At that moment, the communication device he had placed in his robe rang.

It was a call from his father, Duke Roberg.

“…What terrible timing.”

Well, it didn’t matter now since he could reach him whenever he wanted.

Osdel quickly left his office connected to the dark underground passage and twisted his lips.

No one would easily guess that Prince Adrian was hidden in the Roberg ducal residence.

With delight at this fact, Osdel twisted his lips and left his office.

***

Jorge Leather Workshop.

On the surface, it was a high-end workshop serving high-ranking nobles as clients, but underground was the hideout of the Information Guild.

To request information, one had to order a custom bag with a minimum price of 1 million Lutz.

They say that once they accept a commission, they place the desired information inside the bag, securely lock it with magic, and then deliver it directly through the workshop artisan.

The workshop artisan never speaks about the information.

They simply make the bags and deliver them.

No matter who the client was, Jiana never met them in person.

All commissions and information were traded only through specially crafted magical bags.

This was Jiana’s method.

So Liria got a hint from the method Adrian used in the original story.

That was to request a bag repair.

When ordering a bag, the workshop would load it onto a carriage and bring it out.

Taking note of this, Adrian approached it with reverse thinking.

If you request a bag repair, it works in the opposite way, allowing you to easily enter from outside into the leather workshop despite its tight security.

Without using this method and trying to meet Jiana directly, one would have to face five layers of shields and dozens of guards, even if they knew the password.

“I should use this too!”

Fortunately, all of Roberg’s luggage bags were made at the Jorge Leather Workshop.

She had seen them before when Butler Leyman gave her a tour of the main residence, passing by a room used as storage.

Jorge Leather Workshop bags were easily identifiable.

They had a logo made from Jorge’s initial ‘J’ and iris patterns repeated like a pattern.

The next morning, as soon as Liria woke up, she went to check the carriage parked at the annex.

Just as she had requested from Head Maid Anna yesterday, a large luggage bag was prepared.

Indeed, it was a bag large enough for two people of Liria’s small build to fit inside.

However, the bag was too perfect to be taken in for repairs.

After staring at the moved bag for a while, Liria struggled to roll and drop it, but it wouldn’t budge.

Just then, Ralph the coachman discovered Liria.

“Isn’t that Miss Liria?”

“Ah, Mr. Coachman. Please help me.”

“What can I help you with?”

“Please hit this bag’s handle with a hammer!”

“Eh? But that would break it.”

“Yes, please break it. And keep this a secret between us. Shh!”

“Well, if you need a new bag, you could just ask for one.”

“No, I just want to replace the handle.”

Thinking it was just a child’s whim, Ralph eventually damaged the handle as Liria requested after much hesitation.

“Phew, done!”

With Ralph’s help, once the handle was broken, Liria unhesitatingly climbed inside the bag.

She didn’t close it completely, leaving a small gap for air.

In fact, the method Adrian used in the original story to approach the Guild Master was more meticulous and complex.

As a magical master who had reached the highest level in Portal, Adrian disabled dozens of layers of security magic and then completely modified the bag with magic.

It was possible thanks to obtaining the high-level information that the Guild Master Jiana personally handled repairs for these special bags.

The moment Jiana opened the bag, the connected portal activated, and Adrian entered the Master’s room.

At first, Jiana tried to kill Adrian for breaking through the ironclad security of her magical bags, which were her livelihood, but eventually, she highly valued his skills and courage, and they began their first transaction.

***

Liria had left a note on Marit’s table earlier.

「Marit, I have a favor to ask.

Please visit Jorge Leather Workshop by 11 AM and take the luggage bag loaded on the carriage for repair. The opening part is giving trouble!

Oh, I’ll be going out for a special lesson. I’d be happy if you bought me strawberry pudding on your way back.」

Exactly 30 minutes later.

Marit boarded the carriage and told the coachman.

“Please take me to Jorge Leather Workshop. And drive carefully so the bag doesn’t get damaged.”

Clop, clop.

Thanks to Marit’s instructions, the carriage didn’t jolt too much.

There was no motion sickness or discomfort.

However, sitting quietly in the darkness was a bit scary.

Still, having Kiki in the front pocket of her dress was somewhat reassuring.

The wheels of the quietly running carriage gradually slowed down and eventually came to a complete stop.

As the carriage door opened, light streamed in through the gap.

And then came the voice of a man from the leather workshop.

“Please wait in the drawing room for a moment. You can fill out the repair request form inside. Meanwhile, we’ll take the bag in and examine it.”

The pressure of someone trying to lift the bag and someone else pushing it down was fully felt by Liria inside.

‘Huh? Is Marit stopping them? Why is she stopping them? And she’s so strong.’

Liria tilted her head in confusion.

‘Marit, you haven’t noticed I’m in here, have you?’

“Can’t I explain the parts that need repair inside?”

“According to regulations, only bags can be brought into the workshop repair room. I apologize.”

“Fine, I’ll wait here while you examine it.”

“Yes, we’ll guide you when you’re ready.”

The man gave a businesslike response and finally took only the bag with Liria inside.

The man effortlessly moved the luggage bag into the guild’s underground interior and soon disappeared.

Liria remained quiet with her round eyes wide open.

Knock, knock, knock.

Then someone knocked on the outside of the bag.

It seemed they were checking if something was inside.

So Liria swallowed hard and bravely knocked four times.

Knock, knock, knock, knock.

“…! There’s something inside.”

A man with a thick, rough voice reported, and a woman with a clear voice commanded.

“Open it up.”

“……”

Then there was silence again.

They were probably exchanging glances.

When Adrian first jumped out of the portal and confronted Jiana, he was almost attacked.

Being a natural Eternal awakener with excellent swordsmanship and combat skills, he easily avoided the incoming attacks.

‘I can’t fight. In times like this, there’s a best approach.’

With a determined face, Liria untied the baby handkerchief that Marit had tied around her neck.

***

At Viscount Jade’s mansion.

“Dad, hurry! I want to check my power quickly.”

Viscount Jade carefully unwrapped the bandage from Natasha’s right arm. There was a black mark engraved on the back of her hand. Since mana circuits connect along the body’s blood vessels, marks were usually engraved on prominent veins like the back of the hand, foot, or neck. The back of the hand was the easiest and least painful area, and the marks would only appear when casting magic.

“It doesn’t hurt anymore, right?”

“Of course not. It didn’t hurt much, even when the dark magic energy was infused.”

Natasha opened and closed her hand to show, then immediately gathered mana in the room to try using magic.

Whoosh.

A beautiful blue bird was summoned and spread its wings to fly.

Seeing this, Natasha hugged Viscount Jade tightly.

“Dad, look at this. No heir child has ever manifested such magic, right?”

“Oh… Lord Osdel’s dark magic is truly amazing! It looks just like real magic.”

Viscount Jade clicked his tongue in admiration.