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Chapter 5
“Leon, Leon.”
Every day, I went to Leon’s room and knocked on the door.
It wasn’t easy to see his face. Isn’t it true that the harder something is, the more stubborn you become?
Just in case he didn’t recognize me, today I even put a blue ribbon on my head.
I also decorated my dress with lots of ribbons.
“Miss, I think there are too many ribbons today.”
“No. Only this much will make my effort noticeable.”
“I don’t know what you’re trying to do, but… won’t it be a bit overwhelming?”
“If that’s the case, then it’ll be even more memorable!”
Have you heard of shock therapy?
They say the more surprised a person is, the longer the memory lasts.
I was aiming for that, hoping to stay in Leon’s memory for a long time.
I waited in front of his door, sitting curled up, until he finally opened it.
“Ah, my legs are numb. My legs cramped because Leon wouldn’t open the door.”
“…Go back.”
“This is my house, you know?”
“…Cheater.”
“Yeah, I am. But you’re also cheating by not showing your face for days.”
I grumbled and kicked the door lightly.
“Ah! My legs hurt! It would be nice if Leon just came out!”
Just when it seemed there was no reaction, the door finally opened a little, and Leon peeked out.
“…Ribbon.”
“Yes, ta-da!”
I spun around once and smiled brightly at him.
“How is it? Doesn’t it look like me at a glance?”
“Pfft.”
Leon lowered his head and started laughing. Did it work? It must have worked!
I covered my mouth and waited quietly for his answer.
“I lose. Come in.”
At his words, I happily grabbed his hand and shook it up and down.
It felt like we had gotten a little closer, and I was quietly pleased.
Leon looked down at the hand I was holding and turned a bit red.
So he does get shy sometimes.
“You’ve been coming to see me quite often lately.”
I lifted my chin and looked at Edgar.
If you shrink in front of a tiger, you get eaten. So in situations like this, being shameless is the right choice.
“You’ve grown quite a bit.”
“Skip the boring talk.”
“…Fine, let’s get to the point. How did you know? About the parchment.”
“Hmm, are you curious?”
Edgar nodded slightly.
He must have become curious since I seemed to know about business despite being just a child.
On his desk, there were papers laid out, as if he had not completely ignored the parchment business after all. I wondered what had changed.
“It’s a secret.”
His hand, which had been touching his chin, stopped as he stared at me.
“You’ve got quite some nerve, being so bold.”
I wanted to say, “People grow, so don’t their organs grow too?” but I didn’t say it out loud.
I valued my life.
“I told you before. I might be smart because I take after my father.”
“…Take after me?”
“Of course. Who else would I take after?”
Don’t ask such obvious questions. Do children have mothers alone?
I also had Edgar’s genes. So it made sense that I resembled him.
Even my red hair was exactly like his. Why was he so surprised?
There was a faint anger in Edgar’s gaze as he looked down at me.
He didn’t like my attitude.
“If I tell you, what will you give me? Don’t you know basic rules of business, Father?”
“Hah.”
“If you want information, you should pay a proper price.”
I crossed my arms and stared at him.
I didn’t look away.
My hands were sweating from tension, but if I backed down here, I would lose.
“You want to be thrown out right now, don’t you?”
Edgar shamelessly threatened me again with expulsion.
I had no choice but to step back a little. But I truly had nothing else to say.
“But that really is all. Dilia said so! She said I’m smart.”
I had always been buried in books since I was young, so it made sense.
I knew a lot of things in my head, and I learned to read quickly.
I could even read foreign languages. I might really be a genius.
“You seem useful.”
Edgar’s empty eyes stayed fixed on me.
He tapped the table a few times, then stopped and asked.
“Fine. What do you want?”
“I want you to stop the slave business.”
“…I let you speak freely, and now you’re getting bold.”
Ah, was that too far? But I had to stop that business right now.
Before Edgar got angry, I had to give a proper reason.
“No one told you that. There are very few who know. How did you find out?”
