Fish Don't Know About Water - Chapter 18

“How debauched does one have to be for the entire novel content to be censored…”

“Or maybe it’s more about the ‘cruelty.’”

“Ugh, that’s just as filthy.”

Cecilia muttered with a disgusted face, then suddenly shouted loudly.

“Wait a minute! Minister, you’re not suspecting anything between Phenelity and Senior Law, are you?”

“I’m just keeping possibilities open.”

Hinler grimaced as he rubbed his stinging ear.

“Her nineteenth birthday, that’s the day the Little Lady became an adult.”

“Are you suggesting that Senior Law lured her into bed because she became an adult?”

Cecilia’s eyes narrowed sharply.

“That’s an absurd assumption! If that were true, the Count of Cochrun would have kicked Senior Law out of the mansion long ago!”

Cecilia’s fierce rebuttal passed by Hinler’s ears in vain. He ignored her vehement protests and murmured softly.

“An incident so shocking that it changed her personality in just one week…”

The Count of Cochrun’s domain, Wills, is a peaceful and small town. If an incident so shocking and explicit had occurred, the residents of Wills would have been gossiping about it. It would have been impossible for the count’s family to keep such an event secret for so long.

“Minister?”

He looked up at the sound of knocking on the desk. Cecilia was looking down at him with a face full of dissatisfaction.

“What were you thinking about that you didn’t hear me?”

“What did you just say?”

“I asked where the magic typewriter that writes the novel is.”

That’s what I want to know. Hinler sighed and leaned back in his chair.

“It’s hidden somewhere in the ‘Evening Whisper’ newspaper’s building. Even as the Minister of Magic, I can’t access it.”

“What? Why not?”

“Only the ghost of Sir Gallant, the first Minister of Magic, knows its location.”

“Gallant?”

Cecilia’s eyes widened.

“Are you talking about the Gallant Ducal family? Was the first Minister of Magic an ancestor of Hughey Gallant?”

“You need to study history a bit more.”

Hinler clicked his tongue and added.

“Yes, I’m talking about the Gallant Ducal family. But unfortunately, the family line was cut off when Hughey Gallant went missing during a treasure ship expedition.”

“Do you think the ghost of Sir Gallant knows that his descendant went missing at sea?”

“He’s just a madman obsessed with the magic typewriter. He wouldn’t care about the rise and fall of his family.”

Cecilia pondered for a moment and then whispered quickly.

“Then should we torture the employees of the ‘Evening Whisper’? They might have hidden the manuscript of ‘Pepe’ behind Sir Gallant’s back to induce the hiatus.”

“Nonsense.”

Hinler chuckled briefly.

“Sir Gallant has reigned like a king in the ‘Evening Whisper’ building for hundreds of years. The employees can only publish the manuscripts he gives them under his supervision.”

“So, the ghost of an old man who died long ago is controlling living people like puppets…”

“He wasn’t an old man. Sir Gallant died young. A ghost in the form of a young man has become the greatest attraction and the worst boss of the ‘Evening Whisper.’”

“What? Oh my, then does the ghost of the first Minister resemble Hughey Gallant?”

Cecilia’s eyes sparkled. Hinler shook his head indifferently.

“I don’t know what Hughey Gallant looks like.”

“No way! How could you not know that famous actor?”

She hurriedly opened her handbag and took out a photo tucked between her wallet.

“Look at this handsome man. Do you see why there hasn’t been an actor who surpasses Hughey Gallant even after 20 years?”

Hinler looked at the photo Cecilia held out with disinterest. It was a picture of a young and beautiful couple holding a newborn baby and smiling happily. A vertical crease was clearly marked in the center of the photo. The man was unfamiliar, but the woman’s face was oddly familiar.

“What’s wrong?”

Cecilia looked down at him in confusion as he brought the photo close to his face. Hinler stared intently at the young woman in the picture and muttered.

“This woman… looks oddly familiar.”

