53

I couldn’t help but curse out loud.

“So they only changed the packaging, right?”

They were crazier than I thought.

Nicola nodded with a stern face.

“I heard the name used to be Ines; anyway, it seems there were many problems even before.”

Why on earth did they change the name? Rinus or Ines, either way.

Pinea said with an indignant face.

“That means innocent people could get hurt or even die. How could they…”

I’m not exactly a righteous person, but even I could see this had to be stopped quickly. It was like a dam about to burst for many of the projects I had handled.

“We need evidence.”

They surely had lists of imported materials or building blueprints. They wouldn’t have entrusted them to others, nor could they easily destroy them. The corrupt would have left records for their own sake.

They probably kept them themselves, but where?

The answer unexpectedly came from Pinea.

“When I worked at the Opel branch, the branch manager kept important contracts and items in his personal safe. I heard that Trading House’s head usually do that because they think storing things at the merchant house is safest. Since it’s a place they come and go every day, it’s easy for them to check personally.”

That made sense. Nicola backed it up.

“That colleague also said he saw a safe in the owner of Ines’s office.”

That made it the most likely spot. Still, we had to check it ourselves.

“Alright. Then, infiltration.”

My fist clenched before I knew it.

The operation was swift and decisive.

Though Nicola and Pinea strongly objected, I decided to go in alone since the more people involved, the higher the chance of getting caught. Instead, the two would watch for the boss and, if necessary, create a diversion to buy time.

“Be careful, Coco.”

“If it seems dangerous, signal without fail.”

“I’ll be back.”

I put on a Rinus employee uniform, covered my conspicuous short hair with a hat, and slowly entered the merchant house. I also wore the danger-signal brooch Aidan had given me just in case. Fortunately, everyone was busy with their own work and not paying attention to others.

‘To the third floor.’

Before infiltrating, I gathered as much information as possible.

Through the Information Guild I learned basic info about Rinus and the building’s layout. Since it wasn’t a large company, there wasn’t much data, so I sadly failed to locate where subpar construction blueprints might be.

I quietly stopped in front of the owner’s office and turned the doorknob. He had an important appointment today.

‘Because I asked the Minister of Finance.’

When I said I’d sneak a look at Rinus, he readily agreed. Of course, I didn’t mention that I’d be cracking a safe.

Click.

Huh? The door was locked. It was an unexpected situation. Locking the office door—this smelled worse and worse.

‘What should I do?’

It was a rare chance, so I couldn’t be sure there’d be a next opportunity.

Then I heard someone approaching.

“Who are you?”

A Rinus employee from across the hall stared at me suspiciously as he walked over. I thought I was done for, but his face looked familiar. He was the guy who had cursed up a storm at the building materials.

“You—I’ve never seen you before. Who are you?”

As he furrowed his brow and leaned in to inspect my face, I stepped back slightly and reflexively put on a friendly smile.

“The boss sent me. He went to the Imperial Palace Chancellery and apparently left the construction plans behind. Ah, I just started yesterday, so I’m flustered that the door’s locked. If you don’t mind, could you open it for me…?”

He stared at me and said,

“Wait. I’ll open it with the master key.”

He took a key from his pocket and opened the door. Seeing he had a master key, it seemed he was a fairly trusted subordinate. Which is why he seemed to be suffering inner conflict.

I thanked him and, to avoid suspicion, made a suggestion.

“I’m not familiar with things here. Where do you usually keep contracts and plans? If you could show me, I’ll wait outside.”

It was a genuinely naive gesture showing I had nothing to hide. It worked; he softened and grumbled as he went inside.

“Still ordering people around without context. He could at least tell me to come to him.”

Thankfully, the boss’s usual irrational behavior seemed to reduce his suspicion further.

“Come in.”

With his permission, I walked in carefully like an obedient rookie. At the bottom of the large bookcase behind the desk, a safe door was open. The internally conflicted man held out some documents toward me.

“Is this what you’re looking for? Check it.”

I smiled gratefully and took the documents.

“Oh my, this isn’t what I’m looking for.”

“Then what you’re looking for is… ugh!”

The conflicted man collapsed to the floor in an instant. I quickly closed and locked the door and removed the handkerchief scented with sleep potion from his mouth. He wouldn’t get up for at least two hours.

“That’s for the best.”

Thanks to that, I saved time. I could check the inside without messing around opening the safe.

I checked the envelopes labeled ‘confidential’ one by one. There was a materials order list and blueprint for the upcoming construction. But since construction hadn’t started yet, their evidentiary value was weak.

‘They could just say it was being revised.’

Sadly, I couldn’t find the documents related to the ‘Gaho Bridge’ from three years ago. It was an incident that needed to be made crystal clear, so I wanted to find evidence. In case it was hidden elsewhere, I searched not only the safe but the desk, drawers, and every storage space in the room. Still couldn’t find it.

“Guess that’s it for today.”

I kicked the collapsed man beside the safe into a corner, sighed, and stood. It would be best to leave before the owner returned, but unresolved reluctance kept my feet from moving.

‘This is a magical world.’

Maybe there’s something other than a physical safe? I had prepared for that. I nervously tried pulling a book to see if the shelf would move, but nothing happened.

‘This is the clue for the safe.’

Not wanting to miss even a small clue, I stuck my head into the safe to look. Since it wasn’t very large, I kept bumping things as I moved. I found nothing and, in trying to pull back, accidentally banged my head against the safe’s ceiling with a thud.

“Ouch, ouch…”

Then I felt the atmosphere change. I quickly pulled out and looked around, and nothing seemed different. I shoved my neck back into the safe. There was a red button on the ceiling. I must have pressed it when I hit my head. After that, a strange dissonance set in. I had examined it carefully—nothing seemed different, yet…

‘Damn.’

The drawer unit that had been holding the potted plant by the window had turned into a safe.

“Wow, what would I have done if I hadn’t spotted the hidden compartment?”

I rushed to the secret safe and pulled the magic scroll I had brought from my bosom.

“Miss, I’ll put it to good use.”

When I asked the young lady to get me a scroll that could open a locked safe, her expression… seemed a bit reluctant. Still, she said, ‘I’ll have Aidan deal with it,’ and provided it within two days. She even came to my house with the young master who was at the Mage Tower, which was embarrassing.

If it was a scroll made by the next Mage Tower holder, its effect was certain. With a click and a satisfying sound, the safe opened.

‘It’s a goldmine.’

It was a magical safe. Inside was an incredibly vast hidden space filled with heaps of gold, silver, and jewels. Most were certainly illegally obtained goods.

It was large enough for a person to enter, so I went inside and focused on piles of documents. Before long I found something.

‘Gaho Bridge blueprints. And the materials order list.’

They even bore the seal of the company Ines, making the proof airtight. While I was there, I grabbed all the suspicious documents.

‘This is… correspondence exchanged with the Crown Prince.’

As expected of a scoundrel, they hadn’t destroyed the evidence that could implicate the Crown Prince; they’d kept it.

I patted my now-heavy bag and headed for the safe entrance without hesitation. It took longer than I thought to find the second safe. Pinea and Nicola would be anxiously waiting.

“Still, somehow I got it all.”

As I thought over various ways to use the evidence while extracting myself, a dark shadow fell before my eyes. My heart dropped.

My eyes went to the brooch pinned to my chest without me realizing it. It gave no reaction.

“I really didn’t expect to see you here.”

‘That voice is…’

I looked up and saw a dazzling, sculpted beauty reminiscent of a handsome wolf: the Empire’s super-ultra-elite, Duke of Ariadne.

I asked without meaning to.

“Little Lamb?”