Chapter 21

Neil said with a bright smile on his face.  

“I like that look in your eyes. I really like it.”  

“What are you talking about? As if you’ve never seen this look before?”  

“Not the first time. No, not at all.”  

Ha ha ha, Neil’s cheerful laughter filled the entire pharmacy.  

But soon, as if something occurred to him, Neil stopped laughing and looked at her seriously.  

“By the way, what are you going to do about Earl Jeeter and Viscount Kerbil?”  

“Why them?”  

“Do you think you can come and go from the Conver Ducal House for the next year? To the Duchy of Dakilan and the Kingdom of Dillens? You’ll need to go at least once a quarter.”  

“It’s actually more convenient. There will be people to look after Ray. A lot of them.”  

Not quite grasping Neil’s concern, she tilted her head in response.  

Neil chuckled incredulously at her reaction.  

“How will you explain not being able to return to the Ducal House for several days?”  

“I’ll just say I went to gather herbs or make up something about being an informant.”  

“What? You’ll make up being an informant?”  

Neil’s jaw dropped.  

He looked stunned.  

“Don’t tell me Duke Conver found out you’re Basler’s informant?”  

“…I think he found out.”  

She spoke in a small voice, unable to feel proud.  

Having her secret identity as an informant exposed was extremely detrimental.  

She might no longer be able to work as an informant.  

“Ugh… ugh!”  

A sound like a beast’s groan escaped through Neil’s twisted lips.  

He buried his face in his hands, rubbing vigorously.  

“There was no choice. There was so much going on.”  

“Ha, well, it’s not entirely unexpected. But…”  

His rough expression combined with his sulking made his face look even worse.  

“So? What did Duke Conver say?”  

“He hasn’t said anything yet.”  

Seeing her shake her head, Neil’s face brightened momentarily.  

With hopeful eyes, he spoke.  

“If he hasn’t said anything, maybe he’s just going to let it slide? After all, you did raise Ray. He might at least do that.”  

“Well… maybe.”  

Not knowing Duke Conver’s true intentions, she simply shrugged.  

“But I’m disappointed, As.”  

“About what?”  

“It seems like you cherish your identity as a foreign noble businessman more than your identity as Basler’s informant.”  

Neil crossed his arms, pouting.  

His reaction left her dumbfounded.  

“Isn’t that obvious?”  

“What? Obvious? As, that’s too harsh. I thought our roots were in Basler!”  

“Oh my. Neil, why are you acting like a child who doesn’t know the ways of the world? Do you know how much money Earl Jeeter and Viscount Kerbil have? With that money, you can rebuild an information guild like Basler several times over.”  

“Well, that’s true. But still…”  

“The first priority is to safely hide the identity with the most money. I also think of Basler as my roots. Thanks to Basler, I was able to try various things under different names. So, don’t worry if Basler falls. I’ll create a new Basler.”  

“What? Even if Basler falls? How can you say such a thing so easily?”  

“Neil, are you sleep-deprived? Why are you being so sensitive?”  

Without responding to her words, Neil stood up like a ghost and left.  

Ha, haha.  

His childlike demeanor despite being a grown man made her laugh.  

“That’s why he gets along so well with Ray.”  

An adult-like child, Ray, and a childlike adult, Neil.  

Left alone, she was about to read through the request form once more when the shop door opened again, and Neil walked back in.  

“…I forgot the medicine.”  

Neil quickly grabbed the medicine bag from the table and turned around.  

He moved so swiftly that a breeze seemed to follow him.  

“Take care, Neil. I’ll report once I start the investigation.”  

She tried to speak warmly, but he only glanced at her without a word and left.  

“Ugh, tsk tsk!”  

She shook her head and sighed.  

It was a common occurrence, and she knew he would soon be fine, so she wasn’t worried at all.  

In the quiet pharmacy, she focused again on reading the request form.  

Excited about her first investigation in nearly a month, she hummed a tune.  

“Yes, I’ve been craving cases.”  

Today, she would finally get some fresh air!  

* * *  

The garden of the Princess Palace.  

On his way to the meeting room, summoned by Princess Stephania, Bryce stopped by briefly.  

“I heard from Mother.”  

Stephania, looking anxious, spoke first.  

She always wanted to smile in front of the one she loved, but today, she couldn’t.  

“I can wait. Until Ray adapts to his new life.”  

“Your Highness.”  

Stephania clasped one of Bryce’s hands with both of hers.  

Her small, white hands were cold.  

