Chapter 97

Of course it's necessary. It's the decisive evidence proving that the person entitled to the insurance money should be me, not my uncle.

'My uncle has been claiming from the beginning that the late Marquess and his wife designated me as the beneficiary...'

It was solid proof to expose his lies. But at the same time, it was puzzling. How could this document end up in Prince Orca's hands? While I was confused by all these questions, Prince Orca added,

"This is the genuine original. It's an unaltered, real document."

His unwavering words only deepened my doubts. Currently, there are only two parties holding my parents' insurance certificate: my uncle and the insurance company. In Korea, you can always reissue an insurance certificate, but in this world, it's not that simple. The concept is rather vague, and especially for documents like insurance certificates, which are treated like contracts, it's considered strange to reissue them. Only the 'original' is important. That's why nobles don't throw away important documents; they build large archives to store the originals, hire dedicated archivists to categorize the documents, and take care to prevent the paper from deteriorating. The Baen Marquess family also has an archive for important documents passed down from generations, but my uncle would never open that space to me. If the beneficiary was really not my uncle, he would have certainly tampered with or destroyed the documents by the time I declared my lawsuit, so I didn't expect anything from that side. After all, no one would keep evidence that could harm themselves, right? So if the insurance certificate Prince Orca has is real, it must have come from the insurance company. But the insurance company would never hand over the certificate to anyone other than the rightful owner. I had already requested the documents from the insurance company and knew this. Even if I explained that my parents had passed away and how the rightful owner could request the documents, they wouldn't listen. They seemed worried that showing the insurance certificate might put them at a disadvantage. No matter how much I tried to persuade them, they would insist, "We processed the payment according to the insurance certificate! We clearly gave the certificate to the rightful owner, so just confirm that. Here's the confirmation that the rightful owner received the certificate!" There was no way around it. So how did Prince Orca end up with this? The more I thought about it, the more suspicious it became. I suspected that he had colluded with the insurance company to manipulate the situation, making it easy for him to obtain the document.

"Please tell me how you got this first."

"Hmm. That means you still doubt me even after I've shown you this."

Prince Orca tilted his head to one side with a strange smile, as if he was in a dilemma.

"It's not difficult to explain the process, but I want to know why the Viscountess is so suspicious of me. You've been wary of me from the start."

"That's... because..."

"And the excuse that you're my fan is also a lie, isn't it?"

His voice, tinged with a small sigh, carried a strange weight. Prince Orca's face looked as if he had just realized a reality he had been avoiding, making me feel strange too. Did he really want me to be his fan? Anyway, now was the time for a more important conversation. To get the truth from Prince Orca, I had to reveal some truth myself. It's a necessary process to get real information.

"I knew that Your Highness wanted to rise to a 'higher position.' I didn't want to be involved in such a terrifying matter, so I wanted to keep my distance..."

"Hmm. How did you know I wanted to rise to a 'higher position'? It's strange to figure that out from our first meeting."

Prince Orca stroked his face with his hand and smiled slyly.

"Or do I have a rebellious look on my face?"

Although he said that, he seemed to know it wasn't true. Prince Orca definitely didn't have the look of someone who would cause a major incident. At some point, he started subtly revealing his ambitions to me. It seemed to be after he realized that the mask he wore for others didn't work on me. He often looked at me as if he was probing me and made dangerous remarks. It was similar to the way he spoke now. His mouth was smiling, but his eyes were sharp. 'I've seen everything in the novel, including your villainous actions to become emperor!' was not a response I could give at this moment, so it was time to come up with a plausible lie.

'I'm not good at lying.'

So I decided to use the strategy of 'redirecting with another truth.'

"I lived quietly, but I was still a Lady of the Marquess family. My parents intended to bring in a son-in-law to take on the role of head of the household. I knew everything my father knew."

This was a subtle way of shifting the blame to my father. It was a clear fact that my parents intended to bring in a son-in-law to take on the role of head of the household, and that my father had told me everything he knew.

'But my father didn't know about Prince Orca's ambitions.'

Probably no one in this world knew that story.

"So, you're saying the Marquess saw through my ambitions?"

