The person who hugged me and called me darling was none other than Leo.
He hugged me so tightly that my face was buried in his arms and I couldn't breathe.
“This...”
I was about to tell him to let go, but before I could finish my sentence, someone grabbed Leo by the collar and pulled him back.
“Do it in moderation.”
It was Sir Aldor.
Even though he was grabbed by the collar and Sir Aldor glared at him fiercely, Leo smiled regardless.
I felt it from the first time I saw it, it's such a shameless thought.
As I was thinking about that and smoothing out my wrinkled collar, I suddenly felt a breath of life coming from next to me.
“...”
When I turned around, I saw Perdes glaring at Leo as if he were going to eat him at any moment.
The gaze was so ferocious that it seemed as if he would have stabbed someone with his gaze over and over again if he could.
What is he complaining about that makes him do this?
While I was minding Perdes, Leo, who had escaped from Sir Aldor's grasp, tapped him on the shoulder and spoke sarcastically.
“I didn’t know you were such a jealous person. Well, I guess you wouldn’t want your precious Lady to be close to someone like me.”
Sir Aldor frowned and shook Leo's hand away.
“If you know, keep your mouth shut.”
“Oh my, that’s scary.”
Leo shrugged his shoulders, his expression not at all scary despite his words.
“I also want to grant a favor to my precious friend, but I can’t help it since you asked me to call you that.”
At those words, both Aldor and Perdes looked at me.
My head started to spin from the intense gaze that poured down in an instant.
“Stop talking nonsense and follow me.”
I felt like if I let Leo loose anymore he would keep spouting nonsense, so I grabbed his arm and pulled him away.
Then Leo looked at Sir Aldor and Perdes with his eyes strangely sparkling.
“...”
“...”
The expressions of the two people who met each other's gazes became stiff as rocks.
I felt they were misunderstanding something, but I ignored it.
Starting with the Chernosser incident, the Anatome Guard, my father's diary, and other issues, my head is too complicated to pay attention to them.
I was curious to see what Leo had found out, so I took him straight to the office.
“So no you found it?”
When I asked in a hurry before I could even sit down, Leo nodded with a faint smile.
"Yes."
Thump.
"...Yes?"
Just because someone is stronger doesn't mean they have superior physical abilities, but there was still a need to check it out.
“Can you bring the boy here?”
I would have liked to go there myself, but it was too far.
And to confirm if it was real, the boy had to come to the Duke's mansion himself, so I asked Leo.
Then Leo made a troubled face.
“Well, as I said at the beginning, there are a few problems if we bring the boy in.”
Oh, right. He said something like that.
“What are the problems?”
“First of all, the distance is too far.”
Leo drew by hand from the Duchy of Leopold to the Gloa Island.
“The time it takes to get from the Duchy of Leopold to the Gloa Island is roughly a month and a half if I calculate it.”
“It takes three months for a round trip.”
“Yes. Of course, I’m saying this under the assumption that the weather will cooperate. Even if it’s a magically powered sailing ship, it’s greatly affected by the weather when sailing.”
That's right. I nodded in agreement.
“Furthermore, it is very difficult to find a ferry to Gloa Island. Not only are there no regular ferries, but there is no dock on the island.”
“How did the Gloa Islander you met before coming to the continent?”
"Here."
Leo pointed to a large island nearby. The name Lumia was written in large letters on it.
“They say that they came here on a small boat, and then boarded a sailing ship and came to the continent.”
“That little ship doesn’t have a magical power plant?”
"Yes."
That means it is more affected by the weather.
“Still, it’s fortunate that there is a sailing ship that goes to a large island nearby.”
“That’s true, but it only operates once a month, and they say it doesn’t operate in the winter because it’s not cost-effective.”
“...”
“Besides, there are many places where train service has been suspended due to heavy snowfall, so it is difficult to go by boat.”
When I heard the story, I couldn't help but groan.
I frowned and placed my hand on my forehead, feeling my head throbbing.
“No matter what I do, I can’t get to Gloa Island until spring.”
“Yes.”
“Just in case, find out if there’s another way to get to Gloa Island. If that doesn’t work, you could charter a whole sailing ship, so look into that too.”
Leo whistled.
“Wow, you even think of something like that. As expected, you are the daughter of the Duke Leopold family, who is said to have amassed money from all over the continent.”
“Stop talking nonsense.”
