IWAP - Chapter 37

In fact, most people in the capital did not even know that Duke Deisha was married. Her presence shocked the nobility of the capital.

"Send someone to the West. They must find out as much as possible about the Duke of Deisha's family. Focus especially on investigating the Duke of Deisha's daughter."

"All right."

Evan nodded and stood up. He placed his right hand on his chest and bowed at the waist like a knight pledging loyalty to his lord.

Just like his first impression, every action he took was like that of a knight. However, Evan was officially the owner of the Pison Merchant Guild. He could not be a knight who protected me solely by my side.

It is unavoidable. As a woman, Anasha cannot officially become the owner of the merchant guild. Moreover, contrary to his seemingly rigid appearance, Evan was skilled in business. He was responsible for the Pison Merchant Guild's distribution network, the storage and escort of goods, and all decisions within the guild, with the exception of Louisha.

It was precisely for these reasons that my maternal grandfather insisted on making Evan the official head of the merchant guild, despite there being others available.

Evan tried to hand over the position of merchant head to someone else and volunteered to be my bodyguard. It was not impossible, as very few people knew his face. However, I refused his offer.

My maternal grandfather made Evan, whom he had gone to the trouble of raising as a knight, into a merchant guild master. It seems he judged that it was better for him to protect me as the owner of the Pison Merchant Guild rather than as a knight with no rank. I trusted my grandfather's judgment.

There were many knights who could protect me by my side. Not only the knights of the Marquis of Elliot, but I could even have Imperial Palace knights as my bodyguards if I so desired. It was much better for Evan to be a merchant guild leader than to be my bodyguard.

Evan was deeply saddened that he could not protect me by my side. Whenever he met me, he tried his best to act as my knight. Evan had been raised as my bodyguard since childhood. Being my bodyguard was his life's goal. I could not tell him to give up even that.

Anasha and Evan were the people my maternal grandfather left behind solely for me. From the moment I realized that, I couldn't treat them harshly.

"Could you please wait a moment?"

As I tried to get up, Evan stopped me. I sat back down on the sofa and looked up at him.

"The item you requested last time is ready. I will bring it right away, so please wait a moment."

When I stopped by here last time, I made two requests: materials on the West and a birthday gift for Landt. Unfortunately, the gift I wanted for Landt could not be made in the near future. In the end, I had no choice but to substitute it with something else. Although I could not give it as a birthday present, it was an item for Landt.

I nodded.

“I’ll wait.”

He bowed his head and left the reception room. The place I was in now was the main branch of Louisha, where I had been last time. I closed my eyes and waited for Evan.

"Excuse me..."

When I opened my eyes, a young child was standing in front of me. It was the child who had bumped into me last time and stained my clothes red. As soon as our eyes met, the child quickly lowered their head.

"I'm really sorry about last time. It was the first time I'd seen a noble, so..."

The child mumbled the rest of the words and tapped the floor with their foot. According to what Anasha told me, the child had been at a branch in another region but recently transferred to the main branch after losing their mother.

The child is a half-Inayari. Even if it was fine normally, there was a risk that the child's true identity would be revealed if they got excited. There was no way a young child could control their emotions. It was a difficult task even for an adult.

The child, having lost the absolute protector known as his mother, was in danger. Anasha and Evan tried to keep the child within their own circle and protect him. They said that no one knew that the child, who had not been in the capital for long and had not even received a proper education, would cause an accident by running into me.

I heard that the child's mother was from the West and a victim of Inayari's plunder. She risked her life to barely escape and was rescued after catching the eye of the Pison merchant group.

He said that a significant portion of the information about Inayari contained in the materials Evan gave me was based on stories he heard from the woman who was the child's mother.

"You would better be careful next time. Not all nobles are generous."

"...Yes."

The child answered sullenly.

I took an interest in the child. Being a half-breed from Inayari is unique, but that is all. Evan and Anasha will take care of the danger the child faces. Since they are the people chosen by my maternal grandfather, they will not make the same mistake twice.

"Excuse me..."

The child mumbled, as if having something more to say. Perhaps because I had just thought of her, the child's sky-blue hair bothered me particularly today. I spoke to the child coldly.

"If you are finished apologizing, get out. I never gave you permission to enter this place."

"Please tell me how to become stronger!"

The child, startled by my order to kick him out, screamed. He widened his eyes, perhaps surprised by the loud noise he had made himself. I frowned. Seeing my expression, the child hurriedly continued speaking.

"I have to protect Bjornne!"

This time, it was my turn to be surprised. A name I hadn't expected at all came out of the child's mouth. The child came closer and grabbed the hem of my skirt.

