Chapter 9: Chapter 9: Investigating Gold

The next day on the city streets, during its busiest hour.

Rosalina, Vivian and I are taking a walk along the road instead of a carriage. With me wearing some casual everyday clothes, while the two ladies behind me are in maid outfits, serving as the Fifth Prince's attendants.

As I possess golden blonde hair and red eyes, my appearance, as well as the fact that I have two maid following me, stood out among the crowd which led people to recognise me immediately.

"Oh hey, it's the Fifth Prince."

"It's good to see him well and carefree as usual."

"Those two maids behind him are also sexy as hell. Man, I envy him despite his poor health."

I picked up a few gossips as I walked. Heeding them no mind at all as the three of us made our way to our first destination: the Perfume Fiora.

Along the way there, a young girl bumped into me.

"Ah. S-Sorry..."

"No worries. Watch where you're going next time, all right?" I said with smile, watching the young girl run off in the crowd afterwards.

Then, Rosalina moved closer to me. "Master, that child earlier was..." she whispered, stopping her sentence midway as I showed her a small piece of note in my hand.

"Yep. That was one of the children under Leo's management." I stated, reading the note which the child had delivered when she 'accidentally' bumped into me.

"Hm, I see... Looks like the target is still at the location." I remarked, as the reason we're heading to the Perfume Fiora was because we got intel that the aristocrat merchant, Gulliver Gold, is currently there. Therefore...

"Let's hurry now, shall we?"

"Yes, my Master." said Rosalina, whereas Vivian nodded in silence like usual, as the three of us picked up the pace on our way to the destination. Reaching the entrance to the Perfume Fiora after a short while of walking.

Then, we entered the premise as normal customers.

Well, not that normal, I guess... since I am royalty after all.

"Welcome, Your Highness. We are honoured to have you visiting our establishment." the glasses-wearing staff by the door greeted us with much professionalism. Her co-workers as well aren't surprised by my presence.

The store is well known by nobility after all. It isn't shocking if a high ranking nobleman or woman were to enter this place in search for some perfume. So having the Fifth Prince appearing here wouldn't make that much of a difference.

There are other customers in the store as well. Mostly women since the products sold here are more popular towards that gender. Their gazes are strongly focused on me, due to my sudden entry into the store.

"Are you looking to purchase some perfumes for yourself? Or perhaps for someone else?" the staff with glasses asked with prying eyes, maintaining her professionalism nonetheless.

"I'm looking to buy some as a gift for others... and one for myself, why not." I answered. "Do you have any samples for me to confirm which I would want?"

"Of course. I shall prepare them shortly, Your Highness. Please follow me to the waiting room upstairs, so that you can have some tea while you wait."

"No need. I would like to take a look at the products on display while I wait." I said, smiling and waving at the ladies in the store who were still staring at me, making them shy their heads away when they realised I noticed their gaze.

"I understand. I shall prepare the samples right away then." the staff with glasses then took her leave. But before she went to get the perfume samples, she whispered into one of her co-workers' ear, where I could faintly hear her speak from a distance.

"Go inform the Boss that the Fifth Prince is here." was what I heard, as the staff who was given said instructions head on upstairs, whereas the staff wearing glasses entered another room behind the counter.

Looks like we will be meeting the target quite soon.

As I was looking at some of the different types of perfumes, one lady boldly approached me and bowed elegantly.

"Greetings, Prince Sol. I am glad to see you well." said Lady Mera, a woman whom I am well acquainted with. In more ways than one.

"Why hello there, Lady Mera." I returned her greeting. "I'm surprised to see you here as well. Coincidence sure is a terrifying thing, wouldn't you think?"

"A terrifying thing, indeed. I would never expect to meet Your Highness here of all places." she calmly remarked. "Are you buying some perfumes for yourself, my Prince?"

"Perhaps. But mainly, I plan on purchasing it as a gift for someone else." I answered. "Did you come here with the same purpose, milady?" I inquired, seeing the bag in her hand with the business logo on it. Lady Mera had already made her purchase, it would seem...

"Oh, no, my Prince. These are for myself." Lady Mera answered. "The rose-scented perfumes here are my favourite, so I tend to buy them a lot from this shop. Although recently, I'm thinking of trying on another scent." she said, piquing my interest.

"Oh? And what scent would that be, milady?"

