## Chapter 123 – The Price of Dipping a Toe (1)
“I don’t think you have any reason to be here. And trying to deepen your voice only makes you look ridiculous, so why don’t you stop there?”
“Hmm hmm~ I just happened to hear a familiar voice while passing by. More importantly, your voice is still so drab, Deborah? Your gloomy expression hasn’t changed at all?”
“Nell… Unni…?”
Deborah glared at the person and responded with a cold, razor-sharp remark. As if she hadn’t heard, the person nonchalantly put an arm around Deborah’s shoulders with a cheerful voice.
Unlike her previous appearance, where she wore clothes that barely covered her skin and looked like rags, she now wore a beautiful dress that showed off a voluptuous figure that would make any man’s eyes widen.
Anne’s face was filled with surprise at Polcinella’s sudden appearance.
“Yo~ Long time no see, disciple~ I don’t know what’s going on, but you’ve been bitten by a sly snake, haven’t you?”
While Polcinella greeted Anne cheerfully, Deborah seemed displeased that Polcinella, who was slightly taller than her, had put her arm around her shoulders. She immediately pushed the arm away and straightened her clothes.
“I think you should stop hanging around where children play, Polcinella. You’re too old now, it’s just embarrassing.”
“Oh my, I was clearly invited, you know?”
“You? Here?”
Deborah’s eyes widened slightly, as if she were genuinely surprised by Polcinella’s answer.
“The Proden family prepares well for parties in many ways, right? I was invited as a storyteller today. My countless experiences, my splendid techniques? It’s perfect for satisfying the adventurous spirit and vicarious satisfaction of young children. If I’m lucky… I might even talk about my steamy first experience…?”
She puffed out her chest as if boasting, and began to chatter in a confident voice, just like when she was at Paulo Hall before.
“And at least ten carriages are filled with men who follow me around because they like me, you know? Well, it’s much better than someone like you who has no charm, right? You probably haven’t gotten married, and you don’t even have a boyfriend yet, do you? That’s why you’ll end up living alone and sickly when you get old?”
“You’ll probably get horny while telling stories and grab any young boy and start a knife fight. All you have in your head is knives and men, you crazy, degenerate whore.”
“Oh my, a thousand-year-old spider web~ Even an Ancient Tarantula would back down~”
Truly, the epitome of a woman’s enemy is another woman.
Anne, who was watching the scene with tears and snot running down her face, was gradually turning pale as if gravity was pressing down on her body due to the oppressive atmosphere.
“Ah, it’s okay. We’re close. We were academy classmates before, you know?”
Polcinella, who was making incredibly brazen claims to Anne, who was looking at her with anxious eyes, waved her hand with a grin.
Deborah, who turned her head away as if she had no interest in those words, grumbled in an annoyed voice, and then got up from her seat as if it wasn’t even worth listening to, and gently placed her hand on the hilt of her sword.
“That’s enough nonsense to be considered art. I’ve been dispatched from the Public Security Department and am on official duty. If you interfere any further, I’ll arrest you without question.”
“Oh my, me? I’d love to be arrested. I wouldn’t miss the chance to be bound and helpless, would I? But how long would the front lines leave me alone? Haven’t you heard what I’ve been up to? “
“Having a criminal like you as a disciple, you must have been doing something useless.”
“That’s too much, isn’t it? I even got a nickname… I thought ‘The Bitch of the Front Lines’ was quite famous?”
“You’re just an annoying bitch.”
“Oh, really… Don’t be so picky, Deborah. If you keep frowning like that, you’ll get wrinkles on your face, you know? We’re both getting old, so please consider how sad I’ll be as a friend if you’re the only one who becomes a shriveled old hag?”
“The jokes are over. From this moment on, I’ll take it as you challenging the Public Security Department.”
“So, what did I say? Let me listen to the story too? And you know…”
Eventually, Polcinella quietly approached Deborah, who was about to draw her sword, and began to whisper in her ear with a voice that was a tone lower than her nonchalant voice.
Although there wasn’t much change in her expression, Deborah’s eyes began to narrow slightly.
“How did you get in here? Even though it’s chaotic now… When I came in, the security here was quite tight…? The Proden family wouldn’t have quietly let in a cop who’s perfect for ruining a party, would they? You did bring an official document, right…?”
“……”
“Wow~ What could it be? Undercover investigation? Secret investigation? An investigation that can even violate the Public Security Department’s policies? I’m so curious that I want to shout it out without even realizing it! Everyone in the neighborhood!! There’s a cop here!! Mmph!! Mmph!!”
“Shut that mouth.”
“Eum, are you going to tell on me?”
Eventually, Deborah pushed Polcinella’s face away with the hand that had been covering her mouth, as if throwing her away. She closed her eyes with an expression that looked like she would bury someone in the ground right away, and sat down in a chair, crossing her legs.
Anne, watching Deborah’s appearance, noticed that the situation was flowing strangely and made eye contact with Polcinella.
Polcinella smiled as if to say not to worry, and sat down on the edge of the bed where Anne was lying. Anne quietly watched Deborah’s reaction.
“It’s so annoying that something like you rolled in here. I wish you’d just die at the front lines.”
“It’s a shame that didn’t happen~ But I think I have a rough idea. You must have caught a pretty troublesome case?”
.
.
.
A few days ago.
