By the way, I’m really fortunate to be able to trade with Jiana.
She’s been more helpful than she could have imagined.
She’d like to send her a reward, but if she spends a large sum of money, she’d have to explain to Grandfather where it went.
‘Please wait a little longer, Jiana.’
Liria put the communication device back into the violin case and locked it.
Checking the clock, it was 5 PM.
‘I should go report to Dad as well.’
Liria went to Classid’s office.
But Emmett and an unfamiliar young man were there.
“Lady Liria.”
“Hello, I have something to tell Father.”
“Is that so.”
‘She’s still as small as a chick today.’
Emmett’s inner thoughts came through.
“Yes.”
“There’s a visitor right now. Please wait a moment. Ah, this is Adjutant Locke who will be assisting Young Master Classid. I’ve been temporarily helping with duties, but now I must return to my original position to assist the family head.”
Indeed, Liria knew well that Emmett was busier than anyone.
Still, among Grandfather’s adjutants, there was no one as trustworthy and close as Emmett yet.
People from Emmett’s family, the Okims, were reliable and competent.
‘I wonder if there’s a shortage of talent?’
As she was tilting her head thinking this, Emmett introduced Liria to the young man beside him.
“Say hello. This is Lady Liria, Young Master Classid’s daughter.”
‘She’s as cute as I heard. Those soft cheeks…!’
Hearing Locke’s inner thoughts, Liria fidgeted with her hands in embarrassment.
“Pleased to meet you. I’m Locke Okims!”
But upon hearing Okims, her eyes lit up brightly.
The Okims name was one you could trust.
Approved!
“Yes, nice to meet you. You’re Aide Emmett’s younger brother, right?”
Locke had the impression of a naive, simple country youth.
His image was completely different from the sharp, intellectual city man that Emmett was, so she couldn’t think of them as being from the same family.
At Liria’s smiling remark, Emmett’s expression momentarily froze in shock, and Locke couldn’t hold back his laughter and went “Pfft.”
“I’m sorry, Miss. I’m actually four years older.”
“You’re mistaken, Miss.”
‘Me, the younger brother…’
“Hehe, A-Adjutant Locke  looks so young that I was confused.”
Just as Liria was breaking out in a sweat, the office door opened.
Upon seeing Liria, Classid subtly raised the corners of his mouth.
Since he rarely smiled, it was practically a beaming smile.
“…Liria?”
‘It’s nice to see my daughter’s face in the office.’
Liria smiled at his inner thoughts, but then her face became determined again as she thought of Adrian.
“Yes, Dad! I have something to report.”
“Let’s talk inside.”
“Yes!”
Liria conveyed the information she had gathered from her visit to Conrad’s palace today, and even drew the location of Noah’s room with her clumsy skill.
After examining it for a while, Classid asked in surprise and disbelief.
“Liria, did you really find all this out by yourself?”
‘To have gathered such important information in such a short time… I’m worried that my daughter might have put herself in danger.’
In response to his inner thoughts as he rubbed his chin, Liria offered an excuse.
“Before returning a notebook dropped by Conrad’s servant, I peeked at it quickly. It had written where and when he was going! And I met the maids right nearby. I was lucky.”
“…Is that so? But it’s true that you’re smart enough to have heard and remembered everything well. Plus, you’ve organized it very nicely.”
Tilting his head casually at Liria’s answer, Classid now harbored a different doubt.
‘Even if she was lucky with the information, how did she think to map out the room location and draw a floor plan? And to organize everything neatly and report it to me so perfectly…’
Her handling of the matter was remarkably efficient.
‘Are such things written in storybooks too?’
“L-Liria draws pictures and writes in her sketchbook every day! So I wanted to show it to Dad in a way that would be easy for you to see. Did I do well?”
Liria pretended to be an innocent child, making her eyes sparkle brightly as she leaned forward.
Seemingly satisfied with this explanation, Classid stroked Liria’s head.
“…You did very well. It’s been a great help.”
“Hehe…”
Liria also smiled brightly at her father’s satisfied smile and praise.
‘Liria’s diary and drawings… I’m curious…’
Liria pretended not to hear Classid’s inner thoughts and breathed a sigh of relief.
‘It seems harder to pretend to be a normal six-year-old than to gather information.’
Classid said, “Now we just need to wait for Friday to come.”
Liria nodded.
“I’ll be going now, Dad.”
Suddenly, he stood up as if he had just remembered something.
“Wait. I bought this on my way back from town yesterday… Here it is.”
After rummaging through his coat pocket for a while, Classid pulled out a paper bag and handed it to Liria.
“Wow, what is this?”
“I thought of you.”
When she opened the bag, it smelled savory and sweet.
It was filled with round, fluffy pastries.
When she quickly took a bite, soft cream filling flowed out abundantly.
“It tastes like happiness, Dad. I’ll enjoy it!”
Only then did Classid smile at the corners of his mouth before focusing back on his official duties.
Pitter-patter.
Her footsteps were light on the way back.
She hadn’t realized that visiting her Dad’s office could be such a pleasant experience.
She should drop by more often from now on.

***

A printing shop building located in a corner of the Imperial Capital.
However, its true identity was a private agency specializing in illegal ledger manipulation.
Between the many desks, employees with bloodshot eyes were constantly moving their hands busily, creating documents.
“How many times do I have to tell you that the submission deadline is in two days!”
Bang!
Despite Osdel slamming the desk, the employee continued writing documents with vacant eyes like a soulless person.
“This is actually work that requires at least two weeks, so we’re trying our best, but…”
At that, Osdel grabbed the employee by the collar with a murderous look, glaring at him fiercely.
“…Kugh, kuhack. P-please spare me.”
As the employee’s face turned pale blue from the pain of being choked, Osdel released his collar.
“I-I’ll try somehow.”
Trembling, he quickly crawled back onto his chair and resumed working.
“Making the impossible possible is your job. Use additional personnel if necessary to complete it no matter what. Otherwise, I won’t stand idle.”
The office atmosphere grew cold at his threat.
Even for a fraud group that manipulated illegal ledgers for money,
Everyone was suffering from working overnight for days without going home due to the client’s excessive demands.
But thinking they might die if they didn’t complete it, everyone was working like zombies.
As Osdel roughly ran his hand through his hair, the agency director, Baron Grey, approached him, bowing his head subserviently.
“Oh my, Lord Osdel, I understand your urgency, but please calm down and go back. Our employees will complete it by tomorrow, so don’t worry.”
“If it had been made perfectly in the first place, this wouldn’t have happened. You know how important this investment is, don’t you? If you want to receive the commission properly, handle the work correctly.”
“Of course, I know very well. But haven’t you gained a lot of profit thanks to us handling your work for the past three years?”