Right away.
As the carriage stopped, Perdes opened the curtains and looked out the window.
The exterior of the Duke of Lucien's residence, reminiscent of a large chessboard, never got used to it, no matter how many times he saw it.
This was only the second time though.
“Make an appointment...”
“His Highness the Fourth Prince...”
Perdes watched the conversation between the Duke of Lucien's guard and Aldor, who had come with him as his escort, then drew the curtain again.
And as he sat back in the chair, he thought back to the conversation he had with Adele before he came here.
“You want to sneak into the Duke Lucien's house?”
When Perdes asked again, doubting his ears, Adele nodded.
“That’s right. I’m going to sneak in and check out the painting he has of the chess tournament finals, the one that might contain my father.”
“Is it really necessary to do something so dangerous? It’s just a drawing, so if you just ask, he’ll show you.”
“If the opponent was not the Duke of Lucien but an ordinary person, then yes.”
Perdes tilted his head and asked back at the meaningful answer, which he could not understand.
“What does that mean?”
“The Duke of Lucien is a man of many perceptive minds. But if I suddenly asked him to show me the painting, he would suspect something and try to dig it up.”
“That would be difficult. Then your plans might be exposed.”
“Yeah. Well, I think it’s already been revealed a little bit.”
“What is that...!”
"Shhh."
When Perdes was about to ask back in surprise, Adele put her index finger to her lips and smiled.
Her smile was so charming that Perdes fell in love with her once again.
His heart was pounding and even the air he was breathing through his nose and mouth felt sweet.
“Don’t worry. I’m still suspicious, so if you take care of yourself, you’ll be fine.”
Adele took Perdes' hand, who was standing there blankly, and spoke again.
“Really? Do you trust me, Mr. Perdes?”
"...Yes."
Only then did Perdes come to his senses and nod.
He didn't realize it at the time because he was obsessed with Adele, but thinking back now, it was such a stupid thing to do.
Adele must have thought so too.
“This is really embarrassing.”
As Perdes was sighing deeply, feeling ashamed of himself for constantly showing his foolish side in a situation where he should have shown his manly side, there was a knock on the door.
“You may get off now, Lord Perdes.”
It was Aldor.
The reason why Adel entrusted Aldor with the escort of Perdes among the many knights was to hide this plan.
If Aldor finds out that Adele is sneaking into the Duke of Lucien's residence, he will risk his life to stop her.
That means he knows nothing about this plan.
It was safe to say that Aldor knew almost nothing about this plan, such as who Adele was seeking revenge on, or what plans she was making for it.
'I don't know much either... but I still know more than that guy.'
When Perdes smiled, feeling proud of that fact, Aldor's eyes furrowed slightly.
“Why are you laughing all of a sudden?”
“Do I have to explain every single thing I laugh at?”
Perdes answered curtly as if asking when he had ever laughed and got out of the carriage.
Perdes' mission was to keep the Duke of Lucien's attention until Adele could locate and identify the painting.
'I guess I'll have to kill some time by playing chess.'
What would be a good topic for conversation?
Perdes entered the Duchess of Lucien's mansion, thinking about which of the things he had already thought of would be good.
When Adele and Perdes first came here, the Duke of Lucien welcomed them in the drawing room.
“Welcome to the House of Lucien, Your Highness.”
So he thought it would be the same this time, but it was completely beyond his expectations.
As soon as he entered the main hall, Perdes twisted his lips slightly as he was greeted with a warm welcome from the Duke of Lucien.
It's unlikely that the arrogant Duke of Lucien, who acted as if he had never learned any manners, would suddenly come to his senses.
'I think there's another ulterior motive.'
What could it be? Perdes looked at the Duke of Lucien carefully, but could not read anything on his smiling face.
“Why do you look at me with such eager eyes, Your Highness?”
“There’s no special reason.”
Perdes said with a grin.
“I was curious as to what caused you to come out to the hall to greet me when you were waiting in the reception room before.”
When Perdes stabbed him openly, the people around him were startled and rolled their eyes, but the person involved, the Duke of Lucien, laughed heartily.
“Haha, of course, Your Highness the Crown Prince came to my mansion in person, so I have to come out to the hall to greet you.”
“I guess I wasn’t the Prince when I came last time.”
“At that time, I did not hear that Your Royal Highness the Crown Prince was coming with Duke Leopold, so please be generous and overlook my rudeness.”
You lie so casually.
Perdes clicked his tongue inwardly, but he didn't stumble over that part.
Mentioning it would only lead to a fight, and if they continued talking in the hall, it would be difficult for Adele to sneak into the Duke's residence.
