It Turned Out She Wasn't a Favored Concubine - Episode 34

Today was the day I was supposed to meet Perlo. As the evening sun dipped behind the imperial palace, I made my way lightly toward the palace library.

Earlier around lunchtime, I had been invited by Marian to visit Maron Palace and enjoy a meal together.

Maron Palace, a small residence on the outskirts of the imperial grounds, was usually quiet and sparsely populated, which I found quite pleasant.

How wonderful it is to spend time without hearing people’s gossip.

The joy of finding someone in the palace with whom I could speak freely was immense.

I discreetly observed whether the maids at Maron Palace treated Marian with the same disregard that other noble ladies often received. Thankfully, there was no sign of that. The maids were respectful and served their mistress well. They didn’t seem overly afraid of me either, which was a relief.

Even now, outside of Arlin Palace, most maids trembled in fear around me. I felt sorry for them, but it was also incredibly stressful for me. However, perhaps due to their ignorance of the rumors, the maids at Maron Palace treated me not as a villainess, but simply as another consort.

On the way back to my own palace, Louis pouted that I had stayed too long, but aside from that, it had been a very satisfying day.

Still, despite the good mood, it was hard to keep smiling at Perlo, who told me he had already spent the gold bars I gave him just a few days ago.

“You’ve already used it all?”

Wasn’t that enough gold for a commoner to live comfortably for a lifetime? And he spent it all in less than a month?

“I told you, Motus itself is expensive. I used it all to buy Motus for experiments. Now it’s about what results I can produce with those precious materials. What about you?”

“I hired people and sent them to the Kingdom of Zaren to spread out. There’s a mercenary group that specializes in this kind of work, so it went smoothly. Though it cost a lot.”

“Come on, you’ve got gold to spare. Don’t exaggerate.”

“I don’t have a pouch that endlessly produces gold, you know? So, do you think the research will go well?”

“How would I know now? Like I said, Motus research is a battle of patience.”

“Ah, of course it is.”

I shrugged. Perlo and I had made a deal through gold. I would fund his research and gather rumors related to Motus in Zaren, and in return, he would share all his findings with me.

Perlo had been thrilled to receive the gold but also worried I was giving too much. He warned that Motus research wouldn’t yield results overnight and that no one could guarantee the book on new crafting techniques would contain what I was looking for.

Since he didn’t know why I was so desperate for Motus research, he had many concerns. Understandably, it would be difficult if a wealthy investor grew impatient with slow results. But I told him not to worry and to focus solely on his research.

“I’ve prepared most of the materials, so I’ll dive into the research as soon as I return. When I’m focused, I tend to ignore everything else, so I might not be in touch for a while.”

“That’s a good attitude. You need that kind of focus to get results.”

I nodded, praising him.

I knew from experience that when Perlo got absorbed in something, he ignored everything else. It hadn’t been a pleasant experience at the time, but as a sponsor, I couldn’t help but be pleased with his dedication.

“What? That sounded sarcastic.”

“No, not at all. I meant I’m looking forward to it.”

“Whether it’s good or bad, I’ll let you know once I have results. In preparation for that…”

Perlo pulled out a red cloth pouch from his coat.

“It’s a hassle to keep scheduling meetings, right? So I crafted a third-level Motus. It’s unaffected by the palace’s Motus-blocking barrier.”

He proudly pulled out a small, red, square Motus shard from the pouch and handed it to me. His chin was practically pointing skyward, as if expecting applause, but I didn’t feel the need to indulge him.

I raised an eyebrow and asked, “If it’s just for communication, wouldn’t a second-level Motus be better?”

My cool response made Perlo’s face darken slightly.

“Second-level Motus has to stay nearby. I’m too busy with research to deal with unexpected voices popping in. It’s better to exchange notes using third-level Motus.”

“Ah…”

So he intended to use the third-level Motus like an old-fashioned messaging device. I had only thought of it for transporting heavy objects, but his explanation made sense.

“That does sound better. I’ll wait for your message then.”

I reached out to take the red pouch, but Perlo frowned.

