The Little Demon King is Too Bothered by Her Brave Dads - Chapter 73

“Princess,” Young Lady Ghiberti called out sharply. “Excuse me, but may I have a look at the princess’s bag?”

“…….”

“Well, you’re the only one who hasn’t participated in the treasure hunt.”

It was true. I was the organizer of this outing, and I was in charge of exchanging gifts and distributing the prizes.

Ghiberti’s eyes gleamed with sinister anticipation.

“It may seem rude, but I think we should open your bag to confirm your innocence.”

“Well, at least you know it’s rude,” I replied calmly.

Lady Ghiberti flinched for a moment, but then regained her composure.

“Excuse my rudeness, but is it possible that you are refusing the check because there might be something suspicious inside?”

She already seemed to have confirmed that I had stolen the bracelet.

I had to suppress a sigh that wanted to burst out. It didn’t matter what I said, Lady Ghiberti wouldn’t listen.

“Alright.”

I simply nodded.

Lady Ghiberti eagerly opened my bag.

And…

“………What?”

A questionable voice flowed from among the ladies.

“The bracelet is not here?”

She rummaged through my bag, took out all the items, and even turned it upside down, but there was no bracelet that Lady Ghiberti claimed to have lost.

Her face drained of color, and the nonchalant expression she had just moments ago disappeared.

“Where is my bracelet? It was so expensive…!”

Lady Ghiberti immediately turned to the other ladies.

“Everyone, open your bags!”

It was a commanding tone, as if she was ordering her subordinates. The ladies were naturally upset.

“No, we’re not thieves.”

“Why are you being so arrogant?” 

Nevertheless, they obediently opened their bags to show her.

And of course…

‘There’s no way the bracelet would be there.’

The bracelet was not found in anyone’s bag.

“What do I do? What should I do…!”

Lady Ghiberti was now on the verge of tears.

I watched the situation calmly, pretending not to know, and asked her.

“Lady Ghiberti?”

“What!”

Lady Ghiberti, who was frantically rummaging through another lady’s bag, nervously replied to me.

I nonchalantly responded.

“Just in case, shouldn’t we also check young Lady Ghibert’s bag?”

“What? Don’t waste your time; there’s no way the bracelet would be there!” 

Lady Ghiberti was furious.

But I didn’t back down either.

“Have you checked?”

“…….”

At that moment, Lady Ghiberti hesitated.

‘Of course, she must not have checked.’

I twisted my lips.

‘If she had checked, she wouldn’t be so confident.’

Simultaneously, the ladies expressed their dissatisfaction.

“What? You haven’t checked your own bag?”

“You never know, the lady might have mistaken something…….”

“All of you, be quiet!”

Lady Ghiberti shouted loudly and grabbed her bag with her trembling hand.

“Why don’t you check it out?”

I opened her bag.

Lady Ghiberti froze in place.

“…….”

“…….”

There was a chilling silence.

After a moment.

One of the ladies spoke up with a tone of incredulity in her voice.

“Isn’t that…… the bracelet the Lady said she lost?”

It was a beautifully crafted gold bracelet.

She had proudly worn it when she arrived at the venue for today’s leisure gathering, so it left a vivid memory in the ladies’ minds.

The ladies buzzed like a swarm of bees.

“Do you mean to tell us that the bracelet was in Lady Ghiberti’s bag?”

“After all this trouble, you didn’t even check your own belongings first?”

“And then you accuse the princess of being a thief…….”

“It’s outrageous, really.”

Now, there was no sign of courtesy or restraint in their voices.

Under the open blame directed at her, Young Lady Ghiberti’s face turned bright red.

She gritted her teeth and glared at someone. At the end of that fierce gaze stood Lady Ilmaz.

Lady Ilmaz reflexively clenched her shoulders, but she didn’t avert her gaze. As if she had done the right thing.

At the same time, I calmly spoke up.

“Lady Ghiberti.”

Lady Ghiberti flinched.

“Why did you search through my bag?”

“Because, well, it’s the only place to put things!”

“Normally, you would think so. However, today’s dress code was hunting attire, right?”

