Thanks to that, the two had no choice but to wait for the carriage in front of the guild building.

“Father is running late.”

“Do you think he’ll come today?”

“He’ll come. If he doesn’t, we can’t go to the academy.”

After a brief pause, Evolaine answered.

“I think it would be fine if he didn’t come.”

“…….”

Just like her. Evolaine was someone far removed from studying.

* * *

Meanwhile, the moment Cardel and Evolaine left, the guild master slumped in his chair.

From maintaining constant tension, all his energy had been drained.

“What kind of mess is this?”

“Nia.”

“The crown prince and that bastard child. Did something go wrong today?”

“Hah…….”

The guild master let out a deep sigh that seemed to sink into the ground.

He didn’t even have the strength left to respond.

In the past, he would have welcomed visits from high-ranking nobles and dignitaries, but not anymore.

After forming an alliance with the marchioness, the guild began to falter at a frightening speed, and many guild members were injured from unreasonable requests.

“So what are you going to do?”

“About what?”

“Aren’t you going to switch sides? I’m in favor.”

“It’s not something I can decide that easily.”

The guild was still too unstable to break away from the marchioness and join the opposing side.

Unfortunately, they hadn’t been able to fulfill requests proportional to the support they’d received from the marchioness, and the recent banquet request had been a complete disaster.

‘I didn’t know the Duke of Arpi’s family would make their move at that exact time.’

The original plan was to attack the Duchess of Radelica to divert attention and kidnap Evolaine, but coincidentally, the Duke of Arpi’s family kidnapped the duke’s aide, and things escalated.

For some reason, Evolaine joined the party going to rescue the aide, and with the tight security, they ultimately couldn’t touch a single hair on the duchess’s head.

Just thinking about how much of a fuss the marchioness made afterward still twisted his insides.

“But the marchioness has been quiet lately. She used to hound us like crazy.”

“Right. It’s been a while since we heard from her.”

“Well, it’s good for us.”

Ugh, I hope it stays this quiet. Nia stretched and muttered.

Watching her, the guild master turned his gaze back to the documents Evolaine and Cardel had filled out.

Quietly, peacefully. To live like that, he’d have to change sides.

His head was complicated. He couldn’t see ahead at all to know which path would be better.

It felt bleak, like running through endless darkness.

“…I think so too.”

The time for choice was approaching.

* * *

Exactly one week later, the first contact from the Naoremi Guild arrived.

“This is the delivery you reserved.”

“Delivery?”

“Yes, from our shop you visited a week ago.”

One week, shop. Hearing those words, Cardel realized why the delivery boy had come.

Mentioning the guild must be prohibited for business reasons. That’s why the guards blocked him.

Since the front gate had been noisy since morning, Cardel came out himself and made a sour expression.

“It took exactly one week.”

“Trust is the most important part of a contract.”

“…That’s true.”

He thought they’d keep their promise, but he didn’t expect such a young child to come deliver it in person this early in the morning.

‘It’s good for avoiding surveillance.’

Cardel let out a hollow laugh at their unique delivery method.

“Um…….”

“What is it?”

“You need to give me a tip.”

One gold. The boy’s sparkling eyes were quite burdensome.

“……Here.”

“Thank you! Have a nice day.”

The boy carefully tucked it into his pocket pouch, worried it might be taken, and ran off like he was fleeing.

With the unexpectedly expensive delivery fee and the strange feeling of somehow being extorted, Cardel stood blankly in front of the gate.

A moment later, Evolaine, who had finished her morning training, spotted him and approached.

“Lord Cardel? What are you doing here?”

“I got shaken down this morning thanks to you, Dame.”

“Shaken down? Oh, are you talking about bread?”

“……It’s nothing.”

He was glad Evolaine didn’t understand.

“The contact came, so read it.”

“It came faster than I thought.”

“It took a week. You just didn’t notice because you were so busy.”

“Oh, is that so?”

Cardel, who didn’t even have the energy to retort, plopped down in front of the gate.

It was a scene that would have made Ashili tease him, saying it was unusual for someone who was the embodiment of germaphobia.

“How is it? What does it say?”

“…It’s more detailed than I thought.”

Evolaine, who had roughly unwrapped the package bundle and read one of the pages, answered.

They claimed to be the best guild in the system, and it seemed that wasn’t just boasting.

It contained details she wouldn’t have known without entering the marquis’s household, including the marquis’s most recent activities, all written in detail. It was unexpected.

