“Should you be saying that?”

“Since we’ve already met, he’ll know better than us why we came anyway. If he has clues, it’s better to get his cooperation.”

“That’s true.”

Since they had no information, it didn’t matter if they revealed their hand.

Evolaine, somewhat convinced, straightened her posture.

“You two seem quite close.”

“Do you have a problem with that?”

“No, but Dame Evolaine is quiet. Do you dislike me?”

“…”

Evolaine glanced at Cardel. He seemed displeased.

He hadn’t expected Astrian to point this out.

‘What’s he plotting?’

Though Cardel had advised Evolaine not to speak carelessly, Evolaine was also restraining herself.

She wasn’t yet accustomed to meeting nobles, and especially needed to avoid contact with people connected to Kelic.

Having not yet fully awakened Kelic, Evolaine could have it stolen at any time, just like in her previous lives.

That was why she stuck close to Cardel. His ability to suppress Kelic meant he could also block external threats.

When Cardel reluctantly nodded, Evolaine spoke.

‘It should be fine.’

“My apologies, of Vesasium…”

“No need for formalities. I simply want to have a conversation with you, Dame.”

“…Understood.”

Evolaine nodded with a stiff face.

This was someone who’d figured out who they were from a single word Cardel spoke to the bartender. He assessed situations as quickly as Cardel, so she needed to be careful.

Conscious of this, tension crept up on her.

“If you came to investigate the marquisate, I can give you information too.”

“Is that so?”

Of course he would. He’d have more information than them.

Cardel nodded halfheartedly at the expected answer.

But at the bombshell statement that came next, his movement stopped dead.

“Yes. And I can take you to the marquisate too.”

“…!”

He could get them into the Marquisate of La Voletta? What did this mean?

At the completely unexpected answer, both Evolaine and Cardel couldn’t hastily continue.

“…That’s quite an interesting proposal, but you must want something from us.”

“Haha, the young master and I understand each other well.”

At Astrian’s words, Cardel’s face twisted. He didn’t seem to want to agree with that statement.

“That’s right. In exchange for taking you to the marquisate, I have a favor to ask. Specifically of you, Evolaine.”

“Of me?”

“His Majesty the Emperor wishes to meet you. So enter the palace soon.”

‘The emperor wants to meet me?’

Evolaine was confused by this incomprehensible development.

“This is too sudden.”

“Young master, you’ll enter the palace too.”

“…Me too?”

“Yes. You’ll understand when you go.”

I’ll discuss taking you to the marquisate after that.

Seemingly finished with his business, Astrian pulled up his robe hood and stood.

Then someone suddenly flashed through Evolaine’s mind.

As that person came to mind, Evolaine urgently stopped Astrian as he tried to leave the room.

“Wait!”

“What is it?”

“By any chance, is there… a woman with sky-blue hair in the imperial palace?”

At the unexpected question, Astrian blinked.

“Someone like that… there is one.”

“Who is she?”

“The Second Imperial Consort. She’s the only one in the palace with sky-blue hair.”

“I… see.”

The Second Imperial Consort—wasn’t she the mother of the First Princess, Ashiel?

“Yes, she probably came briefly that day you were at the banquet too. She must have left quickly, but you have sharp eyes.”

“…Not at all.”

“You don’t look well. Are you alright?”

When Astrian approached to examine Evolaine’s face, Cardel stood and pulled Evolaine toward him.

“You must be busy, so please go.”

“…I will.”

Though the blatant hostility could have offended him, Astrian left the room without any particular reaction.

Only the two of them remained in the room again. It seemed it would take a while before the employee who was supposed to take their request arrived.

An awkward silence enveloped the room.

“Have you met the Second Imperial Consort before?”

“…Yes.”

“When?”

Cardel hadn’t seen the Second Imperial Consort at that day’s banquet either. Evolaine, who’d been stuck to him, should have been the same.

Even when he’d been briefly separated, Ashili and Lucia had been with her, so if she’d seen her, it would have come up.

“That day I couldn’t return home, I think I met the Second Imperial Consort.”

“…Then?”

“Yes. She knew my name.”

“Evolaine?”

“Evolaine… is that right?”

Sky-blue hair and transparent blue eyes so pale they were nearly white.

With white skin and a slender frame, she was extremely thin. Not moderately—severely.

