What a peculiar sword, really...
I was just blankly staring at the child and was about to urgently ask for an explanation, but the Crown Prince was one step faster.
“If you say it’s a special sword, what kind of sword are you talking about?”
“Well, that’s it... It’s a sword with a long handle, and when you open the handle, another small knife comes out. It’s a very strange-looking sword. It’s said to be a sword that was used a lot in my father’s time.”
“...”
“These days, knights don’t use swords very often, but my brother said that he uses the same sword as my father because he wants to be like him!”
The Crown Prince and I both froze at the child's words.
“Did we ever mention that sword in front of this child?”
“No, I never said a word.”
“And yet, to describe it so accurately...”
It clearly meant that he had seen it before.
That is to say.
“This kid definitely seems to be that guy’s younger brother.”
“Yes, it’s clear. But why did the director...”
I frowned as I recalled the director who had said with a naturally innocent expression that this child had no older brother.
Why on earth would she lie like that?
'And why are those kids...?'
For a moment, I felt like, “Oops,” and touched my forehead.
I just realized that the person who picked up those kids was the director's person.
'This is so stupid.'
Separating witnesses and suspects was a fundamental part of an investigation.
But I missed that.
I was banging my head in self-loathing and asked the child urgently.
“Marca, what kind of person was the director of the orphanage you were staying at?”
“The director?”
“Yes, whatever it is, do you want to tell me?”
The child tilted his head in confusion at the sudden change in topic, but soon opened his mouth as if it were no big deal.
“Well, Director. It’s a bit... difficult.”
“Is it difficult?”
“Yes, even if we do something a little wrong, she opens her eyes like this and gets angry. Yesterday, a five-year-old boy wet the bed and she got really angry. He cried and washed the bed and dried it.”
“She told him to wash the blanket... Himself? To a five-year-old?”
“Yes, we usually do our own laundry if we wet our beds. Only two teachers are working there.”
“Two people?”
I let out a laugh.
The orphanage where this child lived was very large in scale and naturally had a lot of children.
Just looking at the list the director showed, there were well over seventy children currently staying there.
But there are only two employees.
“Are things that bad?”
As I muttered as if talking to myself, the Crown Prince let out a short sigh and said.
“The Imperial Family is sending subsidies to all the orphanages within the Empire. There are also donations from lords and local leaders. However, with so many children, it might not be enough.”
The child retorted in a puzzled tone.
“No, our daycare center has a lot of money.”
“...Do you have a lot of money?”
“Yes, I hid in the closet of the principal’s office while playing tag with the kids last time. There was a box full of gold coins in there. This much!”
The child curled his arms forward to represent the amount of gold coins.
Even though the child's arms were short, it was a fairly large space.
'There are that many gold coins?'
The average monthly salary of an imperial servant was one gold coin, which was equivalent to three months' living expenses for a commoner.
At the considerable amount of money, both my expression and the Crown Prince's expression hardened at the same time.
“If that’s the case, then there shouldn’t be any problem at all in running a daycare center, but why did they only hire two employees? Surely...”
Was she embezzling? That was when I thought so.
“Oh, that’s not because we don’t have money, it’s because our director is stingy.”
"Stingy?"
“Yes, our director says we should save on everything. She tells us to eat only a little food, and in winter, she only lights the stove for two hours a day to save money on firewood. That’s why we wear a lot of clothes in the winter and sleep hugging each other.”
“Two hours a day?”
I couldn't hide my shock.
Originally, the Catalonia Empire was located in the southern part of the continent, so it was a blessed land where the winters were not too cold.
But winter temperatures have dropped significantly since the disaster began 13 years ago.
In winter, it was so cold that if you turned off the heater for just an hour, all the heat would escape and you wouldn't be able to tell if you were indoors or outdoors.
But for these children, the stove is only lit for two hours.
This was nothing short of abuse.
An angry voice also came out of the Crown Prince's mouth.
“If she had accumulated so much wealth, it means she had received generous donations, but in the middle of winter, she only had two hours to light a fire. And that included food. It seems clear that she was embezzling. We should investigate.”
Investigation.
Yes, it was the right thing to do since the charges had been found.
But...
“Even if we investigate, it won’t be easy to catch the tail.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Didn’t you see that a little while ago? She boldly handed us the list, saying that there was no such thing as a child named Evan, and told us to check it out ourselves. She probably didn’t know in advance that we were going to visit the orphanage, but the personal information list was clean. That means she had tampered with it in advance. Do you think someone like that would just leave it as a ledger?”
