🔊 TTS Settings
~Chapter 32~
The Sinclair Duke family was a branch of the imperial family that led the royal knights. They were incredibly rich and influential in the empire.
And now, there was talk of a missing child—was it about the branch family member who had just inherited the house?
Philip noticed Lerazie’s shaken expression and grinned.
Actually, the story about the missing child was from over twenty years ago, but since it wasn’t widely known, there was no way Lerazie would know the details. Anyway, it wasn’t a lie.
“How much do you want?” Lerazie asked desperately, fully convinced.
It was always easy to take money from people who wanted to rise in status. Philip covered his mouth and pointed at her necklace.
“Your necklace. That’ll do.”
Lerazie touched her necklace, hesitating. But she was out of cash, and she might even get a reward if she found the child.
She could always buy it back later if she needed to.
And it wouldn’t hurt to make connections with a duke’s family.
“Fine, take it.”
She handed Philip a high-quality spirit stone necklace, something found only in Belmore’s territory.
Philip’s gaze moved past her, looking at the items the hired mage was carrying in the bag.
“You seem to like playing around. You bought a lot of toys at the black market.”
“They’re for monster-hunting.”
“Most of these things are only useful for academy test-takers. But Sarah’s fire starter is pretty decent.”
Philip put the necklace inside his coat and smiled.
“Anyway, thank you for trusting me.”
After Lerazie left, an underling came up to Philip.
“Boss, there’s a beggar who wants to sell information…”
“Let him in.”
Information from wandering beggars could be quite useful for the guild.
With Philip’s permission, a beggar wearing boxes like armor came in.
“Do you know the boss of the beggar gang from Yudes?”
“Of course.”
“He has a favorite honorary beggar. He sent you a letter through a brown-haired mercenary.”
The beggar sat down and handed Philip a letter.
“Let’s make a deal.
–The poor shop clerk who got robbed by you.”
“Pretty bold for an exile,” Philip scoffed. How did they even get an honorary beggar’s card?
Not giving details and immediately asking for a deal—it meant they knew Philip’s identity and location and could tip off the Yudes gang.
Plus, it made Philip curious.
Still, Philip was no amateur—he’d run an assassin’s office in the underworld for years.
“I’ll reply next time, if you suggest something interesting.”
In Belmore, at the spirit family mansion—
Edell was sitting in Keia’s room, so he wouldn’t disturb Ciella’s studying.
Keia had gone out to buy snacks for Ciella.
“Cawww!”
Tap tap tap.
There was a crow at the window, squeaking and knocking with its beak.
It was a messenger crow, stuck in the slightly open window.
Edell pulled out the note from its beak, and the crow glared at him with a sad look.
“Let me out! Let me out!”
Edell opened the window and helped the crow get free.
“You’re a bad person.”
“I am.”
Edell gave the crow a small, sparkling diamond from his smallest bag.
“Shiny, small, and expensive—now you’re a good person.”
The crow quickly changed its mind, spread its wings, and flew away.
“Also, the spirit family’s daughters tried to contact me. One directly, and one sent a letter through a brown-haired mercenary. For an exile, she’s working hard.”
The note was from Philip, the info guild boss. Edell opened it, frowned, and stared out the window.
Keia must have delivered Ciella’s letter to Philip.
“I can’t let Keia get all the points.”
“And, it seems someone from the imperial family visited the spirit mansion. Be careful.
That’s all, dear friend from the orphanage.”
Someone from the imperial family? Edell thought for a while and left the room.
He went straight to the kitchen and looked at the servants who had given him desserts before.
“Why is he here again?”
“Probably here to get more free food.”
The servants were much colder than before—now that they knew he was the child Ciella had brought.
As expected. Edell sighed and pointed at the three-tiered dessert tray made for tea time.
“I want that.”
He didn’t need to be polite anymore.
The cook with the madeleine tray glared at Edell.
“What are you doing in here, brat? Get out right now!”
Edell knew violence wouldn’t solve anything. And with someone from the imperial family in the house, he was just a kid for now.
“Do you need this?”
Edell took out something especially shiny from his pocket. The cook’s eyes lit up, and so did the other servants’.
“A diamond?”
Seeing the handful of diamonds in Edell’s small hand, the servants’ attitudes changed immediately.
“Sir, where did you get those?”
They wanted to know in case the diamonds were stolen—no one wanted to get in trouble.
“Well, it’s a long story.”
A servant brought over a chair for Edell, who crossed his legs and began his story.
“I was found in the forest after losing my memory. They said I had a lot of these with me then.”
The servants looked at each other in surprise. Was he a lost child from a rich noble family?
A maid who handled accessories stared at Edell’s diamonds in awe.
“My goodness, so pure…”
She quickly covered her mouth and reached out her hand.
“It’s dangerous for a child to have those. I’ll keep them safe for you. Where are the rest?”
“Even if I lost my memory, I know how adults work.”
The maid looked embarrassed. Edell picked up a diamond and lifted his chin.
“I’ll only give these to people who are nice to me.”
He sounded like a child, but really he was just bribing the staff to do as he said.
“What do you need, sir? We’ll make anything you want!”
The cook handed him a plate full of desserts, smiling.
Edell picked up a sweet pie and smiled.
“See, you understand me.”
“Thank you, sir!”
The cook was thrilled to get a diamond, and the rest of the staff crowded around Edell.
“Do you need anything else?”
“I’ll walk you to your room!”
Edell put the diamonds back in his pocket and got up.
“I’ll come back if I need anything else.”
The servants who missed their chance to get a diamond clicked their tongues in disappointment.
Back in the spirit family mansion, Lerazie called Basilie and gave him the items she bought at the black market.
“I also bought a sobering potion, so don’t show up drunk to the test.”
“You’re the best, sis.”
Basilie, still a bit drunk, hiccuped as he took the bag.
“If a likely heir fails the preliminaries, what a disgrace. Then people would start questioning even my qualifications, and everyone would pick on our backgrounds.”
Lerazie waved her hand for Basilie to leave, while he grinned at the useful tools in his bag.
Among them was the forget-me-not—a flower that erases two days of memory if touched.
“If you fail the preliminary test, you’ll have no reason to stay here anymore.”
Just then, Lerazie’s maid hurried over.
“Miss, Miss!”
“What is it? Is tea time ready already?”
The maid shook her head, blushing.
“It’s about the child that the exile girl brought here…”
Lerazie sat up, interested.
“What about him?”
The maid, catching her breath, continued quickly.
“He’s not just a normal kid. He has a bunch of diamonds. He said he’s had them since before he lost his memory. Maybe he’s a noble family’s child?”
Normally, Lerazie would have framed him as a thief, but she remembered what the info guild boss said.
The story of the lost child from the Sinclair duke family.
Now she was sure: he must be the lost son of the new duke.
“Be nice to that boy. Don’t you forget.”
The maid tilted her head, confused.
“No, miss. I have a good memory. I won’t forget.”
“And one more thing.”
Lerazie handed her a bouquet of forget-me-nots—flowers that erase memory.
She was sure the maid would forget everything soon.
Lerazie laughed to herself.
