Aaron carefully lifted Eileen into his arms. He intended to head to the bed like this.

But.

“Master! Master Aaron!”

Before they even reached the bed, a familiar yet quite ominous voice rang out loudly.

“Hah.”

Aaron sighed deeply and brushed his bangs up. He wanted to ignore it, but Eileen was giving him a look that said he should go check.

“……I’ll be right back.”

Aaron reluctantly put Eileen down, then gathered and put on his clothes. If it wasn’t something important, he wouldn’t let them off easily. With that thought, Aaron left the bedroom.

“What is it?”

“Master, Jackson has arrived!”

“……Let’s go back to Monston family.”

Though he was still annoyed, Jackson coming at this hour meant he had found an important clue.

“This way, Master.”

Liam guided him to a carriage that had been prepared in advance. Aaron’s carriage left the Ceres residence and arrived at the Monston family home faster than usual.

When the coachman’s voice announced their arrival, Aaron got out of the carriage and strode purposefully toward the reception room.

“Ma-Master! You’ll fall! Please walk slowly!”

Those strides were so fierce it was frightening.

Liam barely managed to keep up with Aaron, who was walking as if he might break something.

“Tsk. Am I surrounded by nothing but tactless fools?”

Whether Liam called out to him or not, Aaron heard nothing. He was only irritated at having his time with Eileen taken away.

Aaron clicked his tongue briefly and quickened his pace.

He needed to resolve this quickly and return to Eileen.

“Open it.”

Upon reaching the reception room, Aaron ordered the servant standing in front of the door.

“Y-Yes!”

The servant trembled as he opened the door. Warm sunlight was gently streaming into the reception room.

Of course, Jackson, kneeling in the middle of it, was far from warm.

“Jackson. What are you doing?”

He didn’t like being disturbed, but it wasn’t something that required kneeling.

If this was urgent enough to call him like this, it could only be related to Eileen.

Aaron, who could show leniency for that reason, tilted his head in confusion.

“Master, I’m truly sorry.”

“Hmm? What do you mean?”

As Aaron’s head tilted more and more askew, fear washed over him.

Jackson swallowed hard and painfully forced his reluctant lips to move.

“Amber de Rozley has escaped.”

“……”

He couldn’t breathe. It felt like he would die from lack of air. It would be better if he could get angry, but his master didn’t say a word.

“Um, Master.”

If he maintained this silence too, they would clearly be here all day.

Moreover, shouldn’t he take Aaron to the inn right away?

Jackson bit his lip nervously and carefully opened his mouth.

“First, I had anticipated Count Rozley’s betrayal and had people watching him, and we’re doing our best to find Amber.”

He had taken all possible measures within his authority.

Jackson continued speaking while subtly rolling his eyes. Aaron still seemed subdued, but he looked better than before. Breathing a sigh of relief, Jackson brought up the main point.

“……Actually, there’s one more thing I’d like to tell you, Master.”

At his words, Aaron gestured for him to go ahead.

“I think I’ve found a clue about the black-haired person.”

When Jackson finished speaking, Aaron approached him and extended his hand.

“Get up.”

“Thank you, Master.”

His legs were a bit numb, but it was bearable. It ended much more gently than he had imagined.

“I found the inn where the suspected culprit stayed.”

Jackson finally stood up and patted his legs as he spoke.

“The location.”

“It’s about one or two hours by carriage from here.”

One or two hours…

Aaron slowly closed his eyes. To think that the person who had caused Eileen such difficulty was just one or two hours away.

He loosened the tie that was choking him and said,

“Let’s depart immediately.”

* * *

The sudden visit from Liam, Aaron leaving with annoyance despite his reluctance.

The storm that had come early in the morning quickly departed.

“Well, I should get to work too.”

As the Ceres residence returned to its original tranquility, Eileen went to the study.

Aaron had said he would return, but it seemed like a promise that couldn’t be kept.

“What I need to do today is……”

Eileen rolled her eyes to look at the pile of documents stacked on the desk.

Every day, even as she resolved one by one, the paperwork didn’t decrease but endlessly increased.

“Really. I achieved my dream of being a wealthy person of leisure, yet here I am, giving myself trouble.”

Eileen let out a self-deprecating sigh. Then she reached out and picked up the first document.

Anyway, today was the optimal day to work without any worries.

“Hmm……”

Shut away in the study, Eileen continued checking the documents.

