After hearing Leon’s aggressively worded question, the female journalist couldn’t help but let her previously tense back relax a little.
“Goodness, you’re here to pick a fight! As long as you’re not here with people to arrest me, that’s fine!” “Mr. Leon… no, soon-to-be Lionheart Duke His Grace! It seems there’s a teensy misunderstanding about me.”
After calming herself down a bit, the female journalist smiled and said,
“First off, I only wrote seven articles about you, not eight.
Secondly, why don’t you imagine this: if you were the Sun Newspaper journalist and had come across the same news leads as I did, wouldn’t you have written several pieces too?”
Of course he would have, probably even more than her.
Upon hearing the journalist’s counter-question, Leon’s expression turned slightly awkward as he realized his own frequent trouble-making wasn’t exactly out of the ordinary—it was pretty normal for journalists to follow up on such stories.
But fortunately, these weren’t the main points anyway. His true purpose wasn’t to question any newspaper reports; it was to get a feel for this “Nicole Journalist,” who was suspected of being affiliated with a rebellious faction.
…
“Alright, I admit my recent activities have made for some good news material.”
With her wool cap, high collar shirt, professional skirt suit, small leather shoes, and thick shawl—she was covered head to toe, showing nothing but her hands painted with pale pink nail polish.
Weird, the walls of the Sun Newspaper office had metal heat pipes embedded in them, so the indoor temperature wasn’t low at all. Wasn’t wearing so much clothing a bit odd? While carefully observing the female journalist in front of him, Leon glared with feigned indignation: “But every article you’ve written about me has been bad press, some are downright fabrications!”
“Oh, you exaggerate~”
The journalist shook her head, similarly sizing up her ‘opponent’ while smiling sweetly and pointing toward the newspaper on the table.
“Although many people see our Sun Newspaper as merely an entertainment paper, even the quality editions from political and business circles often rely on hearsay. Personally, though, I do value the truthfulness of my reports.
For instance, in those articles about you, whenever there was uncertainty, I refrained from drawing conclusions and instead used phrases like ‘suspected,’ ‘possible,’ or ‘according to my guess.’ You agree, right?”
Her hands were so white, with skin so smooth it looked almost waterlogged.
Not immediately responding to the journalist’s question, Leon pretended to read the text on the newspaper but was actually staring at her hand. His eyes narrowed slightly.
This skin condition was almost too perfect.
It was already early winter, and the capital city’s winters were cold and dry. The wind near the entrance of the Sun Newspaper office was quite strong, so even with great skin, hers should have shown signs of dehydration after coming in from outside.
Such an abnormal level of hydration shouldn’t exist today… Considering the identity of anomaly item holders, there might be something special about her hands. He could find an opportunity to shake her hand later and check if it was related to some kind of anomaly.
“Alright, I admit your point makes sense.”
Pulling his gaze away from the ‘newspaper,’ Leon’s expression softened slightly. Then he reached into his shopping bag and placed an older-dated newspaper on the table.
“The ‘Feces Water’ Incident Deliberate? Thomas Lane: Evidence Forged”
“Nicole Journalist, did you write this one too?”
Oh… This was when the Lane family, along with two other major noble families, conspired to seize Chal Department Store by having the Water Power Corporation pump feces into public water pipes.
I remember after finishing this report, I handed over the evidence I found directly to the royal judicial minister. Despite their desperate denials, the Lane family still faced strict scrutiny led by the princess, resulting in penalties of nearly 300,000 Golden Wheels and forced sale of the Water Power Corporation’s operating rights at a low price.
So… All the previous issues were just pretense. The reason this new Lionheart Duke came to pick a fight was because of this report that cost the Lane family dearly? Recognizing the newspaper Leon produced, the journalist frowned slightly before looking at the new leader of the Lane family with a neutral expression.
“Yes, I wrote it. Do you have any questions about this report?”
“I do have questions.”
While pondering where the “Black Goat” mentioned the “Sheep Tail,” Leon squinted his eyes and asked, “The biggest question is about the evidence. Where exactly did your evidence come from?”
Feeling somewhat uncomfortable under Leon’s overly “sharp” gaze, the journalist furrowed her brows.
“At the time, when the money chest at Chal Department Store collapsed and injured someone, I arrived on the scene for an interview and happened to find the evidence at the Shopping Plaza… Whether you believe me or not, this is the truth!”
“Believe? Of course, I believe.”
Leon nodded then continued with a blank face.
“But have you ever considered why such crucial evidence would appear there out of nowhere and conveniently be picked up by you? Could someone have deliberately placed it there?”
“So, you’re suggesting that I took someone else’s money and intentionally released negative information about the Lane family?”
Seemingly “understanding” the meaning behind the new Lionheart Duke’s words, the journalist’s attitude became less respectful. She crossed her legs, leaned back in her chair, and smirked mockingly:
“Your Grace, first off, do you really not know whether the data regarding the Water Power Corporation is genuine or not? If you’re unaware of such critical facts, I suggest you conduct a thorough self-examination. Based on my investigation, the kingdom’s punishment against your Lane family was actually rather lenient.
Also, if you believe my reports are false and caused harm to your Lane family, you should file a complaint with the Sun Newspaper’s dispute resolution department and sue me at the Press Management Bureau… Oh, the complaint window is right outside, take a right turn and go downstairs.”
Without making a single mistake, she pointed out the location of the dispute resolution department to Leon, sat upright, and put on an exaggeratedly frightened expression before blinking her eyes and saying fearfully: “Your Grace, although your Lane family isn’t doing well anymore, you’re still not someone a mere journalist can provoke. If you sue, I’ll definitely confess, accept the maximum penalty for defamation, which is… thirty silver wheels?”
Tsk tsk, a whole thirty silver wheels! Just multiply it by ten thousand times, and it’d cover your Lane family’s fines. That penalty was truly massive. This audacious little journalist has learned her lesson now. Please forgive me, won’t you?”
“…”
What a master manipulator, this guy must be some sort of Yin-Yang Master.
Looking at the female journalist who was verbally pleading for forgiveness while actually taunting him, Leon remained silent for a moment. Unlike what the journalist expected, he didn’t fly into a rage. Instead, he picked up a stack of old newspapers he had obtained from the guide earlier.
Under the journalist’s puzzled gaze, Leon flipped to the page titled “Chal Department Store Mega Sale, Man Gets Hospitalized After Being ‘Buried in Cash'” and pointed at the photo of himself buried under a pile of money. Then, turning his back to her, he asked, “Nicole Miss, doesn’t this person look familiar to you?”
“…”
Looking at Leon’s back and the same-colored old coat as in the photo, the journalist couldn’t help but widen her eyes in surprise.
“That… the unlucky guy almost killed by money… is actually you?”
“It’s me, alright. So, during this period, you indeed wrote eight news articles about me. Seven were published in the political and commercial quality edition of the Sun Newspaper, and this one appeared in the popular entertainment section. Also…”
Turning back around, Leon slowly said to the astonished journalist, “The evidence you found was brought to the shopping plaza by me. I originally planned for the boss of Chal Department Store to expose the feces incident, but… due to an accident, I ended up in the hospital, leaving the evidence behind at the plaza. You picked it up when you went there for the interview.”
“…”
“…”
Seeing Leon who didn’t seem to be lying, the journalist was momentarily stunned. She stammered,
“So… so why are you here…”
“I’m here to thank you.”
Grabbing the abnormally white and tender hand of the journalist, Leon shook it vigorously. A bright smile spread across his face as he said earnestly, “Thank you, you’ve done me a huge favor!”
“…”
(End of Chapter)
