Since I Don't Know Anything About It, Shall We Break Up, Your Majesty? - Chapter 36

Karl, who had been staring at the documents with eyes deeply sunken as if they were wandering somewhere in the future, withdrew his gaze from the papers. Then, he put down Osman’s report and gave a succinct order.

“We need to keep an eye on Count Checkers staying in Room 8.”

Checkers wasn’t from a wealthy region, yet he had amassed a debt of a staggering 700 million grand. It seemed as if he was determined to ruin his family.

“Yes, recently the hotel manager reported that Count Checkers’ condition is not good. He’s been picking fights while drunk.”

The pattern of such individuals was obvious.

They would recklessly spend money relying on their title, borrow more and more, gamble it away, and eventually lose everything.

Some would not go down alone, trashing their rooms before hanging themselves or causing a scene with a molotov cocktail or knife.

Two years ago, one such individual, having somehow learned about Karl, had thrown a molotov cocktail at him while hiding. Of course, it didn’t hit him. Instead, someone else got injured.

“That makes it even more dangerous. Evict him immediately. Recover the money through the police or the court.”

After receiving a rough report on the hotel and opera matters, Karl moved on to the club.

The Grey Club was closely related to both the hotel and the opera, managed jointly by Chris and Osman.

However, since Chris was following Karl for the past three months, Osman had taken on more responsibilities.

As expected, a neatly organized report was presented to Karl.

He quickly skimmed through the report.

Having already received a rough report from Chris, his review was swift.

There had been some disturbances, but none significant enough to warrant serious attention.

Incidents like drunken ladies coming down to the lounge naked to dance, nobles trying to use the privacy of the lounge for illicit affairs, or members harassing staff were all too common.

Karl picked out the notable individuals and handed them to Osman and Chris, saying,

“We need to keep an eye on these people. Sort out the details well and gather evidence if any of them repeatedly commit dirty acts. We can throw them to the reporters later.”

“Yes, understood.”

“Always ensure that our source is not revealed.”

Chris responded with a short nod.

“And we’ve contacted the missing playwright. But…”

“But?”

“He informed us that he won’t be able to hold a pen for a while. He apologized, saying something more important than writing a play has come up.”

Karl’s expression grew more serious at Chris’s words. The playwright was a key figure in what Karl was planning. Finding a more suitable person would be difficult.

‘The more people who know, the more dangerous it becomes for security.’

After pondering for a moment, Karl ordered Chris,

“Make sure of his whereabouts. He’s a trustworthy person, but you never know what might happen. And…”

“Yes.”

“Find out what important thing he mentioned. See if we can resolve it on our end.”

“Yes, I will.”

“As soon as possible.”

“I will keep that in mind.”

There was no need to worry about tasks entrusted to Chris.

He always produced results beyond expectations.

Now, what remained was…

Karl glanced at Gustav, who was standing stiffly.

Right after getting off the carriage, Gustav had received a report from his subordinates.

It was undoubtedly a report about the attackers.

The man, who had been on high alert since the incident early that morning, stepped forward with creaking steps.

“So we sent people to inquire about witnesses from that early morning…!”

“I’ve already heard that story, Gustav.”

His short, curly hair and stylishly grown thick gray mustache quivered with embarrassment.

Though he’s not much older than Karl, his classical style made him look ten years older.

Rigid and highly cautious, but just as honest and straightforward, Gustav was a man who still upheld the ‘chivalry’.

A man from a family that had protected his maternal grandfather’s family for a long time, he was one of the people sent directly by his maternal grandfather.

Living solely for honor and loyalty, Gustav felt a great shame for not being able to fulfill his duty this time.

“I’m sorry! Ah…! We found blood traces and tracked them to Taniva Street. We thought they might have called doctors for treatment, but found none. They might have used an unlicensed underground doctor or a family’s private doctor. And just now, we found an abandoned carriage near the botanical garden, but there were no useful traces. However! We’ll keep digging, even if it’s just a speck of dust!”

Karl listened silently to the rapidly pouring report.

In fact, he had already predicted who the ‘traitor’ might be.

As soon as he read the report he had instructed the twins to prepare upon arriving at the mansion, he had a hunch.

The mansion didn’t have many staff, which was fortunate.

It wasn’t hard to identify the suspicious person among a few candidates.

When deep in thought, Karl’s fingers habitually tapped the desk.

‘If my suspicion is correct, the one who instigated the betrayal is likely the same person who hired the Proxy gang we captured a few days ago.’

However, the Proxy gang were just small fry who were paid to keep watch, so they had little useful information.

But those who were in the carriage…

The ones who disappeared with the wounded attacker were likely directly related to the instigator.

‘The one who was shot was actually quite clumsy. He didn’t seem to have much training or experience in this kind of thing… He must have been acting on behalf of the traitor.’

Therefore, there was a suspect. There was only one person he knew who was closely connected to the traitor and was small and clumsy in his actions.

‘But… if my guess is right, she wouldn’t be this calm right now.’

Since they hadn’t found the bullet, it wasn’t a through-and-through wound.

This meant the bullet was lodged in the body.

If it had been a through-and-through, there might have been a chance of recovery unless it hit a vital organ.

But with the bullet lodged, there was a high chance the wound would fester.

The most terrifying thing about such injuries was infection. If the infection wasn’t controlled…

‘…They might be dead.’

Karl thought indifferently. Since they were the one who tried to set fire to Lumiere’s mansion, it didn’t matter whether they lived or died. But if his guess was correct, the traitor would be deeply shocked if he died. It was hard to predict what a panicked person might do. This made the situation more dangerous.

‘I was planning to keep an eye on him and use him…’

It seemed better to apprehend him immediately. The longer they delayed, the more he would lose his sanity.

‘…Lumiere will be quite startled.’

Perhaps it was fortunate that her memory was currently patchy.

Since there were only a few people she let into her home, Lumiere had grown very fond of all the servants.

She laughed, cried, ate, drank, and provided financial and temporal support whenever needed.

When he returned, he would have to instruct the twins to handle it discreetly.

Lumiere must not know, very quietly. There was no need to let her know that someone she trusted had betrayed her.

Karl didn’t want Lumiere to be hurt by anything.

He knew she was a stronger woman than she appeared, but that didn’t mean it was okay for her to be hurt.

Having organized his thoughts, Karl slapped the desk and stood up.

“Well, it seems we’ve roughly wrapped things up, so shall we get going?”

As he looked down at the watch on his wrist, he glanced out the window at the setting sun. The report had taken longer than expected.

“Oh, and Chris.”

“Yes, President.”

“There’s an event at the club tonight, right?”

“What? Oh, yes. How did you know?”

Chris asked back, surprised.

Club events were nothing special.

It was more surprising that Karl was paying attention to something so trivial.

“I overheard someone talking excitedly about it. More importantly, put my name on the list.”

Chris’s eyes widened in shock.

“What? Your name, President?”

“No, not my real name. It has to be a fake name… Yes, Gustav Müller would be good.”

“…Pardon?”

Gustav, who suddenly had his name taken, looked bewildered.

Karl smiled at the increasingly astonished Chris and Gustav and turned to Osman.

“I need two masks. Can you get them for me?”

…What on earth are you planning?

Chris’s eyes wavered with unease.