"That is... well..." Lady Mera shied her head away a bit. "My apologies, Your Highness. But I rather not have people know about it." she said, referring to the other customers in the store who are listening in on our conversation nearby.

"I see. In that case..." I moved closer to the lady, held her chin up and whispered directly into her ear. "After my business here is done, and if you have the time to spare, why don't we head for a nice hotel and you can share with me what sort of new scent that will be, hm?"

The moment I said that and looked at her face, Lady Mera turned red and smirked. "Your Highness is truly dirty minded." she stated. "Are the two servants behind you going to be joining us as well, if I say yes?" she asked about Rosalina and Vivian, looking at them standing behind me in silence while I was flirting with her.

"Oh my~ Are you requesting a foursome, Lady Mera?" A large grin formed on my face. "I wonder who the dirty minded really is, hm~" I teasingly said to her, making Lady Mera blushed from embarrassment upon realising what she had just spoken.

"Prince Sol, you're a meanie..." she pouted, becoming cute all of a sudden which only makes me want to tease her more.

Ah~ If I wasn't on a mission right now, I would go all out on teasing her without restraints.

Lisa Mera. The second daughter of Earl Charles Mera, whose homeland resides in the Northeast region of Narla, but lives here in the Capital city. She have a tendency to present herself as a prim and proper lady. However, when the right buttons are pushed, she will become quite the opposite, making her adorable enough for me to wish I could tease her more.

But alas, I must hold back.

Shame... Truly, a shame...

Our conversation was soon interrupted, however, when a gaudy man dressed in a fancy suit came towards us.

"Your Highness, Prince Sol! Greetings. Welcome to my store." he said in a loud voice, surprising Lady Mera who had not noticed him as her back was facing him earlier.

The man right before my face is our next investigation target: Gulliver Gold. Age: 44 years old. Marital status: Married. He once had several records of tax evasion, but was quickly erased due to his bribery on the guards and their higher ups. Also, I must say that he really lives up to his surname. Because, my goodness! He sure is sparkling with gold.

"'My store'... I see. So you must Mister Gulliver Gold then. Owner of Gold Enterprise and possibly the richest man in the world."

"I am honoured to hear that the Playboy Commoner Fifth Prince knows about me." the target laughed, acting friendly yet being rude with the unnecessary addition of "Commoner" to my Playboy Fifth Prince moniker. "Yes... I am Gulliver Gold. Owner of Gold Enterprise, the largest company in the continent! Besides that however, there is one thing Your Highness mentioned that I would like to correct." he added on. "I am not possibly the richest man in the world. I AM the richest man in the world." he proudly claimed with his chest puffing out in the air.

"My oh my~ Such bold words." I mumbled under my breath, maintaining a fake smile as I conversed with the man who is full of greed and pride.

"But in any case, never would I have expected to meet you here today." I said, pretending to be surprised while holding my fake smile.

"Hahaha! Never would I too, Your Highness. I just so happen to be here today when one of my employees informed me about your appearance in my store."

His eyes then wandered to Lady Mera, noticing her presence at last. "Oh? Is she your promised one, perhaps?" he asked bluntly, surprising Lady Mera with the sudden question.

"No. She and I simply friends." I swiftly answered with a partial truth before Lady Mera could. "Isn't that right, milady?"

"Ah. Yes... That's right, Your Highness. We are just friends." Lady Mera regained her composure and then, she bowed. "I wouldn't want to waste Your Highness's time anymore, so I'll be taking my leave now." she said, moving closer to my ear before that as she whispered, "I'll be waiting for you in my carriage outside, my Prince."

Hearing those words from her mouth, I couldn't help but to smirk and whisper back, "Well then, I'd better not take too long. I will see you soon... Lisa."

With a little cheerful grin, Lady Mera exited the store.

"Oh ho ho ho~ For friends, you two seemed to be really close, aren't you?" remarked Gulliver Gold with a faint smirk, as I turned to him and smiled as well.

"We are really close friends. Heed no mind, Mister Gold."

"Of course, Your Highness." said Gulliver Gold. "Then moving on, I believe you are here to purchase some of my perfumes, no?" the man asked next, shifting the subject to business with the eyes of a merchant glinting on his face.

"Yes. I am here to buy some as a gift for someone else. I believe one of your employees is preparing some samples for me to smell before I decide."

"Ah, yes. In that case, would you like to wait in my office while the samples are being prepared? I'll tell the staff to bring it up there afterwards. You and your two maids can have some tea and sweets in there as well, while you wait."

