The Grand Duke’s Fox Princess

Episode 62: A Ghostly Reunion (II)

However, it was not easy to discover that person’s identity.

It was difficult to investigate without inducing direct moves.

Since that day, Eristella had been thinking intensely every day. She concluded that she had to solve this problem as quickly as possible in her own way.

“I don’t know how to make meticulous grand plans.”

Simply moving intuitively. That was Eristella’s way.

People with cramps couldn’t sit still because their feet were numb.

Surprisingly, Eristella’s impulsive hunches fit pretty well.

“Be careful. If you do something wrong, they might even notice that you are alive.”

Heinricion warned about unforeseen circumstances.

But Eristella was not concerned.

People would never suspect that Eristella is alive.

They had already erased her existence from this world. No one wanted her to come back.

Therefore, even if she appeared in front of their eyes, they would think that she had become a ghost, not that she had come back to life.

Since that was what they wanted to believe.

But for some reason, Heinricion’s face appeared strange whenever she said that, so instead of answering, Eristella just smiled.

*******

Charlotte was excited about Eristella’s plan, rolling up her sleeves to cooperate.

Everyone expressed admiration and surprise when Charlotte unfolded something she had brought at night, saying it was her weapon.

“What’s all this? I don’t even know how to use it?”

“This is all my expertise from my acting career. You just have to trust me and follow.”

Her weapon was makeup equipment.

She seemed to have all the existing colors, shiny cosmetics, and tools. They were gorgeous to look at and she was careful handling them, with a light touch.

Wearing a look of seriousness, Charlotte raised a brush.

“You can feel chills just looking into eyes full of resentment. That way, even if you do the same thing with makeup, the effect will be doubled.”

Charlotte painted Eristella’s skin pale and accentuated her eyes with dark eyeshadow.

After Charlotte had finished, Eristella’s face was so frightening that Charlotte turned numb. On the other hand, there was also a faint sense of gloomy beauty.

“Is this possible?”

When Eristella looked into the mirror, she couldn’t believe it.

The combination of thick eyelashes and hair trimmed flowing to cover the face a little created a strange, ghastly, but very cool charm that caused shivers.

“I told you it was my weapon. This much is expected for my skills.”

Charlotte admired her work, gazing delightfully at Eristella.

“It’s really great. It makes me want to learn.”

Sonia showed admiration as well.

There was only one person in this space who couldn’t smile upon seeing it

Heinricion, who had dark bags under his eyes even though Charlotte had not touched his face in the slightest, felt the urge to pull the singer away from Eristella.

However Heinricion, unable to do anything, had no choice but to watch helplessly as the three ladies giggled happily.

“If you cast a spell to keep your current state, you will be able to show this to others at the auction tomorrow.”

Charlotte turned to Heinricion with a raised brow. It seemed like she was asking why he hadn’t immediately cast a spell.

In the end, Heinricion used magic without saying a word.

Eristella’s whole body proceeded to shine brightly, and soon the light was absorbed.

*******

The auction house was located in the basement of a general store on a street where several shops were gathered.

Though moderately avoiding the gaze of people, it was considerate toward nobles accessing the venue.

In addition, tonight’s auction was so lively that it was incomparable to the past.

“I can see why they are auctioning things off the princess’s stuff.”

Charlotte, watching the auction, murmured with a low voice.

She had been part of the imperial family, so she could appreciate the value of the items at the auction better than others.

Each item had a value equal to any family heirloom.

Charlotte entered the auction, pretending to be interested.

Meanwhile, she watched and memorized what was being auctioned and who bought it.

Since she couldn’t rule out the possibility that there were bad intentions.

Besides, even if they had no malicious desires, it was still Eristella’s stuff. It was something that had to be retrieved at some point.

*******

Charlotte was the only person officially present in today’s auction.

Heinricion was never formally invited, and he had no plans to appear directly. He was going to secretly attend the auction today so that no one else would notice.

