It Turned Out She Wasn't a Favored Concubine - Episode 25

Suddenly, I felt tears welling up. I folded my arms and laid my head on the table.

All I could see was darkness.

It felt like my future.

I squeezed my eyes shut to avoid seeing it, but the darkness didn’t go away.

As I kept my head buried on the table, Giscal panicked and shouted.

“What’s wrong? Hey!”

He didn’t dare touch me, instead flitting around noisily and fussing.

He was truly clueless.

At times like this, it’s best to just leave someone alone, but he was severely lacking in empathy.

His voice was annoying, but I stayed silent, afraid that if I opened my mouth, I’d start crying.

“Why are you acting like this all of a sudden? Hey! Hey!”

But Perlo didn’t give up and kept calling out to me.

He was relentlessly persistent.

I regretted not just crying outright, and then Perlo said something absurd.

“Did you… die? Should I call someone…?”

“No!”

I suddenly lifted my head.

“Are you crazy? What if someone comes here? Do you want to be chased by the Empire for treason? Do you know how hard I worked to smooth over the last incident?”

When I shouted, Perlo, who had almost reached the door, flinched and tried to explain.

“You collapsed on the table looking half-dead, so I thought you’d lost consciousness. If you were awake, you should’ve answered sooner. Why didn’t you respond?”

“You did the same thing before, remember? You ignored me three times.”

I ground my teeth, recalling my first encounter with Perlo.

“When did I… Wait, you…”

Perlo’s expression subtly changed.

The panic faded, and he bit his lip as if trying to suppress something.

“What is it?”

“Your face… Hrk.”

He was stifling laughter.

“What? What’s so funny?”

“Pffft, hrk.”

“I said, what’s so funny? Just laugh already and get it over with.”

At my words, Perlo moved the book that had been covering his face and burst into loud laughter.

He laughed so hard I worried the people upstairs might hear. Eventually, he quieted down and pointed at my forehead.

I reached up and touched it.

I felt slightly bumpy ridges. I looked at the table I’d been leaning on and saw ornate patterns decorating its edge.

Back in school, friends who napped with their heads on their desks always ended up with reddish marks on their foreheads during class.

Now, my forehead must have a bright, ridiculous floral pattern imprinted on it. No wonder he laughed.

I hurriedly rubbed my forehead, then chuckled faintly, infected by Perlo’s laughter.

Talking nonsense with Perlo had lifted my mood.

“Sorry for the sudden emotional outburst. I must’ve scared you.”

Perlo waved it off.

“Hmph, it’s fine. I haven’t laughed that hard in ages.”

I caught my breath and asked,

“One more thing. Is that child recovering well?”

“Better than before. And I’m not just focused on that child. I’ve been sending people to the Kingdom of Jaren to find other children in similar situations.”

“You think there are more like that child?”

Children with specially crafted Motus, born with the potential to become Motus artisans?

Even hearing Perlo’s explanation, I felt that meeting that child had been a miracle.

Surely such miracles wouldn’t happen repeatedly.

Surely there weren’t many children like that.

But my logical assumptions were shattered by Perlo’s response.

“There were more.”

I blinked, and Perlo held up four fingers.

“Four more children with similar Motus were found. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to see them myself.”

“What? Why? You didn’t go see them?”

“Before I could, Imperial soldiers took them away.”

The more he explained, the more confused I became.

Before I could express my shock, Perlo quickly continued, as if anticipating my thoughts.

“The people who found the children said the soldiers claimed they were taking war orphans to an orphanage. But that doesn’t make sense. Why would the Empire care for Jaren’s orphans? I investigated, and the Empire hasn’t even established orphanages for Jaren citizens.”

I opened my mouth in surprise.

Perlo, usually so scatterbrained, had done some serious digging. When it came to Motus, he was reliable.

“I’m not even sure those soldiers were really Imperial. In wartime, anyone can get their hands on an Imperial uniform. And they always get to the children just before I do? That’s too much of a coincidence.”