Heh. Bingo! Just like I wanted.

"I see. Then I believe I shall accept your invitation, Mister Gold."

"Hahaha! Please... call me Gulliver, Your Highness."

"Is that so? Well then, you may address me by my nickname: Sol. Although, it would have seem that you had already done that."

"Hahaha! My apologies for the rudeness. I was a bit too excited earlier."

"Apology accepted then. Now, shall we go, Gulliver?"

"Of course. Right this way, Prince Sol."

*************

In the large office space of the Perfume Fiora which belonged to Gulliver, tea and cake that are well suited to my taste have been served to me as I take my time savouring its flavour.

The man knows what I like.

According to the information I have on him, these type of sweet tea and pastries ain't to his taste. Yet, he still consumed them as if he's fine with it. In other words, he has been waiting for this moment for a long time.

His aim is most likely to form a connection with the royal family through me. Which is probably why the perfume samples are taking so long to prepare.

"So, how the tea, Prince Sol? I hope its to your liking." Gulliver asked.

"It's good." I briefly replied, before sipping my tea again to keep any unnecessary conversation short.

He wants to keep me here for as long as possible so that he can establish the connection with me. While my goal is to extract some information directly from him, I am not here for an idle chat.

As soon as the sample arrives, only then will I begin to speak. But for now, I will wait calmly and quietly while indulging in the snacks to make the air in the room as awkward as possible.

"By the way... How long does one take to prepare some perfume samples, I wonder...?" I purposefully blurted out all of a sudden as I grab an éclair, giving Gulliver the idea that I will eventually become impatient if he delays it any further.

If his aim is to establish a connection, making the person upset would be a terrible thing for a merchant like himself to do.

"Give me a minute, Prince Sol. I'll go see what's taking so long." he said, personally leaving me, Rosalina and Vivian alone in his office as he went to 'check' on the samples preparation.

When the moment I hear his footsteps fade, I signalled Rosalina and Vivian to move. Telling them to search every document in the office quickly before the target comes back.

Meanwhile, my role is to be on the lookout or "hearout" for when Gulliver returns. Since I have a better sense of hearing than others. Especially when I cam heighten my sense of hearing further using magic on myself.

The two of them searched in an orderly fashion. Going through a few files at a time in case I hear someone coming.

While Rosalina goes through page after page, Vivian stopped momentarily as she seemed to have found something. But before she could show it to me...

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*whistle* I whistled, informing them of Gulliver's quick return as they immediately put everything back in place and returned to their positions.

Then, the opened up.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Prince Sol." Gulliver said, returning with a staff who is carrying a large number of samples.

"My employee here is just one person, you see. Preparing the samples took some time..." he said, giving an excuse for the delay while the female staff placed the perfume samples in front of me on the table.

"No worries. I do not mind waiting for a bit." I said, easing Gulliver's mind. "So tell me... what have you prepared for me?"

The female employees proceeds to explain to me about the different perfumes as I smell each of scent from the sample paper she handed to me.

They all smell wonderful. That was all I could think of. Mainly because I do not understand perfumes for the most part.

If only Second Brother was here... He would be able to tell with his peculiar sense of smell.

Which is why the best I can do is listen to the staff's clear and distinct explanation on each different scent she'd prepared for me.

A sweet, fruity scent popular by the young ladies; an elegant type of scent mostly used by women of high society; a mature, floral scent that older women likes, and many more I hear about as I ponder which type of scent that person would like.

"And that is all, Your Highness." said the staff, done with her explanation on the perfumes as her boss jumps in.

"So, is there any that piqued your fancy? If not, I can my employees to prepare more if you want." he said.

"Thank you. But there's no need for that. I have already made my choice." I replied, picking out three different sample bottles and handed them to the staff one by one. "Please have the first two I picked packed into different giftboxes for me. As for the third, a normal packaging will do."

"Understood, Your Highness. Please excuse me. I will send someone else to clear the table afterwards." said the staff, leaving with the samples in hand to pack a new stock of it for me.

After that, I returned my attention to the samples, holding one of them in my hand. "I must say though... These new perfume bottles are really compact, huh. When I was a child, I recall them to have a much larger container."

"Hahaha! Those are outdated now, Prince Sol. Those type of containers can only be kept in one's dressing table. But with these ones, you can take them with you wherever you go and use them whenever you need to. I got the idea when I was doing business in the nation in the south. They have an interesting culture, much different from the people living here."

