Emilone’s Temptation Labyrinth – Chapter 85

“I just hope you don’t end up crying pitifully after losing to the ‘mere’ young miss as you say.”

I rolled the wooden box idly in my palm before putting it down on the table between us.

“A game that wagers gifts granted by the gods. I can’t imagine anything more entertaining.”

The man seemed caught off guard by my bold statement and his mouth flapped open and closed. Taking in the sight, I smiled, my eyes curving into an arc.

“For the game, let’s go with a question-and-answer session.”

“…”

The small box between us was a magical device.

I’d seen it a few times in the Imperial Palace. If I had to give a comparison, I’d say it’s similar to lie detectors in the world I’m from.

However, its accuracy is not very reliable, so it wasn’t used for judging criminals or anything. It was more like a medium of amusement among nobles.

“You can’t be serious!”

I feel like I’ve heard that phrase a lot today.

He thought I was being ridiculous, but he was the one who told me to decide the game.

“You want to use such an unreliable device for a bet this valuable?!”

“Why not? The uncertainty makes it exciting. It’s all up to luck.”

I ran my fingers lazily across the rough surface of the wooden box, then leaned in and blew a soft breath over it.

As if responding, the crude wooden box began to glow faintly, its edges shimmering with soft, magical light.

“You wouldn’t be going back on your word, would you?”

“…Ugh.”

I glanced back at Alois, but he was simply watching with his red lips pressed firmly together, not saying anything.

Even with all the provocation I was doing, his expression didn’t flicker.

Hmm…I thought he would be showing his cards by now.

“Shall we begin the game, then?”

Winning against this man and claiming the Olive Tree was, to me, a foregone conclusion. And by repeating these games, I wanted to find out what Alois was hiding.

There really were a lot of things that Alois was hiding from me.

He claimed it was all for my sake, but I couldn’t possible be blind to the fact that it was actually for his own benefit.

“…”

“The rules of the game are simple: the liar loses. If this magical device determines a player is lying, that player loses.”

“I’ve never heard of such a ridiculous game…!”

“You’re hearing about it now.”

I flicked the magical device lightly with my finger, making it roll once before it stopped neatly in place.

Then, adopting an arrogant demeanor like man, I looked down at him.

“Running away already? If I were you, I’d spend less time avoiding and more time thinking of how to win.”

The man bit his lower lips and swallowed his anger.

I turned my gaze to the blonde woman who was overseeing the match and studied her closely.

“He gave me the right to choose the game earlier. Let’s move on with what I just said.”

“…You—!”

“Understood. We will proceed with the rules you have stated.”

The woman adjusted her monocle and replied without hesitation.

The man flushed red and blue, and he looked like he was about to explode but after the woman spoke, he felt silent like he was lowering his tail.

‘…There’s definitely something.’

There was nothing simple about this place.

Even the nobility couldn’t say a word to the workers, and they seemed to accept every decision obediently.

“You’re a fool.”

As I leaned forward on the table and propped my chin on my hand, the man suddenly mutter those words.

I blinked and stared at the man, as if asking him to repeat himself, but he snatched the magical device I was fiddling with out of my hand.

“To think you’d stake such a valuable bet on a gamble!”

“Oh my, you call this a gamble? This is merely a magical device set to catch you when you lie. It might not be that accurate but…if don’t want to lose, just don’t lie.”

“…”

His teeth ground together so hard that the sound was audible. Even with all the fierceness in his glare, it wasn’t scary at all.

“Now, the game is on. Since you gave me the right to choose, why don’t I give you the right to ask questions first?”

Anyone could see this was pure gambling.

If you didn’t lie, your chance of losing went down but that’s it. You could still lose.

In this kind of game, you could never tell when you’d lose.

However, if there was one thing no one knew…

“I’ll make sure you regret that!”

It’s that I am the one loved by god.

“If you can, that would be so interesting.”

The Saintess.

“Let’s see how long you can be so arrogant!”

In a game of luck, where fate was the wager, a Saintess blessed by the divine couldn’t possibly lose.

“Haha. So, when will you ask that question?”

The man bit his lower lips again, seemingly out of habit and I swallowed down my laugh.