“I can wait until my parents and the Imperial delegates accept our marriage. So… please don’t tell me not to wait. I beg you.”  

“…”  

Bryce didn’t know how to respond.  

He stood still, unable to stop Stephania from leaning into him.  

Her small, delicate body leaned more and more against his.  

Eventually, he took a step back and spoke.  

“Your Highness… I have no feelings to give you…”  

Bryce couldn’t finish his sentence.  

Stephania’s small, plump lips were approaching his face.  

He held her shoulders and pulled her away.  

“Your Highness, this is inappropriate.”  

“Why?”  

Stephania looked up at Bryce with reproachful eyes.  

A man who was always kind yet maintained a certain distance.  

Whenever she took a step toward him, he hurriedly took two steps back.  

She wanted to erase such a man from her heart.  

But the more she tried to distance herself from him, the more her heart strangely leaned toward him.  

Stephania blamed the gods.  

“Sometimes I imagine. How nice it would be if you were Daniel Stern, running a small merchant guild, and I was Jennifer Foley, recuperating in the countryside.”  

“Even if we returned to being Daniel and Jennifer, nothing would change.”  

“…”  

“Then and now, my feelings for you are only of friendship, nothing more. I’m sorry, Your Highness.”  

Bryce was firm.  

He had long erased things like ‘love’ from his life.  

Such sweet and tender emotions had no place in the life he chose.  

Life couldn’t be beautiful.  

He had many things to do.  

Rebuilding the family and avenging those who deceived and betrayed his father.  

For a moment, he had considered marriage to Princess Stephania for that purpose.  

But now, the situation had changed, and he had completely erased that option.  

He had Ray.  

A child to carry on the Conver family name.  

The end of rebuilding the family and avenging the traitors had to be Ray.  

Everything had to be for that child.  

So he needed to clearly distance himself from any friendship or marriage talks with Princess Stephania.  

“I’ll take my leave, Your Highness.”  

Bryce bowed respectfully and turned away.  

Stephania, watching him coldly turn away, sank to the ground as he disappeared from view.  

Maidens who had been standing at a distance hurriedly approached and helped the Princess up, but her pale body had no strength.  

* * *  

Since returning from the Conver Ducal House two days ago, Diane Lesper had been in a foul mood.  

At the Lesper Earldom, something broke several times a day, high-pitched screams echoed, and a menacing aura lingered in the air.  

“Ugh! Die! Just die! Disappear! Get lost!”  

Even now, Diane was sprawled on the bed, flailing her arms and legs, pounding the bed.  

No matter how much she screamed and raged, the memories of that day wouldn’t easily fade and continued to torment her mind.  

“Bryce! Does being handsome mean everything? Being smart and capable means everything?! Being the head of the largest merchant guild in the Empire means everything? Being a Duke means everything?! Aaaah!”  

Diane screamed until she was out of breath.  

She yelled and yelled until her face turned red and her head ached from lack of air.  

“Ha… ha…”  

Only after screaming until she was breathless did she feel somewhat relieved.  

As Diane was catching her breath, there was a knock, and maids entered the room.  

The portable hanger they brought held a blue party dress.  

“Miss, if you’re to attend the tea party at Marquis Wilson’s this afternoon, you should start preparing now.”  

“Does it look like I care about some tea party right now? I’m not going! I can’t go! I’m absolutely not going!”  

Diane’s high-pitched refusal made the maids cover their ears momentarily.  

But experienced in dealing with the young lady’s tantrums, they didn’t back down yet.  

“This party is one that Her Highness the Princess will also attend, so I’m not sure if it’s okay to suddenly cancel.”  

“Ugh! That wretched party! Ugh! That wretched Princess!”  

Diane screamed again and jumped up from the bed.  

The maids were right.  

Suddenly canceling attendance at a party with the Princess would provide fodder for gossip in both the Imperial and social circles.  

Seeing Diane’s disheveled appearance, the maids gasped.  

Her face was swollen from drinking heavily the night before, and her hair was a tangled mess.  

Diane glanced at the dress on the hanger.  

She didn’t like it.  

The maids tensed at Diane’s sharp gaze at the dress.  

What complaint was she going to make now?  

“Why is the dress like that?”  

“It’s the dress you ordered last week, Miss. Don’t you like it?”  

“No, I hate it. Not just dislike, I loathe it! What’s with the color? That blue is just like Bryce’s eyes!”  

Diane rushed to the hanger, threw the dress to the floor, and stomped on it.  

The maids could only stand by, unable to do anything, watching the dress, worth several times their annual salary, being destroyed.