“My legs hurt a little from standing for so long.”
When Perdes indirectly expressed his desire to go to the reception room, the Duke of Lucien smiled and took a step back.
“Oh, my. I was not aware of it. I will show you to the reception room right away, Your Highness.”
I guess we can start slowly.
I checked the time on my pocket watch, then carefully opened the carriage door and went out.
I was sitting curled up in the luggage compartment all the time, and I felt dizzy.
After making sure there was no one in the stable, I motioned to Gnosis, who was riding in the cargo hold with me, to let him get off.
Even though he was told that it was okay, Gnosis looked around carefully and got out of the carriage, wondering what was so uneasy about it.
If I stayed here any longer, I might get caught by someone, so I hid in the nearby bushes and opened up the blueprint for the Duke of Lucien's residence.
It was a precious blueprint obtained at a high price from the Information Guild.
According to the guild members, Duke Lucien keeps his collection of paintings in a room at the end of the east corridor on the third floor.
The reception room where Perdes was holding the Duke of Lucien was at the end of the west hallway on the first floor, so it was perfect for sneaking in and just checking out the paintings.
If we delay for no reason, it will only make things harder for Perdes, so we should go quickly.
I folded the drawing small and put it in my pocket and said to Gnosis.
“Then shall we go, Gnosis?”
“Yes.”
Gnosis, who had been fidgeting like someone who needed to go to the bathroom, groaned and put his hand on his head.
“Do I really have to come in, Your Excellency?”
"Yes."
When I answered as if asking such an obvious question, the wrinkles between Gnosis’s eyebrows deepened.
“But I’m old and not as athletic as Your Excellency, so no matter how I think about it, it seems impossible for me to sneak into the Duke’s residence.”
“That’s why I personally gave you the teleportation scroll.”
Teleportation scrolls were magical items that could only transport one person over a very short distance, were extremely expensive, and were, in a word, useless.
Because of that, it was hard to obtain because they were rarely made, but luckily, there were two teleportation scrolls among the magic items I bought in bulk from Marquis Prasis.
“Don’t worry, you can use the teleport scroll to get to the room with the picture from the point I mentioned.”
“It seems like getting to that point is the problem.”
“I’ll take care of that too.”
“...So you’re saying that you’ll take me with you somehow?”
“I hope you don’t make me repeat the same answer.”
Now was not even the time to do that. If I wasted time and got caught by Duke Lucien, it would be a disaster, so I urged Gnosis.
“Let’s go.”
“...Yes, Your Excellency.”
Gnosis followed me cautiously, looking uneasy.
The first destination was the exterior wall of the building that overlooked the window of the room where the paintings were stored.
I arrived safely without being caught by anyone and spoke to Gnosis.
“They patrol every ten minutes, so we have to finish within that time.”
“I can use the teleporter to go straight to the storage room, but... How do you plan on getting to the storage room on the third floor, Your Excellency?”
“I’ll go figure it out myself, so go ahead and open the window.”
Gnosis nodded and tore the teleportation scroll.
A bright blue light burst out from the torn scroll and swallowed Gnosis in one breath.
After I confirmed that Gnosis had arrived safely and opened the window of the third-floor storage room, I climbed up a large evergreen tree nearby.
There was quite a distance from the evergreen tree to the storage room.
No matter how good a person was at long jumps, he couldn't jump that far.
Yes, for a normal person.
“Phew.”
I took a deep breath and ran, stepping on the sturdy branches.
Finally, I flew using the branch as a cloud board, and Gnosis, who was in front of the window, opened his mouth wide in surprise.
"Be careful...!"
Bam-
Before Gnosis could even finish speaking, I landed safely inside the storage room, and Gnosis's eyes widened in a different way than before.
He checked the distance I had run and muttered in disbelief.
“How on earth is this possible...?”
“I don’t have time, so don’t talk nonsense. Just find the picture first.”
“...I think I’ve already found that picture.”
Have you already found it?
I looked up in surprise and Gnosis looked behind me without saying a word.
Following that gaze, I found a picture that really did depict the chess final.
And.
"Father..."
I couldn't believe it, but the picture really did show my father.
Although it was a side view, in the current situation where there is not a single portrait of my father left, I was grateful for even a side view.
When I saw my father after a long time, I was overcome with emotion.
I felt like crying, but I was trying to hold it back, when Gnosis, who was behind me, suddenly walked towards the painting.
“Gnosis?”
"...Ah."
Gnosis muttered, caressing the painting with an expression of joy.
“That’s right. That’s right.”
“...!”
“The person I met 20 years ago is… … this person.”
