The Villain is Being Suspiciously Kind

Meanwhile, Bowen, the head of the information guild, stood at Citrina’s front door, pondering.

‘What should I do?’

It looked a bit ridiculous as he hobbled back and forth, but he was oblivious to the fact that people were glancing at him as they passed by.
As the head of the information guild, he was transparent with all of his clients. But…

‘All the agents who tried to find rumors about Duke Pietro are missing.’

Well, he wasn’t dead yet. It was a kind of warning.
Bowen’s instincts, after years of gathering information, told him so.
He pursed his lips tightly. What Desian Pietro had done in the imperial palace was covered up so well that no one could speak of it. Therefore, Bowen couldn’t find anyone that would talk.

Bowen slowly entered Citrina’s townhouse. A young, well-dressed servant approached him.

Master Bowen of the information guild decided to address Citrina Foluin first.
In order for her to be granted an aristocratic title, she needed to provide the court with documents concerning her reputation.

“This is a report with details about your reputation.”

Handing over a few papers, Bowen held up a small video sphere.

“What’s this?”

Citrina asked.
Tiny images floated around a crystal ball-like sphere. Bowen tapped on one of them.

“These rumors were also spreading.”

Were they bad rumors?
A small voice emanated from inside the sphere.

[She’s a great person. Ah, you can’t tell anyone about this.]

…She recognized it as Foges from Foges Boutique. Looking at his face in the sphere, she confirmed it was him.

‘What are they talking about?’

…Why was he showing her this?
Citrina raised her head silently. Bowen’s eyes were fixed on Citrina without wavering.
Citrina asked in disbelief.

“…Is this about me?”

A trembling voice spilled out of her mouth. Citrina looked at the man nervously.
In response to her nervous question, he answered earnestly.

“Yes.”

Citrina was embarrassed. She swore she hadn’t done anything at Foges Boutique.

“Let’s look at the others.”

Bowen slowly turned on another video.

[Maybe it’s because of elementism, but there was definitely something extraordinary. It’s been like that since the first time I saw her. Especially when the spirit in the pendant necklace appeared- the glow was so bright, it hurt my eyes. Maybe that’s also Lady Citrina’s ability? But why do you ask?]

Well…
That sounded more like a folk tale, or a myth.
Citrina was also confused by the familiarity of the tone and speech. The voice was Estelle’s.
Citrina was taken aback.

“These rumors have been spreading very stealthily among the nobles.”

Citrina was struck dumb to hear how the results of the commission were so civil.
There was even that incident where the nobles had withdrawn their commissions with the excuse of being sick…
The puzzle was beginning to come together.
She asked in a subdued voice.

“Why are these stories going around?”
“Are you asking?”
“…Yes, of course. I’m curious.”
“Perhaps…it’s because you are an elementist.”

Bowen looked at her unwaveringly, but it wasn’t a reassuring answer.

“I have some information about the paladins too.”

She was feeling nervous, perhaps because of the strange feeling she had earlier.

“Well, there’s something strange about them.”
“Something strange?”
“I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. The paladins are constantly going to the border. Holy power and border magic must be opposites.”
“…That’s right. The borderlands, where the dark tower is located, is a land dominated by dark magic.”
The situation was suspicious.

“Elaina-nim didn’t react much either. However, she often goes out alone late at night. I haven’t been able to follow her.”
“In which direction did she go?”
“I’ve seen her headed to the outskirts.”
“To the outskirts….”

The outskirts, a late departure, and Gemma’s peculiar feeling. Steadily, the puzzle was completed.
Although, she still didn’t understand Elaina’s strange behavior.
Instead, he handed her a small piece of paper.

Citrina looked down at it.

“It’s the report on Duke Pietro that you requested.”
“It looks like there isn’t much in there.”

She had paid a lot of gold.

“I told you from the beginning that a proper investigation would be difficult.”

He drew a distinct line.
[T.L. Note: Meaning, he is being firm in what he can and cannot do.]
She accepted the little piece of paper and read it slowly.

Duke Pietro has been buying up all sorts of mines lately. It seems like he is trying to secure gemstones and mana stones.
He has also established an almshouse and cleaned up Dartrin Street. He has a history of pushing through several items on the agenda at court meetings, the contents of which are listed below.

Citrina already knew all of this.

“I…was hoping to gather more information about infamous deeds he’s committed.”

Citrina wanted to know the specifics of the duke’s notoriety. That’s because no one would tell her such things since she was close to the duke.

“That would be difficult. He’s a high-ranking noble, so there’s a limit to what we can gather.”

It was suspicious that even his dark acts were unknown.
It felt like someone was deliberately covering it up.

“Is there something I shouldn’t know?”

Citrina asked in a carefree manner.
Bowen slowly looked away from her gaze. He was not good at hiding his emotions-an uncharacteristic trait for the head of an information guild.

“Not at all.”
“First of all…okay, I get it.”

Bowen rose quietly at Citrina’s words and nodded his head lightly.
It was a parting gesture.
This was a bizarre situation, but it would all make sense at some point.

“Things that are hidden are generally more likely to be true.”

The spark of suspicion and curiosity had already been lit.
She already had a general idea,
but she didn’t know why he was hiding it, and she didn’t know the specific truth he was hiding.

‘It’s not a big deal to me.’

From the moment Citrina realized she was reincarnated, the story changed.
Therefore, Desian was friendly and had no intention of killing her.

“Now, it’s not Desian that matters, but the other death flags.”

Coincidentally, Gemma had also left to gather intelligence, and Desian seemed to be out as well.
So now was the time to use her senses and determination to see what lay in the future.

‘Then, for now, let’s sort out the future.’

Countess Badil was suspicious and Citrina had a hunch.
For the time being, it was better to survive and think about it later.