"I really need to become strong to protect Bjornne. Please tell me, sister."

The migraine, which had subsided a little, pounded on my head again. I pressed hard on my temples and endured the pain.

"Do you even know who Bjornne is before you act like this?"

"Sure!"

The child smiled broadly. Perhaps because his mother was a beauty, the child was quite pretty for a boy. The child covered one side of his mouth with his hand and whispered, as if afraid someone might hear.

"I secretly saw her come with Aunt Anasha the other day. She was a really cute kid!"

'Was there another child with the same name as me?'

I racked my brain, but there was no girl with the same name as me around me. If she had been with Anasha, she was most likely a child of the merchant guild. I knew nothing about the children of the merchant guild.

The child kept chattering, perhaps in high spirits.

"No one taught me, but I recognized her immediately."

The child patted his chest proudly.

"I realized that this is the very child my grandfather spoke of, the one I must protect..."

"Grandfather?"

"Yes. Grandpa Chief!"

I immediately knew who the grandfather the child was talking about was. It seemed this child had met my maternal grandfather in person. Given the child's unique circumstances, it made sense that the maternal grandfather had met the child in person.

"But they say Bjornne is sick."

The child muttered sullenly. Puzzled by the child's words, I involuntarily asked back.

“Sick?”

"Grandpa said that Bjornne is a weak and heartbroken child, so we must protect her."

To my maternal grandfather, I must have always been a weak and wounded child. That is why, not content with just Evan and Anasha, he even told a young child like this to protect me. Just how much love did my grandfather have?

Tears welled up in my eyes as I wondered if this was something you left for me.

"I really need to become strong to protect Bjornne. Please, sister."

The child shook the hem of my skirt with a desperate look on his face. I quickly blinked to let out the tears that had welled up.

There was no need to show weakness in front of the child.

"Why are you saying that to me? If you want to become stronger, tell Evan."

"Because my older sister is the strongest!"

Boys usually admire knights. This is because, clad in armor and with a sword at their waist, they appear to be the strongest in the eyes of children. I am an ordinary noblewoman. I could not understand what made me appear strong in a child's eyes.

"Even Chief can't do anything in front of you, Sister. That's why you're the strongest."

The child's words were so absurd that a chuckle escaped my lips. I couldn't tell if someone had taught him or if it was instinctive, but the child seemed to already understand the power dynamics. I felt a slight interest in the child.

“What is your name?”

“Lai.”

"Okay. Lai, let's assume, as you say, that I'm the strongest. But why should I teach you how to become strong?"

Lai's face hardened. It seemed the child had never thought that far ahead. It was understandable. He was still a young child. At most, maybe seven? He was at an age where he would throw a tantrum to get what he wanted, not an age where he could persuade someone with coherent words.

"Because you have to protect Bjornne too, sister."

"What?"

"I know, too. You're one of our merchants, right? Everyone in the merchant guild has to protect Bjornne."

Lai's yellow eyes stared straight at me. The child's pupils narrowed vertically, as if their emotions were heightened.

"I have to protect Bjornne too?"

"Yes."

I laughed at Lai's words. The child wasn't wrong. I had to protect myself. My life. My happiness. I intend to protect everything I have. I will never let anyone get away with coveting what is mine or trying to ruin my happiness. No matter who they are.

"What do you want to become stronger with? If you want to become a knight or a merchant, wouldn't it be better to ask Evan or Anasha?"

"I want to become a noble!"

“Why?”

"Because the nobles are the strongest."

The child's words were both right and wrong. The Empire was a class-based state. From the perspective of commoners or slaves, the nobility were like stars in the sky. Their lives could be decided by a single word from the nobles. However, not all nobles were the same. There were certainly nobles who lived lives worse than those of commoners.

If you simply want to become a noble, it is an easy task. Of course, for an ordinary commoner to become a noble is as difficult as plucking a star from the sky. However, if the conditions were right, it was not impossible.

There was a way to become a knight and obtain a lifetime title, and there was also a way to buy the title of a declining nobleman with money, although it was illegal.

"A half-blood from Inayari wants to become a noble. That's quite an interesting thing to say."

"I'm not an Inayari!"

Lai shouted, his face contorted. Perhaps due to his increasingly severe mood swings, the child's pupils narrowed even further vertically.

"With those eyes, you really can't deny it."

Lai quickly lowered his head, as if intending to cover his eyes. His sky-blue hair fell forward, obscuring the child's forehead and pupils.

"I, I..."

The child grumbled and bit his lip, as if resentful that he could not refute it.

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