As the carriage stopped, Perdes opened the curtains and looked out the window.
The exterior of the Duke of Lucien's residence, reminiscent of a large chessboard, never got used to it, no matter how many times he saw it.
This was only the second time though.
“Make an appointment...”
“His Highness the Fourth Prince...”
Perdes watched the conversation between the Duke of Lucien's guard and Aldor, who had come with him as his escort, then drew the curtain again.
And as he sat back in the chair, he thought back to the conversation he had with Adele before he came here.
“You want to sneak into the Duke Lucien's house?”
When Perdes asked again, doubting his ears, Adele nodded.
“That’s right. I’m going to sneak in and check out the painting he has of the chess tournament finals, the one that might contain my father.”
“Is it really necessary to do something so dangerous? It’s just a drawing, so if you just ask, he’ll show you.”
“If the opponent was not the Duke of Lucien but an ordinary person, then yes.”
Perdes tilted his head and asked back at the meaningful answer, which he could not understand.
“What does that mean?”
“The Duke of Lucien is a man of many perceptive minds. But if I suddenly asked him to show me the painting, he would suspect something and try to dig it up.”
“That would be difficult. Then your plans might be exposed.”
“Yeah. Well, I think it’s already been revealed a little bit.”
“What is that...!”
"Shhh."
When Perdes was about to ask back in surprise, Adele put her index finger to her lips and smiled.
Her smile was so charming that Perdes fell in love with her once again.
His heart was pounding and even the air he was breathing through his nose and mouth felt sweet.
“Don’t worry. I’m still suspicious, so if you take care of yourself, you’ll be fine.”
Adele took Perdes' hand, who was standing there blankly, and spoke again.
“Really? Do you trust me, Mr. Perdes?”
"...Yes."
Only then did Perdes come to his senses and nod.
He didn't realize it at the time because he was obsessed with Adele, but thinking back now, it was such a stupid thing to do.
Adele must have thought so too.
“This is really embarrassing.”
As Perdes was sighing deeply, feeling ashamed of himself for constantly showing his foolish side in a situation where he should have shown his manly side, there was a knock on the door.
“You may get off now, Lord Perdes.”
It was Aldor.
The reason why Adel entrusted Aldor with the escort of Perdes among the many knights was to hide this plan.
If Aldor finds out that Adele is sneaking into the Duke of Lucien's residence, he will risk his life to stop her.
That means he knows nothing about this plan.
It was safe to say that Aldor knew almost nothing about this plan, such as who Adele was seeking revenge on, or what plans she was making for it.
'I don't know much either... but I still know more than that guy.'
When Perdes smiled, feeling proud of that fact, Aldor's eyes furrowed slightly.
“Why are you laughing all of a sudden?”
“Do I have to explain every single thing I laugh at?”
Perdes answered curtly as if asking when he had ever laughed and got out of the carriage.
Perdes' mission was to keep the Duke of Lucien's attention until Adele could locate and identify the painting.
'I guess I'll have to kill some time by playing chess.'
What would be a good topic for conversation?
Perdes entered the Duchess of Lucien's mansion, thinking about which of the things he had already thought of would be good.
When Adele and Perdes first came here, the Duke of Lucien welcomed them in the drawing room.
“Welcome to the House of Lucien, Your Highness.”
So he thought it would be the same this time, but it was completely beyond his expectations.
As soon as he entered the main hall, Perdes twisted his lips slightly as he was greeted with a warm welcome from the Duke of Lucien.
It's unlikely that the arrogant Duke of Lucien, who acted as if he had never learned any manners, would suddenly come to his senses.
'I think there's another ulterior motive.'
What could it be? Perdes looked at the Duke of Lucien carefully, but could not read anything on his smiling face.
“Why do you look at me with such eager eyes, Your Highness?”
“There’s no special reason.”
Perdes said with a grin.
“I was curious as to what caused you to come out to the hall to greet me when you were waiting in the reception room before.”
When Perdes stabbed him openly, the people around him were startled and rolled their eyes, but the person involved, the Duke of Lucien, laughed heartily.
“Haha, of course, Your Highness the Crown Prince came to my mansion in person, so I have to come out to the hall to greet you.”
“I guess I wasn’t the Prince when I came last time.”
“At that time, I did not hear that Your Royal Highness the Crown Prince was coming with Duke Leopold, so please be generous and overlook my rudeness.”
You lie so casually.
Perdes clicked his tongue inwardly, but he didn't stumble over that part.
Mentioning it would only lead to a fight, and if they continued talking in the hall, it would be difficult for Adele to sneak into the Duke's residence.
