Chapter 7

Having monopolized the youngest princess's favor, everyone is now fixated on me (Chapter 7/247)

* * *

“My lord.”

In the darkness, Duke Elard turned his head.

Beneath his silver hair, which gleamed sharply in the moonlight, he had the chiseled features of a statue, and as usual, his expression was cold and ruthless.

Sighing deeply, Syd, who had bowed his head, spoke in a miserable voice.

“I searched all the orphanages and back alleys within the territory, but... I couldn’t find the young lady.”

Though he couldn’t even lift his head out of regret, Syd could tell that his master, Duke Elard, the proud leader of the Lexion Knights, had a face that was frozen in coldness.

“From now on, we will expand the search area. It doesn’t seem like she has left the empire, but we should also check the ships that have arrived at the nearby kingdoms.”

“Yes. And a little while ago, the swordsmen from the Principality of Belus arrived. Captain Maraita came in person.”

“A viscount?”

Upon hearing that Bianca Maraita had crossed the sea herself, the duke’s expression hardened even more.

While he had expected the House of Belus to be the first to offer help when he urgently requested assistance, he hadn’t thought they would send the continent’s strongest swordswoman.

Perhaps she had made that decision because she understood the gravity of the situation better than anyone else.

Even the duke, who was usually as cold as ice, couldn’t hide his complicated feelings and let out a shallow sigh.

A few days ago, his second son Allen and youngest daughter Diana had sneaked out of the castle to see the festival, and Diana had gone missing.

He was furious at the negligence of the subordinates who were supposed to protect the children, but at the time, he thought the Lexion Knights would quickly find the child.

He assumed she had simply gotten lost, and his territory was one of the safest places.

However, he was overconfident.

He couldn’t believe that there were such foolish people in the empire who would dare to touch the Duke of Elard’s beloved daughter, but after several days, Diana still hadn’t appeared, and it was almost certain that she had been kidnapped.

The duke belatedly sealed off the routes out of his territory and began secretly tracking Diana, controlling the information to prevent unnecessary rumors from spreading.

He also feared that the kidnappers might realize Diana’s identity and, out of fear, do something rash.

‘It would be better if they demanded a ransom.’

Given the notorious reputation of the Duke of Elard in the empire, this was practically impossible. They would likely fear retaliation if they demanded a ransom.

‘They will probably choose to eliminate her cleanly...’

The duke frowned and shook his head, feeling his usually unshakable rationality crumbling.

He even recalled how he had laughed off the time when Diana had taken off the bracelet with a tracking spell, a gift from a friend on her birthday, because it was bothering her.

“People never understand until it happens to them.”

As the situation worsened, he couldn’t help but think of the tragedy his friend had experienced.

His only friend, who had lost his child, a mere bundle of flesh, and still suffered from the pain.

Even the man known as a cold-blooded person had deeply cared about the matter, and now, as he faced a similar situation, the pain hit him even more acutely.

“Taise.”

To clear his mind and regain his composure, the duke called out to the knight standing nearby.

Syd, who had been giving orders to the other knights, turned his gaze.

“I heard you haven’t slept or eaten for several days. Are you on patrol now?”

“No, I am just trying to find the young lady...”

“Yes. We must find Diana. We must. But in your current state, it seems you’re not thinking clearly.”

“...I will correct it.”

Taise, who had barely suppressed the emotions rising in his throat, clenched his fists.

For a commoner and former mercenary to become a knight and join the Lexion Knights was a miracle.

‘But when this is over...’

It wouldn’t end with just a reprimand.

‘I will be expelled from the knight order and stripped of my knighthood.’

But he didn’t care; he would give his life if it meant Diana’s safety.

At that moment, Taise noticed Syd, the deputy, looking at him with a sneer.

Anger surged within him.

He had thought he was excluded from the young lady’s protection after following Syd’s orders.

It was all a trap.

But in front of his lord, who had lost his daughter, it was all just an excuse.

As Taise struggled with his anger and regret, the duke called out to Syd.

Syd, who had immediately approached and bowed, had a sinister glint in his eyes.

“You will start tracking from the east. I and Taise will go to the west, which has a wider area. Tell Viscount Maraita to join us in the west.”

