24-Hour Hoebinghwan Consultation Office — Episode 13
At Laura’s decision, Tom nodded.
“You stay behind and take care of the things I mentioned earlier.”
“……Will you be all right?”
A trace of worry crossed Tom’s usually indifferent face.
Laura hitched up her shoulders and raised her chin slightly.
“Do you think I’m going to go around losing to just anyone?”
“True, you have strength to spare. Just don’t break anything in the palace and end up having to pay compensation. The family has no money.”
“Ha…… Damn money.”
Unlike Laura’s gloomy face, Tom added with a look of complete relief.
“I won’t worry. You’ve learned plenty, after all.”
Laura showed a smile instead of answering.
“Ever since you were young, saying you’d try out everything from the records in real life, you’ve done all sorts of martial arts and strange—”
Her smile twisted.
“Tom.”
“Yes, yes. I’ll stop.”
Tom stopped muttering and asked Laura.
“I shouldn’t bring weapons into the Crown Prince’s Palace, right?”
“I suppose so? The Emperor’s Palace was the same.”
For the record, aside from a single visit to the Emperor’s Palace when she inherited the title of Count, Laura had never been to the Imperial Palace.
It was a fact that plainly showed the position of Count Rien’s house.
‘Now I’ll be bustling in and out constantly.’
No matter how secretly the Crown Prince sought out Laura, her visits to the Crown Prince’s Palace would surely become rumors. She was worried about that, but she couldn’t very well not see her client.
“Hehe, splendid.”
Beside her, Tom smiled like a fox, his eyes gleaming, but Laura ignored him with ease.
Soon, having finished her preparations, she climbed into the carriage.
“Let’s depart.”
“Yes.”
* * *
“A Teleportation Circle?”
“Yes. That’s correct.”
Laura was currently in a densely populated commoners’ district, not the Imperial Palace.
Entering the small single-story house, she saw a sparse interior with only a few tables and chairs placed about.
Alongside them, a Teleportation Circle sat nearby.
‘…A Teleportation Circle must be expensive.’
Just then, the person who had been on the coachman’s seat approached.
“Are you the mage?”
“Yes.”
“I suppose this is how you get to where he is.”
“That is correct.”
The mage bowed his head apologetically.
“I am sorry to have to receive you in this manner. Please understand that we had no choice but to use this method today.”
…He’s being excessively humble.
Laura felt strangely embarrassed by the mage’s demeanor, which displayed a courtesy far beyond that of simply dealing with a Count.
She quickly spoke.
“Well, the palace must be in chaos right now.”
At Laura’s words, a strange gleam flickered for a moment in the eyes of the knight standing behind her.
“Then I shall escort you.”
“Are you not coming?”
Laura asked the knight who remained behind alone.
“Yes. I must guard this place.”
“I see.”
*Rumble—*
As Laura stood beside the mage, the Teleportation Circle vibrated.
“You may feel motion sickness for a moment.”
“I see.”
The mage briefly bowed at Laura’s reply and then activated the magic.
*Flash—*
Along with a brilliant light, the mage and Laura vanished from inside the house.
The knight who was left alone watched the light of the Teleportation Circle fade and let out a small sigh.
“…He has changed.”
The Crown Prince who had awoken from his coma was somehow different.
His nature had not changed to become ferocious.
He had simply become cold and calm. And he was relentless—
“No, no.”
The knight decided to think no further about his lord.
Instead, he thought of something else.
“Unexpected.”
Laura Rien.
A figure infamous, if famous.
The last direct descendant of a good-for-nothing meritorious house falling into ruin.
“…As expected of a meritorious house.”
Count Rien seemed to know something of the happenings in the Imperial Palace.
Moreover, she had recognized the Teleportation Circle at a glance. It was a family known to have no money for such things.
‘She has informants by her side, and her knowledge is broad.’
And though he didn’t know the circumstances, she had made the Crown Prince seek her out personally.
Before coming to find the Count Rien family, he had checked some brief information.
‘I was told she attended the Noble Assembly?’
And today His Highness the Crown Prince was looking for Count Rien?
“…Something is happening.”
The knight, having worked in the Imperial Palace for many years, could sense that something was unfolding in the Klan Empire, though he knew not what.
* * *
*Flash.*
Laura, who had closed her eyes against the bright light, felt her body float briefly before realizing she was standing on solid ground once more.
‘Hm.’
Her stomach churned.
“Are you all right?”
Laura simply nodded in response to the mage’s question from beside her.
‘I’ve experienced teleportation once before.’
