Chapter 1074: 61. Rumors
“Now that the measurements are collected, hurry up and get to work. What did the tailoring team say?”
Pink Bear continued asking questions.
“They said they might not make it in time. Her Majesty’s deadline is too tight.”
The man wiped sweat from his forehead.
“Then let them sleep two hours less! Have the medical division support them! The royal family’s been feeding those people for years—don’t tell me they can’t even cast spells to keep people awake for a few days! And remember, we absolutely cannot assign more personnel now. If we start pulling in additional tailors from the city, the chances of a leak will skyrocket! Her Majesty will never allow that, understand?”
“Understood! I’ve already informed them accordingly! The other divisions said the same thing as well—they’ll definitely complete the mission within the designated tim—cough, cough, cough... t-timeframe!”
The man pounded his chest while making the promise, only to start coughing violently from sheer exhaustion.
“Good.”
Pink Bear’s tone softened slightly.
He grabbed a small box from nearby and tossed it over.
“Eat it. Until the mission is complete, you’re not allowed to die.”
“This is...”
The man opened the box and was instantly dazzled by the rich fragrance and brilliant golden glow inside. His exhaustion and weakness were almost completely swept away in an instant.
His heart shook violently.
Using something this precious merely to stay awake...
Then if the mission succeeded...
“Relax. As long as the mission succeeds, the rewards will absolutely satisfy you. Her Majesty values this operation extremely highly, and she definitely won’t be stingy. Understood?”
“Understood!”
The man crookedly saluted.
The originally weak office worker now looked like a starving wolf.
“Go forth! Wolf Number One! Go make the pack move!”
“Yes, sir!”
Wolf Number One immediately broke into another frantic run and disappeared.
Pink Bear watched his retreating back before glancing down at the progress listed in the documents, inwardly marveling once again at the power of collective effort.
Though for a certain someone, such rapid progress meant...
“Heh. That brat’s happy days are almost over. Though honestly, there’s no need to wait. Since Phyllis already locked him up, he’s probably sitting there completely lost, legs shaking from fear by now.”
Pink Bear leaned his head back and leisurely exhaled a smoke ring, delighting in the thought of Muen suffering.
Hmph.
Selling his pornographic magazines behind his back?
Did the brat think his magazines were so easy to sell?
That came with a price!
“Maybe I should use this opportunity to cause him a little more trouble? Don’t some places have traditions like that? Letting him off this easily feels—”
“You really have that much free time?”
A cold voice suddenly sounded out.
The bone-piercing chill accompanying it made Pink Bear jolt violently. He instantly crushed out the cigar, hid the magazine, straightened his posture, and shouted loudly in one fluid motion:
“I was not secretly smoking cigars or reading porn magazines! My dear, you’ve misunderstood!”
“...?”
A pair of icy eyes narrowed slightly.
Celicia looked at Pink Bear with a faint smile that wasn’t truly a smile.
“It seems the former Saintess has trained you rather well.”
“Damn it, so it’s just little Thea!”
Pink Bear let out a long sigh of relief while patting his pounding chest.
“Damn imperial authority. You completely erased your presence. I thought that tigress had come back and nearly scared me to death.”
“The former Saintess hasn’t returned, so this is how leisurely you become?”
Celicia’s expression darkened slightly.
“I told you to handle actual work, and instead you’re slacking off here?”
“Slacking off? Where?! Little Thea—no, Your Majesty is slandering this old man!”
Pink Bear pounded his chest dramatically with a face full of grievance.
“Look how late it already is, and I’m still here supervising all this nonsense for you! I’m old, my health’s terrible, and I’m constantly oppressed by some vicious tigress. I’ve suffered through wind and rain, and if I—”
“Silence.”
Celicia cut him off coldly.
“Keep rambling and I really will send you to work.”
“Please don’t.”
Pink Bear immediately shrank back and laughed awkwardly.
“With that workload, I might genuinely die from overwork.”
Producing so many things within such a short timeframe—and under total isolation from the outside world to prevent information leaks...
Pink Bear felt that even a Crowned-level being like himself would lose an entire layer of skin from exhaustion.
Yet for the hundreds, perhaps thousands, of people currently inside the palace, racing against time was now the single most important thing in the world.
Because this was a direct order issued by Her Majesty at enormous expense.
It was also preparation for the beginning of a grand ceremony.
For those tiny cogs within the machine, the work was both painful and glorious.
And most importantly—
The rewards afterward would be enough to guarantee comfort for the rest of their lives.
“Though honestly, there’s something I still don’t understand.”
“What?”
“Is all this really necessary?”
Pink Bear sneakily shuffled closer to Celicia while massaging her shoulders in an ingratiating manner to stop her from tattling to that tigress later.