People always panic when faced with unpredictable situations.

He was clearly someone who had gambled here for years and was confident in his ability to win but in a game like this…there was no way to predict whether you’d win or lose.

“Alright, I’ll ask a question.”

“Please do.”

I replied mockingly, curving my eyes in an arc. I stared at the man with a smile on my lips and he finally opened his mouth.

“Dou you believe you can win this game?!”

“…Wow.”

What a question. It was the type of question that could trap only those whose word carried no weight.

With a snort, I lifted up the magical device and rolled it lightly between my fingers.

Then, as if pondering deeply, I leaned back and tipped my head up.

My vision filled with a familiar sight of tousled brown hair.

Suddenly, his expression melted into a soft, disarming smile, as if his expressionless face before was my imagination.

“Having trouble answering?”

“No, of course not. There’s only one answer.”

I enjoyed watching the face of the young lord twist in frustration as I leaned forward and spoke into the magical device.

“To the question of whether I believe I will win this game—my answer is yes.”

The gods of fate were on my side.

The gods were not so kind as to favor a human who was selling off the gifts they left in the human world.

‘Wait a second, I bet the flower of Purulos too…does that also count as selling off their gifts?”

But just as I expected, the magical device glowed a yellowish green, indicating that what I said was true.

While I was busy worrying over nothing, I noticed the man’s clenching his fists tightly at his side.

Well, I am the Saintess. I doubt they’d be that angry with me for using a few flowers to bet with a man.

Convinced of my own reasoning, I gave a slight nod and rolled the device back toward him.

“My turn to ask a question, then?”

“…Yes.”

“Yes, that is correct,” the blonde woman chimed in at the same time.

Both confirmed it was my turn, leaving me to ponder what I should ask.

Right at that moment, Alois leaned in and whispered something very faintly in my ear and my eyes went wide.

“…”

I looked back at him with wide eyes, wondering if that’s what he really wanted, and Alois just smiled without answering.

With a sigh, I turned back to the young lord who was already waiting impatiently and opened my mouth.

“Alright, are you a noble of the Nevercio Empire?” (1)

“…!”

Although he owned an Olive Tree of the Goddess, that didn’t guarantee he was from the kingdom.

That said, he was the only one who was nervous here.

There was no reason for him to lie and increase the odds of losing in an already unpredictable game.

“…That’s right.”

But what I was curious about was why Alois wanted me to ask that question. Just knowing someone’s country of origin barely amounted to anything…

Or so I thought but seeing the smile on Alois’ face, I stopped all my meaningless questions.

He must know something.

“Must be the truth.”

Once again, the magical device glowed green, seemingly saying that he gave the correct answer.

I started wondering if we would ever get a false reading at this rate.

The round passed and the question fell back to me.

“Alright. It is my turn again.”

At the same time, Alois whispered to me again and hearing his much deeper question, I started wondering if this game that I chose without thinking was for me or for him.

“Are you a noble from the Ledoux Territory, commonly known as the ‘Frosted Land’, within the Nevercio Empire?”

This was only the second question.

I’d thought we’d at least get to question 10 but the man abruptly shot to his feet.

“What are you…!! What do you think you’re doing?!”

“…”

I guess I hit the nail right on the head.

Judging by his reaction, this was a place where revealing one’s identity was not an option. The man looked genuinely flustered that his cover had been blown.

If he was a noble from the Ledoux territory of the Nevercio Empire, then he was one of those tasked with guarding the borders under the king’s orders in the so-called frosted land.

If you took a closer look around, you’d find that most of the nobles in this room were using magic. They were likely disguising their appearances to avoid being recognized by anyone they knew.

“Who the hell are you?!

The blonde woman quickly tried to stop him, but the man was so rattled by how easily his identity was exposed that he slammed his fist on the table and reached for me without hesitation.

I watched his hand move toward me and briefly considered how to respond.

A naive Saintess caught in a trap set by a cunning foreign prince?

Or.

Someone simply curious about how Alois knew that the man in front of me was a Ledoux noble from the Nevercio Empire?

Translator’s Corner:

1. It was called the Nevercio Kingdom last chapter, and it is called the Nevercio Empire. I will assume both titles are correct.

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