Chapter 63
Chapter: 63
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>Translator: penny
>Chapter: 063
>Chapter Title: What He's Hiding (1)
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After going through that series of disturbances in the bustling streets, Seongjin's mindset had shifted a bit.
He still spent most of his time immersed in training as usual, but now he felt a bit more proactive about looking into the current situation in Mores from time to time.
There was still a slight sense of disconnect about living as Mores.
But when he thought back to how he'd surged forward without a second thought upon hearing the slander against the Holy Emperor and Amelia, it seemed he'd grown subtly attached to this world without realizing it.
The problem was that Mores's status made it impractical for him to move around freely on his own.
*If only I had someone I could use as a limb...*
For now, his closest aide was Sir Masin.
But he was a former knight commander and a member of the imperial family. He was too high-ranking for errands and scouting around.
On top of that, the man was subtly rigid and inflexible.
The resident knights of the Pearl Palace were also tied up with palace security and escort duties.
*For the time being, I should make more active use of Edith...*
Edith had become utterly idle lately with the addition of dedicated maids and support staff.
She was also a considerable aura user, so there was no worry if she went around alone.
*...But the girl is a bit slow and clueless.*
There was still no sign of her tea tasting any better, and she kept glancing at him as if worried he might hurl the teacup at her any moment. It was hardly reassuring.
Even if he cautiously asked her to look into something, it would be fortunate if she didn't blatantly advertise what she was investigating everywhere.
*First, let's have her run some simple errands. She'll get the hang of it in time.*
With that in mind, Seongjin gave Edith a simple message to deliver.
"Contact Hern and Gades. Say I want to see their faces sometime soon."
Edith looked at him with a somewhat blank expression and asked back.
"Yes, Your Highness. When should I set the time? Should I send a letter? Or would it be better if I go in person?"
"......"
"Should I tell them to come to the Pearl Palace, or that Your Highness wishes to visit them personally?"
"...Send a letter. Tell them to drop by on the day of the audience."
"Yes, Your Highness."
Watching Edith obediently answer and leave the room, Seongjin thought to himself.
Hmm. Not smooth at all. This is going to be a huge hassle to make use of...
[The twins? The ones you mentioned before?]
The Demon King, having overheard their conversation, perked up excitedly.
Oh, right—he hadn't actually seen the twins in person yet?
Ever since Seongjin had mentioned that the kids seemed to know about the Demon King, the guy had been intensely curious about them.
-It might be something even Holy Emperor Daddy doesn't know.
-We don't know what Daddy doesn't know.
That's what the twins had said. So it followed that they probably knew whatever the Holy Emperor knew, to some extent.
If he was going to investigate someone right now, grilling those two would be the most efficient. Plus, he had questions about Madam Justine.
Well, whether those black-hearted brats would spill the information willingly was another matter.
[Leave any investigating to me!]
The Demon King boasted grandly despite knowing nothing.
[I can see right through whether they're lying or hiding some scheme!]
*You can't even do soul probing anymore. How do you plan to read those sly kids' minds?*
It was just a warning not to waste energy needlessly, but the Demon King bristled.
[I can still spot lies to some extent by watching their blood pressure or pulse change! I'm super useful! Didn't I check out that weird dimensional world guy for you?]
"......"
A former Demon King claiming usefulness as a rudimentary lie detector.
Kinda pitiful.
But that wasn't the only thing to look into.
Previously, the situation had been too urgent to dwell on it, but how exactly could Lee Seongjin speak Bretonne like a native?
He'd pulled a few Bretonne textbooks from the Pearl Palace library as a test, and sure enough—not a single word was readable.
Even Masin and Edith had never heard of Mores studying Bretonne on the side.
This shook the basic premise that Lee Seongjin could speak the language because he was using Mores's brain.
[This is quite the peculiar case.]
Even the Demon King sounded puzzled.
[An soul of my caliber can understand any language. But speaking it fluently is a different matter.]
The Demon King could understand all languages because he read the thoughts forming in the mind before they became words. It was closer to reading intentions than decoding spoken language.