“Yes, my lord.”

Syd, who had turned with a loyal knight’s demeanor, had a smirk on his lips.

Although the situation had become more serious than initially planned, it didn’t affect him negatively.

Taise would no longer be trusted by his lord.

Meanwhile, the duke, who was looking beyond the territory, thought of his spoiled daughter, Diana.

His eyes were as cold and hard as ice, but his heart was filled with worry and concern.

He imagined his young daughter crying, searching for him and her family.

* * *

“Ah! Onni, tickles!”

Diana couldn’t hold back and twisted her body, bursting into laughter.

The morning kisses on her cheeks, the affectionate greetings, and the light tickling on her stomach.

I had only done what I wished my parents had done for me, but seeing her so happy made me feel proud.

But behind the laughter, I was actually a bit sad.

The shock of discovering the secret of the Tessar Orphanage was still fresh.

* * *

A few days ago.

After putting Diana to bed and completely silencing my presence, I headed to the empty principal’s office.

Even though the orphanage only housed powerless children, the principal always locked the door whenever he went out, and it was no different today.

But for someone who could easily enter and exit noble mansions with strict security, this was no problem.

First, I blocked out the noise around the principal’s office and set up a barrier to prevent anyone from approaching. Then, I took out the needle I had prepared earlier.

The needle, reflecting the moonlight, gleamed for a moment.

Click, click, click.

I inserted the needle into the keyhole of the doorknob, moved it a few times, and lifted the fixed pin of the locking mechanism. The door to the principal’s office opened easily.

‘It’s been a long time since I’ve done a proper infiltration like this.’

Actually, I was more used to erasing my presence with mana and entering through the window.

But breaking this level of lock was no big deal, and setting up a barrier for a short time consumed much less mana.

‘I need to conserve as much as possible, just in case.’

Although my mana had increased, my body wasn’t used to it, making it difficult to control it as finely as before.

Moreover, using mana efficiently was a habit I had developed.

“Alright, let’s see what you’re hiding.”

Entering the principal’s office, I placed my short arms on my waist and looked around with bright eyes.

Since the day I returned to the past, I had a strong instinct that the principal was hiding something.

Sure enough, I found the orphanage’s operation report and accounting ledger, which were used to apply for subsidies, on the desk, and I burst into laughter.

“Ha, unbelievable.”

If I couldn’t read, it would be different, but I had learned to read at the guild and even studied basic accounting from the officer Lope, who was in charge of management.

There was no way I couldn’t read such a shoddy ledger.

“The cost of food is so high, even though prices are lower now than they were back then?”

It was a laughable claim.

“Water bills, books, and toys?”

While the children were dressed in clothes picked up from the town’s trash.

“Alright, I knew this would happen. But where is the real one?”

This shoddy ledger couldn’t be what the principal was hiding.

I carefully searched the desk drawers and the underside of the desk, but strangely, I found nothing.

Then, a thought occurred to me, and I closed my eyes, raising my senses and activating a detection spell.

Only then did I notice a small mana stone attached to the light bulb.

“...Why is this here?”

I was speechless when I saw the artifact with the mana stone.

The artifact had a perception-disruption spell on it.

Illusion spells that deceive human perception and cognition are among the most difficult mental magic.

I never expected to find such a high-value magic item in a rundown orphanage in a remote mountain area.

“How corrupt must they be to use something like this...”

I couldn’t hide my shock and immediately dispelled the spell on the artifact, then searched the room again.

I tapped the floor under the desk with my small feet, sensing a subtle difference.

I quickly crouched down and pressed the part where my fingers caught, and finally, a safe was revealed.

“...!”

I froze when I found a much thicker ledger and sealed documents in the safe.

The hidden ledger contained the names and ages of the children who had stayed and left the orphanage over the years.

And next to them were many familiar names...

I had always been proud of being one of the top information gatherers in Terentium.

I had excellent senses and stealth skills, and I could perform several simple spells and martial arts as well as any male colleague.

But what I was most confident in was my observational skills and memory.

This meant that I could remember the names of the criminals who had caused a stir in the empire with their slave auctions.

“What bastards.”