Her grandfather, the previous head of the family, had saved money wherever possible and spent it on Laura. He had made it possible for her to gain diverse experiences.
“Laura, knowing and experiencing many things will help you. Whether as a counselor or as the family head.”
Laura opened her eyes and replied.
“I am fine.”
At that moment, a familiar voice rang out.
“See her in.”
Huh? That’s my client’s voice?
She turned her gaze toward the source of the voice.
“I shall take my leave.”
As the mage answered softly and headed for the door, Laura caught sight of someone sitting on a sofa.
‘My client.’
Ion, who was possessing Crown Prince Diante, was looking at Laura with a book in his hand.
*Creak, click.*
The sound of the mage exiting the study and closing the door was heard.
“Is this a study?”
“Yes. This is the First Study in the Crown Prince’s Palace.”
“Hm.”
As Laura glanced around while letting out a low hum, Ion pointed to the opposite sofa and spoke.
“Since it’s just the two of us, please make yourself comfortable. Also, I am comfortable speaking formally.”
“Ah, I see.”
Laura had briefly worried about how to handle the Crown Prince’s honorifics.
During their first consultation, they had both used honorifics, but here was the Imperial Palace, and her counterpart was unmistakably the Crown Prince.
Laura approached the Crown Prince, who had noticed this ahead of time and neatly resolved it.
“Sir Ion, are you all right?”
A strange atmosphere drifted across the Crown Prince’s face for a moment.
Ion.
The word Laura had uttered lingered in his mouth.
“If you ask whether I am all right, does that mean you have heard news of me?”
*Tap.* He closed the book he held.
[History of the Klan Empire]
It was none other than an imperial history book.
Besides it, several other books were placed by his side.
[The Significance and History of the Noble Assembly]
[The Great First Emperor, Ren]
Laura skimmed the book titles with her eyes and looked at him.
“Yes. I have heard some news regarding the Crown Prince’s Palace.”
“I see.”
*Tap, tap.* The Crown Prince drummed his fingers on the book cover and opened his mouth.
“Counselor.”
“Yes.”
He did not call her Count Rien.
“Only some memories of Crown Prince Diante come to me, while others do not surface.”
Only then did Laura realize what problem the Crown Prince was facing.
“Originally, in cases of possession, the degree to which the host body’s memories transfer varies.”
She, wearing a robe over a simple dress, took out a white orb from within her clothes.
“Then is there a way to inherit those memories?”
At the Crown Prince’s question, Laura showed an apologetic smile.
“There is no certain method.”
*Hum—*
The white orb under her touch vibrated softly.
“A possessor may have all memories surface at once, or memories may transfer gradually, or it may end with only a portion transferred. There are also cases where no information is given at all.”
“Hm.”
The Crown Prince let out a short hum with an expressionless face. Deep concern was visible in his eyes as he lowered his gaze.
‘Indeed, if the memories are incomplete, adapting here must be difficult.’
Even if the client Ion wishes to return to his original world, he must first adapt to this one.
And that place was the Imperial Palace, not an ordinary household.
‘It must be hard.’
Moreover, he was the Crown Prince with a weak foundation.
‘That is why I must ask all the more.’
Laura opened her mouth with a slightly stiff expression.
“Your Highness.”
The Crown Prince’s eyes lifted.
Long eyelashes fluttered. The blue eyes visible between slightly disheveled silver hair shone beautifully.
It was an utterly pure visage, but the news Laura had heard was far from pure.
“May I ask about what happened today in the Crown Prince’s Palace?”
A strange light flickered in the Crown Prince’s pupils.
‘The Five Great Meritorious Houses.’
While learning about the Empire, he had also been able to find out a few things about Count Rien’s family.
‘Nothing more than a ruined house, prey for ravenous beasts.’
That was what Count Rien’s family was said to be.
Their old mansion was said to reflect their situation. Yet she had found out information this quickly—
“You mean today’s events.”
The Crown Prince met Laura’s gaze. His eyes were truly unwavering and resolute.
“There was one thing I remembered from the original Crown Prince’s memories.”
“Yes.”
Laura composed herself to listen calmly to his words.
“Poisoning.”
But at the word the Crown Prince uttered, she couldn’t help but slightly tense her shoulders.
“The memory of that moment exists.”
The original owner of Ion’s body.
This Crown Prince Diante had shown Ion the memory of right before he lost consciousness from being poisoned.
“It was during a meal, and at that time, there was a closest confidant by my body’s side.”
The Crown Prince had treasured and trusted that confidant greatly.
“He was none other than the vice-captain.”