“Heron, did you notice anything strange when you looked at it?”

“Nothing. The envelope was made of material that doesn’t tear easily, and it was clean without a single hole.”

“That’s strange. Did the guild leave something out?”

If that were the case, he was bothered by the fact that they’d kept their promise of exactly one week.

They must have checked the quantity several times before sending it. Hadn’t the delivery boy also said something about trust being the most important part of a contract?

There was no reason for Evolaine to have lost it along the way either.

The whole point of commissioning the guild was to awaken Kelic, so thinking she’d made a mistake made even less sense.

“Should I contact the guild?”

“Do it now. And Dame Evolaine, come with me for a moment.”

“Understood.”

While Heron contacted them with the magical device, Cardel took Evolaine outside the office.

Perhaps because it was mealtime for the servants, the corridor was quiet. Sunlight streamed through the cleanly polished windows, and a gentle breeze blew through the slightly open gap.

Chirp chirp—the sound of birds singing. In a space where only small noises could be heard, the perfect scent of spring brushed past his nose.

It would have been a perfectly languid morning if not for the damned missing documents.

“Dame, was there anything strange yesterday when I stepped out for a bit?”

“Strange?”

“Yeah, even something trivial is fine.”

Evolaine searched her memory.

Cardel had briefly left to contact Heron about the down payment for the commission, and she’d been left alone with the guild master, reading the contract.

Nothing particularly struck her as strange, but what seemed unusual was the guild master’s attitude.

“Nothing strange, but the guild master was peculiar.”

“Peculiar?”

“Yes, I felt like he kept watching me nervously… From the moment you left, Lord Cardel, he seemed lost in other thoughts.”

According to the guild master, something seemed to be troubling him, but since he apologized, it wasn’t a big problem.

Evolaine hadn’t even asked any questions.

She’d just found it curious that he was spacing out in front of a client.

“…Really?”

“Yes, there was nothing else.”

‘He couldn’t focus and was nervous.’

If it were anyone else, maybe, but with Evolaine, the future Kelic swordmaster?

That made no sense. If he didn’t recognize Evolaine, that was proof their information-gathering abilities were severely lacking.

High society, the system, and high-ranking officials were all talking about Evolaine.

So the guild master must have known about Evolaine too.

‘There’s a high probability the connection to the marquis’s family is real.’

The investigation’s contents were too detailed, even accounting for how capable the guild was.

Besides, hadn’t they said to visit after the third contact that day?

If so, the guild master’s inability to focus when alone with Evolaine meant something equally significant had happened.

‘If they have ties to the marquis’s family, seeing Evolaine would have reminded him of them.’

Was this a credible assumption? Or just speculation pieced together from information?

His head was complicated. All the information he had now was nothing but unconfirmed hypotheses.

And the marquis’s family was strangely quiet. Were they hiding from people’s eyes, secretly planning something?

“……”

He felt anxious. Because it felt like things were escalating. What if a major problem occurred?

“Lord Cardel?”

What if you got hurt?

“Are you alright?”

“…I’m fine.”

His thoughts had just spiraled, one after another.

Nothing had actually happened yet.

“…Young master, Dame Evolaine. I think you need to come in.”

“Did you reach them?”

“Yes, but the conversation is a bit strange. I think it would be better if you spoke with them directly.”

Cardel took the magical device from Heron.

“This is Cardel de Radelica.”

– Young master, did you receive a package delivery today?

“Yes, that’s correct. Today is the seventh day, so it arrived, didn’t it?”

– Um…….

The guild master hesitated, sounding troubled. In that moment, Cardel felt an uneasy premonition.

“Is something wrong?”

– First of all, the Naoremi Guild counts days starting from the day after the contract date. So the day we deliver the requested documents is tomorrow.

“…What do you mean by that?”

– We haven’t sent the package yet. Of course, the documents are still with us.

What was he talking about? Cardel wondered if his vocabulary had suddenly regressed.

He was clearly hearing and speaking the imperial language, but he couldn’t understand any of it.

“If you haven’t sent the package yet, what did we receive today?”

