ITIF Chapter 104

My Solar Plexus Keeps Tingling

In a corner of the lush, verdant grounds of the Cardia duchy stood a garden.

Sitting in a chair matched to an elegant white table, Giselle Grante was savoring fragrant tea.

Then Kavelaseth approached her.

She thought he must have some business with her, but he didn’t sit down—he simply stood there, gazing at her silently.

The way his gaze lingered on her face felt somehow heated, making her begin to feel a little tense.

“Why… are you staring at me like that?”

Giselle Grante asked, lowering her head slightly to hide her cheeks that were beginning to flush involuntarily.

Kavelaseth, still staring intently at her, parted his lips as if about to say something.

“So this is where you were.”

Drowned out by the timely voice of Count Preston, she couldn’t hear what he had said.

She was about to ask what he had been trying to say, but soon gave up.

Count Preston came rushing over with raised eyebrows, as if he had urgent news to convey.

“What is it?”

“It seems to have had an effect.”

Neither Kavelaseth nor she asked what effect Count Preston was referring to.

Since Lady Blatnik had become the Empress’s lady-in-waiting, they had been able to hear about the Empress’s next moves without difficulty.

Of course, in this case, even if Lady Blatnik hadn’t provided the information, it would have been sufficiently predictable.

Baron Cypress—that man was still alive, after all.

“How much?”

Kavelaseth asked as he sat down beside her, bypassing the chair across from Giselle Grante.

Giselle Grante offered Count Preston the opposite seat.

“Then I’ll take the liberty.”

Count Preston sat down and continued.

“I’m a bit surprised that the reaction came faster than expected, but in any case, seeing that they’ve summoned Marquis Antares with the Imperial Knights Commander leading the way, it doesn’t seem like they’ll let this slide easily.”

Giselle Grante’s blue eyes widened slightly at Count Preston’s words.

And for good reason. The Imperial Knights were the Emperor’s closest confidants and didn’t move easily.

For them to command through such forces that Marquis Antares be summoned meant the Emperor regarded this matter as extremely serious.

“How is the witness and evidence gathering going?”

“We’ve prepared thoroughly on that front. So you can rest assured.”

Saying this, Kavelaseth looked at her with a steady gaze.

His gaze touching the side of her face was so heated that her cheeks naturally flushed slightly.

Cough.

As if cutting through the pink atmosphere flowing between them, Count Preston cleared his throat. Then he said:

“Due to the extremely tight security, it took time to obtain internal information, but we had been investigating the Antares family even before you gave us the hint, my lady.”

“…….”

“Of course, we were a bit at a loss about which direction to dig into. But how on earth did you know? That the Antares family had been profiting from the salt business.”

She hadn’t predicted it precisely either. She had simply not let the news she heard slip by.

“Count Frederick’s contribution was significant in this matter.”

When Count Frederick’s name came from her lips, Kavelaseth’s gaze turned sharp.

Count Preston, on the other hand, showed interest in her words.

“Do you mean Count Frederick was the one who set up this plan?”

“……Not exactly.”

Count Frederick, who had recently returned from his territory, had informed her that salt prices had risen considerably lately.

Salt prices had always fluctuated up and down, and Count Frederick didn’t seem to have told her about it, recognizing it as a major problem either.

However, she immediately began looking into changes in salt prices throughout the Empire.

Through several years of data obtained this way, she learned that salt prices rose only in certain regions and at certain times.

The nobles of the Phasis Empire paid taxes to the Imperial family twice a year, in the first and second halves of the year, and it coincided with those periods.

Of course, it could have been a coincidence.

But she had learned that when coincidences repeat, they become inevitability.

So she urged Kavelaseth to dig into salt-related businesses.

Because the one who had virtually monopolized this salt market was none other than the Antares family.

And Kavelaseth moved at her single word.

He gave orders to his subordinates scattered throughout the regions and obtained the current results.

After hearing Giselle Grante’s full explanation, Count Preston looked at her with admiring eyes and said:

“Oho, I see……. I was actually a bit puzzled. Duke Cardia suddenly asked me to look into salt price fluctuations throughout the Empire. And for several years’ worth at that.”

“Was my instruction unsatisfactory?”

At Kavelaseth’s words, Count Preston shook his head and offered an explanation.

“Not at all. It’s just that this was the first time you gave me a situation to investigate without any prior or subsequent explanation, and it was different from your previous methods…….”

