Chapter 79

Eun-woo watched as Irena raised one of her brows in surprise.

"…. Notem Knight?"

Irena spread her hand out and as if commanding the paladin, the paladin brought the coin to her hand.

Irena looked back and forth on the coin's front and back, then kicked her tongue and opened her mouth.

"…. Seeing that it is a coin of Miremba, he is from the Continent of Mezzolin. And although the state of the coin is copper, he is a young knight who has just received the title because the year of manufacture is very recent…. would there be anyone out there except for that person?"

"To say that he is…"

"The leader of the Mezzolin Central Knights, Karzxion Ubera."

Irena added in an emotionless voice. Her finger flicked the coin a couple of times.

"Because of his straw-like hair color and vulgar behavior which is not worthy of the title of a great Notem Knight, he is even called the Yellow Dog of the Continent."

After Irena's speech was over, the coin went straight into the pocket of her coat.

"… I will hand over this item to the managers myself."

After completing her duties, Irena turned and glanced at Eun-woo's side.

Eun-woo was tensed at her gaze that seemed to pierce through her. A strange expression appeared on her face as Irena examined her up and down. She mumbled in her voice, it wasn't a ridicule, but she wore a cold smile.

"… And it looks like you can't ignore this cycle of bloodline. I have to acknowledge her talent for getting out of a crisis in a strange way."

Eun-woo blinked as she heard Irena's words.

What does that mean?

Eun-woo tilted her head curiously, remembering the face of her immature brother.

Then someone put a hand on her shoulder. When she turned her head, it was Selena who had a better expression on her face.

"I am glad that the situation has calmed down. How worried I was for Eleanor that you might be kicked out of the church in the middle of the night."

"It'll be fine now, Selena… At least I won't be homeless tonight."

Selena muttered a deep rib in her forehead.

"But I was surprised… that what Sir Ubera threw was actually the Notem Knight."

Eun-woo also shrugged her shoulders. He was a man who could not be caught in many ways. Why did he throw such a precious thing at her as if it were a shipwreck? Of course, thanks to that, she was able to get out of the crisis, but that's all in it.

"Well, I can return it later. You said that all the items of the admission screening will be returned after the contest is over?"

Selena nodded her head at Eun-woo's words. Then she hesitated, she added.

"But … I thought Eleanor would give the necklace that the Duke gave her. You always had it in your neck."

As soon as her words fell out, Eun-woo recalled the lost necklace from Tashian.

"That necklace…"

A feeling of guilt erupted from the corner of her chest.

As her countenance darkened, Selena looked at her with a more cautious look. Eun-woo noticed that she was hesitant to say something.

Then Selena spit out a startling word.

"Actually… There are rumors that one of the candidates passed the immigration screening with the necklace of the Duke. So I… I thought it was definitely you, Eleanor."

Before Selena could finish her words, Eun-woo grabbed her by the shoulder and shook it a little violently.

"Wh, what…!"

Selena tried to calm her down, a little perplexed.

"It's just a rumor. It was just a groundless one. All I heard was the paladins murmuring among themselves. But I guess the word didn't match."

"Oh, that can't be…!"

Eun-woo was engulfed in embarrassment and grabbed her head.

As if the heavy chains that had tightened her chest were released in an instant, a strange joy came over her.

The whereabouts of Tashian's necklace can be found!

Even in this desperate moment, Eun-woo couldn't understand the feeling of being infinitely better by that fact. So then, was she in a position to worry about the necklace that she had lost but can be found? However, Eun-woo could feel that her nerves were all focused on the candidate who brought the necklace.

"Who could that be...? Tashian, no, the candidate who submitted the duke's necklace… wh, who?"

Selena hardened her expression in trouble at Eun-woo's haste question.

"I haven't heard of it until now. But… what happened?"

In response to her answer, Eun-woo felt a sense of loss as if she had plunged from the atmospheric floor to the basement in an instant.

Eun-woo confessed to Selena with an infinitely dark feeling.

"Actually… I lost the duke's necklace… near the central synagogue earlier."

"P-pardon?"

Eun-woo explained the situation in a gloomy voice.

"While Selena was running, I was swept away by a huge crowd and I was left alone. That was when… I was just giving up on knowing that I was pickpocketed and lost it forever…"

"Oh my God… so that's what happened."

Selena murmured, fiddling with her chin with one of her hands.

"So then, how is the Duke's necklace, that was lost at that time, can be used for evaluation screening?"

"Neither do I. There is absolutely no guesswork."

Eun-woo tried not to succumb to the frustration of falling down infinitely.

She miraculously learned the whereabouts of his necklace. She had to do something.

Then Selena opened her mouth in a relatively bright voice.