Even though he was hit, Leo continued to smile brightly as if he was glad of something.
“Report this to me as it progresses. If any problems arise, let me know immediately.”
“Of course. I will come to you disguised as your lover, just like I have done so far.”
Academy students were not allowed to leave the academy unless there was a special reason.
So I had no choice but to ask Leo to come into the academy, and he clearly wrote down our relationship as lovers on the visitor list.
I already have a fiancé, but he's my lover. It's absurd.
What was even more embarrassing was that everyone believed that Leo was my lover.
To be exact, they think he's a male prostitute, but let's leave that aside.
Anyway, thanks to that, no one thought it was strange when I met Leo, so I told him to keep doing that... Should I do that here too?
I thought about it for a moment and then nodded.
“Okay. Let’s continue to do that in the future.”
The decision was made because the Duchy of Leopold had more eyes to watch than the Academy, so it would be better if Leo's true identity was not revealed.
Then Leo opened his eyes wide as if he was surprised.
“Can you really do that?”
“Why? You don’t like it when the Duke’s people look at you strangely?”
“No. They’re people who have nothing to do with me anyway, so that’s okay...”
“Are you okay?”
“No, it’s nothing.”
The look of worry and lingering thoughts disappeared without a trace, and he smiled with his characteristically cheerful face.
“I will do as you say, young lady.”
“No, really. I think you have something to tell me.”
“Oh, that’s not it. It’s just my personal problem, so don’t worry about it, Miss.”
Could it really be true? I looked at him with skeptical eyes, unable to believe it.
But Leo didn't care and asked me.
“Miss, if you don’t mind, can I ask you one thing?”
“...What is it?”
“It’s about that boy.”
When I nodded to indicate that he should speak, Leo cleared his throat and began to speak.
“If you find that boy, do you plan to kill him?”
“...!”
He hugged me so tightly that my face was buried in his arms and I couldn't breathe.
“This...”
I was about to tell him to let go, but before I could finish my sentence, someone grabbed Leo by the collar and pulled him back.
“Do it in moderation.”
It was Sir Aldor.
Even though he was grabbed by the collar and Sir Aldor glared at him fiercely, Leo smiled regardless.
I felt it from the first time I saw it, it's such a shameless thought.
As I was thinking about that and smoothing out my wrinkled collar, I suddenly felt a breath of life coming from next to me.
“...”
When I turned around, I saw Perdes glaring at Leo as if he were going to eat him at any moment.
The gaze was so ferocious that it seemed as if he would have stabbed someone with his gaze over and over again if he could.
What is he complaining about that makes him do this?
While I was minding Perdes, Leo, who had escaped from Sir Aldor's grasp, tapped him on the shoulder and spoke sarcastically.
“I didn’t know you were such a jealous person. Well, I guess you wouldn’t want your precious Lady to be close to someone like me.”
Sir Aldor frowned and shook Leo's hand away.
“If you know, keep your mouth shut.”
“Oh my, that’s scary.”
Leo shrugged his shoulders, his expression not at all scary despite his words.
“I also want to grant a favor to my precious friend, but I can’t help it since you asked me to call you that.”
At those words, both Aldor and Perdes looked at me.
My head started to spin from the intense gaze that poured down in an instant.
“Stop talking nonsense and follow me.”
I felt like if I let Leo loose anymore he would keep spouting nonsense, so I grabbed his arm and pulled him away.
Then Leo looked at Sir Aldor and Perdes with his eyes strangely sparkling.
“...”
“...”
The expressions of the two people who met each other's gazes became stiff as rocks.
I felt they were misunderstanding something, but I ignored it.
Starting with the Chernosser incident, the Anatome Guard, my father's diary, and other issues, my head is too complicated to pay attention to them.
I was curious to see what Leo had found out, so I took him straight to the office.
“So no you found it?”
When I asked in a hurry before I could even sit down, Leo nodded with a faint smile.
"Yes."
Thump.
I thought I heard my heart pounding in my ear.
I never thought there would really be a blood relative I didn't know about.
My breathing became slightly labored and my legs gave out, so I staggered onto the sofa.
“Are you okay, Miss?”
"... It's okay."
“It’s okay. You just don’t look so good.”
Leo tilted the pitcher on the table, filled a cup, and offered it to me.
"Thank you."
