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Chapter : 36
“No… how do you know that family, Your Grace?”
It had been nearly twenty years since the Nielsen Barons or Vex had last heard that name.
“Oh, having traveled across the Empire over the years, I suppose it’s possible I might know them.”
However, Lysys’s expression seemed off somehow.
It looked both impatient and flustered at the same time.
“Is something the matter, Your Grace?”
Vex noticed this and asked.
“It must be a lie.”
“Huh?”
To hear the name of the Nielsen Barons again…
Lysys felt her chest tighten.
But more than that, the Nielsen family had only one daughter?
“That can’t be.”
She had seen something with her own eyes.
“Look into Diell Ekaterina again. No, rather, the Nielsen Baron.”
“Why are you asking that?”
“There must have been another daughter of Baron Nielsen. Someone who would be Olivia’s younger sister…”
Wait—considering that, the age difference was too large for a younger sister.
If Olivia were still alive, she would be about the same age as Empress Mary.
“Whether a younger sister, a hidden daughter, or a niece—whatever it may be!”
Lysys said urgently.
“There must have been a girl around my age.”
A few days later, in the morning.
“Princess, or rather, Miss.”
Daisy entered the room as she opened the door.
“Today is the day you’re going to the court for your guardian application.”
“Was it this afternoon?”
“Yes. His Excellency has completed the other formalities, so you’ll only need a brief interview with the judge.”
The process for appointing a guardian went smoothly.
Only the interview and the judge’s decision remained, but it was mostly a formality.
‘I’ll be going to the square today. I might be able to take a look.’
But, I was feeling rather intrigued—not because of the guardian matter.
‘That so-called impressive guild…’
Finally, it was time to make use of the information I had extracted from Catherine.
“The members are spread everywhere. The court, the parliament, the royal palace, even the temples.”
“They have branches across the continent centered on the system headquarters, and they oversee dozens of trade guilds.”
Let’s assume Catherine’s information was accurate.
In that case, the guild was large enough to start a pseudo-religion if they wanted. Truly omnipotent.
‘Why didn’t this appear in the original story?’
It was a guild I had never heard of before because it hadn’t been covered in the original.
But no matter how impressive the guild was…
“This is really secret, but there’s a rumor that the Guild Master can see the future.”
“The Emperor even tried to find out who the Master was.”
The Guild Master.
Talk of him kept running through my mind.
“No one knows who the Master is. Amazingly, no information about him has leaked at all.”
Other than knowing that the Master was a young man, nothing else was known.
It was said that meeting him required an extraordinary amount of luck. Even then, it was more improbable than winning the lottery.
‘In other words, he’s priceless.’
He knows the future.
In a story where the future is already written, what could it mean to know it?
‘I can just let Daisy sleep for a bit.’
So today I planned to drop by that guild.
Daisy, being a D-rank, was easily controllable—keeping her out of the way would be simple.
“Diell. Are you busy right now?”
While planning my route in my head, the Duke came to see me.
“I’m fine. What is it?”
“The afternoon meeting was canceled, so I’ll be stopping by the court to receive the final documents. Your interview is scheduled for today as well.”
“Yes. I was planning to get ready and depart soon.”
“Then let’s go together.”
“Eh?”
Almost involuntarily, the words “I don’t want to” sprang to mind.
‘If the Duke is with me, I can’t go to the guild.’
Unlike Daisy, the Duke was A-rank; he could not be moved at will.
Leaving the guild aside, just thinking about being cautious with every action was exhausting.
“I asked only because our schedules overlap.”
I stayed silent for a moment.
The Duke seemed to interpret that as refusal.
“If it makes you uncomfortable, I’ll go separately.”
With his usual indifferent expression, the Duke turned away.
However…
[Duke Rekaten’s ‘Intimacy’ has decreased by 2%!]
[Duke Rekaten’s ‘Trust’ has decreased by 1%!]
‘No! Not my trust!’
What kind of drop is this?
The Duke’s control panel was saying something entirely different from his face.
Just for a delayed response—how petty.
“No, it’s not like that. I was just thinking about the weather today.”
I reflexively grabbed the Duke.
A cold sweat ran down my back.
‘I can’t lose the trust stat.’
Everything else was fine—but not the trust stat.
