“If it’s a dangerous place, I should go with you. What if, after I leave here, someone discovers us or we fall into a trap? Is there anyone who would believe I didn’t plan this to betray Your Highness?”

“…….”

“So, I need to go with you. I’m offering my safety as collateral.”

“I don’t doubt you, Ellen.”

“I know. But I want to make it clear. Thank you for your concern, Ted.”

With her firm refusal, Terriard closed his mouth.

However, he still looked dissatisfied.

Kaiden, who had been checking his attire after hearing they had to leave immediately, tightened the scabbard hanging from his belt and spoke,

“Yes. Even if it imposes some restrictions, we need Lady Crient. She knows more than us.”

“Right. We don’t even know the cargo loading location.”

When Sir Coenheim Morris supported Kaiden’s words, Ellen added, as if to prevent any misunderstanding.

“Oh, I don’t know that either.”

“What?”

At Ellen’s unexpected declaration, three pairs of eyes simultaneously turned to her.

Among them, only Sir Coenheim Morris spoke without much agitation.

“……I see. But you wouldn’t say something like that without a plan.”

It wasn’t a particularly grounded certainty, but it seemed he had heard a lot about her from his fiancée, Spaniel Cheshire.

“That’s true, but… isn’t it enough for Your Highness to use the security forces to search?”

“I’m sorry, but that’s not possible.”

Kaiden shook his head and said.

“While I agree it’s the safest and quickest way, I didn’t sneak out to meet you today for no reason. It would be problematic if my movements were known to Crescent and the noble faction.”

He sighed.

“And the fact that I was sneaking around places like this would be good fodder for them. We need to use the security forces only after securing some clue and using it as a basis.”

“Then what do you plan to do?”

“We need to think about that together now. We’re partners.”

“Ah… The initial suggestion of using the security forces has already been dismissed.”

When Ellen showed her palms as if she hadn’t thought of a method, Kaiden cleared his throat awkwardly.

“Ahem.”

“I’ve never come to the dock to check the goods before transport. Above all, I don’t even know if there’s one ship or several hiding the goods.”

“Is there really no way….”

Kaiden sighed deeply in disappointment.

But Ellen, who had been thinking deeply without responding to Kaiden’s words, suddenly raised her head and called him.

“Your Highness.”

“Did something come to mind?”

“……If we find even a single piece of evidence, I understand Your Highness will take responsibility, even if it requires overstepping authority.”

“That’s correct.”

“Then let’s target customs.”

“Customs?”

“They must have planted informants there.”

Ellen slowly explained the rough plan in her head.

“They weren’t just bringing in small things that could be hidden. They opened a route and continuously transported goods through it.”

“Surely… you know what the smuggled items are?”

“I don’t know exactly what’s coming in today. But I do know what they usually transported.”

Ellen made a gun shape with her hand and mimicked shooting Kaiden.

Sir Coenheim Morris, who recognized the gesture first, exclaimed in shock.

“No way, muskets…!”

“Yes. Correct.”

Ellen relaxed her hand gesture and continued.

“Anyway, to secretly bring in such volume, there must be corruption at customs, and such things are usually found quickly if you dig internally.”

“I know someone there, Lady.”

Perhaps realizing the situation was more serious than expected, Morris uncharacteristically interjected.

“A fellow academy student… Honestly, we’re not close enough for a lifetime of loyalty, but he’s someone who can be persuaded.”

“Bringing in outsiders? That sounds risky.”

Kaiden clicked his tongue disapprovingly.

“It’s okay. The effectiveness of such promises ultimately depends on the amount paid. Does that friend have any other oddities?”

“Nothing special. An academy scholarship student, like most commoner scholarship students, has a family to support….”

“Scholarship student? Is he working here?”

Terriard, who seemed to know something about him, suddenly exclaimed in surprise while listening to Morris.

“Yes. I’ve heard about it.”

“No matter what, Morris, it’s not just us here, but that guy is a bit….”

“No, that’s enough.”

Ellen took out a small booklet from her clutch, which contained her belongings.

After signing it with a quick flourish, she tore out a page and handed it to Sir Coenheim, saying,

“Here, take this. And Ted, is there something you want to say?”

“Ah, well… that friend is a bit, very lively.”

“It’s fine. I won’t be dealing with him.”

Ellen said calmly and clapped her hands lightly.

“Now then. Since things have come to this, from now on, Your Highness will have to be my attendant.”

“…What? Attendant? Did I hear that right?”

When Kaiden asked with a bewildered face at the sudden statement, Ellen kindly replied with a bright smile.

