Chapter 5

-You can NOT trust her. Every word from her mouth is a lie and every expression is fake. Since we’re not sure if that is the real Viper right now, you should at least peel her skin off to see if she’s real when you get a chance.

Rexid was on the road to the Grand Duke’s castle with the kidnapped Viper riding next to him.

He kept thinking about what Owen told him again and again inside the fancy carriage.

“What’s your real name?” Rexid asked, looking down at Viper with his arms crossed arrogantly.

Viper, who had regained her calmness and sitting obediently next to him, tilted her head.

“My real name?”

“Yes. Not James who hoarded fake gems and resold them door to door, not Elizabeth that went around ripping off ten million norts a month pretending to be a teacher from a kingdom teaching noble children, not the merchant Johnny from a new continent that sold mats made of cheap mineral, but your real name.”

“Whoa… it seems you had quite the interest in me.”

“I do. And I’m guessing that there are dozens of other small cons that you didn’t get caught doing.”

“This is unexpected. You aren’t the stupid brute that I’ve heard from the rumors, Your Highness.”

Rexid flinched at Viper’s expression, which seemed genuinely surprised.

Predicting Viper’s escape from prison, coming up with a plan to put poison in Viper’s food to cast an incantation on her, and investigating all of Viper’s known crimes was all on the competent butler, Owen’s ability.

The only thing Rexid did was order the butler around.

But hearing that he ‘wasn’t as stupid as she thought’ from the genius swindler didn’t feel so bad. He didn’t bother to correct her.

“So what’s your name?”

“I don’t have one…”

“What?”

“I don’t have a name. No one named me.” Viper smiled bitterly.

Rexid’s eyes that were watching over her became thin as he squinted.

“It’s the truth. If I didn’t want to reveal my identity, I would have lied and told you any name. I really don’t have a name.”

“Do you not… have parents?”

“Mm, I couldn’t have fallen out of the sky so someone must have given birth to me. But I don’t have any memories of it…

“I see.”

Well, if she grew up in a normal family without insufficiencies, would she have become a swindler?

Rexid thought it was quite unfortunate.

“I just lived by coming up with a suitable name each time. The reason it was so difficult to catch me is that my identity is not registered even though I’m a citizen of the empire.”

“Is that right?”

“Yes. Since I’m going to be helping you, if there is a name you like, you can call me by that name, Your Highness.”

“You’re going to help me?”

“If I wasn’t going to, why would I be willingly riding your carriage to your castle?”

“I don’t know. I can’t tell what goes on in that small head of yours. Even now, are you not trying to come up with a good plan to make a run for it?”

Viper who was rolling her eyes shrugged at Rexid’s words.

“I changed my mind. Honestly, when I heard the rumors about you, I didn’t think you were someone that I could trust and serve as my lord.”

“Then what made you change your mind?”

“I didn’t know you were someone capable of meticulously putting poison in my food.”

“Ah.”

Rexid felt kind of awkward.

He wasn’t all that proud of the fact that he had to weigh her down by secretly poisoning her food, even though he would have activated the incantation if he was in the same situation.

But Viper talked about it as if it wasn’t that big of a deal.

“Sometimes, such bold determination is necessary. But what type of poison was it? Siphen? Perilton?”

It was Owen who acquired the poison and thought of feeding it to Viper.

Rexid shrugged and acted like he didn’t hear the question that he couldn’t answer, but Viper asked again tenaciously.

“If I took it unknowingly, it means that the poison was odorless and colorless, but Siphen has a noticeable scent. So I thought it was Perilton, but the symptoms… seemed different.”

“Why are you asking me? Do you think I’m a fool? I wouldn’t just give you a detailed explanation about what kind of poison I used?”

“Hmm… I see your point.”

Viper nodded in agreement and Rexid secretly tried to read her expression.

Viper, who experienced the incantation being activated, must be thinking that the poison she took wasn’t ordinary.

He could have told her the truth, but he didn’t want to. Even though he didn’t need to care for her rights because she was a criminal, he did bring her to help him, and also…

For some reason, he felt bad telling her the truth about how he bound her by casting an incantation on her.

“Anyways, you can give me a name, Your Highness. Anything is fine,” Viper, who was deep in thought, finally smiled.

In the small carriage, Rexid flinched, when he was faced with the innocent smile of hers.

To his surprise, Viper’s identity was unexpected. She was a young and small woman, and she had a decently a pretty face on top of that.

It was fortunate that she was committing fraud with her brilliant mind, if she didn’t have such talent, she would have experienced hell, full of tears.

Unfortunately, in the empire’s status-based society, it was difficult even for a beautiful commoner to live a normal life.

-I don’t have a name. No one named me.

Even though he had no idea what kind of life Viper lived, Rexid started to take pity on her based on his guesses.

…Not having the slightest idea that at this moment when he was beginning to feel sorry for her, he was right in the palm of her hands.

“For your name, let me give it more thought. Anyway…”

Rexid’s hand rose slowly above the face that he was gazing at.

The hand, big enough to cover her small face, softly pinched Viper’s cheek.

“This was unexpected for me. I didn’t know the genius swindler was such a beautiful woman.”

With a strange smile, the hand brushing against her cheek felt strong.

“Y-Your Highness…” Viper blushed as if she was taken aback.

Rexid smirked at the refreshing reaction and gently pressed his thumb on Viper’s cheek.

“This, I’m just… your face…”

Viper placed her hand on top of Rexid’s, that was still touching her cheek.

Soon, her blushing face relaxed in an instant.

Viper smiled and told him.

“You don’t have to rip my face off. This is my real face.”