Where have I seen her? He was deep in thought when Cecilia pulled the photo back and grumbled.

“You should be looking at the man. If you don’t know this face in Westenia, you’ll be mistaken for a spy.”

Hinler tore his gaze away from the woman in the photo and looked closely at the man.

“Yes. Now I remember.”

“The woman?”

“No. Hughey Gallant.”

He remembered after seeing the man’s face in the photo. Hughey Gallant. The so-called ‘handsomest man of the century’ praised by Princess Rosemary. A famous movie star and an outstanding adventurer, the young lord of the ducal family who disappeared without a trace 20 years ago.

“He looks a lot like Phenelity Cochrun, doesn’t he? That’s why Rosemary became a fan of the Little Lady.”

Cecilia said as she held the photo in front of Hinler’s eyes. Hinler stared intently at the family in the picture and nodded.

She did resemble him. It was almost astonishing to find the features of a young lady in such a sturdy man.

“I didn’t know Hughey Gallant was married.”

“No, Hughey Gallant remained single until the day he went missing.”

Cecilia shook her head.

That man was smiling brightly in the photo as if he had a happy family? Hinler focused on the baby Hughey Gallant was holding in the picture.

The baby was too young to discern if it was a boy or a girl, and the elaborate lace bonnet obscured its facial features.

Despite wearing a lavish lace christening gown, it was hard to conclude it was a daughter. In Westenia’s high society, babies were often adorned with lace regardless of their gender. Hinler snatched the photo from Cecilia’s hand and asked coldly.

“Where did you find this picture?”

“I swiped it from Senior Law’s wallet.”

“…Ro? Hilias Law?”

“Yes. I met with Senior Law this morning to gather information on Phenelity and had tea with him.”

That physician again. Hinler put down the photo and frowned slightly. The name kept popping up annoyingly whenever he was about to forget it.

“Why did he have this photo?”

How did a mere personal physician come to possess a family photo of an actor known to be unmarried? It was a photo valuable enough to fetch a fortune if handed to the press. It was odd to keep such a potentially explosive item tucked safely in a wallet.

“People don’t usually carry such photos unless they have a special relationship.”

“Well… it’s common to carry photos of a lover, friend, or family.”

Cecilia responded lightly to his muttered words. Hinler scrutinized the photo, deep in thought.

A lover or friend didn’t make sense. The likelihood that a doctor of Costonian immigrant origin was related by blood to the Gallant ducal family was also low. What about the woman?

Hinler turned his attention to Hughey Gallant’s wife. Since it was a black-and-white photo, it was impossible to determine her hair and eye color. But her round head, thin lips, and short, pointed chin suggested she was of Northern descent.

Could she be from Easton? Hinler glared at the woman in the photo with narrowed eyes. The most unsettling part was how oddly familiar her face looked.

“This woman… doesn’t seem to be from Westenia.”

“She’s of Northern descent. Specifically, from the Northern Arman tribe?”

Cecilia glanced at the photo and answered nonchalantly.

“Hughey Gallant traveled abroad a lot for his explorations. It wouldn’t be surprising if he fell for a foreigner.”

“Could it be that he married a woman from Easton?”

“No way.”

Cecilia shook her head quickly.

“The Arman tribe doesn’t only include Eastonians. People from Kalt, Obenia, Costonia, Fram, and even the Slaan Empire can be considered Arman.”

“Among those, the only non-allied nation is Easton.”

Easton and Westenia had maintained a hostile relationship long before the outbreak of the world war. Even during Hughey Gallant’s time, the two nations had severed diplomatic ties due to ideological conflicts.

“A famous duke’s son marrying an Eastonian woman…?”

Cecilia frowned in disgust.

“They say love knows no borders, but Easton is out of the question. If it were true, Hughey would have been ostracized from both the film industry and high society.”

“Not just that. He would have been dragged off by the security bureau on espionage charges. Maybe that’s why he hid his marriage and suddenly disappeared.”