"In conclusion, I missed the shaman."
As soon as Alseid entered my room, he took out a breathless word, and Caliph pursed his lips in embarrassment.
I never thought that my father would not be able to catch the shaman on the way to Garcia.
Alseid took something like a piece of paper from his arms and handed it to the Caliph.
Caliph recognized its identity and asked cautiously, flipping through the pages.
"Checkbook...Isn't it?"
Alseid nodded.
"I found it in the shaman's room. All kinds of nobles, mercenaries, and sometimes even big merchants paid him a lot of money for his hard work."
"...Was there anyone worth paying attention to?"
Alseid took the checkbook back and opened the back page.
"It's the signature of the Crown Prince."
"Yes?"
Caliph's bewildered gaze engraved the numbers and letters on the paper.
"Ten thousand Florine..."
"...Ten thousand florins would be worth a castle in the corner of the continent."
Caliph muttered blankly.
"Three years ago, in the spring. Crown Prince Bioden paid ten thousand florins to a shaman..."
Alseid shook his head.
"Isn't it worth risking his entire life for an aimless shaman?"
"... The Crown Prince moved the spirit stone."
Caliph gently touched his forehead, and Alseid unbuttoned his shirt, annoyingly, as if frustrated.
After calculating several numbers in his head, Caliph spoke again.
"Didn't the shaman deliberately leave a checkbook to cause confusion?"
Alseud nodded.
"It was definitely intentional. However, the checkbook itself is not forged. Garcia has already confirmed it."
"I don't know the purpose of the shaman, but it means that it is true that the Crown Prince intervened."
Caliph sighed.
"...Theodore will be a little busier."
***
While I was keeping my ears close to the wall, my heart was pounding.
Until now, I have thought that the hypothesis that the royal family would have used the Spirit Stone to burn Meridy is only my own.
I couldn't say such a thing out loud about babies, and I thought it was a doubt that I had to keep in my heart until I grew up to a certain extent.
'But it wasn't... Alseid was still investigating...'
That fact alone made him feel overwhelmed, and Alseid was almost in touch with the person who moved the spirit stone and the person behind it.
To be honest. If I had been ten years older, I wouldn't have hesitated to threaten the temple with flames, but I was still five years old.
'...'
I clenched my fists with renewed anger, but I heard a puzzled voice nearby.
"What is all this?"
Shion's eyes were wide as he was facing me, and his ears were resting on the wall.
'Oh no.'
It's good to overhear the story thanks to Shion, but it was a problem that I overheard Shion as well.
"The Crown Prince gave money to the shaman to move the spirit stone? That's why you didn't show the spirit stone properly during the holiday party?"
Halias genius Shion quickly made a plausible reasoning, and thanks to him, I was able to solve a question from my past life.
I was nineteen years old, that is, just before I infiltrated Halias Castle, I attended a public event for the spirit stone.
'A yellow stone that didn't feel anything...'
Therefore, even in my previous life, the spirit stone had already been consumed, and it had lost its ability.
Or was it fake?
Then, did Alseid investigate the Spirit Stone even then?
...It would have been.
It's a stone that doesn't even feel magical to me, and if you've even seen a spirit stone, you've probably noticed something strange.
Thus, in the end, he caught de Haan's tail.
That's why he tried to capture me and tell me the right facts.
"Do you know about your parents?"
Although I only recently realized his sincerity in asking that.
In this life, I came to Halias instead of being taken to Lausanne, so the time when I realized that Alseid was suspicious must have been much faster.
Maybe he doubted it even before I saw the spirit stone.
'After all, before I become an adult, Alseid will notice everything?'
In front of me, who was momentarily stunned by emptiness and relief, Shion clapped his hands.
"Liana, Liana! Why is that? You're not feeling well?"
He looked down at my fingertips, which were bright red with excitement, and I couldn't help but laugh.
"No, I overheard something too difficult. I don't know what you mean."
"Just? Me too. But isn't the Crown Prince doing something dangerous? Shall I inform Prince Franz then?"