“So, you’re saying it was unsatisfactory?”

When Kavelaseth raised one eyebrow crookedly, Count Preston waved his hands somewhat vigorously and said:

“Not at all! Really…….”

Once again Count Preston rattled off excuses, and Kavelaseth, who had been listening to his words while even nodding his head, opened his mouth.

“So…….”

“Yes?”

“Was my instruction unsatisfactory?”

“……I was delighted. To the point of anticipating what the next instruction would be…….”

He could have reasonably deflected, but Count Preston took Kavelaseth’s teasing at face value and poured out more explanations.

With this, she had learned about their relationship dynamic.

Giselle Grante covered her eyes with one hand and lowered her head slightly.

And only after barely swallowing the laughter that was about to burst out did she speak.

“Um, I have a question.”

“What is it?”

Only then did Kavelaseth turn his head toward her.

The look in his eyes and his voice when looking at her were much softer and more caring than when he had been dealing with Count Preston a moment ago.

“How did you convey to the Emperor the fact that the Antares family had been manipulating salt prices for profit?”

“I don’t know that part well either. Duke Cardia only said he would handle it well, so how did you do it?”

At Count Preston’s question, Kavelaseth smiled faintly.

And said:

“Well.”

“…….”

Count Preston firmly closed his mouth and rose from his seat.

“Well, since I’ve conveyed what I needed to, I’ll return to the office.”

Then he walked toward the mansion without looking back.

‘He seems thoroughly miffed.’

Giselle Grante had that thought as she watched Count Preston’s retreating figure.

Then suddenly Kavelaseth’s face entered her field of vision.

Giselle Grante was slightly startled and leaned her upper body back a bit.

“What is it?”

“I’ll tell my lady.”

As if granting a favor, Kavelaseth explained about the events at the Imperial Palace.

He had slipped in the Antares family’s dirty laundry among the documents about Baron Cypress that would be delivered to the Emperor.

“You weren’t caught, were you?”

“After watching the natural acting of a certain beautiful lady several times, my own acting skills naturally improved.”

Giselle Grante lowered her gaze slightly.

‘A certain beautiful lady……’

At first, she wondered who the beautiful lady Kavelaseth mentioned might be, and a moment later realized he was referring to herself.

She began to recall events one by one—Prince Joshua’s investiture ceremony, the trial of Lady Oppenheimer, and such.

How she had brazenly played ignorant when Kavelaseth questioned her about the truth back then.

Giselle Grante, unsure at which part she should show a reaction, opened her mouth.

“……I have one more question.”

Kavelaseth nodded slightly as if to say go ahead.

“What were you saying earlier? I couldn’t hear it because it was drowned out by Count Preston’s voice.”

Kavelaseth, who had been looking down for a moment as if recalling the memory, soon met her eyes and whispered softly:

“Because you’re pretty.”

“Pardon?”

When Giselle Grante tilted her head, Kavelaseth added in an even lower voice:

“That’s what I said—that I was staring because of that.”

There wouldn’t be a woman in the world who would dislike being told she’s pretty.

Especially praise heard from the lips of the Empire’s greatest handsome man.

Naturally, Giselle Grante’s cheeks flushed bright red.

‘Come to think of it, lately my solar plexus keeps feeling ticklish.’

Giselle Grante firmly resisted the urge to scratch at her solar plexus.

****

‘Who was it? Who did it?’

Chewing on the soft flesh inside her mouth, the Empress kept glancing at the ladies-in-waiting in her office.

The ladies-in-waiting were too busy with their own tasks to even notice the Empress was looking at them.

The Empress’s gaze lingered long on Lady Blatnik.

Then, sensing the gaze, Lady Blatnik raised her head and asked:

“Is there something you need me to do?”

The Empress spoke with a faint smile:

“The tea has gone cold while I was neglecting it to work on other matters.”

“Ah, I’ll prepare fresh tea for you.”

She could have complained about whether a lady of a ducal family should be running tea errands.

However, Lady Blatnik didn’t object to the Empress’s words and promptly rose from her seat and walked toward the teapot.

‘Seeing how she prostrates herself, she must really covet the Crown Princess position.’

Thinking this, the Empress rolled her eyes. Her gaze landed on Marchioness Latse.

Unlike before, the Empress’s eyes looking at Marchioness Latse were not entirely kind.