I continued snorting.
“Furthermore, in that short period, the director had the children give false testimony through her servants. The children followed her orders without question. Even if they didn’t know our identities, they could tell that we were of high status just by looking at our clothes. The fact that they gave false testimony without any hesitation means that the director is a very fearful figure to the children. So, there’s nothing we can gain by asking the students.”
“That’s right.”
The Crown Prince nodded as if agreeing with what I said and let out a short sigh.
“But now that we have discovered the charges, we cannot just let it go.”
“Of course.”
This time I nodded.
It was an absolutely intolerable crime for a person who was the director of an orphanage to embezzle food, firewood, and donations that were supposed to go to the poor orphans.
Furthermore.
'You have the nerve to lie to me?'
When I thought of her, who had shamelessly lied without changing her expression, I couldn't help but feel swearing.
Suddenly, I, gritting my teeth, made a suggestion to the Crown Prince.
“Let’s not do that, let’s infiltrate.”
"...Infiltration?"
“Yes, we will go into the orphanage and check it out. We will check if it is true that the money coming into the orphanage was embezzled, and if so, where and how much was embezzled, and why the register was manipulated to hide this child’s older brother. Also... what else is being hidden.”
I will make you pay dearly for daring to lie to the Saintess.
When I smiled, pulling up one corner of my mouth in a wicked way, the Crown Prince, who had been flinching slightly, nodded.
“Sure, if we do that, we can dig a little deeper... But how are we going to get in there? Our faces are already known.”
That's a valid point.
But I smiled brightly with a face that showed absolutely no worry.
“Why worry about that? We have Delton.”
“Are you talking about a lion?”
The Crown Prince asked back with a puzzled expression at my words.
And it was the same with Delton.
“Me? What do you want me to do?”
Delton tilted his head, pointing at himself with his index finger.
“What do you mean, let’s change our appearances with Delton’s powers? That’s nothing to our great Delton, right?”
“Huh? Uh... Well, that’s not difficult. After all, like you said, I’m the greatest lion in the world.”
I didn't say he was the greatest lion in the world.
I clicked my tongue as I watched Delton proudly raise his head while adding words I didn't even say.
But, well, I guess I have to endure this level of discomfort when I'm in a position to receive help.
I stood up confidently.
“Don’t worry, Delton. He said he’d be happy to help. Then I’ll change my form and sneak in... Yeah?”
But that was only for a moment, as I was caught by the Crown Prince and fell to the ground again.
“That won’t do.”
"...Why?"
When I asked with a trembling expression, the Crown Prince furrowed his brow as if he was frustrated.
“Are you asking because you don’t know what situation you are in? Unidentified people are seeking the Princess’s life. No matter how you disguise yourself, it is dangerous to act on your own.”
“Oh, what should I say?”
“...?”
“If that’s the case, Delton can come with you. Of course, he can’t go in this form, so he can just transform into a cat like last time. Right?”
To my question, Delton nodded and said, “Okay, okay.”
But the Crown Prince still did not give up his opposition.
“But that won’t do. Last time the assassin came, you were with the lion, but Imyou almost got killed.”
“Hey! That’s because I let my guard down because of her. Normally, he wouldn’t even be a fist away...!”
Delton raised his voice, perhaps hurt by the expression of disbelief. But he could not bring himself to finish his excuses.
That would be the case because the power the assassin displayed at the time was beyond the scope of an ordinary human.
Even if Delton hadn't let his guard down, he wouldn't have been an easy opponent.
“I guess you feel something too.”
Although he couldn't understand a single word Delton said, the Crown Prince, who had roughly figured out the situation, looked at me with an expression as if telling me to look.
“Anyway, you shouldn’t go in yourself. I’ll go instead.”
But I couldn't agree with that either.
“That won’t work.”
“Why?”
“She deceived me without changing her expression. My pride won’t allow me to just let it go. I think I’ll feel better if I infiltrate her myself and find out what she’s hiding.”
“Are you saying that you’re going to come out for just that reason? What did I say earlier...?”
“I know. I understand Your Highness’s concerns. No matter how much I disguise myself, it is clearly dangerous to act alone in this situation. So...”
“...?”
“Let’s go together, us.”
I smiled faintly at the Crown Prince.
