Chapter 129

“...Have you received any news from Dida?”

It had been two weeks since Dida had departed, but we hadn’t heard from him at all.

As time passed, we couldn’t help but begin to worry.

“No.”

“Well, then. How about the other research teams?”

“The safety on the streets seems to have gotten worse. To this day no report has come in, probably because local residents are afraid of the Boltique family. There’s also the possibility that they’ve formed some kind of mutually beneficial partnership with officials.”

“I see...what does the Boltique family want? Do they want to stand against me...no, against Duke Armenia’s family?”

“I don’t think that’s likely. For an organization like this that has been powerful since long ago, there’s no reason for them to suddenly start acting up.”

“That’s also true...then the only thing I can think of is that someone is acting out under the name of the Boltique family.”

“Milady, there’s more news to report.”

“What is it?”

“Dawson seems to be moving toward the east.”

“...Huh?”

“This morning he left from the capital. I thought that he was going back to the capital, but he seems intent on heading east. Could he be headed to the eastern region?”

“Why would he do that now? I thought he came here to speak to me.”

“I don’t understand it at all. Here’s a list of the people he has interacted with since arriving here.”

Picking up the document provided to me by Tanya, I began to read.

None of them seemed particularly suspicious.

Even so...

“Look into this merchant’s whereabouts. Also, increase surveillance of Van.”

“Van...huh?”

“Yes. If he’s heading toward the east at this moment in time, there’s a lot he could do. Although it’s also possible that other nobles were involved, this seems too early for it to have been them. In terms of territory, he seems most suspicious. If there’s time left over, it’s best that you look into other nobles as well.”

That was when there was a knock at the door.

Walking into the room...was Dean.

“Dean, perfect timing.”

“Sorry. I had some of my own matters to attend to, so I was late.”

I told him the situation.

As I spoke, the expression on his face became serious.

“When I left you, I heard an uncertain rumor. That was that one of your aides is actually a member of a fallen family, and is secretly funneling away money from citizens. That’s why an individual who had trained in the knight’s order began acting to correct your supposed wrongdoing. That could be what this is about.”

“...Where did the rumor come from?”

“We’re currently looking into it. I’m guessing that it was probably some noble who started it...but it spread among local citizens. It’s quite unbelievable.”

“I see...”

“Milady, Dida...”

Tanya seemed to want to say something, but stopped herself.

“I trust Dida. No, I want to trust him. At the moment, I’m just worried. Even so, I want to resolve this before a small conflict turns into a big one.”

I thought about it for a bit. Then I had Tanya call Sebastian to me.

“What is it, milady?”

“Sebastian, I’ll be away from here for the next week or so. I hope that you can manage territorial business while I’m gone.”

“I understand. I’ll work my hardest.”

Hearing my command, he furrowed his brow as if to say something, but let his head drop instead.

“Milady, could this be...?”

“Precisely. I plan to travel to the east. Thankfully there isn’t much work piled up at the moment. If you’re the one managing things, it should all be fine...Because of all my work, I’ve exhausted my body and am currently resting, so all responsibilities go to you. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

“Yes. I’ll inform all that you remain within the walls of this mansion.”

“But why do you want to go to the east?”

“First of all, I want to take this time to go to the village offices in the east. I think that my position should be useful. Most importantly, I want to confirm things with my own eyes. Second, if possible I want to gain the whereabouts of the Boltique family. Finally, there’s how to deal with the young man from the knight’s order. My plan is to distract him while we’re in contact and resolve things that way...As for who’s coming with me, Dean and Ryle should do for now. Tanya, after you confirm additional surveillance for Van, you can come as well.”

“Understood.”

Dean and Tanya both bowed their heads at the same time.

“All right, then, Dean. Go and call Ryle. We’ll prepare ourselves and depart shortly.”