular. By the way, I intentionally picked the smallest one, but somehow it feels like I ended up choosing the most expensive one.”
Euro smiled as he examined the [visit our site]necklace in his hand. Unlike the relics filled with various gems and gold coins, this one visit our sitecontained only a single necklace.
Perhaps because of that, the large necklace was in perfect condition, without a single flaw. It seemed that with a bit of polishing by a jeweler, the gold chain and joints would become pristine.
“Is it a ruby? The size is large and the luster is great. It would suit my sister well.”
“Are you planning to give it as a gift to the Princess?”
“Yes. A bribe.”
“A bribe?”
“She’s going to be the Empress of Paltreon, so I should give her at least this much to keep up appearances.”
Euro took out a handkerchief, carefully wrapped the necklace, and slid it into his inner pocket. Now that the gift was properly prepared, he could enter the capital with confidence whenever he was summoned.
However, a strange shadow of worry clouded Dent’s face as he watched.
“That… if you give her that as a gift, His Grace will know.”
“Know what?”
“That it was a gift from you. Once the spring festival is over, it will [visit our site]become Read on Read BL Novelsknown that you made [visit our site]a fortune with the statues.”
“I’m sure. What’s the problem with that?”
“It’s not that part that’s the problem, but rather the fact that you gifted the most expensive item among them to the Princess.”
Even after Dent’s explanation, Euro narrowed his eyes. His expression seemed to say: I earned my own money, so why is it a problem if I spend it? At this, Dent sighed.
“The rumors, sir. The ones… between you and the Princess.”
“Ah.”
“If you give a gift like that, won’t people think you still have feelings for her? Those watching will think so too.”
“…”
“Some people probably still believe that you married His Grace and came to Silon instead… because of the feelings you harbored for the Princess. I wonder if there’s any need to fuel that misunderstanding.”
Dent carefully shared his thoughts. However, Euro didn’t seem to care. Dent found it somewhat puzzling that Euro, who planned every move in everything he did, would fail to consider this.
“Well, they won’t believe me even if I say it’s not true, so what does it matter?”
“Still…”
“At the Crown Prince’s birthday banquet, the two of them will announce their engagement. Well, you could say it’s putting a nail in the coffin to confirm they are essentially getting married.”
“…”
“I’m going to give this as a wedding congratulatory gift. And that banquet is also the place where His Grace and my marriage will be announced. It’s strictly a gift between siblings—nothing more, nothing less. The Crown Prince will probably handle any resulting scandals.”
“…Pardon?”
“You don’t cover up a rumor with an explanation, but with another rumor. You just need to divert people’s attention.”
Even if Euro shouted in the middle of the banquet hall that he had never loved Clope, no one would believe him.
In the capital, badmouthing the royalty of Norden was practically a sport. Thus, the relationship between Euro and Clope was likely far more exaggerated than the truth.
Gail would also be well aware of this, so after announcing the engagement, his first priority would be to clean up the scandals following Clope.
“Do you think I’d just go to the capital as I am? I can just cover the rumors about my sister and me with something else. I’ll show them what affectionate siblings look like, share a few moderately interesting episodes, and it’ll spread on its own.”
The rumors following the two were a weakness that could affect Clope, the future Empress. Therefore, if he just threw out some material to neutralize the rumors, Gail would take care of the rest, adding his own seasoning as he spread it.
“It’ll be perfect if I make it a touching true story that brings tears to their eyes. A younger brother helping his sister in every possible way so [stolen content]she can have a happy marriage with the person she loves—how touching is that?”
“…”
“And we were actually siblings. I just thought of her like a mother. Even though the age gap isn’t that large.”
Euro spoke as he gazed out the window. Euro Leches’s love was, in fact, ambiguous to be called love.
If he had truly loved her, how could he have stood by and watched her head to Silon? It was merely a grotesque obsession. His subsequent attack on Melione with a sword was nothing more than a clumsy vent of frustration.
Though it was a guess, the two were likely not even biological siblings. It was a thought he’d had while reading the novel, but seeing it with his own eyes after the possession made it certain.
The hair color and eye color were clues, but other factors pointed to it as well. First of all, Euro’s appearance was far too different from the other siblings. He didn’t even resemble the King of Norden.
Euro Leches probably knew this subconsciously as well—the fact that he and Clope Leches shared no blood connection.
“I just hated the idea of my sister leaving Silon. Because then I would truly be alone.”
Thus, Euro reached only one conclusion. Euro Leches did not love Clope. The reason he obsessed over her was that he wanted to become a member of the Norden royal family, even if it meant clinging to her.
Venting his anger on Melione was likely a kind of struggle—a plea to be accepted as family by showing his rage over the death of a family member.
Broken beyond repair, he wouldn’t stolen contenthave known the proper way [stolen content]to convey his feelings. He probably didn’t even know how to prove his worth when he felt useless.
Therefore, everything could be seen as the result of his desperation to be incorporated into the royal family as a relative in any way possible.
As evidence, Euro Leches never harmed Clope’s fiancé who was in Norden. It was as if it didn’t matter at all, as long as she remained in Norden.
Until she became Gail’s lover, Euro probably felt it was fine as long as Clope was in Norden, because there would be someone who regarded him as family.
“My sister had a designated fiancé since she was young. At the time, I just accepted it.”
Euro spoke his conjecture as if it were a fact. Since the original Euro Leches was nowhere to be found to solve this problem, and he had become Euro Leches, it was unavoidable.
“But that fiancé broke off the engagement and married someone else. He lost his mind after finding out that the Crown Prince had orchestrated it. He was terrified that my sister would leave for Paltreon.”
“No, how is that possible?”
“He spread rumors that made the engagement impossible to maintain.”
“…”
“Since the other side couldn’t arbitrarily break the engagement with my sister, he created a scandal that left them no choice. For that man.”
“…”
“Now you understand, right? Covering rumors with rumors and creating non-existent scandals is the Crown Prince’s specialty. I just have to sit back and watch.”
Gail had not left a single flaw on Clope. Thus, Euro’s situation would also be resolved quickly.
Euro stretched own deeply and leaned back into the sofa. Dent still had a strange expression, but this explanation was sufficient.
Anyway, once he went to the capital banquet, it didn’t matter what Melione thought of him. In fact, it would be even better if Melione misunderstood that he still had feelings for Clope.
Since he was even building a temple, wouldn’t it be easier to prove the legitimacy of a divorce if they were thoroughly disgusted with each other? Euro didn’t mind, as he planned to persuade Larry one way or another before then.
‘Once the Relics of Yanli are showcased during the festival, curiosity about me will grow. What card should I play next?’
Euro thought to himself, then suddenly looked at Dent and spoke.
“Don’t go straight to the mansion; let’s go to Madam Diena’s.”
“Pardon?”
“I need to buy white clothes to wear during the festival. I think I’ve lost weight; my clothes feel too big.”
“…”
“Drop me off at the salon first, and then go to the place I tell you and bring someone back.”
“…Are you planning to call the Duke?”
“No.”
Euro waved his hand as if to say, What are you talking about? Then, he smiled at Dent.
“If you go to the central plaza, there’ll be a clown who gets beaten up by kids. Bring him here in my name.”
“Pardon?”
“If he refuses, tell him this.”
“…”
“Tell him that if he doesn’t come, you’ll leak everything about his identity.”
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