At that moment, Lady Ghiberti seemed to be at a loss for words and tightly shut her mouth.

Hunting attire.

Unlike the dresses the ladies usually wore, it prioritized mobility and functionality.

Naturally, it had many pockets for storing items.

Moreover, the item that Lady Ghiberti claimed to have lost was a small bracelet.

A bracelet would easily fit into the pockets of hunting attire, or she could have hidden it elsewhere and planned to retrieve it later.

I stared at Lady Ghiberti with an expressionless face.

“Nevertheless, the lady pointed me out immediately and told me to open my bag.”

“…….”

“I’m actually curious. How could Lady Ghiberti be so sure that her bracelet would be in my bag?”

Lady Ghiberti bit her lip with a face full of anger.

But she didn’t say anything in response.

“Even if I had stolen the lady’s bracelet, you don’t know if I would have kept it in my bag or hidden it somewhere else.”

“…….”

Facing the silent Lady Ghiberti, I continued speaking steadily.

“Moreover, since nothing was found in my bag, you ordered everyone to open theirs, right?”

“That, that…….”

“Did you suspect me, or the other ladies, from the beginning? That we would steal your things?”

Then the mood of the ladies turned sour, as if they might explode at any moment.

“The Princess is right!”

“Isn’t this so rude?”

“To think that we stole the bracelet from……!”

“Just the fact that she thinks we stole the bracelet…!”

But then, a calm voice intervened in the conversation.

“Ahem, did I arrive at a very tense moment?”

It was a pleasant, melodious voice typical of a young boy.

The ladies turned around with wide eyes.

“Is that……?”

“Isn’t that His Highness, the First Prince?”

“Ah, the one that the three heroes handpicked to be their apprentice!”

A boy, dazzlingly beautiful with a background of colorful autumn leaves, smiled gently. His appearance itself was like a masterpiece painting.

Lakius Caser el Descartes.

He used to have almost no presence as the First Prince, but recently, his status had risen significantly. This is largely due to the fact that the Three Heroes took him under their wing.

In addition, the recent success of the comic book Great Heroes had raised the profile of the Carolingians, who sacrificed themselves for humanity.

And Lakius was the only remaining bloodline of the Carolingian royal family.

It’s no wonder that the people of the Empire are so fond of him.

“This time, the Princess of Orleans is hosting a picnic, and she has invited me to join her…….”

Lakius turned around, scanning his surroundings broadly.

“The atmosphere doesn’t seem very good, does it?”

Then, he looked at me.

“I apologize, Princess. I’m a little late, aren’t I?”

Hearing Lakius use respectful speech after a long time felt a bit unfamiliar. With so many eyes watching him, it couldn’t be helped, I suppose….

“No, rather, I am grateful that you did me a favor.”

I smiled brightly.

Lakius took out something small from his embrace.

It was a square-shaped magic tool about the length of a thumb, with a round button attached to it. It looked similar to a recording device.

“Here you go.”

“Thank you.”

I accepted the magic tool.

The ladies’ curious gazes were directed towards me.

Mixed in with them was the wary gaze of Lady Ghiberti.

Facing him squarely, I pressed the button.

Click.

At the same time, the voices of two girls began to flow clearly from the magic tool.

‘If you follow my instructions well, I can overlook the mess that you, Lady Ilmaz, made of my dress.’

Lady Ghiberti confidently opened her mouth in the recording, spilling out all sorts of arrogance to Lady Ilmaz.

‘That, that wasn’t my fault! ‘

Lady Ilmaz protested with a voice full of injustice.

‘Because of something I didn’t do, I’m supposed to put a bracelet in the princess’s bag? What if someone sees it…!’

‘Of course, Lady Ilmaz should bear the blame.’

‘You’re being too much!’

Now, Lady Ilmaz in the recording was almost on the verge of tears. 

But Lady Ghiberti didn’t even bat an eye.

‘Think carefully. If you go against me, your social life will become very difficult from now on, won’t it?’

‘Lady Ghiberti, please…’

‘But if this goes well, I’ll make it up to you for that dress I accidentally spilled tea on.’

Lady Ghiberti finished her sentence as if she were doing Lady Ilmaz great favor.