Although it was an unexpected question, Sasha answered immediately, without a hint of doubt.

“They have a tight grip on underworld information.”

“Is anything known about the guild master?”

“Not at all.”

“A cat calling itself ‘Raven’ has started coming and going.”

Sasha tilted her head slightly, as if puzzled. Her high ponytail drooped along with the motion.

“And the Oracle’s baby has concluded that it’s some kind of familiar.”

“…She really isn’t an ordinary baby, is she?”

“Exactly.”

Cedrion’s golden eyes darkened.

The Oracle’s baby, whom he was duty-bound to protect, was unusually preoccupied with Odelia’s safety, as if she had descended to this world for that very purpose.

And now, that baby had said that the creature seemed to be after Odelia. As long as it kept pretending to be a cat, he could stop it—but still.

“That guild was formed just about ten years ago, wasn’t it?”

“The timing is suspicious. So, Your Excellency…”

“Michael’s antics have gone too far… I wouldn’t be surprised if a demon got tangled up in this mess.”

Cedrion murmured coldly.

Sasha didn’t know the full details of ‘that incident’ in Meldorf over a decade ago. If her master, likely the strongest person in Norhart—perhaps even the continent—had decided to bury the truth, there was no way she could have found out.

Since that day, the once kind-hearted boy, Cedrion, had pushed himself relentlessly, saying he needed to become stronger. And not long after, when the late Grand Duke and Duchess passed away, he had erased all traces of emotion.

What use was there in speculating about her master’s thoughts? As his shadow, she had only to carry out his commands with loyalty.

Everything her master ordered was always right.

“In that case, I will investigate the owner of the guild as thoroughly as possible.”

“Good.”

“Lastly, here is the report on Dame Gwendolyn.”

“Hmm.”

Cedrion had, in fact, been quite surprised when he first saw Gwendolyn at the blue-roofed manor.

Anyone with even the slightest interest in academia would know her name. She was the youngest-ever student admitted to the Royal Academy and the first woman to enter its medical program.

Her academic performance was remarkable—she had completed the eight-year medical course in just seven years.

Everyone had expected her to become a royal physician, but things had not gone so smoothly.

The sole heir to the royal physician’s position was infamous for refusing to have female talent by his side under the guise of propriety. At just over twenty years old, Gwendolyn had instead declared that she would chase wealth.

As a result, whenever Cedrion visited Belvo, he would see Gwendolyn’s face everywhere.

At a banquet where a guest accidentally ate an allergenic dish and suffered a severe reaction.

At a ball where a nobleman, attempting something disgraceful, ended up with his head cracked open by a wine bottle.

At a tea party where a scandalous love affair escalated into a duel, leaving both men badly wounded.

Wherever the nobility’s disgrace was exposed, Gwendolyn appeared.

It was no wonder, then, that Cedrion, who never had cause to be injured, was still familiar with Belvo’s most well-known physician.

And yet, that very physician had now traveled to Meldorf as Odelia’s personal doctor.

Gwendolyn, who visited nearly every noble family in Belvo for house calls, had severed all her client relationships to follow Lure—a family on the brink of destruction.

It had been confirmed that Odelia had offered her an enormous sum of money.

But now, Cedrion began to wonder why Odelia had insisted on bringing Gwendolyn along, even at such a cost.

Unless, of course, it was because she had a health condition that only Gwendolyn could handle.

Unaware of Cedrion’s musings, Sasha continued her report.

“I was unable to identify any personal assets belonging to Dame Gwendolyn.”

“You mean she has no private wealth? Could she have invested in properties or businesses?”

“She has been staying in Meldorf continuously, so we’ll need to investigate further to track the flow of her finances. But for now, what’s certain is that she regularly donates to medical clinics in remote mountainous regions far from the capital.”

“Clinics… for commoners?”

“Yes.”

Hmm. Cedrion leaned back in his chair, rubbing his chin.

Gwendolyn acted as if she were obsessed with money, yet she never indulged in luxury herself.

Her noble clients explained it by saying that a commoner who grew up with nothing had simply developed a taste for hoarding wealth.

Despite receiving a baronet’s knighthood upon graduating from the Royal Academy, she was still seen as someone of low birth.

The irony was that these same nobles were desperate to entrust their bodies to her care.

“She has no family, correct?”

“Yes. There are indications that she has donated to the temple and orphanage where she spent her childhood, but the amount is negligible compared to her income. Rather…”

“Rather?” 

“She has begun investing in a few of her fellow Royal Academy medical graduates.”

“Investing?” 

“They’ve formed a kind of research community, and notably, all of them are of commoner origin.”

“A research community of commoner-born doctors…”

The doctors operating clinics for commoners in the provinces were likely commoner-born as well. Cedrion had a feeling that he would get along with Dame Gwendolyn better than he had expected.

“Do we know what kind of research they’re conducting?” 