[Directly conversing with someone isn't hard for me. I read thoughts and send thoughts back. But making human vocal cords produce sounds or sing like a real person? That's another story.]
Even in the previous world, he'd admitted he couldn't follow the hunter team's radio chatter.
In other words, understanding and speaking an unlearned language from pure sound without accompanying thoughts was impossible.
*Then...?*
What exactly was he supposed to investigate?
Even trying to find out if Mores had known any foreign languages before, his own dedicated maid Edith didn't know?
[We should probably expose ourselves to other languages of this world first.]
After pondering, the Demon King offered an idea.
[Even assuming Mores studied foreign languages in secret, there are limits. Let's listen to every language on the continent. If you can understand them all, then the issue isn't Mores's body—it's your soul.]
That made sense.
*So now we just need to find someone who can rattle off foreign languages in front of us and test it?*
That's what he thought, but finding a foreign language expert proved surprisingly difficult.
For a thousand years since the Empire had dominated the continent.
Now, with most countries using the Imperial common tongue as their primary language, Imperials didn't bother much with foreign languages.
Even folks in the Foreign Ministry only picked up a phrase or two in fancy languages like Bretonne to show off their refinement. That said it all.
Is the Delcross Foreign Ministry really okay like this?
Seongjin sighed and set the Bretonne issue aside for the moment.
But clues to solutions often appear in unexpected places.
* * *
It was a lunchtime much like any other.
"Lady Chloe has been sending flower bouquets so consistently lately. She's so devoted to my little brother—I'd love to meet her myself and see what she's like."
Amelia admired the ornate vase blending red and pink hues.
The bouquets delivered every time were placed on the table by Edith for decoration, which naturally drew the eyes of Amelia, who came to the Pearl Palace for lunch almost daily.
"How thoughtful her choices are every time. She must really like you."
Seongjin let out a wry chuckle.
Like me? Yeah, right.
"Well, sending a different bouquet every day is impressive in itself."
It seemed the little Chloe had resolved to solidify her position as fiancée. Ever since that tea time, she'd been sending bouquets daily with small cards.
The cards said nothing special.
Seeing the garden flowers in full bloom makes me wonder about the beautiful flowers in the imperial palace garden. The weather is so nice today—it'd be perfect for boating on the palace pond.
Stuff like that—utterly pointless nonsense.
Today's letter was the same.
-Have you heard about the new play that's all the rage on Bertrand Street lately? They say it's a translation of a script that was hugely popular in Brittany. The rumors have piqued my interest a bit.
Seongjin was content just reading the cards daily to build his vocabulary.
But upon hearing the explanation, Amelia tilted her head.
"Isn't that her asking to be invited to the palace? She wants to see the play with you again and is checking your thoughts on it."
"Haha, no way. She'd debut in the social pool and dump me at the same time."
"No way..."
Amelia, looking shocked as she stared at Seongjin, soon asked with a serious face.
"This is a ranunculus, Mores. Not a flower chosen lightly. Do you know its meaning?"
"Is that important?"
"......"
As Amelia fell silent, speechless, Edith shook her head while clearing the table.
"That's why I've told you over and over to at least send a one-line reply, Your Highness. Ignoring this poor little lady's feelings—your obliviousness has gone too far."
Seongjin unwittingly gaped.
Me? Getting called oblivious by Edith of all people?
"Mores. People love hiding their true feelings in flower language or flowery words. But most of the time, they're not really trying to hide—they're expecting the other person to pick up on it naturally."
Amelia gently stroked the ranunculus petals with her hand as she admonished him.
"She's showing this much sincerity. So invite her to the palace and treat her properly. That's etiquette."
"Exactly. Please invite her once, Your Highness. Isn't Lady Chloe flawless? Good family, so cute and smart too."
Edith chimed in eagerly.
Seongjin was dumbfounded.
Don't you remember force-feeding her bile-infused tea not long ago?
Even if you've forgotten, that smart little brat won't forget it till she dies.
Hearing Edith, Amelia's clear gray eyes sparkled with interest.
"Oh? Cute and smart, you say, Edith?"
"Yes, Princess. I hear she's the standout among the Valua children. The youngest, yet the most fluent in foreign languages?"