This was the condition needed to open the Duke’s control panel.
“It’s still early spring; the outside wind is cold. You seem lightly dressed.”
I blurted out anything that came to mind, noticing a catalog on the side table.
The cover model happened to be an actor wearing a men’s scarf.
“Wouldn’t a simple scarf be better?”
I quickly picked up the catalog.
“Something like this. I think it would suit Your Grace even more. Right, Daisy?”
“Huh? Y-Yes! Definitely! It would look good on Your Grace.”
Quick-witted Daisy nodded in agreement.
“……”
The Duke silently looked at the catalog I held out.
Why was he staring so intently?
“Interesting.”
“Pardon?”
“This is the first time someone has shown me a catalog instead of a threatening letter.”
“Oh…”
Did he think I was going to tear out letters from the catalog to make a threat?
Well, I did use every trick in the past, so I suppose it’s understandable.
It seemed he was still familiar with the old me.
Alright. I’ll just request a prop—any men’s scarf.
In the end, I called Irago.
[Cannot provide. This prop is not necessary in the current situation.]
That inflexible AI…
‘I can just pay for the prop.’
The moment I thought, “I’ll pay for it, disgusting,” a ding sounded.
[Prop delivery complete]
[Storage location: on the sofa]
“No, it’s not that I wanted it for myself—it’s because I think it would suit Your Grace.”
I put on a smile as if nothing had happened.
“Actually, I did have something prepared…”
Glancing at the sofa, I saw a small box.
“I was hesitant because I didn’t know if you would like it.”
I handed the pre-prepared box to the Duke.
‘What if the scarf inside is awful?’
I felt really uneasy.
An AI-picked scarf—just hearing that gave me a weird feeling.
“D-Don’t get your hopes up. It’s nothing special.”
“Oh my! When did you prepare this?”
Daisy asked quietly.
“How clever you are. You even fooled me, who’s been by your side all this time! Hoho!”
“Princess, you are truly thoughtful. Your Grace, please open it. I am curious to see what you’ve prepared.”
The butler also smiled at the Duke.
‘What do I do? The atmosphere is getting so warm.’
All three’s attention turned to the box containing the Irago scarf.
I began to feel nervous.
“Hmm. When did you prepare something like this?”
The Duke opened the box with his typical indifferent expression.
But when the scarf was revealed…
‘Ah, if only the AI had failed…’
I squeezed my eyes shut.
∮ E · dA = (1/ε₀) ∫ ρ dV ∮ E · dA = E * A
E(r) = (1/ε₀) * ∫ρ(r) dV / A
E(r) = (1/4πε₀) ∫ (λr ds) / (r²) * r²sinθ dθ dφ dr
‘Even for a science nerd, who prints physics formulas as a scarf pattern?’
[This scarf is truly beautiful. It feels like when I first saw the Fibonacci sequence. Perfect patterns and symmetry, as if modeling complex natural phenomena…]
“Ah, the design is a bit much, right? I’ll change it.”
Ignoring Irago, who was overflowing with enthusiasm, I spoke to the Duke.
I needed to handle this before the Duke’s trust dropped further.
I quickly tried to close the box to hide the creepy item.
“It’s not particularly surprising, but it’s nice.”
The Duke grabbed the scarf.
“My goodness, this pattern is so unique yet orderly. I’ve never seen a design like it.”
The butler exclaimed.
“Indeed. It feels like it represents the order and balance of this world.”
Daisy echoed the sentiment.
‘Everyone seems to just be speaking their stream of consciousness.’
In any case, contrary to my worries, their reactions were fine.
“Miss, where on earth did you buy this scarf?”
“Oh, I made it myself.”
“My goodness! You made it yourself for Your Grace? This is truly a one-of-a-kind scarf.”
The butler dramatically gestured at the Duke.
“Certainly, you have good taste. Excellent skill as well.”
The Duke’s lips twitched slightly—it seemed he was quietly pleased.
[Thank you for the compliment.]
Irago replied, though only I could hear it.
“Your Grace, try it on.”
“Like this?”
“My goodness! It suits you perfectly!”
As the Duke draped the scarf, Daisy and the butler applauded.
Seeing them so happy over a single scarf…
‘It’s actually not bad.’
I felt a faint sense of pride.