“Hey, this Motus ignores the palace barrier and covers a huge distance—from here to my lab, which is practically half the empire. It could fetch over 100 million Drangs at auction.”

“Sure, it’s expensive. But it’s not my money, so I’m not that impressed.”

“…Ha.”

Perlo blinked at me for a moment, then sighed.

“Are you clueless or just dumb?”

“What did you say?”

Calling me dumb—what kind of insult was that? I raised my eyebrows, and Perlo flinched.

“Ahem, think of it as your Motus. A token of appreciation for your investment.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, well, I’ll be needing more gold from you anyway. You don’t seem interested in jewelry, so I figured Motus would be better.”

“You’re really giving it to me? Thanks!”

“Yeah, even if I had to spell it out for you.”

Perlo rubbed his forehead, looking tired. Just as his smooth skin began to return, I asked:

“Wouldn’t it be a complete gift if you gave me the other half of the Dimotus too?”

His forehead wrinkled again.

“…After I share the research results. You’re not seriously asking me to waste precious research time crafting another third-level Motus, are you?”

I waved my hands.

“Haha, of course not. Just joking.”

“Hmm… I’m not so sure. You’re a noble lady from a wealthy marquis family and a consort, yet you’re so obsessed with money.”

Perlo gave me a suspicious look as I pretended to clean my ear.

“I’ll keep it safe. I’ve got plenty of time, so I can check for notes daily. If you leave something, I’ll reply by the next day at the latest.”

“Right, I’m the one who’s busy. Then…”

Knock knock knock

Perlo and I turned toward the door at the same time. Thankfully, it was firmly shut and locked.

Who could it be? I had told the librarians and maids to wait until I came down. Hopefully, it wasn’t Erich.

“Who’s there?”

Perlo wasn’t supposed to be here. I stepped forward and asked. The voice that replied was, thankfully, not Erich’s.

“It’s Marian!”

An unexpected visitor…

“What? Wait, what?”

“I went to Arlin Palace, but Lady Arne had gone to the library, so I came to look around too.”

Her innocent voice floated through the door crack. If it had been a librarian or maid, I could’ve ordered them away, but I couldn’t treat Marian like that.

“Who is it?” Perlo mouthed silently.

I replied briefly, “Fourth consort,” and waved my hands to signal him to leave quickly. Perlo handed me the red pouch and touched the red Motus hidden among the research books.

I blocked the door crack with my body to prevent any red light from escaping. My shadow briefly flickered across the door before vanishing.

“Lady Arne?”

Marian called out curiously, and I quickly unlocked the door. She was practically pressed against it and stumbled inside as it opened.

“Whoa!”

“Careful.”

She regained her balance and looked around the dense archive.

Packed shelves and even more packed research materials. While Marian looked around in wonder, I quickly closed the book containing the red Motus.

“Wow, I’ve never been in a dense archive like this. Is this the one you mentioned before?”

“Yes. Hohoho. I was so impressed by your knowledge last time, I thought I’d study more myself.”

“I still have a long way to go.”

Marian wandered in and out of the narrow shelves, showing great interest.

It was as if she had come to the library specifically to look at Motus-related materials. But hadn’t she just said she visited Arlin Palace?

“Did you have something to discuss when you went to Arlin Palace?”

We had spent a lot of time together over lunch today. Visiting again suggested she had a reason. But Marian shook her head confidently.

“No, I didn’t have any particular reason. I just wanted to spend more time with you. And since you were at the library, I thought it worked out perfectly. We promised to visit the library together, remember? So I followed you. I had to wait a bit upstairs to get permission, though.”

I paused for a moment, thinking of Lean, who had guided me to the dense archive.

I hadn’t heard from Giscal yet whether Lean had recovered. My expression must have darkened, because Marian blinked and asked:

“Did I interrupt something?”

I didn’t want to worry her unnecessarily, so I forced a smile.

“No, of course not. Friends don’t interrupt each other.”

Marian blinked her golden eyes and beamed.

“Right! We’re friends! It feels so good to hear that again!”

“Haha, me too.”

Support