It was a wild guess, but from Prince Orca's perspective, it was a plausible misunderstanding. I set the stage to make him feel that way. Without giving any further response, I maintained my silence, and Prince Orca quickly concluded that his guess was correct.

"The late Baen Marquess was also very quiet. Quiet people are the scariest, after all. It's hard to know what they're thinking or what they're up to."

If my father had been a prominent figure in the noble society, Prince Orca wouldn't have believed me. His actions were too obvious. But my father was a quiet and unassuming person, which allowed me to deceive Prince Orca.

"Now that I've explained my reasons, it's your turn to tell me how you got this."

"You're right. It was a deal, after all."

Prince Orca shrugged, looking somewhat relieved that his doubts had been resolved.

"Actually, I didn't use a very complicated method."

"Oh, really?"

"I stole it. From the insurance company's archive."

"......What?"

I thought Prince Orca would have used an elaborate scheme to obtain the document. The simplicity of his method left me speechless.

"Sometimes, the simplest method is the most reliable."

Seeing my stunned reaction, Prince Orca burst out laughing, genuinely amused.

"You don't need to react like that. The day I sent someone to steal the document, your husband also came to raid the insurance company's archive."

"What, what? Ah, Altair?!"

"More precisely, one of his knights. A rather light and frivolous-looking..."

Prince Orca trailed off, as if he couldn't remember the name. Of course, I recognized the knight from his brief description.

"......Cain."

"Ah, yes. That was his name. My subordinate saw him as he was returning with the document. Unfortunately, your husband was a step too late."

Prince Orca smiled, clearly enjoying his victory, and lightly waved the document.

"Isn't it interesting and amusing? Your husband and I came up with similar strategies. I feel we are quite alike."

Feeling a sudden sense of kinship from Prince Orca's words, I snapped to attention. Prince Orca and Altair must not get close! I shook my head quickly to cut off any internal closeness Prince Orca might feel towards Altair.

"Not at all! They are completely different!"

"Really? I think they are quite similar."

Prince Orca narrowed his eyes and tilted his head, as if challenging me to prove otherwise. I started to find differences to convince him.

"Their appearances, personalities... they are completely different."

"Oh, really?"

"Yes. Altair is very intimidating, while Your Highness has a gentle, breezy appearance. And their personalities are completely different. Altair is stubborn to the point of being frustrating, while Your Highness is flexible. They are totally different."

I emphasized these differences to convey, 'You are much better! So don't feel any internal closeness towards my husband!' This seemed to make Prince Orca smile.

"Well, now that you mention it, I suppose they are different."

Just as I was sighing in relief, thinking he had been convinced,

"I'm curious about the Viscount's thoughts on this story."

Prince Orca turned his gaze behind me.

'My, the Viscount's thoughts?'

This felt like Altair had been listening to everything I said from behind... I felt a chill run down my spine, and a cold sensation came from behind.

'It must just be my imagination...'

Altair is out, right? I turned my head hesitantly, and the terrifying presence grew stronger. When I fully turned around, I met Altair's eyes, standing in the study door with a blank expression.

"When did you get here?"

As I panicked, Altair spoke with a cold face.

"I heard about the flexible, gentle prince who committed theft first."

Oh no. Did he hear everything? I was sweating profusely, and Altair turned his gaze to Prince Orca, approaching him. His eyes were fixed on the document in Prince Orca's hand.

"Stolen goods cannot be used as evidence in an official trial."

"True. How could I dare to present stolen goods as evidence in a trial presided over by His Majesty?"

Despite Altair's objection, Prince Orca responded lightly.

"But, you were also trying to do the same thing, weren't you? So, I assume you have the same thoughts on how to use this..."

Prince Orca trailed off, as if probing Altair's thoughts, but Altair only stared silently at Prince Orca. A moment of silence passed between them, broken by Prince Orca's chuckle.

"Of course, stolen goods can't be official evidence... but the courtroom presided over by the Emperor is not the only battlefield."

Prince Orca pushed the document against Altair's chest and leaned in close.

"We can create public opinion with this. Spread rumors, gather allies, and pull the courtroom to our side. Viscount, I'm sure your plan was something like this, right?"

We are thinking exactly the same way. This confidence was evident in Prince Orca's eyes.