"Absolutely not!"
The sudden shouting made Shion shake his shoulders.
"It's a surprise, why are you making a fuss?"
"That's why..."
After much deliberation, I found a suitable excuse.
"Oh, it's a secret that we overheard. Don't tell anyone."
Shion nodded after thinking.
"...That's right."
I quickly added.
"If there is a problem, my father will solve it. Also, Theo's brother is a friend of the Crown Prince..."
"That's right, Lihana."
Shion looked down at me with curious eyes and stroked my head, no matter what I was thinking.
Still, I was anxious, so I cracked down again.
"You should never tell Prince Franz. Take care of it, brother?"
Shion let out a short sigh.
"Yes. I understand."
Even then, I put my finger on Shion and accepted the promise.
One, never tell the truth we overheard.
Second, don't tell Prince Franz even more.
After a while, while riding a seesaw pretending to be on good terms with Shion, Alseid came to visit.
"Were you having a good time, guys?"
"Dad..."
I quickly ran up to him and hugged his leg.
Shion was astonished and criticized me with his eyes, but he ignored me as if he hadn't seen it in the first place.
"I miss you, Dad. Did you meet the dangerous shaman?"
Alseid bent down and hugged me lightly.
"Unfortunately, I didn't meet him this time."
Was that what it was?
I quickly fit in with Alseid's words that I had overheard a while ago.
'...He didn't meet the shaman, but he found evidence of his connection with the Crown Prince.'
Then I smiled innocently.
"I'm glad I did. Don't go again."
Since I knew he was investigating Meridy's affairs, he was welcome wherever he went, but I said it as pleasantly as possible.
Sure enough, Alseid replied with a soft smile.
"That's why my daughter is so worried."
Except for the fact that Shion noticed my hyper-realistic acting skills. It was a pretty good day.
***
Ten days later, the Royal Academy.
Theodore entered the dormitory after class and hurriedly opened the window to see the picturesque white falcon he saw outside the window.
"Kai! When did you come? Have you been waiting for a long time?"
The blunt white hawk sat still without a word, but Theodore did not give up and spoke to him again.
Of course, the hand was opening a very small thorn tied to Kai's ankle.
"What's going on? If you come in person, is it a bad thing?"
When he finally took out the letter, Kai spread his wings as if he were about to fly.
"You're in a hurry."
Theodore wanted to bring him at least one snack, but he put it aside because of Kai's picky taste.
"Can I not bring a reply?"
Je opened a small piece of rolled paper, but it was difficult to see the letters with his naked eyes.
He placed the paper on the desk and carefully stretched out his palm, and Kai lowered his head for some reason.
"Hey, really."
The white palm gently swept the hawk's head, and its large wings were fully spread.
"See you soon."
Theodore looked at the gentle curve drawn by the hawk through the window for a long time, and finally found a magnifying glass and placed it on the letter.
[ Theodore.
From this moment on, he is no longer your friend.
Monitor his every move. ]
Theodore glanced down at his father's signature, which was small and engraved under the letter.
Alseid Khalias.
Living as the son of a famous Grand Duke was sometimes lonely and burdensome, but he couldn't let him down.
'Crown Prince Bioden.'
It was obvious that the target that the letter did not specifically mention was the Crown Prince.
He silently followed his father's orders to be the Crown Prince's closest friend but not to compete.
He never thought of evaluating the Crown Prince like Caliph did, or trampling on him with great achievements from time to time.
However, he was not happy to hear that the friendship he had worked so hard to build was gone.
"Could Halias and Jantar be friends? Do you really believe that, right?"
To the Crown Prince who laughed at his efforts and sincerity, maybe so.
He wanted to show him.
Theodore stood up with a bitter face and threw a small piece of paper into the fireplace.
Fortunately, graduation was not far off.
Theodore naively hoped that if he endured this semester, the surveillance of his best friend would end.
He had no idea that a letter would have arrived at the royal family at the same time.
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