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Chapter 36
…Because there was no reason for it. And it wasn’t just any family—it was the Cazliden family.
When he was young, he used to listen to the words of the duke, the head of the family.
Though that was a long time ago.
It must’ve been around the time he started growing up. His personality changed drastically for the worse.
“Shut up and keep walking.”
“I’m just curious, that’s all. You even refused to ride in the same carriage as royalty.”
“That’s because those idiots don’t know their place and are annoying as hell…”
“Then does that mean the lady is fine in your boo— Argh!”
With a loud thud, Gilbert groaned, hopping on one foot after getting kicked in the shin.
“Ah! That’s too much! Did I say anything wrong?!”
“Want me to knock your teeth out too?”
…No, that’s a bit much.
Gilbert shut his mouth immediately. Felix clicked his tongue and glared ahead with a look of pure disgust.
“That guy said he lives in Angelo.”
“Oh, yes. That’s true.”
“So I sent him off. There must be traces of the old geezer in Angelo. We’ll investigate that too.”
His whisper to a subordinate earlier had also been instructions to investigate Angelo.
“That’s all,” Felix said firmly.
“There’s no other reason.”
* * *
Wow, I’m so glad I took the carriage.
The richer you are, the more comfortable your life becomes. I felt that truth once again as I stepped out of the carriage. The man who had politely escorted me until the end bowed and left after seeing me close to home.
Thanks to that, I returned safely.
Of course, Grandpa scolded me a bit.
“If you come home this late without saying anything, do you think I’ll worry or not?”
“…”
“This place is full of filthy thugs. Once the sun sets, everyone’s practically holding a knife in their mouth! If something harmless wanders around, it becomes a target immediately!”
“Hehe…”
I changed my clothes quickly and hurried to the table, smiling awkwardly. Grandpa was wiping a dish—he must’ve already eaten dinner alone. Feeling guilty for eating so well by myself, I pointed to the bread I brought.
“I’m sorry. But look, I brought tasty cake and bread! I was so excited to eat them with you!”
Grandpa squinted at me, then sighed deeply.
“You’re reducing my lifespan, you brat.”
“Ah, you can’t! You have to live a long, long time.”
It wasn’t just to smooth over the mood. I truly meant it. Living in a strange city would’ve been lonely, but Grandpa came and filled that emptiness perfectly.
Though at first he was a bit scary.
He nags a lot, I still don’t know where he came from, and sometimes he displays ridiculous strength… But he’s a good person. Before I died, no one had ever worried about me like this when I was an orphan.
“Huh? What’s this?”
“What are you talking about?”
“This!”
I pointed to the bakery bag. A white cake box with a red rose seal!
A cake so good you could die halfway through eating it and not regret it!
It was from my favorite bakery!
“Oh, that.”
Seeing my sparkling eyes, Grandpa cleared his throat.
“Someone dropped it off earlier.”
“Huh? Who?”
“I don’t know. It just came as a gift.”
His vague answer made me tilt my head.
Who would give me this?
I hadn’t been in Proud very long. My only acquaintances were the bakery and the dairy store owners. Maybe the guild?
Could Gilbert have sent it?
Well, he did say he likes sweets. And this bakery is famous, so he must know it’s delicious.
Wow, that’s kind of touching…
I should greet him more nicely tomorrow.
While I stared at the cake in awe, Grandpa asked,
“Is it that good?”
“Of course!”
It’s my favorite thing!
I happily kicked my feet under the table. Grandpa set down the dish.
“If you want to eat it, go ahead. I put a freezing spell on it.”
“Yay!”
“I also checked for poison just in case. Fortunately, there wasn’t any.”
“T-thank goodness!”
Yep, this is Proud. Even gifts must be tested for poison.
“Then I’ll eat it now.”
“You said you already ate dinner.”
“That was dinner!”
This is dessert!
Everyone knows a stomach has a separate compartment for dessert. I jumped up to get plates. Grandpa chuckled watching me bustle around. While I brought plates and forks, he prepared the knife.
He took out the cake—it was strawberry cake, my favorite!
My heart thumped as he served me a slice. Then—
“By the way,” he said.
“Yes!”
I happily jabbed my fork into the cake. Just as I was about to take a bite—
“Where do you keep going these days?”
Thud.
The cake fell back to the plate.
Here it is. The moment of doom.
“W-why do you ask?”
We had agreed not to interfere in each other’s personal business. And he’d never asked before, so I thought he didn’t care.
“You can refuse to answer if you want. I just noticed you’ve been going out a lot. You usually came home around sunset, but recently you were… well…”
He cleared his throat, then yelled with one eye squinted:
“I thought something happened to you, you idiot!”
“!”
I stared wide-eyed. Grandpa quickly turned away. Then, pretending to clean up cake, he glanced back.
“…Why are you smiling.”
“I wasn’t! …Pfft—”
I tried to cover my mouth, but failed. Grandpa frowned.
Huh, I’ve seen that face somewhere before.
“Are you teasing this old man?”
“No way.”
I immediately stuffed cake in my mouth. Grandpa snorted. Swallowing, I spoke.
“I’m just doing a small side job.”
“Side job?”
“Yeah—gotta earn living expenses.”
I’m on my way to becoming rich, sure, but if I say what I’m really doing, I’d have to explain. Grandpa is trustworthy, but still—less people knowing is better.
“But it’s not dangerous or illegal! It’s really wholesome and honest work.”