“They study diseases that the established academic community does not address. There is testimony that Dame Gwendolyn, during her time at the Royal Academy, grew frustrated with the fact that even medical research was heavily skewed toward the nobility.” 

“You mean the tendency to neglect research on epidemics and endemic diseases prevalent among commoners.” 

“Yes. That’s why folk remedies have developed so extensively… as well as diseases with low research demand, like rare illnesses.” 

“Epidemics and rare diseases… A fitting cause for someone who helplessly lost friends in an orphanage.” 

“There are no records since she likely never received medical treatment, so we couldn’t confirm it.”

Cedrion’s fingertips tapped rhythmically on the table—tok, tok, tok.

“No signs of collusion with the royal family?” 

“On the contrary, that research community has been branded by the royal family as a kind of subversive group.”

No possibility of royal affiliation, then.

Cedrion’s expression subtly shifted in satisfaction as he listened to Sasha’s report. It was such a faint change that only those who knew him well would notice.

Odelia had said that her health condition was a secret of Lure.

If she considered it a secret, then it was only right to respect that.

If it was a rare illness severe enough to require the intervention of Dame Gwendolyn, then Cedrion also understood that there was nothing he could do about it.

But… was it really something to be left alone so easily?

Especially when it was Odelia…

A dull ache settled in Cedrion’s chest as he pictured Odelia’s delicate face.

***

“Waaah! Kitty, Noo, hiya, uwaaah!”

A few days later.

In the peaceful backyard of the Grand Duchy of Norhart, in my little vegetable garden.

When I stopped by the garden in the evening, I was shocked to find the cat, Baron Alterman’s wandering pet, waiting for us.

“Wait, how did it get here again?” 

“You know that cat?” 

“It followed the gardeners when we moved the vegetable patch. It’s a cat from the Meldorf lord’s estate, but apparently, it roams around on its own.” 

“It came all the way from Meldorf?”

“Hwaaaah!”

As I casually recounted the cat’s origin, Angie once again burst into uncontrollable sobs. Her small, golden eyes welled up with tears, clinging under her flushed cheeks.

“Hng, kitty, hng, shoo. Huuu.”

“Mathias, hurry up and chase the cat away.” 

“Y-yes, my lady.”

Angie’s tiny, beak-like lips quivered, covered in drool.

The child who had once vigilantly monitored the cat had disappeared. From the moment the cat appeared in the garden, Angie had latched onto me and refused to let go.

It was like she had become a baby again—well, she was still a baby, but now she seemed even more infantile.

“Angie, it’s okay. Mathias will chase the cat away.”

“What’s going on?”

“Oh, you’re here?”

“Waaah…!”

As always, Cedrion arrived at the garden, intending to take Angie from me, but she only cried louder and burrowed deeper into my arms.

“Look. That cat is here again.”

I gestured toward Mathias with my chin, and Cedrion’s sharply sculpted jawline tensed subtly.

“That’s what she’s reacting to?” 

“Yes. Last time, she just seemed to dislike it, but now she seems afraid.”

Hmm… Cedrion narrowed his eyes as he looked down at Angie.

The truth was, Angie’s clinginess had begun a few days ago—specifically, the night I had that long conversation with Dame Gwendolyn.

She insisted on sleeping in my bed and refused to be separated from me no matter what.

Even when she needed the restroom, she would only listen if I begged her to let go. Her separation anxiety had regressed to the level it had been when she first arrived at the Blue Roof Manor.

That was understandable—she was not even six months old yet.

The problem was that because Angie wouldn’t leave my side, I hadn’t had a single chance to talk to Cedrion seriously in days.

‘I need to ask Cedrion before my resolve weakens…’

Cedrion had been accompanying me to the vegetable garden every morning and evening, but I was always too busy calming Angie to hold even a brief conversation.

Since Angie wouldn’t let go of me, Cedrion’s clumsy fingers had taken to mercilessly destroying the delicate herb leaves in my place.

She refused to eat unless I was present, making separate mealtimes impossible. Even when I tried to leave the room after she fell asleep, she would wake up and cry as soon as I moved from the bed.

To make matters worse, Cedrion had suddenly become busy and could no longer drop by the East Wing as frequently as before.

“Ack! You little—!”

“Oh no, Mathias!”

“Hwaaah!”

While I was lost in thought, Mathias attempted to grab the cat—only to receive a sharp paw strike to the face.

“Are you alright?” 

“Yes… This little rascal needs to go home! Does it even know where it is?”

“No! Kitty! Uwaaaah!”

Mathias, with five faint red scratches on his cheek, floundered as he struggled to catch the cat.

It was chaos.

The cat was so nimble that even Mathias, a knight, couldn’t catch it. Meanwhile, Angie kept wailing with her flushed face.

The only silver lining was that she wasn’t sobbing to the point of choking.

“Stop!”

Then, an eerie sound echoed in my ear.