I was just blankly staring at the child and was about to urgently ask for an explanation, but the Crown Prince was one step faster.
“If you say it’s a special sword, what kind of sword are you talking about?”
“Well, that’s it... It’s a sword with a long handle, and when you open the handle, another small knife comes out. It’s a very strange-looking sword. It’s said to be a sword that was used a lot in my father’s time.”
“...”
“These days, knights don’t use swords very often, but my brother said that he uses the same sword as my father because he wants to be like him!”
The Crown Prince and I both froze at the child's words.
“Did we ever mention that sword in front of this child?”
“No, I never said a word.”
“And yet, to describe it so accurately...”
It clearly meant that he had seen it before.
That is to say.
“This kid definitely seems to be that guy’s younger brother.”
“Yes, it’s clear. But why did the director...”
I frowned as I recalled the director who had said with a naturally innocent expression that this child had no older brother.
Why on earth would she lie like that?
'And why are those kids...?'
For a moment, I felt like, “Oops,” and touched my forehead.
I just realized that the person who picked up those kids was the director's person.
'This is so stupid.'
Separating witnesses and suspects was a fundamental part of an investigation.
But I missed that.
I was banging my head in self-loathing and asked the child urgently.
“Marca, what kind of person was the director of the orphanage you were staying at?”
“The director?”
“Yes, whatever it is, do you want to tell me?”
The child tilted his head in confusion at the sudden change in topic, but soon opened his mouth as if it were no big deal.
“Well, Director. It’s a bit... difficult.”
“Is it difficult?”
“Yes, even if we do something a little wrong, she opens her eyes like this and gets angry. Yesterday, a five-year-old boy wet the bed and she got really angry. He cried and washed the bed and dried it.”
“She told him to wash the blanket... Himself? To a five-year-old?”
“Yes, we usually do our own laundry if we wet our beds. Only two teachers are working there.”
“Two people?”
I let out a laugh.
The orphanage where this child lived was very large in scale and naturally had a lot of children.
Just looking at the list the director showed, there were well over seventy children currently staying there.
But there are only two employees.
“Are things that bad?”
As I muttered as if talking to myself, the Crown Prince let out a short sigh and said.
“The Imperial Family is sending subsidies to all the orphanages within the Empire. There are also donations from lords and local leaders. However, with so many children, it might not be enough.”
The child retorted in a puzzled tone.
“No, our daycare center has a lot of money.”
“...Do you have a lot of money?”
“Yes, I hid in the closet of the principal’s office while playing tag with the kids last time. There was a box full of gold coins in there. This much!”
The child curled his arms forward to represent the amount of gold coins.
Even though the child's arms were short, it was a fairly large space.
'There are that many gold coins?'
The average monthly salary of an imperial servant was one gold coin, which was equivalent to three months' living expenses for a commoner.
At the considerable amount of money, both my expression and the Crown Prince's expression hardened at the same time.
“If that’s the case, then there shouldn’t be any problem at all in running a daycare center, but why did they only hire two employees? Surely...”
Was she embezzling? That was when I thought so.
“Oh, that’s not because we don’t have money, it’s because our director is stingy.”
"Stingy?"
“Yes, our director says we should save on everything. She tells us to eat only a little food, and in winter, she only lights the stove for two hours a day to save money on firewood. That’s why we wear a lot of clothes in the winter and sleep hugging each other.”
“Two hours a day?”
I couldn't hide my shock.
Originally, the Catalonia Empire was located in the southern part of the continent, so it was a blessed land where the winters were not too cold.
But winter temperatures have dropped significantly since the disaster began 13 years ago.
In winter, it was so cold that if you turned off the heater for just an hour, all the heat would escape and you wouldn't be able to tell if you were indoors or outdoors.
But for these children, the stove is only lit for two hours.
This was nothing short of abuse.
An angry voice also came out of the Crown Prince's mouth.
“If she had accumulated so much wealth, it means she had received generous donations, but in the middle of winter, she only had two hours to light a fire. And that included food. It seems clear that she was embezzling. We should investigate.”
Investigation.
Yes, it was the right thing to do since the charges had been found.
But...
“Even if we investigate, it won’t be easy to catch the tail.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Didn’t you see that a little while ago? She boldly handed us the list, saying that there was no such thing as a child named Evan, and told us to check it out ourselves. She probably didn’t know in advance that we were going to visit the orphanage, but the personal information list was clean. That means she had tampered with it in advance. Do you think someone like that would just leave it as a ledger?”
