It was only after Leo pointed this out that I realized that I had no idea what I would do if I found my blood relatives.
I just thought that if there were blood relatives, I should somehow find them and bring them back before the Emperor finds them.
So we found a clue about my blood relatives, and now all that was left was to bring in the boy who was presumed to be my blood relative to confirm it.
What if the boy is really a secret blood relative of Duke Leopold?
Should I kill him so that there are no regrets?
“...”
I sighed deeply inwardly at the long, drawn-out question and washed my face dry.
The reason the Emperor suddenly changed and tried to kill me was because he was looking for someone to replace me.
So, to prevent the Emperor from doing something foolish, it would be right to kill the boy...
“It seems like you are having a hard time deciding whether or not to kill that boy.”
I looked at Leo at the sudden words.
Leo, whose eyes met mine, smiled prettily with his eyes closed.
“There’s an old saying that goes like this: If you’re going to regret something no matter what, do it first and then regret it later.”
But what he said was bullshit.
“If you’re going to keep talking nonsense, get out now.”
“Are you sure it’s okay for me to go out?”
What kind of nonsense are you trying to tell by asking like that?
As I opened my eyes thinly like flounders and looked up, Leo whispered with his characteristically shameless smile.
“Anatome Guard.”
“...”
For a moment, I was about to ask how he knew that name, but then I remembered that I had told Sir Aldor about the guards, and asked something else.
“Do you know anything?”
“There are many things I know. For example, the Second Prince’s bodyguard is actually part of the Anatome Guard, which specializes in assassination. Two days ago, two people suddenly went missing.”
Leo's lips, with the tail of his words clouded, rose smoothly. Judging from the unusual sparkle in his eyes, he seemed to know something.
That's the information I need most right now.
“Do you know where the missing second Prince’s escort knight is?”
“Yee?”
When I asked him, thinking that there was nothing else, Leo tilted his head and let out a strange exclamation.
“Judging from the fact that you only asked about the escort knight’s whereabouts, it seems like you already know where the Second Prince is.”
Oh, is that how it is?
When he pointed out something I hadn't thought of, I was embarrassed and kept my mouth shut.
Of course, I didn't show it at all on the outside and pretended to be calm and drank the water.
“Did the Second Prince by any chance enter the secret basement of the Duke’s residence?”
“Cough.”
But it was a wrong choice.
“Cough, cough.”
"This."
When I kept coughing in vain, caught off guard by Leo's sudden remark, he patted me on the back.
“Are you okay, Miss?”
Would I be okay?
I wanted to snap at him like that, but I held back because I knew it would only be my loss.
Instead, let's stare at each other. Leo said, covering his cheeks shyly.
“If you stare at me, I’ll be embarrassed, Miss.”
“...Have you always been that good at talking nonsense?”
“Ugh. I meant it sincerely, but you dismissed it as bullshit...”
Leo put his hand on his chest with a sad expression.
“I’m hurt. My hurt heart hurts so much.”
If you didn't know his original personality well, his acting was so perfect that you would have thought he was really hurt.
“Enough with the whining.”
Of course, it didn't work for me, who knew everything.
“Tell me right now where that escort knight is.”
“With my mouth open?”
Leo smiled slyly as if to say, “When have you ever been hurt?” and held out his hand.
It meant that he was asking for information value.
Since it was an expected request, I took the checkbook out of my desk drawer without saying a word.
Then I took out a blank check and placed it in front of him, saying:
“Write down the amount you want.”
“What if I write down an outrageous amount of money? Why do you just hand me a blank check?”
“I don’t think you’re that shameless.”
If he were to write down an outrageous amount, our deal would be over from that moment on, so if Leo had any sense, he wouldn't do something so crazy.
“And I am the daughter of the Duke Leopold family, who amass all the money on the continent. I will pay any amount without complaint, so please write down any amount you want.”
I handed it back to him, quoting exactly what he had said before. Leo chuckled and shoved the check towards me.
“Money is enough, give me something else.”
"Other?"
"Yes."
Leo leaned toward me and whispered in a small voice.
“It’s your time, lady.”
He secretly grabs my hand.
“Just give me a day, when I want, later.”
"Well."
I pulled my hand away from him and pushed his shoulder with my other hand.