Then he sighed:
“If you ask me, we should’ve just had me knock him unconscious directly. You two finish the business, and wouldn’t everything be solved? Was there really a need to mobilize things to this extent? Damn it, if foreign spies saw the state of the palace right now, they’d think you weren’t satisfied after beating the Kingdom and were preparing to conquer the entire continent next.”
“Necessary? Of course it’s necessary.”
Celicia stood with her hands behind her back, expression cold and aloof like a snow lotus blooming atop a frozen mountain.
Yet deep within those icy blue eyes, something flickered.
Imagined scenes intertwined endlessly within her thoughts, stirring her emotions.
“Of course I could settle everything quickly. An ordinary ceremony wouldn’t require much time at all. But... what then?”
“What then?”
Pink Bear scratched his head.
“Wouldn’t that already solve everything? There’s more after that?”
“Of course there is.”
Celicia sneered coldly.
“I can settle it quickly. But what about those other shameless women? They could do the same. Knocking him unconscious and finding a priest to read vows aloud is something anyone could accomplish.”
In fact, if not for certain complications involving identities—and because a certain damned yellow-haired idiot kept running everywhere and meddling in endless trouble—
Someone might have done it long ago already.
“So for me, what matters absolutely isn’t some simple ceremony completed as quickly as possible.”
She raised her head.
Her ice-blue eyes gazed toward the horizon.
Those women had all been separated from him through arrangements she personally made. They were scattered across distant places now, far from his side.
Yet those distances that seemed so vast were not truly impossible for them to cross.
In fact, crossing them would be easy.
After all, she understood better than anyone just how troublesome those women were.
She had already clashed with them repeatedly.
She had even suffered losses at their hands not long ago.
So according to Pink Bear’s logic, finishing things as quickly as possible truly did seem like the safest choice.
But...
No.
It wasn’t.
Because that would be meaningless.
To her, this was not merely a ceremony.
Not merely a proclamation.
Not merely an act that would leave those other women gnashing their teeth in helpless rage.
Most importantly—
She wanted to announce it to the entire world.
He belonged to her.
She possessed the greatest legal authority.
The most rightful identity.
The unquestionable qualification to stand at his side.
As for everyone else...
They were nothing more than wildflowers growing by the roadside.
As long as she lived, those women would forever only deserve to lurk in corners untouched by sunlight, carrying out dirty little affairs in secret.
Therefore—
The ceremony could not be simple.
It had to be grand.
Luxurious.
The center of the world’s attention.
It had to become something known across the entire world.
All of her arrangements.
All of her effort.
Even her previous restraint.
Everything had been for this.
“Yeah? Sounds like you, all right. Still stubborn as ever...”
Pink Bear stopped massaging her shoulders and casually scratched his bear butt.
“In that case, I suppose I should actually contribute something for real too.”
“Where are you going?”
Celicia frowned as she watched Pink Bear preparing to leave. The whole reason she’d made him sit here handling logistics was because she feared he’d run off and cause chaos.
“Relax. I’m not only capable of making trouble.”
Pink Bear turned around and waved a paw with exaggerated swagger.
“It’s just that since this is the thing my dearest little Thea values most, I should take it a little seriously too. No matter what, I’m part of the bride’s side here. At a time like this... I can’t just remain some useless guest watching from the sidelines.”
...
...
Evening.
Belrand.
Lower District.
Night had gradually spread across the city, yet the streets remained crowded and lively.
Unlike Saint Blancfazesiya, which was still recovering its vitality, Belrand’s streets had remained bustling even during the harshest periods of war.
People moved busily back and forth, all struggling to make a living before darkness fully descended.
“Sir, we just got some excellent new liquor in stock! Care to come have a taste?”
Outside a shabby tavern, a scantily dressed woman called out to passersby. She desperately squeezed together her shriveled chest, trying to recreate the fullness of her younger years.
Unfortunately, time was cruel.
No matter how much she squeezed, they still resembled little more than dried slabs of meat.
“Tavern?”
A plainly dressed man—ordinary enough to vanish into any crowd—stopped outside the entrance.
As he raised his head, a square-faced appearance was revealed.
“This seems like a perfect place to complete Lady Anna’s assignment.”
“Would you like to come in, sir? Besides drinks, we also offer special services.”
The woman hurried closer with a professional smile.
“No need for the services. I’m only here for a drink.”
The square-faced man—
Or rather, Jinze, the current acting head of the Silent Bureau headquarters—
directly brushed past the woman and entered the tavern.
“Tch. No taste. Looks like a poor bastard.”
Jinze ignored the woman’s insults.
The moment he pushed open the door, the smell of alcohol mixed with sweat rushed toward him nauseatingly.
He swept his gaze around.
