His old friend, Keith Mildrain. Because he didn’t allow men to use his first name, everyone called his surname as if it were his given name.
The prodigal son of the southern Marquis Mildrain family, or pirate, peddler, treasure hunter, and suspicious pharmacist. He had many descriptors.
Now he looked more like a drunken vagrant.
Classid removed the hood he had worn to conceal his appearance.
Then he spoke directly.
“I need Dragon’s Breath.”
Dragon’s Breath was a potion made by condensing a dragon’s mana.
Classid, who hated being indebted to anyone, had tried to solve the problem himself by searching through auction houses across the country, but in the end, he couldn’t find the potion and came to Mildrain as a last resort.
No matter how powerful an ordinary magic tool was, one had to consume a certain amount of their own mana in the process of connecting to the mana.
But by drinking dragon’s mana, one could use magic without consuming any of their own mana.
The pain and blood coughing he experienced after using magic last time…
The doctor had strictly warned him not to strain himself by using powerful magic anymore.
But was there a way for him, a magician, to protect Liria without using magic?
He could become a swordsman and train steadily to handle aura, but it was no match for magic.
He was born a Roberg, destined to use magic.
So after pondering alone, this was the solution he came up with.
Mildrain was someone who lived freely by selling treasures and byproducts obtained from his past piracy and dungeon raids.
According to rumors, he had recently acquired a large amount of frozen dragon’s mana from an ancient dungeon he discovered for the first time, and had manufactured it into a potion.
At Classid’s words, he frowned deeply.
“After four years, you come and say, give me Dragon’s Breath? You’re a complete thief.”
“…I’m sorry. I’ll compensate you as much as needed.”
“I don’t know how you found out, but even for you, you shouldn’t take its value lightly…!”
Classid quietly pulled up his top, revealing a hideous wound on his heart.
Mildrain opened his mouth in disbelief and trembled.
“…D-d-did this happen during the recent monster subjugation? D*mn it!”
Classid ran his tongue over his dry lips and nodded.
“As you can see, I’ve become unable to properly use mana. No, I don’t even know how many days I have left to live.”
Classid showed a self-deprecating smile.
“…Well, they say you never know what will happen in life. This is maddening.”
Mildrain clenched his fist and looked at Classid with pity.
“To protect my daughter Liria before I die, I need Dragon’s Breath. How much do you have?”
At Classid’s question, Mildrain went to the warehouse after a while and brought back a sack.
The big fellow’s eyes had reddened.
“This is all I brought from the ancient dungeon. Use it only when absolutely necessary. If you don’t want to die! I feel like I’d be cursed if I took payment for this, so just go before I change my mind!”
“Thank you. I’ll send compensation by carriage soon.”
Classid took the sack and boarded a carriage, departing for his destination.

***

While Dad is away, she needs to prepare diligently, too.
Before initiating the full operation, she first needs to get definite information about Noah from Conrad’s palace. She told her Dad that she learned Noah had become a servant through the staff, but…
They’ve probably issued orders to hide Noah’s existence from the staff while keeping it hushed externally.
To prevent anyone from seeing Noah’s eyes.
And to summarize what she needs to know again…
1. Whether Conrad has a schedule where he leaves the annex palace empty
Now that the family meeting is over, Grandfather should be sending Conrad on a field trip soon…
If there’s no empty schedule, we’ll have to wait until Conrad goes on the field trip.
2. The location of the room where Noah is imprisoned
She knows Noah is imprisoned in Conrad’s palace, but she doesn’t know the exact location—whether it’s in a warehouse or an attic.
If she knows which room in advance, Kiki can approach Noah while avoiding the staff’s eyes as much as possible.
Then they can grasp the internal situation in more detail.
And she should share this information with Noah, too.
She wrote a simple note and packed it in her bag.
“…All done. Shall we go now?”
Liria slung her white bear bag over her shoulder and left the annex palace.
She was going to hover around Conrad’s annex palace to hear information from the staff.
Since it was quite a distance to walk from her palace, she took Ralph’s carriage and got off halfway.
She could see a gardener trimming trees in the garden in front of Conrad’s annex palace, along with a direct servant, helpers, maids, and even two guard knights.
‘…Being the eldest son, he has quite a number of staff. Which room is Adrian in, I wonder?’
Rolling her eyes and pacing at the entrance, Liria’s gaze met with a laundry maid who had just come out.
“Greetings to Lady Liria.”
‘Oh, it’s the little miss. Did she take a wrong turn? Why is she here?’
“Hello. I was just passing by and admiring the palace. Is Brother Conrad inside?”
“Yes. The young master is with Lady Ibnis. If you want to meet him, you should first inquire with his direct servant, Mr. Rubein, who’s inside.”
‘Though the young master probably won’t meet her anyway…’
It seemed that Conrad’s schedule was managed by someone named Rubein.
“Mmm, I’ll ask. By the way, is that rumor going around this palace true?”
Liria whispered softly, as if worried someone might hear.
“Pardon? What rumor?”
“Rumor has it that someone heard a strange boy’s scream from this annex palace. Some even say they saw a boy with his eyes covered…”
‘Surely the rumor about that child being confined hasn’t spread widely? I told them to keep quiet for now…!’
“Miss, where on earth did you hear that rumor?”
‘Who could have leaked this?’
“Some passing maid sisters were saying so.”
“Which passing maids?”
“I don’t know.”
Liria rolled her eyes, pretending to be an innocent child, and then made a sad face.
“Then that rumor is true. I’m scared… Why was that child screaming?”
“What? No, no, it’s all false rumors!”
The maid waved her hands dismissively, but after pondering Liria’s words, she frowned briefly.
‘Did someone hear the sound when the young master was tormenting that child? The young master is a bit strange, too. What’s with keeping that child confined next to his room every day, sticking close to monitor him…’
Having heard the information she wanted, Liria’s eyes sparkled as she waved her hand at the laundry maid.
“I have to go now. I’m so relieved if it’s not true.”
“Yes, and if anyone else spreads rumors, please tell them it’s absolutely not true.”
“Mmm. I will.”
‘Whew, I should tell the others to watch their words too.’
The laundry maid, seeming uncomfortable, took the laundry and disappeared to the washing place.
‘So Adrian is confined next to Conrad’s room. It must be the room with the terrace on the second floor of Conrad’s palace.’
Liria glanced briefly at Conrad’s palace and opened her bag to ask Kiki.
“Kiki, while I talk to that man, go inside. Noah seems to be confined next to the room with the terrace on the second floor. Deliver this.”
Liria then approached the man named Rubein.
He was pretending not to see her, even though she had come right up to him.
“Excuse me!”
“Yes? Oh, who do we have here? Lady Liria?”
Only after Liria called out loudly did he respond, with a look that suggested she was quite bothersome, and his inner thoughts became audible.
‘Why is this little kid here? I’m dying of busyness…’