"Yes... So I have heard."

Like Gulliver had already mentioned in his introduction, Gold Enterprise has it fluences spread throughout the entire continent we live in. So it wouldn't be abnormal for the man to do his business in the south where most of Narla's enemies reside. Namely the people of Ulthar whom we refer to as "barbarians."

However, to mention something like that to a prince of Narla is quite a bold move for him to do.

Is he trying to gain my trust by revealing a secret that may affect his business in Narla?

If I were to expose the fact that the perfume products he sells were ideas he had gotten from our enemies, it wouldn't affect his business much on a continental scale, but it would definitely affect his business in Narla and its neighbouring countries for sure.

After all, no one would want to buy an item that came from their enemies.

Fortunately for him, I'm not one to snitch. Especially when I will have him arrested soon enough. I mean...

"Still... when you have bottles this small, it must be easy to pack a bunch of them in a box. I bet that even narcotics could be mixed among the perfumes and the guards wouldn't notice them being smuggled, no?" I said with a smirk and prying eyes, staring into Gulliver as he flinches a bit.

"U-Uh, what could you ever mean, Prince Sol?" he asked, acting nervous as he wiped his sweat with a handkerchief.

Seems like he knows something.

I then smiled cheerfully and said, "I'm just making a joke, Gulliver. No need to be so anxious. Unless, of course, you have something you wish to confess, hm?"

"N-No! Of course not! Nothing of the sort. Hahaha!" he said, laughing his worries off. "Your Highness sure can be a jokester. Made me thought you were serious there for a moment. Whew~"

"Fufufu~ My apologies. I didn't mean to make you worry."

"Ah, it's all right. I've should have known better myself. Hahaha!"

Once Gulliver has stopped laughing, he then clear his throat. "*Ahem.* Oops. It seems like I have kept you here for a while now. I believe my employee has finished packing your perfumes for you. So, I'll escort you down right now so you can pay for your purchase and be on your way." he said, as the both of us stood up and head for the door.

But before he could open it for me, the door by itself swung open wide as an extravagant woman with a sparkling aura enters the room.

"So here you were, dear. I was looking for you." she said, in the most condescending tone, looking down on Gulliver who is sitting on the ground.

"Ouch... Minerva! What are you doing here!?" he yelled at the woman, understandably angry after getting hit in the face when the woman opened the door so suddenly.

Also, he called her "Minerva." Which means that the woman standing before me must be Gulliver's wife, Minerva Gold. I must say... she looks younger than I imagined for a woman nearing her 40s.

The woman has not noticed me yet, as she answered her husband's question. "Why of course, I'm here to ask you for some money. There is something I wish to purchase from an auction and I need money for that." she said, stating her objective without shame.

Meanwhile, I use Field Hypnosis on her to lower my, Rosalina and Vivian's presences in her view.

This ought to be interesting... I thought, as I signalled Rosalina and Vivian to not interfere, so that I can watch the event before me unfold.

Gulliver then gets up on his feet. "You skank... Didn't I already give you money last week!? What happened to that!?" he shouted at his wife.

"I spent all of that, of course. Why else would I be asking you for more?" she said while looking at her nails. "So, cough it out now, darling. I need at least 200,000 Derims by the way."

Oh my~ 200 gold coins for a single item? It must either be a big deal or just some incredibly fancy stuff that piques the woman's eyes. Or maybe it's multiple items she wants to buy.

Gulliver then clicks his tongue. "Not now, Minerva. Can't you see that I have an important guest here?" he said, marking my cue to remove the spell.

"An important guest...? Oh!" Minerva Gold exclaimed loudly, as she finally noticed my presence in her husband's office. Just mine... not Rosalina or Vivian's yet.

"Greetings, Mrs Gold. I am Soluna Yuri Bellcaster, the Fifth Prince of this country. A pleasure to make your acquaintance, milady."

"Oh my~ Where are my manners." she said, bowing elegantly to me with a sudden change in attitude.

"Greetings, Your Highness. My name is Minerva Gold, the wife of this fool over here. Miss Lisa has told me about you. Please... call me Minerva, if you will. I, too, am delighted to make your acquaintance."

"Oh. You know Lady Mera?" I said, intrigued as her name was mentioned.

