A magnificent carriage adorned with patterns from Perdia came to a stop at the entrance of a rugged mountain.

 “We have arrived, Your Grace.”

The coachman called out from outside, and the occupants stepped out. It was the head of Perdia, Sylvester Perdia, followed by his aide. 

“From here on, you will have to walk on foot.”

Due to the expulsion of the former aide, the current aide had only been working for a few months, and the aide’s discipline was very high. Sylvester glanced at his aide and began to walk ahead.

 “Follow me.”

 “Yes.”

The path they were walking on was the location where the monster subjugation event took place yesterday. Passing by the spectator’s seat, they moved their steps into the sparsely wooded mountain range. Naturally, as it was a mountain, the slope was quite steep, and the aide’s breathing became naturally rugged as he struggled to keep up. In contrast, Sylvester’s breathing remained calm and steady. Sylvester, who had been walking ahead, stopped abruptly as the aide lagged behind and waited for him.

“Do some exercise.”

“Exercise…time…ugh.”

How could an aide to the Duke of Perdia have time to exercise? And to compare a member of the Four Families to a normal man was ridiculous. He glared at his employer with resentment, but Sylvester didn’t even glance at the aide. Instead, he looked around at the chaos and destruction of the grounds. 

 “Quite the rampage. Carlot.”

The mountain range swept away by Carlot’s ability was in a state of complete devastation as if it had been crushed by a hurricane. With a bit more effort, this area could be turned into a plain. As they walked further, the aide urgently called Sylvester from behind.

“Your Grace! Ugh, an incident has occurred… in the vicinity… ugh, of this place.”

Examining the map, the aide reported. Sylvester noticed the yet-to-be-cleaned bloodstains from the monster that had not been fully dealt with. It seemed like this was the right place. When he was about to investigate the scene more closely, he sensed a presence from afar. The person who appeared was someone he knew well.

“An unexpected encounter.”

Sylvester greeted Leon with a casual remark. Leon reciprocated with a polite greeting.

“It’s been a while, Duke of Perdia.”

“Yeah. What brings you here? This incident shouldn’t be related to you, Duke Kreundel.”

“On a personal note, I find this incident intriguing, so I came back.”

“You must have some free time.”

Making a casual comment, Sylvester examined the scene more closely to find any evidence, but there was nothing conspicuous. Similarly surveying the surroundings, Leon subtly asked Sylvester.

“Is the lady unharmed?”

After entering the tent to use her powers to save the two poisoned people, she lost consciousness and was carried out by Jansi. Leon, who was standing nearby, saw the whole thing. 

 “Yeah. A pale-faced subject, with a mouth that’s as white as a sheet, and a mind that’s still alive.”

Despite saying that, a faint smile appeared on Sylvester’s lips. It revealed how much he cherished his daughter. Before Leon could be surprised by this unexpected aspect, Sylvester added a casual remark.

“But the one who was poisoned is my second son. It seems you are only concerned about my daughter.”

“……I don’t have a close relationship with the second son.

 “Hearing that seems you have a close relationship with Elodie. Has my daughter already become so friendly with you?”

Not wanting to put Elodie in an awkward situation, Leon chose not to answer. Sylvester silently stared at Leon.

“Duke Kreundel. I know what you are planning with my daughter.”

Leon tried his best not to show any signs of surprise at the unexpected words.

“I don’t understand what you’re talking about.”

“Elodie said something about waking someone up, didn’t she?”

 “…….”

“In that case, the price must be the power of the sin the Kreundel family is guarding. The power of sloth, because that would be a dream.”

It was accurate. Sylvester’s speculative words were all true. All Leon could do was maintain his silence. He knew that keeping silent was no different from admitting, but at the moment, it was the best option. Sylvester chuckled briefly and patted Leon’s shoulder twice.

“I’m heading to the royal palace to examine the monster. Will Duke Kreundel join me?”

“No. I have someone I need to meet.”

He didn’t bother to mention that the person he needed to see was Elodie Perdia, who had been the subject of their conversation just moments before. But it occurred to him that the Duke of Perdia’s intelligence might already know. If Sylvester wanted to know, there was no way he wouldn’t. As they returned to where the carriage was, Sylvester turned to Leon and spoke.

 “Ah. No matter how cute Elodie is, I hope you don’t do anything foolish.”

 “You’re worrying for nothing.”

 “If that’s the case, I’m glad.”

 “…….”

Leon couldn’t adapt to Sylvester’s overprotectiveness towards Elodie. He couldn’t fathom why he hadn’t noticed the extent of his daughter’s love before.

***

Given the sensitive nature of the matter, Leon and I arranged to meet directly.

 It was only a day after the poisoning, but I had no choice.

 Jansi insisted on following me out, even though his escort duties were clearly over.

This created an uncomfortable air current with the other escort, Raeyan, and I was stuck in the middle. 

The meeting was at the Somnia branch of the Earth Hawk Mercenaries, a place where we could avoid drawing too much attention.

Upon my request, Raeyan readily provided a room for our meeting.

Jansi, who had followed me, promised to stay out of our way while I talked with Leon.