Aha…

Rexid, who was trying to check just in case, removed his hand with an sheepish look on his face.

“Being careful and alert is good. It’s the most basic skill for surviving the big game.”

He couldn’t tell if she was being sarcastic or not.

Suddenly, Rexid, who was letting out a dry cough, sniffed his nose at the stench coming from around them.

“But what’s that smell?”

When he pinched his nose and glared at Viper, she looked embarrassed.

Viper was still in the sky blue prisoner’s uniform. There still was filth on the clothes here and there.

It was obvious. The escape route that Viper chose was the sewers, where such excretion passed through.

Rexid cringed as he stared at Viper smiling awkwardly.

***

“From here to here, load everything that fits.”

“Uhh, Your Highness… I only need one set of clothes to change into.”

They had arrived at a clothing store in the city.

Rexid, who couldn’t take the odor any longer, blindly stopped the carriage.

Every single one of the dresses from the luxurious clothing store for nobles was fancy.

Even though Viper was taken aback and profoundly refused, Rexid was relentless.

“How can you live with just one pair of clothes? Are you going to wash them every time they get dirty?”

“Isn’t that what you’re supposed to do?”

“What?”

“How can you think of changing into expensive clothes like this every day? Just one is too much. Of course, you’re supposed to wash your clothes again and again when they get dirty.”

Rexid was speechless at Viper’s answer, telling him like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“Wait, then what did you do with all the…”

Rexid, who peeped at the owner of the clothing store standing off to the side, stood next to Viper and questioned her as he acted like he was picking out clothes.

“...money you scammed? How much did you spend that you can’t even buy new clothes?”

“Ah…”

Viper, who was touching the clothes, murmured quietly with a bitter expression on her face.

“There are some orphans I’ve been taking care of ever since I was abandoned in the alley. The cost of medicine was expensive because all of them were ill. I haven’t made enough to spend anything on luxury yet…”

“What?” Rexid was taken aback after hearing Viper’s circumstances.

Viper, a nameless orphan that was abandoned in the back alley.

It must have been difficult for her to take care of herself, but she had no choice but to become a swindler to take care of the orphans who were in a similar situation.

She must not have had a choice, since she wouldn’t have been able to afford it by earning money through conventional methods, other than using that exceptional smarts of hers for fraud.

She wasn’t an idiot that would get caught easily, but how unfortunate would it be if she really did get executed?

Rexid barely hid his compassion. “When you become one of my people, there’s no need to act so poorly. If there’s anything you like, just say the word. Aren’t you just the right age to like these sort of things?”

“That’s true but… I’ve never even thought about it considering the state I was in. Are you really buying all of these for me?”

With eyes full of excitement, Viper looked at the summer dresses that were trending in the feudatory.

Feeling bad after seeing her reaction, Rexid gladly nodded his head.

“Of course.”

“Can I really receive something like this?”

“Of course. From now on, I’ll buy you whatever you want, so you don’t have to refuse.

Pick out a dress to change into right now.”

“Mm, then…”

Viper, who was standing in front of a mannequin wearing a short-sleeved light pink dress, asked Rexid with a shy face.

“…Can I try this on?”

“Madam.”

With a wave of Rexid’s hand, the owner of the clothing store, who was peeping at Viper in her ragged prisoner’s uniform with a displeased look, came running.

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“She’ll wear that out so prepare it now.”

“Yes, sir.”

Madam Tesley prepared the dress from the mannequin and handed it to Viper, staying as far away from her as possible.

“The fitting room is over there. You can change in there.”

She had to serve her because Grand Duke Hexen, who was the feudal lord, brought her personally. But it was understandable that she was reluctant to interact with the unidentified woman who was wearing a prisoner’s uniform and drenched in filth.

Even more so as Madam Tesley was the owner of the famous clothing store that usually only dealt with elegant nobles.

As if she noticed Madam Tesley’s expression, Viper hesitated and asked her carefully.

“Umm… I’m sorry, but I’ve never worn such fancy clothes before. If it’s not too much trouble, could you help me put them on?”

While Madam Tesley was disgusted, Rexid felt strong compassion for Viper after seeing her sad expression.

“That’s not so difficult, is it? Help her.”

“Oh, yes sir…”

Finally, Madam Tesley headed towards the fitting room alongside Viper with heavy steps.

As he waited, Rexid thought of Viper, who was now completely different from her bold appearance that he saw at their first encounter.

She kept cowering, and she chose her words carefully.

She was a young woman with an unfortunate past with no parents to give her a name, and never had the chance to try on a fine piece of clothing.

The excited expression when receiving a small gift such as clothes, and the timid face that couldn’t even look at Madam Tesley properly…

Already, more than once had she moved Rexid’s rather soft heart.

‘It might not be so bad to treat her well. It will inspire a sense of loyalty in her towards me…’

Rexid waited for Viper with that thought in mind.

10 minutes… 15 minutes… 20 minutes…

‘Do women usually take this long to try on a dress?’

He didn’t know, because he’d never been close to a woman before.

‘Well, the dress did look complicated.’

‘But no matter how complicated the dress may be… taking 20 minutes to put it on?’

Finally, when his stupid brain started functioning, he remembered the words of his competent butler which he had briefly forgotten.

-You can’t trust her.

-Every word from her mouth is a lie and…

-Every expression is fake.

“Damn it!”

Rexid moved his feet as he bolted through the store and burst through the door of the fitting room.

Sure enough…

The sight that greeted him was the window of the fitting room swung wide open.

And, Madam Tesley’s hands were tied up with lace that held a knife right under her chin so she couldn’t even open her mouth.

‘Shit, I’ve been fooled again…’