The carriage’s emblem and the northern great family that had ordered the finest luggage bag.

As the master of the Information Guild, she would surely know the direct lineage of Roberg by heart.

“…That’s right. You must be Miss Liria, the youngest of the Duke’s direct line.”

Indeed, she was quick-witted.

Until now, she had been speaking informally as if dealing with an ordinary child, but she immediately switched to honorifics.

Her subordinates also quietly nodded to Liria in greeting.

Jiana raised her hand, gesturing for the two to leave.

“Now I’d appreciate it if you would tell me. What is your purpose in coming here?”

“I came to meet you, Jiana. My purpose is, of course, to request information.”

At that, Jiana let out a hollow laugh.

“Ha… I don’t know how you found out about this place, but I don’t conduct business this way. Nor do I wish to participate in the games of an esteemed person.”

Though flatly rejected, Liria didn’t feel bad.

It was only natural.

From Jiana’s perspective, Liria’s credibility was zero.

“I know. I also know that all information is traded through bags. But to initiate the first transaction, I had no choice.”

“…Your courage is admirable, but I don’t think I can do business with you, miss.”

Despite the firm refusal, Liria didn’t back down.

Having come this far, she couldn’t just leave.

She still has many cards left.

Now was the time to turn over the first card.

Liria looked straight into Jiana’s eyes and said.

“Doing business with me wouldn’t be a loss for you at all. How old are you now?”

“My personal information is confidential. Even entertaining you like this is something I wouldn’t normally tolerate.”

“Alright. Then I’ll just go with my guess.”

That accident happened before Jiana turned thirty.

‘She looks to be in her late twenties now. That means she’s probably approaching thirty soon.’

“Hasn’t your horse been unwell lately? If left alone, it could become truly dangerous. I have a way to treat it. Let’s go check on your horse’s condition together.”

At Liria’s words, Jiana’s eyes widened, but hiding her surprise, she asked.

“…Where did you hear about that?”

“From someone who knows you.”

Liria answered with a bright smile.

In the original story, Jiana had lost one leg in a riding accident when she was young and lived her entire life with a disability.

She later reminisced about it to Eugene, casually sharing that the incident had become an opportunity for her to become stronger.

But seeing her walking perfectly fine before her eyes now, it seemed better to prevent the accident.

Humans don’t necessarily need to experience pain to grow.

If difficult times can be avoided.

If there’s still plenty of time to set things right.

‘I’m willing to do that.’

Jiana couldn’t begin to guess who had leaked the information about her horse’s poor condition.

“Who is your source of information?”

She asked, biting her lip, but Liria gently shook her head.

“I can’t tell you.”

She lowered her voice and muttered.

“The only ones who would know that much would be the workshop people…”

“It’s not the workshop uncles.”

“Then specifically, where are they from? No, what do they look like?”

“Hmm, I think you’ll have to find that out yourself.”

Liria looked up with sparkling eyes and suggested.

“More importantly, please make me one promise.”

“What are you talking about now?”

“If I cure your horse’s illness, will you do business with me? If I can’t cure it, you don’t have to. How about it, that’s quite fair, isn’t it? Hehe.”

“……”

Though she wasn’t sure what this soft-spoken child was talking about, Jiana narrowed her eyes and thought of Shine.

It was true that his condition had been poor recently.

Deciding to deal with whoever leaked the information after the child left.

“I’ll guide you to the stable for now.”

***

Inside the stable, two horses were tethered.

One was a black horse with a long mane, and the other was a horse with beautiful brown fur.

The name of the problematic horse was.

“Shine, have you been well?”

As Jiana approached, the horse called Shine swished its brown tail and shook its mane with a soft snort.

Its black eyes were particularly moist and shining.

However, belying the name Shine, the horse’s mane didn’t look to be in good condition.

Liria recalled what Jiana had said in the original story.

「It was before I turned thirty. There was a day when I rode hard on my beloved horse named Shine.

That day, his eyes were especially moist, giving the impression he was saying: ‘Let’s run together.’」

They say that before dying, Shine had repeatedly stomped his hind legs in distress.

‘Was it because of such behavior that Jiana knew Shine wasn’t well but still rode with him?’

Liria thought, rolling her eyes slightly.

The loss of luster.

Moist eyes.

Stomping hind legs.

“It’s true that Shine hasn’t been well lately, as you said. I’ve called the veterinarian several times, but they couldn’t find either the cause or a cure.”

“May I approach Shine for a moment?”

“He’s gentle, but be careful.”

“Of course.”

Liria slowly approached while making eye contact with Shine. Then, a sound close to sobbing was heard.

“Kiki, could you check Shine’s hind hooves?”

“Kyuung.”

Kiki, who had been sitting on her shoulder, jumped down and approached Shine’s hind legs.

After checking the hooves, Kiki’s watermelon seed-like eyes grew as big as chocolate balls. Kiki twitched his whiskers, jumped back to Liria, and shook his head repeatedly.

Judging by his reaction, it seemed more serious than expected.

“Jjip! Bit-bi-bi!”

Jiana frowned deeply.

“What is that animal saying?”

“Ah… He says the wound on Shine’s hind hoof is serious.”

“…Pardon? Let me see.”

At Liria’s words, Jiana worriedly checked Shine’s hind hoof.

There was a wound that looked like a bite and red-black blisters rising.

It wasn’t an ordinary wound.

It was a wound from being bitten by a poisonous insect that lives in the deep forests where magical beasts appear. As the poison spreads, the pain gradually increases until one writhes in agony.

In the original story, when the protagonist’s group was attacked by poisonous insects, they were in trouble because the poison spread rapidly.

At that time, Adrian had crushed chicory and applied it to the affected area, which calmed the poison.

“It seems he was stung by a poisonous insect. Poor thing. Wounds from poisonous insects can be treated with an herb called chicory. My pet Kiki has an incredible sense of smell for herbs. He can find that herb in the nearby forest, so would you trust me and leave Shine in my care for a moment?”

Shine whinnied painfully and mournfully. His entire hoof was gradually swelling with the wound.

“Even yesterday, there wasn’t such a severe wound.”

Liria comforted the shocked Jiana.

“It might be a deadly poison that suddenly accelerated. Don’t blame yourself.”

“Alright. Please find any method you can.”

Jiana left the stable for a moment, entrusting Shine to Liria.

“My goodness. This is too serious. If we had been even a little later, it could have been disastrous.”

Liria sighed heavily as she looked at Shine.

If the wound wasn’t treated immediately, the poison could spread throughout the body and become life-threatening.

“Kiki!”

“Bit-bit!”

“We need to use the Healing Key right away.”

Liria, feeling the enormous mana rising in her mana heart, summoned the Healing Key.

Paaah!

She caught the key that was about to jump up, dipped it into a bottle containing holy water, and then took it out.

Shine was now lying on his side, looking weak and droopy.

“Wait just a little. I’ll heal you.”

Liria, praying for Shine’s recovery, firmly held the Healing Key and placed it on the wounded area.

A dazzling light that started from where the Healing Key touched enveloped Shine’s entire body.