As I was drinking water to calm my churning stomach, Leo said:
“I only found a clue, and you’re so shocked. I’m worried that you’ll faint when I find your real blood relatives and bring them back.”
“...You only found a clue?”
“Yes. That’s not certain either.”
Leo scratched his head with an embarrassed face.
“I wanted to make sure before I came to report to you, Miss, but there were various problems and I couldn’t do that. I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. But what’s the problem?”
It's not like the Emperor has already taken him away, is it?
A feeling of anxiety began to creep up from beneath my feet.
“Before I speak, I’d like to see a map of the continent. Do you have one?”
Why do you suddenly want to see a continental map?
Although I was curious, I spread out the continental map on the table and showed it to him as he wanted.
Leo stroked his chin and looked at the continental map for a while before speaking.
“As expected, there isn’t any.”
“What is missing?”
“It’s Gloa Island.”
Gloria Island. It was the first time I heard of this place's name.
I opened my eyes wide and looked for it, but I couldn't find Gloa Island anywhere on the map.
“Is this really an island?”
“That’s right. I met the people who live there and heard their stories.”
Leo pointed to a place in the vast ocean, quite far from the empire.
“I heard that there is an island called Gloa around here.”
“There’s nothing marked on the map.”
“It is said that it is a very small island with only 15 households and no proper shipyard, so few people know about it and it is not marked on most continental maps.”
“I'm glad you met someone who lives in a place like that.”
“I happened to meet a man who came out to buy medicine for his mother.”
Leo's voice became even lower as he leaned his upper body towards me.
“The man said there was a boy on his island with blazing red hair.”
His gaze naturally turned to my long, flowing red hair.
Leo glanced at my hair and continued speaking.
“It seems to be a matrilineal lineage, since the boy’s mother, who died four years ago, was said to have red hair.”
“Any other peculiarities?”
Although Leopold had red hair, not all people with that color were Leopold's blood relatives.
So, we couldn't just assume that someone was a member of the Leopold family just because they had red hair.
There had to be other features too.
For example, having physical abilities superior to those of ordinary humans.
“The boy is 17 years old this year, and they say he is stronger than most adult men. The boy’s mother is the same, and it is said that the two of them did all the work on the island.”
I never thought there would really be a blood relative I didn't know about.
My breathing became slightly labored and my legs gave out, so I staggered onto the sofa.
“Are you okay, Miss?”
"... It's okay."
“It’s okay. You just don’t look so good.”
Leo tilted the pitcher on the table, filled a cup, and offered it to me.
"Thank you."
As I was drinking water to calm my churning stomach, Leo said:
“I only found a clue, and you’re so shocked. I’m worried that you’ll faint when I find your real blood relatives and bring them back.”
“...You only found a clue?”
“Yes. That’s not certain either.”
Leo scratched his head with an embarrassed face.
“I wanted to make sure before I came to report to you, Miss, but there were various problems and I couldn’t do that. I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. But what’s the problem?”
It's not like the Emperor has already taken him away, is it?
A feeling of anxiety began to creep up from beneath my feet.
“Before I speak, I’d like to see a map of the continent. Do you have one?”
Why do you suddenly want to see a continental map?
Although I was curious, I spread out the continental map on the table and showed it to him as he wanted.
Leo stroked his chin and looked at the continental map for a while before speaking.
“As expected, there isn’t any.”
“What is missing?”
“It’s Gloa Island.”
Gloria Island. It was the first time I heard of this place's name.
I opened my eyes wide and looked for it, but I couldn't find Gloa Island anywhere on the map.
“Is this really an island?”
“That’s right. I met the people who live there and heard their stories.”
Leo pointed to a place in the vast ocean, quite far from the empire.
“I heard that there is an island called Gloa around here.”
“There’s nothing marked on the map.”
“It is said that it is a very small island with only 15 households and no proper shipyard, so few people know about it and it is not marked on most continental maps.”
“I'm glad you met someone who lives in a place like that.”
“I happened to meet a man who came out to buy medicine for his mother.”
Leo's voice became even lower as he leaned his upper body towards me.
“The man said there was a boy on his island with blazing red hair.”
His gaze naturally turned to my long, flowing red hair.
Leo glanced at my hair and continued speaking.
“It seems to be a matrilineal lineage, since the boy’s mother, who died four years ago, was said to have red hair.”
“Any other peculiarities?”