For a moment, Seongjin doubted his ears.
Wait, Edith. What did you say?
"...Chloe is good with foreign languages?"
"Yes, Your Highness."
Edith, utterly oblivious to her own blunder, answered calmly.
"The Valua family is famous for it, right? They all speak Imperial common and Bretonne fluently. Direct descendants handle at least three languages as a baseline?"
"...Then why didn't you mention it sooner?"
What have you been doing while I've been hunting for language experts?
"Because you asked if there were any foreigners fluent in the palace, Your Highness? But the Valuas aren't palace people."
So what?
The still-clueless Edith just tilted her head innocently.
Seongjin clutched the back of his neck without thinking.
Ah, my blood pressure.
"...Send a letter to Chloe right now. Tell her to come over if she's free."
"Yes! Your Highness!"
And off she dashed, thrilled again.
Am I commanding a person or a puppy?
So the next afternoon.
Lady Chloe, adorned with flowers, sat primly in the Pearl Palace drawing room.
Her fluffy updo was overflowing with yellow blossoms, matched to a soft yellow dress.
Knowing her personality, it was probably loaded with flower symbolism. But to Seongjin's eyes, she just looked like a small yellow chick.
"Even if you said you don't feel responsible for me, how could you not send a single reply until now? That's too much, Your Highness."
Meeting the brat's eyes full of reproach, Seongjin felt a pang of conscience.
"Well... I apologize for being so insensitive lately. I was worried about you getting tangled in rumors, but it ended up ignoring your sincerity."
Chloe's eyes narrowed.
"Hmm, is that so? And?"
"I heard from my sister. The bouquets you've sent so far carry deep meaning and care. As you know, my memory isn't intact, so I failed to grasp your clever intentions. My apologies."
"And?"
"...The yellow dress suits you perfectly."
"Hee hee hee. That's enough, Your Highness. No need for insincere words."
Chloe pouted like that, but her face softened noticeably as she nibbled the sweets.
Of course, she didn't forget to sneak a taste of the tea first.
Relief washed over her face visibly as it tasted normal.
"So, what did you invite me for? You didn't call me just to see my face, right?"
"I'm grateful you came. Actually, I have a favor to ask, borrowing your skills."
He worried she might take offense at being asked a favor after the invitation, but that was Seongjin's mistake.
The moment he mentioned needing foreign language help, the girl's face lit up noticeably.
Unbeknownst to Seongjin, Chloe fundamentally craved recognition from others.
"Hee hee hee. You've come to the right place, Your Highness. For language consulting, it's the Valua family or bust!"
The Valua family, rooted in Brittany, took immense pride in their origins. They even hired a fair number of Bretons as servants at great expense.
The household officially required everyone to use Bretonne.
So Seongjin confidently explained his issue.
He seemed to have studied foreign languages secretly before losing his memory, and he needed to check how far.
"...You studied secretly? Bretonne?"
Chloe eyed him suspiciously.
"Bretonne isn't some easy language you can pick up on the sly. And don't you usually start foreign languages by reading textbooks? How could you not know the script at all?"
So Seongjin demonstrated.
"I find it hard to understand too, but it's true. I can speak it this easily, but I can't read a word. Maybe the fever gave me dyslexia or something. With books alone, I can't tell how much I know, so I need someone who actually speaks foreign languages to test me."
By the time he finished, Chloe was gazing at him with utterly enchanted eyes.
"Oh my, Your Highness! How could it be so..."
"......?"
"So fluid and smooth, yet piercing straight to the ears—a mellifluous Arrhc!"
*Why is everyone on about Arrhc this and that? What the hell is it?*
Anyway, thanks to Chloe's suddenly skyrocketing favor and cooperation, Seongjin got to hear languages from various continent nations directly by ear.
The ones she spoke like a native: Imperial common, Bretonne, Ortone, and Cypriot—only four.
But including simple greetings and easy phrases, she could handle up to nine languages, even including heretic tribal tongues.
Truly nine times better than the Foreign Ministry's wage thieves.
And the test results.
Incredibly, Seongjin could understand all nine languages she spoke!