CH 62

“Usually, it was just ‘I don’t like it,’ but today, his eyes look like he’s warning me that he will chew me up soon. This is my sense as a knight.”

Really?

“I’m fine…”

It was the same as usual in her eyes, so she shook her head. Adler groaned and returned to the story.

“Then maybe I’m sensitive today. But I’m grateful that Sir Leone just sits here and listens to me.”

“I don’t think he is listening. Still, it’s good that he sits on the sofa.”

“Sure. I guess I forgot the hardships of the past. After all, people are greedy.”

She didn’t know if the fact that Leone was sitting quietly was something that could lead to such self-reflection, but Adler nodded as if he was satisfied with that.

“Anyway, don’t be sorry.”

“Still, I… I’m ashamed.”

“It’s okay. It’s not your fault.”

“Yes? What do you mean?”

“There are villains who approach people with intentions to bully them. You are just a victim.”

She was just a victim and those people were bad. This reasonable logic and accurate judgment was better than any judge, so fair and just.

“Thank you.”

“The problem is that the person sitting at the top of them is the person who is targeting Sir Leone, so there is a problem if our information leaks into them.”

“Yes?”

“Trixie. You know that Leone is in danger, right? There have been times when assassins have invaded.”

“Yes…”

What? Was he trying to tell me about the villain archduke?

“He has more influence within the Empire than either I or the Emperor. People who want to look good to him are piled up like a mountain, and they are stratified in a pyramid structure.”

“Yes…”

“His knapsacks really run wild. Illegal gambling, human trafficking, kidnapping, strangling, cheating… A lot.”

“Oh my God.”

“The upper part of the pyramid doesn’t touch these things at all. I just look at the things the bottom class has made and take out useful information.”

“Are you saying that the Count is ‘him’’s helper?”

She knew that there was Archduke Evans behind Count Bucket, the sexual predator, but this was the first time she had heard of the pyramid. Come to think of it, in the novels, Archduke Evans always held a lot of useless information. Almost everyone seemed to know how many spoons were in their house and what they had for lunch today. That’s how it flowed.

“Yes. Fortunately, the characters at the top of the pyramid never appeared… Maybe this is a scam by one of the guys.”

“I see.”

“But, as I said before, if information flows from that Cunt to that person, that will be a bit of a problem… It’s not Trixie’s fault, though. It can only be seen as a cause. Haha.”

In the end, if Leone’s information spreads out there, then it means that they would blame her…! It gave her goosebumps as sShe pictured a future in which Adler resented her. How persistently did he curse?

“Well, then shouldn’t you let go of that Count?”

She opened her mouth in a worried voice. If the Count relayed information to the top of the pyramid, Adler would have a problem that worries him.

“No, I think I should let go…”

But on the other hand, that was also a problem. If it was a group that communicated so smoothly that the information from the lower layer of the pyramid could be transmitted so well, it seemed suspicious that the Count had been imprisoned and disappeared without news.

“How do I do it?”

“I will take care of it.”

“Yes?”

“It wouldn’t be a very pleasant story. Do you want to hear it?”

“…hmm. No.”

Although he  was righteous, he was the strongest knight. He went through a lot of prenatal battles in his work, and was a man who did not hesitate to cut his life like a knight. She thought it would be a very primitive way to handle it on its own.

“But killing… isn’t it? I think that would be rewarded that way.”

“You can’t kill them, can you? They are also quite dangerous creatures. It’s lightly intimidating and enticing.”

“…yes.”

She didn’t want to know more.

“Anyway, things are going badly.”

“Sorry. Again, I am a nuisance.”

“No. It’s not your fault. It was something I was going to experience anyway.”

Adler sighed. Somehow the atmosphere became heavy.

“Looks like it’s time to talk. You may be wondering why we are walking on such dangerous thin ice.”

What was this mood?! No way… Was he trying to reveal that Leone was the prince?!

“I’m not saying this because I completely trust you, but because you have an inseparable relationship with Sir Leone. You have to be careful in many ways when entering the capital, so it’s good to know.”

“Why are you so cautious?”

“It’s something to be careful about.”

“I’m dying of curiosity.”

Since she already knew it, she wasn’t curious at all, so her tone naturally became awkward. How to react? Should she open her eyes wide and harden as it was? Ha ha ha, should she laugh? No. What she did before in a crisis situation was to act, but now she had to pretend she didn’t know what she knew.

Besides, just looking at it, she couldn’t do dirty acting. Should she fall back in surprise? No. Let’s jump up while saying ‘yeah?’ And then you go around the room pretending to be embarrassed.

“You will be surprised, but listen calmly.”

“Yes, yes.”