The tower-like stack of papers gradually decreased one by one.

Just as her eyes were becoming dry, a knock was heard.

“Yes, Mary. Come in.”

It was about time for Mary to bring tea, saying she should take a break.

Eileen put down the document she was holding and spoke.

“Eileen, I’m so sorry.”

But the person who opened the door and entered wasn’t Mary, but Bella.

Bella spoke with a voice full of mischief.

“I’m Bella, not Mary.”

“Oh? Bella!”

At this unexpected visitor, Eileen’s eyes grew round.

“Eileen, are you feeling better now?”

“Ah……”

Come to think of it, they hadn’t met since that incident.

A bitter smile crossed her face at the memory that flashed through her mind.

But Eileen quickly put on a smile.

It would be a waste of time to spend emotions recalling those who had betrayed the Ceres family.

“Eileen, it’s a bit awkward to say this when we’re meeting after so long.”

As a smile settled back on Eileen’s face, Bella raised her lips and said,

“Let’s go somewhere with me right now.”

* * *

“Business confidentiality means I won’t talk about guests. How many times do I have to say it!”

The innkeeper glared at his visitors with a displeased expression.

“Get out of here!”

Then he started filling a bucket with water and splashing it.

“What are you doing right now!”

Jackson, who barely avoided the water, shouted at the innkeeper.

“I’m driving away unwelcome guests! What are you going to do about it!”

But the innkeeper paid no attention and shouted even louder.

“Is it so difficult to talk about that man?”

“I told you there was no such man!”

The report had mentioned he was uncooperative, but to think he would go this far.

Jackson groaned while holding his forehead.

“Jackson.”

Aaron, who had been standing silently, slowly opened his mouth.

“I’ll handle this, so step back.”

“But Master! If you get splashed with water…!”

“It’s fine. Step back.”

When Aaron spoke firmly, Jackson had no choice but to obey.

“Wh-What!”

As Aaron approached with determined strides, the innkeeper flinched and backed away.

The atmosphere was completely different from Jackson, whom he had just driven away.

I’m going to get eaten alive.

The moment he met those chilling purple eyes, he knew.

“D-Do you want to get splashed too?”

The innkeeper gripped the bucket tightly and pretended to be strong. If he didn’t do this, he felt he might collapse.

“Do you think someone like you could splash me with water?”

Aaron paid no mind to the innkeeper’s outburst. Instead, he forcefully took the bucket from his hands.

“Wh-Why are you speaking informally when we just met! You look young!”

“I believe you spoke informally first.”

Aaron chuckled and threw the bucket away. It hit a stone and made a crashing sound as it crumpled miserably.

It was as if he was saying he would do the same to anyone who resisted.

“Speak now.”

“I-I don’t know what you’re talking about?!”

Despite his obvious fear, the innkeeper refused to answer until the end.

He couldn’t betray the money he had received to keep the secret.

“Anyway! There was never anyone with black hair staying at our inn, and even if there was, I couldn’t tell you! That’s all!”

No matter how much you threaten or intimidate me, I won’t talk.

The innkeeper said his piece and turned sharply.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

Aaron reached out and grabbed the man’s shoulder.

“Ugh….. Don’t interfere with my business…!”

He grabbed so forcefully that it made the man groan in pain. The innkeeper tried to pull Aaron’s hand off, but it was futile.

“I don’t know what you’re relying on.”

“Aagh…!”

“I’m a person with little patience, so it would be better to speak while I’m still asking nicely.”

As the grip grew stronger, screams erupted along with tears.

At the same time, he felt the terror that his shoulder blade might break.

“I’ll talk, I’ll tell you everything I know!”

In the face of fear, both money and the vow to never speak became useless.

Finally, the innkeeper gave in.

“I don’t understand why everyone who takes money is so uncooperative.”

Hearing the satisfying answer at last, Aaron released his grip.

“My shoulder…!”

As the pain subsided, the innkeeper sat down and rubbed his shoulder.

It would probably bruise, but fortunately, it wasn’t broken.

“If you hadn’t insisted on keeping some ridiculous trust and loyalty, you wouldn’t have had to be in such pain.”

Aaron gave him a look without a trace of sympathy.

That gaze was so piercing it almost brought tears to his eyes.

The innkeeper held back his tears and parted his lips to tell the truth.

Around the time Aaron was intimidating the innkeeper.