I continued snorting.
“Furthermore, in that short period, the director had the children give false testimony through her servants. The children followed her orders without question. Even if they didn’t know our identities, they could tell that we were of high status just by looking at our clothes. The fact that they gave false testimony without any hesitation means that the director is a very fearful figure to the children. So, there’s nothing we can gain by asking the students.”
“That’s right.”
The Crown Prince nodded as if agreeing with what I said and let out a short sigh.
“But now that we have discovered the charges, we cannot just let it go.”
“Of course.”
This time I nodded.
It was an absolutely intolerable crime for a person who was the director of an orphanage to embezzle food, firewood, and donations that were supposed to go to the poor orphans.
Furthermore.
'You have the nerve to lie to me?'
When I thought of her, who had shamelessly lied without changing her expression, I couldn't help but feel swearing.
Suddenly, I, gritting my teeth, made a suggestion to the Crown Prince.
“Let’s not do that, let’s infiltrate.”
"...Infiltration?"
“Yes, we will go into the orphanage and check it out. We will check if it is true that the money coming into the orphanage was embezzled, and if so, where and how much was embezzled, and why the register was manipulated to hide this child’s older brother. Also... what else is being hidden.”
I will make you pay dearly for daring to lie to the Saintess.
When I smiled, pulling up one corner of my mouth in a wicked way, the Crown Prince, who had been flinching slightly, nodded.
“Sure, if we do that, we can dig a little deeper... But how are we going to get in there? Our faces are already known.”
That's a valid point.
But I smiled brightly with a face that showed absolutely no worry.
“Why worry about that? We have Delton.”
“Are you talking about a lion?”
The Crown Prince asked back with a puzzled expression at my words.
And it was the same with Delton.
“Me? What do you want me to do?”
Delton tilted his head, pointing at himself with his index finger.
“What do you mean, let’s change our appearances with Delton’s powers? That’s nothing to our great Delton, right?”
“Huh? Uh... Well, that’s not difficult. After all, like you said, I’m the greatest lion in the world.”
I didn't say he was the greatest lion in the world.
I clicked my tongue as I watched Delton proudly raise his head while adding words I didn't even say.
But, well, I guess I have to endure this level of discomfort when I'm in a position to receive help.
I stood up confidently.
“Don’t worry, Delton. He said he’d be happy to help. Then I’ll change my form and sneak in... Yeah?”
But that was only for a moment, as I was caught by the Crown Prince and fell to the ground again.
“That won’t do.”
"...Why?"
When I asked with a trembling expression, the Crown Prince furrowed his brow as if he was frustrated.
“Are you asking because you don’t know what situation you are in? Unidentified people are seeking the Princess’s life. No matter how you disguise yourself, it is dangerous to act on your own.”
“Oh, what should I say?”
“...?”
“If that’s the case, Delton can come with you. Of course, he can’t go in this form, so he can just transform into a cat like last time. Right?”
To my question, Delton nodded and said, “Okay, okay.”
But the Crown Prince still did not give up his opposition.
“But that won’t do. Last time the assassin came, you were with the lion, but Imyou almost got killed.”
“Hey! That’s because I let my guard down because of her. Normally, he wouldn’t even be a fist away...!”
Delton raised his voice, perhaps hurt by the expression of disbelief. But he could not bring himself to finish his excuses.
That would be the case because the power the assassin displayed at the time was beyond the scope of an ordinary human.
Even if Delton hadn't let his guard down, he wouldn't have been an easy opponent.
“I guess you feel something too.”
Although he couldn't understand a single word Delton said, the Crown Prince, who had roughly figured out the situation, looked at me with an expression as if telling me to look.
“Anyway, you shouldn’t go in yourself. I’ll go instead.”
But I couldn't agree with that either.
“That won’t work.”
“Why?”
“She deceived me without changing her expression. My pride won’t allow me to just let it go. I think I’ll feel better if I infiltrate her myself and find out what she’s hiding.”
“Are you saying that you’re going to come out for just that reason? What did I say earlier...?”
“I know. I understand Your Highness’s concerns. No matter how much I disguise myself, it is clearly dangerous to act alone in this situation. So...”
“...?”
“Let’s go together, us.”
I smiled faintly at the Crown Prince.
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