The invisibility cloak, which had been whispered about as a legend in the empire, belonged to the Grand Duchy of Adelasia.

Heinricion boldly put on the cloak, which could only be used a few times per day.

Hugging a fox in his arms, he went into the auction house.

From the moment he was told the location of the auction house, he researched the buildings and their surroundings to determine where Eristella should appear.

Heinricion and Eristella briefly hid in the furthest resting room.

Princess Eristella was going to appear again tonight.

This time, with very proper ghost makeup.

She was supposed to wait until midnight, and once she changed back to her original appearance, she would go on to cause a commotion, haunting the auction.

At the same time, the role played by Heinricion was also significant.

If Charlotte diverted everyone’s attention, reminding them of the princess’s existence in the auction house, Heinricion would also divert attention in another sense.

The supporting cast had to showcase ‘ghost’ Eristella more dramatically.

Lighting and sound effects to create a dramatic atmosphere were the basics.

Along with directing the ‘ghost’ to disappear and reappear.

It was only natural that the screams of those who witnessed Eristella grew louder when this perfect play was completed.

As the situation progressed, a sense of shame flooded in for some reason, so Heinricion could not raise his head.

Eristella wretched movements and Heinricion sheepishness harmonized quite well.

Apart from feeling ashamed, Heinricion was doing his best to assist the ‘play’ without realizing it.

He created lightning-like effects at the optimal timing.

If someone tried to approach Eristella, he sent an optical illusion magic that kept that person in the same place no matter how much he or she moved.

Even Eristella was deeply impressed.

Was it because of Heinricion’s efforts? The audience who faced the ghost princess reacted beyond their expectations.

*******

The ghost disturbance that was prepared with determination caused people to scream in horror, and one of them even fainted. Thanks to this, everyone who was at the auction was able to understand the situation.

The auction stopped and everyone gathered in one place.

“It’s really true. The dead princess…”

“Did you really see it?”

It was when Charlotte sounded out.

“Well, what did you see? I didn’t see anything!”

Then the woman next to her became startled and strongly denied it.

‘But I think she saw me somewhere?’

Hiding and watching the situation, Eristella looked at a woman who was stiff as if her feet were numb.

‘Well, it’s different from my intentions, but seeing her react so sensitively, it seems to have worked out rather well.’

Right then.

“…I saw it.”

Another woman muttered, her face dazed.

“I’m sure. It’s Princess Eristella.”

“Hmm. That’s weird. Why did she only show up in front of a few people? Shouldn’t anyone be able to see it? I’m confused… or perhaps she appeared to those who she holds a grudge against.”

Charlotte raised questions amid the confusion.

Those questions were ordinary, but they were enough to raise doubts in those with numb feet.

“I, w-what, what, I… Why would the princess have a grievance against me?!”

Then, the woman who had said earlier that she witnessed Eristella, fell deep into thought as if she had been stabbed and frantically denied it.

“There’s nothing wrong with everyone then.”

“…….”

“Why? Did you suddenly think of something?”

Charlotte’s every word stirred up the current situation. The more she said, the more the atmosphere flowed in the direction she wanted.

She laughed inwardly. Those people will keep thinking about what they have just seen, just in case.

“…That can’t be? Right. There is nothing to be afraid of, so there is no need to be worried. Yes. Haha…”

“Of course, you couldn’t have done anything dishonest. It’s just the nasty heart of a dead princess.”

Charlotte rubbed it in with a satisfied smile.

But the nobles were already engulfed in anxiety. The sin that had been buried somewhere in everyone’s memories began to surface. 

Ame: while translating, I kept thinking the characters were going…

Charlotte: “Theatrics is in my blood! My moment to SHINE!”

Eristella: “I’m pretty good at this? Wait, eheheheheh, did that guy just pee his pants?”

Heinricion: “Is this how the aides of other novel MLs feel when their master starts obsessing over the FL? Doing tasks that ain’t part of their job description…”

AP: while PRing, I kept wondering why I agreed to do this. *Blinks multiple times for help*