“My legs hurt a little from standing for so long.”
When Perdes indirectly expressed his desire to go to the reception room, the Duke of Lucien smiled and took a step back.
“Oh, my. I was not aware of it. I will show you to the reception room right away, Your Highness.”
***
I guess we can start slowly.
I checked the time on my pocket watch, then carefully opened the carriage door and went out.
I was sitting curled up in the luggage compartment all the time, and I felt dizzy.
After making sure there was no one in the stable, I motioned to Gnosis, who was riding in the cargo hold with me, to let him get off.
Even though he was told that it was okay, Gnosis looked around carefully and got out of the carriage, wondering what was so uneasy about it.
If I stayed here any longer, I might get caught by someone, so I hid in the nearby bushes and opened up the blueprint for the Duke of Lucien's residence.
It was a precious blueprint obtained at a high price from the Information Guild.
According to the guild members, Duke Lucien keeps his collection of paintings in a room at the end of the east corridor on the third floor.
The reception room where Perdes was holding the Duke of Lucien was at the end of the west hallway on the first floor, so it was perfect for sneaking in and just checking out the paintings.
If we delay for no reason, it will only make things harder for Perdes, so we should go quickly.
I folded the drawing small and put it in my pocket and said to Gnosis.
“Then shall we go, Gnosis?”
“Yes.”
Gnosis, who had been fidgeting like someone who needed to go to the bathroom, groaned and put his hand on his head.
“Do I really have to come in, Your Excellency?”
"Yes."
When I answered as if asking such an obvious question, the wrinkles between Gnosis’s eyebrows deepened.
“But I’m old and not as athletic as Your Excellency, so no matter how I think about it, it seems impossible for me to sneak into the Duke’s residence.”
“That’s why I personally gave you the teleportation scroll.”
Teleportation scrolls were magical items that could only transport one person over a very short distance, were extremely expensive, and were, in a word, useless.
Because of that, it was hard to obtain because they were rarely made, but luckily, there were two teleportation scrolls among the magic items I bought in bulk from Marquis Prasis.
“Don’t worry, you can use the teleport scroll to get to the room with the picture from the point I mentioned.”
“It seems like getting to that point is the problem.”
“I’ll take care of that too.”
“...So you’re saying that you’ll take me with you somehow?”
“I hope you don’t make me repeat the same answer.”
Now was not even the time to do that. If I wasted time and got caught by Duke Lucien, it would be a disaster, so I urged Gnosis.
“Let’s go.”
“...Yes, Your Excellency.”
Gnosis followed me cautiously, looking uneasy.
The first destination was the exterior wall of the building that overlooked the window of the room where the paintings were stored.
I arrived safely without being caught by anyone and spoke to Gnosis.
“They patrol every ten minutes, so we have to finish within that time.”
“I can use the teleporter to go straight to the storage room, but... How do you plan on getting to the storage room on the third floor, Your Excellency?”
“I’ll go figure it out myself, so go ahead and open the window.”
Gnosis nodded and tore the teleportation scroll.
A bright blue light burst out from the torn scroll and swallowed Gnosis in one breath.
After I confirmed that Gnosis had arrived safely and opened the window of the third-floor storage room, I climbed up a large evergreen tree nearby.
There was quite a distance from the evergreen tree to the storage room.
No matter how good a person was at long jumps, he couldn't jump that far.
Yes, for a normal person.
“Phew.”
I took a deep breath and ran, stepping on the sturdy branches.
Finally, I flew using the branch as a cloud board, and Gnosis, who was in front of the window, opened his mouth wide in surprise.
"Be careful...!"
Bam-
Before Gnosis could even finish speaking, I landed safely inside the storage room, and Gnosis's eyes widened in a different way than before.
He checked the distance I had run and muttered in disbelief.
“How on earth is this possible...?”
“I don’t have time, so don’t talk nonsense. Just find the picture first.”
“...I think I’ve already found that picture.”
Have you already found it?
I looked up in surprise and Gnosis looked behind me without saying a word.
Following that gaze, I found a picture that really did depict the chess final.
And.
"Father..."
I couldn't believe it, but the picture really did show my father.
Although it was a side view, in the current situation where there is not a single portrait of my father left, I was grateful for even a side view.
When I saw my father after a long time, I was overcome with emotion.
I felt like crying, but I was trying to hold it back, when Gnosis, who was behind me, suddenly walked towards the painting.
“Gnosis?”
"...Ah."
Gnosis muttered, caressing the painting with an expression of joy.
“That’s right. That’s right.”
“...!”
“The person I met 20 years ago is… … this person.”
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