Chapter 27

Part 2: The Iero Marquess Family (1)

Simon greeted the middle-aged nobleman, who looked older than the duke.

"Your Excellency, it's a pleasure to meet you. I am Simon de Gracia."

His greeting to the marquess was impeccable, but unusually stiff.

Is he nervous because he's in front of the marquess?

He then greeted the noble ladies and the marquess's children.

The first person he greeted was a young man who seemed to have just become an adult. By his age, he appeared to be the marquess's eldest son.

Seeing him reminded me of Martin, the bastard son I saw on the way here.

The bastard son, full of confidence and a large build, and the legitimate heir, who seemed weak. Even as a third party, the contrast between the two was stark.

He then greeted the other, more ordinary-looking sons, and finally the daughters.

The eldest daughter, Adria, bowed, and Simon began to speak.

"Formally, I greet you. I am Simon de Gracia."

Goodness, Simon, who seemed to have the manners of a noble ingrained in him, was stuttering.

Now I understood why he was nervous.

I wasn't the only one who noticed.

The marquess and the noble ladies subtly smiled, and Adria's younger sisters covered their mouths and giggled.

Simon's face turned bright red, but he finished his greeting.

Despite his embarrassment, it was a fine display of a noble's demeanor.

"Who is the boy standing behind?"

After the greetings from the knight captain and the butler, the marquess asked, looking at me.

I was going to let it pass to avoid an awkward atmosphere, but since the marquess asked, I had no choice but to greet him.

I stepped forward and bowed.

"My name is Alex. I greet you, Your Excellency."

"Alex? Ah, the bastard son..."

I glanced at him, and he was frowning. The marquess knew my name.

After all, with a strategic marriage in the works, it was impossible not to know about the other family.

"Then, let's all go inside."

Indeed, he half-heartedly acknowledged my greeting and led the group inside.

I knew the atmosphere would be strange. Why did he have to ask?

The marquess family whispered among themselves as they looked at me.

Some looked at me with surprise, and others glared at me more intensely than the marquess.

Most of them clearly thought it was unnecessary for a bastard to be here.

Except for one person. Simon's fiancée-to-be looked at me with a welcoming face after hearing I was a bastard.

Simon was surrounded by the marquess family as they entered the main house. Adria, who had been looking at me curiously, also disappeared with them.

"I will show you to your rooms."

The knights, the knight captain, the butler, and I were led to separate guest rooms.

Fortunately, I was given a private room. It seemed they had no choice but to give me a private room due to my ambiguous status.

Lunch was also brought to my room separately.

After the meal, someone came to my room.

It was the soldier I had been working on during the journey to the marquess family.

Juan, the soldier, was more reserved and diligent than the others.

I had spent money and effort to win him over, and the knight captain had allowed him to assist me during the journey.

While it might have been bothersome for Juan to serve a young master, he was willing to follow my requests due to my efforts.

"Did you find out?"

"Yes. Fortunately, he didn't go far."

"Where?"

"I confirmed that he is staying at an inn on Mercenary Street."

"Was he noticed? If he realizes he's being watched, it could lead to misunderstandings."

"No. I changed into plain clothes and kept an eye on him."

Indeed, I chose the right person. He did better than I expected.

I asked Juan to secretly follow Martin, whom we had parted ways with in front of the outer city.

I told Juan that the reason for following him was to surprise him later.

While the nuance was different, the reason was the same.

"Thank you. I'll definitely repay you later."

"It's fine. I've already been sufficiently repaid. I'll pay back this money later."

He patted his chest. The sound of the gold coins I gave him could be heard.

The gold coins were for his sick mother's medicine.

I had given him the money when I heard he needed it for his sick mother's medicine.

And that was why I chose Juan.

While it wasn't a small amount for me, it was hard to find a faster and more reliable way to win someone's heart during a journey.

Well, since there was nowhere else to invest, it wouldn't be a loss if I could get the principal back before adulthood.

'He won't run off with it. No, he won't.'

Suppressing my growing unease, I asked Juan for the name of the inn where Martin was staying.

"The Silver Hero Inn."

The Silver Hero. Is it referring to the ancestors of the marquess family?

In any case, it was an easy name to remember.

I gave Juan a few more tasks as he left the room.

After he left, I fell into thought.

Thanks to meeting Martin on the way, things were progressing smoothly.

I found out where Martin was staying and learned that he had connections with mercenaries.

I could confirm if the mercenaries were the same ones I had met.

Incidentally, I also found out when Simon fell in love with Adria and why Martin unnecessarily caused trouble.

"Now, all that's left is to find evidence."