“Yes. A wealthy female merchant and her attendant came to spy on a competitor’s goods. That’s today’s concept.”

* * *

“Team Leader! There’s a guest looking for you.”

A young man with a still youthful face shouted as he ran into the office.

“Oh, I saw it too. Looks like a high-ranking noble?”

“Wow, academy graduates are different.”

“Right. The ones pushed in by the viscounts are nobles in name only….”

A man who looked quite young for someone called a team leader stood up and said,

“Don’t be so bitter. No matter where you’re from, we’re all working hard from the bottom. So, where’s this esteemed guest?”

“I’ve shown them to the meeting room for now.”

“You know the tea leaves I put in the drawer before? Prepare the tea with those.”

“Yes, Team Leader.”

He’s treated like a rare creature for being a commoner at the academy, and again for being an academy graduate in society.

Tired of his position, Dandelion gritted his teeth, determined to see the face of the noble who had come all the way here, and headed to the meeting room.

But then…

“Huh?”

Seeing the guest waiting in front of the meeting room, Dandelion let out a deflated sound, not expecting them.

“Long time no see, Denny.”

The one who came to see him was Sir Coenheim Morris, his academy classmate.

“I didn’t expect you to make such an unannounced visit.”

“Sorry for coming so suddenly. Do you have some time?”

“How much are you planning to take that you ask such a thing first?”

“Um… Enough to ensure safety?”

“What?”

Dandelion widened his eyes, then roughly tousled his bright yellow hair and said.

“Right, you were probably a knight of the Crown Prince… This is crazy.”

“I’m asking you.”

“Damn it, that’s why nobles….”

Throwing a thin blanket that was arranged on one side of the meeting room, he said,

“Use this if you need it, and follow me for now.”

He stepped out of the door with quick steps, turned sharply, and went inside, locking the door.

“So, what’s this about?”

At the edgy question, Morris quickly stated his business.

“We need to investigate the dock warehouse. We’ve received reports of smuggling. Do you know anything?”

“Hey, I’m in operations, but… damn, that’s not my department.”

“I thought that might be the case.”

“Oh, so you want me to extract information.”

Dandelion glared with a frustrated expression, and Morris apologized again with a genuinely sorry look.

“I’m sorry. But you’re the best option right now.”

“Yeah, I’m sure I am.”

Morris was a man who never did anything that would trouble others, even during their academy days.

So he really must have had no other choice.

Dandelion let out a deep sigh and said,

“Fine. So what will you give me for getting it? Unlike you, I’m just a commoner. Present a rational reason for me to take this risk.”

“Um….”

After a moment of hesitation, Morris cautiously spoke with a slightly troubled face.

“Do you… like money?”

“Huh? What kind of obvious question is that?”

When Dandelion asked back with an incredulous expression, Morris spoke with a troubled look.

“Ah, I’m not sure if this is really the right answer.”

“What is it? Stop beating around the bush and tell me. Is it money? How much?”

“Well, rather than a specific amount….”

Morris rummaged in his pocket and pulled out a thin piece of paper.

“This.”

Dandelion flipped the paper back and forth, and realizing it was a blank check with nothing written in the amount section, his face turned pale as he spoke.

“What is this? Ellen Crient. A blank check from the Crient family?”

“Yes.”

“What? Is it that dangerous? I need to think about this, hold on….”

“Right now, we only need information related to the dock, but we don’t know how this will come back to us later.”

“Oh, so it’s for my life?”

“……A decent house in the capital, a comfortable academy life for your sister, and a peaceful retirement for your parents. How about that?”

“Who. The owner of this check?”

“Yes.”

“……Even if I work here for a hundred years, I can’t achieve that. It’s more than enough.”

Dandelion looked down at the check with a calm face, as if he had accepted the situation to some extent.

“If you’re thinking of getting more involved, there’s even talk of sponsoring your sister in the name of Crient.”

“So they’re even offering to be a shield… This is too generous, it’s strange.”

The people he encountered at the academy weren’t like this.

When Dandelion showed signs of suspicion, Morris turned his gaze away with a resigned face and said,

“They said you’re a talented person, and it wouldn’t hurt to recruit you… I suggested it.”

“You did?”

“Yes.”

Letting out another sigh at his affirmation, Dandelion reached for the check in Morris’s hand.

“Give it to me.”

“You—”

“Never mind, just wait here. I’ll knock four times, so wait here with the door locked.”

He carefully tucked the seized check into his pocket, then threatened Morris to stay quiet if he didn’t want to get caught, and cautiously left the room.