– We’re not sure either. So…….

The guild master’s voice sounded flustered too. It seemed he was just as confused.

“Dame, this was anonymous, right?”

Cardel covered the hole where voices were picked up and quietly asked Evolaine.

“Yes, that’s right. There was no indication of who sent it.”

Since they’d both checked together, they couldn’t have seen it wrong. At first, they thought the guild had done it for security reasons, but that wasn’t the case.

“The package came anonymously. The delivery person was also a young child.”

– A young… child?

“Yes.”

Then came an absurd response.

– We don’t employ children as staff. We also use magical transmission formulas for delivery. You’ll see tomorrow, but you’ll receive it in your desk drawer, young master. This is possible with the address you wrote on the contract.

The guild master added that they could designate a partial space of the most frequently used furniture through the address provided by the client and use a magical formula.

Then who on earth was that child he’d met this morning?

The more questions and conversation they had, the deeper into a labyrinth they seemed to fall.

– Young master, I’m sorry, but could you visit the guild as soon as possible? We need to examine that package as well.

“…I’ll come tomorrow.”

– Yes, then we’ll see you tomorrow.

Beep— beep beep—

When the conversation ended, the office filled with silence.

“This is driving me crazy.”

Cardel thoroughly mussed up his hair. He had no idea what was going on.

Evolaine also let down her hair that had been tied up high. The hair tie constricting her head seemed to be making her headache worse.

“So this package wasn’t sent by the guild.”

Heron tapped the bundle of documents, organizing the protruding papers as he spoke.

“That’s what they say. Was there something in the contract about sending packages to an address? I don’t think I saw it.”

“Perhaps it was written in small print.”

“We’ll have to ask together tomorrow.”

Nothing but inexplicable matters. If the guild didn’t send it, then who on earth sent this package?

“…Is there any possibility the crown prince’s side sent it?”

“It’s not impossible, but why would they? We’re meeting again anyway.”

“That’s true, but……”

Then wasn’t it even stranger? Unless someone had secretly followed Cardel and Evolaine, they couldn’t have pulled this off.

Even if that were the case, it was ambiguous to think the guild had blabbed about what the two had commissioned.

If a place that makes its living from information did such a thing, the moment rumors spread, it would be finished.

“……”

Someone anonymous knew the two had visited the guild.

They had no idea who it was, or how they knew the target the two were trying to investigate was the marquis’s family and had passed along this information, and the anxiety was amplifying.

“Let’s think about it tomorrow. It’s not too late to discuss after we visit the guild and confirm things.”

“Understood.”

Evolaine bit her lip firmly and nodded.

She felt uncomfortable, thinking things had escalated because of her.

Watching her, Heron spoke up.

“I think I should go with you too, young master.”

“You, Heron? Didn’t you say you were busy?”

“The draft paperwork is finished, and I can check it after we return. Besides, I have a bad feeling, so it would be better to go together.”

It made sense. Heron was a trustworthy adult, and as the duke’s aide, he’d handled many important documents, so he’d know better than them.

“Alright, then let’s go together…”

Just as Cardel was about to agree, a familiar voice interrupted.

“Good idea. I’ll go too.”

“My lord?”

“…Father?”

The duke appeared looking like a bird’s nest had been built in the back of his hair.

At the familiar sight, Cardel and Heron sent coldly settled gazes, and only Evolaine, who didn’t know the reason, innocently asked a cruel question.

“Duke, your hair in the back is sticking up.”

“……Thank you. I’ll fix it later.”

“Pfft.”

Heron, unable to hold back his laughter, made a sound, but when the duke turned around, he straightened his expression.

Acting nonchalantly like nothing had happened was quite displeasing.

“Heron, you must be living quite comfortably here?”

“Not at all, my lord. How could that be?”

Look at that skillfulness in omitting reasons to avoid being caught.

The duke glared at him with a soulless smile.

“…Anyway, I think I should go too.”

“You too, Father?”

“Yes, something doesn’t feel right.”

At the duke’s serious tone, Cardel gulped and swallowed.