Although Leopold had red hair, not all people with that color were Leopold's blood relatives.
So, we couldn't just assume that someone was a member of the Leopold family just because they had red hair.
There had to be other features too.
For example, having physical abilities superior to those of ordinary humans.
“The boy is 17 years old this year, and they say he is stronger than most adult men. The boy’s mother is the same, and it is said that the two of them did all the work on the island.”
"...Yes?"
Just because someone is stronger doesn't mean they have superior physical abilities, but there was still a need to check it out.
“Can you bring the boy here?”
I would have liked to go there myself, but it was too far.
And to confirm if it was real, the boy had to come to the Duke's mansion himself, so I asked Leo.
Then Leo made a troubled face.
“Well, as I said at the beginning, there are a few problems if we bring the boy in.”
Oh, right. He said something like that.
“What are the problems?”
“First of all, the distance is too far.”
Leo drew by hand from the Duchy of Leopold to the Gloa Island.
“The time it takes to get from the Duchy of Leopold to the Gloa Island is roughly a month and a half if I calculate it.”
“It takes three months for a round trip.”
“Yes. Of course, I’m saying this under the assumption that the weather will cooperate. Even if it’s a magically powered sailing ship, it’s greatly affected by the weather when sailing.”
That's right. I nodded in agreement.
“Furthermore, it is very difficult to find a ferry to Gloa Island. Not only are there no regular ferries, but there is no dock on the island.”
“How did the Gloa Islander you met before coming to the continent?”
"Here."
Leo pointed to a large island nearby. The name Lumia was written in large letters on it.
“They say that they came here on a small boat, and then boarded a sailing ship and came to the continent.”
“That little ship doesn’t have a magical power plant?”
"Yes."
That means it is more affected by the weather.
“Still, it’s fortunate that there is a sailing ship that goes to a large island nearby.”
“That’s true, but it only operates once a month, and they say it doesn’t operate in the winter because it’s not cost-effective.”
“...”
“Besides, there are many places where train service has been suspended due to heavy snowfall, so it is difficult to go by boat.”
When I heard the story, I couldn't help but groan.
I frowned and placed my hand on my forehead, feeling my head throbbing.
“No matter what I do, I can’t get to Gloa Island until spring.”
“Yes.”
“Just in case, find out if there’s another way to get to Gloa Island. If that doesn’t work, you could charter a whole sailing ship, so look into that too.”
Leo whistled.
“Wow, you even think of something like that. As expected, you are the daughter of the Duke Leopold family, who is said to have amassed money from all over the continent.”
“Stop talking nonsense.”
Even though he was hit, Leo continued to smile brightly as if he was glad of something.
“Report this to me as it progresses. If any problems arise, let me know immediately.”
“Of course. I will come to you disguised as your lover, just like I have done so far.”
Academy students were not allowed to leave the academy unless there was a special reason.
So I had no choice but to ask Leo to come into the academy, and he clearly wrote down our relationship as lovers on the visitor list.
I already have a fiancé, but he's my lover. It's absurd.
What was even more embarrassing was that everyone believed that Leo was my lover.
To be exact, they think he's a male prostitute, but let's leave that aside.
Anyway, thanks to that, no one thought it was strange when I met Leo, so I told him to keep doing that... Should I do that here too?
I thought about it for a moment and then nodded.
“Okay. Let’s continue to do that in the future.”
The decision was made because the Duchy of Leopold had more eyes to watch than the Academy, so it would be better if Leo's true identity was not revealed.
Then Leo opened his eyes wide as if he was surprised.
“Can you really do that?”
“Why? You don’t like it when the Duke’s people look at you strangely?”
“No. They’re people who have nothing to do with me anyway, so that’s okay...”
“Are you okay?”
“No, it’s nothing.”
The look of worry and lingering thoughts disappeared without a trace, and he smiled with his characteristically cheerful face.
“I will do as you say, young lady.”
“No, really. I think you have something to tell me.”
“Oh, that’s not it. It’s just my personal problem, so don’t worry about it, Miss.”
Could it really be true? I looked at him with skeptical eyes, unable to believe it.
But Leo didn't care and asked me.
“Miss, if you don’t mind, can I ask you one thing?”
“...What is it?”
“It’s about that boy.”
When I nodded to indicate that he should speak, Leo cleared his throat and began to speak.
“If you find that boy, do you plan to kill him?”
“...!”
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