"Yes. She is a delightful child whom I had a wonderful time of hanging out with. She would also talk a lot about you and I must say... her description of you was by far no exaggeration." Minerva licked her lips the moment she stated that. Her eyes were clearly filled with desire as she stared at my appearance in admiration.

"I see. Well, I'm flattered. But you would excuse me, I have an appointment with your friend now."

"Oh, is that so? No wonder I saw her outside the store when I came. I wouldn't want to make her wait by keeping you here then, so I'll bid you goodbye, Your Highness."

Minerva then made way for me, Rosalina and Vivian to leave. But when Gulliver tried to do the same, he was stopped by Minerva who grabbed him by the collar.

"Where are you going, dear?" she said, as my ears picked up on their conversation from distances away.

"I'm escorting His Highness downstairs, of course! Now let me go!"

"So that you can run away after escorting His Highness downstairs? I don't think so. Unless, of course, you want me to reveal 'that' to the authorities?" Minerva mentioned, catching my curiosity.

What does she mean by 'that'? Does Minerva know something about Pleasure? Or is it something else? Either way, I'm assuming it's something that would put her husband in jail regardless of his bribery attempts.

"Look. His Highness is standing right there, waiting for you. You wouldn't want me to tell him, do you? It will get you into very big trouble now, no?"

"All right! All right! I get it already. Just wait in my office and I'll give you the money once I'm done bringing the Fifth Prince downstairs." Gulliver relents, giving in to his wife's threat as she lets him go and went into his office with a snicker.

He then fixes his collar and went towards us. "I apologise for the wait, Prince Sol." he said.

"No worries." I chuckled, amused by their relationship. "Your wife sure is a feisty one, huh?"

"Oh, she is just a pain in my butt..." he stated frustratingly. "But she is not your concern, Your Highness. So heed her no mind. I apologise for any rudeness she expressed however."

"It's all right, Gulliver. I do not mind a bit of informality from time to time. Shall we go now then? I would like to receive my items already."

"Of course. Right this way, Prince Sol."

Going back downstairs now where the other customers are, we went straight for the counter where the female from earlier was waiting for us.

"Here are your items, Your Highness." said the staff, handing me a bag that holds three small boxes; one wrapped in red, one wrapped in blue, and the last one being unwrapped, whereby she then explained. "The red giftbox holds the first perfume you picked, the blue giftbox holds the second, and the third is the one where you requested to have a normal packaging."

"I see. Thank you." I said, as Vivian took the bag from the staff's hands.

"You're welcome, Your Highness. The total will be 17,000 Derims." the staff then said, which surprised me for a moment at how much three small bottles of perfume cost.

17,000 Derims!? What's more, since two of the boxes have special packaging, I'm assuming that each wrapping cost an additional 1,000 Derims. Meaning that a single bottle of perfume with normal packaging cost 5,000 Derims!

That's... You can buy 25,000 hard breads for that!

Granted. No one in their right mind would buy hard bread unless they are pitch poor. But even the soft and fluffy breads cost around 30 Derims each. 50 Derims at best if they have some additional ingredients mixed in them.

Nonetheless, that is still a lot less compared to a single bottle of perfume. In other words...

This store is a bloody scam! They are milking money from the rich and the rich don't even know it because they are too bloody privileged to realise that!

Sheesh... I know it's not a lot for royalty since we're loaded. But from an average citizen's standpoint, it's way too much.

Rosalina took out the money and gave it to the staff. Afterwards, we left the store where we spotted Lady Mera's carriage parked on the road outside and approached it.

"Hello there, Lady Mera. I hope I didn't keep you waiting." I said to the young lady inside, who jumped surprised when I spoke to her.

"Oh. Prince Sol. Please come in. Your maids as well. There is plenty of room here, so there's no need to worry."

The three of us then entered the carriage as the lady permitted. I sat next to her while Rosalina and Vivian sat next to her maid who was in the carriage with her.

"To the Dazzling Luxury please." she ordered the carriage driver, as our ride took off to the most high-end inn in the city.

"You seem rather excited, milady."

"Of course! It's been awhile since I spent time alone with Your Highness."

"Indeed it has..." I said, bringing Lady Mera closer to my body, lifted her chin up and whispered into her ear. "I look forward to spending some alone time with you, milady~"

Lady Mera blushes adorably. Rosalina, Vivian and Lady Mera's maid looked away, attempting to ignore our flirting as the carriage rode to the hotel along the way.

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