episode_0429

“What have you been up to lately? You seem to be absent-minded, and it’s starting to bother me. Why don’t you just stop?”

“I understand the misunderstanding, but that’s not the case.”

“Oh, really~ Have I ever interfered in your affairs? I don’t want to be involved in your work.”

“Then why are you picking a fight again?”

It was obvious to anyone that his wife had come with the intention of picking a fight with him.

“You’ve been spending too much money lately. You can’t even explain where you spent it. You should know that the amount you spent could buy a mansion.”

“A mansion! It’s not that much! And what’s the problem with me spending my own money!”

“You should know that the money you’re spending now is money that our family received as help. It’s money that we can spend because of that.”

Annoying.

“Again with that? Our family had money! How much tax do we get from our land!”

“The reason our land has expanded like this is also because of the help our family received. Thanks to the investments, the tax revenue has increased to this extent. Of course, I’m not trying to disrespect your family. You had money. Just remember that you shouldn’t spend that much money without a care.”

“….”

Whenever his wife said those words, he had nothing to say.

The fact that the family, which had only maintained its status as a small noble family for a long time, could receive the title of a marquis was possible because his wife’s family had pushed for it.

“I’m tired of talking about this again. Do you have to raise your voice like this? Just do as I say. Write down where you spent the money.”

“I have nothing to say. It’s very uncomfortable to be monitored like this in everything I do!”

“Hmph, it seems like you have something to hide. You’re talking like this. Did you perhaps have an affair? Is that why you bought a diamond ring?”

“What?!”

“Judging by your reaction, I even think you might have stolen someone else’s lover.”

She was getting on his nerves by saying such things, knowing that he was seeing a commoner.

“Have I said everything I wanted to say?! I don’t want to come home to this kind of atmosphere!”

“You seem to be jumping around a lot. It seems like I hit a nerve. You were doing well in that area, but now you’re being overshadowed by young nobles.”

Click-

His wife let out a devilish laugh.

He couldn’t sit still anymore.

If he retaliated against his wife with force, he would suffer even more in the long run, so he decided to just leave.

“Where are you going? You don’t even have a lover to meet, so you can’t even go fishing.”

Click!

He wanted to cover his ears.

He had to get out of this dreadful hell.

“Sigh.”

As he left the house, the intense emotions slowly faded away.

Since he had a place he intended to go, he immediately got into a carriage and headed there.

“Welcome, Lord Hutton.”

“I heard the investigation was over, so I came.”

“Yes. Please come inside. I will guide you.”

As they entered the information room, a merchant was waiting to guide him.

There was a table and chairs in a small room, and there were several sheets of paper on the table.

“Is this the information?”

“Yes.”

“Is this all the information on just a few sheets of paper? How much did I give you for this?”

“The amount of information does not necessarily correspond to the price. It depends on the individual’s information, and the difficulty of obtaining it. Also, the fact that the information written here is not false increases the value.”

“If there is any falsehood in the information here?”

“We will refund all the money we received for the request and take on any future requests for free.”

“Hmm, I see. I accept.”

With this level of commitment, he began to believe that there was no falsehood in the information he had obtained.

“I’ll be stepping out for a moment. Please call me if you need anything.”

Information Sang left the room and started reading the investigation report written on the documents in earnest.

“Let’s see…”

The source of the money that he couldn’t explain to his wife was the money he gave to Information Sang.

The information he had asked for was about his former lover and their illegitimate child, which had been a brief but shocking revelation.

“How foolish of me. I should have investigated before leaving that place…”

Would trying to fix a spilled water really make a difference?

The lingering feeling of regret was filled with nothing but a desire for revenge.

He vowed to find out who had mocked him and regretted choosing them.

“Indeed, he was a noble.”

His daughter was an unremarkable awakening user in the healing field, while Negi worked as a shop assistant in the Academy City, where he had encountered that scoundrel.

The problem was the true identity of the shop owner.

“A Marquis? I’m higher. Huh? But Lady Hwangtae personally appointed him?”

Feeling pleased at being a step higher in rank, his expression hardened as he read the following words.

Marquis and Viscount.

Although it was advantageous for him to fight as a Viscount, the fact that Lady Hwangtae had bestowed the title upon him was concerning.

“If Lady Hwangtae personally appointed him, it means he’s from that line…”

Touching the nobility of the Hwangtae line was akin to inviting death.