His gaze quickly swept over the servants and knights standing nearby.
To stop blame from falling on others, I quickly spoke.
“Last time! I saw it in the documents on your desk. The ones listing people’s personal details.”
“You even looked without permission.”
“I couldn’t just ignore what I saw…”
I spoke in a shrinking voice, glancing at him.
When I fidgeted and looked up, his eyes narrowed sharply.
“I never do business at a loss.”
“Th-then I’ll tell you a better business instead.”
I had to make him stop the slave trade.
In the future, when the emperor abolished noble slave markets, it would cause a huge upheaval.
And if Edgar got caught in it, he would only become more hostile toward the imperial family.
That would eventually lead to my death.
I didn’t know exactly why my father hated the imperial family. But that didn’t justify wrongdoing.
So I had to stop what I could with my own hands.
“Let’s hear it.”
“Father, who would reveal their cards in an uncertain contract? I’m not that stupid.”
“…Fine. We’ll write a contract.”
Edgar took out a document from his drawer and placed it on the desk.
I finally looked satisfied and adjusted my posture.
In business, you must be polite with your clients.
“Come here. We should be on equal footing.”
“Huh?”
The paper in his hand crumpled tightly.
I swallowed and motioned toward the table.
It meant: don’t use force, just sit and write the contract.
“Are you really going to stop it?”
“Well, there’s nothing more dangerous than the slave business.”
“But the nobles will oppose it.”
Edgar’s assistant standing beside him spoke in a worried tone.
The Belua family had always dealt in dark business.
He knew the reason. Probably only he and Edgar knew the full truth of this family.
“You were planning to stop the parchment business, but not the slave trade?”
The assistant, Herrington, was right.
Edgar had originally planned to end the parchment business after this round.
He had already received reports that animal conditions were getting worse lately.
As the head of an information guild, he couldn’t have missed such information.
Since the rains, diseases had started appearing in animals in various regions.
“Even making a contract… I don’t understand what she’s thinking.”
“Look into it. She seems sharp. It’ll be troublesome if the imperial family finds out.”
She had clearly been trying to bring down the family.
The Belua family looked like a normal information guild on the surface, but in secret, they handled all kinds of work.
Building power against the imperial family, gaining nobles’ support, and accumulating wealth.
“Not yet… not yet.”
Edgar clenched his fist.
Elle Natasia, who had grown without him noticing, resembled his wife.
Her red hair and blue eyes were like his… but—
“It would’ve been better not to look.”
He had been trying to forget.
It was easier not to see her, and not giving attention was better for the child.
The reason Edgar opposed the imperial family was his wife, Celine’s death.
Celine Delisha died at the hands of the empress.
The cause was the emperor’s desire for her older sister, Deferloa.
The emperor violated her to make her his mistress.
Even though she had a partner, she never found her destined bond.
Seeing her crying endlessly in the palace, the empress plotted her death.
When Celine learned of this, she used people to try to save her sister. She did not tell Edgar.
Opposing the imperial family meant open rebellion.
A punishment severe enough to destroy the entire family would follow.
Celine knew this well.
So she chose to act alone, to show that the Belua family had nothing to do with it.
The emperor, due to his own crimes, turned a blind eye to the empress’s actions.
To avoid public attention, the only punishment given to the Belua family was exile to the borderlands.
With Deferloa and Celine dead, everything was buried.
“How could she leave alone?”
Edgar leaned back in his chair, thinking of Celine.
Everything felt like it was Elle’s fault. That’s why he hadn’t looked at her. He thought he never would.
“Are you alright?”
Herrington asked carefully, noticing Edgar’s dark expression.
Snapping out of his thoughts, Edgar closed his eyes and said quietly,
“Clean it up. I think I’ll need to keep an eye on her.”
My daughter seems to have gotten a lot smarter.
Something about Elle had changed.
He had seen it briefly before, but as she grew, she was becoming more and more bold—and irritatingly so.