"Don't worry, Eleanor. 'Treasure Hunt' will surely reveal who the candidate brought the peacock necklace."

"… Treasure hunt?"

Eun-woo looked at Selena's face at the unfamiliar word. She nodded her head in conviction.

"The second gate. For convenience, everyone calls it like that."

The second gate. Eun-woo listened to Selena's explanation as she felt that the words were appealing to her ears.

"The first gate changes all the time, but the second and third gates are the same every year. Among them, the second gate, called the treasure hunt, is a screening where you have to find the objects submitted by the candidates during the admission screening, along with a riddle that hints at the location."

Eun-woo could feel her lungs swell with anticipation.

"Well, then… Does that mean that I can find out what other candidates submitted during the admission screening process?"

"Normally there is nothing special about keeping secrets in each riddle given to candidates, and it probably is."

Eun-woo felt her heart burning with an unexpected will.

As soon as the night passes by, she would quickly try to find only a way out of the nomination with the help of Ikshid. However, in spite of that, the desire to endure until the second gate grew like a sprout that dug into the ground.

There was also the desire to catch the candidate who did the dishonest act of submitting someone else's necklace in protest to the organizers of the competition right away.

But the commotion she had just caused herself to make her realize.

Paladins were inflexible enough to be ignorant of the progress of the festival. They will not lift a finger unless it is the direct command of the successor. If she made any accusations, all she would say would be to check it out, but she could have bet Karzxion's coin to say that she would restart the contest blindly.

Eun-woo looked at about 50 candidates like a person who was engulfed in emotions that she did not know whether it was anger or excitement.

It must have been one of these people who stole Tashian's necklace. But who could it be?

Eun-woo noticed that her body was trembling with ecstasy even in the midst of it.

All she knew was that her necklace was here, but she suddenly felt like she had been lifted from a swamp of endless frustration.

Suddenly, Tashian's face came to her mind.

At the same time, her heart was sadly tightened.

Reinhardt's sultry voice still seemed to be heard vividly in his ears.

"I have already given Young Lady a chance.. Please don't forget that everything that happens in the future is all because of her fault."

Eun-woo bit her lip. Her anger grew as if water were boiling inside.

His warning from the unexpected nomination for the Flora competition, and even Tashian's necklace…

Her mind was all messed up. But there was one thing for sure.

'Whatever the successor's plan is, I won't just play around with it…!'

She will protect her whole body throughout this competition. And she will make sure that she finds where Tashian's necklace is.

Eun-woo threw out the exit ticket in her heart. She was determined to enter the competition with the will to die in the future. She turned to Selena's side with her determined eyes shining.

"Eleanor, did you hear me? I am talking about Calista."

At that moment, Selena, who had been watching the corner where the candidates were buzzing, opened her mouth to her.

Eun-woo turned her head toward the direction Selena was looking at and asked a question.

"What happened?"

The singer was on the side Selena was looking at.

She, with her auburn hair in a luxurious ponytail, was wearing the same as other candidates. A white robe of church life similar to the priest's uniform. Other candidates flocked to her like swarms of flies. Just like in the field of candidacy, she wondered if she had the magic to attract real people.

"The item that Calista submitted is the successor's watch."

Eun-woo started coughing like a person who was caught up in Selena's words.

"Wh, what did you say?! The successor's …!"

"Eleanor, are you okay? Should I bring you some water?"

"No! It's okay! Rather… did she really submit the successor's watch in the evaluation process…?"

Selena nodded her head.

"She was undoubtedly the strongest contender for the Flora competition."

Eun-woo looked in the direction where Calista was with a puzzled face.

Why is the watch that he gave her was submitted as an object for Calista's immigration screening?

Eun-woo looked at the girls who were constantly chattering around Calista, who was like a bird with an unfamiliar face.

Then Selena stood by her side and warned her softly.

"… If Chief Reinhardt is behind her, we also need to be on the lookout for Calista."

Selena's face darkened.

"There are already rumors in the world that Calista has taken the place of the prima donna behind the doors. Moreover Calista doesn't seem to want to deny it."

Eun-woo openly grabbed both of her hands, which were tightening with tension.

"You shouldn't be blindly suspicious of her… but she's a woman who is rumored to have an affair with the chief. She has to be vigilant enough."

At Selena's sincere advice, Eun-woo seriously nodded her head.

After listening to her words, Calista's stubborn eyes and gleaming gray eyes came closer to her in a more cunning way.

Then, suddenly, a question came to mind.

Eun-woo turned her head toward Selena and asked carefully.

"By the way… how did Selena pass the evaluation screening?"

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Translator's Note: Sorry for being inactive. These days, as full face-to-face classes has started, which means from early morning till late noon, I am in school, which is why I don't have time even for watching.