“My time is not something that can be bought with money.”
“So I’m asking for your day in exchange for the information. Since it’s special information, I want something special in return.”
I wondered what kind of great and special information he had that he was asking for my day in exchange.
I also wondered what he was going to do with my day.
Leo said as if he had read my thoughts.
“You don’t have to worry, I’m not going to do anything weird for the young lady’s day.”
“Then why are you asking for my day?”
“Well, just like that.”
“Do you think I would believe that?”
“If you don’t believe me, then there’s nothing I can do, but I asked you with a truly pure heart.”
Leo said, sounding a little aggrieved.
“Well, to be exact, I just wanted to ask for your help when the time comes that I need it.”
“In that case, wouldn’t it be better to ask for a wish rather than to ask for my day?”
Leo asked with sparkling eyes.
“Will you grant my wish?”
“Oh, I misspoke. No. I won’t grant your wish.”
When I admitted my mistake and flatly rejected him, Leo made a grumpy face and grumbled, saying, "Look at that."
“Then just give me the Lady’s day as information value.”
“I refuse.”
Leo insisted that he just wanted my day out of pure heart, but I couldn't believe him.
I said, handing the blank check back to Leo.
“Just let me pay for the information.”
Leo stubbornly shook his head.
“I don’t like it.”
“The negotiations failed.”
As I stood up, holding the blank check as if I had no regrets, Leo, who also stood up, asked me a question in a slightly embarrassed manner.
“Is that okay? Didn’t you want to know the location of that escort knight?”
“I can find him myself.”
Getting information from Leo would have helped me find it faster, but there was no need to.
Because the heavy snow stopped the train service, the escort knight's feet would have been tied to the Martina estate.
There was still over a week left before the trains could run again, so we just had to find an escort knight within that time.
Leo tilted his head as if he was puzzled after hearing my answer.
“They say the train to the capital will run again in two days... Are you sure that’s okay?”
"What?"
What did I just hear?
The train to the capital will run in two days?
“That can’t be. It would take at least another week to clear the railroad tracks blocked by the heavy snow...”
“Oh, you didn’t know.”
Leo continued as if he had known this would happen.
“It is said that the Emperor of the Empire has mobilized his wizards to clear all the snow piled up on the railroad tracks to minimize inconvenience to the people of the Empire.”
“...!”
It was the first time I heard this story.
It was something I had never experienced even once, even though I had repeated my life three times.
So I couldn't take Leo's words at face value.
Needing more objective evidence, I checked the newspapers.
"What?"
What Leo said was printed prominently on the front page of the newspaper.
The same was true of newspapers published by other newspaper companies.
That means what Leo said is true.
Hiring a wizard would have made it quicker to clear the snow from the tracks, but it would have been expensive.
It would cost roughly a year's worth of money to run the imperial family, so unless the Emperor was crazy, there was no way he would do something so crazy.
Yeah, there's no way he'd do something this crazy if he didn't have some other purpose.
Maybe... it might have something to do with Chernosser entering the Duke’s basement.
There were more than a few things that bothered me, such as the traces of him entering the second room, despite him not being a blood relative of the Leopold Dukes, and the bloody handprint.
To figure that out, I have to...
“You said I could give you my day in exchange for the information? Okay, I’ll trade.”
The escort in question had to be caught before he left for the capital.
It took about two days by carriage from Leopold's duchy to Martina's estate.
It took about a day on horseback.
That means we have to leave right now to catch the knights hiding in Martina's territory.
I was about to set off as soon as I got the information from Leo, but I ran into another problem.
It was snow that had piled up due to heavy snowfall.
Because of the snow, it was difficult to ride a horse, let alone a carriage.
Even if I went by horseback, it was impossible to reach Martina's territory within two days.
But I can't just sit still like this.
I have to catch that escort knight no matter what happens. What should I do?
While I was worrying, the person who suggested a solution was surprisingly Perdes.
“I don’t think you really need to go all the way to Martina’s estate to catch that kid.”
“What does that mean?”
“I mean, literally. You don’t go yourself, let that bastard come back.”
“That would certainly be good, but... is that possible?”
"Of course."
Perdes smiled, his lips curling upward smoothly.