Chaos and disorder filled his vision. Men’s laughter and women’s shrill voices stabbed painfully into his ears.
Most people gathering in taverns at this hour were idle drifters or people waiting for nightfall—because nighttime was when their real work began.
But places like this were also where information spread fastest.
And where intelligence was easiest to gather.
That was exactly why Jinze had come.
Actually, as a high-ranking member of the Silent Bureau, Jinze should never have needed to personally handle this sort of task.
Unfortunately, most of the Bureau’s intelligence personnel had been reassigned outward during wartime, leaving Belrand headquarters with far weaker local awareness than usual.
That was why, after receiving Anna’s orders, he had no choice but to personally make this trip.
“Though honestly, I doubt anything will come of it. Belrand’s been so peaceful lately. What could possibly happen?”
Jinze sighed inwardly, thinking Lady Anna was being overly cautious.
Still, an order was an order.
And he would complete it properly.
After quietly taking in the surroundings, Jinze quickly selected his target.
He adjusted his clothes, pinned an ordinary-looking button to his chest, then calmly walked toward a table in the corner.
More than ten people surrounded it, seemingly a small group passionately discussing something.
“Hey! Isn’t this what’s-his-name?”
Suddenly, one of them stood up and enthusiastically grabbed Jinze by the arm.
“What took you so long? We’ve been waiting!”
“Sorry.”
Jinze smiled calmly.
“Something delayed me.”
“Ah, no problem! We’re brothers here!”
The man carelessly dragged Jinze into the group.
The others initially looked confused, but the button on Jinze’s chest flashed faintly, and all their confusion instantly transformed into warmth and familiarity.
“What’s-his-name! You’re late! Drink first as punishment!”
“That’s right! Drink! Drink!”
A cup of strong liquor was shoved into Jinze’s hand. Without hesitation, he drained it in one gulp.
The group burst into applause and laughter.
It was as though Jinze truly belonged among them, as though they were close friends who had known each other for years.
Even though none of them could actually remember his name.
“Right, where was I?”
After welcoming the newly arrived “friend,” the group resumed their earlier discussion.
“That thing. Hasn’t it already spread privately all over the city lately?”
“Exactly! That thing about the famous Duke’s son, Muen Campbell!”
“...Muen Campbell?”
The moment Jinze heard that familiar name, his pupils contracted sharply.
Why were they discussing him?
Could it be...
Had Lady Anna’s intuition been correct?
Was something major involving Muen Campbell really about to happen in Belrand?
Thinking this, Jinze focused more intently on the conversation.
The man who had spoken earlier lowered his voice dramatically and asked the others in a mysterious tone:
“So continuing from before... do you think the rumor’s true?”
“I think it might be. After all, it’s Muen Campbell we’re talking about...”
“Yeah, exactly! If it’s Muen Campbell, then it’s {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} definitely possible!”
“But... it still sounds unbelievable. Sure, he’s a famous playboy, but would he really surrender that easily? For something this important, shouldn’t he at least struggle a little?”
“T-That... we don’t know...”
“???”
Jinze became more and more confused.
Muen Campbell?
Playboy?
Surrender?
What the hell were they talking about?
“What exactly happened?”
At last, Jinze could not stop himself from asking.
“Huh? You don’t know?”
The others stared at him as though he were some naked pervert running through the streets.
“I... I’ve been busy lately, so I haven’t paid much attention to outside news.”
Jinze maintained a straight face while lightly touching the button on his chest.
“As expected of what’s-his-name! Total workaholic!”
The man who had dragged Jinze into the group slapped the table loudly.
“It’s nothing major. Just a little rumor about Muen Campbell.”
“A rumor?”
“Yeah. You know he was recently arrested and thrown into prison after being impeached, right?”
Jinze: ???
Impeached?
Thrown into prison?
Who the hell are you talking about?
Muen Campbell?
The guy whose backing in Belrand was harder than diamond itself?
He got arrested?
“Honestly, the arrest itself isn’t the interesting part. Apparently some major figure connected to House Campbell deliberately set him up. No idea if that part’s true, but we’re just here for the entertainment. What everyone really cares about is...”
The man lowered his voice dramatically.
“Apparently while being interrogated, Muen Campbell revealed a shocking secret! The whole city’s excited over it right now!”
“A shocking secret?”
Jinze sucked in a cold breath.
A secret revealed by imprisoned Muen Campbell...
One that shocked all of Belrand...
Could it be that he’d finally exposed his relationships with all those beautiful girls—
“That’s right! Apparently Muen Campbell secretly buried ten thousand dirty magazines somewhere underground in Belrand! Everyone who’s heard the rumor is going crazy trying to find the secret stash personally hidden by the Duke’s son!”
The man slammed the table excitedly once again.
“......”
Jinze: ???