Okay. Actions were a hundred times better than words. She made a route in her head. Very carefully.

“Sir Leone…”

Gulp. Adler swallowed. It was a visibly tense face.

“The Atarta Empire… He is the first prince.”

“Yeah- what!?”

Quaang, puck.

She overlooked the distance to the table. It was nice to get up and say yes, but she never thought she would hit her knees this hard. She had to hug her knees and sit back on the sofa.

“Ouch.”

“Tricksy?”

“It’s okay, Leone. Haha.”

“You seem very surprised. It deserves it.”

It was just stupid, but in Adler’s eyes it was natural. Okay. Her knees would be bruised, but she has fooled Adler perfectly, and this was a cheap price to pay.

“It is nonsense. So, have I treated His Highness all this time while serving him?!”

Again and again. A low pitched voice like Leone’s came out. It was like a talking doll.

“Yes. But Lord Leone liked it, so let’s skip that issue and move on.” *

“Go, thank you.”

“Whoa… Lord Leone came here, so the plan went wrong.”

“That’s what I mean. How did you get to Stud right away?”

Adler’s judgment was curious. Leone was lost in that vast mountain, and he came to Stud without panic.

“Until now, Lord Leone had never disappeared after something, even if he had escaped. But this time, it seems that he disappeared after something. The only thing we left behind, I thought, was Trixie.”

“Aha…”

“Anyway, I was keeping Trixie out of sight. It’s ruined.”

“Can’t we just go ahead and do it again?”

“To do that, we need to stay away for at least ten days, but without Trixie, Lord Leone is likely to escape again.”

That’s right. Even before this vacation, she reassured Leone, but he did come after her. It was a really irrefutable reason.

“Inevitably, the three of us will enter the capital side by side.”

Wow, that’s the worst!

“Adler, if you think about it another way, what should we do?”

She begged desperately to persuade him, but Adler shook his head.

“Actually, I don’t have much time either. The enemy’s information network is wide and dense. That’s why I don’t like the fact that the Count is here… If they even find out that Leone is in this mansion, it will be difficult to defend. It was difficult even in the imperial castle.”

“It seems urgent…”

No, but it’s like that, side by side. As Adler said, the power of the villain archduke in the novel was enormous, and he was always watching Leone. So Adler’s words were true but…

‘A woman they don’t know entered the capital with Count Adler and Prince Leone…’

She couldn’t help but notice, ‘Here~ There is a commoner woman with interesting material~! The strongest chance to criticize the prince! Investigate now!’

“Anyway, it’s a headache to see the three of us enter together.”

Indeed. Her head felt like it would break too.

“I’d rather openly advertise that it’s the prince’s march and do it with splendour, but the number of people increases and it’s easier for enemies to hide. I don’t think Lord Leone can’t stand it.”

“I know, right. The kid will be in trouble.”

“I can- I can.”

Leone, who hadn’t said anything until now, suddenly interrupted. It seemed like they were hurting his pride as yesterday.

“Sure, Lord Leone! Leone can do it! Sorry! Leone just has a delicate sensibility! That Adler was short-tempered!”

‘No, the eight-legged father. You were serious until just now.’

“Leone. It will make a very loud noise. There will be a lot of people there. Everyone will stare at you. Can you sit and hold on in the meantime?”

She sighed and comforted Leone. Her child has developed a strange stubbornness along with pride.

“…Trixie, if there is you I can.”

“Really?”

“Huh.”

“Lie.”

She looked straight into Leone’s eyes and said sternly. Leone, who faced her, suddenly smiled softly.

“It’s not a lie.”

The smile on his well-groomed and beautiful face was very lovely.

‘It’s a surprise.’

When he suddenly laughed, she felt strange. Feeling like birds chirping in her stomach. Could this be… Was it an upset stomach? She hadn’t moved too much since she came to this mansion. It’s just that it’s less digestible. She turned her head and looked at Adler.

“Anyway, marching must be difficult.”

“Yes. Even if Leone is okay, there is one more problem. Even though Leone is the only prince, he has never properly revealed himself to the public or to the nobles. Because of that, it is difficult to show a sudden change.”

“That…”

She guessed that it didn’t matter. Rather, if that handsome prince was revealed, wouldn’t public sentiment be drawn to the royal family?

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Translator Note:

* Until now I’ve ben translating ‘nim’ or ‘sama’ as ‘Sir’ since Trixie ‘didn’t know’ Leone was a prince. But from this chapter ther will be more nobles so I will use ‘Lord’ when talking about some characters.

Also, next week I will take a little vacation so there won’t be any new release of this story. Trixie aventures will come back in May. See you then!!