Arriving first, I greeted the three ace members of the mercenary corps enthusiastically.

Urania stuck close to me, bombarding me with various questions.

“Everyone is talking about Lady Lili, you know? They say you manifested powers. Is it true?”

“I manifested a while ago, but I only revealed it yesterday.”

At that moment, Stephen, who was cleaning his weap*ns with crossed legs, chuckled and asked.

“You’ve been getting up the noses of the humans you normally ignore, Lili, haven’t you?”

 “Did you perhaps put those who used to ignore Lady Lili in their place? Is that right?”

“That’s right.”

“……You’re cool.”

Milo muttered quietly. It was a bit embarrassing that news of my power manifestation had shaken the capital.

Just then, a knock on the door interrupted our conversation.

 “It’s Leon Kreundel.”

 “Come in.”

Leon, who had buttoned up his shirt all the way to the neck, entered the room.

As a result, the three mercenaries who were casually lounging on the sofa promptly left.

Once the door was closed, Leon asked me.

“Who were they?”

“They’re friends.”

“I didn’t know you had mercenary friends.”

“I don’t have noble friends in return.”

It was meant as a joke, but Leon looked at me with a serious expression. What was initially a jest turned into a documentary. Without giving me a chance to explain, Leon sat across from me and asked:

“Are you okay? Your complexion doesn’t look good.”

 “I ate something wrong……. Haha, it’ll get better with time.”

 [Wasn’t the wrong thing you ate poison?]

 ‘Well, yeah.’

If the problem was eating something poisonous, then it was indeed a problem. Despite my less-than-ideal physical condition, I moved on to the main topic without delay.

“So, did you get the confirmation you wanted?”

“Yes. It’s him.”

 “I didn’t realize he was involved in the disappearance.”

My suspicions about Gabe Jenade deepened even more. There was another reason to find out what he was up to.

“So, you saw the south tower master in your sister’s dream?”

 “Yes.”

 “You haven’t seen anyone else besides him?”

 “Yes.”

“The probability of it being related to the south tower seems high.”

Leaving me with his silent gaze, Leon politely expressed his gratitude.

“Thanks to the Lady, the tracking narrowed down to one person. I received significant help this time too.”

“Hmm, Lady?”

Looking at him with crossed arms and a tilted gaze, Leon quickly corrected himself.

 “No, Elodie. It doesn’t stick.”

 “You’ll just have to say it a lot, Leon, because it’s already stuck in my mouth.”

 “I’ll try.”

Leon nodded grimly, like a man who would do the homework he was given. 

Every time I saw Leon like this, I couldn’t help but think of him as a sincere and ethical person.

“Gabe Jenade is someone I also personally find suspicious, so I’m investigating. If there are any peculiarities later on, let’s share information.”

“Understood, Elodie.”

“Let’s end our meeting here today. It would be better for you to leave first, Leon.”

It would be inconvenient if we walked out together and drew attention from other nobles.

Opening the door and stepping into the corridor, I took a step back. It was a gesture for him to go ahead. However, Leon unexpectedly made a sudden move.

 “……!!!”

I swallowed back a scream. His next move was to kiss the back of my hand.

 It was the kind of greeting you’d give your partner at a ball, which meant it wasn’t a normal greeting. 

After a brief kiss, Leon released my hand and took a step back. 

 “I’m under orders not to do anything stupid.”

 “What……?”

“The Duke of Perdia is worried about his daughter. It’s advisable to be cautious.”

I didn’t know why he was suddenly talking about the Duke of Perdia now. But one thing was certain. 

 ‘I take back what I said about being sincere and moral!’

I began to reasonably suspect that this might be his true nature. If so, he might have been making quite a stir behind the scenes…

[Agreed.]

Since even Greed was agreed upon, it was a suspicion that garnered as many as two votes. Leon looked down at me in bewilderment and said a heartfelt goodbye. 

“Well then, I’ll take my leave, Elodie.”

Politely stepping back, Leon turned around and started walking down the corridor. Watching him from a distance, I noticed Rayeyan standing at the end of the hallway.

Since when had he been there?

Although Leon noticed Rayeyan and politely acknowledged his presence, Raeyan ignored him and approached me. Coming to a stop in front of me, Rayeyan confirmed that Leon had disappeared before looking down at me again. 

“…That guy.”

“Huh?”

“What is he doing right now……?”

Rayeyan stumbled over his words, and his gaze was directed at my hand.

‘Ah, he saw it.’

It seemed like he had witnessed Leon kissing the back of my hand. Although there was nothing between the two of us, it felt as if I had been caught in some strange affair. I awkwardly smiled and nonchalantly walked around.

“It’s nothing. Just a greeting, a greeting.”

 “…….”

After an awkward pause, I asked playfully. 

 “What’s wrong, Rayeyan? Are you jealous?”

It was obviously a joke.

“Yes, I am jealous.”

Before I could finish my answer, he approached me. Grabbing my hand, Raeyan rubbed the back of it hard with his thumb, as if he wanted to wipe away every trace of it. 

 “Is that not acceptable?”

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