Numerous men and women in uniform were sitting in their seats with disciplined postures, working diligently.
Sometimes they carried various documents or evidence around, spending busy days. They were none other than the investigators of the ‘Groden Kingdom Public Security Department’.
Of course, as is the case in most countries, they investigated deeply rooted crimes and maintained public order by exercising public authority.
“A3 case, materials on the Fellanie family’s magical explosion accident.”
“Thank you. Oh, I’ve organized a list of witnesses at the time, so please go around and check them out today.”
“Yes, I will. I’ll take Detective Bedel with me.”
However, they had recently been scolded by their superiors for failing to properly resolve the Grenot Marquis’s daughter’s disappearance case and the Druwella Baron’s daughter’s death case, so the atmosphere was far from bright.
Nevertheless, they were still running around today to solve various cases.
“The situation report hasn’t come in yet, has it?”
“No, but they contacted us saying it would be soon…”
“Haa… Just tell them we’re going. It’s better to just go and get it over with quickly.”
Fortunately, the higher-ups had ordered the Grenot Marquis’s daughter’s disappearance case to be quietly buried, so they would not be held responsible for it.
Also, the Druwella Baron’s daughter’s death case had circumstantial evidence indicating that the accident was caused by the deceased’s own mistake, so the investigation was virtually over.
From the perspective of an ordinary salaryman, it was naturally something to welcome without taking responsibility for failure, but there were bound to be those who didn’t think so.
Among the various investigators, a junior investigator arrived at the seat of a woman who was exuding a particularly harsh and cold atmosphere.
“What is it?”
“Um… Inspector Deborah… The Chief Superintendent is looking for you…”
“I’ll go.”
Deborah, who immediately stood up from her seat at the message that her superior was looking for her, straightened her clothes and began to walk. People trembled and felt chills whenever she passed by.
“Hic…!”
The place she arrived at was the Chief Superintendent’s office.
The Chief Superintendent had a small cigar in his mouth, emitting a luxurious scent, and was rummaging through the documents piled up in front of him.
He glanced at Deborah, who was standing in front of his desk and saluting, and waved his hand, saying that was enough, and immediately opened his mouth.
“We don’t have time, so I’ll get straight to the point. What’s wrong with you?”
“……”
“Inspector Schwalt told me. That you have too much unnecessary interest.”
“I don’t understand the meaning of your words.”
The Chief Superintendent’s expression was slightly distorted at Deborah’s words, who was looking at the empty space in front of her without a hint of change in her expression.
“What case are you currently in charge of?”
“The Raul Frederick drug death case.”
“Then why are you still rummaging through completed cases? Would you like to explain that?”
“……”
“Yes. The Grenot Marquis’s daughter’s disappearance case and the Druwella Baron’s daughter’s death case. I heard that you are still personally investigating cases that have already been closed.”
“Those cases are not over yet.”
“The Druwella Baron’s daughter’s death case has enough eyewitness evidence. It is possible to end the situation with that.”
“But that is just a simple sighting. It was not impossible to match the words. The strange atmosphere of the scene, and the failure to properly search for practical on-site evidence…”
“A security guard from a famous mercenary group academy, and above all, the head of the Polignac Marquis family gave testimony with his honor and the academy’s honor at stake. You should understand what kind of problems you will create if you stir things up, right? You are also from the academy, aren’t you? Don’t you still understand?”
“I’m just looking for the truth.”
“The Grenot Marquis’s daughter’s disappearance case as well?”
“Yes.”
“Haaa…”
The Chief Superintendent took the cigar out of his mouth and exhaled a thick cloud of smoke. He massaged his forehead with his other hand and let out a deep sigh.
“Do you have two lives? No, I don’t think you could do that even if you had a hundred lives? Are you not understanding the situation because I’m speaking quietly now? Don’t you understand why the case is being covered up?”
“I understand.”
“Then shouldn’t you act according to what you understand!! You don’t even know what kind of repercussions stirring up a hornet’s nest like that will bring!!”
At the Chief Superintendent’s voice, which echoed loudly throughout the office, the noisy atmosphere outside suddenly became quiet.
In fact, in the office where all the members of the Public Security Department had become quiet and only silence prevailed, Deborah, who had not changed her expression at all, did not even move and only opened her mouth to confront his words head-on.
“As an investigator of the Public Security Department, I will always reveal the truth of the case. No matter who the opponent is, even if they are nobles or royalty, they cannot hide from their sins. It is my job to bring those who have committed crimes that have caused someone pain to justice.”
“I won’t say it twice. Bury it. And don’t ever think about it again. You can’t investigate or do anything if your head isn’t attached. Instead, investigate the case you’re working on now properly, yes. The drug death case.”
Eventually, after breathing in and out with trembling anger and taking a deep breath for a while, the Chief Superintendent, who couldn’t seem to get Deborah to understand no matter how many times he told her, closed his eyes and seemed to calm down his anger, then waved his hand and issued an order to leave.
And as Deborah turned around, he added a few words in a voice that seemed to grind his teeth, and Deborah turned her head slightly and calmly answered.
“Comply with the policy. Obey the orders of your superiors. You only have one life. Keep in mind that there is a limit to how much I can cover up your actions.”
“I will.”
As Deborah’s figure completely disappeared and the door closed again, the sound of something being thrown and annoyance was heard briefly in the office, but soon subsided.