“If you do as I say, that bastard will come back here no matter what.”
I just thought that if there were blood relatives, I should somehow find them and bring them back before the Emperor finds them.
So we found a clue about my blood relatives, and now all that was left was to bring in the boy who was presumed to be my blood relative to confirm it.
What if the boy is really a secret blood relative of Duke Leopold?
Should I kill him so that there are no regrets?
“...”
I sighed deeply inwardly at the long, drawn-out question and washed my face dry.
The reason the Emperor suddenly changed and tried to kill me was because he was looking for someone to replace me.
So, to prevent the Emperor from doing something foolish, it would be right to kill the boy...
“It seems like you are having a hard time deciding whether or not to kill that boy.”
I looked at Leo at the sudden words.
Leo, whose eyes met mine, smiled prettily with his eyes closed.
“There’s an old saying that goes like this: If you’re going to regret something no matter what, do it first and then regret it later.”
But what he said was bullshit.
“If you’re going to keep talking nonsense, get out now.”
“Are you sure it’s okay for me to go out?”
What kind of nonsense are you trying to tell by asking like that?
As I opened my eyes thinly like flounders and looked up, Leo whispered with his characteristically shameless smile.
“Anatome Guard.”
“...”
For a moment, I was about to ask how he knew that name, but then I remembered that I had told Sir Aldor about the guards, and asked something else.
“Do you know anything?”
“There are many things I know. For example, the Second Prince’s bodyguard is actually part of the Anatome Guard, which specializes in assassination. Two days ago, two people suddenly went missing.”
Leo's lips, with the tail of his words clouded, rose smoothly. Judging from the unusual sparkle in his eyes, he seemed to know something.
That's the information I need most right now.
“Do you know where the missing second Prince’s escort knight is?”
“Yee?”
When I asked him, thinking that there was nothing else, Leo tilted his head and let out a strange exclamation.
“Judging from the fact that you only asked about the escort knight’s whereabouts, it seems like you already know where the Second Prince is.”
Oh, is that how it is?
When he pointed out something I hadn't thought of, I was embarrassed and kept my mouth shut.
Of course, I didn't show it at all on the outside and pretended to be calm and drank the water.
“Did the Second Prince by any chance enter the secret basement of the Duke’s residence?”
“Cough.”
But it was a wrong choice.
“Cough, cough.”
"This."
When I kept coughing in vain, caught off guard by Leo's sudden remark, he patted me on the back.
“Are you okay, Miss?”
Would I be okay?
I wanted to snap at him like that, but I held back because I knew it would only be my loss.
Instead, let's stare at each other. Leo said, covering his cheeks shyly.
“If you stare at me, I’ll be embarrassed, Miss.”
“...Have you always been that good at talking nonsense?”
“Ugh. I meant it sincerely, but you dismissed it as bullshit...”
Leo put his hand on his chest with a sad expression.
“I’m hurt. My hurt heart hurts so much.”
If you didn't know his original personality well, his acting was so perfect that you would have thought he was really hurt.
“Enough with the whining.”
Of course, it didn't work for me, who knew everything.
“Tell me right now where that escort knight is.”
“With my mouth open?”
Leo smiled slyly as if to say, “When have you ever been hurt?” and held out his hand.
It meant that he was asking for information value.
Since it was an expected request, I took the checkbook out of my desk drawer without saying a word.
Then I took out a blank check and placed it in front of him, saying:
“Write down the amount you want.”
“What if I write down an outrageous amount of money? Why do you just hand me a blank check?”
“I don’t think you’re that shameless.”
If he were to write down an outrageous amount, our deal would be over from that moment on, so if Leo had any sense, he wouldn't do something so crazy.
“And I am the daughter of the Duke Leopold family, who amass all the money on the continent. I will pay any amount without complaint, so please write down any amount you want.”
I handed it back to him, quoting exactly what he had said before. Leo chuckled and shoved the check towards me.
“Money is enough, give me something else.”
"Other?"
"Yes."
Leo leaned toward me and whispered in a small voice.
“It’s your time, lady.”
He secretly grabs my hand.
“Just give me a day, when I want, later.”
"Well."
I pulled my hand away from him and pushed his shoulder with my other hand.
“My time is not something that can be bought with money.”
