Everyone Realized the Saint Was a Fake, but She Still Thought She Was Fooling Them - Chapter 17

In the end, Celeste officially broke off her engagement with Brode.

It seems she took time to think carefully once she calmed down, but she decided that their different views on infidelity were irreconcilable. Although she was regretful, she ultimately chose to end the engagement.

Since Celeste’s family, the Tronic Ducal House, was well known, rumors of the broken engagement quickly spread throughout the royal palace, attracting much attention.

Naturally, Wallace heard about it immediately and summoned Lianna, demanding an explanation.

Lianna braced herself, knowing she was about to be scolded.

After all, it was because she had tried to trick Brode into revealing information that Celeste began doubting his character.

“I’m sorry, Wallace. This situation got out of hand… I feel really bad for Celeste…”

Lianna, led into the drawing room, shrank in guilt, not even daring to sit down.

However, Wallace did not seem too serious about it.

“Why are you apologizing so much, Lianna?”

Lianna looked even more downcast.

“The engagement was broken because of me… I just wanted Brode to talk a little. But what he said was something Celeste couldn’t accept… I was wrong. I shouldn’t have done it in front of her…”

“Oh, no. If their engagement ended over that, they wouldn’t have lasted anyway,” Wallace said, trying to comfort her.

“Did you see Celeste? She seems surprisingly calm,” Lianna asked, still worried.

“Not yet. I wanted to hear the details from you first,” Wallace replied.

Lianna nervously wiped the sweat from her forehead.

“The details… Well, I accidentally revealed a lot about Lord Ernst to Brode. Celeste didn’t know much about it, and when she listened calmly, it was clear Brode was in the wrong…”

Wallace nodded slightly, as if he had expected this.

“So, you overheard me and Ernst talking, then tried to get Brode to slip up? And Brode fell for the provocation, which made Celeste snap? Is that how it went? Then… does that mean Celeste forgives you?”

Lianna flinched at how accurate his guess was.

“I don’t know how much she’s forgiven me… I did explain a lot afterward and apologized for tricking her… But considering the engagement was called off because of it…”

Wallace sighed. “I see. Then I’ll apologize too. You’re not the only one at fault. I’ll explain that we did it to solve the Ernst case. I don’t know if she’ll forgive us, but I’ll try. Anyway, did Brode say anything useful?”

Even while worrying about Celeste, Wallace was still interested in the Ernst case.

“He said Yelena’s lover stabbed Ernst under orders from Lucilda.”

“That’s the same thing you heard from Lucilda,” Wallace said, uninterested. “Anything else?”

Lianna shook her head, looking disappointed.

“Not much… Celeste got angry, so I couldn’t get more. Oh, but he did mention something about Lucilda’s travel permit.”

Wallace’s eyes lit up.

“A travel permit? Ernst mentioned that too.”

“Yeah. What was it… Lucilda gave a travel permit to Yelena’s lover but intentionally put Ernst’s name on it?”

Lianna tried hard to recall, and Wallace immediately leaned forward.

“Ernst said he was stabbed after being tricked by a man named Dustin over a document error. He also mentioned Lucilda’s travel permit.”

“Wow…” Lianna was shocked.

“If we investigate how that permit was issued, we might find something suspicious.”

Wallace narrowed his eyes and then chuckled slightly.

Suddenly, he stepped closer to Lianna.

“Huh?” Lianna looked at Wallace in surprise.

Wallace reached for her.

Lianna’s heart skipped a beat, and she stepped back. But her back hit a cabinet—she had nowhere left to run.

With the cabinet behind him, Wallace leaned in, his nose almost touching hers.

He slowly moved to kiss her.

“W-Wait! What is happening? Why are you trying to kiss me?!”

Lianna covered her face with both hands, blushing furiously.

However, Wallace remained unfazed. Still leaning close, he whispered in her ear,

“Why not? We’re engaged. This much should be fine. Besides, I’m happy that you’re trying to be useful.”

Lianna was flustered.

Wallace… was trying to kiss her? He had only been her childhood friend, but did he really have feelings for her?

Thinking about it made her heart race, and she felt like she couldn’t stand properly.

She tried desperately to change the subject.

“S-Sorry, but after ruining Celeste’s engagement, I can’t just be happy about my own… Oh, right! What about you? Did you find any new information about Yelena’s lover and Lucilda?”

Wallace had been about to touch her hair, but at her serious question, his excitement faded slightly.

“Geez, you’re too serious.”

“Of course I am!”

Lianna argued back, and Wallace sighed before pulling away slightly.

“We found Yelena’s lover.”

Lianna was so surprised she forgot about the kiss.

“What!? That’s huge! We should capture him and interrogate him. If Ernst saw his face, we can at least arrest him for the stabbing.”

“Yeah, but if we act too soon, Lucilda might escape by sacrificing him. We need to understand their connection first, so we’re keeping an eye on him.”

“I see… So how did you find him?”

“By using people and money to track him down, nothing fancy.”

“Where is he?”

“At the temple of Lucilda’s top patron priest in the southern capital.”

“Huh? Not the central temple?”

Lianna tilted her head.

“You really haven’t cared about Lucilda these past two years, huh? You know nothing about her,” Wallace said, exasperated.

“Yeah… I wanted nothing to do with her, so I avoided anything related to her.”

Lianna scratched her head.

Just then, a loud voice echoed from the hallway.

“Hey, Wallace! Let’s go for a ride! …Oh? Lianna?”

Lianna and Wallace immediately recognized Bartlett’s voice.

Seeing Lianna, Bartlett raised an eyebrow.

Lianna gave him a knowing nod—after all, Bartlett was the one who arranged her engagement with Wallace.

Bartlett frowned.

“What’s with that formal greeting? Is it about the engagement? You should be thanking me. Actually, you owe me.”

“Huh…”

Lianna frowned at Bartlett’s smugness, giving a half-hearted response.

Wallace quickly stepped in.

“Hey, Bartlett, don’t provoke Lianna. We’re still figuring things out.”

“What? Now even you, Wallace?!”

Bartlett looked frustrated, but Wallace changed the subject.

“You’re here about Celeste, right? I’ll come. Let me get ready. What about Lianna?”

“She’s coming too,” Bartlett said firmly.

“Huh?! Me too?”

“You were there when Celeste confronted Brode. Tell us everything.”

“Yeah, we need details to plan our next move,” Wallace added.

“Plan?”

Wallace whispered to her,

“Bartlett is going to propose to Celeste.”

“Wallace!”

Bartlett panicked.

Wallace smirked. “It’s true, isn’t it?”

“N-No, I just want to comfort her…”

Wallace patted Bartlett’s shoulder. “You’ve been thinking seriously about marriage since my engagement. You’re considering Celeste, aren’t you?”

Bartlett blushed. “As an option, maybe!”

Wallace chuckled. “Then it’s settled. Lianna, you’re not dressed for riding, so I’ll lead your horse. Let’s go—just the three of us.”