Unless it's the worst-case scenario, I couldn't handle it myself.

I needed to use someone else, specifically the marquess family, and to inform the marquess, I needed evidence.

Well, given the situation, even if it wasn't solid evidence, it seemed enough to raise suspicion with the marquess and his wife.

"Then, it's time to create a reason to go out."

I got up and headed to the knight captain's room.

"You want to know when Prince Simon will go on an excursion?"

"Yes. I think I need to scout the area beforehand."

A smile flickered across the knight captain's lips.

"Pre-scouting? Where did you hear that term?"

Well, I could understand his reaction, but I continued.

"Since I'm here for my brother's protection. When we came to the marquess family or when we return, there will be knights and soldiers, so I won't have much to do. The same goes for inside the lord's castle."

I didn't see Simon once in the half day. It seemed I wouldn't even see his face while we were in the castle, let alone protect him.

"During the excursion, only a few people will go, so that's when I'll be needed. I want to do my job well."

I lied convincingly.

"...Understood."

The knight captain reluctantly agreed.

"But, you can't go pre-scouting alone. Go with one knight."

"Then, I'll go with Knight Hugo."

"Knight Hugo?"

"Yes. I think Knight Hugo will do well."

The knight captain stared at me. It was as if he was asking how I knew.

Well, I saw it in my previous life...

I met his gaze with a look that suggested I had guessed.

The excursion was set for three days later.

The introductions and greetings that started on the day of arrival continued until the next day.

The engagement between the Iero Marquess Family and the Gracia Duke Family was already widely known.

Several banquets were held, and people who wanted to get to know the next heir of the Gracia Duke Family kept coming.

The excursion almost didn't happen due to the overwhelming number of people, but the marquess's wife insisted that the parties needed time to talk, and the excursion was finally scheduled.

Fortunately, the mercenary street was included in the excursion route.

The day before the excursion, I left the lord's castle for pre-scouting.

Knight Hugo and I left the castle, and the marquess family provided someone to guide us through the city.

Strangely, the marquess family provided a maid.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Bianca."

I couldn't help but laugh at the continued connection.

Thinking about it, it wasn't strange for her to guide us.

Even though I was a bastard, I was still part of the duke's family.

Due to my age, they had to send a maid, and they couldn't just send any maid outside the castle.

The three of us walked silently.

Bianca was the same as before. She only showed the appearance of a maid guiding the way, hiding her true abilities.

However, she couldn't completely hide the aura that occasionally leaked out.

But Hugo, unlike in my previous life, didn't notice her hidden aura.

If he hadn't heard about it in advance, he wouldn't have known about Bianca's abilities.

Was it only Hugo who couldn't notice, or did all knights fail to notice?

I needed to determine if my ability to notice Bianca's abilities was part of my own skills or a characteristic of nobles.

We followed the excursion route. Fortunately, the route didn't leave the city.

As we moved away from the lord's castle, Bianca began to describe the surroundings.

"This is the central square. It's famous for the story of the great-grand marquess proposing to the marquess lady at the fountain."

The story, told with a blank face, didn't match her expression.

"That temple over there has been empty for a year. The priest in charge drank and broke the city laws, making it a no-entry zone. If you enter, you'll be excommunicated, so be careful."

She included gossip and rumors that people whispered.

Knight Hugo listened with a shocked expression.

Indeed, his personality hadn't changed. But it wasn't to this extent... It seemed he had some complaints.

Unfortunately, I didn't have time to listen to his complaints now.

Knight Hugo carefully observed the surroundings as he listened to the stories, and I followed his lead.

After visiting several places, we finally arrived at the place I wanted to see.

"This is Mercenary Street. There's not much to say about it. It's noisy, dirty, and full of troublemakers."

Her harsh words were hard to deny given the scene in front of us.

The street was bustling.

Armed mercenaries walked in groups, and young boys and girls tried to attract them.

To inns, weapon shops, and other stores, and taverns.

In the corners, drunk mercenaries lay sprawled, and tavern women and mercenaries shouted at each other.

In one corner of this noisy and dirty street, I saw the sign I was looking for.

The inn where Martin was staying.

"Can we stop by for a moment? I want to see the atmosphere inside."

The two of them looked puzzled but didn't object.

I led them into the Silver Hero Inn.

It was quieter on the first floor of the inn during the day.

People who had been drinking since the previous night and those having meals.

And mercenaries having quiet conversations.

Among them, I saw the man I was looking for.

Or rather, mercenaries I recognized.

The crazy female mercenary and the male mercenary who killed Adria and me.

The two were talking to Martin.