“So I’m asking for your day in exchange for the information. Since it’s special information, I want something special in return.”
I wondered what kind of great and special information he had that he was asking for my day in exchange.
I also wondered what he was going to do with my day.
Leo said as if he had read my thoughts.
“You don’t have to worry, I’m not going to do anything weird for the young lady’s day.”
“Then why are you asking for my day?”
“Well, just like that.”
“Do you think I would believe that?”
“If you don’t believe me, then there’s nothing I can do, but I asked you with a truly pure heart.”
Leo said, sounding a little aggrieved.
“Well, to be exact, I just wanted to ask for your help when the time comes that I need it.”
“In that case, wouldn’t it be better to ask for a wish rather than to ask for my day?”
Leo asked with sparkling eyes.
“Will you grant my wish?”
“Oh, I misspoke. No. I won’t grant your wish.”
When I admitted my mistake and flatly rejected him, Leo made a grumpy face and grumbled, saying, "Look at that."
“Then just give me the Lady’s day as information value.”
“I refuse.”
Leo insisted that he just wanted my day out of pure heart, but I couldn't believe him.
I said, handing the blank check back to Leo.
“Just let me pay for the information.”
Leo stubbornly shook his head.
“I don’t like it.”
“The negotiations failed.”
As I stood up, holding the blank check as if I had no regrets, Leo, who also stood up, asked me a question in a slightly embarrassed manner.
“Is that okay? Didn’t you want to know the location of that escort knight?”
“I can find him myself.”
Getting information from Leo would have helped me find it faster, but there was no need to.
Because the heavy snow stopped the train service, the escort knight's feet would have been tied to the Martina estate.
There was still over a week left before the trains could run again, so we just had to find an escort knight within that time.
Leo tilted his head as if he was puzzled after hearing my answer.
“They say the train to the capital will run again in two days... Are you sure that’s okay?”
"What?"
What did I just hear?
The train to the capital will run in two days?
“That can’t be. It would take at least another week to clear the railroad tracks blocked by the heavy snow...”
“Oh, you didn’t know.”
Leo continued as if he had known this would happen.
“It is said that the Emperor of the Empire has mobilized his wizards to clear all the snow piled up on the railroad tracks to minimize inconvenience to the people of the Empire.”
“...!”
It was the first time I heard this story.
It was something I had never experienced even once, even though I had repeated my life three times.
So I couldn't take Leo's words at face value.
Needing more objective evidence, I checked the newspapers.
"What?"
What Leo said was printed prominently on the front page of the newspaper.
The same was true of newspapers published by other newspaper companies.
That means what Leo said is true.
Hiring a wizard would have made it quicker to clear the snow from the tracks, but it would have been expensive.
It would cost roughly a year's worth of money to run the imperial family, so unless the Emperor was crazy, there was no way he would do something so crazy.
Yeah, there's no way he'd do something this crazy if he didn't have some other purpose.
Maybe... it might have something to do with Chernosser entering the Duke’s basement.
There were more than a few things that bothered me, such as the traces of him entering the second room, despite him not being a blood relative of the Leopold Dukes, and the bloody handprint.
To figure that out, I have to...
“You said I could give you my day in exchange for the information? Okay, I’ll trade.”
The escort in question had to be caught before he left for the capital.
***
It took about two days by carriage from Leopold's duchy to Martina's estate.
It took about a day on horseback.
That means we have to leave right now to catch the knights hiding in Martina's territory.
I was about to set off as soon as I got the information from Leo, but I ran into another problem.
It was snow that had piled up due to heavy snowfall.
Because of the snow, it was difficult to ride a horse, let alone a carriage.
Even if I went by horseback, it was impossible to reach Martina's territory within two days.
But I can't just sit still like this.
I have to catch that escort knight no matter what happens. What should I do?
While I was worrying, the person who suggested a solution was surprisingly Perdes.
“I don’t think you really need to go all the way to Martina’s estate to catch that kid.”
“What does that mean?”
“I mean, literally. You don’t go yourself, let that bastard come back.”
“That would certainly be good, but... is that possible?”
"Of course."
Perdes smiled, his lips curling upward smoothly.
“If you do as I say, that bastard will come back here no matter what.”
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