“Let me see for a moment.”

“Here.”

When Evolaine handed it over, Cardel blinked his stiff eyes a couple of times before starting to read the contact bundle.

Rather than content about Kelic, it was mainly about the marquis.

The page he pulled out must have been the last one, because the last line had a postscript saying, ‘We’ll add more investigation about Kelic in the second contact.’

“This is so detailed I’m starting to suspect they have a contract with the marquis’s family.”

“I agree.”

Even though the two of them didn’t know much about the marquis’s family, they knew it wasn’t easy to be this detailed.

Even if they had planted a spy, there would be limits to where they could go.

The first contact had the reverse effect of making them wary of the Naoremi Guild.

“But it’s still too early to judge. Did you eat breakfast?”

“Yes, I did.”

“Then change your clothes and come to the office. Let’s read it properly there.”

“Understood.”

While Evolaine went back to the quarters to wash up and change, Cardel moved to the dining hall for breakfast.

In the dining hall, the Duke of Radelica sat alone.

“Why are you alone, Father?”

“…Something came up.”

He didn’t look well. The duke stared gloomily at the water in his glass, his face somber.

“Did you fight with Mother?”

“…….”

The duke flinched. He’d hit the mark.

“What was it about this time?”

“This time? We don’t fight that often.”

“More precisely, you get scolded often.”

“…No.”

The duke, who timidly objected in a voice as small as an ant’s, became gloomy again.

Like Cardel, Ashili and Lucia ate according to their own schedules, so eating alone was routine.

However, the duke always ate with Elisa unless she was on a campaign.

He stuck to her all day except when handling work, which sometimes made Elisa angry.

“Aren’t you busy with work, dear?”

“I finished early to spend time with you, my lady.”

There were times when even gazing at her with sparkling eyes didn’t work.

That was when Elisa was tired.

“…Sometimes I want to rest leisurely by myself too.”

“My lady, still…….”

“Get out.”

When the duke, who caused the problem, got kicked out, a chilling atmosphere descended upon the ducal household.

At such times, the servants held their breath and quietly passed by, trying not to upset the duke’s mood, which was like a cold wind blowing fiercely.

“…It would be nice if Lucia had a younger sibling.”

“…….”

“Ahem, let’s eat first.”

Seeing the contemptuous expression across from him, the duke awkwardly cleared his throat and began eating.

Cardel stuffed food into his mouth in small bites. Normally the duke would have nagged him, but having no grounds to do so, he just gazed gloomily at his food.

After the meal, the duke said something to the chef, then went upstairs.

Cardel carefully followed, minding his footsteps, but soon the duke came running down to the first floor after getting scolded by Elisa.

“I really can’t live like this!”

“Ah, ah! My lady! I’m sorry, I was wrong,”

“Get out right now!”

…Whatever it was, the duke must have done something to deserve scolding again.

“Lord Cardel?”

“You scared me!”

Cardel, who had been moving stealthily like a cat burglar, trembled and turned around.

Evolaine, who had finished changing, stood there with a towel draped over her shoulder, staring at him blankly.

“……Please make some noise when you move, Dame.”

“What? I’ll be more careful from now on.”

Though she was puzzled, when she immediately agreed, Cardel let out a relieved breath.

“But is something wrong? It was noisy upstairs.”

“Oh, it’s nothing. A marital spat.”

“A marital spat?”

How could that be nothing?

She could hear busy footsteps moving around, but since Cardel showed no particular reaction, she figured it must be fine.

“Did you bring the package?”

“Yes, but it’s a bit… strange.”

“What is?”

“Judging by the page numbers written at the bottom right of the documents, there should be 40 pages total, but about 3 are missing.”

For example, if it was page 13, it would be marked as 13/40.

It was a commonly used method because you could see the total number of pages and the order of documents at a glance, making it easy to organize.

“Didn’t you miscount? Or maybe you dropped them in your room while organizing.”

“No, that’s not it. Heron and I organized them together in the office before you came.”

“And you didn’t open it before that?”

“No. I brought it just like it was when we looked at it together this morning.”

“Let’s go to the office first.”

When Cardel and Evolaine entered the office, Heron rose from his chair.

“You’re here, young master.”

Heron also had a serious expression. Evolaine’s words seemed to be true, as he had divided the documents into three bundles for easy identification of the missing pages.