Ekision glanced at Hailo.

“That’s probably right. Among the staff at the banquet hall, there were no new employees hired within the last 6 months except for the rookie.”

Padrid said while looking at the list he had prepared in advance.

“They used up what they had carefully planted without getting caught. Must have really wanted it.”

“It must hurt since the head took it. But who could beat Hailo at an auction? He’s never failed before.”

First Ekision, and now Horas too.

Everyone looked serious, but somehow they all seemed to know who the culprit was and why they did it.

“I should have kept watch, I’m sorry.”

“Why are you apologizing when we said we’d handle it? We were just too relaxed. This is the first time they’ve made it into the main building.”

When Jin, who had been quiet the whole time, spoke up, Horas waved his hand dismissively.

“For now, we have no choice until we find them. Everyone, don’t show too much protective behavior in front of the staff.”

“……”

“……”

“If we still can’t catch them, then we’ll really have to follow procedure. That’s the way to protect the rookie.”

Ekision, who had been listening quietly, suddenly stood up from his seat.

“No way. I’ve already grown attached.”

Then he headed straight for the door.

“If I find them, can I kill them?”

He said cheerfully as he slammed the door shut.

“Ah geez, that guy really.”

When Horas groaned, Hailo snickered.

“Let him be. It’s his first friend after all. Besides, Esiki is tender-hearted and kind.”

At that, everyone turned to look at Hailo as if he was talking nonsense.

“What? It’s true, isn’t it?”

Hailo shrugged off their incredulous stares with ease.

5. Initiation Ceremony(2)

The sun had fully risen before they knew it.

“Lord Ekision said it would end soon and to wait just a little longer.”

Bender brought food to the East Wing dormitory.

“I won’t eat…”

“If you don’t eat, Lord Ekision said he won’t play father anymore.”

“……”

At the somewhat cold tone, Rodi pouted and picked up the fork Lexiard handed her.

‘I checked everyone without exception, so why?’

She couldn’t find them.

Because of attending the banquet, they only carried minimal weapons, and even those were all authorized items.

Of course, no poison was detected in them either.

“Gemvil is sick…”

“Just eat first.”

“Lexiard.”

“Gemvil wouldn’t want this either.”

“Lord Lexiard is right.”

At Lexiard’s words, Rodi reluctantly stuffed the food into her mouth.

Seeing this, both Lexiard and Bender’s expressions became a bit more relaxed.

“And after eating, you need to get some sleep, even if just a little. If you keep pushing yourself, you’ll get sick. As soon as Lord Gemvil gets better, I’ll let you know right away.”

Bender left, saying she would wait outside.

***

Rodi quietly slipped out of the room by herself.

This was because Lexiard had temporarily left to check on the situation at the main building.

Fortunately, while they were confined to the second floor of the East Wing dormitory, they weren’t required to stay in their rooms.

Rodi surveyed the corridor while making a walnut chin, pressing her lips together.

According to Lexiard, there weren’t any missing staff members yet.

That meant the culprit was still here on the second floor of the East Wing.

There were quite a few people in the corridor.

Though there were windows in the rooms, people seemed to feel psychologically confined and restless.

Everyone was gathered in small groups, chatting excitedly.

Rodi, who had been waiting in her room the whole time, was a bit surprised by the unexpected atmosphere, thinking others would be like her.

“What is this? We were so happy about having a banquet.”

“I know. Now we’re just under suspicion.”

Two employees wearing red badges, a man and a woman, were talking.

Guild members wore badges corresponding to their areas for identification. Yellow and green ones were for West Wing staff.

Those without badges were either guild members who only worked externally or those who needed to hide their Cheiles affiliation outside.

And red to black badges distinguished those working in the East Wing.

Among them, bright red badges marked office workers who didn’t take on missions, indicating they worked on the first floor of the East Wing.

“That’s her, right? The rookie they just hired.”

Among them, a brown-haired woman spotted Rodi and gave her a sharp look.

Flinch.

Rodi didn’t avoid the accusatory gaze directed at her but met it head-on.

At the woman’s words, her companion glanced over and nodded.

“They say Lord Gemvil ended up like that after drinking the juice she gave him.”

“Then shouldn’t we just deal with her?”

“I don’t understand what Lord Eclise is thinking. Why keep someone like that around?”

“Getting special treatment and all, must be nice. If I were Lord Gemvil, I’d say to throw her out as soon as I woke up. How can you trust and keep someone like that around?”

“If it were me, I’d leave on my own.”

“Let’s keep it down, Lord Lexiard might move again. Don’t you know Til almost died yesterday?”

“Ah, right. That’s true. The kid is scary.”

As their conversation lengthened, other colleagues started gathering around, murmuring and asking what was going on.

As they pointed fingers at Rodi and whispered more, Rodi finally gave up trying to go to the opposite side and returned to her room.

There were more people than expected, and she had a feeling Lexiard shouldn’t see this.

***

After that, Bender diligently brought meals to Rodi every hour.

Bender, who hadn’t been at the banquet hall because she’d been assigned to the executives the whole time, felt like she’d been struck by lightning when she heard the news.

After all, the child she was in charge of had gotten involved in such a big incident after just a few days.

And it was especially worrying because it had been a long time since an executive was injured, not just any other staff member.

Returning to the main building, Bender encountered Eclise while heading up to the second-floor dining room.

Bender bowed deeply.

“As ordered, I confirmed that Lady Rodi ate everything.”

Though her first meal delivery included Ekision’s request, the initial order had actually come from Eclise.

“That blockhead.”

“He keeps trying to stay by Lady Rodi’s side, so I prepared meals for him too. If there’s anything else you need…”

“Leave it be. Unless someone’s causing trouble.”

Eclise continued down the stairs.

“Yes, understood.”

Bender turned and bowed before heading to the second floor.

“Ah.”

At the small sound, Bender stopped and turned around.

Her eyes met Eclise’s, and Bender quickly lowered her gaze.

“Yes, Lord Eclise.”

When Eclise beckoned her to come closer with a slight hand gesture, Bender quickly descended the stairs.

Bender’s eyes widened as she heard Eclise’s words.

***

“Lord Gemvil has regained consciousness. There are some internal injuries, but they say he’ll be able to return to daily activities after just a few more days. It seems the poison content in the juice was lower than expected. What a relief!”

When Rodi woke up after getting some sleep, as Lexiard had completely pinned her down to prevent her from getting up, Bender brought the good news.

“Really?”

But he had been bleeding.

Rodi, who had been tense the whole time, felt all the strength leave her body without realizing it.

“Gemvil is okay!”

Rodi grabbed Lexiard’s hand, who was listening beside her and shouted.

“Yeah, that’s a relief.”

Lexiard responded while rubbing his sleepy eyes with his free hand.

While Rodi slept, Lexiard stayed awake beside her.

But no matter how different Lexiard was from normal children, his physical condition wasn’t that different, so he was very sleepy after staying up all night.

Above all, it was his first time staying up all night for someone else.

But he couldn’t take his eyes off her because he kept worrying.

Thinking she might run away if he didn’t help.

If she ran away, it wouldn’t be fun anymore.

He had just found something interesting for the first time.

That wasn’t what Lexiard wanted.

Bender felt relieved seeing the two getting along well.

Just earlier, Eclise had given Bender a hint about the culprit.

However, for some reason, orders were given to keep quiet and observe Rodi’s behavior.

“Um…”

Rodi hesitantly opened her mouth.

“Yes, Lady Brodi?”

“Can I… go see Gemvil? I want to apologize.”

Bender bowed her head.

“I’ll check right away if visits are possible.”