Wasn’t that line currently gaining momentum?

He had to watch carefully to see if anything would slip, or if it would be harmful to him.

But to provoke a noble personally appointed by Lady Hwangtae?

“Should I ask my wife…?”

As soon as his weakened heart felt weak, the devilish laughter of his wife came to mind.

He was in a situation where he wanted to provoke the man who was once his lover and was now with another woman out of jealousy.

If she found out, his wife would not take his side.

“Damn it…”

Wouldn’t it be better to live without knowing each other?

His weakened heart, unable to summon the anger he had felt at the time, couldn’t resist.

“Let’s meet one more time and decide.”

The shop where Negi worked.

Visiting there and having a serious conversation with her seemed like a good idea.

Maybe she couldn’t open up sincerely because of her daughter?

It was clear that the new father wanted to change his status by marrying a commoner mother.

Being an orphan in a noble circle was no different from being stamped as an illegitimate child.

So, a new father who was doing well in the line must have been necessary.

That’s why he sacrificed Negi.

“Have you checked everything?”

“Yes. If I need anything else, I’ll come back.”

“Yes. But are you trying to take the documents with you? I believe I have already explained that to you.”

“Just a few documents, and I have to pay more to take them? Are you trying to rip me off?!”

“I’m sorry, but it’s not just a few documents. Just by looking at the money the Marquis gave us to see those documents, you can understand.”

“Tsk…”

“Would you like to pay the additional fee and take them with you now?”

“Hmph! You think I’ll pay more for something that’s not even written on them? No way! I’ve already memorized everything, so just give them to me!”

This was why Information Sang was not well-liked.

This place was filled with scammers who would cut off their noses to spite their faces in a situation where people were watching.

“Haha, come again. Marquis Hutton. Information Sang is always open.”

He wouldn’t usually step into the den of scammers.

He wanted to spit on them and leave, but he decided to endure it and move on, thinking of the dignity of a noble.

“The location of the general store…”

Before forgetting the information I had read, it was necessary to write down the important things.

As soon as I left the information store, I briskly walked away.

※ ※ ※

“Did you go?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm~ It’s salty.”

Dealing with information, information merchants.

The reason why their reputation is not good is because their first principle is ‘money’.

“Did you prepare the documents well?”

“Yes. He said he was tightly controlled by his wife in terms of finances, so as expected, he didn’t pay the money.”

“Get rid of the evidence right away.”

“Yes.”

They usually sell accurate information, but sometimes they also sell false information.

Especially when they receive ‘a lot of’ commission in advance like this.

“I should inform them that the mission was successful.”

The words I told the viscount were not all lies.

When the information sold is false, I will return the money received as a commission and take on any mission for free, as promised.

Even so, the information merchant did not suffer any loss at all.

It was because they received even more money.

“Yes.”

From the information merchant’s perspective, selling false information to nobles like the viscount and receiving a large sum of money is a jackpot.

‘I’m a little concerned about that side…’

It was confirmed that the relationship between the husband and wife was not very good.

“Now, do I just need to solve the additional mission?”

The first mission is to inform the viscount of false information.

The second additional mission is to find out the weaknesses of the viscount and his wife.

The first mission was completed, but the second additional mission was still pending.

It is easy to find the viscount’s weaknesses or create weaknesses, but his wife, who has quite an influence in social circles, was difficult.

‘Should I investigate the past?’

The ‘past’ was a gold mine for the information merchant.

It was unreasonable to think that nobles lived a life without weaknesses.

Therefore, by digging into the past, one could uncover weaknesses that seemed impossible to find.

“I heard that when that woman was in her family, she met quite a few men.”

“Isn’t that just a rumor? It’s strange that a woman who gets so upset about her husband’s infidelity would have such a past.”

“I know the probability is low. But should we investigate whether it’s a rumor or not? Since the smoke has risen, we need to find out why it rose.”

“You’re right.”

“And to uncover the big picture, you have to start from these small details and work your way up.”

By focusing on the smallest details and working your way up, you could suddenly see Wang Geon popping up.

It was a ‘secret’ that only experienced information merchants who had accumulated decades of experience knew.

“From what I saw today, you are still far from being independent. Learn well by watching how this senior does it.”

Sniff sniff-!

There is already a suspicious and fishy smell in the air.

Ironically, the viscount did not smell suspicious, but I had a strong intuition that something big was about to come out from his wife.