Evolaine had asked her:

“But why are you in the garden? This is Her Highness the Princess’s garden.”

What had the Second Imperial Consort answered then?

“Because I saw you.”

“…Pardon?”

“I came because I saw you. I wanted to meet you.”

She’d smiled faintly with a face that looked ready to crumble at any moment.

Saying she’d come to this garden to see Evolaine.

“…Did you know each other?”

“No, I saw her for the first time that day too.”

She’d never left the orphanage to begin with, so when would she have met a noble?

Without her memories of her previous lives, Evolaine wouldn’t have known she was a Kelic swordsman or a bastard of the Marquisate of La Voletta.

‘This feels wrong.’

It felt like she’d forgotten something. A sensation like part of her memory had been carved out.

It was frustrating not knowing what it was.

Then came a knock. The person who opened the door and entered was a man.

“Pleased to meet you. I’m the Naoremi Guild Master.”

“…So many surprises today.”

First the crown prince, now the guild master. No, actually, it started when Evolaine disappeared without a word after class and he’d searched the entire main building.

His head throbbed. Cardel pressed his temples hard. Only this seemed to ease the headache slightly.

“Good evening, Guild Master.”

“…Yes, pleased to meet you.”

Meanwhile, the guild master made a strange expression as soon as he entered the room.

He looked back and forth between Cardel and Evolaine, then took a seat across from them.

“You have a request you’d like to make?”

“We’d like you to investigate the Marquisate of La Voletta.”

“What exactly would you like to know?”

“About Kelic, and about the marquis. His recent whereabouts too.”

The hand writing on the document hesitated. But perhaps he’d seen wrong—the guild master soon calmly finished writing and looked up.

“This is the document for you to fill out. There’s a second page too, so please look it over carefully and complete it.”

“Is there a deposit?”

At Cardel’s question, the guild master answered with a friendly business face.

“One hundred gold. The information you’ve requested is difficult to obtain, so the amount is rather high.”

“Price doesn’t matter. Evolaine, I’ll step out to make contact. Wait here.”

“Yes, Cardel.”

While Cardel took out a communication magic device and went outside, Evolaine slowly reviewed the documents.

She’d learned that when writing contracts, the first thing to check was unfavorable clauses.

She knew typical examples and patterns, but didn’t see any such clauses in the documents.

‘I should have Cardel check when he returns.’

Unlike Evolaine checking the documents, the guild master was staring blankly at the window.

Tap- tap tap-

The sound of his fingers drumming on the table was rhythmic. His thoughtful expression was quite striking.

Normally one wouldn’t easily fall into distraction with a client present.

“Um, Guild Master.”

“Yes? Yes.”

“Is something wrong?”

His complexion didn’t look good either. Did he have some worry?

For Evolaine, who didn’t usually speak to others first, to ask meant it was quite obvious.

“I apologize. I have an urgent matter.”

“Oh, no.”

The person flustered by the immediate apology was Evolaine instead.

In the awkward atmosphere, Evolaine just repeatedly read the innocent documents.

Having already read them, the content didn’t register in her mind.

The black parts were letters, the white parts were paper margins.

“Is your name Evolaine?”

“Yes? Yes, that’s correct.”

“…I see.”

The conversation ended awkwardly.

The room was enveloped in silence again.

The silence continued until Cardel entered after finishing his contact.

“What’s this? Did something happen?”

Cardel asked, noticing the strange atmosphere in the room.

“Nothing happened.”

At the sharp answer, Cardel’s eyes narrowed, but Evolaine pretended not to notice.

“The deposit will be delivered from Radelica by tomorrow morning.”

“Understood.”

After that, with Cardel’s confirmation, the contract was finalized.

“When can we expect the earliest contact?”

“It depends on the situation, but on average it takes about a week.”

The guild master added that the second contact would take two weeks, and the third about a month.

“If you visit the guild within two weeks from the date you receive the third contact, you can receive special information.”

“…There was no such content in the contract.”

“It’s a service. We’re also very interested in this content.”

“…”

It was suspicious somehow, but there was no reason to refuse.

Though uncomfortable, she decided to accept for now.

“Understood.”

“Then please go safely. We’ll do our best with your request.”

When they left the guild building, the sun had completely set.

“I didn’t know it would take this long.”

“Right.”

Because it was pitch dark and dangerous, the duke had contacted them saying he’d come pick them up personally by carriage.