Chapter 86: A Monster

"A condition?" Jisha blinked in surprise, her expression puzzled.

"Yes, a condition," Nolan said with a slow nod. Crossing his arms over his chest, he added, "If you agree, I’ll tell you."

Jisha fell silent, clearly hesitant. After a moment, she took a deep breath and said, "I can’t agree to anything unless you tell me what it is first."

"Alright," Nolan said without hesitation. He leaned in, his lips close to her ear, and whispered, "I want you..."

Then he calmly laid out the full details of his condition.

Jisha listened intently, but with each word, her eyes grew wider in disbelief.

"You!" she burst out, stepping back and pointing at Nolan. "Do you even understand what you’re asking?"

"Of course," Nolan replied coolly, completely unfazed. "That’s my condition. If you refuse, I’m under no obligation to tell you anything."

Without waiting for a response, he turned around and began walking away.

Jisha instinctively reached out, as if to stop him—but no words came. Her tongue felt heavy, her thoughts scrambled.

A few seconds later, she clenched her fists, bit her lower lip, and finally shouted in frustration, "Alright, alright! I agree!"

Nolan’s steps came to an immediate halt. A playful smile tugged at the corner of his lips, though he quickly masked it. By the time he turned around, his face had returned to its usual calm.

"Are you sure?" he asked, seeking confirmation.

"I’m sure," Jisha said with a pout, pursing her lips as she stepped closer. "But you’re not allowed to hide anything from me. You have to tell me the truth. If I catch you lying, then your condition is canceled. Got it?"

She wasn’t entirely confident Nolan would be completely honest—but she had a way to make sure.

Without delay, she pulled out a small, white, sphere-shaped object with a red crystal embedded in its center.

Holding it up for him to see, she said, "This is a magic lie detector. If you lie, it’ll emit a small alert sound."

Nolan raised an eyebrow at the orb but said nothing. He simply gave a lazy nod.

"Suit yourself," he replied with a yawn. "Alright, I’ll tell you. Actually, Melissa and I have already... met. Or rather, not directly. That woman’s been watching me ever since I arrived."

Jisha’s eyes widened. She glanced down at the white orb in her hand—it remained still, silent. That meant he wasn’t lying.

"When I entered the mansion’s lobby, she was watching me from a distance with this cold expression," Nolan continued, stepping forward slowly. "She was pretty far away, but I could feel her gaze. Still, I pretended not to notice."

Jisha walked alongside him, her face lighting up with curiosity and excitement.

"After entering the mansion, I discovered numerous talismans hidden behind paintings, inside statues, and tucked away in various corners. At first, I assumed it was the work of a black mage with a grudge against Orlan. But the more I thought about it... the placements were too strategic, too well-concealed. It didn’t make sense for an outsider to be behind it. So I came to one conclusion—it had to be someone who knew this mansion inside and out."

Upon hearing that, Jisha was stunned. She knew Nolan was sharp, but she hadn’t expected him to be this shrewd and meticulous.

He’s terrifying...

she muttered under her breath.

While she was still lost in thought, Nolan continued his explanation.

"After we discussed our strategy in Alicia’s room yesterday, I went straight to Alex and told him everything I’d discovered. He was completely shocked and furious. With his help—and the assistance of a subordinate I brought from the Imperial Palace—they started gathering evidence. And the result... well, you saw it for yourself last night."

Jisha frowned, her expression filled with doubt. "Wait... isn’t that a bit suspicious? You asked Alex and your subordinate to investigate Melissa? But how could they possibly gather such precise and detailed information in such a short time? Even the most skilled mages would struggle to trace someone’s movements that accurately in less than a day."

Nolan let out a quiet chuckle, his eyes gleaming with mischief as he looked at her. "Who said the evidence was genuine?"

Jisha’s body tensed instantly. Her eyes widened as she stared at Nolan, a mix of shock and fear written across her face.

"You... are you saying... all the evidence was fake?" She asked, her voice trembling with disbelief.

"Not all of it," Nolan replied with a cold smile. "Only sixty-six point six-seven percent."

"You... You..." Jisha tried to speak, but no words came out.

Earlier, she had wracked her brain trying to find a logical explanation for how Nolan and Alex had managed to gather so much evidence in such a short time—especially with Orlan keeping a close watch.

But this? Sixty-six percent of the evidence was fake?

If Nolan hadn’t said it himself, she would’ve called anyone else crazy for even suggesting such a thing.

"How could you do this? And how did Lord Orlan or Melissa not notice something was wrong? Especially Melissa! She must have realized the evidence was fake, right? So why didn’t she deny it?" she asked, her voice rising in panic.

She was so shaken that, for the first time, she almost forgot about the white orb in her hand—an object she had never once looked away from whenever Nolan spoke.

"Calm down. I’ll explain. There’s no need to panic like that." Nolan gave her a dismissive glance.

Jisha: "..."

That look made her blood boil—but she swallowed her anger and forced a smile.

"I’m sorry, Nolan. So... can you explain?" She asked gently, her voice polite—but beneath the calm tone was a resentment she kept tightly buried.

Nolan wasn’t fooled for a second. He let out a quiet sigh and began, "I had Alex and my subordinate talk to the maids who were close to Melissa and ask about her activities over the past year."

"It’s true, the maids’ accounts were vague and lacked detail," he said casually. "But I helped Alex and my subordinate piece them together into a coherent timeline. Naturally, I didn’t do it arbitrarily—everything was carefully calculated: distances, time spent, habits... all estimated using precise mathematics."

"I also had Alex describe various places in Valmiris City. Then, using probability formulas, I calculated the likelihood that Melissa might have passed through those areas."

He paused briefly before continuing, "After compiling around a hundred activities based on the maids’ stories and statistical analysis, Alex and my subordinate created an additional two hundred fabricated activities to support them. So altogether, the report contains three hundred records of Melissa’s movements."

"To avoid raising suspicion from Orlan or Melissa, I placed the hundred more credible entries at the top. The other two hundred were added at the bottom—just to make the report look thick and convincing."

Nolan chuckled softly, a playful glint in his eyes. "After all, even fake evidence can look real... when it’s mixed with just enough convincing truth, right?"

At those words, Jisha’s gaze went blank. Her body began to tremble, and she stared at Nolan as if he were a complete stranger.

"You... really are a monster..." she whispered, her voice barely audible.