Perlo shook his head. His theory made sense.

It couldn’t be a coincidence.

“Not just one, but four children. There must be some organized effort behind this. Like I said earlier, maybe Jaren was secretly researching special crafting techniques. Someone from there could be taking the children.”

“But Jaren lost the war, didn’t they?”

“They weren’t completely destroyed. A distant royal relative ascended the throne, so the kingdom still exists.”

“Hmm… So something’s happening behind the scenes in Jaren?”

I stroked my chin. But we had too little information.

Perlo seemed to agree, raising both hands in resignation.

“For now, it’s all speculation. That’s why I keep sending people to Jaren to investigate. But hiring people every time isn’t easy.”

“Why?”

“Tsk tsk, typical noble. Ever heard of labor costs? I barely have enough money for my research, let alone hiring a bunch of people.”

The greatest Motus artisan of our time was complaining about money in front of a commoner.

“Seriously? What happened to the 500 million drangs you earned last time? That should’ve solved your financial problems for life.”

At my remark, Perlo’s eyebrows shot up.

“I told you, I already spent that! Do you know how expensive Motus research is? You need Motus to study it, and Motus doesn’t just fall from the sky. Whether you buy it or search for it, it costs a fortune.”

“So that auction was just to raise funds?”

“Of course. If I had enough money, I’d never bother with such annoying stuff.”

The recent book I read about Perlo Shanaire had described him accurately. A true Motus artisan devoted solely to research.

But still—he spent 500 million drangs in such a short time?

I looked at him skeptically, and he avoided my gaze.

“…I used it to pay off debt.”

“What kind of debt costs 500 million drangs?”

“I don’t know. It just piled up. Plus, I got scammed a few times when I was younger…”

Unbelievable. Someone had managed to scam the greatest Motus artisan of our time.

“So if you had money, you’d focus solely on research?”

“Absolutely. But that’s just a dream. I can’t split myself in two.”

“I heard the Empire provides substantial support for Motus artisans.”

Perlo shrugged.

“You think the Empire gives out free support? If you accept it, you have to help with Imperial projects. And the current emperor is infamous for squeezing people dry.”

I imagined Erich, always smiling kindly, but now I could see how he might exploit others behind that facade.

He was good at hiding his true intentions, so it made sense he could manipulate anyone.

The real problem was Perlo.

He was the only one who might help me return to my original world, yet he was too broke to focus on his research…

Well, before I became Arne, I too had lived paycheck to paycheck. I understood his frustration.

But since becoming Arne, that hadn’t been an issue.

Just once, I had to think hard to pay the palace servants their bonuses, but I’d earned a fortune at the auction. I still had a mountain of gold bars.

Shiny, golden, dazzling gold bars…

Wait. Something clicked.

“Huh?”

“What?”

Perlo responded indifferently to my sudden exclamation.

I followed my flash of inspiration and made a proposal.

“I’ll invest in you!”

“What?”

Perlo raised his eyebrows.

“I’m rich. I’ll fund you so you can focus on your research.”

“…You? Investing in me?”

“Yep. I’ve got plenty of gold bars lying around.”

“G-Gold bars? How many?”

“Hmm… Enough to fill the space between those bookshelves?”

Perlo stared at the empty space I pointed to. For a long time.

Then, in a slightly trembling voice, he said,

“I won’t believe it until I see it.”

Such a suspicious man.

To clear his doubts, I needed Motus.

I received a level-4 Dimotus from Perlo and used it to teleport to the warehouse where the gold was stored.

Perlo had to return to his lab first, but to avoid being seen, teleportation was the only option.

In the treasure vault of Arlin Palace, a red glow shimmered.

Perlo stared at the mountain of gold bars before him, his face flushed with excitement. He clasped his hands together solemnly.

“Investor. Shall we begin the detailed discussion right away?”

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